After reattaching his microphone, the recording of the show began.

"As a Northern drifter, I've found that Yanjing folks really love mutton. Whether it's mutton hotpot, lamb spine, mutton soup, or grilled mutton, these dishes are all extremely popular in Beijing. Among the stir-fried dishes, there's one that makes many Beijing residents crave it if they go three days without eating it. That dish is... Scallion Explosion Lamb!"

The camera shifted with Zeng Xiaoqi's movement to the stove, where Lin Xu's figure appeared again.

"Today we're fortunate to have Boss Lin here to teach everyone how to cook this dish. Hello, Boss Lin."

"Hello, Sister Xiaoqi."

The process for the three dishes was almost the same; Lin Xu knew it by heart. After the opening, he began to introduce the ingredients.

"The ingredients and seasonings for Scallion Explosion Lamb are very simple, mainly consisting of leg of lamb, Shandong Green Onions, ginger, garlic, fragrant vinegar, Soy Sauce, salt, and Sesame Oil."

After the introduction, Zeng Xiaoqi asked, "Why do you emphasize Shandong Green Onions, Boss Lin? Are you from Shandong?"

"I'm not from Shandong, nor am I a son-in-law of anyone from there," Lin Xu replied. "The reason I emphasize Shandong Green Onions is that these onions are sweeter and better enhance the umami flavor when added to dishes."

Geng Lishan nodded slightly, fully agreeing with this statement.

Shandong Green Onions are an indispensable ingredient in Scallion Explosion Lamb. Not just for this dish, but also for Beijing Sauce Meat Strips, Roast Duck, and other dishes requiring scallion strips—all must be made with Shandong Green Onions, using only the white part. These green onions are sweet, fresh, and free of tough strings or residue. They can neutralize the saltiness of the sauce while also adding a crisp, fresh flavor to the dish.

After Lin Xu finished his introduction, he began to demonstrate his knife skills. He picked up the lamb but didn't cut it into slices immediately. Instead, he followed the muscle grain to remove the tough membrane.

"When preparing lamb, the membrane must be completely removed," he explained as he worked. "Otherwise, the dish will be tough to chew and hard on your teeth."

After removing the membrane from the lean meat, he turned the meat over and gently stripped a thin layer of membrane from the fatty part. This layer is known as the lamb's "cloud skin"; if not removed, the cooked lamb will be unpleasantly chewy.

Once all the membranes were gone, he sliced the leg of lamb along the grain into strips about six centimeters long. Then, cutting against the grain, he sliced these strips into thin pieces.

As the cameraman moved in for a close-up, Zeng Xiaoqi also leaned closer to watch. If this is simple, I'll try making it myself back at my rented apartment, she thought.

At that moment, Lin Xu said, "The meat slices don't need to be too thin; about 1.5 millimeters is best. This thickness allows them to cook quickly while retaining some chewiness."

Upon hearing that the meat slices didn't need to be too thin, Zeng Xiaoqi was delighted. Haha, that perfectly suits my knife skills!

But when she heard "1.5 millimeters," a series of question marks popped into her head. 1.5 millimeters isn't considered thin? Boss Lin, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the word 'thin'?

Recalling her own knife skills, which produced Potato Strips thicker than KFC fries, the beautiful Miss Zeng wisely decided to give up on the idea.

Forget it, forget it, she thought. There's no need to risk chopping off my hand for a single dish. If I want Scallion Explosion Lamb in the future, I'll just have to thicken my skin and go freeload a meal from Boss Lin.

Once the lamb was cut, it was placed on a plate and set aside. Next, Lin Xu began to slice the green onions.

"Only the white part of the green onion is used," he explained. "When cutting, make small roll-cuts so the onion pieces can separate easily. They'll cook through quickly in the hot wok."

Roll-cutting is typically used for round ingredients. The term "roll-cut" doesn't mean the knife itself is rolling; rather, the food rolls under the knife. With each cut, the ingredient is rotated slightly. This method produces pieces that are more evenly cut and cook faster, and they also have a larger surface area to better absorb sauce. When cutting round ingredients this way, one should cut along the central axis, known in professional terms as the "axial line." If the knife blade extends beyond the ingredient's axial line when cutting, the pieces will be larger; this is called a "large roll-cut." If the blade does not extend beyond the axial line, it's a "small roll-cut."

After cutting the green onions, Lin Xu gently rubbed them on the cutting board with his hands, allowing the layers to separate. He then scooped them into a large bowl.

With the lamb and green onions prepped, Lin Xu also minced some ginger and garlic.

"You'll want to prepare extra minced garlic," he advised, "because for this dish, garlic needs to be added to the wok in three separate additions during cooking."

"Three times?" Zeng Xiaoqi asked. "Why is that, Boss Lin?"

"It's to remove the gamey taste and smell of the lamb," Lin Xu replied. "Garlic has a strong effect in neutralizing those, so it's best to use it when cooking lamb."

Zhen Wensheng turned to Geng Lishan and inquired, "Mr. Lishan, Chef Lin isn't mistaken, is he?"

"No, he's not," Geng Lishan confirmed. "Not only should garlic be added three times, but vinegar should also be added twice during the cooking. This is all to eliminate the gamey flavor."

Geng Lishan found himself increasingly impressed with Lin Xu. Young people who understand these traditional cooking methods are becoming truly rare, he thought. Take this dish, for example. If you were to ask any young chef from a typical restaurant to make it, they'd undoubtedly toss in a mishmash of ingredients like oyster sauce, Cooking Wine, and various peppers. But in reality, you shouldn't add Cooking Wine or other strong spices to Scallion Explosion Lamb. This dish is all about savoring the natural aroma and flavor of the lamb itself. Once Cooking Wine and spices are introduced, the lamb's distinct taste gets completely overpowered, ruining the entire dish.

Once all the preparations were complete, Lin Xu placed a wok on the stove and began the cooking process. He first heated the wok thoroughly, then added a large spoonful of cold oil and cranked the heat to maximum.

While waiting for the oil to heat up, he turned to the camera and said, "Home stoves typically have less powerful flames. So, when making this dish, I recommend cooking no more than half a pound of meat at a time. This allows for a quick stir-fry, ensuring the meat cooks rapidly without releasing too much moisture. Otherwise, if the water from the meat simmers out, it will significantly detract from the dish's presentation."

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