The beginning is only when you become a chef

Chapter 212: Miko's Chawanmushi (6K)

Why do you say that even my grandma can do it?

In essence, "Hibiscus Crab" is cooked with crab meat and eggs, or to put it simply, it is fried crab eggs.

It's the same principle as scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Even if you let a lazy otaku who doesn't know the difference between grains make it, even if it's his first attempt, he can still make a tasty dish.

Xia An thought to himself: "This is a homely recipe, but it can perfectly cook the crab meat of a level 46 ruby ​​crab."

“Who’s to say this home-cooked meal isn’t fantasy-y?”

Of course, Xia An plans to do both.

He wanted to make the "Hibiscus Crab" that he was most interested in, but also wanted to try his hand at making the "Bouncing Turtle Soup" with his own personal style.

However, it is very difficult to make the answer-level "Bouncing Turtle Soup" within a week. Not only do you have to find new pseudo-scale ingredients to perfectly control it, but the ingredients must also be suitable for making soup.

So...try making "Hibiscus Crab" first!
Start with the easy and then move on to the difficult!

Xia An made a plan and took out the ruby ​​crab meat from the [Spiritual Storage].

The three ruby ​​crabs that Dongye had just given him were picked and placed into the crab meat stored in the [Spiritual Storage]. This was just right for practicing with. It couldn't be left piled there taking up space.

Beat a few eggs, add salt and sugar, and stir the egg liquid.

In the first version, Xia An did not separate the egg yolk and egg white, but directly mixed the crab meat and egg liquid again.

Hiss, hiss, hiss——

After a while, Xia An turned on the fire and lubricated the wok. When the oil temperature and the heat reached medium, he poured the whole bowl of crab meat and egg mixture into the wok.

Stir-fry quickly!

After a few stirs, remove from the pan and serve.

Xia An looked at the clean plate, the dish that was greasy and had no trace of being cooked, and frowned slightly:
"Color, aroma, taste, shape."

"The appearance, color and shape are a bit ugly."

The main color is egg yolk, with white and crystal crab meat shreds mixed in it.

In short, judging from the appearance alone, if it were served directly to the judging table of the Food Wars competition, it would definitely lose points due to the poor visual impression.

But Xia An was not in a hurry.

The artistic processing of plating can be improved in the later stage of the recipe.

Now, let’s make the aroma and taste perfect.

Just as Xia An picked up his chopsticks and tried a bite.

whoosh-

The monster notebook flew out by itself and floated above the kitchen counter. The little girl inside seemed to be searching for a smell and soon locked onto the test dish that had just come out of the pot.

"It smells so good..."

The girl Shuten appeared, her eyes sparkling and a line of saliva flowing from the corner of her mouth.

Suck!

She sniffed and looked at Xia An eagerly: "Master, can I eat it?"

Xia An then remembered that there was always a drunken girl by his side, so he waved his hand with a smile: "Take it, take it, it's just a test piece!"

"If you can help me find out what's wrong with the taste, you'll have access to these kinds of test dishes in the future. I guarantee you'll be well fed every time we practice."

The girl Shuten said excitedly: "Hey, don't underestimate the tip of the monster's tongue!"

After getting Xia An's consent, the girl didn't even pick up the chopsticks, but picked up the entire plate and began to devour it.

After a few mouthfuls, she smacked her rosy lips, a look of satisfaction and regret on her face:

“The crab meat is fine and the freshness is not lost at all after cooking.”

"But this scrambled egg, how should I put it, doesn't go well with the crab meat, the flavors don't blend together."

Xia An was a little surprised that the result of the appreciation was consistent with what he tasted.

Level 46 ruby ​​crab meat just doesn’t go well with eggs.

The reason is simple: the sweetness of the crab meat is too strong, completely covering up the aroma of the egg.

In other words, this fried crab eggs only have the flavor of crab but not the aroma of eggs.

"The eggs are not good enough, the egg aroma can't penetrate and blend with the crab aroma!"

Xia An had a big headache.

The recipe structure of "Hibiscus Crab" is simple enough, but who would have thought that there was a problem with the "eggs" among the two main ingredients.

Regular eggs won’t work…

Then we need to imagine the ingredients? Gold level?
Or is it comparable to the pseudo-scale specifications of a level 46 ruby ​​crab?

Just as Xia An was reorganizing his thoughts.

