Chihaya Aine is a member of the team Zero

The sauce was a little lacking in cooking, but it was undoubtedly a very good dish. After eating such delicious food, Chihaya Aine couldn't help but feel itchy.

"Little girl, do you mind if we watch from the side?" The head chef was not interested in Chihaya Aine's father's purpose. What else could an experienced person do when borrowing the kitchen besides cooking?

"Of course no problem. It's okay for me to use whatever ingredients here are, right?" Chihaya Aine waved her hand to indicate that it was okay.

"Hahaha, little girl, you're so generous, how can I be stingy with these ingredients?!"

"Uncle, do you have any leftover rice in your kitchen?" Chihaya Aine thought that if there was no leftover rice, she would have to make another dish.

A bowl of leftover rice is an essential ingredient for fried rice. This is because the moisture in leftover rice has mostly evaporated, and the grains have hardened, making it easier to separate the grains when stir-frying them, rather than becoming a sticky mess. In that case, not only is it difficult to control the heat and seasoning, but the taste is also greatly compromised.

"Of course! The things are in the cabinet next to it." The chef was stunned before he finished speaking.

It turned out that Chihaya Aine was already busy at the kitchen counter after confirming that there was some leftover food. In the vegetable basket in front of her were washed spinach and bok choy, which were full of water droplets, and a piece of green onion, all of which were emerald green.

Looking at the pile of green vegetables without any meat in front of Chihaya Aine, the head chef couldn't help but ask curiously, "What is this little girl going to do?"

Chihaya Aine casually pulled out a square kitchen knife for cutting vegetables from the knife rack beside her.

"Bang bang bang bang bang..." The chopping board and the kitchen knife made a very rhythmic and pleasant knocking sound.

The chef's face was full of astonishment. Those with high EQ would say that Chihaya Aine's knife skills were too simple, while those with low EQ would say that Chihaya Aine's casual method of cutting the spinach and bok choy into sections seemed like a perfunctory move.

Chihaya Aine's knife cutting speed was getting faster and faster, and only the afterimage of her entire hand was left. She even picked out the spinach stems and focused on cutting them. The knife shadows fell like a sudden rain, seemingly fast, but each swing of the knife was accurate to the point of not more or less than a millimeter. Not only was the frequency of the swings stable, but each cut was concentrated in one place.

It was like a repetitive cycle, chopping a thin strand of hair madly with the knife.

At this moment, the only thought in the chef's mind was "horror".

The chef wiped his eyes, then looked at her hand holding the spinach stalks on the chopping board, and he was also sweating for this young lady.

If the cutting rhythm is a little messy, what will be cut is not the spinach, but the finger. Moreover, looking at the crazy cutting speed of this young lady and the sharpness of the knife, cutting the finger is not just a simple cut.

If this young lady who could book the whole place temporarily lost a finger or something because she let someone into the kitchen, she would not be able to bear the responsibility if the other party's parents and superiors held her accountable.

But the head chef also secretly sighed in his heart that the other party's free and easy knife skills and formidable basic skills did not seem like something that should appear on a young lady of this age.

After the knife shadow disappeared, the chopping board was filled with chopped food, like spinach stems put into a food processor.

"What is she going to do?" The chef's eyes showed deep curiosity.

Judging from her question about whether she had leftover rice, this young lady must be planning to make something similar to fried rice. But by chopping the vegetables so finely, was she trying to dye the rice green? The chef immediately understood the significance of chopping the spinach. But would a purely green fried rice like this be delicious?

When the chef thought about the plate of green fried rice in front of him, he felt that he probably would not have any appetite at all and would not pick up his chopsticks.

Vegan fried rice without meat, eggs, or even ham can’t be considered delicious even if it is seasoned with a strong sauce, right?

Volume 1: Chapter 87 Comet Fried Rice

"It's a pity that I can't ask you, Cero, for help in this situation where everyone is watching." Chihaya Aine looked at the spinach stems that had been chopped, minced, and chopped on the chopping board, and once again deeply realized the convenience of Cero brand kitchen utensils.

