Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 202 - 150: Familiar Faces Arrive, Everyone Goes Wild_2

Repeated several times, the previously solidified eggs have piled up in the center, and the liquid eggs that haven't solidified are rapidly congealing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Repeat the previous movement again, then scoop out the eggs and set them aside for later use.

The residual heat will slowly cook the unsolidified egg liquid inside, without it becoming too overcooked.

Add a bit of base oil, then quickly stir-fry the diced seafood until it changes color. After that, add diced carrots and spicy pickled mustard greens, a type of salted vegetable from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang area.

Once the pickled vegetables are added, a rich fermented sour aroma instantly fills the air, intertwining with the seafood aroma, reminiscent of sour fish.

The diced seafood shouldn't be stir-fried for too long; once it slightly changes color, add the refrigerated rice to cool it down.

In theory, fried rice should be made with overnight rice, but essentially it's to dehydrate the rice, making it drier.

In a slightly larger, more formal restaurant like this, the kitchen cold storage has its own circulating cold air. Just spread the cooked rice flat inside for about half an hour, achieving the same effect as overnight rice.

Loosen the rice with a rice spoon before adding it to the wok for a distinct granule effect, saving a lot of stir-frying time.

With the rice in the wok, Lin Chen once again demonstrates his tossing technique.

The whole wok full of rice and diced seafood flies into the air, falling back down the same path, flying up again, and falling down once more.

In just a few turns, the rice and other ingredients have completely mixed together.

At this point, pour the eggs back in, casually chop them up a bit, and continue to stir-fry.

For fried rice, the heat should be high throughout to achieve that delicious wok aroma.

The orange-red flames dance around the iron wok, and the colorful ingredients fly through the air, attracting the attention of many diners who have just entered, looking for a seat.

"Wow, is this the cooking technique of a Chinese head chef?"

"So this is how fried rice is made. No wonder mine doesn't taste good at home."

After a quick stir-fry, Lin Chen stops and takes a ladle of soy sauce from the condiment area, drizzling it along the edge of the wok, adding a few spoons of sea salt, and quickly tossing it again.

As the soy sauce is added, the wok sizzles, and the originally white rice changes to a light brown at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At this time, sprinkle a handful of green onion whites, continue to stir-fry, letting the excess moisture in the ingredients evaporate rapidly, releasing the onion aroma.

The black tiger shrimp has fully turned orange-red, the octopus tentacles are curled, and the scallop meat has changed from translucent to pure white.

Immediately turn off the heat.

Sprinkle a handful of chopped green onions, tossing a few times symbolically, using the heat of the fried rice to steam them tender.

Although it seems like a lot of steps, the whole process took less than five minutes.

Elsa had already prepared an empty stainless steel basin, and Lin Chen poured the entire wok of seafood fried rice into it.

No need to wash the wok, just put it back on the stove to heat up, and start stir-frying noodles.

The process is exactly the same, just replacing the rice with thin noodles.

The hefty fried rice is much heavier than the previous green pepper beef strips.

Even with all her strength, Elsa couldn't move the bowl of fried rice, awkwardly casting a pleading glance at Lucas.

He had just finished mixing two new bowls of cold dishes and quickly ran over to help her move the fried rice.

After all, manual labor is his main job.

"Elsa, you handle the cold dishes later; you're better at serving guests. I'll move these."

"Alright, thank you!"

The three of them had memorized the sauce proportions for the cold dishes backward and forward under Lin Chen's guidance, just in case something unexpected happened when they were busy, and so that someone could back them up.

"Hey, you're doing well here, Lucas."

Just as Lucas hefted the fried rice over to the main dish area beside the stir-fry stations, his good friends Amber and Jade came over, holding plates full of food with smiles on their faces.

Lucas glanced at their plates, "Nice, nice, you know to grab the meat. Congratulations on understanding the essence of a buffet."

"Hey, hey, don't rush off. It's rare to see you as a waiter, come on."

Seeing him about to leave, Jade hurriedly bent down and took an empty plate from under the table: "Fill us up!"

"?"

Lucas looked at the fried rice, then at the empty plate, and pointed at himself: "Me?"

"Who else?"

"Just a little advice, buffets don't offer this service. You help yourself to as much as you want, and wasting food is penalized. I'd suggest taking less; there's more good stuff coming later."

As he finished, he was ready to leave, as Lin Chen's new dish was almost done, and he needed to deliver a new bowl...

"This fried rice looks good, feels like a high-class hotel. Oh, what a coincidence, you guys are here too?"

Dreya came over, holding a plate full of food in her left hand and an empty plate in her right. She nodded and smiled at the two as a greeting, her gaze shifting to the fried rice.

Lucas immediately pulled back his right foot, grabbed a spoon, and piled up a full spoon of fried rice, placing it on Jade's plate, then Amber's.

He looked at Dreya, who was wearing delicate makeup and dressed stylishly, his spoon scooping around in the fried rice, then placed a heap full of seafood on her plate.

"Come back for more if it's not enough, eat to your fill~"

"Thank you."

Dreya smiled politely and left with her plate.

Amber and Jade exchanged glances, then looked at Lucas, their eyes filled with clear disdain.

"After all these years, you're still like this, never changing, unable to walk past a pretty girl."

"Being single has its reasons. Change your ways, my friend."

"...Mind your own business!"

Anna ran over excitedly, just as Lucas was walking away: "Hey, hey! Get me some too, my hands are full!"

"Put the plate down, then you'll have hands free."

"...Deserve to be single!"

Snorting in dissatisfaction, she scooped herself half a plate of hot fried rice and walked back with two plates of food.

As she walked, she felt someone watching her. Subconsciously, she turned to look out the window.

"Joel?!!!"

The guy waving at her through the glass, who else could it be!

Joel eyed her food, swallowing as if he were about to say something when Dreya, walking ahead, retraced her steps, looking over with a face full of curiosity as well.

Seeing Dreya, Joel's expression immediately changed. Panic-stricken, he glanced around and ran away.

"Why didn't he come in to eat?"

Dreya nudged Anna with her elbow, her expression teasing.

"It's not because of you! Your bodyguard!"

Anna sighed, knowing she couldn't hide it from her, "He said that since I'm living with you, it means Anthony is nearby. To avoid him, he's staying at a local bed-and-breakfast, not a hotel, so he can't come in to eat."

"Is that so..." Dreya tilted her head in confusion, "Hotels have so many rooms, couldn't he just avoid our floor? You're both meeting secretly anyway, does it matter?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking! Who knew he'd be so foolish? I'm starting to regret it a bit. With me around, I wouldn't let him get bullied by other guys, right? Such a foolish person doesn't seem fit for a relationship."

"Caught you! Finally admitting you two are dating! Come on, tell me, when did this start?"

"??!! You're tricking me into saying it!!"

At the door, Dais and Helena welcomed another guest, and seeing no one outside for the moment, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Didn't expect so many customers this early, at least over eighty, right? I wonder if the chef can handle it all."

At this time, Dais had already completely changed her opinion of the mature waitress in front of her. Her service skills were on par with her own, evidently a highly professional veteran employee.

Hearing this, she couldn't help but feel anxious, quickly grabbing a 'Ring bell for service' sign and placing it at the reception, as the two hurried into the restaurant.

"Hmm, strange, where are all the personal belongings, where are the guests?"

Every seat they passed was empty, and the table settings were untouched.

"It's a bit strange, it's been over ten minutes since dining opened. The first round should have been tasted more or less, why are there no traces of food on the tables?"

"Could it be... something went wrong in the kitchen?!"