Chapter 264: Replicating Three Dishes
"The next one is this late summer corn soup." He Haotian presented a small bowl with rich, creamy yellow soup.
Lu Xinyi scooped a spoonful of the soup and tasted it. With only a few simple ingredients—a little butter, shallots, corn, chicken stock, and fresh herbs—this corn soup had an intense corn flavor that tasted just like summer.
The ingredients that were used were simple yet at their best quality. The layers of flavor didn't contradict one another; instead, they stimulated her mouth in such vigor that overwhelmed and heightened her senses.
She wrote the ingredients on the board and moved on to the next dish. She wasn't surprised at all when she saw a prime rib in front of her. For this dish, He Haotian chose to use a boneless prime with its bones tied at the back of the meat.
A bone-in roast was known to give more flavor, more tender result. The bone insulated the meat as it cooked, but it could also be really time-consuming for the cook to carve later. By using the boneless prime and tying it next to the meat, He Haotian resolved the problem on keeping the meat flavorful, without wasting time on carving the bone out.
Once Lu Xinyi was done tasting the three dishes, He Haotian called Shen Yi and the Mo siblings to also taste the food.
"You three, taste these dishes, too. I'll let you decide later if Lu Xinyi passed this test or not. You'll compare the taste of the dishes I made with the ones she would cook later."
Shen Yi had a taste first before the siblings. They appreciated and deeply engraved the flavor of the dishes on their minds, hoping it would do some justice later once Lu Xinyi recreated them.
The three agreed and took turns to have a taste of the three dishes while Lu Xinyi stood silently, deep in her own thoughts.
He Haotian presented three dishes that were deceptively simple with very few ingredients, and yet the cooking techniques used to produce such great flavors were critical. From handling the ingredients to cooking under accurate temperatures, the cook should focus their attention to the time it's being cooked.
"We're done with the tasting part. Madam Shen, all the ingredients you need are in the fridge and in the pantry. I'm not expecting you to finish all the dishes soon, but I hope you can serve them tonight as our dinner. Can you prepare six servings of each dish tonight?"
Lu Xinyi nodded in reply.
"Good. Then you can have the kitchen all to yourself so you can cook."
He Haotian left the kitchen, with Gu Meina following behind him.
"Good luck, Madam Shen! I'm excited to taste your dishes tonight!" she said before completely disappearing with the chef.
"Ah, what an intense flavor! I can't believe I'll have a chance to taste He Haotian's dishes. Madam Shen, don't worry if you can't replicate them perfectly, but I'm also looking forward to the dinner." Mo Liwei said before he was dragged out by his sister to let Lu Xinyi start her prep.
"So what's the plan? Do you need some help?" Shen Yi asked while Lu Xinyi had already pulled an apron and tied the strings at her back.
"Not really. I can manage, but maybe you can help me with the time?"
Shen Yi agreed easily and sat at the corner of the kitchen while watching Lu Xinyi raid the fridge and pantry and start with food prep.
First, Lu Xinyi took a boneless prime rib from the fridge and blotted it dry with paper towels, trying to keep it dry as much as possible. If she wouldn't do this, she couldn't achieve that crispy, crackly crust that she was aiming for.
Next, she seasoned it generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Kosher salt would be ideal to season this prime rib, and with fresh ground black pepper, it would have a great peppery flavor.
After seasoning it, Lu Xinyi placed it on a rimmed baking sheet and let it sit in the fridge for three hours. Then, she moved on and started preparing the corn soup.
She began by removing the husks and silks from the corn and set one ear of corn aside. Using a knife, she cut the kernels off of the remaining cobs and then broke the scraped cobs in half before setting it aside.
Lu Xinyi melted the butter and sauteed the shallots in a large pot over medium-low heat. Once it turned soft and translucent, she added the chicken stock, corn kernels, broken cobs, a whole ear of corn, and seasoned it with salt and pepper to taste.
She brought it to boil and then reduced the heat to medium-low and cooked it uncovered for another ten minutes.
"Shen Yi, do you think you can find a handheld blender for me to use?" She couldn't leave her dishes but needed the appliance to get the consistency she wanted for her corn soup.
"Okay." Shen Yi turned to leave the kitchen to ask Gu Meina for the handheld blender Lu Xinyi was looking for. He returned ten minutes later and found his wife removing the cobs from the pot.
"You're just in time!" Lu Xinyi's face lit up once she saw him standing at the doorway.
"Here. Is there something else that you need?" He passed the blender to her, and she immediately puréed the soup until it was very smooth.
Lu Xinyi shook her head and checked the time. She still had another two hours to prepare everything until dinner time comes.