Su Chen then scooped out all the small pieces of diced chicken.
Zeng Ming wanted to say something more, but a cough from Wang Peixing stopped him.
This diced chicken...
Wang Peixing looked closely.
After he blanched chicken, the surface of the diced pieces would show a slightly fibrous texture. To put it bluntly, the outermost layer of meat was already cooked.
But Su Chen’s... The diced chicken he scooped out looked almost identical to how it did right after being cut!
’Is that why he controlled the temperature?’
Wang Peixing was starting to find Su Chen interesting.
Su Chen gently patted the diced chicken with a paper towel, absorbing all the moisture from the surface.
He chose the exact same method as Wang Peixing, mixing egg whites and a cornstarch slurry until evenly blended.
Then, he added lard to the wok. Over low heat, he waited until faint white bubbles appeared in the lard, then added the diced chicken, frying it until it was about 60% cooked before removing it to drain the excess oil.
’This Boss Su’s control over the heat isn’t half bad!’
’His grasp of the ingredients’ doneness is also very good. Looks like he really knows how to cook...’
Wang Peixing grew even more intrigued.
Reaching this step proved, at the very least, that Boss Su’s earlier critique of him hadn’t been baseless.
He placed another wok on the stove, added about two ounces of lard, then poured in the yellow bean paste and began to slowly stir-fry it.
The yellow bean paste contained moisture, so it crackled and popped when it first hit the hot oil. He stir-fried it until the sound nearly vanished, which meant the excess water had cooked off.
He added a spoonful of white sugar to the wok and continued to stir-fry slowly over low heat.
Every one of Su Chen’s movements was unhurried, so much so that a few impatient chefs watching him were getting anxious on his behalf.
In truth, it only looked slow; Su Chen wasn’t moving slowly at all. Once the sugar melted into the paste, he poured in the cooking wine, ginger juice, and caramel coloring, continuing to stir-fry everything together.
...until the sauce in the wok thickened into a paste.
Suddenly, Su Chen dumped all of the drained chicken into the wok. He immediately gripped the handle with his left hand and gave it a powerful toss, while his right hand turned the valve, cranking up the heat!
Throughout this process, he never stopped tossing the wok with his left hand.
The entire process took five seconds. As Su Chen finished with a drizzle of finishing oil, flames even leaped up from the wok!
Fortunately, it was only for an instant.
"Done!"
Su Chen arranged the diced chicken from the wok onto a warm plate. "Who’s first?"
Seeing the still-steaming chicken, Shang Mingke pushed aside a few chefs in front of him. "I’ll go, I’ll go!"
The plate of dark red, slightly glistening chicken looked absolutely delicious, but Wang Peixing’s dish had achieved a similar visual effect.
Shang Mingke’s chopsticks went directly for a piece of chicken on the very top, feeling quite pleased with himself.
’I knew it! Bringing Boss Su over meant I’d get a good show and a great meal. Haha!’
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, a piece of sauce-coated chicken entered Shang Mingke’s mouth.
Hm?
Shang Mingke’s mouth froze, his expression dazed.
After a few seconds, he began to chew rapidly, his chopsticks already aiming for another piece on the plate.
Oh my god!
’Is this really Kung Pao Chicken?’
Shang Mingke was stunned the moment it entered his mouth. The sauce coating the chicken looked a little firm, but it instantly dissolved with his saliva, flowing freely throughout his mouth!
That’s why he’d forgotten to chew.
When he came to his senses and bit down a few times, the soft and tender texture of the chicken sent a wave of unparalleled satisfaction through his brain!
The steam and umami flavor released from within the chicken, mixed with the savory, sweet, and mellow sauce, created what felt like a magical chemical reaction upon impact!
’It’s like chicken was always meant to be cooked this way!’
’All other methods are a blasphemy against chicken!’
’So damn good!!!’
SMACK, SMACK~
Shang Mingke downed three pieces in a row, making everyone else’s mouth water.
Sensing something was up, Wang Peixing also grabbed a pair of chopsticks and put a piece of chicken in his mouth.
