Chapter 23 Shen Jinyue: No one can outrun me, first to the table, I'll eat and eat and eat! Ingeniously supreme!

The Celebrity Observation Room was filled with bullet comments, all remotely tagging chef Huang, urging him to quickly learn how to cook state banquet dishes.

Huang Miu naturally couldn't see the barrage of comments and continued to critique Xu Qingyan's cooking method in all earnestness, saying this was good, that was a bit redundant.

This amusing scene caused the barrage to erupt with sarcastic comments, completely flooding the screen.

"Dude, not recognizing a Sichuan dish that has been on the state banquet menu, Chef Huang really isn't up to par as the administrative head chef of the entertainment industry! I can't even, he just gets more hilarious as he critiques."

"Well, he never claimed to be a top-notch chef, right? Isn't it normal not to recognize a dish?"

"Don't whitewash him, he's the one who set such a high bar for himself! Nobody forced him to do it, so it's only natural that he can't live up to it. I really can't stand his preachy attitude!"

"Agreed, not a fan of the persona he's crafted!"

Song Enya's room.

Shen Jinyue sneaked into the bathroom, and before closing the door, she peered through the crack to make sure the filming crew was still busily shooting Song Enya and Nian Shuyu.

She blinked, chuckled to herself, and slowly closed the gap, thinking how clever she was.

With the two outside drawing all the attention, she could sneak away to watch the livestream!

First, check out what dishes the male guests are making, then rush over to monopolize the most delicious table. Teehee, no one can outrun me!

Ding! The livestream began.

She just saw the camera panning from Bai Jinze to Xu Qingyan, her frown deepening as she watched. She had already eaten Western food last night.

The taste was passable, but eating it again would be somewhat nauseating.

She wasn't sure how Bai Jinze's steak tasted, but she instinctively felt it couldn't be as delicious as the one Xu Qingyan made last night.

The low-fat meals at Liu Renzhi's table made Shen Jinyue almost turn green with dismay. What is this even? She's seen better offerings on the internet, dubbed pig's food.

Chen Feiyu's Korean dishes didn't appeal to Shen Jinyue at all, making her roll her eyes. What's with this kimchi kingdom? Just a hodgepodge of leftovers?

Korean food felt alright while eating, but as soon as you left, you'd never want it a second time. Besides, who drinks just pure kelp soup?

Damn Western old horse! Shake it!

Taking a deep breath, Shen Jinyue patiently waited for the camera to move to You Zijun. Seeing the high-calorie, sticky food on his table, she couldn't help but slap her forehead.

Speechless. Creamy chicken stew—can sweet and salty dishes really suit the palate of Xiazhou's darlings? Could this guy be a weirdo? I'd love to punch him!

Shen Jinyue covered her face, feeling that Song Enya had been right all along.

Now she'd have to hold her nose and eat, while maintaining basic manners in front of the camera. Bai Jinze was somewhat repulsive; she didn't want to share a table with him.

Chen Feiyu was probably just wagging his tail waiting for Song Enya's attention, Liu Renzhi... he seemed a bit awkward. In the end, she'd have to choose between You Zijun or Xu Qingyan.

You Zijun's table really didn't whet her appetite; after seeing the other guests' otherworldly dishes, she had already lowered her expectations for Xu Qingyan—anything somewhat normal and edible would do.

Even a home-style dish, like Mapo tofu or scrambled eggs with green peppers, would be fine.

When the camera finally moved to Xu Qingyan's table, Shen Jinyue instantly covered her eyes, nervously peering through her fingers at the livestream on her phone.

Until she saw Xu Qingyan's fluent knife skills and the moment he took out Sichuan peppercorns, Shen Jinyue's eyes lit up, as if she had found a kindred spirit in life.

It was Sichuan cuisine!

Originally thinking that Xu Qingyan was just making a simple braised fish, she sat on the toilet lid, watching the kitchen livestream eagerly and shaking her legs joyfully.

Braised fish, love it, Kung Pao chicken, love it! Meatball soup? So-so, barely tolerable.

Until a wave of barrage about national banquet dishes attacked, Shen Jinyue was dumbfounded, what.... This fish is a national banquet dish? Green pepper and flower juice crispy bamboo fish?

Such a long name, sounds so powerful just by listening!

Shen Jinyue held her face, giggling and staring down at her cell phone screen. With her body swaying slightly, the thought of Sichuan cuisine had her salivating wildly.

After seeing that barrage about biting into the crust and having the juice burst out, the smile on her face was uncontrollable.

Hehe, nobody can outrun this lady!

When it's time to eat, I'll be the first one to dash out!

On the other side, Xu Qingyan, oblivious to everything outside the camera, was busy the entire time. He had no idea that someone was already eyeing him from the bathroom, even planning to dazzle him in one breath.

Jump on the table and it's just eat, eat, eat, almost wanting to gobble up all the dishes in one go.

With little time and a heavy task, he could only afford to glance at the message from the director briefly, where Chen Fufeng reminded him to remember to talk tough to the other male guests when the dishes were served.

And even gave him a line, "The stuff in your plates can't possibly count as dishes, right? Can any girl really like to eat these? That's hilarious."

The audience loves to see guests tear into each other, almost wishing they could fight in the ring to feel satisfied.

Talking tough?

Oh! Provocation, right, just mindlessly ridicule like the villains in novels do. Got it, I'm not a humble guy in my daily life anyway.

He replied, "Got it, director, message received, but I think this line isn't mean enough."

It took a few minutes for the other side to reply, with a vibe of struggle in every word.

"Okay, go with that line, but you can improvise a bit."

"OK!"

After putting away his phone, Xu Qingyan started to prepare for the stir-frying Kung Pao chicken. With only half an hour left, fortunately, there was more than one stove on the table.

While the Dacheng meatball soup was boiling on one side, the Kung Pao chicken had already begun to fry on the other side.

The authentic Sichuan Kung Pao chicken differs from most home cooking methods, using chicken thigh meat, and it doesn't include carrots, cucumbers, or asparagus.

Once added, the savory sauce flavor would be diluted by the taste of carrots and cucumbers.

This was something an old chef who smoked with him behind the kitchen taught him back when he was working, when he was young and didn't feel much, only wondering why the old chef always liked to talk about dishes when chatting with him alone.

Looking back now, he could only say that there are more good people in this world.

Without these subtly learned skills, just relying on his salary from working later, he wouldn't have been able to afford his tuition and his mother's medical bills.

He followed the old chef's instructions step by step from memory, as if there was an invisible person next to him giving synchronous commands.

Fry the peanuts with salt until they pop, remove from the pan, peel and let cool. Dab the dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns with a wet towel, marinate them along with the rest of the ingredients and chicken thigh meat.

Heat the pan with cold oil, heat the pan twice, fry the ginger until fragrant, fry the chilies till they are charred but not burnt. Add chicken and stir to separate, fry with low oil temperature, then use high heat to pour in the slurry after it separates.

Gather the sauce, stir-fry again, turn off the heat, and add peanuts and green onion whites.

Swirl the pan, remove from pan, plate up.