Chapter 150: The Flamboyant Bu Fang and the Rainbow-Colored Crescent Moon Dumplings
Translator: OnGoingWhy Editor: Vermillion
The corners of Chef Jin’s lips slightly curled up as he listened to the cries of astonishment coming from the crowd with a face filled with satisfaction. He could feel that the gaze of the spectators were all gathered on him and he was the center of attention.
He was confident that his cutting technique was the best among all of the imperial chefs. Perhaps his skill at handling the ingredients might not be as good as those old masters who had been immersing themselves in the culinary arts for dozens of years, his cutting technique was definitely number one within the imperial kitchen.
After using a showy cutting technique to slice up a plate of beef, he looked up and found that the cries of astonishment became even more frequent. However… those cries were not directed at him.
His face slightly stiffened for a moment before a frown appeared on his face. His bald head seemed to be about to radiate light under the sun.
He turned his head toward the crowd and discovered the spectators were all looking at another cooking stove nearby. That was exactly where the chef he disliked, Bu Fang, was cooking.
The expression on his face became even worse and his mood turned sour. There was no way his mood would be good when someone he disliked stole his spotlight.
Therefore, he wanted to have a good look and see how this Owner Bu was able to steal his spotlight. After all… He had the advantage with his head sparkling under the sunlight!
As Bu Fang slapped the table with his palm, only the meat bounced into the air. The Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife was twirled around in his hand and then swung toward the meat in the air. The meat was only ordinary pork and not the meat of spirit beasts. Therefore, slicing through them with the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife that could cut through metal like mud was effortlessly accomplished.
As the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife continued to rotate and slice through the pieces of meat, the large pieces of pork hovered in the air and gradually became smaller in the eyes of the spectators.
Bu Fang held out a white porcelain plate and the slices of meat fell neatly onto the plate as if they were strictly arranged.
However, with the relaxed expression shown on Bu Fang’s face, this was evidently only a very simple feat for him.
After the pork was sliced by Bu Fang, the slices were as thin as the wings of a cicada and even the veined patterns on its surface could be clearly seen.
Next, Bu Fang brought over the fruits and vegetables while twirling the knife in his hand and then diced all of them. This time, his method of dicing them was even stranger. He basically did not differentiate between them and directly threw all of them into the air.
The Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife swept past like a gust of wind and a dark stream of light seemed to have flashed past. Those fruits and vegetables were all diced apart and fell into a pile on one side.
As Bu Fang scooped up Kuruma Prawns from the cold water, he twirled the kitchen knife in his hand and the outer shells of these prawns would be immediately removed with only the meat left. This series of movements were so quick that the crowd was almost unable to follow them. His method of handling the ingredients completely astonished the spectators.
A large basin of prawns were completely peeled within seven and a half minutes. Afterward, Bu Fang minced these prawns and mixed them together with other minced meat as well as the diced fruits and vegetables.
The colorful ingredients were strikingly bright and eye-catching. As Bu Fang stirred the mixture, he added some sauce and seasoning from time to time. Even though he had not started cooking yet, a faint fragrance was already wafting out from the mixture.
A distance away, quite a number of people were observing and watching Owner Bu’s actions. This was the first time that they were seeing Owner Bu’s appearance while he was cooking. They did not anticipate that his movements would be so graceful and swift.
“What’s Owner Bu making? He’s mincing and mixing so many ingredients together… Is he making the fillings for Golden Shumai? That’s not right… Those are not the ingredients for the Golden Shumai,” Xiao Xiaolong and the others puzzledly muttered. They were completely unable to guess the dish Bu Fang was making.
Not only Xiao Xiaolong and the others, but even many of the the chefs there could not understand. If he was making the fillings, what was the purpose of those pork slices that were thinner than the wings of a cicada?
Everyone was somewhat perplexed but the crowds of spectators were all cheering. Bu Fang’s elegant manner of handling the ingredients had completely amazed them.
So, chefs could be this good-looking when they were serious!
After the fillings were properly seasoned, Bu Fang washed his hands with clear water and wiped the water droplets on his slender and fair hands with a clean cloth. Then, he took out a large bag of flour of the highest quality within the imperial city, which he requested from the young eunuch.
