Chapter 422 Eel
The two men stood by the pond at the same time, but neither of them moved immediately. They were both looking for the best eel in the pond.

Suddenly, two people acted quickly and dived down quickly with the fishing net in hand.

The eels were frightened and immediately fled in all directions, but the eel that the two men targeted could not escape.

No matter how it flips and moves in the water, no matter how agile its body is, it cannot escape the net that is chasing it. It's like the net is stuck to it and it can't escape no matter what it does.

With a flip of his wrist and a lift, a huge, fat eel fell into the net and continued to struggle after leaving the water.

Both of them caught a fat eel in their nets, and from the outside, there didn't seem to be much difference between them.

But no two eels in the world are exactly alike.

The eel that the two of them caught was the one they each thought was the best.

Yan Xian said, "Interesting. I thought you would snatch it from me, but you actually chose another fish. Let's see who has the best eel between the two of us."

Xu Qing nodded slightly.

After selecting the eel, you must first process the eel, wash off the mucus, remove the internal organs, and debone it, leaving only the most tender eel meat. Then cut the eel meat into small pieces and stir-fry it in a pan.

When it comes to processing the eels, the two people's speed of processing is almost the same, making it difficult to tell who is the winner.

Even though Xu Qing's knife skills had reached perfection, Yan Xian's technique was not inferior at all.

The two of them raced against time to refine all techniques to the simplest level. Every step was handled perfectly without any unnecessary movements.

This makes the two people's movements like a mirror image, without a second's difference.

The old man with a long beard nodded repeatedly.

Such an extremely fast technique was something the old man with a long beard had rarely seen before.

It can be seen that the two chefs in front of us are both among the top culinary masters. There are probably no more than ten people in the world who can be compared with them.

It seems that one of these two people is the heir to the Tanlang Pot.

But who could it be?

The old man with long beard still has not got the answer.

After cutting into sections, stir-fry.

Heat the pan over high heat, pour in oil, add onion, ginger, and garlic, stir-fry until fragrant, then add the eel meat and stir-fry. Then add cooking wine, chili pepper, etc. to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor. Season with salt, soy sauce, etc. and it is ready to be served.

A raging fire shot up into the sky. The stove equipped for the test was more sophisticated than an ordinary stove, and the flame was hotter, allowing the two people's cooking skills to be fully utilized.

In the raging fire, the eel segments were flying and dancing in the air, and the two people's techniques were different at this time.

Xu Qing still followed the method taught by Master Luo Tian, ​​making the pot dance to create continuous afterimages, as if several pots appeared at the same time. The eel pieces were flying and dancing in the air, and were lifted up again just as they were about to fall, almost as if hovering in the air. The color of the food gradually darkened with the heat of the fire and the addition of seasonings, turning into a very appetizing maroon color.

Yan Xian, however, closed his eyes at this moment, turned sideways, and kept twitching his ears to listen to the slight sounds of the ingredients in the pot. His technique was not as grand as Xu Qing's, but it was meticulous. Every light movement made the ingredients evenly overheated in the flames, showing its most delicious side. Although the two had different techniques, they finished the dishes at the same time, without any difference.

"I finished."

"I finished."

The two said in unison, and two dishes of stir-fried eels were placed in front of the old man with a long beard.

Yan Xian asked: "Old man with long beard, we both finished at the same time, how should we select the qualified one?"

The old man with a long beard said: "Before that, I want to ask you, why did you choose eels?"

Xu Qing said: "The test topic you proposed is goodness, and the highest goodness is like water, so the ingredients that meet this topic must be ingredients from water."

Yan Xian continued, "Among the food in the water, the one that is associated with kindness is the eel. The eel got its name because it is gentle in nature, does not compete with other fish for food, and will not sting or bite people when caught, so it is called the 'kind fish'."

The old man stroked his long beard, nodded repeatedly, and praised: "Well said. You fully understood the topic and cooked the dishes in the shortest time. The rest depends on how the dishes taste."

The old man with a long beard picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of eel meat and put it into his mouth.

The eel, which has been stir-fried over high heat, has a slightly charred and crispy outer skin, while the meat inside is tender and juicy, with distinct textures inside and outside.

The skin is fried at high temperature and becomes crispy and delicious. You can feel the thin layer of burnt shell with a light bite. The meat inside is tender and smooth without being greasy. It seems that it will melt in your mouth with a light bite, bringing you the ultimate tender experience. This contrast between the burnt outside and the tender inside makes you feel the collision of two different tastes every time you chew it, interweaving on the tip of your tongue, which is intoxicating.

At the same time, the method of stir-frying eels perfectly combines the flavors of freshness, fragrance, spiciness, saltiness, etc. Fresh eel meat itself has a unique deliciousness, and after stir-frying, this deliciousness is brought out to the fullest, turning the unique aroma of eel meat into a mysterious and infinite taste.

At the same time, the addition of peppers, ginger, garlic and other seasonings adds a strong aroma and a slightly spicy taste to the dish, making the taste fuller and richer. At the same time, the flavor of the seasonings combined with cooking wine can remove the fishy smell of the eel meat as much as possible, making the eel meat more tender and delicious.

The addition of saltiness at the end balances the other flavors perfectly, making the whole dish more harmonious and unified.

With every bite, the eel meat slowly melts in your mouth and turns into a delicate soup, filling your mouth with the delicious flavor of the eel and bringing out the delicate and smooth taste to its fullest.

The old man with a long beard narrowed his eyes slightly, took one bite after another, and his chopsticks never stopped moving. He actually finished both dishes of stir-fried eels by himself.

Xu Qing asked, "Old man, how does it taste?"

The old man with a long beard praised it, "Very good! The skin is crispy, the inside is tender, the taste is silky and fragrant, and there is no fishy smell of eel at all. Instead, the unique meaty fragrance of eel is brought to the extreme, and all kinds of flavors are harmoniously unified. It is really wonderful! I declare that both of you have passed. You can enter the next seal."

Yan Xian said, "Wait a minute. I have another question. Just now, we both chose the eel we thought was the best, but there can't be two best eels in the pond, one must be worse than the other. Old man with long beard, which eel do you think is better?"

The old man with a long beard tasted it carefully and said, "In terms of quality, your choice is naturally better."

Yan Xian raised his eyebrows proudly at Xu Qing.

"However, in terms of the degree of fit with the topic, the one chosen by this young man is naturally better."

　It’s broken. I didn’t finish it today. I’ll finish it tomorrow.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)