Chapter 18 (1/2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Xu Le borrowed a bowl of rice from the stall next door.

Everyone knew the trick of cooking Egg Fried Rice, which was to use overnight rice.

Since some of the moisture in the overnight rice had evaporated, the rice grain would become more discrete. It wouldn’t stick to one another when it was stir-fried and would be more chewy when it was eaten.

The leftover rice that Xu Le was using were already steamed by noon.

It had been ten hours, so it had met the requirements.

Apart from rice, Xu Le also prepared eggs. He also bought ham, dried scallop, prawns, green peas, fresh bamboo shoots, chicken thigh, and many other ingredients from the nearby convenience store.

Each ingredient was placed in a separate bowl, lined up in a dazzling line.

“Do you need so many ingredients to make a fried rice?”

Zhang Tong frowned. He didn’t understand.

The increase in the number of ingredients would increase the richness and taste of the entire dish.

But while using large quantities of ingredients, their flavours and textures might clash.

For example, ham was salty, shrimp was sweet, and mushrooms tasted fresh…

All of these flavors were delicious alone.

But when all of them were mixed together, it was likely to show the effect of one plus one being less than two.

Therefore, many excellent chefs knew one thing: You can’t have too many ingredients.

For example, a piece of high-quality beef only needed to be seasoned and pan fried to produce a good taste.

If too many miscellaneous ingredients were added into the mix, it was very likely to be adding unnecessary details.

Seeing Xu Le choose so many ingredients, Zhang Tong was a little doubtful.

However, he still stood quietly by the side and watched.

Start the fire!

On the stove, there was a bright red flame. Xu Le turned on the fire to high heat and heated the entire pan.

After the pan was heated, he poured room-temperature oil into it.

Immediately after, Xu Le took out the ingredients that he had prepared and poured them into the pan, stir-frying them to producing a fragrance.

First, he added ham, then the dried scallops, mushrooms, fresh bamboo shoots, and finally chicken thigh meat.

Sizzle—

The moment the ingredients came into contact with the oil, a pleasant sound of frying was heard.

All the ingredients in the pan were of high quality. As Xu Le stir-fried them, the color of the food became more and more alluring. The fragrance instantly spread and attracted the attention of many passersby.

Xu Le stirred the ingredients gently, revealing the cooked color at the bottom. The sound of the ingredients being fried suddenly grew louder, and it was obvious that the number of ingredients was increasing rapidly.

After stir-frying for two minutes, he stopped cooking the ingredients.

They were almost 50% cooked. He would still need to fry them again the second time later on.

Just then, Xu Le picked up the bowl of rice from the side.

He skillfully added a the beaten egg into it.

As the egg yolk fell into the rice, Xu Le used his hands to knead it, making every grain of rice perfectly merge with the egg yolk, presenting a bright golden color.

The ordinary rice looked like a bowl of golden beans. Under the illumination of the street lamps at night, it emitted a golden luster.

He poured the rice with the egg yolk into the pan and quickly stir-fried it!

This step must be fast!

Otherwise, the rice would stick to the pan or stick together.

Under the rapid stir-frying, the rice was heated, and the egg yolk on the surface quickly solidified.

“It’s a pity there’s no chicken soup.” Xu Le sighed.

If he could add a spoonful of chicken soup into the fried rice… the fragrance of the chicken soup would be completely integrated into the fried rice, allowing the taste to reach a higher level.