Chapter 278: Sour Bamboo Shoots

Translator: 549690339 |

“Next, I’m going to make a delicacy called Mysterious Dumplings!”

Inside the cruise ship room, Shen Qian announced with expectancy and enthusiasm to the five boys and girls about the dish she was going to make, “Just wait here for a bit, it will be ready soon!”

After that, she turned to look at Qin Lang, “Have you decided what you’re going to make?”

“I’ve decided.” Qin Lang looked at the five people who were eagerly awaiting and even starting to salivate, showing a satisfied expression.

Concerning foods that smell bad but taste delicious, Changsha Stinky Tofu from Hua Xia should be the first thing that comes to mind.

But this dish only flashed in Qin Lang’s mind for a moment before he rejected it.

Despite the abundance of small stalls selling stinky tofu on the street, most of the stinky tofu they sell is a simplified version, with insufficient fermentation time and missing flavors, in other words—

It lacks soul.

To properly ferment a pot of traditional stinky tofu, it takes more than two months, and the longer the fermentation time the better.

Apparently, in some of Changsha’s old restaurants, there still exists a real “hundred-year brine”.

Such a delicacy requires extensive preparation time.

Ever since Qin Lang crossed over to this world, it has only been two months, so it’s simply impossible for him to make qualified stinky tofu.

Therefore, the dish he intends to make is another famous food that smells bad but tastes delicious—Luosifen.

The longest preparation time for the ingredients in Luosifen is about a month for the sour bamboo shoots, but Qin Lang had prepared some in advance and brought them along when packing his luggage.

In addition, there are also some sour string beans he had pickled.

These ingredients are just right for making Luosifen.

Moreover, this is not the first time Qjn Lang has made it.

When the sour bamboo shoots were just done pickling, he eagerly made it once to taste the long-missed flavor, and incidentally left a deep psychological scar on both Dan Bao and Spicy.

The two little ones are still traumatized from the experience, and that’s why they feel apprehensive now.

“The dish I’m going to make is called Luosifen.” Qin Lang revealed a mysterious smile, “Although it smells bad, I believe you guys will fall in love with its flavor.”

“Really?” Shen Qian looked at Qin Lang with skepticism.

The theme for this showdown is quite niche and was decided on a whim by Shen Qian herself. Can Qin Lang pull out a matching recipe under such circumstances?

But remembering the wide variety of dishes that Qin Lang presented during their last two battles, she felt that if anyone could do it, it would be Qin Lang.

After all, this guy always seems to have a solution for everything.

But this time, Shen Qian has confidence in herself!

“After losing so many times to you, I won’t let myself be defeated so easily!” Shen Qian folded her arms across her chest.

She won’t easily concede in this category of unique foods.

“Then let’s go to the kitchen.” Qin Lang smiled and motioned for Shen Qian to follow him.

The cruise ship is not like a hotel, not every room has a kitchen, but it does have one large communal kitchen for every two rooms.

Qin Lang and Shen Qian’s rooms just so happen to share the same kitchen, which makes it a perfect place for their public duel.

The other five people, who are the judges, will wait in the room for the tasting.

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

The two went into the kitchen and quickly either purchased or found all the necessary ingredients for their dishes.

“Hmm…”

Looking at the two sealed glass jars on Qin Lang’s worktable, Shen Qian stroked her chin, her face becoming more solemn. ” What are these?”

During the Food Fight two days ago, Qin Lang had made Twice-Cooked Pork.

So, Shen Qian knows very well that Qin Lang excels in preparing marinades and his sauces often have unique flavors that give the dish a special effect during cooking.

Now, Qin Lang has brought out two at once!

This made Shen Qian feels like she was facing a formidable opponent.

“Sour bamboo shoots and sour string beans, want to try?” Qin Lang enthusiastically offered the two glass jars to her.

Normally during a competition, they wouldn’t communicate, but their duel is centered on exchange, so they don’t strictly adhere to the rules.

“I’ll have a taste.” Shen Qian was indeed very curious, and wasn’t shy in showing it.

She took the two glass jars, opening the one containing the sour string beans first.

Looking at the pickled beans in their yellow-green hue, small segments that were coated with juice, and smelling the piquant sour flavor, Shen Qian’s eyes lit up.

They certainly looked quite good.

She picked up a clean pair of chopsticks and carefully picked up a piece to place in her mouth.

The string beans, after pickling, were thoroughly watered and not at all dry. The salty and spicy taste carried a slight sourness from fermentation, coupled with the beans’ inherently crisp taste, it was quite appetizing.

So, it was a pickled side dish.

Shen Qian nodded in understanding.

This kind of side dish could be added to various foods, making it quite versatile.

However, it didn’t seem to have much to do with the theme of ‘smells bad, tastes good’, since the sour string beans didn’t have any bad smell.

“Why not try the other one?” Qin Lang interjected at just the right moment.

His face, along with those of the two little ones, were filled with an odd sense of anticipation.

Shen Qian didn’t suspect anything amiss, so she nodded and opened the second glass jar.

Her expression froze instantly.

“Eek!!!”

“Argh!!!”

Two screams rang out nearly simultaneously from beside her.

They were from Shen Qian’s Food Spirits.

At that moment, both Food Spirits backed away in terror, looking fearfully at the glass jar as though it was a formidable foe.

“This…” Shen Qian took her first whiff of the pungent smell, pinching her nose, she barely managed to collect herself, “This sour bamboo shoots smell really weird, don’t they?”

The Mysterious Dumplings she was preparing might smell bad, but certainly not this strong!

“Give it a try. The taste is quite unique.” Qjn Lang said, wearing a sincere expression, “Trust me, it smells bad but tastes delicious.”

Shen Qian thought about the theme of their upcoming competition and looked thoughtful.

If Qin Lang were to add this sour bamboo shoots into his dishes, indeed, it would meet the criteria.

And so, she must really try this sour bamboo shoots.

Even though the pungent smell was hard for her to handle, driven by curiosity, she gritted her teeth and, under her Food Spirits’ admiring gaze, put a piece of sour bamboo shoot into her mouth.

“Crunch—”

Feeling the refreshing and appetizing taste in her mouth, Shen Qian was pleasantly surprised.

Although the taste was somewhat strong, it actually tasted good!

And after eating, the pungent smell seemed to have become acceptable.

However, whether it was the sour string beans just now or the sour bamboo shoots at the moment, they both seemed more like side dishes. Their impact on the flavor of the main course didn’t seem to be significant…

With that understanding, Shen Qian was filled with added confidence.

“We can start! I think I can win this time!”

“You can do it.”

As for Shen Qian’s thoughts, Qjn Lang could probably guess.

His smile held a hint of a hidden agenda.

Sour bamboo shoots are the soul of Luosifen.

But who said that a dish could only have one star ingredient?

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