Gourmet: Twins' Father and Chef of the Kindergarten

Chapter 449 - 410: More Than Sharing—It’s Showing Off

Wow!

This is simply a breathtaking skill!

Lv Pengfei and Jiang Shuihan couldn’t believe their eyes at the scene before them, both showing expressions of "I can’t believe I get to see this for free."

As they gazed at the fine, thread-like, translucent tofu strands in the bowl, they couldn’t help but feel, "What did we do to deserve to taste such a delicacy?"

Suddenly.

Jiang Shuihan exclaimed, "Oh no, this is bad..."

Lv Pengfei quickly asked with concern, "What’s wrong?"

"I actually forgot to film it..."

Jiang Shuihan hurriedly turned on the camera equipment, wanting to capture this rare sight.

Their conversation broke the silence around them, and also awakened Aunt Li and the others, who all came over, focusing their eyes on the bowl of tofu strands, clicking their tongues in wonder, full of admiration.

"Oh my, today really opened my eyes!" Aunt Li’s eyes widened like copper bells, her face full of incredulous surprise, "I never thought tofu could be sliced so thinly, it’s literally like hair strands! Chef Huang, I knew you had skills, but I didn’t expect you to be this amazing; to slice such tender tofu so finely, I really... what’s that idiom..."

She found herself at a loss for words, unable to recall...

Lv Pengfei helpfully reminded, "Deeply impressed?"

It was indeed a phrase that brightened the mind of someone at a loss for words!

Aunt Li nodded suddenly in realization, "Yes, yes, deeply impressed!"

Aunt Lin couldn’t contain her excitement and chimed in, "Yes, yes, Chef Huang’s skill is simply like a culinary god here at our place! Especially his knife skills, being this impressive at such a young age, I really wonder how he practiced!"

Qian Guoxiang nodded repeatedly on the side, his eyes full of admiration for Huang Jun’s skill, "Indeed impressive, truly amazing!"

Jiang Shuihan couldn’t wait any longer, "Chef Huang, can you slice it again? This time I’ll definitely film it properly, not missing a single detail."

"Yes, yes, this is such a rare scene, we must film it well as a keepsake."

Aunt Li and Aunt Lin spoke in unison, both taking out their phones, aiming them at Huang Jun who was about to display his knife skills again, preparing to record this breathtaking scene and intending to share it on their social media, to let everyone have a look.

Posting this update is not just for sharing, but also a kind of boasting – boasting about witnessing this extraordinary skill firsthand, and Huang Jun’s awe-inspiring knife skills.

Lv Pengfei was no exception.

He also took out his phone, pointing it at Huang Jun’s actions, ready to record,

Other dishes might not need filming, but this Wenshi Tofu must absolutely be recorded.

This dish not only has a unique flavor, but also has very high artistic value; even those who don’t know much about food would be drawn to such a video, captivated by Huang Jun’s knife skills.

Exactly.

He planned to post it on his Weibo later, to wow his Weibo followers...

Huang Jun didn’t say much, just silently picked up the mythical kitchen knife, preparing to start slicing again.

After all, with hundreds of people waiting to eat in the garden, the amount from a single block of tofu is really negligible for so many people, far from enough to satisfy everyone’s need.

He smiled at the camera and said, "We can use the horizontal knife method to slice the lactone tofu in half horizontally from the middle, so one block of tofu becomes two, and the height is naturally halved."

"The benefits of doing this are obvious: firstly, it reduces the difficulty of slicing, decreasing the range and strength needed for cutting, allowing the chef to cut the tofu more easily and evenly."

"Secondly, lowering the height of the tofu block can effectively prevent the cut tofu from collapsing due to gravity, ensuring the aesthetics and integrity of the final product..."

Saying this, he held the mythical kitchen knife, slowing down to demonstrate.

Then, he began slicing the tofu.

For the sake of filming, he deliberately slowed down a bit, but each cut was still completed in an instant, the entire slicing process almost making the knife’s trail invisible, with only the bright blade rising and falling repeatedly, yet the sliced tofu pieces remained intact, as if they had never been touched at all.

He sliced continuously to the end, his hand never trembling from start to finish, perfectly controlling the strength and rhythm...

"Tap, tap, tap..."

With the light tapping sound of the knife on the cutting board, Huang Jun immersed himself again in the world of his knife skills...

Qian Guoxiang watched Huang Jun intently, observing him slicing the tofu strands continuously, with movements so smooth as if like floating clouds and flowing water, without a hint of breathlessness, and his hands stable as Mount Tai, showing no sign of trembling.

A slight smile appeared on his face, admiration surging within like a tide, almost overflowing.

Indeed, youth is an asset!

Looking at Huang Jun, it was as if he saw a shadow of his younger self, that dedication and passion for cooking still burning in his heart even today.

But undeniably, when he was Huang Jun’s age, he hadn’t yet reached Huang Jun’s level of skill!

What a promising young talent!

What a promising young talent indeed!

At this moment, Huang Jun gently places the tofu strands as thin as silk into the water. With a light touch of his hand, the tofu strands in the bowl gently disperse, each one as fine as a strand of hair, softly floating on the water’s surface...