"I have a feeling that you were thinking about something very rude just now..." In the vast white space of consciousness, Zero felt that he had been offended again.

"Hahaha, how could that be? You must have been mistaken, Zero." Chihaya Aine ended the topic with a laugh, then turned around and continued to concentrate on dealing with the ingredients that had already been cut on the chopping board in front of her.

After the vegetables are cut, the next step is to boil water and blanch them.

Chihaya Aine put an appropriate amount of oil and salt into a pot filled with water, and prepared a small half basin of ice water that had just been taken out of the refrigerator next to it.

After making these preparations, Chihaya Aine filled a colander with chopped spinach and bok choy, blanched them all in hot water for about half a minute, and then quickly fished them out and threw all the blanched ingredients into a basin of ice water to cool them down.

This is a crucial step for the dish that Chihaya Aine is going to cook next. Using ice water to cool down the vegetables immediately after blanching them can perfectly lock in the juice and flavor of the vegetables, so that the vegetables will not be further steamed and become burnt by the boiling water brought out during the blanching process.

After completing the steps of controlling moisture and locking in flavor in the vegetables, the next thing to do is of course just stir-fry!

Chihaya Aine first poured cold oil into the hot pan, then poured in half of the chopped green onions and stir-fried them until fragrant. Then she poured a large bowl of hard overnight rice into the pan, and finally used a spatula to stir-fry the rice vigorously, breaking them up into individual grains to ensure the taste of the fried rice.

After confirming that the aroma of the chopped green onions in the pot had been fully integrated into the fried rice, Chihaya Aine's next step was to add the chopped spinach that had been chopped earlier and mix the overnight rice, chopped green onions and spinach thoroughly. At this time, the chopped spinach stems had been fully mixed with the distinct grains of rice, and the food in the hot pot had already taken on a vibrant light green color.

The head chef, who had been attracted by Chihaya Aine's cooking, had slowly come to the stove and stretched his neck to find out what the real food in Chihaya Aine's pot was.

The head chef glanced over and saw Chihaya Aine throwing seasonings into the pot one after another. The head chef's originally nonchalant expression suddenly changed.

Chihaya Aine turned her wrist and flipped the spatula in her hand. With a swishing sound, the seasonings were successfully mixed into the fried rice. Chihaya Aine's flipping and shoveling seemed to complete some kind of magic trick that made the food even more delicious. The whole pot was completely filled with green food, emitting an alluring and fresh aroma.

The chef just took a light breath of the fragrance emanating from Chihaya Aine's hot pot, and the refreshing and non-greasy fragrance made the chef's eyes reveal disbelief.

The chef only felt that his body, which seemed to have aged severely, was light all over, as if he could escape gravity with just a slight jump.

The chef sniffed again to take in more of the aroma. The second breath of warmth flowing through his chest felt like... the smell of the earth in an endless wilderness.

"Swish, swish."

Chihaya Aine took out the vegetables that had been dehydrated and had their flavors locked in from the ice basin, and poured all of them into the boiling wok.

The silver-white spatula was stirring the food up and down in the pot, and most of the kitchen was enveloped by the rising fresh fragrance.

When the vegetables, which had been controlled in moisture and locked in flavor, were heated by the temperature in the pot, the unique fresh fragrance of the vegetables became stronger. The chef was stunned. His stomach, which had just eaten not long ago, made a gurgling sound as if in protest. A strong feeling of hunger swept over everyone in the kitchen who had inhaled a lot of fragrance.

"How could it be... the taste of only vegetables and seasonings shouldn't be like this! What kind of magic did this young lady cast on the food being stir-fried in the pot to make the pot full of vegetables and fried rice taste like this!" The chef's heart was filled with incredible feelings.

As a chef who has been cooking for half his life, his taste for food tends to become heavier as he gets older. Logically, it is impossible for him to be drooling over a dish of vegetarian fried rice. However, the feeling of hunger that spreads from his stomach and quickly spreads throughout his body is real.

