I'm the Culinary God

"Xu Bao, if you can’t finish using all your meat stuffing, could you give me some?"

After work that evening, Lin Xu took some fresh mushrooms from the shop, planning to make mushroom soup the next morning.

Shen Jiayue was in a hurry to cook, and without hesitation, she grabbed some mushrooms, quickly removed the stems, turning the mushrooms into concave umbrella caps.

Later, she only needed to fill them with meat stuffing and place them in the air fryer for frying.

Thinking about turning these plump white mushrooms into delicious dishes made Shen Jiayue’s face full of anticipation.

Lin Xu, while stuffing meat into chicken thighs, said:

"Sure, no problem."

After stuffing all the chicken thighs with meat, Lin Xu handed the remaining stuffing to Shen Jiayue, and advised:

"Sprinkle a layer of dry starch inside the mushroom caps to increase adhesion, or else the meat stuffing might fall out. Don’t add too much, or the texture won’t be nice."

"Oh... Thanks, Xu Bao, I’m sure I can do it well."

As long as she doesn’t use a knife or touch the stove, Shen Jiayue is quite capable in other areas, at least much better than some young masters and ladies who can’t even make instant noodles.

Lin Xu set up the frying pan, poured about two centimeters deep of vegetable oil into the pan, and turned on the high heat to heat it.

While waiting for the oil to heat up, he glanced at Shen Jiayue clumsily stuffing the mushrooms with meat.

This girl actually knew how to use a spoon, and after stuffing the meat, she even knew to press it down with the back of the spoon to remove the air, making the meat stuffing denser and the surface smoother, which looked more appealing.

"How’s it going, Xu Bao? Is it okay?"

"Not bad, you’ve done a great job. Don’t forget to brush a layer of egg yolk on top to make it look nicer."

"I won’t forget!"

When the oil in the pan reached a medium heat, Lin Xu placed the stuffed chicken thighs, skin-side down, into the oil.

As soon as they hit the oil, it started to bubble vigorously, and the fragrant aroma of chicken quickly wafted out as the surface of the meat set rapidly.

This step shouldn’t involve deep frying in too much oil, nor pan-frying in just a thin layer. Instead, it’s pan-frying with a frying pan and more oil.

The pan was used to ensure the meat set properly; the bottom is flat, so the fried chicken thighs will also be flat, which not only improves the presentation but is also better for plating.

Adding more oil to the frying pan is to prevent the chicken from burning.

In Chinese cooking, the less oil you use, the higher the chance of food burning. Conversely, the more oil you use in a larger pan, the less likely it is for the food to burn.

The reason is simple: in cooking, oil primarily serves as a medium for heat transfer.

The less oil there is, the faster the heat transfers to the food, causing it to heat quickly and thus more likely to burn.

Lin Xu finished frying the skin side of the chicken thighs. Once all the meat had set, he used a spatula to quickly flip the chicken over, allowing the hot oil to fry the meat stuffing that had already set.

While he was busy, beside him, Shen Jiayue had also finished stuffing the mushrooms with meat.

She placed each mushroom into the air fryer, set the temperature to 200 degrees, and the timer for 15 minutes. Once started, she cheerfully took out her phone and snapped a photo of the air fryer, posting it on her social media:

"New delicacies in the making, stay tuned!"

As soon as she posted, Zeng Xiaoqi responded with a string of question marks:

"You two never sleep, always experimenting with food?"

Shen Jiayue replied:

"My Xu Bao is trying to make a timeless Huaiyang dish, and I’m taking the opportunity to recreate one too. Sister Xiaoqi, since you’re not asleep yet, why not grab a cab and come with Sister Yuanyuan? Our heater is very warm!"

In the Sunshine Garden community behind Lin Ji’s Food, in the penthouse sitting on the sofa, Zeng Xiaoqi was applying nail polish to her toes. She nudged the nearby Chen Yuanyuan, who was watching short videos on her phone:

"Your brother’s wife is making some yummy food at home and is warmly inviting both of us to come. Are you going?"

Chen Yuanyuan yawned helplessly:

"It’s so late already, do we have to go now? We’ll end up sleeping past midnight at my cousin’s place."

Zeng Xiaoqi put down the nail polish and said:

"It’s not that I want to eat anything, it’s just that our place is so cold. The top-floor apartment stays cold even with heating, but your younger brother’s place is warm enough to wear short sleeves."

Chen Yuanyuan was just holding her thermal cup to warm her hands, and hearing this, she also felt tempted.

I don’t care about the food; just for the warm heater, it’s worth spending the night there. After all, it’s my brother’s place, not a stranger’s, so I don’t need to be polite.

Thinking about this, she stood up and said:

"Why are you still hesitating? Let’s go, go, go. The more you say, the colder I feel... People say releasing the air will solve it when the heater’s not hot. Should we try that when we get back?"

"It’s a common problem with top-floor apartments. Even if you release the air, it’s no use, and neither is draining the heater’s black water."

Zeng Xiaoqi had just finished applying nail polish and didn’t dare wear shoes or socks, fearing the polish might smudge the socks or get into the shoes before it dried.

Seeing Chen Yuanyuan hurriedly changing clothes in the bedroom, she anxiously used her hands to bend her feet yoga-style, blowing gently on her toes, hoping the nail polish would dry quickly.

Chen Yuanyuan put on her fleece-lined leggings and a turtleneck sweater, came out of the bedroom, and was about to pack her toiletries and makeup. Seeing Zeng Xiaoqi like that, she was startled: