Chapter 61 - Stir-fried Watermelon Skin? (1/2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

[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.