The Magic of Dried Bamboo Shoots

"The first round is about innovative dishes..." Liu Yang, tying his apron, seemed in no hurry at all. Instead, he looked around with great interest at the ingredients provided on-site.

Other contestants had already started working: some were pan-frying expensive Wagyu beef, others were handling imported seafood, and a few were fiddling with molecular gastronomy equipment. Strange and exotic aromas intermingled in the air, like a carnival of international spices.

Xiao Li stood by, anxiously stamping his feet. "Boss, you should hurry up and start! Five minutes have already passed..."

"No need to rush," Liu Yang picked up a pack of dried bamboo shoots, weighed it in his hand, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "This is it."

"Dried bamboo shoots?" Xiao Li almost fainted. "Boss, are you serious? This is a national competition. The guy next to us is stir-frying lobster!"

Liu Yang didn't mind. He grabbed some pork belly from the ingredient area and then stood in front of the seasoning rack. The system in his mind was running quickly.

"Boss..." Xiao Li watched as Liu Yang poured cola into the pot and felt unwell. "Are you making..."

"Dried bamboo shoots with cola pork," Liu Yang said with a confident smile. "Let them see what real innovation is."

At that moment, a rich aroma of black truffles wafted over from the neighboring workstation. The contestant wearing a famous watch was adding expensive slices of ingredients to his pot, and he couldn't help but glance at Liu Yang's pot. "Excuse me, what are you making..." His expression turned strange as he smelled the cola.

Liu Yang's knife danced on the cutting board, slicing the dried bamboo shoots into paper-thin pieces. Each slice was perfectly even as if cut by a machine. The dry and tough bamboo shoots became a kind of art in his hands, with neat and smooth surfaces and visible textures.

The cola in the pot was slowly boiling, bubbling, and emitting a unique sweet aroma. Xiao Li stood by, at a loss, watching his boss's actions and unable to help.

"Boss, let me help you..." Xiao Li asked tentatively.

"No need," Liu Yang replied without looking up, focused on slicing the bamboo shoots. "Just watch."

At this moment, the contestant next door couldn't help but steal glances over several times. They had never seen anyone cut bamboo shoots so beautifully—each slice was perfectly measured, neither too thick to appear coarse nor too thin to lose its texture.

"This knife skill..." a veteran contestant couldn't help but whisper in admiration, "It must have taken more than ten years of practice."

Hearing this, Xiao Li almost laughed out loud.

But then, a strange aroma wafted out from Liu Yang's pot. It was the smell of cola mixed with bamboo shoots, yet it was not discordant at all. Instead, it made people want to take another sniff.

The assistants at the neighboring workstations had already forgotten their tasks and were secretly peeking over at Liu Yang. They looked like apprentices stealing skills.

Every move Liu Yang made was smooth and rhythmic, even the sound of the knife tip tapping the cutting board had a sense of melody. The way he handled the ingredients was like performing a delicate surgery, with every cut precise and every step elegant.

"Look at his knife skill," the assistant at the right workstation couldn't help but mutter, "How long must he have practiced?"

"Shh, don't talk," the assistant on the left strained to watch Liu Yang's technique, "Let me learn properly."

The bamboo shoots in his hands seemed like a kind of art, each piece as thin as cicada wings yet still resilient. Combined with the bubbling sound of the cola in the pot, it created a strange harmony.

The subtle aroma kept wafting out of the pot, making the assistants on both sides swallow their saliva. Their chefs were busy with high-end ingredients, but their attention was unconsciously drawn to Liu Yang's side.

"This move..." the chef at the right workstation glanced over, and his actions involuntarily slowed down, "This kid must be from a famous culinary family."

Watching his boss's skilled actions, Xiao Li finally understood why his boss dared to come to the competition with empty hands.

No matter how good those expensive utensils were, they couldn't compare to this masterful skill. Since opening the shop, every move his boss made seemed to have been polished thousands of times, forming muscle memory. Whether it was knife skills or heat control, it was precise as if written into his DNA.

