Chapter 405: Chapter 405: Lunch Preparation

The transparent glass kettle was filled with Tianshan snow water.

He placed the sun-dried roselle and rose petals into the pot. In no time, tiny bubbles clung to the inner wall of the glass kettle.

The bubbles leaped lightly in the water, adding vitality and life to this serene scene.

After putting on the lid, through the transparent glass, you could clearly see those delicate petals slowly unfolding in the water, like fairies dancing gracefully. The red haze also drifted from the petals down to the bottom of the bottle.

The enchanting floral fragrance began to release, soon permeating the entire kitchen. And the water inside the glass kettle had completely turned rose-red.

He took out a bamboo sieve and placed it over a large glass cup, pouring the water from the glass kettle through the sieve into the cup.

He took out a basin and poured in some water chestnut flour, pouring half of the slightly cooled roselle rose water into the basin, gently stirring it.

Though it was just the beginning, it already made a big impact on the chefs present.

Such level of concentration is simply not something everyone can possess.

It was a state, a culinary state one enters when most peacefully minded, most devoted to cooking, least distracted by external things.

They occasionally cooked in that state, and the dishes they made in those times were good enough to make them proud.

But entering that state is not something you can do whenever you wish. With affairs and thoughts constantly entangling, being able to force oneself to finish cooking is already remarkable.

Yet he just casually, in front of everyone, entered that state, ignoring everyone as if they were air.

Kurban looked at Wang Fan with great admiration, for he had experienced that state himself, back when he had just finished his apprenticeship and began learning how to cook.

Relentlessly cooking dish after dish, every progress would fill him with ecstatic joy.

He couldn’t pinpoint when that passionate love turned into work. It was like his favorite song was set as the wake-up alarm, and he seemed to have forgotten that initial love.

“Learned a lesson right off the bat,” Kurban thought with a sigh.

Wang Fan had already picked up the basin, and was straining the mixed water chestnut roselle rose paste, collecting the thick, pink raw paste water back into a large cup.

The remaining half of the roselle rose water was reheated with some sugar added. As soon as it boiled, Wang Fan turned off the heat.

He took the just strained raw paste water, slowly pouring more than half into the cup, stirring gently as he poured, until it was thoroughly combined, which formed the cooked paste water.

Pouring the raw paste water into the cooked paste water, stirring it well, a pink raw and cooked paste was completed.

After sifting it once more, Wang Fan finally poured the final paste into the molds.

Steady as an old dog!

These four words flashed simultaneously through Kurban and the others’ minds.

Usually, anything with “dog” in it is an insult, but “steady as an old dog” definitely isn’t.

Every step Wang Fan took was seen by them, and the word “steady” was the standard throughout all his actions.

They could accomplish these steps, but their anxious nature in the kitchen made it difficult for them to complete each and every one.

Like the three times sifting.

Sifting three times might get you 100 points, but twice could still get you 95. The 5-point difference is something an ordinary person wouldn’t notice, so why bother going through the extra effort for those 5 points?

But others are different; they don’t just secure those 5 points but turn the 100-point paper into 120 with impeccable cleanliness!

He doesn’t seem to know what it means to cut corners!

This crystal cake needed to steam for 30 minutes, and the beef stew that had been cooking for over two hours was ready to be served.

After serving, Wang Fan quickly picked out the spices and vegetables from the bowl, leaving only the grayish-white beef.

Blanching the carrots, frying the potatoes until golden brown…

Taking out a clay pot, he laid the carrots and potatoes on the bottom, added pitted red dates, laid the stewed beef on top, and began to prepare the sauce.

Sautéing flour in oil and butter over low heat, once golden, adding Great Border’s specialty tomato paste, then adding a little water while sautéing. Once the flour absorbed the water, he added more, repeating this until a thick sauce was achieved.

Adding salt, sugar, white pepper, and a bit of local white wine from Great Border, he stirred it evenly and then poured it into the clay pot with the beef.

He covered it again to simmer for half an hour.

Then, making the “Wensi Tofu” purely became a display of skills.

The chefs, including Zhuo Qianqian, watched wide-eyed as Wang Fan’s knife flew up and down, so fast that all they could see were streaks of afterimages. The sound of the knife hitting the board, “thud thud thud,” kept ringing in their ears.

The knife sound suddenly stopped, and they quickly looked over, seeing the once square soft tofu now lying slantwise on the board.

Wang Fan gently splashed water over the tofu, cut off the tofu’s head, and continued cutting with a “thud thud thud.”

The soft tofu seemed to have lost its structure, looking more like a dollop of egg liquid just coming into contact with hot oil.

This skill dish Kurban and the others had only heard of but never seen, because it had nothing to do with the Great Border.

But seeing someone perform such exquisite knife skills for the first time was thrilling. However, the current state seemed a bit different than what was rumored?

“Isn’t it supposed to be thin as silk? Why does this look more like slabs?”

“I think it needs to be in water. Look closely, look closely, the knife skills are truly impressive, cutting that quickly.”

Wang Fan finished cutting the tofu, gently lifted it with the flat side of the knife, and placed it in a large bowl aside. He didn’t rush to tidy the tofu but first took out the crystal cake from the steamer.

This disappointed those waiting to witness a miracle, but when Wang Fan delicately turned out the peony crystal cake from the molds, their disappointment was replaced by astonishment. Zhuo Qianqian’s eyes were almost sparkling.

The translucent peony could only be described as vividly realistic; every petal was clearly visible, shimmering with a captivating luster.

Wang Fan carefully placed the peony in a small bowl, then poured the previously prepared roselle rose water into a cup.

Lastly, he took out osmanthus honey, dotting a bit in the center of the peony, presenting a vividly open, gloriously blooming peony flower to everyone.

The perfection left them mesmerized, uttering words of awe.

“Oh wow! My dear Adasi!”

“This isn’t imitation; even real peonies aren’t this beautiful, right?”

“Unbelievable, it’s like a magic trick.”

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