"I'm done! My dish is done!" Chihaya Aine flipped the spatula and put the emerald green fried rice that was still steaming in the hot pan into the tableware prepared earlier.

Chihaya Aine's calm voice woke the chef from his hunger. The chef stared blankly at Chihaya Aine as she finished plating the food.

The head chef glanced at the clock in the kitchen and was surprised to find that from adding oil to the hot pan and stir-frying to serving on a plate, the cooking time for Chihaya Aine's fried rice was less than ten minutes!

The fried rice made by Chihaya Aine finally appeared in the eyes of the head chef in a vibrant emerald green color. If it weren't for the steaming aroma of the appetizing green fried rice in the tableware, the head chef would have thought that the fried rice in front of him was a work of art made by a master.

The emerald green rice grains are clearly visible like beautiful jades. Each grain of rice is wrapped with chopped spinach stems, chopped green onions and bok choy, which makes them all become lush green without exception.

Then came the spinach leaves and bok choy after being blanched and stir-fried. They were juicy green in the bowl, and the water-purifying flavor locked in the vegetables, so that they were not all dark yellow, indicating old age, but rather lush green and lovely. Everyone in the kitchen even felt that the vegetables were now fresher than when they were just picked.

"It's just a simple mixed vegetable fried rice, why is the aroma of this dish so exaggerated?" After watching Chihaya Aine turn off the valve of the gas stove, the head chef leaned his hands on the empty kitchen counter near Chihaya Aine, lowered his head which had become a little lazy over the years, and thought.

"Want to know? Uncle, just try it and you'll understand!" Chihaya Aine handed over a white plate with fried rice, and at the same time stuffed a clean porcelain spoon for eating fried rice into the chef's hand.

The chef was thinking of struggling a bit, but the boiling hunger in his body was definitely not an illusion.

The chef lowered his head and stared at the fried rice dish in front of him, the emerald green in his pupils reflected a lush green countryside.

The feeling of being surrounded and wrapped in nature softened the chef's eyes, and the remaining strong energy in Chihaya Aine's body after she finished cooking also weakened.

The chef scooped a small mouthful of the still steaming emerald green fried rice with a spoon with trembling hands. When he was about to put the fried rice into his mouth, his hands, which had been trembling just now, suddenly became as steady as a rock.

"Well……"

The moment the fried rice entered my mouth, the chef let out a heavy nasal sound that was unclear in meaning.

The chef could feel the countryside scenery that he had just seen in front of him become more real after taking this bite.

The warm spring sun pierced the sky and shone straight down. The chef, who was already naked in his imagination, could feel his whole body and soul being wrapped in that warm feeling. The whole brain felt so light and airy that it was about to fly into the universe, which made the chef unable to help but run across the fields like a child. On the ridges and beside the clear streams, the chef's rough feet stepped barefoot on the muddy land, and the fragrance of the earth filled his nose.

The chef was lying in the thriving vegetable patch in his hometown, surrounded by clusters of spinach and bok choy. He had never felt before that the green in his vision was so refreshing. It seemed that what his daughter learned in school, to look at more green and do eye exercises on time, was indeed correct.

After savoring the fried rice in his mouth, the chef felt completely relaxed, as if he had returned to nature.

At this critical moment, the chef saw a hermit riding a cow and returning from plowing the fields. The chef turned around and started to walk over, but as soon as the hermit turned around, it was Chihaya Aine's cute and pretty face, still on the cow's back, giving her an eye-catching and peaceful smile.

The chef stood there in a daze.

Returning to reality, the chef slowly swallowed the food in his mouth, his dazed eyes finally regaining some clarity. He jerked his head up to see what had happened to the young lady standing before him, then lowered his head again, staring blankly at the plate of mixed vegetable fried rice, which he had unknowingly devoured. His voice trembling, the chef asked, "This is a highly accomplished dish, definitely not something the young lady improvised... Could you tell me the name of this dish? I won't let you down with the reward."