"So that's it..." Xiao Li nodded to himself, "The boss relies on real skill. Who needs all those fancy gadgets?"

Looking at the neighboring workstation filled with expensive utensils, and then at the ordinary kitchen knife in his boss's hand, Xiao Li suddenly felt that his previous worries were a bit laughable.

Those contestants seemed to be competing with their equipment, while his boss was competing with sheer skill. Every move was fluid as if he and the utensils had become one. Even the most ordinary tools could perform extraordinarily in his hands.

Xiao Li secretly glanced at the people "stealing skills" around him, thinking: If they knew the boss was using the most ordinary tools, they would probably question their existence.

Liu Yang had a faint smile on his lips, but his actions were meticulous. He knew everyone around him was watching, but this only made him more composed.

He slowed down each movement a bit so that the observers could see more clearly—how the knife blade glided over the bamboo shoots, how to slice the pork belly, and how to control the heat. These seemingly simple actions became a silent tutorial in his hands.

The cola bubbled in the pot, and his gentle stirring with the spatula was like conducting a symphony. His posture was incredibly elegant, yet it carried an unspoken calmness as if he were giving a "masterclass."

The system in his mind kept prompting various data, and he turned these precise controls into fluid actions, making every detail professional and refined.

"Let them see," Liu Yang thought, "what real skill is."

He wanted those who were stealing skills to know that a true master is not defined by expensive tools but by the ability to turn ordinary ingredients into extraordinary flavors. This is what real culinary art is.

A rich aroma exploded in this corner, stunning the contestants on both sides.

The cola in the pot had completely thickened, coating the pork belly and bamboo shoots with an enticing golden hue.

The bamboo shoots absorbed the flavor of the meat and the sweet aroma of the cola, becoming soft and chewy just right while retaining their unique resilience.

The pork belly, wrapped in the cola, glistened with a crystalline sheen that made one's mouth water just by looking at it.

"Is it done already?" The assistant on the right couldn't believe it and looked at the clock. "In just five minutes?"

The chef on the left involuntarily stopped his actions. With the same stove and the same heat, how could someone control the heat so perfectly in such a short time?

The texture of the bamboo shoots, just by looking at the appearance, was spot-on.

"Impossible..." someone muttered, "Bamboo shoots can't be soaked and prepared so quickly..."

Yet the reality was right in front of them: the bamboo shoots were not only fully flavored but also emitted an unprecedented aroma.

The sweet aroma of cola, the savory taste of pork belly, and the fresh scent of bamboo shoots—three seemingly mismatched flavors were perfectly blended in Liu Yang's hands.

Xiao Li stood by, dumbfounded. He knew that normally, soaking bamboo shoots would take at least half an hour. But his boss had used some magical method to bring the bamboo shoots to a perfect state in such a short time.

The contestants on both sides looked at each other, seeing shock in each other's eyes. This was no longer a matter of technique; it was almost like magic.

"Th-this..." The chef on the right rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "Am I seeing things?"

If they hadn't watched Liu Yang's every move from start to finish, they would have suspected that this was a pre-prepared semi-finished product.

But they had been right there, watching every detail from selecting ingredients and cutting accompaniments to the final dish. They recognized those actions, but why did they produce such a magical effect when combined?

It was just ordinary bamboo shoots, ordinary pork belly, and even the seasoning cola was a common drink. Yet in Liu Yang's hands, they seemed to be transformed by magic.

"How did he do that?" The assistant at the left workstation couldn't help but ask his master.

The chef shook his head, looking at his pot where the high-end ingredients were still slowly simmering, and suddenly felt a bit ridiculous.

Someone used the most ordinary materials to achieve such an effect in the shortest time, while they...

Xiao Li looked at the shocked expressions around him and felt secretly proud. This was his boss's strength. Every move was calculated perfectly, and every second was used just right.