Gan Lan planned to use these cooked shrimp as her main ingredient. There were many ways to prepare shrimp: hot and sour shrimp, sweet and sour shrimp, braised shrimp, spicy shrimp, dry-pot shrimp, and more. Although cooked shrimp might not be as tasty as fresh, raw shrimp once prepared, the flavor certainly wouldn’t be too bad.
Hot and sour shrimp actually called for cooked shrimp anyway, so the texture wouldn’t be compromised. Other recipes might be slightly affected, but it wasn’t a major issue.
Gan Lan had the starship’s robotic assistant help peel the shrimp while she started chopping the secondary ingredients.
Ever since Gan Lan had asked her livestream audience, "You guys aren’t disgusted that these are leftover shrimp, are you?" the comments had exploded.
[Feiran: Not disgusted at all. A full shrimp banquet sounds absolutely amazing ^^]
[The Lilies of Joy Have Bloomed: Hmm... I don’t think I can accept this. Packing up leftover food from a banquet to eat... Even if it’s being re-cooked, I just feel a bit repulsed and uncomfortable. I can’t accept this...]
[I’m really poor: Not disgusted. Why would I be? These haven’t been touched, eaten, or ruined by anyone. They’re still perfectly intact. When I was starving, I even ate out of the trash, let alone eating these high-end ingredients. I don’t want to know where the leftovers from your banquets are thrown away, because I want to go scavenge them...]
[Immortal Barbecue: Hey upstairs, don’t I remember you wanting to spend ten million Credit Points to buy a Phoenix earlier? Has the former trash-scavenger now reached the peak of life?]
[I’m Too Stressed: I’m already here, so I’ll eat whatever you make. Plus, you said you’re making a full shrimp banquet! Suddenly, I’m really looking forward to it!]
[Like a Dream, Like a Fantasy: Just thinking about where the ingredients came from... I can’t eat it. I’ll just watch this so-called full shrimp banquet~ I’m only looking, not eating!]
...
The livestream comments were divided into three main factions: one that didn’t mind the leftovers, one that remained neutral, and one that absolutely refused to eat and was only there to watch.
This was entirely within Gan Lan’s expectations. What she hadn’t anticipated, however, was that the majority of the viewers who didn’t mind were actually those who had gifted her Cosmic Starships.
A true full shrimp banquet couldn’t just consist of two or three dishes. Making eight or ten dishes would be more fitting.
She placed the steamed shrimp, now peeled by the robotic assistant, into purified water to soak for a few minutes. Soaking in cold water would make the shrimp meat crisper and more tender.
In a bowl, she added a suitable amount of diced onions, green and red peppers, chopped scallions, and cilantro. Then she poured in a measured amount of salt, sugar, vinegar, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Sichuan peppercorn oil, and white pepper powder, stirring everything together evenly.
She heated oil in a pan. Once it reached the right temperature, she poured the sizzling hot oil into the seasoning bowl, then added lemon slices and stirred.
She drained the large shrimp that had been soaking in cold water. Because they were so large, she cut each shelled shrimp into six even pieces. She continued chopping until she could pour all the diced shrimp meat into the seasoning bowl. After tossing the mixture, she covered it with plastic wrap to refrigerate for about an hour.
With that finished, Gan Lan started on the next dish.
The starship was also staffed with several Culinary Masters. Originally, after yielding the kitchen to Gan Lan, they had planned to return to their quarters to rest. However, upon hearing that she was going to prepare a full shrimp banquet, they paused in their tracks and found places to sit. They all wanted to see whether this young girl was truly as skilled as claimed, or if she had lost her mind from the online attacks.
As they watched, they couldn’t help but whisper among themselves.
"A full shrimp banquet! Even though she entered the grand finals ranked first, isn’t she talking a bit too big? She really dares to make such claims!"
"Just because you can’t make it doesn’t mean she can’t. I say, Old Liu, what’s your problem? It’s a good thing for young people to be confident. I actually quite like her. After watching her Huaxia Cuisine Series, I feel like my own culinary skills have improved significantly."
"Yes, exactly! Me too. I feel like my mindset is clearer and cooking has become much smoother. This student is quite capable. However, what I like most about her is how she cherishes food. It’s just a pity that, under the watchful eyes of the public—especially in front of those people from Banan Star—packing up leftovers is a bit..."
