novelraw Chapter 264 181: Three Dishes and One Soup, Divine Nose Malfunctioning (Part 2)
Chapter 264 181: Three Dishes and One Soup, Divine Nose Malfunctioning (Part 2)
After mentally preparing himself, he stuffed the piece of beef into his mouth.
As expected, just like he had smelled, the sauce was full of salty and savory flavors, immediately followed by a strong tanginess.
The garlic juice combined with the fresh spiciness of the millet pepper and the fragrance of the scallions perfectly elevated the intense taste, complementing the bland beef, making it more fragrant with each chew, stimulating the appetite and making his mouth water uncontrollably.
Although he wanted to eat more, his instincts restrained his impulse, and he pushed the plate forward.
"That's enough, everyone, please enjoy. I just wanted a taste and need to save some room for the other delicious dishes later."
As he spoke, he looked at the restaurant staff, including Dais Helena and the others.
"You lovely ladies shouldn't just stand there, join in and eat. I brought plenty of meat, enough for everyone for days, don't waste it."
Even after cooking, over a hundred pounds of meat would shrink to around a hundred pounds. A normal woman eats about a pound of meat a day, which is quite substantial. A man with a good appetite could eat one to two pounds a day without a problem.
Even if all thirteen people present ate at once, it wouldn't make a dent in this cow.
The four female waitresses all looked at Wang Ziqin, after all, he was the highest-ranking official here.
Wang shrugged and pointed at Lin Chen: "Don't look at me, they're in charge of the restaurant, I don't interfere."
The four women sighed in relief simultaneously, with no more questions to ask. They each grabbed cutlery and joined the dining group.
They knew very well the personalities of the two Head Chefs, both easy to get along with and not concerned with workplace hierarchies, focusing on a relaxed atmosphere.
Jonathan didn't hesitate either, he gleefully squeezed in to grab two pieces of beef, rolled them in the sauce, stuffed them in his mouth, and returned to Lin Chen's side.
An entire plate, stacked with at least five layers of beef shank, was quickly emptied amidst the crowd's scramble. Each person managed to nab just a few pieces, licking the remaining sauce from their lips in satisfaction, evidently just whetting their appetite.
As everyone's gaze turned to Lin Chen, he served up another plate of food.
"So fast??"
Nagishiro Sho's expression froze. In just the few seconds of eating the meat, another dish was ready?
Didn't see that coming!
Taking a close look, it was a type of cold dish, which relieved him. No wonder it was so quick, it only took as long as mixing the sauce, the ingredients were prepped in advance.
Transparent and strange meat strips interspersed with crunchy cartilage layers, covered with a bright red oil and white sesame seeds on the surface, with cucumber strips and coriander peanuts as garnish.
This time he was savvy, grabbing a bowl from the side, he scooped two chopsticks full of meat into it, eating while watching Lin Chen's actions, afraid to miss even a moment.
"Crunch"
The uniquely shaped meat strips made a crispy sound in his mouth, while the parts other than the cartilage were sticky and glutinous, with a very noticeable gelatinous feel.
The sauce's main components were almost identical to the previous dipping sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, millet chili, but apart from that, there was this incredibly fragrant red oil.
He didn't rush to swallow, pressing his tongue gently to analyze the components of the red oil.
"Onions, scallions or green onions, ginger, cilantro, and some spices I can't make out, but the taste is so familiar. Why do Great Xia dishes always have ingredients I can't identify?"
The flavor was very familiar, incredibly familiar, on the tip of his tongue, but somehow he couldn't bring to mind who owned those flavors.
Moreover, even the main ingredient of this cold dish, the uniquely shaped meat strips, left him puzzled as to which part of the cow they came from.
Thoughts flashed through his mind, sketching the cow's body, instantly ruling out ninety percent of the parts, leaving only the cow's head.
"Cartilage... cartilage... could it be the ears?"
He quickly locked onto a target, the fog in his mind cleared, and realization dawned in his eyes.
In neither Sakura nor Western cuisines do they typically use ears, so unfamiliarity was reasonable.
"It turns out, sliced ears have this crunchy and bouncy texture, and with different sauces, they should deliver various flavors. Why hasn't anyone made use of such a good part?"
