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

Chao Ke returned to his room with light, quiet steps.

Lying in bed, Chao Ke recalled the events of the night.

The five-year agreement with Marcel was a compromise made by Chao Ke between his rationality and his sensibility.

Chao Ke is gambling that five years from now, he will be able to gain the power to change the plot without fear.

If power is sufficient to fear nothing, then that will be the day of Vashj's death.

If he lacks the strength, Chao Ke will no longer intervene and will let the plot develop according to its original route.

Of course, the main purpose of this trip was achieved.

Thanks to the generous Chairman Marcel, Chao Ke raised far more funds than expected.

Stroking the gold hard check in his hand, worth five billion mora, Chao Ke was very familiar with its design.

That's right, this check was issued by the Northern Bank.

This type of colored hard check is a special type of large-denomination bearer check created by Pantalone.

It was established to attract criminals from the seven countries to the Northern Bank to launder illicit funds.

Gold-colored hard checks are specifically used for large bearer deposits of one billion moraes or more.

It's estimated to be the headquarters of the Northern Bank, and they probably don't issue many of them each year.

After carefully storing the checks, Chao Ke brought up the system interface.

Today, Jiaziwei Restaurant is exceptionally busy, generating nearly one million Mora in revenue and providing Chao Ke with 89765 points of Food Spirit Power.

Including the remaining balance of Food Spirit Power, Chao Ke's total Food Spirit Power has exceeded 100,000.

A total of 178710 points of Food Spirit Power.

The quests for advancing to the next level in the Chef rank have also changed.

[Chef Level: Beginner Original Chef]

[Advanced Quest:]

[1. Accumulated 100,000 Food Spirit Power (Completed / Note: Breakthrough requires 100,000 Food Spirit Power)]

[2. Accumulate 50 recipes (15/50)]

【3. Cook a total of 10 dishes to reach the ultimate level (2/10)】

As expected, the requirements for the Food Spirit Power have been met, and Chao Ke is one step closer to the next level of Chef.

The next key point is to obtain recipes and master cooking techniques.

Chao Ke opened the system's [Food Encyclopedia] and selected from the recipes he had already obtained, planning to conquer another dish tonight.

After some searching, Chao Ke set his sights on the recipe for "Flavorful Mashed Potatoes".

After a busy day, Chao Ke wanted to take a break and learn a relatively easy dish.

[Recipe: Rich and Creamy Mashed Potatoes]

[Description: Seasoned mashed potatoes. The potatoes are mashed into a smooth paste, drizzled with a seasoning sauce, resulting in a smooth texture and layered flavors. Whether served as a side dish or a main course, it easily satisfies a hungry stomach.]

Now that the recipe has been obtained, you can enter the God of Cookery Trial Grounds to practice this dish.

[Shall we begin practicing?]

【whether】

"Yes!"

The familiar feeling returned, and first everything went black. When he opened his eyes again, Chao Ke found himself on the stage of the God of Cookery Trial Arena.

Standing by the kitchen sink, the ingredients and seasonings needed for this cooking session were already laid out on the small cart beside me.

【Flavorful Mashed Potatoes】This recipe is a collaboration between O God and Kaifeng cuisine.

The original food is mashed potatoes, a staple of Kaifeng cuisine.

Unlike other dishes, the process of making rich mashed potatoes is exceptionally simple, basically consisting of two steps: preparing the mashed potatoes and making the black pepper sauce.

Even in KFC cuisine, some parts of these two dishes have been omitted.

Mashed potatoes don't need to be made beforehand; you can just mix the powder with water. Black pepper sauce also usually doesn't need to be made fresh; you can use a pre-made product directly.

Of course, this scene would not occur in the Chef's Trial Grounds.

Everything provided by the system is made from the most basic materials, and all of them need to be processed step by step by Chao Ke.

Take a few potatoes provided by the system from the trolley and wash them clean in the sink.

Looking at the washed potatoes, Chao Ke frowned slightly; the variety of these potatoes was a bit strange.

Not only is its skin red, but its shape is also not as plump and round as a regular potato; instead, it is rather long and narrow.

To be honest, Chao Ke felt that this thing was more like a sweet potato than a potato.

The system seemed to know Chao Ke's question and popped up an interface in front of him.

[Red-skinned nut-shaped potato: A superior variety resulting from the cross between Natas's red-skinned potatoes and Mond's Misa potatoes, it has a high starch content and a rich potato flavor.]

"A hybrid variety?"

Now that the system had provided an explanation, Chao Ke stopped worrying about the potato's shape.

