Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 129: Mackerel Rice Ball Tea Rice

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Mackerel Rice Ball Tea Rice

Mackerel, actually, is just another name for mackerel.

Pole Star Dormitory Kitchen.

Sen Tian Makki and Xingping Chuangzhen divided the last mackerel in the refrigerator.

Xingping Chuangzhen’s method of dealing with the mackerel was to slice it into rings and after heating the oil, toss it into a frying pan to fry.

People paid more attention to Makki.

Compared to Xingping’s simplicity, Makki’s ingredient preparation process could be described as "complicated."

She found two small bags of different flours, weighed them—one bag had 600 grams, the other 900 grams—then threw them into a stainless steel basin and mixed them.

"Low-gluten wheat flour and high-gluten flour?" Ichise Hui murmured softly, resting his chin on his hand.

Then, Makki cut several pieces of pasty butter, also weighed them, and added about 600 grams of butter chunks into the flour, thoroughly mixing them before adding water.

"Not hot water?"

Yoshino Yuuki exclaimed.

Makki was holding a large transparent glass filled with ice cubes, with tiny droplets of cold condensation densely covering the outer layer.

There was no doubt, it was a cup of ice water, not hot water.

Taking a seasoning salt shaker, she sprinkled some into the flour. Makki’s culinary style strived for meticulousness, even with something as common as salt, she carefully measured the dosage, appearing very cautious.

Soon, a large yellow dough formed under Makki’s kneading.

The dough was very soft; not much force was needed by Makki, and the dough, like clay, changed into different shapes under her hands, showing remarkable tenacity.

"Huh?!" Everyone looked on with puzzled interest at how Makki continued to handle the dough.

She divided the dough into three even portions, took several pieces of plastic wrap, put one sheet on the cutting board with the dough on top, covered it with another sheet of plastic wrap, then folded the two sheets enveloping the dough from all sides without any gaps.

This process was repeated three times, wrapping each piece of dough in plastic wrap.

"Bang!"

That was the sound of the freezer door slamming shut.

Makki turned around, wiped the hint of fragrant sweat from her forehead, and hurried back in front of her phone camera, her sweet smile returning.

Xia Yu was also curious, unable to guess what dish Makki was planning to make.

"Makki, Makki—"

Yoshino Yuuki rested her arm on Makki’s shoulder, eyes wide with curiosity, and asked like a curious child, "What dish are you making?"

Even Xingping Chuangzhen, who was frying mackerel, perked up his ears, showing his interest.

"A classic Western pastry."

Makki’s answer only increased everyone’s curiosity.

"Your mixture of flours, you’re planning to make dough, right?" Leaning against the wall, with his eyes half covered by his hair, Iwazaki Jun suddenly said, "And with the ice water mixing and then putting it in the freezer, you want the dough to harden, making it easier to maintain its shape."

"What Western pastry uses dough?" Shen Liangzi, Tanaka Hikari, and Yoshino Yuuki all pondered simultaneously.

"Hmm?!"

A spark of insight flashed in Ichise Hui’s eyes, he quickly glanced at the phone screen, and at the same time, Xia Yu also formed a conjecture. The two exchanged a look across the screen, both with smiles on their lips.

"How about we write the answer on our hands and reveal it together when Makki presents her dish?" Xia Yu found Ichise Hui quite amusing. "If I’m wrong and you’re right, you can come to my small shop and enjoy a meal of my signature dish, on the house!"

"Interesting!"

Ichise Hui didn’t refuse, asking Tanaka Hikari to fetch a pen to write the answer on his hand.

Xia Yu, in the kitchen where the charcoal stove was already extinguished, took a piece of small charcoal and etched words on his hand.

For the next thirty minutes, the focus of everyone was still on Makki.

She had frozen the dough for about 30 minutes, took it out, tore off the plastic wrap, used a rolling pin to make all three pieces of dough 7-8 millimeters thick and rectangular, then covered the dough with plastic wrap and continued to freeze it for about 15 minutes.

