Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 118: Spiceology

Chapter 118: Chapter 118: Spiceology

"It’s almost a glowing dish!"

The special-grade female chef’s eyes lit up with pleasure as she slowly said, "The ’scalding’ taste is the essence of heat control, and you’ve grasped it very well, I may not have been able to go any further... Then, it’s the ’crispiness’ of the soybean ground meat. This also depends on the chef’s control of heat. Frying the bean curd in hot oil, even one extra second changes the texture, and the soybean ground meat in your dish is fried just right, perfect control of the heat!"

Xia Yu nodded in agreement.

The ’scalding’ and ’crispiness’ of the magical mapo tofu were all about controlling heat. The Bursting Flame technique and flame sensory experience could help him firmly grasp these two essences.

"Next is the color..."

Liangzi Lina looked down at the dish.

The red of the chili, the white of the tofu, and the green of the young garlic leaves juxtaposed against her black pupils, all three colors incredibly vibrant.

Moreover, the beautiful presentation of the Shuangjiang Tofu also added a lot to the dish.

"There are no flaws in its appearance!" she noted.

Beside her, An Yilun swallowed hard and said, "Yeah, just looking at a dish of this quality makes me so hungry."

Sakamoto simply pushed up his glasses, not speaking, but his eyes were also firmly locked on the tofu in the pot.

"What a pity..." Liangzi Lina took a bite of tofu, didn’t go for a second one, and shook her head as the mix of lingering flavors exploded in her mouth, her voice deepening, "The ’fragrant,’ ’spicy,’ and ’numbing’ tastes, they’re not enough!"

"Hmm?!"

Before the words finished, Liangzi Lina suddenly furrowed her brow as the seventh flavor of the dish surged powerfully across her palate, following the ’spicy’ of the Sichuan pepper, the ’numbing’ of the pepper, and the ’fragrance’ of the spring onion and sauce, aggressively dominating her taste buds!

"Such a natural flavor!"

Her usually cool face flushed with two mysterious blooms of red as Liangzi Lina’s legs weakened, and she could not help but brace herself against the table with her left hand, her eyes misting up, "What kind of mouthfeel is this!"

"The unexpected aftertaste of the fat has been turned into this..."

Liangzi Lina felt as though she was walking through a plantation of Big Tuna Belly Soybeans, the breeze bringing with it the unique fragrance of the plants. She bent down involuntarily, picked a fresh green stalk of soy, tore open the pod, and several plump, yellow-tinged soybeans tumbled into her palm.

She bowed her head, took a gentle sniff, and the rich scent of the beans filled her hands like drinking an entire cup of thick soy milk for breakfast, warming her body and soul with satisfaction.

"Ah..." Liangzi Lina’s expression subtly changed.

The scent of the beans was mixed with a hint of spice, her nose felt like it was on fire, and she quickly opened her eyes, dispelling the culinary illusion in her mind.

"It hasn’t truly merged!" She stared at the mapo tofu on her plate, "There’s a flaw in the way the spices were handled... Sichuan pepper, black pepper, spring onion, these are essentially Chinese Spices. The use of Chinese Spices, especially with chili, is unparalleled in the world."

What a shame!

Liangzi Lina sighed inwardly.

Her expertise was in traditional Japanese cuisine, and her personal taste favored lighter flavors. Therefore, ’spiceology’ wasn’t within her area of specialization; otherwise, Liangzi Lina felt she could have offered Xia Yu more advice to jointly improve the recipe.

Unlike Liangzi Lina’s regret, Sakamoto and An Yilun kept eating non-stop.

"So spicy, so hot, so fragrant!" An Yilun murmured indistinctly, eating while stripping off his uniform jacket, his body sweating profusely, panting continuously, his face flushed with redness.

"Excuse me!"

Sakamoto simply unbuttoned a few buttons on his uniform and slightly bowed his head, his glasses reflecting light.

Quickly, a large plate of dishes was emptied, leaving only the red sauce on the plate.

An Yilun also finished his tea but still felt his body igniting, as if harboring a great furnace inside, involuntarily starting to move, hopping and jumping as if trying to dissipate the heat through activity.

Slap!

A pair of hands suddenly struck out. An Yilun instinctively stopped and reached out to intercept them, and then, with hands colliding, a crisp sound echoed.

An Yilun blinked and looked at the cool-looking boy opposite him.

"Let’s do some push hand sumo—"

Sakamoto pushed his reflective glasses up and glanced sideward at An Yilun, that sharp look making An Yilun feel an indescribable coolness about the guy; he couldn’t bring himself to dislike him.

Then, what the heck was push hand sumo? An Yilun was perplexed.

Slap! Sakamoto stood firm, his left palm striking again, and without a thought, An Yilun raised his hand to block, and their palms collided once more.

After several repetitions, An Yilun unexpectedly felt a strange sort of relief. The inextinguishable fireball inside his body seemed to vent out through the fierce push hand activity, through the collision of palms.

Thus, the two created their own world in one corner of the restaurant, each moving to and fro, engaging in a sumo muscle contest that reeked of teenage antics.

Liangzi Lina found it amusing, her lips curling into a playful smile, "Is this a typical day for a high school boy?"

"Don’t lump everyone together. I’m pretty normal," said Xia Yu, rolling his eyes.

Ignoring the two of them, Xia Yu propped his chin on his hand. He had just tasted his own cooking, picking out flaws in the ’spiciness,’ ’numbness,’ ’aroma,’ and the handling of the aftertaste of the tofu.

The problem summed up to one thing—his use of spices wasn’t up to snuff!

The equation of spices in the dish had not truly come together.

In other words, this was a failed attempt.

"I’ve failed," he declared.

There was no surprise in Xia Yu’s conclusion.

"Is there a way to quickly improve spice skills?" he asked Liangzi Lina.

"Spice studies, in reality, are also studies of experience. The most basic element is to identify the commonly used thousands of spices around the world. You need to not only remember the names but become intimately familiar with their flavors, applications, and taboos," she explained.

Liangzi Lina glanced at him with a sympathetic look, obviously knowing what Xia Yu was thinking, and shook her head, "The fundamentals of spice studies take two to three years to grasp. Beyond the basics, comes advanced pairing applications. But, you need to understand, like food, spices are filled with strong regional styles."

"For example, Chinese spices like star anise, fennel, cardamom, chili, dried tangerine peel, white peony, monk fruit, and so on, are already intertwined with the knowledge of Chinese herbal medicine. The regional characteristic also lies in the use of herbal spices."

"The spices of India are well-known, with curry being the most famous. Others like cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, and white pepper actually have a lot in common with Chinese spices. There’s a saying in the culinary world, ’the best spices are found in India.’ If you’ve traveled in India, maybe you’d discover in some spice market, just fennel alone comes in over twenty varieties with different sizes, colors, scents, and uses."

In the end, Liangzi Lina sighed lightly, "Starting to learn about spices now, from scratch... it’s a bit late..."

She began to waver on the inside.

Revising the recipe for "Magical Mapo Tofu" could take years.

Xia Yu held the recipe, and although Liangzi Lina had tried, she simply could not reproduce the glow of the magical Mapo Tofu herself. Hence, she hoped Xia Yu could manage his own revisions while she could only offer a little help.

Perhaps it was time for her to look for another way to advance to a ’Lin Chef’? Liangzi Lina thought to herself.