[Genshin Impact]: I can become stronger by cooking.

Fortunately, the corresponding recipes have all been unlocked. With the help of the Chef's Trial Grounds, learning to cook shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Secondly, Chao Ke needs to familiarize himself with the local products of Fontainebleau during this period, especially aquatic products.

After all, all the ingredients for this culinary competition were provided by the [Fengdanting Catering Industry Alliance], and Chao Ke could not use the high-quality ingredients provided by the system's [Ingredient Supply Area].

The dish "Squirrel Fish" has certain requirements regarding the type of fish used in its preparation.

In the past, chefs who were particular about making "Squirrel Fish" would use mandarin fish or perch.

However, these two species may not be found in the aquatic products of Teyvat, especially in the region of Fontaine.

Chao Ke's idea was to first look for alternatives within the order Perciformes, since both mandarin fish and perch belong to the order Perciformes, suborder Perciformes, and family Serranidae.

There are quite a few species of bass in Teyvat, such as the Blackback Bass, Golden Bass, and Bluefin Bass, which are found in various countries of Teyvat.

By the way, besides these common sea bass species, there is also a special species in the waters of Fontaine that is related to sea bass: the Heartfelt Sea Bass.

Among the heart-feathered perch, the Bobo heart-feathered perch, the Honghong heart-feathered perch, and the Yuyu heart-feathered perch are all worth trying.

With his plan in mind, Chao Ke said goodbye to Louise and left the kitchen of [Delicious Taste Restaurant], heading towards the [Adventurers' Guild] in the Leone district.

...

Adventurers' Guild.

Miss Catherine looked at Chao Ke, who had a forced smile, and spoke softly.

"Towards the stars and the abyss! Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild."

"Mr. Chao Ke, is there anything I can help you with?"

“Miss Catherine, do you remember my previous assessment of you?”

“I remember you, Mr. Chao Ke.”

Catherine continued speaking with a smile and a calm tone.

"You said you felt reassured that the intelligence agents of the Winter Kingdom had me as their host."

Chao Ke took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "Yes, you did the right thing!"

"I feel extremely reassured that the intelligence agents of the Winter Kingdom have you as their host!"

"Thank you for your recognition."

Catherine maintained her smile as before, seemingly unaffected by Chao Ke's implied meaning.

After several exhalations and inhalations, Chao Ke finally calmed down his turbulent emotions.

Chapter 130 Petting Cats and [Squirrel Fish]

"Catherine, post a quest for me to acquire all kinds of [bass] and [heartfelt bass]."

"Three of each type of fish are needed. Set the task reward high and deliver them to the mansion before dinner."

As he spoke, Chao Ke took out a check from his chest, wrote down a large sum of money on it, and handed it to Catherine.

"Understood, Mr. Chao Ke. I will assign the mission to a seasoned adventurer."

"Ah."

Chao Ke nodded and was about to leave when Catherine called him back.

"Wait a moment, Mr. Chao Ke."

"There's been news about that Sumeru scholar named Affendi, whom you asked me to keep a close eye on."

Chao Ke stopped and looked at Catherine with some surprise.

"Bring me his information to take a look."

Catherine nodded slightly, turned around, pulled a file from the filing cabinet behind her, and handed it to Chao Ke.

Chao Ke took it out to examine it.

Name: Affendi

"Gender: Male"

"Affiliation: Sumeru Commandery (Trainee Liaison Officer)"

Biography: .....

Catherine explained from the side.

"This Mr. Affendi just passed the entrance exam for the Order of the Church last week and became a trainee liaison officer for the thirty-person group."

“Our companions in Xumi sent over this information immediately.”

Chao Ke nodded, "Thank you for your hard work."

He carefully put away Affendi's information. After finishing his current tasks, Chao Ke planned to make a trip to Xumi.

Obtaining the recipe from Affendi was secondary; the main purpose was to keep the elder Farusian company and see how she was adapting to Sumeru City a hundred years later.

After issuing the quest to the Adventurers' Guild, Chao Ke returned to the Bufati Mansion.

After all, we're going to try cooking Squirrel Fish using local Fontaine seafood later.

The kitchen at Jiaziwei Restaurant is already quite crowded. If they were to make room for tasting dishes, it would likely affect the restaurant's normal food preparation.

However, the kitchen inside the Bufati Mansion is quite spacious, allowing Chao Ke to create his own space.

The completed practice projects can be given to the children to work on, so that the food is not wasted.