"Master."

Great Tengu Yu and the fox girl Long came back together to report.

Fox Girl Long reported what she saw in the cave: "I first went to the 'Lava Sea' in the north of the Red Wasteland and carefully investigated the situation there. In addition to the less active overlord old turtle, there are several other life groups living in the lava."

Xia An asked: "What about the 'Zombie Forest'? Are there only zombie trees?"

Fox Girl Long nodded:

"After my thorough search, I found that there were indeed only zombie trees, and no other life. Moreover, I also discovered that the zombie forest was just a derivative of the zombie tree overlord, so the capture level of this overlord was even higher than that of the old turtle in the lava sea."

She presented a hand-drawn map of the Catacombs world.

The "Red Wasteland" is in the center, and the "Lava Sea" is in the north of the wasteland. Its overall area is half the size of the wasteland.

The area outlined by the "Zombie Forest" lines is the smallest, only one-third of the area of ​​the wasteland.

After finishing the report, the fox girl Long gave up her seat and stood aside, staring at the girl Shuten who was still licking the plate, with a strange look in her eyes.

Da Tenguyu retracted his gaze from the Shuten girl, cleared his throat and said seriously:

"Master, the situation in the Snake Cave and the Stone Forest is very complicated."

"The overlord of the Snake Cave is the demon snake, but there are many low-level tribes in the area. It seems that the demon snake deliberately kept them as food. I have clearly marked them."

"The Stone Forest is the most complex, with three major groups: magma rats, lava lizards, and snake-tailed scorpions, and the kings of the three groups are fighting each other endlessly."

Xia An pondered for a moment, and suddenly said:

"You guys make another run for me. Check all the egg-laying groups on the ground and underground of the volcanic island, and then take 10 eggs of each type."

Hearing this, Da Tengu Yu and Fox Girl Long did not find it strange.

They could already smell the aroma of eggs filling the kitchen. Moreover, the demon kings from the demon land had long been feasted and worshipped by shrine maidens and spirit masters. When it came to eating and appreciation, they were definitely top gourmets.

But before leaving, out of curiosity, Fox Girl Long couldn't help but ask: "Master, are you researching new dishes?"

Xia An nodded and replied:

"Well, in order to prepare for a Shokugeki battle of pseudo-Rin specifications, I need to research new soup dishes."

"Soup?" Da Tengu Yu asked in surprise, "Why does this new dish require eggs?"

Xia An explained: "I will name the new dish 'Golden Soup Lotus Crab'."

Golden soup...hibiscus crab?

The two demon kings once again cast complicated glances at the girl Shuten, who was blessed but unaware of it.

Da Tengu Yu clenched his feather fan tightly:

"Well, Master, I can also be your food tasting tool!"

"I have a good appetite, I can eat anything... even half-finished dishes or failed creations!"

The fox girl Long opened her mouth and made an "ah" gesture, waiting to be fed:
"I have a good appetite too. I can eat anything. Just stuff it in here!"

Black lines appeared on Xia An's forehead:
"Okay, it's your turn!"

"From now on, during the food tasting session, you can take turns tasting for me, okay?"

The two demon kings then left satisfied.

Xia An asked Shuten to return to the Yokai Notebook, and he also returned to the Blue Star World from the Volcano Island Base.

Toot——

After the phone regained signal, messages popped up one after another.

[Meng Yulu: Has the food battle been decided? When will it start and what will the topic be?]

[Xia An: Seven days later, the venue is "Between the Moon and the Sky" in Yuanyue, and the topic is soup. ]

[Meng Yulu: Do you have any ideas? ]

[Xia An: I even thought of two recipes. Oh, Sister Meng…Does the Magic City Tang Clan have the recipe for the "Bouncing Turtle Soup" by our ancestor Tang Sanjie? And the "Hibiscus Crab" by "Yi Zhang Qing" Xiang En.]

[Meng Yulu: We have a handwritten copy of Xiang En's "Hibiscus Crab" in our Yangquan Restaurant. As for "Bouncing Turtle Soup", don't you have Tang Jinghan's WeChat? Ask him yourself.]

Seeing that Meng Yulu no longer replied and did not ask for the recipe, Xia An switched the chat interface.

[Takashi Higashino: Xia-san, the Japanese food world has once again been rocked by you... The food battle between you and the food club genius Pseudo-Rin has even spread internationally, so you should be mentally prepared.]

