I'm the Culinary God

In the meantime, change into casual clothes and wash your hands.

Then put on thick kitchen gloves and rub the soaked bamboo skewers in the basin a few times to remove as much dirt as possible from the surface.

The reason for wearing thick gloves is to prevent being pricked by the splinters on the skewers.

After scrubbing, rinse the skewers several more times, then put them in a basket to drain before use.

Having finished these, Lin Xu started cutting the ingredients for frying.

Peeled potatoes and lotus roots are sliced and soaked in water.

The enoki mushrooms are de-rooted, wrapped with luncheon meat, and then skewered.

Don’t put too many on one skewer; three per skewer is enough. Too many make them hard to fry, and being too close makes them difficult to cook evenly.

Next, take a sheet of tofu skin, wrap it around a strip of pork sausage, and stick a toothpick in it every centimeter.

Cut it open from the middle, dividing it into small pieces. This way, they fry well, and you can eat them directly by holding the toothpick—one slice per skewer is convenient.

"Xu Ge, is there anything we can help with?"

Shen Jiayue originally wanted to play games, but her skills were too poor, so Geng Lele wasn’t impressed. Thus, the two of them came to the kitchen, ready to indulge in some cooking fun.

Lin Xu initially thought he didn’t need their help, but seeing their high spirits, he said:

"Why don’t you skewer the lotus root and potatoes?"

To prevent the two kitchen newbies from messing up, he even taught them the technique of skewering.

The lotus root should be skewered horizontally, while the potato slices should be pierced from one side first, then the other side—like sewing with a needle and thread.

If skewered on the same side, they tend to fall apart when frying.

Once the two got the hang of it, Lin Xu started handling the other ingredients.

At 8:30 p.m., Chen Yan rang the doorbell. Chen Yuanyuan and Zeng Xiaoqi had stopped by home after work to pick up a change of clothes and, like Chen Yan, weren’t planning on leaving tonight.

Shen Jiayue opened the door, and shortly after, the three emerged from the elevator.

"Haven’t started yet? Hurry up, hurry up. Yuanyuan skipped dinner when she heard there would be fried skewers; she’s waiting to have a good meal."

Chen Yan, carrying a box of imported mangosteen and two durians, urged the kitchen to start making the fried skewers as soon as she entered.

She placed the durians and mangosteen on the coffee table in the living room and then headed upstairs with Zeng Xiaoqi and Chen Yuanyuan to change into their pajamas.

Eating midnight snacks doesn’t feel right without pajamas.

Dundun had originally been lying on the piano watching the night scenery outside, but seeing the durians on the table, it showed a puzzled expression, then jumped down from the piano and slowly approached the coffee table.

The closer it got, the more deeply its little brows furrowed, occasionally casting puzzled looks toward the kitchen.

Clearly, the unique smell of durian had left the little one a bit confused.

It jumped onto the coffee table, sniffed the box of mangosteen first, ruling out the scent, then sniffed the durian next to the mangosteen, suddenly froze, and then started performing a covering motion as if burying something on the coffee table.

"Dundun, what are you doing? Don’t scratch the coffee table."

Shen Jiayue came over, saw Dundun pretending to bury something at the durian, and couldn’t help but laugh:

"Sweetie, this is fruit, not poop, it’s something to eat."

Eat?

Dundun frowned and let out a light gag.

Seeing its reaction, Shen Jiayue couldn’t resist teasing this little one:

"Does it smell like poop to you? Your aunt is broke, so poor she can only eat durians. Want to help her?"

Dundun jumped to the side, sniffed its own paws, and only felt slightly relieved after confirming no odor had stuck.

At this moment, Chen Yan came downstairs, and Dundun walked over from the coffee table, sniffing around her with a disdainful look.

"What does that mean? I didn’t come empty-handed today; why does it look so disdainful?"

Just as she was muttering, a call came from Weiwei:

"Ms. Chen, I’ve just got word that the TV station has decided to cancel broadcasting Taste of Earthly Delights. The previously sponsoring kitchenware brand plans to fund our show."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yan said:

"We’re doing a food show; we don’t need sponsors."

"They offered seven figures..."

"So generous? Then have their representative come to the office tomorrow to discuss it."

After hanging up, Chen Yan cheerfully said:

"I just went upstairs to change into pajamas, and somehow ended up with a seven-figure contract! It seems when fortune arrives, nothing can stop it."

She carried herself with an air of smugness, completely unaware that in Dundun’s eyes, she had become a different image.

In the kitchen, Lin Xu placed a deep saucepan on the stove, poured in half a pot of cooking oil, and prepared to start making the fried skewers.

Fried skewers are categorized into two types: one is coated in batter, the other directly fried.

Dishes coated in batter usually include eggplant, mushrooms, green peppers, potatoes, and other ingredients. They are coated in a batter made from eggs, flour, starch, baking powder, and various seasonings, then fried in oil for a crispy and delicious texture when eaten.

Directly fried items are usually meats or bean products; once fried, they’re brushed with a sweet and spicy sauce made from ingredients like sweet bean paste. This sauce includes sesame and chili, so no additional seasoning is needed—just eat them as is.

"What’s this dry seasoning, Xu Ge?"

"It’s a mixture of soybean powder and chili powder for sprinkling on the batter-coated items."

Fried items with batter shouldn’t be coated with sauce because the sauce makes the batter soften quickly; instead, sprinkle dry seasoning so the texture remains crispy.

With the oil heated, Lin Xu dipped the skewered eggplants, potatoes, and other ingredients into the batter, making sure they were fully coated, then put them in the hot oil to fry.

Soon, the aroma wafted from the pot.

Once the exterior was golden brown, he used the skewer to remove the items and placed them on a tray, sprinkling them with dry seasoning while still hot.

The heat from the fried skewers perfectly brought out the seasoning’s fragrance.

"Wow, it smells amazing!"

Shen Jiayue came in, took a freshly fried plate of skewers out, and began enjoying the food.

Lin Xu continued to fry, and before long, a pile of deliciously crispy and fragrant food was laid out on the living room table.

Finding an old movie on TV, everyone—with their drinks or beer—began indulging in what no one could resist... the midnight temptation!

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This Chapter contains 5,000 words. Please vote for monthly tickets, brothers!