Fang Yuanyuan felt like she had opened up a new world—who knew cooking could be done like this?

Even though she was young, she could see that whenever the song hit a specific word, that handsome big brother would have a little jolt.

"The food cooked while listening to VV's song must be delicious, right?"

Fang Yuanyuan couldn't help but swallow her saliva.

These past few days, she forced herself to eat only rice and no dishes, making her taste buds go bland. In reality, watching a table full of colorful dishes every mealtime made her eyes almost pop out.

But she had already gone rogue, and a dark-sided elementary school student wouldn't eat dishes!

But now that her idol's song was incorporated into the dish, Fang Yuanyuan only felt more tempted, lying at the door with wide eyes full of curiosity about what kind of dish this big brother would finally make.

Fang Zhizhong came out following his daughter, saw her curiously lying there watching, and didn't ask questions. He just stood there quietly watching his daughter.

In Fang Yuanyuan's view.

She saw that big brother stir-fry the beef cubes again, then shoveled them onto a plate and set it aside.

Then he added a lot of things to the pot with a clatter; she didn't understand, but it smelled very fragrant!

Inside the room.

Hou Yao nodded from time to time, looking very satisfied with Chen Mo's actions, which made Mu Xin grind his teeth with frustration, "Why do you keep nodding?"

Hou Yao was interrupted in his thoughts, "Oh. I feel that if this youngster didn't become an apprentice under a famous teacher, then he'd really have some talent for cooking."

"Why do you say that?" Although Mu Xin was a bit displeased, he was also curious.

Hou Yao pointed to the pot, "You see, he just added three types of oil: regular vegetable oil, lard, and also some aromatic oil we refine ourselves in the kitchen."

"This shows the kid understands a bit of the craft."

Three types of oil mean three different flavors. Tofu itself has a subtle taste and becomes nearly tasteless once the bean aroma is removed.

A simple dish like mapo tofu can often reflect a chef's skill.

When Chen Mo used to live in a rented place, he had tried making this dish before. His impression of his own mapo tofu was that it tasted fairly good, but after chewing and swallowing the tofu, it felt bland in his mouth again.

Therefore, according to the analysis from the system's recipe, at least two types of oil should be used for the initial seasoning. It would be even better if aromatic oil made with scallions and ginger was used.

Pouring three types of oil into the pot, Chen Mo's arm swung as he sprinkled in half a spoonful of minced ginger!

Another swing, and it was half a spoonful of fermented black beans!

The spoon danced back and forth in the oil to the rhythm of the music; as soon as the kitchen filled with a very distinct fragrance!

A spoonful of light soy sauce, half a spoon of minced garlic added.

Ginger, garlic, and fermented black beans worked hard to unleash their aromas in the mixed oil, while Chen Mo continued to stir-fry unhurriedly, waiting for a signal.

Speakers: "Always reminiscing about the past, blaming myself ~ Always unintentionally thinking of you~"

"The current you are already too far to reach... can only remain in my memory."

This was the moment!

Half a spoon of Pixian bean paste was added, instantly making the base oil visually boil, quickly spreading the bean paste and shoving half of the stir-fried minced beef into the fragrant base oil with a spatula.

The originally dark brown beef cubes instantly took on a lovely oily red hue. As Chen Mo pushed and pulled repeatedly, the color of the beef cubes grew more enticing, and the aroma filling the air was no longer just a simple seasoning smell; it mixed with slight meatiness, making it exceptionally pleasant.

Next, various seasonings were added in sequence.

Crushed chili, chicken essence, MSG, white sugar—almost without a second's pause, the spatula scooped half a spoonful from the soy-sauce-colored water soaking the tofu, drizzled along the pot's edge, causing the liquid to boil instantly under high heat.

With the spatula continuously pushing and pulling, the liquid drizzled into the pot fused with the previous seasonings, turning into a vivid red hue, with beef cubes faintly visible in the soup.

Onlookers in the back kitchen couldn't help but swallow their saliva.

Having been used to Cantonese cuisine with its light and original flavors in the Yueyun Pavilion, suddenly such a heavy-oil and spicy dish popped up. Even before the dish was done, just the sight of its bright color tantalized everyone's taste buds a bit.

As the liquid boiled for a few seconds, Chen Mo accurately found the beat in the next line of the lyrics and lifted the tofu out of the soy-sauce-colored water.

After soaking in the warm sauce-water, the tofu not only lost its inherent beany smell but also absorbed a salty base flavor. Once added to the red liquid in the pot, it was promptly stained with an alluring color.

Then, switch to low heat.

Chen Mo scooped some thickening sauce prepared by the apprentice with a spoon.

The spoon hovered over the pot before retracting.

'What to do?'

Even in the food cart earlier, despite having a progress bar to guide him, Chen Mo couldn't achieve a "perfect" rating on this move.

This part was particularly tricky.

The challenge lay not in when to pour the thickening sauce, but in the technique of thickening and the amount of sauce.

Seeing this.

Hou Yao chuckled and stepped forward, "Need any help?"

Chen Mo glanced sideways, "You're saying?"

Hou Yao didn't mean to lend a hand but instead said, "Thickening is quite an intricate craft in Cantonese cuisine. The effect varies greatly with different techniques. For this dish, as I see it..."

His hand moved in the air, "At least once isn't enough for thickening."

Chen Mo didn't recognize the person in front of him but felt what he said made sense, as the recipe called for three rounds of thickening, which was why Chen Mo hesitated for a moment earlier.

On each of those three times in the food cart, he only got an "cool" rating, meaning: just average.

"You need to thicken once initially, mainly to make the soup slightly more viscous."

Chen Mo nodded gratefully and drizzled a circle around the tofu following Hou Yao's technique.

The soup in the pot visibly thickened quite a bit.

"But the tofu contains water, and the soup is salty, which will make the water come out again and wash away the sauce." Hou Yao gestured, "So you'll need a second round to regain it."

Chen Mo scooped some sauce with the spoon, and Hou Yao said, "A little more."

Sure enough, the soup that was thick just now became much clearer again, and under low heat, the volume of the soup also reduced somewhat.

Though difficult to control the amount of sauce and specific technique, Chen Mo had a good grasp of timing.

When the soup reduced again, Chen Mo drizzled in the sauce around the edges, using a small amount this time, pouring two full circles around from the outer ring to the inner ring.

After thickening was complete, he turned the heat up to high, and when the soup boiled vigorously, he immediately switched it back to low heat.

At the same time, the spatula gently pushed the tofu and soup in the pot.

Hou Yao couldn't help but nod again with approval.

This was why seeing Chen Mo hesitate to thicken earlier had prompted him to speak up. With over thirty years in the cooking profession, Hou Yao had experienced numerous changes in the industry.

In the old days, apprentices would practically sneak to watch master chefs cook, eager to learn more skills.

Today's apprentices are different. Hou Yao had taught quite a few students whose skills weren't impressive, yet their personalities were quite prideful. He appreciated practitioners like Chen Mo, who could keep most details of a dish in mind and willingly execute them.

The soup in the pot thickened once more.

As the spatula moved, Chen Mo discovered a new issue.

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