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

"The knockout stage is now underway!"

As soon as the host announced the start, the competition area instantly transformed into a scene of flashing knives and clashing blades, with more than thirty contestants simultaneously wielding different knives to process the ingredients.

Li Zhibai stood in front of stove number 33, staring blankly at the greasy, foul-smelling pig intestines hanging in the basin.

Most of the other contestants had already started making their moves, while a few others, like him, were still thinking and daydreaming, seemingly unsure of where to begin.

Because the ingredients were randomly selected, Li Zhibai drew pig intestines, which are relatively difficult to prepare. However, some people were not so lucky and drew houttuynia cordata, which is a popular food in the southwest region. This stuff is also difficult to prepare. If none of the three judges can get used to it, then they can basically be eliminated early.

Chef Fang was very lucky; he drew a grouper. Grouper meat is very tender and delicious, and as long as he doesn't underperform, it won't taste bad no matter how he cooks it.

Just as he began to deal with the East Star Spotted Pig, Li Zhibai remained standing there motionless, which made the audience anxious.

"Why isn't contestant number 33 moving? Has he given up?"

"Pig intestines are indeed difficult to handle. If not prepared properly, they can have an indescribable smell. I guess they're having a tough time."

"You're still a bit too young!"

"..."

Li Zhibai certainly didn't find it difficult; he simply quickly mentally rehearsed the best way to make the Nine-Turned Intestines.

Nine-Turned Intestines is a classic Shandong dish with a very complex preparation method. It involves blanching, boiling, frying, braising, and simmering... Each step requires careful attention, and if even one step is not done properly, all the previous efforts will be wasted, and the entire dish will be ruined.

The competition is timed, and he is not allowed to do it again, so he must do it perfectly in one go.

After going through the entire process in his mind, Li Zhibai finally began to take action.

He rolled up his sleeves, grabbed the pig intestines from the basin, and began the first step—cleaning.

This is the most crucial step, and also the step where many ordinary chefs easily make mistakes.

Because pig intestines will have an unpleasant odor if they are not cleaned properly, and if they are cleaned too thoroughly, they will lose their unique flavor. It is difficult to find the right balance.

But who is Li Zhibai? He's a man with god-level culinary skills, so handling pig intestines is a piece of cake for him.

He first turned the large intestine inside out, sprinkled two handfuls of flour and a handful of coarse salt on it, and began to knead it repeatedly with both hands. The flour was mainly responsible for absorbing some impurities, while the coarse salt was responsible for rubbing to remove the fishy smell.

After rubbing for about three minutes, rinse with clean water, then pour in half a bottle of white vinegar and soak for two minutes. The acidity of the vinegar further breaks down the remaining odor.

Then rinse it repeatedly with clean water, washing it a total of four times.

In about ten minutes, he cleaned the large intestine in the basin, and the odor was basically eliminated.

"Holy crap! That's some skill."

"You're done washing so quickly? Last time I washed my intestines at home, it took me an hour to get them clean, and my hands were all raw from scrubbing."

"Is number 33 washing it so quickly because he probably didn't clean it properly? Maybe he wanted to preserve some of the original flavor of the large intestine?"

"Hey, don't say it! If that's really the case, the judges will be in luck! Authentic, whole intestines... just thinking about it is exciting, hehe!"

"..."

After cleaning the large intestine, Li Zhibai began the second step – blanching.

Put the ingredients in a pot of cold water, add ginger slices, scallion segments, and cooking wine, bring to a boil over high heat, and skim off any grayish-white foam that rises to the surface.

After blanching the large intestines, take them out and immediately plunge them into the prepared ice water to shock them. This step is to make the large intestines more firm and chewy.

Then comes the equally crucial third step – the intestinal insufflation.

The reason why it's called "Nine Turns Large Intestine" is partly because the large intestine is layered, so that the cut surface will have a beautiful ring-like texture, like tree rings.

Li Zhibai picked up the blanched intestine segments and began to stuff them inside, layer by layer.

