Chapter Sixty-Three: The Four Styles of Royal Fried Rice, Part Two

The so-called Four Styles of Imperial Fried Rice was a dish Ming Tian created himself.

Fried rice is the entry-level dish for mastering the art of stir-frying, but at the same time, it is also the most difficult. It’s no exaggeration to say that while the basics of fried rice are simple, its potential for deliciousness is limitless and can never be fully explored.

Fried rice best showcases the true flavor of the stir-frying technique.

While Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was still simmering, Ming Tian had three hours to spare.

Yin Chan simply couldn’t understand—what kind of fried rice could give Ming Tian enough confidence to serve it to the emperor?

In ancient times, there were no nonstick pans, and nothing is more troublesome in fried rice than sticking. Even with overnight rice, due to the genetic makeup of ancient rice and the use of purely natural fermented manure for fertilizer, the cultivation methods differed from modern times, resulting in rice with a lower starch content than what we have today. Even if the rice had been left overnight and its moisture content carefully controlled, the grains would still be too soft. Stir-frying longer could help, but the most troublesome part of soft rice is its tendency to stick to the pan.

To ensure it didn’t stick, the only solution was to add more oil.

But using copious amounts of oil inevitably made the fried rice greasy, a major taboo for the dish!

What could be done?

Across from him stood three gold-medal chefs—their three glittering medals radiated pressure like three colossal Buddhas suppressing the world. Even a minor flaw could make Ming Tian vulnerable to defeat, perhaps even death!

Yet, bearing the will of Zhao Ke, Ming Tian felt as though the God of Culinary Arts had descended into him.

He began to fry the rice, tossing in the ingredients.

Ming Tian’s solution lay in tofu chicken.

As the rice grains began to come together, he swiftly tossed in copious amounts of tofu chicken and stir-fried vigorously!

Ordinarily, the excess oil infused into the rice would be hard to remove, but by using the tofu chicken’s natural absorption, all that oil could be drawn out! Ming Tian’s movements were deft and practiced; the rice in the wok danced with life, leaping and falling in waves.

Under intense heat and furious stir-frying, the wok itself began to flame.

The spectacle left the audience of a hundred tables gasping, engaging in lively discussion below.

“What kind of cooking technique is that?”

“With flames like that, is the food even edible?”

“I have no idea—I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Central cuisine is truly profound, to control fire within such a small iron bowl.”

Ming Tian’s fried rice had captured every gaze—even Qian Shanduo, with his plump face, couldn’t help but pause, utterly baffled by Ming Tian’s mysterious method.

After the tofu chicken had absorbed the excess oil and puffed up, Ming Tian simply removed and discarded it. The rice was now perfectly balanced—just lightly sautéed in oil, emitting a tempting golden sheen!

The aroma of soy and the fried rice itself began to waft through the venue.

Without missing a beat, Ming Tian seized the golden moment when every grain was distinct and separated. He lifted the wok, dividing the rice evenly into four portions, then began to fry each one separately—he was making four different flavors of fried rice!

He used supreme imperial bird’s nest, perfectly extracted abalone sauce, river prawn paste, and, for the last, roe from female crabs—painstakingly extracted by hand all night, until his fingers bled.

Each serving was enhanced with diced carrot and parsnip mash to elevate the flavors.

Just before finishing, Ming Tian poured a semi-finished broth from the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall into each batch, stir-frying until the liquid was absorbed and the essence of the stock was suffused into every grain.

Imperial bird’s nest paired with fresh vegetables, abalone sauce with land delicacies, prawn paste with seafood, and crab roe with poultry.

As each batch of fried rice was completed, the fragrance exploded forth.

Even guests seated at tables far across the arena stared, wide-eyed, beset by the mouthwatering aroma.

“Did you… did you all see—no, smell that? That fragrance!”

“I can’t believe rice can be prepared like this. No—the key is that aroma!”

“My god, rice can actually smell like this!”

Meanwhile, across the arena at Qian Shanduo’s station, the three gold-medal chefs were so shocked they stopped cooking, staring in disbelief at Ming Tian as he plated his dish!

The aroma of Ming Tian’s fried rice actually eclipsed the combined scent of all thirty-two of their dishes.

It was as if this one dish alone could stand toe-to-toe with their entire lineup.

And rightly so.

Ming Tian smiled faintly as he plated the dish, ignoring all the stares.

Each version of his fried rice had been infused with a semi-finished broth from Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, paired with the finest ingredients and cooked with flawless precision—such intoxicating aroma was only to be expected!

In the end, red, white, yellow, and green—the four colors of fried rice—were arranged into a Taiji yin-yang pattern on Ming Tian’s platter.

Red and white lay flat, forming the yin and yang, while yellow and green rose in two mounds atop them.

The Four Styles of Imperial Fried Rice was complete!

Even the pleasure-seeking Marquis of Donghun, usually lost in the company of beauties, was drawn in by the fragrance, staring at Ming Tian’s dish in utter shock.

But—

Ming Tian then announced an astonishing result: “The main course—one dish, four tastes. Four Styles of Imperial Fried Rice, complete!”

The main course?!

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Such a fragrant and magnificent dish was just the main course?

Everyone had assumed this breathtaking, beautifully plated creation would be Ming Tian’s trump card, his grand finale—yet it was only the main course!

Could there really be a dish more exquisite than this Imperial Fried Rice?

Everyone began to speculate.

It was known that, for this culinary competition, the emperor would score each dish, and the side with the highest overall score would win.

Although this dish, with its four variations, would stand in for four separate courses, the sheer allure of its aroma alone was likely enough to overwhelm at least six of Qian Shanduo’s menu items.

Could this young, unknown chef have something even greater in store?

Yet Qian Shanduo showed not a hint of unease; instead, he began to mock.

“Nicely done, boy,” Qian Shanduo applauded lightly, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “But what good is one dish, no matter how superb? This is a team competition. Even if the chefs behind you give their all, do you really think they can surpass the gold-medal chefs’ dishes?”

At this, the guests turned their attention to Ming Tian’s team of twenty-seven chefs.

Indeed, each one was sweating as they worked, striving desperately to create the most delicious dishes possible.

But no matter how hard they tried, the twenty-seven dishes they produced simply couldn’t compare to those crafted by the gold-medal chefs.

A mere four-flavor fried rice could not reverse the disadvantage.

Yet this chef named Ming Tian remained utterly unruffled, sparking wild speculation.

Was his real trump card the enormous cauldron, half as tall as a man, which had been filled with hot water and left to simmer since the competition began?

Time slipped away amid everyone’s questions. As the final second ticked by, Ming Tian brought Buddha Jumps Over the Wall to the table and announced the completion of his ultimate dish!

Bang!

As doubt and confusion filled the hall, both sides’ thirty-two dishes were brought forth, and the gong sounded, signaling the end of the competition!

“Time’s up—hands off, everyone!”

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Let me post an update a little early—next, I’ll be focusing on the statistics for my studio.

Brothers, I don’t have a recommendation slot next week, but I’ll never abandon or disappoint any of my readers. Please don’t abandon me either. I love you all—thank you!