[Xia An: What psychological preparation? ]

【Tsuyoshi Higashino: There is a high probability that international giants will come to watch the game. 】

[Xia An: Let’s not talk about this, Dongye-san. Have you done a deep study on ingredients like ‘eggs’? Can you give me some high-quality egg ingredients that might be compatible with the level 46 ruby ​​crab? ]

【Tsuyoshi Higashino: Black Question Mark.jpg】

[You are a fake Lin, and I am also a fake Lin. ]

[(Shocked) Do you think I'm too powerful? ]

[I can only give you a little advice... You know Chief Lei, why not ask this genuine Dragon Chef giant.]

Chief Lei?
Xia An's eyes lit up. He actually forgot about this giant from China. This shouldn't have happened.

He was too lazy to look through the illustrated library of the igo app, because although there were many egg ingredients, it was difficult to find spot stocks of those above the gold level in the igo mall and the late-night chef mall.

So, it is better to directly target the area with sufficient supply.

Previously, he asked the two demon kings to go to the territory of the volcanic island to collect egg ingredients based on this idea and put it into action.

But now he has a new direction -

Chief Lei...

The Land of Monsters...

Xia An had no doubt that after the feast, he had contracted three demon kings and one great demon, which undoubtedly raised the "reputation" of the Demon Town to the highest level of respect.

So why not target the ingredients through the Land of Monsters and seek inspiration from Chief Lei?
Originally, Xia An was a little wary and cautious of the Cat God, but the contract had been made, and he had joined the camp of the Land of Demons.

Apart from anything else, with the three demon kings as his backers, he was not afraid that the cat god Ban would covet his secrets.

[Coordinate slot ② (9633, 11257) (Demon's Hometown), do you want to teleport? ]

Say "yes" silently to the panel.

The next second, Xia An appeared in his own house halfway up the mountain in the Monster Country.

The sky was pitch black, and from time to time there were faint eerie sounds coming out.

Negative emotions such as depression, panic, and fear grow uncontrollably in the heart, as if traveling through an indescribable nightmare, and all emotions are magnified.

"You can really jump freely between Blue Star and the food world."

Just as Xia An squinted his eyes and adjusted himself to the environment again.

The lazy tone of the cat god was heard above my head. On the eaves, a lucky cat was sitting halfway.

Xia An looked up and smiled frankly: "Actually, I am a traveler among the realms and can freely descend into any realm."

The cat god stopped licking his paws:?

“Tsk!” The lucky cat’s pupils showed some contempt, “If you travel through the worlds, then I am the cat god of all worlds!”

"I guess it's nothing more than your Blue Star world's integration with the food world has deepened, allowing you to gain the favor of the rules!"

Xia An just smiled. The truth was so outrageous that others were unwilling to believe it, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"I have a food battle to attend, and I need to ask Chief Lei for some advice on food ingredients, so I won't chat with you any more."

After that, Xia An waved his hand and left.

"Fresh halberd?"

Cat pupils stared at Xia An's back, and Cat God Spot muttered to himself with interest:

"Whose freak is it that dares to mess with this kid?"

“Who can handle glowing food?”

“Not to mention the fake and real Lin of the same level, even the Dragon Chef Giant would be so embarrassed and throw up his hands when he saw them!”

Unfortunately, Xia An came back empty-handed as Lei Xiang was not at home.

He could only turn to the shrine on the top of the mountain to find the Shion Miko.

"You mean Chief Lei? He led his team to the secret realm of the "Food Pyramid" for training, and also hunted some high-quality ingredients and brought them back."

Seeing that the Shion Witch was not busy, Xia An immediately asked:
"Sister Shion, how many types of egg ingredients are available for purchase at the shrine ingredient store?"

Although she was surprised that Xia An asked about the ingredients of the eggs right away, the Purple Garden Witch did not delve into it and said with a smile:

"There are many egg ingredients. After all, many fantasy life forms are oviparous. There are at least hundreds of them, if not thousands. So please describe your needs in more detail so that I can make recommendations for you."

Xia An then laid out his needs:
"It's like this. I'm going to prepare for a food battle of pseudo-Lin standard. The recipe is 'Hibiscus Crab'. The egg ingredients must match the crab meat of the level 46 ruby ​​crab and have a good compatibility."

