Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 322 - 299: Triple Burst of Juices, Instant Explosion!

Chapter 322: Chapter 299: Triple Burst of Juices, Instant Explosion!

The four of them sat around the table, while Zhou Yu stood confidently on the side watching them.

With more than twenty years in the industry and ever since Zhou Yu independently took charge of the main stove, his Lion’s Head Meatball had never received a bad review. Back then, he even relied on this dish to miraculously save an old establishment that was failing and on the brink of closing down.

Of course, it was precisely because of this skill that Zhou Yu dared to venture into entrepreneurship on his own.

The failure of his business had nothing to do with his skills; it was entirely an issue of management and operations.

He even fantasized about Boss Fang, who initially didn’t want to offer him a high salary, being astounded by his Lion’s Head Meatball and praising it endlessly after tasting it, while even his competitor would hang their head in shame and voluntarily back out.

The two interviewers invited to taste the dish, as long as they had one bite, would undoubtedly be tremendously shocked. They might even proactively ask for his contact information, hoping he could provide some guidance at their restaurant when he wasn’t busy.

Under Zhou Yu’s watchful gaze, the four of them picked up their spoons one after another.

A truly well-made Lion’s Head Meatball doesn’t require chopsticks. With a slight scoop from the ceramic spoon in Chen Mo’s hand, a piece was effortlessly taken from one of the meatballs.

He served it with the broth into his mouth.

With Chen Mo’s sharp sense of taste now.

"Hmm..."

The texture of the meat was soft and delicate. The balance of fat and lean meat was just right, with a ratio of three parts fat to seven parts lean, making it melt in the mouth. The water chestnuts added a crunchy texture to the otherwise tender Lion’s Head Meatball.

The bit of clear soup served with it opened up layers of fresh flavors, with the barely-there sheen of oil on the surface not making the soup greasy at all, maintaining a very fresh taste.

"It’s quite delicious," Chen Mo said.

Fang Zhizhong took two consecutive bites, "The flavor is good, and the texture is pleasing—probably the best Lion’s Head Meatball I’ve ever had."

Mu Xin and Hou Yao nodded continuously at the same time.

Hou Yao savored a few bites before saying, "The Lion’s Head Meatball stays intact in the soup, but falls apart easily in the mouth. There’s no other flavor, just the pure taste of pork. It’s very authentic, not bad."

Each of the four had one, which was just right. Truth be told, the flavor made by a bona fide good chef is indeed remarkable, although Fang Zhizhong ate a little less; after half a Lion’s Head Meatball and a bowl of soup, he stopped eating.

Zhou Yu was only concerned with his potential future boss, and cautiously asked, "Boss Fang, is it not to your taste?"

Fang Zhizhong waved it off carelessly, "No, it’s not that. It has nothing to do with you. You see, I socialize a lot, and I generally eat at restaurants three times a day. Now, eating this restaurant-flavored food, I can’t eat much of it anymore; it always feels not as comforting as a bowl of millet porridge at home."

Understanding dawned on Zhou Yu, and he felt relieved. He’d seen such customers before when he was a chef, especially some wealthy individuals.

They would often treat guests to expensive meals, but in the end, hardly touch the dishes, instead finishing a bowl of plain noodles each, clean down to the last drop—quite peculiar.

So, although the Lion’s Head Meatball tastes great, Fang Zhizhong still felt a lingering taste that immediately screams the flavor of a restaurant meal at the first bite.

This feeling was hard to describe. In any case, he couldn’t eat much of it, but it certainly wasn’t because it wasn’t delicious.

With the evaluation of the two dishes complete, it was time to say something. Boss Fang gave Master Hou a look.

"In my opinion, the two dishes made by Master Zhou are quite good. Wen Si Tofu showcases his knife skills exceptionally well; describing them as miraculous wouldn’t be an exaggeration."

Zhou Yu felt a bit delighted; even though the scene he envisioned didn’t occur, the old master’s evaluation was quite fair.