One floor, two floors, three floors...

This step actually tests the skill of stuffing the intestines. If you use too little force, they won't fit tightly and will fall apart when cooking. If you use too much force, the intestine walls will crack, and all your efforts will be in vain. Even a skilled chef can spend half an hour on this step.

Li Zhibai also took less than ten minutes to produce a round, plump sausage about the thickness of a baby's forearm, somewhat resembling a meat roll from the Chaoshan region.

"Wow, he can even perform intestinal intubation! His technique is so steady and fast!"

"His technique is indeed excellent. There are probably very few young chefs who can make this kind of sausage-stuffing skill. Even many veteran chefs find it too troublesome and just use toothpicks to fix it. He has never used toothpicks at all."

"I think I can see it now. This number 33 is actually making the very difficult Nine-Turned Intestines. They're very confident!"

"However, he didn't seem to notice that one of the judges was quite disgusted with the dish."

"..."

In the audience seats.

Yu Shen, Lu Qianshan, Pang Yi, Cha Xiaochai... these members of the anti-gang alliance also came.

They heard from Su Su in the group chat yesterday that Li Zhibai was also going to participate in the famous chef invitational competition, and since they had nothing else to do over the weekend, they came over.

Do you think Li Heizi can win the championship?

"Of course, even though we curse Li Heizi every day for being heartless, his skills are truly unparalleled. I feel that he has a very high chance of winning the championship."

"I don't think so. What if Li Heizi's dishes don't suit the judges' tastes? It could backfire. For example, I saw a contestant draw houttuynia cordata. If you were to eat that, would you be used to it?"

"That's true. I almost threw up after eating houttuynia cordata once."

"So, when it comes to competitions, besides skill, luck also plays a role."

"..."

While the group was chatting, Li Zhibai had already started the fourth step – deep-frying.

Li Zhibai drained the surface moisture of the stuffed large intestine and slowly placed it into the oil pot, frying it over low heat. He kept his eyes focused on the oil, occasionally turning the large intestine with chopsticks until the surface of the intestine slowly turned golden brown and a layer of fine bubbles appeared, then he took it out and placed it on absorbent paper.

This step is for shaping, and it also brings out the aroma of the oil inside the intestines, making the finished product crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

After absorbing the oil, he put the large intestine into the casserole, then added rock sugar, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, cooking wine, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves... Finally, he added boiling water to cover the large intestine, covered it, and simmered it over low heat.

This step takes time and cannot be rushed.

Taking advantage of this break, Li Zhibai began preparing the side dishes for plating. He picked out a carrot and a white radish from the ingredient basket next to him, picked up a carving knife, and started carving.

Before long, several radish flowers appeared on the plate that had been placed in advance.

The audience members couldn't help but admire him for having the leisure to carve radish flowers.

"This guy's mentality is too stable."

"Everyone else is in a rush, but he still has the mind to do these fancy things."

"Have you noticed that his carving skills are also amazing? The flowers he carved are so beautiful, they look just like real flowers."

"This guy is definitely not an ordinary chef..."

"..."

Time passed by, second by second.

When there were about ten minutes left on the timer, people started raising their hands to indicate that their dishes were ready.

The judges immediately went over to taste the food and then announced whether the contestants advanced or were eliminated on the spot.

With only two minutes left, the audience and Yu Shen started to get anxious, and Li Zhibai finally lifted the lid of the casserole.

A rich aroma of soy sauce and pork intestines wafted out instantly, attracting the attention of many people.

"What's that smell? It smells so good!"

"It smells like it's coming from number 33; it's the smell of large intestine."

"..."

Li Zhibai took the large intestine out of the water, placed it on the cutting board, cut it into even, thick slices, arranged them on a pre-prepared plate, and finally reduced the sauce and poured it over the large intestine.

The Nine-Turned Intestines dish is now officially complete.

Li Zhibai checked the plating in the remaining few dozen seconds until he was satisfied before raising his hand.

"I'm all set here!"