Shiyuan Miko thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "I got it! Do you know the level 48 [Ten Yolk Egg]?"

Without waiting for Xia An to answer, she began to explain:

"This kind of egg has 10 yolks in one egg, hence the name."

"It is laid by a rare bird, the 'Ten-Winged Chicken'. Moreover, a 'Ten-Winged Chicken' will only lay eggs once in its life!"

Xia An was surprised and asked, "So, the 48 capture levels of this [Ten Yolk Egg] are all added to the rarity and preciousness?"

Shion Miko smiled and said, "Well... Speaking of which, I was fortunate enough to eat your glowing food at the banquet, and I realized something and don't know how to thank you."

"How about this, I will use ten-yolked eggs and ruby ​​crab to make a bowl of 'Chawanmushi' as a small return gift, not a token of respect."

Xia An happily followed the Shion priestess to visit her home.

"You can watch. Chawanmushi is a home-cooked dish and a home-cooked recipe. There is nothing secret about it."

In the kitchen, Xia An watched the busy figure of the witch.

She had ten yolk eggs stored in her house.

This level 48 egg ingredient has 10 egg yolks, but they are not very big, and each egg weighs about one pound.

Of course, in addition to eggs, there are a dazzling array of ingredients.

Kelp and bonito flakes are the standard ingredients for making Japanese "dashi".

The shrine maiden methodically put the kelp into the pot and boiled it, then scooped it out and then soaked the bonito flakes in it.

Finally, use a metal colander to filter out impurities, and a pot of clear-colored broth is ready.

Then, with smooth and calm movements, she added mirin, light soy sauce and other condiments and continued to season the broth.

At this time-

Steam was gushing out of the steamer on the stove.

The witch took out a level 46 ruby ​​crab with its hands and feet tied up and began to dismantle the crab.

This scene made Xia An's temples throb.

She actually randomly pulled out a knife from the knife rack and disassembled the extremely hard ruby ​​crab neatly and perfectly into pieces.

The crab legs were in a pile, the crab shells were pried open, and the crab roe and crab meat were picked out quite cleanly.

Afterwards, the crab legs and claws were cut open and the meat was taken out.

The witch put all the empty shells of crab legs and claws into the soup pot, added water and steamed them.

After a while, a pot of "crab water" was ready.

"The juice is mixed with the crab water."

"Then mix the egg liquid and soup evenly."

The witch placed the exquisite and elegant tea bowls and cups she had prepared on the kitchen counter and used chopsticks to gradually put the ingredients into the bottom of the cups:
“Crab meat…shiitake mushrooms…”

While the tea bowl is being boiled in water, the witch takes another small sauce pot, takes the crab roe, and adds the liquid mixed with the crab juice and crab water.

Afterwards, starch is added and boiled into a clear yellow and rich crab roe sauce.

Wait until the "steamed egg" in the tea bowl is formed and cooked.

The witch opened the lid of the cup, poured a layer of crab roe and starch sauce on the surface of the cup with a spoon, spread the chopped crab meat evenly on it, and continued to pour layer by layer of crab roe and starch sauce.

At last!
Add a fresh mint leaf.

At this point, the surface of the tea bowl is like a feast, filled with ingredients.

Xia An kept having question marks on his mind:? ?
Seeing this teacup is like an exquisite and beautiful flower basket...

Oh my god.

I couldn't help but blurt out: "You call this a home-cooked meal, a home-cooked recipe?"

The witch placed the teacup in front of Xia An, smiled softly, and said softly: "It's just that the process is a little more complicated and the ingredients are a little more complicated."

Xia An's mouth twitched slightly: "It's 100 million points!"

"It takes several steps to make the steamed egg, including boiling the crab juice and crab water!"

"How can an ordinary worker have so much energy to work when he gets home? What's more, in this small cup, there is a level 46 Ruby Crab and a level 48 Ten-Yolk Egg!"

Shion Miko blinked her eyes and said, "Okay... let me correct you. This is a high-end deluxe version of chawanmushi."

As she spoke, she leaned forward and handed a clean metal spoon to Xia An, who was sitting across the table.

"Please enjoy it."

“This is actually the answer on my life menu.”

Xia An took the metal spoon, clenched his hands slightly, looked up at the plump and mature witch, and took a breath:
"Answer dish from a pseudo-dragon chef?"