Jiang Shuihan adjusts the camera, using a close-up to focus on the tofu strands swaying gracefully in the water, capturing each of their movements in the water.

Under the camera, the delicacy and grace of the tofu strands are magnified, every detail perfectly captured, making one almost feel their softness and liveliness.

Taking advantage of the time needed for the tofu strands to soak and slowly spread in the water, Huang Jun wastes no time and immediately starts working on cutting the ingredients.

He lays the stemless mushrooms flat on the cutting board and begins slicing them, using a flat knife technique to slice the mushrooms into thin slices as delicate as cicada wings.

He smiles at the camera and says, "When slicing, try to slice as thinly as possible so that the mushroom strands can complement the tofu strands, achieving the same fine effect."

"Chop, chop, chop~"

As the familiar sound rings out...

Mushrooms, fresh bamboo shoots, Jinhua ham, cooked chicken breast, and napa cabbage leaves—all are skillfully sliced into extremely fine strands by him.

"Chef Huang, your water is boiling..." Qian Guoxiang, in charge of boiling the water, warmly reminds him.

"Got it, thanks!"

Huang Jun responds and then gently pours a little cooking wine into the boiling pot, using a spoon to stir gently, allowing the aroma of the wine to blend with the steam.

Once the water in the pot reaches a boil again, he pours in the sliced ham.

He explains to the camera: "You need to blanch the ham strands first because they contain salt and a lot of umami substances. The brief encounter with hot water can cleverly release and preserve these delicious essences in the water, adding a base flavor to the blanching process of subsequent ingredients. However, remember not to cook the ham strands for too long; about a minute should do before you remove them."

After the ham strands are quickly removed, Huang Jun wastes no time, immediately placing the chicken breast strands into the pot for a brief blanch.

He continues, "These chicken breast strands are from cooked chicken breast, so they are already cooked. Blanching them now is mainly to acclimate the meat strands to the heat and to rinse off any leftover bits from slicing. This process doesn’t take long, about half a minute is sufficient."

After removing the chicken breast strands, Huang Jun swiftly moves on to the mushroom and bamboo shoot strands, placing them into the boiling water.

He adds, "Unlike the briefly heated chicken breast strands, mushrooms and bamboo shoots require blanching to remove their distinct flavors. If mushrooms are not blanched, they retain a pungent taste that can affect the overall flavor of the dish. Similarly, without blanching, the bitterness of bamboo shoots would lower the dish’s taste."

Once the mushrooms and bamboo shoot strands are blanched, Huang Jun quickly grabs a clean pot, placing it on the stove.

He turns on the heat and dries the pot.

Then, he lifts the clear chicken broth, meticulously simmered from the previous day, and slowly pours it into the pot, adjusting it to medium-low heat, allowing the broth to gradually warm up.

During this process, Huang Jun looks up at the camera with a confident smile, saying, "This clear chicken broth shouldn’t be boiled over high heat, as the sudden rise in temperature might make the broth cloudy, ruining its clarity. On the contrary, simmering slowly over low heat not only lets the impurities gradually surface forming scum, but they can also be completely removed, making the chicken broth even purer."

Ten minutes later...

The chicken broth in the pot gradually heats up, and a subtle layer of scum forms on the surface.

Huang Jun patiently skims off the scum with a spoon until the broth in the pot is once again crystal clear.

As the chicken broth in the pot approaches boiling, the unique fresh aroma of the chicken broth fills the entire kitchen, the fragrance wafting in the air.

"How fragrant!"

Jiang Shuihan and the others can’t help but shift their noses.

"This is just the beginning; it will smell even better soon!"

As Huang Jun speaks, he adds a small spoon of salt, half a spoon of sugar, and half a spoon of pepper to the pot, beginning to season.

After seasoning, Huang Jun adjusts the heat to low, patiently waiting for the chicken broth in the pot to calm down.

When the broth ceases to boil, he adds the mushroom, ham, bamboo shoot, and chicken breast strands to the pot in sequence.

With the ingredients in the pot, he gently stirs the hot broth with the back of the spoon, using the flow of water to mix these ingredients evenly, letting them slowly fuse in the chicken broth, releasing their respective flavors.

Once the ingredients are mixed, Huang Jun picks up the previously prepared starch water and gently pours it into the pot.

Upon adding the starch water, he again gently stirs with the spoon back, ensuring the broth and starch water thoroughly combine and evenly blend together.

While stirring, he remarks, "This dish involves a bit of thickening, but don’t add too much or it’ll become sticky when you drink it. Just a little will make the broth somewhat thick, allowing the tofu strands to float on the broth rather than sink to the bottom."

After stirring the starch water, he gently adds the tofu strands from a fine-mesh sieve into the pot, continuing to gently swirl the spoon back on the broth’s surface.

The slightly thickened chicken broth tenderly envelops the tofu strands, causing them to slowly disperse in the pot, harmoniously blending with the previously added side ingredients.

After stirring for about a minute...

The tofu strands in the pot fully absorb the essence of the broth, thoroughly flavored, and the previously cut napa cabbage strands are sprinkled into the pot, gently stirred...