He couldn't quite fathom it but didn't dwell on it.
Just like most foreigners aren't fond of offal, sometimes it's not the ingredients but the chefs who are the problem.
"No wonder it's said that the culinary culture of Great Xia is the most complex; they're willing to try anything, naturally spawning all sorts of food cultures, which is where we fall short."
A single bite of cold dressed red oil beef ears sparked a sense of guilt in him.
"No wonder my thinking is so narrow; my thoughts only dwell within my comfort zone, not even considering domains I've never explored."
He was thinking about this, while his gaze followed Lin Chen's actions incessantly.
From the frying pan, he placed small meat cubes skewered on toothpicks for frying, and after about five or six minutes, he scooped them out, sprinkled some seasoning powder and chili powder, and handed them over directly.
"Toothpick spicy beef."
The beef chunks, only as large as a fingernail, fried to a crispy and crunchy texture, covered with seasoning powder, a vibrant red, looking extremely spicy.
Another unexpected dish.
It looked to be a snack variety, very simple to make, as long as the beef was marinated in advance and skewered on toothpicks.
He pinched one, habitually bringing it to his nose for a sniff.
The intense spiciness overshadowed all other flavors, even his Divine Nose couldn't easily discern the specific ingredients in the marinade.
It was the first time he encountered this situation, and consecutively lost twice to the mysterious Great Xia cuisine, fueling his competitive spirit, he gave up fixating on the scent and bit the meat cube off the skewer.
The beef nuggets were fried at a high temperature, making the surface crispy and slightly hard, akin to beef jerky, but upon biting through, the inside was surprisingly juicy.
Although it seemed there was a lot of chili, it wasn't as spicy as expected; rather, the numbing sensation was more apparent.
With just one bite, he felt his lips trembling slightly.
He was familiar with the numbing flavor of Sichuan pepper, as Sakura Country also had its own variety, belonging to the same family but a different species, named Sansho.
The Sansho is more of a greenish color, quite similar to the vine pepper, and its numbing sensation is much weaker than Sichuan or vine pepper, adhering more to the Sakura people's preference for mild cuisine.
However, the numbing in this piece of beef was several times more intense than the Sansho he knew, even surpassing the numbing flavor of the Sichuan restaurant's Mapo tofu.
No doubt about it, it's surely because the ingredients used in the Sakura country's restaurants aren't authentic.
This is the true numbing flavor of Great Xia!
Three straight appetizers, all cold dishes meant to whet the appetite, with only a few bites for each person, left everyone hungrier than before.
The adjacent rice cooker suddenly lit up with a green light, and Lin Chen gave Lucas a knowing glance, who immediately went over, using a rice paddle to fluff the rice before re-covering it with the lid.
Having finished the appetizers, it was time for the soups to be served.
From a pot where beef bones and beef had been stewing for an hour, he ladled a few scoops into a pot, bringing it to a boil, then added diced carrots, diced mushrooms, diced celery, and marinated beef cubes to cook for two minutes, followed by tender tofu cubes, sea salt, white pepper, chicken essence, and a pinch of sugar and vinegar to enhance the flavor.
After adjusting the seasoning, he thickened it to a soup consistency with starch water, turned off the heat and let it sit for two minutes before drizzling in egg liquid, using the residual heat in the soup to cook the egg to a delicate texture, appearing as scattered fine strands of gold and silver.
Once served, a sprinkle of chopped cilantro was added as a garnish.
"West Lake beef soup, please enjoy."
The colorful hues and thickened soup, along with the subtle pepper aroma and slight acidity from the vinegar, made everyone's mouths water.
Sakura people have a love for tofu dishes, especially tender tofu, which holds a special place in their hearts.
Seeing this bowl of tofu and beef soup, Nagishiro Sho eagerly filled an entire bowl for himself, as his mouth was already watering.
Sakura people aren't actually good at making soups, the most common being miso soup, which is done by simply boiling dashi stock with wakame and tofu cubes.
Most restaurant soups are learned from Western broths, and it's his first time seeing such a thickened, sauced soup.