"The name of the dish? If you insist, just call it Comet Fried Rice." Although Chihaya Style Comet Fried Rice has nothing to do with the original Comet Fried Rice dish, Chihaya Aine was able to reveal some information: "You may not believe it, but what you believe in most is actually not even the ultimate form of Comet Fried Rice. It is still some distance away from perfect completion." Chihaya Aine muttered these words that were difficult to understand.

Comet... fried rice?

There was a hint of confusion in the chef's eyes. It was obvious that at his age, he had no idea about Chungchu Boyan. This also meant that the chef was unable to make the complaints that Chihaya Aine expected.

"What does this green mixed vegetable fried rice have to do with comets?" The chef was puzzled.

Chihaya Aine noticed her confusion and shrugged, clearly not intending to explain further. After all, she couldn't tell anyone else that this dish actually glowed, and when it did, the entire dish would emit a faint green light, almost as dazzling as a comet streaking across the sky.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, even if the character was replaced by Chihaya Aine, I wouldn't be able to believe that such food could exist based on just this verbal explanation.

The chef lowered his head and continued to shovel two mouthfuls of rice into his mouth. He was concentrating on savoring the delicious food in front of him.

The chef finished the small dish of fried rice in front of him, then looked at the fried rice in a cooking pot, swallowed his saliva, opened his mouth and was about to ask Chihaya Aine for another dish, but Chihaya Aine seemed to have expected it and said, "The portion prepared is not very large. I need to make sure that my friends can eat this comet fried rice first."

Unable to eat any more food, the chef could feel the warm breath of spring in his chest disappearing.

The head chef felt a hollowness in his heart, as if something was missing. He suppressed the contrast and discomfort and asked Chihaya Aine, "Does this Comet Fried Rice only use green onions, spinach, and bok choy?"

"That's right." Chihaya Aine didn't care about recipes. Her motto in cooking was "There's no best recipe, only the best chef."

"But you can add some minced shrimp and shiitake mushrooms for seasoning." Chihaya Aine smiled. "Minced shrimp pairs well with fresh vegetables, making them more tender and delicious. Actually, there aren't many details to this dish as a whole, and the ingredients are very simple. With practice, the taste of Comet Fried Rice will be pretty good."

"No!"

The chef's thick eyebrows knitted together, and as he recalled Chihaya Aine's cooking steps, he slowly said, "I know very well that simpler dishes are not necessarily easier to make. On the contrary, the simpler the dish, the harder it is to create an incredible taste!"

"Because there is too little room for chefs to show their talents!"

"Your Comet Fried Rice only uses three main ingredients: leftover rice, spinach, and bok choy. The green onions, minced shrimp, and chopped mushrooms are just condiments..." The head chef grabbed a lock of hair near his temples and muttered softly, "The key is definitely the condiments! It's better to have one less than an unnecessary extra. Otherwise, it will affect the natural and refreshing taste of this dish. If you add any more condiments, the flavor of the Comet Fried Rice will become mixed."

“If there’s a core concept behind this dish, it’s definitely about returning to basics. So, if you overcomplicate the flavor of Comet Fried Rice, it would be a complete failure!

Back to basics!!!

Chihaya Aine nodded in approval of the chef's core concept of Comet Fried Rice.

The head chef is right. Although the cooking process of Comet Fried Rice seems extremely simple, in fact, every step involves the hard work of countless chefs.

P.S. I fell asleep while fishing while writing this chapter, then woke up and continued writing until the end. So there may be some mistakes, and I apologize to all the readers here.

Volume 1: Chapter 88 What is a Super Chef?

"One after another..." The chef chewed over these four short words carefully.

The moment the chef took a bite of the Comet Fried Rice, he knew he couldn't beat the young lady with beautiful pink hair in the fried rice department. But the four people who followed him gave the chef a new idea.

"Miss, could you please taste my fried rice?" The head chef lowered his position and asked Chihaya Aine sincerely.

"That's no problem at all. Learning from each other and improving together is also a part of culinary exchange." Chihaya Aine quite agrees with the culinary exchange between chefs.