When Chao Ke returned to the mansion, he first brewed himself a cup of black tea, and then went to the cat house that Linette had built, where he picked out a kitten and hugged it in his arms.

And so, Chao Ke lay comfortably on the leather sofa in the mansion, smelling the aroma of tea slowly wafting from the teacup, and stroking the adorable kitten in his arms.

This leisurely life is truly delightful.

Once the black tea in the cup had cooled down, Chao Ke gently patted the cat in his arms.

The cat understood what Chao Ke meant. After rubbing against Chao Ke a few times, it stretched lazily, jumped off Chao Ke, and quickly returned to its cat bed.

Chao Ke couldn't help but nod. The kitten specially trained by Linni was really good; it was lively and not clingy.

No wonder those kids who were initially resistant to cats aren't so averse to them anymore; in fact, two or three of them have recently joined the ranks of cat lovers.

Chao Ke picked up the cup of black tea, which was just right for drinking, and sipped it slowly.

After finishing his tea, Chao Ke arrived at the dining hall of the Bufati Mansion.

Finding an empty seat, Chao Ke brought up the system interface, intending to first complete the ultimate cooking of the dish "Squirrel Fish" in the Chef God Trial Arena.

[Recipe: Squirrel Fish]

[Description: An extremely complex fish dish. It requires a whole fish, deboned and scored with diamond-shaped cuts. It is then coated in flour and deep-fried until golden brown and set. After plating, it is drizzled with tomato sauce. Named for its resemblance to a squirrel's tail, it has a unique crispy exterior and tender interior.]

[Shall we begin practicing?]

【whether】

"Yes!"

After confirming the option, Chao Ke's vision went black.

As his vision shifted and his mind cleared again, Chao Ke found himself in the space of the God of Cookery's Trial Arena.

He casually pulled over the cart full of ingredients and was taken aback. The system had provided frozen fish instead of live ones.

Fortunately, the system's prompts answered Chao Ke's questions.

The fish used to make squirrel fish is not necessarily better the fresher it is; high-quality live fish that have undergone a period of chilling are actually more suitable.

Chao Ke nodded, understanding the system's intention in choosing chilled ingredients.

Moreover, the system's explanation reminded Chao Ke of some memories from his previous life.

It seems that this idea was also mentioned in that animation from my previous life.

Chao Ke took a deep breath, stopped thinking, picked up the knife beside him, and began to process the fish provided by the system.

The fish provided by the system are very similar to the mandarin fish from my previous life, but they also retain many characteristics of Teyvat fish.

It must be a hybrid of several fish species.

At least, Chao Ke has never seen this kind of fish in the current fish encyclopedia.

This fish weighs approximately three pounds.

Chao Ke first performed preliminary treatment on the fish, removing its scales and internal organs.

Next, following the instructions of the system's recipe, Chao Ke made a diagonal cut along the fish's gills.

With a slight exertion of force, Chao Ke chopped off the fish head with a "crack".

To prevent the fish head from deforming when frying, it needs to be repaired by cutting off some joints so that the fish head can stand upright on the joints.

This way, no matter how you fry it, the fish head won't deform, ensuring the most aesthetically pleasing presentation.

After setting the prepared fish head aside, Chao Ke focused his attention on the remaining fish meat.

Take a deep breath; the next step is the most crucial one in the entire dish.

First, insert the knife along the fish's spine, then continue along the spine until you reach the tail before stopping, making sure the piece of fish meat remains connected to the whole fish and doesn't fall off.

After cutting the fish into half, Chao Ke flipped the fish over and repeated the process, removing the fish meat from this side as well.

The closer you get to the tail end, the more careful you have to be, lest you cut off the fish fillet.

Once the flesh on both sides of the fish had been opened up, he swung his knife at Ke and, with a "snap," chopped off the remaining fish bones in the middle, then threw them away.

Next, use a kitchen knife to trim the two connected fish fillets at the tail end, removing their ribs to ensure that the remaining fish meat is clean and free of bones.

At this point, the recipe provided by the system includes an additional note.

That is, when processing live fish, you can freeze the fish meat slightly at this step.

This makes it easier to cut the fish into thin strips the size of chopsticks when scoring. After coating with flour and deep-frying, the strips will be exceptionally neat, resembling the golden fur of a squirrel.

Of course, since the fish provided by the system is fresh and frozen, this step can be skipped.

Chapter 131 Shocking! Chao Ke is conquered by a certain liquid [Bonus Chapter]