Unlike Shang Mingke, Wang Peixing ate this piece with a critical and analytical mindset. The instant it entered his mouth, he concentrated, trying to discern the flavor of the chicken.
"Holy shit!"
Wang Peixing’s first thought was that the sauce was excellent, on par with his own.
But when he bit down...
’All I can taste is the pure umami of the chicken itself...’
’It starts salty and savory, then turns sweet, leaving a rich, mellow aftertaste...’
’The crucial thing is, he actually managed to do it without a trace of cooking wine flavor!’
’And...’
Wang Peixing looked down at the warm plate. Beneath the chicken, not a single drop of sauce stained the plate.
’How on earth did he do it!’
"What are you all staring for? Let me try!" He Shuting could wait no longer. A foodie like her didn’t stand on ceremony; she’d scrounged up a pair of chopsticks from somewhere and snatched two pieces at once.
"Mmm~~" He Shuting savored the bite, smacking her lips. "Boss! Why don’t you make something this delicious at our restaurant? It would be a massive hit!"
Liu Ahbao chimed in, "Holy crap! I thought Cuihua Building’s chicken was okay, but after eating this, can that other stuff even be considered edible?"
The somewhat aged voice from the earpiece grew more urgent. "What does it taste like? What does it taste like?! What are you guys talking about? Just tell me what it tastes like!"
Zeng Ming let out a cold laugh.
’These people are laying it on a bit thick, aren’t they?’
’It doesn’t even look that special, and they’re hyping it up this much?’
’What’s so wrong with Cuihua Building’s chicken that you can’t eat it?’
’I refuse to believe it...’
"Mmph! Master!" Zeng Ming’s eyes widened. "Master, this!!!"
Zeng Ming was intimately familiar with the taste and texture of this dish.
Nearly every tourist who came to Cuihua Building ordered it. He himself had to cook hundreds of servings.
Zeng Ming could tell with his eyes closed if there was a little too much or too little of any ingredient. But this bite... it was an experience he’d never had before!
The combination of texture and flavor violently shattered his superficial understanding of Lu Cuisine.
He didn’t understand. He couldn’t comprehend it.
’This Boss Su looked so ordinary, and his steps seemed completely normal, so why is the difference in taste so enormous?’
’It’s like... before, I thought Cuihua Building’s chicken was pretty good. It really was!’
’But now, after eating Boss Su’s version, I realize that our stuff is actually terrible!’
’So the only reason I’ve always thought our restaurant’s food was delicious... is because I’d never tasted something truly delicious before?’
Zeng Ming was completely blown away.
Wang Peixing smiled and walked right up to Su Chen.
"Boss Su, forgive my earlier rudeness. With skill like yours, how is it that I’ve never heard your name?"
Wang Peixing had only ever met one Lu Cuisine master who could make Kung Pao Chicken to this standard: his own grand-master, Wang Chunlong.
But his grand-master was old now and rarely cooked anymore. Even his own master, Cui Yufen, would find it difficult to achieve this level of perfection.
’Logically, someone like this shouldn’t be a complete unknown!’
Su Chen waved his hand, a weary look in his eyes. "Let’s leave it at that for today."
Wang Peixing was about to say more, but Shang Mingke stepped between them, plate in hand. "I can see Boss Su is tired. Manager Wang, whatever it is, can’t it wait until tomorrow?"
He winked, then added through a mouthful, "Boss Su is staying at our City Construction Group’s guest house."
Old Shang had decided chopsticks weren’t satisfying enough and switched to a spoon. Now *this* was how you were meant to eat!
"Alright, alright!" Wang Peixing relented. "Xiaozeng, go arrange for the driver to take Boss Su back."
"No need, I have a car," Shang Mingke said, walking out happily with the plate, apparently with no intention of returning it to Cuihua Building.
Not until they had walked out of the main hall did Zhang Li, who was walking at the very back, muster the courage to say, "President Shang, can I have a taste?"
Shang Mingke stopped and glanced at the last few pieces of chicken he had just scooped onto his spoon.
He put them in his mouth without hesitation.
His expression was perfectly nonchalant.
"Ah? What did you just say?"