"Hmph! So what? Every banquet throws away massive amounts of food, completely ignoring the fact that ordinary people can’t even afford the ingredients being tossed out! Gan Lan did nothing wrong! The ones in the wrong are those upper-class elites who would rather treat it as garbage than distribute these resources to normal citizens!"
As the onlooking Culinary Masters discussed the matter, they began to argue amongst themselves...
"Alright, enough arguing. You’re going to disturb Gan Lan!" Chu Yuanyi had originally been watching Gan Lan’s livestream in his room, but when he heard she was going to make a full shrimp banquet, he couldn’t sit still any longer. The moment he stepped into the dining hall, he saw the Culinary Masters caught in a heated dispute.
The Culinary Masters weren’t the only ones drawn in by the promise of a full shrimp banquet. Chu Yuanyi, Liang Cong, the other teachers, and even the starship’s crew had all found seats, planning to witness the birth of this banquet with their own eyes.
Naturally, some maintained a skeptical attitude, but the majority still had faith in Gan Lan.
The seasoning bowl had only been splashed with hot oil, yet the aroma was already so overwhelmingly rich. This hot and sour cold-tossed shrimp was bound to be delicious.
The first dish was finished. Next up was the second: sweet and sour peeled shrimp.
She grabbed another clean bowl and poured in a measured mixture of soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, cornstarch, ketchup, light soy sauce, and water, stirring them together evenly.
Because the shrimp were cooked and had already been seasoned, they were flavorful enough without further marination. However, it was difficult to coat them in cornstarch. To fix this, she dipped them in a thin layer of egg wash before rolling them in the starch.
She heated oil in the pan, dropped in the starch-coated shrimp pieces, and fried them until they were lightly golden before scooping them out.
Leaving a little base oil in the pan, she poured in the sweet and sour sauce and brought it to a bubbling boil. Then, she tossed the fried shrimp back in, stir-frying them until every single piece was evenly coated in the glistening sauce. With a final sprinkle of sesame seeds, the dish was ready to be served.
The bright, crimson pieces of sweet and sour shrimp were finished. Gan Lan had stir-fried a massive pot, dividing the portions into several plates. She saved three plates for herself and carried the remaining two out for the teachers watching her to taste.
A sweet and sour aroma drifted from the kitchen out into the dining hall. Everyone who caught a whiff of the scent seeping through the partition window couldn’t help but swallow thickly.
When Gan Lan walked out of the kitchen holding the sweet and sour shrimp, the fragrance grew even more intense.
"Teachers, if you don’t mind, could you help me taste-test the texture?" Gan Lan asked with a bright smile, placing the two plates of sweet and sour shrimp in front of her instructors.
"We don’t mind, we don’t mind," Chu Yuanyi said, waving his hand dismissively as he stared at the two plates of vibrantly red sweet and sour shrimp before him.
He took the lead and picked up a piece of shrimp with his chopsticks. The chunk was completely coated in sauce; as he lifted it, a few stray drops of sauce dripped down, while the rest clung securely to the meat.
The moment he put it in his mouth, he was immediately met with the perfectly balanced sweet and sour sauce. With a bite, the outer crust proved to be fragrant and crispy, while the inner shrimp meat was fresh and tender. Mixed with the sweet and sour sauce filling his mouth, Chu Yuanyi chewed slowly, savoring the myriad of wonderful flavors.
The other teachers observed Chu Yuanyi’s expression, swallowing their saliva from time to time. A few of them were internally struggling; they desperately wanted to eat it, but the thought of where the food came from held them back. Still, they couldn’t bear to tear their eyes away from the sweet and sour shrimp.
Chu Yuanyi picked up another piece of shrimp, and Liang Cong quickly followed suit. The other teachers were still agonizing over their decision. Seeing their conflicted expressions, a few Culinary Masters sitting nearby couldn’t take it anymore.
One of the Culinary Masters shouted in their direction, "If you aren’t going to eat that plate, give it to us! We don’t mind!"
Hearing this, the rest of the crew quickly chimed in. "Yeah, yeah, we don’t mind either! Let us eat it! Don’t force yourselves!"