According to the recipe for "Flavorful Mashed Potatoes" provided by the system, do not peel or cut the cleaned potatoes into chunks. Instead, put the whole potatoes directly into water to boil.

Not peeling the potatoes can prevent too much water from getting into them during cooking.

The reason for not cutting the potatoes into chunks is to retain more of their starch and reduce the loss of their aroma.

Although peeling and cutting potatoes into chunks and then steaming them can achieve a similar effect.

However, since Chao Ke runs a restaurant, not his own kitchen, he needs to consider the efficiency of food preparation.

A large pot can cook more than a dozen potatoes at the same time, while a steamer can process much fewer potatoes per unit of time.

Put the washed potatoes into a pot of cold water, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer. This is to ensure that the potatoes cook more evenly.

It takes at least 25 minutes to fully cook the potatoes. Chao Ke didn't waste any time either. After setting an alarm, he took out the other ingredients, intending to use this time to prepare the black pepper sauce.

Take out a frying pan and set it aside. Chao Ke takes out a can of black peppercorns and begins grinding.

It must be said that the aroma of freshly ground black pepper is much better than that of packaged black pepper.

Since the recipe did not specify the amount of seasonings, Chao Ke had to grind "appropriate amount" of black pepper based on his own intuition.

Looking at the small mound of black pepper piled on the frying pan, Chao Ke was a little troubled. "This amount should be enough, right?"

Continue following the recipe, take out the "appropriate amount" of butter and melt it in a frying pan, then add a little soy sauce for seasoning and color.

When the sauce becomes too thick, add an appropriate amount of water and sugar to dilute it and enhance the flavor.

After the sauce in the pot boils and bubbles, add an appropriate amount of oyster sauce and matsutake mushroom sauce to enhance the flavor.

After stirring well, the black pepper sauce is now ready.

However... it seems like a bit too much black pepper was added...

You don't even need to taste it; just standing there, Chao Keguang felt it was enough to make his eyes water.

Chapter 35 As You Command, My Culinary Demon Lord

Although he felt the black pepper sauce was most likely a disaster, Chao Ke, adhering to the principle of learning from his mistakes and gaining experience, decided to finish making the dish anyway.

"Ding! Ding!"

It was time to boil the potatoes. Chao Ke lifted the lid and took out a potato to check on it.

Take out a chopstick and with just a little force, you can easily pierce the whole potato.

"It's done!"

After the potatoes passed the ripening test, Chao Ke quickly scooped them out one by one and peeled off the skin with a spoon while they were still hot.

Looking at the golden-yellow inside of the potato, Chao Ke couldn't help but marvel at the quality of the raw materials provided by the system.

The natural yellow color of these potatoes surpasses that of regular mashed potatoes with butter.

In a separate pan, melt some butter.

Then, gradually add the melted butter and milk to the potatoes.

During the mixing process, the potato chunks are continuously squeezed, eventually mixing the potatoes, butter, milk, and a little salt into a paste.

Then take out a 2400-mesh ultra-fine filter to filter the paste.

The filtered mashed potatoes become incredibly smooth and delicate, without any small potato lumps that would affect the texture.

Take a clean bowl, put the strained mashed potatoes into it, and then invert the bowl onto the plate.

A round, mashed potato is then placed on the plate, and hot black pepper sauce is poured over it while it's still hot.

"The elixir of the soul, poured upon you~"

After Chao Ke poured the black pepper sauce over the dish, the menu information popped up.

Delicious and creamy mashed potatoes (extra spicy version)

[Rating: 78/89 for spicy food lovers]

[Description: Seasoned mashed potatoes. With each silky mashed potato in your mouth, a rich aroma melts on your tongue, followed by a burst of umami and creamy flavors. Such a wonderful taste is almost unbelievable coming from such a common ingredient as potatoes. However, the spoonful of black pepper sauce determines that this is not a delicacy for most people.]

[Comment: Did you kill the black pepper seller? Or are you trying to kidnap Barbara?]

Chao Ke: ...

"Is it that exaggerated?"

Unconvinced, Chao Ke scooped up a spoonful of black pepper sauce and put it in his mouth.

Then, a twitch appeared on Ke's face. Well, that was quite a twitch.

Fortunately, Chao Ke was in the Chef God Trial Grounds, and this feeling of discomfort quickly subsided.

Perhaps because the dishes were too simple this time, the system gave Chao Ke a high rating on his first try.

Looking at the mashed potatoes, which were almost perfect in terms of both raw materials and production process, Chao Ke realized that the key to improving the score was not the mashed potatoes themselves, but the black pepper sauce poured on top of them.