Chapter 262 - 251: Evenly Matched

Chapter 262: Chapter 251: Evenly Matched

Afterward, Chen Wen nodded and said, "Now, I’d like to ask you two to inspect the ingredients."

Li You and Yu Hong both nodded.

"Ingredient: Large River Shrimp

Quality: Low-grade."

"Ingredient: Longjing Tea

Quality: Low-grade."

The fact that both main ingredients were low-grade was just as Li You had expected.

After both Li You and Yu Hong had inspected the ingredients, Chen Wen divided each one into two equal portions.

One portion for Li You, and one for Yu Hong.

At this point, all the preparations were complete. The competition could officially begin.

All the spectating customers grew excited, their faces filled with anticipation.

It was the first time any of them had witnessed a culinary showdown between two top-tier chefs in person.

And Yu Hong could basically be considered a top-tier chef.

Seeing that both contestants were ready, Chen Wen officially announced the start of the competition.

Li You and Yu Hong officially began their work.

All the onlookers stared with wide eyes, watching their every move.

The first thing they both did was take a kettle to boil water.

This was because the dish required brewing the Longjing Tea with boiling water.

After putting the kettles on the stove, their second step was also identical: preparing the large river shrimp.

They needed to shell the shrimp, devein them, and extract the meat.

The two began to work, their movements swift.

While working, Li You glanced over at Yu Hong. He was completely focused, clearly not daring to be the slightest bit complacent.

Li You knew that Yu Hong desperately wanted to win, or at the very least, not lose.

Although Yu Hong would surely accept a loss with grace, he would definitely feel awful about it inside.

After all, this was Zhejiang cuisine, his specialty.

’Unfortunately for him, if I go all out, given that we have ingredients of the same quality, Yu Hong is guaranteed to lose.’

’That’s because I’ve already mastered the system’s recipe for Longjing Shrimp, giving me the most perfect cooking technique for it.’

’It’s not just Yu Hong. Even a Special Chef who specializes in Zhejiang cuisine would be doomed to lose against me.’

’Yu Hong is very skilled, but I have a cheat system that completely defies logic. There’s no way he can win.’

However, this time, Li You planned to go easy on him. He wanted to end it in a draw with Yu Hong.

For Li You, orchestrating such an outcome was relatively easy to control.

As for why he would hold back? It was simply because Li You felt that a draw was the best possible outcome this time.

’Winning isn’t always necessary.’

This was something Li You had decided long ago.

He continued preparing the river shrimp. A short while later, all of them were done. The snow-white shrimp meat sat on a plate.

Yu Hong finished preparing all his shrimp meat right after.

Next, they repeatedly rinsed the shrimp meat several times to make it even whiter.

Afterward, they drained the water and added salt, MSG, and egg whites, mixing it all with chopsticks.

The amount of salt added at this stage had to be precise.

This was because no more salt would be added during the stir-frying process later; this was the only time to season it.

Therefore, the amount had to be controlled with precision.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible to add more salt later.

Adding salt later was an option, but it was best not to.

They continued to mix. Once the mixture became sticky, they added a suitable amount of starch and mixed again.

Then, they let it rest, allowing the shrimp to marinate for a while.

Just then, the water in the kettles came to a boil.

However, neither Li You nor Yu Hong immediately poured the water to brew the Longjing Tea. Instead, they turned off the heat and set the kettles aside.

The spectating customers were a bit confused by this.

Weren’t they supposed to brew the Longjing Tea with boiling water? Why were they not brewing it now that the water was boiled?

Chen Wen noticed the crowd’s confusion and took on the role of commentator. "There is a detail we must pay attention to here," he explained. "The temperature of the water for brewing Longjing Tea shouldn’t be too high. Generally, just over 80 degrees Celsius is best. Therefore, both masters are waiting for the water temperature to drop a bit."

The onlookers had a moment of realization. So that was why.

’We’ve learned something new.’

Chen Wen continued, "Additionally, the steeping time for the tea leaves shouldn’t be too long, but of course, not too short either. About two to three minutes is usually just right. We can pay special attention to the steeping times our two masters choose in a moment."

’So even the steeping time matters?’

The customers all nodded, carefully committing this to memory.

This was advice born from the masters’ experience. It was invaluable.

Indeed, both Li You and Yu Hong were waiting for the water temperature to drop.

Chen Wen’s explanation just now had been correct.

When the water temperature dropped to just over 80 degrees Celsius, Li You and Yu Hong, one after the other, began to brew the Longjing Tea.

As for the amount of Longjing Tea to use, that had to be chosen in proportion to the amount of shrimp meat—not too much, and not too little.

It all depended on the chef’s experience.

The customers saw that the amounts of Longjing Tea chosen by Li You and Yu Hong were roughly the same.

After brewing the Longjing Tea, they waited for the leaves to steep properly.

Just as Chen Wen had said earlier, the steeping time for the tea leaves was also crucial. It couldn’t be too long, nor could it be too short.

Generally, around two to three minutes was optimal.

If the time was too long or too short, it would affect the texture of the final dish.

Furthermore, it was best not to cover the steeping container with a lid.

Li You timed it carefully. A little over two minutes later, he strained the tea.

Both the strained tea leaves and the brewed tea were set aside for later use.

Soon after, Yu Hong performed the same action.

Next, they waited a bit longer for the shrimp to marinate.

After another moment, Li You lit his stove, raised his wok, and prepared to start stir-frying.