novelraw Chapter 265 182: Endless Delights, Great Xia Culinary Twentyfold Barrage
Chapter 265 182: Endless Delights, Great Xia Culinary Twentyfold Barrage
His sense of smell was far more acute than most people's. What he detected as just a slight hint of sourness would be almost undetectable to ordinary people, only noticeable when drinking because of the slight presence of vinegar.
He was also aware of the technique of adding starch water to the soup to thicken it. Even many Western chefs use it, though they usually apply it to making sauces, not soups meant for drinking.
If forced to find a similar method, it might only be the cream soup in Western cuisine, which uses flour to thicken the soup.
He scooped himself half a bowl to taste.
The soup entered the mouth smoothly, with a rich meat aroma. The barely perceptible sourness perfectly combined with the spiciness of the pepper, catalyzed by the boiling temperature to enhance the appetite and make the mouth water.
He particularly savored the beef chunks, which were as tender and bouncy as the beef tenderloin he had for breakfast.
"This method of marinating really changes the texture and taste of the meat. Incredible, incredible. How did the Great Xia people come up with the idea of adding water to the meat?"
Upon closer thought, the meat becoming tough during cooking is primarily due to the loss of moisture in the cells, leading to protein hardening and a tough texture.
So, if one injected water into the meat beforehand, exceeding the meat's natural water capacity, and then cooked it, creating a batter-like coating on the surface to lock in the moisture during cooking, wouldn't the meat turn out more tender?
Without even asking Lin Chen, Nagishiro Sho quickly understood the principle and was a bit tongue-tied.
Why haven't chefs from other countries around the world ever tried such a simple and straightforward method?
In this moment, he inexplicably felt a bit foolish.
No, even the entire family, and the entire culinary world of Sakura Country, seemed quite foolish.
They appear to be working tirelessly, repeating the same things for decades, labeling themselves with the spirit of craftsmanship, but in reality, there's almost no noticeable progress.
Whether in the production processes, procedures, flavors, or even ingredients, there hasn't been much change. It's just that the control over details has become more precise, which has led to some improvement in taste.
To put it nicely, it's called craftsman spirit; to put it bluntly, it's not understanding adaptability.
This was one of the reasons he chose to open a restaurant abroad— to expose himself to more of the culinary cultures of various countries, to break his cognitive barriers, and thus make a qualitative leap in his cooking skills.
With each dish served, his understanding broke once more, and his head buzzed with revelations.
In less than two minutes, Lin Chen brought over a second bowl of a completely different beef soup.
The soup was clear with a slight pale yellow-green tinge, topped with many celery and cilantro leaves, and thin slices of beef floating throughout.
"Please enjoy the Beef Soup."
Besides the soup pot, Lin Chen handed over several dishes of chili flakes.
Still without asking, Nagishiro Sho raised his bowl of beef soup to finish it off, then scooped himself half a bowl of the clear soup and a few beef slices, bringing over a dry dipping dish.
"This dipping dish may look like it's all chili flakes, but it actually contains a lot of sesame seeds and MSG, and it seems primarily spicy."
He was also very familiar with MSG, as the first MSG was extracted from kelp and mushrooms. Being a major kelp-producing country, Sakura people are, of course, no strangers to MSG.
Apart from the dipping dish, the base of this soup seemed to be the same type of beef broth as the previous bowl, with a faint herbal aroma. However, this one also carried the fresh scent of celery and lacked the miscellaneous ingredients, making it a pure meat broth with a completely different flavor.
Taking a sip, the pure meat broth had a robust texture and a mild flavor, contrasting sharply with the previous peppery soup.
Tasting the beef slices in the soup, the cut used seemed different from the West Lake beef soup, likely beef tenderloin. The same marinating method was applied, but with a thinner and finer coating hardly detectable, maintaining a soft, juicy, and tender texture.
After trying the original flavor, he tasted one dipped in the chili flakes, igniting an instant fiery spiciness in his mouth.
This spicy flavor didn't overshadow the beef's natural umami, but rather amplified its meaty aroma, with the mixed sesame seeds releasing a strong fragrance when heated.
With a few bites of beef slices and soup, his body felt warm, and a slight sweat broke out on his forehead.
"We'll end the appetizers and soups here. Next, we'll officially start the stir-fry courses."
Lin Chen nodded at him with a smile, "Are you ready, Mr. Nagishiro? The next steps might be pretty fast, so watch carefully."
Pretty fast?
Nagishiro Sho was stunned.
Wasn't the previous speed of serving one after another already fast enough??
Could there be anything faster!?
He couldn't even put down his bowl, his eyes fixed on Lin Chen's actions.
Lin Chen placed the cleaned stir-fry pan back on the stove to heat, shaking it back and forth to dry the excess water, but rather than rushing to add oil, he continued to dry cook.
When the air above the pan began to shimmer, he poured a small amount of cold oil around the edges of the pan and rotated the pan to lubricate every inch of the pan's walls thoroughly.
Nagishiro Sho dared not blink, afraid to miss any detail, leaning forward to get a clearer view of the movements inside the pan.
Suddenly, Lin Chen moved.
He picked up a small bowl nearby and flipped it into the pan, dropping white garlic pieces and yellow ginger bits into the hot oil, causing a large bubble to form instantly.