novelraw Chapter 263 181: Three Dishes and One Soup, Divine Nose Falters
Chapter 263 181: Three Dishes and One Soup, Divine Nose Falters
When Lin Chen tossed the entire cow head into the soup pot to stew without adding anything other than water, scallions, and ginger, a flicker of curiosity flashed in Nagishiro Sho's eyes.
This must be just the first step; there will definitely be a second or even third process later on. Such basic common sense was obvious to him.
The problem is that the cow head itself has a strong gamey smell. Can a few slices of ginger and some scallions really remove it completely?
Besides the cow head, those internal organs were simply rinsed before being handed over to Jonathan for a thorough cleaning with flour and a little baking soda. It wasn't clear what dishes would be prepared.
This sense of unknown excitement made him take a few steps forward, wanting to observe Lin Chen's cooking details and techniques more closely.
And just like that, twenty minutes passed.
Throughout the entire process, Lin Chen was cutting and marinating the meat, without any extra movements.
If anything special stood out, it was probably the unique marinating technique that caught his eye.
"It's common to add seasonings to raw meat for marinating, but adding water? And starch? Is that the secret to why the green pepper beef is so tender?"
Involuntarily, he took out a small notebook to jot down the key points, planning to try them out when he got back.
"Beep beep beep—"
The pressure cooker alarm sounded.
Lin Chen finally stopped what he was doing and went to open the pressure cooker lid, pouring out the richly fragrant braised beef with its soup, and then putting in the cow head along with the soup, covering it again for further pressurization.
The freshly braised beef shank soup had a clear, slightly amber color, with the aroma from the spices being just right to enhance the flavor a bit.
He quickly placed the soup into the cold storage to cool it down, then took out the beef brisket from the other pressure cooker.
After a whole half-day of busy work, it seemed like there were only many semi-finished products, but Nagishiro Sho was in no hurry. There was plenty of time, and the more complete the preparation, the more surprising the later stages would be.
After another half hour of preparation work, Lin Chen finally began to clean the cutting board, classifying all the pre-prepared ingredients.
At a glance, there were at least ten different kinds.
Was it finally about to start?!
Not only was Nagishiro Sho excited, but the other five onlookers were also drawn in by the aroma of meat wafting through the air, gathering around.
When Lin Chen placed two woks on the stove, his whole demeanor changed, and a strong sense of confidence emerged in his eyes.
Just when everyone thought he was about to start stir-frying, Lin Chen turned directly and walked to the cold storage, returning momentarily with two small bowls in his hands.
He picked up the sharpening rod and, with a few swift strokes, lightly pressed down on the beef shank with his left hand, slicing it swiftly. The thin, translucent slices of meat lay neatly on the plate.
He mixed soy sauce, aged vinegar, minced garlic, little chili peppers, scallions, and a bit of hot oil together evenly.
Except for a few foreigners including Lucas, the Great Xia people present all began to swallow unconsciously.
Braised beef shank with soy sauce and vinegar—who wouldn't have an appetite for that? Just catching a whiff of the faint sour aroma made their mouths water uncontrollably.
"Huh?"
Nagishiro Sho's chef instincts immediately sensed the change in the people around him.
Could this seemingly ordinary dish of beef shank harbor some special details he hadn't detected?
Just as this thought crossed his mind, his gaze locked onto the two bottles of sauce.
One bottle was certainly soy sauce, and the other was vinegar.
The key was right here.
Both soy sauce and vinegar can have different flavors due to different production methods, techniques, and ingredients.
Thinking hard, he realized he hadn't really tasted the basic seasonings of Great Xia, so his mind couldn't conjure up their corresponding flavors, thus he couldn't react to the food's taste as others did.
"Mr. Nagishiro, you are our guest, please try it first."
Wang Ziqin smiled and handed the dish of braised beef shank to him.
Since food was prepared for six servings at once and they were all old acquaintances, Lin Chen, as usual, piled the plate full without minding the presentation.
Nagishiro Sho didn't care about presentation either; such things were just gimmicks for impressing guests. Between fellow chefs, it's about cooking skills and control over the food; there was no need to waste time on that.
He thanked him, eagerly picked up a slice of beef, not dipping it in the sauce, and popped it straight into his mouth, simultaneously soaking a second slice in the sauce a bit.
The seemingly plain beef was full of flavor when it hit the tongue, with almost no gamey taste, only the chewy texture from the beef shank itself.
After being chilled, the broth flavors from the braised beef shank thoroughly penetrated the meat, and even in just half an hour, he could taste the light spice flavors within.
"Ginger, scallions, star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper... and some scents I've never encountered."
From the residual flavors in his mouth, he could easily discern what ingredients had been added to the braising broth—skills honed over his twenty-year culinary career.
Moreover, his family gave him the nickname "Divine Nose," meaning his sense of smell was far more sensitive than his taste.
The beef strips dipped in sauce, slightly translucent under the light, with irregular tendon patterns made them appear even more delicious and tempting.
Bringing it close, he sniffed it twice, eyes lighting up.
"So that's it, this soy sauce has a stronger umami flavor than ours, and the vinegar taste is more pronounced, different from the refreshing feel of rice or fruit vinegars. It seems to carry a sense of history, probably having undergone longer fermentation."