Chapter 423: Oiling the Wok and Frying the Rice
"First, we wash the wok clean and heat it on the stove." After pouring out the raw rice that had been in it earlier, Qi Han rinsed the wok with water, set it gently on the stove, and spoke after waiting a moment. "Everyone, look. The remaining water in the wok is starting to evaporate. When it looks like this, it's about ready. Next, we…"
Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, Qi Han reached for the oil pot and poured half a wok of oil inside.
Huh??
Do you need that much oil for fried rice?
Seeing everyone's confused expressions again, Qi Han chuckled and explained, "This step is called oiling the wok. Its purpose is to keep the wok and the ingredients from sticking during cooking. Now follow me—lift the wok slightly and swirl it a bit, using controlled force so that the oil coats every part of the inner surface. Then pour the oil back out."
So that's it—coating the wok with oil?
Long Hanyun followed the motion while wearing an expression of sudden understanding.
Such a simple step could prevent food from sticking?
"After oiling the wok, we add a small amount of base oil, and then we can begin cooking the fried rice." Qi Han picked up the bowl of beaten eggs. "Everyone take note: for egg fried rice, we fry the eggs first and the rice after."
"We pour the eggs into the wok, but never all at once." Qi Han held the ladle in his right hand while lifting the bowl high with his left. "Watch carefully—my right hand keeps stirring with the back of the ladle, breaking apart the egg as soon as it begins to set. My left hand controls the bowl, letting the egg liquid flow in slowly and steadily, without pausing."
In one smooth sequence of movements, the golden egg liquid streamed down evenly from the bowl. Under the motion of the ladle, it quickly turned into fluffy, cloud-like egg blossoms. At the same time, a rich egg aroma burst from the wok, making even the Spirit Master in charge of projecting the scene swallow involuntarily.
"Frying eggs this way makes them softer and prevents them from clumping together, which allows them to mix better with the rice later." A smile appeared on Qi Han's face. "In cooking, technique has a huge impact on the final dish."
There's even technique to this?
Li Hong showed visible surprise—only now did he realize just how far he had been from making real egg fried rice.
His self-invented preserved-vegetable rice had actually come about by accident. At first, he had tried to imitate egg fried rice.
But what he did was simply add the beaten eggs into the rice and cook them together.
The result was nothing like fried rice at all, and it carried a strong eggy smell. He ended up substituting the eggs with other ingredients, experimenting over and over until he eventually stumbled upon the preserved-vegetable version.
So egg fried rice wasn't boiled at all—it was fried like this.
Awkwardly imitating Qi Han's movements, Li Hong soon managed to create egg blossoms in his own wok.
Although they weren't as fluffy as Qi Han's, they were close enough.
Smelling that rich fragrance, Li Hong's expression turned intoxicated.
"Old Li, how the heck do you do that?" Cao Yun beside him had nowhere near Li Hong's culinary instinct. He wasn't a professional cook to begin with.
He could barely handle the previous steps, but this one completely defeated him.
He just couldn't coordinate his right hand stirring the ladle and his left hand pouring the egg liquid. Despite being a four-ring Spirit Master, he felt strangely uncoordinated—his fried egg ended up as one large lump.
Seeing the mess in Cao Yun's wok, Li Hong's face twisted a bit.
"Two five-color brocade chicken eggs. I'll teach you later."
"Deal!"
"You mustn't fry the eggs for too long, or they'll get tough. Just wait until the egg blossoms are fully set and there's no uncooked liquid left, then take them out." As Qi Han spoke, he poured the fully cooked egg blossoms into a sieve. "We place them in a sieve because egg blossoms absorb oil easily. Letting them drain prevents the fried rice from becoming too greasy."
After frying the egg blossoms in one go, Qi Han looked toward the people gathered in the square. After a rough scan, he found that only around ten to twenty percent had succeeded on their first try.
This was already far higher than he had expected.
Seeing the rest sighing and looking discouraged, Qi Han smiled. "Don't be disheartened, everyone. Mastering a dish doesn't happen overnight. This is our first public lesson—so even if you didn't get it right, just remember the key steps. You can practice on your own later."
"When I first learned to make egg fried rice, I failed exactly thirteen thousand times before reaching the level I have today," Qi Han said with a touch of emotion. "So there's no need to rush."
Thirteen thousand times…
Under her long robe, Yue Lengxin's slender body trembled slightly. She looked at the man speaking with such ease on stage, disbelief flickering in her eyes.
Just for a single dish—egg fried rice—he practiced thirteen thousand times?
Then for all the dishes Han Shi has released so far… how many times has he practiced?
Tens of thousands?
Hundreds of thousands?
Qi Han's example indeed helped soothe the crowd's frustration. Knowing that even Qi Han had failed more than ten thousand times made everyone feel much better.
Seeing this, Qi Han chuckled inwardly.
Of course, he wasn't going to tell them that the reason he failed over thirteen thousand times was simply because he had zero culinary foundation back then.
If he had to learn another 1 Star recipe today, something similar in difficulty to egg fried rice…
A few dozen tries would be more than enough.
"After removing the egg blossoms, we add the rice next!" Qi Han dumped the rice into the wok. "Now we'll use the wok-tossing technique we learned earlier. First, use the back of the ladle to break apart any clumps, add an appropriate amount of salt for seasoning, and then you can start tossing the wok."
He skillfully tossed and stirred the rice. Only when thin streams of steam began to rise from the wok did Qi Han stop. "Everyone look—when you see faint white smoke rising from the ingredients, that's called 'wok hei'. Once the rice reaches this stage, we add the egg blossoms back in and stir-fry them together."
"Finally, add the chopped scallions, toss the wok a few more times to let the scallions, egg, and rice mix thoroughly, and then it's ready to plate."
With the explanation finished, Qi Han deftly poured the completed egg fried rice onto a serving plate. The Spirit Master in charge of the projection immediately displayed a close-up of the dish.
Each grain of rice was separate and full, with the egg coating every grain evenly.
It was exactly the Han Shi egg fried rice everyone recognized.
Once Qi Han finished his demonstration, the crowd also wrapped up their own attempts.
Though… whether the things they cooked could still be called egg fried rice was another matter entirely.
Long Hanyun picked up his spoon and cautiously scooped a small portion from his plate, tasting it.
As he ate his very first attempt at egg fried rice, he compared it silently to the fried rice from Han Shi.
The difference was huge…
He sighed quietly in his heart, then took another bite.
Still, it's delicious.
If he practiced a few more times after going home… it should turn out even better.
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