Chapter 67

(Seeking recommendations, seeking Three Rivers votes)

As the cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

Shrimp, also known as mantis shrimp, are commonly called pei pei shrimp or pi pi shrimp in the north. These shrimp are produced in large quantities in coastal areas and are one of the seafoods that people enjoy. They are called mantis shrimp because they often shoot out a jet of water.

And niuwan is actually a shortened term for beef balls, one of Hong Kong's specialty snacks, but it has always been popular on the streets, and ordinary people often eat it as a snack at night.

These two originally common snacks, after being carefully crafted by Stephen Chow, were combined into one, preparing to be their main product to challenge the Hong Kong food scene.

Ordinary beef balls are made by grinding beef into a paste and then forming it into balls by hand. This time, Stephen Chow did not use a meat grinder or a knife to chop the beef, but instead chose to beat it with a stick!

Selecting high-quality lean beef, cut into pieces one foot long, eight inches wide, and one inch thick, Turkey and Luo Tai each held a square wooden stick made from jujube wood and continuously beat the meat, requiring tens of thousands of hits until the beef was completely mashed.

Turkey was naturally strong, and Luo Tai had enduring strength. The beef paste they produced seemed indistinguishable to Ge Tou, but when Stephen Chow carefully examined it with his fingers, he was pleasantly surprised and loudly praised it.

In Stephen Chow's view, the beef paste beaten by Turkey was full of juice, with the beef fibers completely crushed, making the beef balls very elastic and chewy.

The beef paste beaten by Luo Tai was completely different from Turkey's. Due to Luo Tai's even and stable strength, the beef fibers were crushed but not scattered, and the juice was fully absorbed into the beef paste. If this beef paste were used to make beef balls, not only would they be very elastic, but they would also retain the bright color of the beef, making them more appealing.

After hearing Stephen Chow's comments, Luo Tai was overjoyed, as he had surpassed Turkey in the process of making beef paste, which meant he had a perfect start in completing the task of making mantis shrimp beef balls.

Next, during the marinating process of the beef paste, although Stephen Chow had everyone else leave the preparation room, he specifically kept Luo Tai, making Luo Tai even more elated.

Stephen Chow frankly told Luo Tai that each chef's secret marinade was usually not passed on, as it accounted for half of the flavor of a dish. However, since Luo Tai had said he came to learn from Stephen Chow, and Stephen Chow found Luo Tai particularly compatible, and to thank Luo Tai for giving him the opportunity to recreate a legend, Stephen Chow decided to share the recipe for the secret marinade with Luo Tai.

An hour later, Luo Tai deeply regretted not drawing level 8 culinary skills in the previous lottery.

Although relying on his good memory, Luo Tai remembered every step of making the secret marinade, the marinade he prepared, after being tasted by Stephen Chow, only received one evaluation: Luo Tai would never have to worry about starving, as he had a promising career ahead of him—working in a pig farm to feed pigs.

Luo Tai finally experienced Stephen Chow's notorious sharp tongue in the Hong Kong food scene. The vicious comments paired with Stephen Chow's expressionless and serious demeanor made Luo Tai want to cover his face and run away, unwilling to stand in front of Stephen Chow any longer.

When Stephen Chow poured the hot broth over the beef paste, the sudden burst of aroma made Luo Tai involuntarily take a deep breath. The soul-penetrating aroma was so intense that he could hardly exhale, only reluctantly exhaling in short, intermittent breaths until he almost suffocated.

The aroma in the preparation room lured Turkey and Ge Tou to jump around outside the room. Finally, they could no longer bear to follow Stephen Chow's orders and burst into the room. Ge Tou, upon entering, immediately reached out to grab a handful of the raw meat paste and put it in his mouth, completely disregarding that it was still raw.

After the meat paste was prepared, the next step was to handle the mantis shrimp.

Stephen Chow personally went to the market to select a batch of live mantis shrimp and placed them in filtered clear seawater for eight hours to allow the shrimp to expel any food residue from their bellies.

Then, the mantis shrimp were taken out of the water, and their shells were cut open with scissors to extract the shrimp meat intact.

This step was again where Luo Tai excelled, even surpassing the former Food God, Stephen Chow.

Of course, this was because Luo Tai used the technique of controlling flying knives to extract the shrimp meat. This success fully confirmed Luo Tai's hypothesis that using kung fu in cooking was indeed very promising.

After extracting the shrimp meat, it needed to be finely chopped into uniformly sized pieces. This step was very challenging, as the shrimp meat was very tender and slippery, making it easy to cut it into irregular pieces.

In this step, Luo Tai again excelled. With his ability to control the flying knives to move at high speed within millimeters, the kitchen knife in his hands seemed to come alive, cutting the shrimp meat into uniform 2mm pieces, as if measured with a ruler.

Stephen Chow examined Luo Tai's hands for a long time and then sighed, "If I had such sharp hands, I wouldn't have lost to that despicable Tang Niu."

After the shrimp meat was chopped, the next step was to stir-fry it. This task was still completed by Stephen Chow and Luo Tai in the preparation room, while the others were sent out.

Stephen Chow placed the chopped shrimp meat in a wok and quickly stir-fried it over high heat. Various seasonings were added at different times, perfectly blending with the shrimp meat, which gradually turned into a sticky paste.

After the shrimp paste was stir-fried, it was quickly poured into a square tray and allowed to cool, turning into a slightly transparent shrimp jelly.

The formed shrimp jelly was then carefully cut into uniform pieces using delicate knife skills, and the pieces, resembling crystal, were neatly arranged, waiting to be used as the filling for the beef balls.

At this point, the mantis shrimp beef balls were essentially complete. The beef paste was formed into balls, and the shrimp jelly was placed inside as the filling. These tasks no longer required any technical skill, and with the help of Turkey and Ge Tou, dozens of helpers joined in, and in less than an hour, the hot and fresh mantis shrimp beef balls were ready.

Everyone carefully held a small bowl containing a mantis shrimp beef ball, savoring the delicate aroma it emitted.

Stephen Chow said that with just this bowl of bursting mantis shrimp beef balls, they could become famous throughout Hong Kong. Although not everyone could become a Li Jiacheng, they could certainly live comfortably as wealthy men from now on.

Now was the critical moment that would determine whether the brothers could live the life Stephen Chow described.

As long as the bursting mantis shrimp beef balls were as delicious as Stephen Chow said, perhaps the brothers wouldn't have to engage in violent conflicts or brave the elements to set up stalls every day.

Everyone held the mantis shrimp beef balls as if they were holding their own happiness, gently placing them in their mouths, and then lightly biting down.

Squirt～～～

A jet of white shrimp juice sprayed out of everyone's mouths. Except for Stephen Chow and Luo Tai, who had prepared in advance and hid under the table, everyone else was hit, with the shrimp juice splattering all over their faces.

But no one cared about the shrimp juice on their faces because the burst of flavor in their mouths deeply stimulated every taste bud, plunging everyone into a dreamlike state.

To quote Ge Tou: "I have never experienced such a refined and elegant feeling. The freshness of the beef and the sweetness of the mantis shrimp are perfectly combined, even allowing one to taste the flavor of premium South African abalone. Truly, eating a bursting mantis shrimp beef ball can make one relive the sweet feeling of first love."

Finally, after recovering from this unprecedented deliciousness, the scene erupted like the bursting mantis shrimp beef balls. Everyone was shouting, but no one could hear what they were saying. From their excited expressions, it was clear that everyone was shouting the same thing: "We've made it, we've all made it, this time we're really rich!!!"