Chapter 61: Stir-fried Watermelon Skin?

[Stir-fried Watermelon School] had once been popular outside Xu Le’s school.

He closed his eyes and searched through the system for a long time. He saw the recipe for making it and glanced at the price below. It was ridiculously low.

He bought it with just 10 Gourmet points.

The cooking method of stir-frying watermelon skin was simple. It could also relieve heat, detoxify and was very effective in recovery.

At least it had something to do with the theme of summer. As for how to cook the duck, Xu Le was stuck. It was really difficult for him to move the judges with that.

Besides, he was short of ingredients. After thinking about it, he suddenly had an idea.

The camera cut to a close-up of Xu Le’s hand. He cut off the thick green skin of the watermelon, and sliced the tender green watermelon skin into thin slices.

Although Xu Le was young, his cutting skills were extremely good. Every thin piece was not much thicker than cicada wings. After cutting them all, he put them into a basin and marinated them with refined salt.

Then he pulled out a stool and sat down, closing his eyes.

The chefs who were competing against him, as well as the host on the stage, were all stunned. However, they didn’t want to affect the contestants’ cooking and could only watch at the side in confusion.

Old Master Song asked, “Could the little guy have fallen asleep?”

“No.”

Lin Shuwei replied, “He had such a situation in the previous competition as well. I believe it’s because he’s too young and is tired.”

“Yes, it’s hard to be a chef. Entering the field too early and having good talent will definitely be tiring.”

Old Master Song understood.

Meanwhile, Xu Le had bought the cooking method of the [Smoking Duck] from the system. He had also obtained the top-notch Lake Duck provided by the system.

This was a Chinese cuisine that was refined during the Qing Dynasty.

The duck was first smoked and then braised. Throughout the process, more than 30 types of spices were needed to smoke the duck meat until it was fragrant. After it was dried, it would be braised and cooked. The meat would turn chewy and had a unique flavor.

The height of the platform in the system automatically adjusted with Xu Le’s movements. He chopped off the wing tips and webbed hands of the slaughtered duck, picked up the sharp deboning knife, and cut a six or seven centimeter long straight incision under the right wing.

He poured a small amount of salt water and 20 grams of salt into the duck and shook them up and down, causing them to be distributed evenly throughout the duck.

Salt water could turn the color of the meat bright red, making it look more appetizing. However, after heating it up, it would produce nitrite and cause harm to the human body. Hence, Xu Le added such a small volume of it that it was almost negligible.

He applied a uniform layer of salt to the surface of the duck meat, then stuck the duck’s neck to the back of the spine. The duck was placed on the back of the neck, and placed it in a circular container specially made for the air-dried box. He then arranged it in a circle along the edge, leaving a ventilation spot in the middle.

According to recipe, the bigger stores would usually cook a few hundreds smoked ducks at once. Therefore, after the skin was processed, it would be left to dry for one to two days at the ventilation spot. However, there was not much time to wait during the competition, so Xu Le could only use modern technology to shorten the time.

After drying for ten minutes, he opened the air-dried box and flipped the duck.

At this moment, the skin of the duck meat was already dry and yellowish. It looked very tough.

While waiting, Xu Le placed the pot on the stove and boiled water. Then, he prepared the spices to be used. Apart from the commonly seen aniseed, fragrant leaves, cinnamon, dried chili, he also needed a bit of dried orange peel, fennel, white pepper, and so on…

The final finishing touch was crushed tsaoko. After the tsaoko was crushed, there was a fresh and bitter smell. It was perfect for smoking duck meat.

There was no time to prepare the roasted dried sesame during the competition, and there was no way that there would be any sawdust that was required by the recipe. This caused Xu Le to be in a dilemma. After thinking for a moment, he decided to use what he could find on the competition ground to replace the smoking process.

He placed glutinous rice oil and fragrant leaves into the smoking pot, he then set up an iron frame and wiped the dried duck skin clean with a wet cloth, causing the surface to glow with oil. He then covered the lid and turned on the fire.

Not long after, the fragrance of glutinous rice and oil wafted out. The skin of the duck meat was sizzling with oil. At this moment, Xu Le poured rice wine in a circular motion into the pot.

Sizzle!

The fragrance of the rice wine was instantly locked into the duck meat.

Xu Le took note of the time. About ten minutes later, the pot of water beside was boiling.

He turned the duck meat in the smoking pot over and placed the spices he had prepared into a small muslin bag. He added a suitable amount of soy sauce, vinegar, white sugar, green onions, and ginger to continue cooking.

Five minutes later, the duck meat was almost done. When he opened the pot, the aroma filled the air.

Xu Le placed the duck into a cooking pot and turned the fire to the minimum. He realized that the duck meat would continue to float upwards, so he found a bamboo sieve to hold it down before covering the pot.

After bubbling at low heat for about ten minutes, he immediately turned off the fire. Right now, all he needed was to quietly wait for the duck to be cooked.

After another 20 minutes in the system, he opened the pot. The soup was almost done boiling. The duck was bright in color and looked very good.

Xu Le took advantage of the heat and cut the duck into evenly sized pieces, arranging them neatly on the plate. Then he poured some scented oil over it and sprinkled it with white sesame seeds.

He had succeeded!

He picked up a piece with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth. Before he could heave a sigh of relief, he could not help but frown again.

It was delicious in the mouth and tasted exactly the same. However, the meat was a little tough. If one chewed it carefully, one could taste the crispness on the outside, but it was slightly dry inside.

Unsatisfied, he put down his chopsticks and recalled his cooking steps just now. After all, he had modified it according to the kitchen environment. If there was a slight deviation, it would definitely be different from the authentic taste.

Xu Le, who was very strict with the taste, immediately rolled up his sleeves and took another duck that was prepared to try again.

He adjusted the temperature of the air-dried box and added some oil to the glutinous rice when he placed it in the smoking pot. This way, the rice wouldn’t taste bitter after being fried…

Xu Le was engrossed as he tried over again. Finally, he succeeded perfectly on the fifth try.

When he took a bite of the duck meat, the texture of the meat was firm and chewable, but with every bite, one could taste the fragrance of the oil and the freshness of the spices. It was oily but not greasy, tough and delicious.

He opened his eyes and stood up. Only four minutes had passed outside the system.

When the judges saw Xu Le preparing the spices, they asked in surprise, “Is he thinking of making smoked duck?”

“There’s no time left. Even if he had decided to cook this dish from the beginning, he won’t have enough time.”

“Sigh, looks like he has made a mistake.”

Lin Shuwei interjected. “Xu Le has done some innovative actions in the past competitions. He has made a cake that tastes like osmanthus wine. He has performed exceptionally well and it tasted perfect. Perhaps he can also make some modifications and innovate today.”

“It’s different. If the improvements are too much, the taste will definitely not be authentic.”

Listening to the discussions around him, Song Deyue didn’t say a word. His eyes were wet with tears..