"Then I'll trouble the foreman to serve this fried rice to my friends. Please tell them: don't worry about me, I'm just discussing cooking with the head chef in the kitchen. They can finish their fried rice without worry." Chihaya Aine picked up the cutlery with the Comet Fried Rice on the table and handed it to the foreman who was slowly approaching from behind.

"I have received your request." The foreman bowed to Chihaya Aine, took the cutlery from her hand, turned and left the kitchen.

The chef held his chin and thought about what kind of fried rice he should make. After thinking for a while, the chef decided to choose his specialty.

After deciding what to do, the chef walked straight to the refrigerator without any hesitation, opened the door, and took out a few slices of ham that had already been cut, followed by eggs, curry, and pineapple.

"The ingredients are simple. It doesn't look like some heavy-flavored fried rice with lots of oil or meat." Chihaya Aine guessed what the chef was going to make after seeing his choice of ingredients.

The chef cut a large pineapple in half horizontally. He only planned to use half of the pineapple and put the other half aside. Instead of using a peeling knife, he used a long and sharp kitchen knife to cut directly from the surface of the flesh.

"Shhhhh."

The chef's knife moved crisscrossly in his hands. In just over ten seconds, half a piece of pineapple flesh was turned into diced fruit of uniform size. The chef then poured it out from the chopping board and placed it on a plate beside it.

After processing the pineapple, the next step is the ham. The chef's long and sharp kitchen knife flew up and down, and several slices of ham were processed.

Although the chef's knife skills are not as good as Chihaya Aine's complete control over the knife when she cut the spinach stems just now, it can be seen that her basic skills are extremely solid.

The chef looked at the ingredients that had been prepared on the kitchen counter: eggs, diced pineapple, diced ham, and a piece of solid curry... At this point, all the preparations had been completed.

The chef lit the stove and poured in peanut oil. He picked up the egg with one hand and broke it with the edge of the pan, then poured the egg liquid into the pan. The spatula in the hands of the middle-aged chef was like a sharp battlefield weapon. The egg was crushed as soon as it turned golden and shaped by the high-temperature hot oil. The next step was naturally to add the diced ham and continue stir-frying.

The chef felt the scorching heat of the stove up close and closed his eyes slightly with a hint of enjoyment. This temperature was the most familiar thing in his life.

After a brief stir-fry to make the overnight rice grains distinct, the chef then proceeds to the last step, which is to add seasonings to the pot.

The chef twisted his hands on the stove, and a faint blue flame emerged from the bottom of the pot. He planned to use high heat to reduce the sauce.

After the chef sprinkled in the seasonings, he held the spatula in his hand and stir-fried it over high heat for a while, completely locking the last seasoning into the fried rice in the pot. Then he put the boiling hot fried rice into the pineapple shell that had been hollowed out of the flesh. The fried rice, with the temperature just out of the pot, burned on the wall of the pineapple shell, and suddenly a rich aroma mixed with the sweet and sour taste of the pineapple fried rice rushed out.

"Please have some—" The head chef brought the plate of pineapple curry fried rice towards Chihaya Aine.

The chef placed the pineapple curry fried rice on the kitchen counter and replaced the plate with the pineapple shell left after digging out the flesh, which can ensure the original flavor of the dish to the greatest extent.

At this time, the head chef looked as if he was facing a great enemy, his eyes fixed on Chihaya Aine. The last time the head chef was so nervous was when he was still an apprentice learning from his master.

The head chef at this moment was different from the confident look on Chihaya Aine's face when she first entered the kitchen. Although the head chef's face already had many wrinkles, it still revealed a hint of nervousness without being intimidating.

Under the watchful eyes of the head chef, Chihaya Aine simply scooped up half a spoonful with a spoon, slightly opened her thin cherry lips, put the half spoonful of pineapple curry fried rice into her mouth, chewed it, and then shook her head.

"It's still far from enough..."

After tasting Chihaya Aine's Comet Fried Rice, the head chef realized that there was a huge gap between himself and Chihaya Aine in terms of fried rice alone.