Even though its quality was still not as good as the flour provided by the system, Bu Fang was still rather satisfied after taking a pinch of the flour and sniffing it.
As the true energy vortex started rotating within his dantian, true energy gathered on his palm and Bu Fang’s expression suddenly became stern. He poured the flour into a large basin and then added warm water before stirring the mixture. With the aid of true energy, the consistency of the flour rapidly started getting thicker.
Bang!
Once the dough was kneaded until its texture was somewhat smooth, Bu Fang tossed it into the air. While the large lump of dough was in mid-air, he promptly struck the dough with his palm and caused a loud slapping sound.
The dough shook for a moment and then rose upward once more. When it plunged downward again, Bu Fang threw out another palm strike filled with true energy.
Just like that, a lump of dough was continuously juggled like a ball by Bu Fang. It fell, rose into the air, fell once again…
Xiao Meng was sitting nearby at a banquet table and his eyes suddenly narrowed. With his cultivation level, he could naturally see through Bu Fang’s technique. Every single palm strike Bu Fang was throwing was not simple at all. Whenever his palm struck the dough, a wave of vibration instantly passed through it and caused the entire lump of dough to become anew.
In simpler terms, Bu Fang was causing the lump of dough to flip inside out each time he struck it with his palm…
This was a very high level true energy technique that required the user to have an extremely precise control over one’s true energy. Even Xiao Meng himself would only be able to perform such a feat after undergoing a lot of training.
Bu Fang’s performance triggered cries of astonishment from the crowd once more. It was simply too showy and flamboyant!
Ouyang Xiaoyi burst into laughter. “I didn’t know the smelly boss who’s usually a cold person on the surface would actually be so flamboyant while cooking! Kekeke!”
Xiao Yanyu was also laughing while covering her mouth with her hand. When she recalled Bu Fang’s face that was usually stern and compared that with his flamboyant appearance as he struck the dough palm after palm, she was suddenly unable to hold back her smile any longer.
Now that the dough was kneaded… Bu Fang’s dish seemed to be ready. Was he making buns? Or was this a new type of Golden Shumai?
Many people were puzzled and continued with their guesses. There were many types of dishes that required dough. However, the exact dish was debatable because no one could tell from the fillings that Bu Fang prepared.
Once he was finished kneading, the entire lump of dough was giving off heat. This was induced by Bu Fang’s true energy. Every time he flipped the dough inside out, the intense friction was enough to heat the dough to a scalding hot temperature.
As the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife rotated, the large lump of dough was rapidly cut into smaller lumps. Then, Bu Fang placed these lumps of dough aside.
“Come over here and start a fire. Bring the water in the wok to a boil,” Bu Fang said as he beckoned toward the dazed young eunuch standing nearby, who seemed to have been shocked by his flamboyance.
Only then did Bu Fang let out a sigh of relief and look around his surroundings.
The chefs around him were almost finished with their dishes and were starting the finishing stage. The rich aroma of the dishes were rising into the air and lingering above the Gate of Heavenly Mystery. The air above the plaza seemed to become hazy as if the aroma was forming a cloud.
Such a scene was a rare sight to behold. With so many chefs cooking at the same time, the scale was simply too large.
Bu Fang looked away and paid no more attention to the completion state of the dishes belonging to the chefs around him. His slender fingers nimbly moved around a little and then he picked up a slice of pork that was as thin as the wings of a cicada. He stuffed the pork slice with the fillings mixed earlier and squeezed it into a ball. Grabbing a small lump of dough, he flattened the dough into a thin wrapper before wrapping the ball with it.
Once the wrapping was completed, layers upon layers of creases appeared at the opening and the dumpling looked like a crescent moon. It was so beautiful that it was like a work of art.
The Crescent Moon Dumpling was the most classic method of wrapping a dumpling.
However, this was not just any dumpling but a revised version made according to the latest system reward, the Rainbow-Colored Water Dumpling, that was given by the system. This was a version that was suitable for consumption by the general public.