"The Clear Stewed Lion’s Head Meatball was also made very well, respectable and all-encompassing. These two dishes, in Jingzhou City, are definitely this." Hou Yao gave a thumbs-up, offering his full approval.

As an interviewer, he only needed to comment on the dishes; the salary matter was none of his concern.

Since that was the case, everyone’s gaze naturally fell on Chen Mo.

"Ah?" Chen Mo quickly checked the time on his phone, "Mine is almost ready too."

Swiftly getting up, he rushed out. Once he left the food truck, the progress bar function disappeared; a few minutes’ delay could cause trouble.

Returning to the food truck, the progress bar reappeared, and Chen Mo finally sighed in relief. The light orb was very close to the flashing point.

Even with the lid on the casserole on the stove, the state of the broth inside could still be felt. Nearly an hour had passed, maintaining that curious state between boiling and not boiling.

Meanwhile, the Mirror Box Tofu in the black pot had been simmering on a gentle fire for a good twenty minutes.

The surface of the oil-steamed tofu had absorbed enough of the broth, and with the direction of the meat filling towards the bottom, enough flavor had seeped in over this time.

The first progress bar reached its target!

Seizing the moment when the light orb perfectly aligned with the flashing point, Chen Mo swiftly turned off the flame under the black pot.

[Perfect!]

Then, he took out a pristine plate. Skillfully, he used the black spoon to flip over each piece of tofu, slightly tinged with sauce, placing them on the plate in two neat rows, totaling sixteen pieces!

Then, he turned the heat back on.

"It’s indeed thanks to Master Hou!"

Under high heat, the broth in the pot began to boil again, and Chen Mo expressed immense gratitude for the knowledge Hou Yao had imparted about starch thickening.

He added the cornstarch water from the bowl into the broth in two batches, then drizzled a bit of sesame oil.

The black spoon evenly ladled the slightly thickened broth over the tofu pieces. At an unknown point, the four of them had come out, and Hou Yao stood in front of the food truck, pointing at the plate of Mirror Box Tofu in utter disbelief.

"No... Xiao Chen..."

"Teacher Xiao Chen, you?"

"What’s the matter?" Chen Mo, curious, looked at Hou Yao, whose hands were even shaking, as he garnished the tofu with a bit of green onion, "What’s going on with you?"

Hou Yao swallowed a few times; he nearly revealed he and Chen Mo knew each other, "I mean, Master Xiao Chen, the way you’ve thickened this sauce is outstanding!"

The other three, apart from Mu Xin, were somewhat confused, even the Huaiyang Cuisine Grandmaster Zhou Yu seemed puzzled.

It’s just thickening the sauce, why is it being made into such a big deal?

Hou Yao pointed at the plate, "Look at this glaze; it appears as though it’s about to run off the tofu, but in fact, it’s perfectly wrapping around the tofu pieces."

Seeing the three still at a loss, Hou Yao gestured, "Give me a pair of chopsticks."

Chen Mo, a bit bewildered himself, wondered what Hou Yao was getting at and handed over a pair of chopsticks, wanting to hear what it was all about.

Hou Yao picked up a piece of tofu, "See? The sauce wraps around the tofu perfectly; no drips on the plate. It’s not something achievable just by controlling the amount of sauce. This is mastery in controlling the sauce’s thickness to perfection!"

Though the three didn’t quite get it, they all felt an unexplained sense of awe.

Chen Mo figured it out; this was talking about the principle of liquid tension?

After finishing his explanation, Hou Yao didn’t bother observing further.

"Ah~" He finished it in one gulp!

Though the sauce-wrapped tofu appeared calm, it burst into heat the moment it entered the mouth, causing Hou Yao to bite down twice in an attempt to alleviate the heat.

Unexpectedly, when he bit down.

The oil-steamed tofu’s outer layer contained an incredibly rich broth!

On the second bite, the meat filling inside the box erupted with a rich and scalding broth!

Triple juice explosion.

Hou Yao’s mouth was entirely numbed by the heat!