As time passed, within one hour, Makki had repeated the noodl-rolling steps at least six times before finally trimming three pieces of dough into squares with a kitchen knife.

"My dish is ready!"

Xingping Chuangzhen approached, carrying a tray, on which were three bowls of exquisite and tasty Japanese cuisine—

Tea-infused rice!

"This is one of the secret menu items at Xingping Restaurant, Mackerel rice ball tea-infused rice!" Xingping Chuangzhen confidently explained, "Actually, this dish is originally made with salmon, but this time I tried to improve it."

A faint smell of saltiness and tea aroma filled the air.

Tanaka Hikari, Shen Liangzi, and Yoshino Yuuki were all drawn to the three bowls of exquisite tea-infused rice.

"Grumble~"

Yoshino Yuuki covered her protesting stomach, her cheeks flushed as she complained in a girly tone, "Really! Serving this kind of rice at midnight is sure to make people hungry!"

"Seaweed strips paired with pan-fried mackerel pieces...If it were just to this extent, it wouldn’t differ much from the dishes commonly found in average restaurants..."

Ichise Hui stared at the dish in the bowl, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and picked up a small cluster of white rice dripping with tea, topped with a tiny piece of mackerel meat.

She chewed.

The Pole Star Dormitory Kitchen was momentarily quiet.

After a while, Ichise Hui looked up, her cheeks flushed with a radiant red, making a seductive ’mmm’ sound, "It’s so delicious!"

"The mackerel is so juicy!" Yoshino Yuuki exclaimed, "Every chew fills the mouth with fish and tea juices, and the fish skin texture is very crispy!"

"How is this texture achieved?"

Shen Liangzi sweated on her forehead.

Tanaka Hikari was stunned, suddenly feeling that this transfer student named Xingping Chuangzhen was really impressive.

"It’s pan-seared!"

The voice of Xia Yu came from the cell phone’s speaker, "If I’m not mistaken, Xingping used the ’pan-searing’ technique for the mackerel."

"Pan-searing?!"

"Yes, it’s a French cooking technique; I also learned it recently from a professional gourmet magazine," Xia Yu said calmly, "Didn’t you notice the details of Xingping’s fish frying?"

"He used a ’spatula’ to press down the mackerel pieces, ensuring the entire face of the fish meat adhered to the pan for even coloring."

"Also, while frying the fish, he also carefully removed the fats seeping out of the fish meat, to get rid of the raw fishy smell, and added a reasonable amount of olive oil."

Ichise Hui wholeheartedly agreed with Xia Yu’s explanation.

"Exactly, it’s the French pan-searing technique!" Ichise Hui’s gaze shimmered as she stared at Xingping Chuangzhen, "Say, Xingping, how did you know about this French cooking technique?"

Upon hearing this, Xingping Chuangzhen seemed quite surprised, scratching his head and said, "This method, I learned it from my dad, he said it’s the best way to make the fish meat crispy!"

"Your father?"

Everyone looked at Xingping Chuangzhen with a different perspective then.

Ichise Hui leaned her chin on her hand, saying, "Pan-searing is suitable for cooking fish with thicker skins like mackerel and salmon. Xingping-kun was able to see through this and decide which technique to use to cook this dish; it’s really a ’free’ style of cooking!"

Saying so, Ichise Hui stirred her bowl with chopsticks.

Inside the seaweed tea soup, the rice sparkled with pure white brilliance, snow-white.

Having finished the last of the tea-infused rice in the bowl, the group, whether standing or sitting, remained silent for a long time. Xingping Chuangzhen, with his dish, depicted the stunning scenery of the moment when spring arrives, the ice and snow melt, and mackerel emerges magnificently.

Ding.

At that moment, the cell phone’s speaker suddenly broadcasted a reminder sound from the oven in Xia’s Kitchen.

"Ah, my dish is ready!"

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(PS at the end of the Chapter: The update will be released at midnight on the 1st, and it’s scheduled in the postscript. This book is a fanfiction, naturally niche, so every subscription is very important to the author, crucial for survival, hope everyone can support the genuine version. Don’t forget the recommendation tickets~)