The witch's lips curved slightly. "It can't be called a pseudo-dragon standard, because I only used a level 46 ruby ​​crab and a level 48 ten-yolk egg."

Xia An was secretly surprised. This meant that the original version of "High-end Deluxe Edition Tea Bowl Steaming" used ingredients close to level 100?

He suppressed the sigh in his heart, picked up the metal spoon, scooped a spoonful of egg custard and crab meat and put it into his mouth.

In an instant, the crab roe and starch sauce exudes a rich umami flavor.

But this is just the beginning—

The impeccable and ubiquitous umami flavor is interwoven into the melody of God.

Before he knew it, he had finished all the delicious food in the tea bowl.

Xia An stared blankly at the metal spoon that could no longer scoop out the egg custard.

The reverberation between lips and teeth, the afterglow...

It is so smooth and fragrant, delicate and refreshing!
"incredible!"

After a while, Xia An recovered and gave a thumbs up to the Shiyuan Witch. "Sister Shiyuan, you showed me what it means to return to nature."

"The process of making the "High-end Deluxe Chawanmushi" is delicate and complicated, but when you eat it, the egg and crab meat are used to create a simple and elegant taste, which is pure and sweet on the tip of my tongue!"

Shion Miko was very pleased with Xia An's praise, and her moist eyes narrowed in a slight smile:
"Then, can this meal of eggs and crab meat help you?"

Xia An affirmed: "Of course, I already know how to control [Ten Yolk Eggs]!"

The witch was surprised: "Oh? Really?"

Xia An talked freely:
"One of them is the 'dashi' made by boiling kelp and bonito flakes."

"The 'crab water' boiled from crab shells is the second."

"And the crab juice and the juice mixed with the seasoning is the third."

The witch praised: "You really got it!"

"Well, these details and processes show real skills. Everything is done to remove the fishy smell and pollution of the [Ten-Yolk Egg]!"

After Xia An thanked her again earnestly, he asked, "Sister Ziyuan, what's the price of a level 48 [Ten-Yolk Egg] in the shrine food store?"

Shion Miko smiled and said, "Didn't you earn more than 10,000 Cat God Coins when you set up a stall during the three-day Cat Island Festival?"

"At the Jinja Shrine Supply and Marketing Store, each [Ten-Yolk Egg] is sold for one thousand Cat God Coins, and since you are a Jinja Shrine VIP, you will enjoy the biggest 5% discount, so the price will be reduced to 500 coins."

Xia An: Oh?
500? Are you kidding me?

You should know that during the Cat Island Festival, the shrine allows tourists to spend 10,000 yen per person per day to exchange for one Cat God Coin.

500 Cat God coins are only 500 million yen.

In the food store of igo app and Midnight Cook app, these 500 million yen are about 25 RMB, so don't even think about buying food of the pseudo-Lin level!

The priestess Shion said nothing, but took Xia An to the shrine supply store.

……

at the same time.

The kitchen of the Gourmet Club branch in Tokyo.

Luo Wen was surprised when he saw the list of food ingredients listed by his sister Amber:

"The skeleton of a silk bird... the bones of Andre's swordfish..."

"Pelican soup... Cartilaginous cabbage..."

"Sister, you are actually going to use this recipe?"

Amber smiled slightly: "I finally found an ingredient that is highly compatible with the dish. I made the incomplete "Century Soup" into my own version of the answer dish."

"I can take advantage of this food battle to present my research results to the table and let the giants of the food industry see them—"

"Fake Lin can also see through the sky... Don't think that they are the only ones who can take the incomplete "Century Soup" stone tablet and define each version of the dish as the so-called authority, and not allow criticism and voices from others!"

Luo Wen looked at his sister who was in high spirits and couldn't help asking, "But what if I lose?"

Hearing this, Amber was stunned: "Lose? There's no way I can... Ugh!"

She suddenly thought of the series of dishes in the video that exuded a sacred glow.

The opponent in this food battle is a man known as "The One Who Shines Again in This World"...

An Bo said seriously:

"It's not shameful to lose to 'Glowing Cuisine'."

After saying this, she suddenly changed the subject.

"But... my understanding and interpretation of "Century Soup", although it is just a pseudo-work, I think it can still be compared to "Glowing Cuisine"!"

(End of this chapter)