I've been possessed by a culinary genius, and I've turned Shaxian snacks into a rip-off!

Li Zhibai had anticipated this outcome, so he wasn't disappointed, because he still had a backup plan.

seaweed gum.

A natural gelling agent extracted from kelp.

"Master Ma, do you have any dried kelp in your kitchen? Could you give me a whole piece, the thicker the better?"

Ma Yinming nodded: "Yes, Xiao Zhao, go get it from the top shelf of the dry goods section."

"OK!"

Xiao Zhao quickly took a piece of dried kelp from the dry goods cabinet. The kelp was covered with a thin layer of white frost, which was naturally extracted mannitol, indicating that it was of very good quality.

Li Zhibai took the kelp, broke it with his hands, and found it very tough, indicating that it contained a high amount of alginate. He then put the kelp into a pot of cold water and slowly heated it over low heat. As the water temperature gradually rose, a transparent and thick, sticky substance began to seep out from the surface of the kelp, like diluted honey.

This is seaweed gum, a natural gel that kelp uses in nature to maintain its flexibility and prevent it from being torn apart by waves.

He then used chopsticks to pick out the kelp, filtered the slightly viscous kelp water into a clean basin, and then soaked the chopped winter melon pieces one by one in the kelp water.

Ma Yinming, standing beside him, saw this step he was doing and his eyes lit up.

"Wonderful! Wonderful!"

He finally understood why Li Zhibai had done that.

When a winter melon is flash-frozen, its cellular structure is damaged, making it soft and limp, much like a person whose skeleton has been removed, rendering it unable to stand upright.

Li Zhibai's approach is equivalent to building a frame around its originally fragile exterior and interior, so that no matter how much it is frozen or tormented later, it won't fall apart.

Seaweed gum is a natural connective tissue that can bind together the loose fibers of winter melon, and kelp itself is a natural flavor enhancer that won't overpower the taste.

Ten minutes later, Li Zhibai took the winter melon pieces out of the seaweed water, drained them without rinsing them.

After soaking, the winter melon pieces look no different from before, but if you press them gently with your finger, you'll find that their texture has become noticeably firmer, with a slight elasticity and smoothness.

Li Zhibai lit the stove directly, poured a thin layer of camellia oil into the pot, and when the oil was heated to about 50-60% of its maximum temperature, he put the winter melon pieces in one by one.

Sizzle~~~~

A plume of white smoke, carrying the aroma of oil, rose from the pot.

Li Zhibai gently turned the winter melon pieces with long chopsticks and slowly roasted them over medium-low heat until all six sides turned a light golden brown.

This step of frying first is not only to set the shape, but also to bring out some meaty aroma in advance.

"Alright, now it's time to witness a miracle."

Li Zhibai cut the fried winter melon pieces out and placed them on a metal tray. After letting them cool slightly, he put them into the rapid freezer.

Freeze at minus forty degrees Celsius for ten minutes.

Ten minutes later, he took out the winter melon pieces. At this point, each piece of winter melon was as hard as a rock, and a thin layer of white frost had formed on the charred crust.

Instead of using hot water to thaw the winter melon, he used a pot of room-temperature camellia oil and immersed the frozen pieces directly into the oil, using the oil's temperature to slowly melt the frost.

Once the frost on the surface melted, he put the winter melon pieces back into the freezer.

This step was completed after being repeated twice.

Li Zhibai cut open a piece of winter melon and looked at it. The originally snow-white flesh had become more translucent because the cell walls inside were pierced by ice crystals, forming a large number of micropores. The texture inside even resembled the fibrous structure of pork belly.

Furthermore, when he made the cut, he could feel a distinct elasticity, a kind of resilience similar to that of tendons.

The next step is to give the winter melon a more pronounced meaty flavor.

He poured the mushroom broth, which he had prepared in advance with porcini mushrooms, dried shiitake mushrooms, lion's mane mushrooms, and a small piece of matsutake mushroom, into a clay pot. Then he added the thawed winter melon pieces, turned the heat to the lowest setting, and simmered it at a low temperature.

Because the inside of the winter melon is covered with tiny pores, it can fully absorb the flavor.

A dozen minutes later.

Li Zhibai used chopsticks to pick out a piece of winter melon and placed it on a plate to cool slightly.

This winter melon, now reinforced with seaweed glue, repeatedly frozen and thawed, and then simmered in mushroom broth at low temperatures, has acquired the essence of real meat. Its surface is golden and slightly charred, and its interior is soaked in broth. When you press it with your hand, you can feel the unique bouncy texture of meat. It's almost indistinguishable from real meat.

The most crucial step has arrived.

Make braised pork!

Li Zhibai heated the wok, added rock sugar, and began to caramelize it. He used the same method he used to make that divine-level secret braised pork, except that he changed the main ingredient from pork to processed winter melon chunks.

