Mo Lihui didn’t know why she felt that Lu Xinyi turned into another person as soon as she started working on her dishes. There was no trace of hesitation and newbie mistakes in her actions. Each movement of her fingers worked like a pro.
How could this be?
Mo Lihui looked at Lu Xinyi with shock. Lu Xinyi grew so professional once she held a knife. It was like she turned into a she-devil, working with a fiery glint on her eyes—the larger demon following behind. She kneaded the dough with utmost mastery.
Under the eyes of the public, Lu Xinyi exuded such confidence which attracted everyone’s attention. The smile that pa.s.sed once in a while as she cooked was so beautiful; it made the males forget her ordinary looks and get enchanted by her alluring smile.
Such confidence Lu Xinyi bore that Mo Lihui had never seen before. The energy that Lu Xinyi exuded was so warm and gentle.
Beside her, Mo Liwei’s eyes were also locked on Lu Xinyi. His eyes darkened; this was what he always wanted to see from his sister! Why couldn’t Mo Lihui follow Lu Xinyi’s steps? Why couldn’t she cook something with love?
A few moments after Lu Xinyi declared that they were done, Mo Lihui followed. She refused to lose!
“The Grace Palace finished before Blue Haven. It’s only proper to taste their dishes.” One of the judges commented.
A covered tray was served to the three judges while the other festival staff served the first dish that Lu Xinyi cooked. Removing the lid, a mouthwatering steamed bun was revealed.
“I present to you the Grace Palace’s first dish, the Kimchi Pork Buns.” Lu Xinyi stepped forward.
The beautiful buns were wrapped with perfection. Without waiting for Lu Xinyi to explain further, the judges took the piping hot buns from their plates and took a bite from it. The judges kept eating, ignoring the curious looks from the audience.
“Give me more! I need more!” One of the judges exclaimed.
Out of the three judges, he was the oldest and had vast experience in making dumplings. For the past week, his appet.i.te was so low that he couldn’t eat anything. Yet, just one bite from Lu Xinyi’s Kimchi Pork Buns reminded him how hungry he was.
One bun wasn’t enough to satisfy his appet.i.te!
“But we only have limited buns to serve!”
“No, it’s okay.” Lu Xinyi intercepted. “We made more than enough to feed fifty people. Please, eat at your heart’s content.”
“That’s unfair! Give us some buns, too, old man!” The other judges complained. The Kimchi Pork Buns were so addictive; they couldn’t stop themselves to eat more.
The old man let out a satisfied sighed after sipping his tea. He was able to devour six buns in one sitting. He had to force himself to stop, or else he wouldn’t be able to taste the other dishes that were yet to be served.
There was a belief that eating spicy foods tend to decrease one’s appet.i.te and also help improve one’s metabolism, but Lu Xinyi’s Pork Buns made them give a different reaction. It might be the hunger from the taste. The meat was so delicious and addicting.
“The spiciness of the kimchi and the moist flavorful pork compliment each other. This has been the most satisfying pork bun I’ve eaten since forever!”
“But why kimchi? Isn’t this a foreign ingredient?”
Lu Xinyi shook her head. “The technique used to preserve the vegetable might be a foreign one, but I believe that the main ingredient I used on it was specifically available from your local market.”
“You… you mean you made this on your own? You made your own kimchi?”
“Of course, it’s mine. A week ago, when we were visiting a local market nearby, we met this farmer who couldn’t sell his napa cabbages since there was an oversupply at this time of the year. He told us that there were tons of these cabbages that couldn’t be used even how much the housewives try to cook every day.”
Everyone from this town knew this problem, and yet no one had offered a solution to help the struggling farmers with their crops.
Delivering the goods to other cities was a problem that the town councilors had yet to solve. The inadequate marketing cost, transportation cost, and processing units had made it harder.
To help these farmers, Lu Xinyi came up with the idea of fermenting the excess vegetables that could help them preserve their product longer and market them outside their small town.
Not only the napa cabbages had been saved. Lu Xinyi also taught them how to pickle a radish that could be served as a good side dish during the summer season while radish preserved in brine was ideal for winter.
“The excessive supply of this vegetable hurt not only the farmers but also the town itself. We ended up teaching them how to pickle and ferment their unsold vegetables and asking them to work with Grace Palace.”
This was a reason why Shen Yi was so proud of his wife. She was able to change a disadvantage into a favorable one.
Not only was Lu Xinyi able to make a good connection with the local farmers of this town, but she was also able to give Grace Palace an advantage above the rest of the restaurants by making partners.h.i.+ps directly from the crop producers.
Because the kimchi itself was pungent and flavorful, Lu Xinyi didn’t bother to add more spices. The fermented vegetables, a tablespoon of Shaoxing wine, and a dash of light soy sauce were enough to add flavor to the usual ground pork.
There was no mistaking that for this dish, Lu Xinyi hit the nail by using one of the town’s products on her pork buns. These simple pork buns were so flavorful!