Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 175: Studious Eriina

Chapter 175: Chapter 175: Studious Eriina

"Add me."

Seeing these two words, Xia Yu inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity and took a closer look at the sender.

Sure enough!

Tiqie Eriina, the young lady, used her real name, and the account was officially certified by Neon, followed by a bunch of titles: the top student of the Far Moon Middle School, a member of the Far Moon High School’s Elite Ten, possessor of the "Divine Tongue," a two-star chef at the IGO International Gourmet Organization...

Then, looking at her number of followers, which was over a million, Xia Yu was taken aback. The attention she received was not much less than that of a celebrity, which reflected the status chefs held in this world.

"Added." He sent a reply.

To his surprise, the other side replied immediately, "You were very impressive today."

"Eh? Is this you? Is Hizaki managing Eriina’s account or what?" Xia Yu was puzzled, finding that this normally haughty person was candid online.

"..." Silence from the other side.

Xia Yu got no reply, closed Twitter, but was caught off guard when he suddenly received a phone call.

"I am the one using that account." An annoyed voice said upon answering.

"Oh, so it is you." Xia Yu’s eyelid twitched as he walked into the store and glanced at the time shown on the wall clock. "It’s so late, haven’t you gone to bed yet?"

It wasn’t an illusion, there seemed to be the sound of flames from a stove on Eriina’s end.

"I’m practicing," Eriina Tiqie said, her voice tense.

"Then I won’t disturb you."

"Wait, wait—" Eriina Tiqie became frantic.

"What is it?"

"Can you tell me the secret of the ’Flame Dragon Roll Fish Fin Sausage’..."

Xia Yu finally understood why this young lady was suddenly hesitant. She wanted to learn his cooking.

He patiently explained, "Eriina, it’s not that I don’t want to teach you, but the ’Flame Dragon Roll Fish Fin Sausage’ is full of my personal touch. The cooking techniques it encapsulates are something you don’t have. Even if you learn it, you won’t be able to grasp its essence."

"No, I have to learn!" Eriina Tiqie became petulant.

Xia Yu opened his mouth to object, but then simply shrugged, "Alright, learn it if you must. However, recipes are a chef’s most guarded secret. What will you trade for it?"

"I also have my own near-Special Grade Recipe..."

"Oh?" Xia Yu raised an eyebrow in surprise, half-smiling, "But my recipe is of Special Grade."

"I can also use my ’Divine Tongue’ to offer free tastings of your dishes for six months." Eriina Tiqie seemed prepared as she threw out her conditions without pausing for breath.

Divine Tongue!

Thinking of Eriina Tiqie’s tongue, Xia Yu nodded. Indeed, that was a unique advantage. If he had the Divine Tongue, it would have saved him a lot of trouble in his research and greatly increased efficiency.

But having this haughty person’s help was also beneficial. With the quality of his recipes improving over time, research and refinement would undoubtedly become more challenging. Xia Yu was not asking for too much; just having the Divine Tongue to increase his efficiency a bit would suffice.

Besides, Xia Yu was curious about Eriina Tiqie’s near-Special Grade Recipe hidden in her bottom drawer.

He was now eagerly looking to absorb and learn different culinary arts.

Eriina Tiqie’s concepts of ’perfection’ and ’splendor’ were not wrong. Her mistake lay in labeling certain ingredients and foods as "commoner’s" options. Xia Yu still had great appreciation for her.

The "Flame Dragon Roll Fish Fin Sausage" had a beautiful and refined appearance thanks to the use of spices for coloring. Eriina Tiqie and Morioka Makoto may well have provided him some inspiration in this.

Food is not just about tasting good.

A delicacy must also strive for perfection and excellency in "color" and "shape."

...

After making a verbal agreement with Eriina Tiqie, Xia Yu half-closed the shop door and in the courtyard, under the light of a silvery moon, stretched his arms in a lazy yawn.

"Meow~"

Hua Mao emerged from the dark corridor, circled around him a few times, then rubbed his head against Xia Yu’s foot.

