Kung Pao Chicken is a famous traditional dish renowned both in China and abroad. Its origins are related to the Lu Cuisine's "Sautéed Chicken with Sauce" and Guizhou Cuisine's "Spicy Chicken with Peppers." It was later refined and popularized by Ding Baozhen, the Governor of Shandong and Sichuan during the Qing Dynasty, becoming the Kung Pao Chicken we know today.
The system provided the most traditional method for making Kung Pao Chicken.
Qi Han took a deep breath, relaxing his slightly fatigued brain from the long practice session. Then, he focused and looked at the cooking pot in front of him.
He added a small amount of oil to the pot and heated it until it made a crisp sizzling sound. Then, he quickly reduced the heat, maintaining a low flame, and slowly slid the peanuts along the edge of the cooking pot into the hot oil.
He fried them slowly over low heat until the surface of the peanuts gradually turned from pale pink to an enticing reddish-brown. A rich aroma of fried peanuts wafted from the pot, and only then did Qi Han turn off the heat and carefully scoop out the peanuts, setting them aside for later.
After washing and meticulously removing the tendons from the breast meat of the Moyun Sparrow, Qi Han diced the meat. This step, which was once a challenge, was now a piece of cake for Qi Han, who had mastered the more advanced technique of deboning a whole fish. He smoothly completed the dicing in just a few breaths.
Qi Han's breakthrough in knife skills was evident, and now he could handle the knife work required for the two-star recipes quite well, with only a few minor mistakes.
He placed the diced chicken breast meat into a small bowl, sprinkled it with the system's special starch, mixed it carefully, and set it aside. Qi Han then heated the pot again and, after a few minutes of rest for the chicken, carefully stir-fried the meat in the hot oil.
Soon, the translucent chicken turned into a slightly yellowish-white color, and a delightful aroma of the chicken filled the air, making Qi Han instinctively sniff.
(Hmm, not bad, it's just the right taste)
Having practiced this step over a thousand times, Qi Han could gauge the doneness of the chicken by smelling it.
He perfectly cooked the chicken, set it aside, and rapidly chopped ginger and garlic. He also diced the cucumber before adding ginger and garlic to the pot, sautéing them. Afterward, he added the diced chicken and peanuts, and quickly stir-fried them.
The special Doubanjiang (broad bean paste) used in this dish was also supplied by the system. Qi Han had no idea of its exact ingredients, nor did he dare to ask.
As he watched the ingredients evenly turn color in the pot, with the chicken developing a light brown hue on the surface, Qi Han poured in the diced cucumber and seasoning. After a quick stir-fry, the dish was ready to be served.
Even after successfully completing the dish, there was no prompt from the system, which made Qi Han breathe a sigh of relief.
"System, is it done?"
[Congratulations to the host for completing the Perfect-level two-star recipe: Kung Pao Chicken.]
"What price should I set for this dish?"
[The two-star recipe: Kung Pao Chicken is priced at: 18 Gold Spirit Coins per serving.]
That's good; this price is quite affordable. Apart from Stuffed Chicken Stomach, this dish should be one of the cheapest among the two-star recipes.
Having just introduced a new dish priced at a thousand Gold Spirit Coins, now offering a cheaper dish would help cater to customers who couldn't afford Fish Belly Stuffed with Lamb. It seemed like a good decision.
This time, the practice session for Kung Pao Chicken didn't take long. It took about five days within the training space, which translated to just around two hours in the real world. To master a two-star recipe in just two hours meant that Qi Han could potentially have time to arrange another new dish.
Currently, Qi Han had four two-star self-selected recipe fragments set aside for the opportunity to exchange for the hotpot series in the future. Additionally, he had two one-star self-selected recipe fragments, which were rewards from a temporary mission the system had issued. The mission required him to sell a thousand portions of three new dishes within five days.
With two one-star self-selected recipe fragments, Qi Han could exchange for two more one-star recipes. However, he wasn't in a hurry to introduce new dishes.
He had just launched Fish Belly Stuffed with Lamb at noon, and now he was about to introduce Kung Pao Chicken in the evening. If he introduced two more one-star recipes, it might be too fast.
So, Qi Han decided to let the training space idle for a few days. The menu at his small shop had already expanded, and it was time to practice other skills.
How about carving?
"System, will the training space be accessible when I practice 'Ghost Carving'?"
[When practicing 'Ghost Carving,' a dedicated carving training space will be opened, with a different environment from the recipe training space but with the same time flow rate.]
Hmm, the environment doesn't matter; as long as the time flow rate is the same.
I'm not after the training space's environment; I'm after that sixty times time flow rate!
[So, does the system no longer provide materials for carving practice?]
Just forget I said anything.
Qi Han felt like he was being controlled by the system lately.
Seeing that he still had some time before leaving the shop, Qi Han took out "Ghost Carving" and started reading it.
As Qi Han opened the book, the surroundings subtly changed. He seemed to have entered a serene room, surrounded by lush bamboo forests extending endlessly.
Observing the scenery around him, Qi Han marveled, "System, the environment in this dedicated carving training space is much more advanced than the one for recipe training."
[Both spaces are generated by the system; there's no distinction between advanced or not. What matters is suitability.]
"So, the material I'll be carving is bamboo?"
[No, considering that the host has never dealt with carving before, the most basic carving material is provided for practice.]
As Qi Han picked up the piece of solid cork, he carefully examined it and expressed some confusion, "System, this is from the Earth, right? It doesn't quite look like it."
The piece of cork in his hand appeared to be a part of a tree trunk, but it lacked tree rings, making it quite peculiar.
[This is a special plant from the Douluo Continent called the Everlife Tree. Its unique property of not producing tree rings in its trunk makes it difficult to determine its age, hence the name. The Everlife Tree doesn't grant immortality, but its trunk, due to the absence of tree rings, is uniform and has a relatively soft texture, making it suitable for beginners to practice carving. That's why the system selected it as your practice material.]
Everlife Tree? The name did sound impressively majestic.
Qi Han tossed the piece of wood in his hand and tested its weight.
"System, you haven't given me a carving knife yet, have you?"
Practicing carving without a carving knife was quite a challenge.
[Please use your Martial Spirit for carving.]
Qi Han fell into silence.
"You want me to use a palm-sized kitchen knife for carving? Are you serious?"
If it was only for relief carving, that would be fine. However, Qi Han briefly skimmed through "Ghost Carving," and it clearly included various high-level carving techniques like hollow carving that were impossible to accomplish with such a large kitchen knife.
The system remained silent, seemingly realizing the difficulty of the situation.
After a while, the system finally spoke up.
[In light of the limitations of the host's Martial Spirit kitchen knife, a compensation plan is provided as follows: Grant the host's Martial Spirit a new ability - the ability to adjust its form according to the host's needs, but limited to kitchen tools.]
Qi Han fell into silence once again.
Having a new ability for his Martial Spirit was a good thing, but...
Why restrict it to kitchen tools only?
Was he destined to be a chef for the rest of his life?
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