Chapter 256 - 160: Junior Brother Zhou, Also an Expert at Playing Dumb

Chapter 256: Chapter 160: Junior Brother Zhou, Also an Expert at Playing Dumb

The only dish on the menu for practice today was Stir-fried Pig’s Liver. Liver was inexpensive, making it a perfect choice for everyone to work on.

It was now lunchtime. Following Kong Sect tradition, Kong Qingfeng had his disciples each choose ingredients from the racks and prepare a signature dish to put together a lunch.

This time, Xiao Lei didn’t act modestly. He stepped forward, selected a piece of hind leg pork, and prepared to make a batch of Twice-Cooked Pork.

As members of the grand-disciple generation, Zhou Yan and Zheng Qiang were responsible for observing and learning from the sidelines.

However, as soon as Zhou Yan stood off to the side, many eyes turned to him, all curious to see if Xiao Lei would let Zhou Yan take over the wok.

Zhou Yan was also starting to wonder. ’Twice-Cooked Pork is my specialty, after all.’

His master had even consulted him on some of the finer techniques these past few days. His skill with Twice-Cooked Pork should have improved.

Having chosen the ingredients for their respective signature dishes, the senior disciples all wore confident smiles.

Kong Qingfeng announced in a resonant voice, "Since all the dishes need to be served at once, you brothers can discuss amongst yourselves and get started. I want to see if your signature dishes have improved or gotten worse in the half-year since we’ve been apart."

"You got it!" everyone responded. They gathered together, announced their chosen dishes, and began to decide on the cooking order.

Zhong Yong, who had chosen beef brisket to make Braised Beef Brisket with Potatoes, would start first. The other dishes would follow in an order determined by their cooking times.

"Come on, come on, nephews, gather ’round! I’ll teach you how to turn Braised Beef Brisket with Potatoes into a restaurant’s signature dish," Zhong Yong called out. He lifted the washed beef brisket onto the cutting board and began his explanation, starting with how to select and cut the meat.

Zhou Yan was tall, so he stood in the second row, listening intently. Braised Beef Brisket with Potatoes was actually quite similar to his own Braised Beef with Dried Bamboo Shoots; it just replaced the bamboo shoots with potatoes.

The resulting potatoes would be soft and flavorful, offering a completely different texture from the crisp bamboo shoots, but they were equally delicious.

This was a dish he could really stand to learn. With his existing foundation, picking it up should be quick.

It wasn’t just the grand-disciples gathered around; Xiao Lei and his fellow disciples were also watching intently from the side.

A signature dish represented the culmination and crystallization of a Chef’s decades of professional experience.

It was a Kong Sect tradition to have everyone prepare their signature dish at these gatherings precisely so they could all learn from one another and improve together.

Zhong Yong demonstrated as he explained, "While the beef is simmering in the pot, we’ll start peeling the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into irregular chunks, but make sure they’re roughly the same size. Cut a large potato twice, a small one once. They should be a bit bigger than the pieces of beef..."

Every master explained things in meticulous detail. Any questions the apprentices had were answered thoroughly.

Zhou Yan moved between the various cooking stations, absorbing the best from each master, and he managed to pick up quite a few new things and little tricks.

Xiao Lei had already taken the fully boiled hind leg pork out of the pot. He was surrounded by the apprentices of the senior disciples, and even the three elders had come to stand before his station, wanting to see if Xiao Lei’s skills had truly advanced by leaps and bounds recently.

"Zheng Qiang, you come cut the meat," Xiao Lei called out.

"Me?" Zheng Qiang echoed.

"Go on," Zhou Yan said, giving him a gentle push from behind. It was obvious their master wanted Zheng Qiang to feel included.

Zheng Qiang took out his personal kitchen knife, washed his hands and the blade, wiped them dry, and began to slice.

He sliced the hind leg pork, with its perfect ratio of four parts fat to six parts lean, into slices of uniform thickness. His movements were fast yet steady, clean and decisive.

"Yunliang’s apprentice has some rather solid fundamentals," Kong Qingfeng noted with a slight nod, a satisfied look on his face.

Zheng Qiang then proceeded to chop the garlic sprouts and other accompanying vegetables. Hearing the grandmaster’s approval, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. ’Thank goodness, I didn’t embarrass my master!’

After watching for a few moments, Zhou Yan returned to Zhong Yong’s station to continue observing.

"Everyone’s gone over to learn how to make that Twice-Cooked Pork. Aren’t you going to watch the show?" Zhong Yong asked with a smile.

"I learn from my master every day, so I’ve seen it more than enough. I’m much more interested in your Braised Beef with Potatoes, Uncle," Zhou Yan replied with a smile.

"You’ve got a good eye, kid," Zhong Yong said with a grin. "Look, the brisket is tender. Now we add the potatoes. Once the potatoes are tender, it’ll be ready to come out of the pot."

Zhou Yan nodded, helped drain the water from the basin, and poured the potatoes into the iron pot, putting the lid back on.

The eight woks were blazing, the kitchen bustling with activity. The fellow disciples knew each other so well that they actually managed to have all eight dishes finished and plated at the exact same time.

Zhong Yong’s Braised Beef and Potatoes filled two large earthenware pots. The starch from the potatoes had melted into the sauce, making it perfectly thick without needing any slurry.

The golden potatoes glistened with oil. They looked fluffy and so tender you could tell they had absorbed all the flavor.

[An Excellent Serving of Braised Beef with Potatoes]

As Zhou Yan helped carry a pot of the Braised Beef with Potatoes to the table, the Identification result had already popped up in his vision.

Zhong Yong had just let him have a taste. The potatoes were soft and savory, having absorbed the beef broth, making them almost more fragrant than the beef itself.

Zhong Yong had explained everything to him all at once: the mastery of Fire Control, the seasoning techniques, and the little trick for making the potatoes perfectly tender without letting them fall apart.

Even though it was clearly their first meeting, the man had shared his techniques without holding anything back.

This genuinely took Zhou Yan by surprise.

This tangible manifestation of the sect’s legacy moved him.

He hadn’t been shy about learning, either. ’There’s no shortage of potatoes at home. I’ll have to try making a batch next time.’

Meanwhile, Zheng Qiang came over carrying two plates of Twice-Cooked Pork, placing one on each of the two round tables.

Zhou Yan glanced at it:

[An Excellent Serving of Twice-Cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts]

Zhou Yan nodded slightly. ’Not bad, not bad. Master Xiao’s performance was acceptable. He didn’t embarrass me.’

Just then, his master happened to look over at him.

Zhou Yan subconsciously ducked his head. ’Whoops, getting a little ahead of myself.’