"Hungry?"

Xia Yu suddenly remembered that since returning home from school and engaging in a cook-off, followed by entertaining guests, he had forgotten about the little creature. Thereupon, he took some ingredients and continued to make a cat meal for Hua Mao.

The night was long, lasting until four in the morning.

Xia Yu hadn’t practiced his cooking skills that night. Instead, he sat in the storefront with Hua Mao, who, having had his fill, lay on a small chair beside him, occasionally licking his paws, occasionally turning his head to gaze at him intently.

Suddenly gaining a hefty sum of Fame Points, totaling over ten thousand, Xia Yu didn’t know how to spend them.

Buy recipes?

With ten thousand Fame Points, he could indeed purchase a Purple Recipe, but the thought of that sum vanishing in a flash made Xia Yu hesitate.

Moreover, biting off more than one could chew was never good. Purple Recipes required significant effort to study, and with his current focus on perfecting "Heavenly Hero Grilled Bluefish," he truly didn’t have the spare energy to delve into a second Purple Recipe.

"Right!"

A thought suddenly struck Xia Yu.

The reason his progress on "Heavenly Hero Grilled Bluefish" had stalled was precisely due to the lack of crucial cooking techniques.

In the original work of ’Zhonghua Yifan,’ Blast Flame Chef Ya Kan exhibited two amazing cooking skills while preparing this dish.

The first one, "Heavenly Hero Bursting Flame River"!

The second one, "Heavenly Hero Fire Wheel"!

"Heavenly Hero Bursting Flame River" was the technique that set the Yangtze River ablaze, while "Heavenly Hero Fire Wheel" was a skill that involved slicing through a wall of fire with a bluefish, relying on a powerful centrifugal force of the swing to allow the sauce to penetrate quickly and deeply into the fish flesh. Then, by grilling over fire, the excess sauce was flicked away, and this process was repeated to flavor the entire fish body thoroughly!

Xia Yu noticed a pattern.

Any Purple Recipe was complex, containing at least two key cooking skills.

For instance, "Nine Feathered Phoenix" included "Bursting Flame" as one, and Dojima Yin’s "Nine-layered Construction Method" for spices was actually a skill related to spices as well.

Then, there was "Flame Dragon Roll Fish Fin Sausage."

And now "Heavenly Hero Grilled Bluefish"!

This was precisely why Xia Yu found it increasingly difficult to learn new recipes going forward – knowing the methods was not enough without the cooking skills. A lack of essence meant that a dish could never truly shine.

"System, purchase the skills ’Heavenly Hero Bursting Flame River’ and ’Heavenly Hero Fire Wheel’ immediately!" Xia Yu said.

"A total of 3,000 Fame Points will be consumed. Confirm purchase?" the system responded.

"Confirm!"

Subsequently, his inventory gained two blue Skill Books.

Each cost 1,500 Fame Points, the same price he initially paid for Bursting Flame.

He learned them immediately, rapidly processing the chaotic stream of information into deep memories. After pondering carefully, Xia Yu stroked his chin and said, "It seems I’ll need to buy some iron chains to practice in the yard first."

Let’s not mention the full-blown fantasy technique of "Heavenly Hero Bursting Flame River."

The skill "Heavenly Hero Fire Wheel" simply relied on the chef’s arm strength and proficiency.

If his arm strength was adequate, able to swing multiple iron chains to flip five or six big bluefish at a time, then he would qualify to execute this cooking technique.

Xia Yu glanced at the "Seven Stars Knife·Breaking Army" lying quietly in his backpack.

This knife was a genuine Purple culinary tool, not a counterfeit imitation like the previous Greedy Wolf Knife.

With a Purple tool in hand, it was necessary to pair it with a recipe to practice – he couldn’t let such a tool remain unused and gather dust in his hands.

"Should I buy ’Seven Star Breaking Army Caviar’ or ’Seven Star Breaking Army Squid Strips’..."