HPDBC Chapter 99 The Cucumber in a Raincoat
Chapter 99 The Cucumber in a Raincoat
This knife skills competition serves two purposes: firstly, to meet the mall's daily operational needs.
On the other hand, and this is the main reason, is to promote Jianghuai Tower.
Jianghuailou is owned by General Manager Qi of the department store, and it was also the first stop where Master Huang gambled his future and went to the northern frontier to become a grandmaster.
The customers of the department store and the customers of Jianghuailou are highly compatible.
So, arranging for him to showcase his skills at this event, to highlight the culinary prowess of Jianghuailou's chefs, is essentially a way of indirectly helping Jianghuailou lose.
Lu Yuan's appearance made him feel vaguely uneasy.
Lu Yuan's performance in the first two rounds clearly demonstrated his exceptional skill.
There are still many people around, so it's too early to tell anything.
If in the later rounds all the other contestants are eliminated, and Lu Yuan wins with his superior knife skills, then there will be no point in watching him as a chef.
You can't exactly turn a knife skills competition into a cooking contest on the spot, can you?
Master Huang thought about it for a while. After thinking it over, he decided to increase the difficulty by using some kung fu dishes from other cuisines.
After all, Lu Yuan is relatively young, and there is limited knowledge to be gained in the northern frontier; there are some dishes he may not have seen before.
One such dish is the cucumber wrapped in a straw raincoat, a classic cold dish in Shandong cuisine.
Later, Huaiyang cuisine also evolved, and the knife skills were the same, only the taste was slightly different.
As a master chef of Huaiyang cuisine, Chef Huang is very proficient in this dish.
When the host heard the name "蓑衣黄瓜" (蓑衣黄瓜, literally "straw raincoat cucumber"), he was a little confused. This was different from what he knew. Master Huang had actually changed the competition content at the last minute.
The contestants and spectators present were also a bit confused, as they had never heard of the term "蓑衣黄瓜" (蓑衣黄瓜) before.
Master Huang confidently picked up a cucumber, placed it horizontally in front of him, and then picked up a cleaver, ready to give a live demonstration.
The so-called "蓑衣黄瓜" (蓑衣 cucumber) is made by slicing it twice, once on each side and once on the other, so that the cucumber remains connected without breaking, resembling the shape of a straw raincoat.
Master Huang first flattened the top and bottom of the cucumber, then laid it flat on the cutting board.
For the first cut, hold the knife at a 90-degree angle to the cucumber and gently slice down, but do not cut all the way through.
The second time, hold the knife at a 45-degree angle to the cucumber, but do not cut through it.
After cutting twice, the cucumber lay calmly on the cutting board, just like it hadn't been cut at all.
"What did that guy in the tall hat do?" The onlookers were confused.
"I don't know, I just saw him gesturing back and forth a couple of times."
Hearing the doubts around him, Master Huang smiled confidently.
Master Huang put down the cleaver, held the cucumber up by both ends with his hands, and turned to face the audience.
Master Huang gently pulled the cucumber apart, and gradually the grid-like pattern in the middle of the cucumber was revealed.
The cucumber stretched longer and longer, and the middle part gradually drooped down because it lost its support.
Master Huang kept stretching the cucumber, turning a 30-centimeter-long cucumber into a 1-meter-long one before stopping.
Upon seeing such exquisite knife skills, the onlookers burst into enthusiastic applause.
Wei Yinghong unconsciously joined in the clapping, then noticed Lu Changming's calm expression and asked, "Lu Changming, why aren't you clapping?"
Lu Changming scoffed and said, "This is nothing. You'll see your son's performance later."
Amidst enthusiastic applause, Master Huang thoroughly enjoyed himself. He put down the cucumber and began to give on-site instruction to the contestants.
After listening for a while, Lu Yuan realized that Master Huang was indeed quite capable and explained things very clearly.
When it was finally the contestants' turn to start, everyone's movements were noticeably slower, since it's difficult to succeed with this kind of straw raincoat knife without systematic practice.
After picking up the cucumber, Lu Yuan did not choose to slice it flat on both sides, but instead placed it horizontally on the cutting board.
Starting from the top of the cucumber, Lu Yuan gently pushed and pulled, his movements so light that they were almost inaudible.
In just over ten seconds, Lu Yuan finished slicing the first side.
Lu Yuan gently turned the cucumber over, and after it reached a 45-degree angle, he gently cut the second side.
The whole process took less than a minute. After cutting, Lu Yuan put the knife aside, and the cucumber lay quietly on the cutting board as if it had never been cut.
With nothing else to do, Lu Yuan first waved to his parents outside the venue, and then observed the other contestants.
Among the other contestants, some were quite clever; they used chopsticks to hold the cucumber in place, thus preventing it from being cut.
Finally, the countdown ended, and Master Huang began to inspect the contestants' cucumbers.
Master Huang was clearly in a good mood after his performance and was very tolerant of the contestants, as if he was afraid that if they were all eliminated, he wouldn't have a chance to perform in the next round.
As long as the mesh is cut out without breaking it, he has passed.
When Master Huang arrived at Lu Yuan's place, he became noticeably nervous because Lu Yuan appeared too calm.
He glanced at Lu Yuan's cucumber; it wasn't cut evenly at the top and bottom, and he cut it with great confidence.
Master Huang picked up Lu Yuan's cucumber and started pulling it to both sides, but after only one pull, his eyes immediately became alert.
Because the cucumber slices showing in the middle are just too thin!
Master Huang pulled nervously, and a fine, even grid gradually appeared before his eyes.
The onlookers noticed Lu Yuan in the corner for the first time, surprised that a contestant could cut cucumbers just as well as Master Huang.
Master Huang became increasingly anxious as he pulled the knife, because Lu Yuan's cuts were simply too perfect, with an even mesh and an extremely thin slice.
Finally, he stopped pulling it to a certain point, then immediately closed the cucumber and placed it on the cutting board, saying "You passed," before turning and walking away.
Master Huang's hands trembled slightly. He knew very well that Lu Yuan's cucumber could have been stretched much longer, while he had only stretched it halfway.
The simplest way to judge the quality of a cucumber with a "蓑衣" (a type of shredded cucumber) is to see how long it can be stretched.
The longer the slice, the thinner the cucumber is cut, and the better the knife skills.
If Master Huang is outshone by Lu Yuan in terms of length, then he will lose face.
So he stopped in time and did not reveal the final length of Lu Yuan's cucumber.
Lu Yuan didn't care; he just wanted the prizes and discounts, and showing off here wasn't his goal.
The old lady next door collapsed in this round; after all, she was old and her eyesight wasn't very good.
She said goodbye to Lu Yuan in a friendly manner and left the scene first.
After this round, fewer than 10 contestants remained on the field.
Master Huang stood at the front, his expression solemn. He took a deep breath and announced the content of the next round of the competition: Wensi Tofu!
Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan glanced at him in surprise, wondering if his master had gone mad.
Why are they cutting Wensi Tofu for a shopping mall event? The cucumber salad from earlier was already outrageous enough.
The remaining contestants were all housewives, so how would they know what Wensi Tofu was?
As expected, both the contestants and the audience looked puzzled.
The host was also dumbfounded. The Wensi Tofu wasn't part of the original plan either. He had become somewhat immune to Master Huang's habit of changing things at the last minute.
As a Huaiyang cuisine chef, Master Huang is full of confidence in his Wensi Tofu.
He didn't believe that Lu Yuan could defeat him instantly at the Wensi Tofu!
We must win back this opportunity with Wensi Tofu!