Caramelize the sugar, add winter melon, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce... then add premium rose-flavored fermented bean curd.

Cover the pot, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer. Since it's not real meat, it doesn't need to be cooked for too long; about ten minutes should be enough.

As the winter melon chunks tumble in the sauce, their surface gradually turns a deep reddish-brown. At this point, the job is essentially done, with only the final reduction of the sauce remaining.

When the lid of the casserole was lifted, a rich aroma of soy sauce mixed with the unique fragrance of meat wafted out.

Even Ma Yinming, a veteran chef with over a decade of experience, couldn't help but swallow hard after smelling the aroma of the vegetarian braised pork.

The aroma and appearance are almost indistinguishable from real braised pork. Even if someone told him that it was made from pork, he would absolutely believe it.

Li Zhibai turned the heat up to the highest setting and began to reduce the sauce.

The spoon kept scooping up the sauce and pouring it over the winter melon pieces. The sauce thickened and became brighter and brighter until it finally formed a honey-like sheen on the surface of each piece of winter melon.

Turn off the heat and plate it!

Li Zhibai picked up a piece of winter melon with his chopsticks. As soon as the chopsticks touched the surface, the dark red skin of the melon dented and wobbled precariously.

He blew on it, took a small bite, and immediately squinted his eyes.

The outer skin has a slight chewiness like pork skin, and the winter melon flesh inside, soaked in broth, melts on the tongue after chewing, with a dense and soft texture. In addition, the rich savory aroma from the mushrooms rises layer by layer, creating a rich and delicious flavor.

This is the feeling—a vegetarian version of braised pork.

God-level!

Absolutely god-level!

Li Zhibai almost burst into tears, not only because the food was so delicious, but also because he seemed to see countless suckers waving banknotes at him.

Grandpa Huo can eat whatever he wants now, and all those ladies who are afraid of gaining weight can eat whatever they want too!

The vegetarian version of braised pork tastes almost exactly like real meat, but it won't make you fat or make you greasy. How many rich people would be lining up to get ripped off like this!

Ding!

The system's voice rang in my mind right on time.

[The system is quite surprised to detect that the host has broken through to the God-level quality for the first time without relying on the emotional stories of diners, through a purely technical communication path.]

[The host has finally started using their brain to cook, instead of just relying on cheat codes and luck.]

Li Zhibai: "???"

No, system, what do you mean? Are you swearing at me?

[Food rating: Divine.]

[The system recipe has been updated, adding a new dish: Vegetarian Red Dust (Divine-level, Unique).]

[Pricing as follows: Plain Red Dust, 139 yuan/piece.]

Upon seeing the price, Li Zhibai, unusually, did not complain about the system being unfair. He even felt that 139 was too low and should be 199 per piece.

The target audience for vegetarian braised pork is high-net-worth individuals. Only an ordinary person would be crazy to spend that much money on a piece of winter melon. Eating real meat is more cost-effective. Only rich fools would pursue this kind of meat-like vegetarian food.

Since this dish is destined to be prepared for the rich and shrewd, there's no need to be polite. Slaughter them as much as possible, the more ruthless the better!

Just as Li Zhibai was savoring his masterpiece, and Chef Ma was watching with his mouth watering, Su Su walked into the kitchen.

Perhaps because she was feeling a little down, she didn't notice the vegetarian braised pork that Li Zhibai had just made. She simply clapped her hands at everyone, signaling them to stop what they were doing, and said a word of encouragement.

"Thank you all for your hard work today. The tasting event was a great success. The judges gave high praise to our new dishes this season. Thank you all for your hard work over the past few days."

A burst of enthusiastic applause immediately erupted in the kitchen.

After Su Su finished speaking, she walked to the stool in the corner, sat down, picked up a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed it, took a sip, pursed her lips, and then stared blankly at the busy kitchen, her eyes glazed over.

Li Zhibai noticed her unusual behavior, put down his chopsticks, and went over to her.

"Sister Su, what's wrong?"

Su Su looked up and saw that it was her master. In that instant, her eyes began to redden slightly, and she said with a hint of dejection, "Master, am I a failure? I worked so hard to prepare the dishes, and although the teachers all said they were good, I could tell that they weren't particularly impressed."

"After the results of the tasting event were announced, the year-end rating is probably in jeopardy."

Seeing that she had wilted so quickly, Li Zhibai laughed and said, "I thought it was something serious. It's just a surprise. I'm giving them a surprise."

Su Su was stunned for a moment upon hearing this: "What? Master, what did you say?"

"You are my disciple, Li Zhibai's disciple. If you lose your ranking, it will be a disgrace to me as your master. And I'm someone who cares a lot about my reputation, so I must save face!"

Li Zhibai pointed to the pot of braised pork belly he had just made and said, "The tasting event isn't over yet; you still have your eighth dish to serve!"