Daddy! Come Home for Dinner!-Chapter 548: Why Act Like a Green Tea Here?
"Yes, and although Ye Fei’s spice selection seems extensive, she’s quite attentive to the proportions, with some spices more and others less," Ye Huasong explained.
"For example, rosemary has a particularly strong flavor and can easily overshadow other spices, so just a tiny bit is needed to effectively mask the gamey taste in chicken."
"Pepper, while mildly spicy, needs to be used generously since fresh pepper isn’t as robust as dried. Bay leaves can excellently enhance the sweetness and aroma of the meat."
"Since basil doesn’t withstand heat well, Ye Fei has mashed it into a paste likely to pair with a dipping sauce," analyzed Ye Huasong.
As seen, after Ye Fei filled the spices, she added some small fruits she picked along the way.
The small fruits included pucker green apples, barely bigger than a ping-pong ball.
These unripe apples taste sour and lack crispness.
Yet Ye Fei still picked some.
At this moment, it’s just right to fill them into the chicken.
Finally, she twisted the chicken’s feet, stuffing them into the chicken’s rear to seal the cut nicely.
Then wrapped it with bamboo leaves.
To prevent the soil from seeping through the bamboo leaf gaps, Ye Fei wrapped with great care.
She didn’t dare wrap it too thickly in case it hindered the heat from getting through while grilling.
She could only layer them cautiously.
Finally tying it with thin strands.
Mixed creek water into the soil, wrapping around the bamboo leaves encasing the chicken.
Once done, Ye Fei checked the time, it’s roughly about time to start roasting.
Then she collected some dry branches and headed to the gathering place.
Since the competition ultimately involves judges tasting one by one.
Therefore, the contestants must gather in one place to cook together at last.
Ye Fei arrived at the gathering location, finding many people already there, she was relatively late.
"Ye Fei!" Mi Ruoyun saw Ye Fei and immediately waved at her.
Xue Jieyu was also quite close to Mi Ruoyun at this time.
Others were also from Changping Academy.
Perhaps knowing Ye Fei’s little secret made Mi Ruoyun feel closer to Ye Fei.
She was especially delighted to see Ye Fei.
Ye Fei went over.
As Ye Fei just sat down, she saw Huo Jiarong carrying a bone-cutting knife back.
In her hand, she also had a processed and plucked duck.
Ye Fei glanced around; everyone was choosing chicken or duck.
"I actually saw a little lamb," Li Zhexuan said, "but seeing it with those water-filled eyes looking at me, still oblivious, I can’t bring myself to do it."
"Same here," Ba Zhekai nodded, "I bumped into Li Zhexuan right there, we first encountered the little lamb. But neither of us could bear to act, so we decided to walk around and see what else we could find. I figured the organizers wouldn’t just release only little lambs."
"I was thinking, if it comes to it, I’ll see if there’s any fruit or something, and make dessert. I really couldn’t bear it," Shang Heyue said.
"Though we’re all chefs and often cook lots of meat dishes, the feeling is different when seeing them alive," Hua Ciyue shivered, "Even if you sent over a completely skinned dead sheep, I’d dissect it no problem. But if it’s a live, breathing sheep, I really can’t do it."
Both men and women, none could really bear it.
So they all chose chickens and ducks.
If you must kill, choose something smaller and more common instead.
Male contestants were somewhat better.
But for Ye Fei and the other female contestants, even chickens and ducks were quite stressful.
"Jia Rong, did you choose a duck too?" Mi Ruoyun asked.
Huo Jiarong nodded: "Killing ducks isn’t difficult for me, but cows or sheep would still be a bit much."
"We probably should start cooking," Zeng Jieyun reminded.
"By the way, Fu Jiaxu seems not to have come over yet," Yu Yingyan said.
Despite Fu Jiaxu not being present, Zhou Junhao still rolled his eyes, "Why care about him?"
"That’s true," Yu Yingyan laughed, "I just wanted to gloat a little."
"Keep it down, cameras are filming, maintain your gentlemanly image," Ban Ziang said, holding his forehead.
"Then why are you speaking so loudly?" Zhou Junhao asked Ban Ziang.
"I’m reminding camera personnel to come film him promptly," Ban Ziang continued.
Despite their busy chatter, they already started focusing on cooking.
Everyone casually picked a spot.
By now, Fu Jiaxu finally returned.
He appeared somewhat disheveled, still carrying two lamb legs in hand.
Ba Zhekai’s eyes swept over the lamb legs in Fu Jiaxu’s hand, narrowed slightly, then snorted.
Hearing his sound, Li Zhexuan followed to look over.
"Hah!" Li Zhexuan directly scoffed.
The little lamb they couldn’t bear to kill unexpectedly still fell into Fu Jiaxu’s hands.
Hua Ciyue crossly turned cold, scornfully said, "The gamey taste of lamb needs detailed seasoning. What’s the point of having lamb leg?"
"He probably thinks, by choosing a different ingredient compared to those of us who picked chicken or duck, he will stand out," Yu Yingyan commented sarcastically.
"Didn’t he miss Ye Fei’s analysis?" Xu Aoliang raised an eyebrow, "Could it be he discovered many spices relying purely on his eyes? Other than the salt in his pocket, does he think he can win?"
"Who knows, let’s watch," Ban Ziang distant-eyed towards Fu Jiaxu, coldly said, "Maybe he thinks we only have salt too."
Besides, Fu Jiaxu was altogether a bit bedraggled.
He didn’t look in as good shape as others.
Being the last contestant to arrive, now finally, all had gathered.
Fu Jiaxu brought quite a few branches, of various thicknesses.
He set up the branches, intending to roast over the fire.
The crowd simultaneously paid attention.
They saw Fu Jiaxu take out the salt from his bag.
Then he placed the lamb legs on the branches, lighting the fire.
Ready to roast while sprinkling salt.
Due to the thickness of the lamb leg’s meat, Fu Jiaxu worried there wouldn’t be enough time to infuse the flavor if salted before roasting.
So he decided to roast and sprinkle salt simultaneously.
The roasted oil would drip off, carrying away some salt.
While roasting the lamb leg, he continuously cut pieces and let the salt penetrate further into the meat.
If the roasting heat is controlled well, the lamb’s gamey taste would be improved.
Fu Jiaxu felt proud.
This bunch is nothing but hypocritical, pretending they can’t bear to slaughter lambs.
Like that, how are they even proper chefs?
Haven’t they cooked lamb before?
Acting so pretentious here!
This is a competition, not child’s play!
Fu Jiaxu confidently thought, those choosing ducks didn’t know what they were thinking.
Duck meat is very gamey, with lots of fat, which isn’t like lamb’s fat.
