Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 247 - 246: The Store Opens

Chapter 247: Chapter 246: The Store Opens

"Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, amomum, white pepper..."

"Hmm, for the colored spices, we also need caramel, turmeric powder, chili powder, and red yeast rice."

Xia Yu bustled around the kitchen and first grabbed a flat pan, setting it on the stove and turning up the high heat.

Then, he took a can of solidified maltose and, without needing much, spun a little with his chopsticks in a threadlike manner, winding a circle before touching the chopsticks to the scalding pan, where the liquid caramel spread across the bottom with a sizzle.

As for the red yeast rice, it was soaked in hot water to extract just a bit of the red liquid, which was poured into a glass container, mixed with the caramel and other spices, all stirred together.

His hands moved extremely fast, and Cao Chun, Smith, and Lancelot only caught a glimpse.

Even Eriina, who had mastered the recipe of "Flame Dragon Roll Fish Fin Sausage," couldn’t make out all the spices Xia Yu used without a recipe to reference.

He immersed the 20 completed "hemp ropes" into the thoroughly stirred spice water.

The marination needed half an hour.

Glancing at the charcoal stove beside him, Xia Yu added some fresh charcoal and didn’t just stand idly waiting; he turned and went to the pantry, bringing over the ingredients that needed to be dealt with for today’s business opening.

Last night he had indulged a bit too much, spending the entire evening getting accustomed to the sudden advance in his martial arts, which he had expanded to a minor level of mastery. As a result, he had to catch up on last night’s work today. However, Xia Yu remained calm. The advantage of having fully mastered the "Seven-star Breaking Army Rapid Cutting" technique in his cooking was evident now; even without preparing ingredients in advance, he could prepare them on demand, and there was plenty of time to do so.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang..."

In the next half-hour, Xia Yu remained focused in his own world.

At first, Cao Chun, Smith, and Lancelot were shocked by Xia Yu’s knife skills, but as time went on, they grew numb to the display.

Half an hour later.

"Time’s up—"

Xia Yu set down the kitchen knife, grabbed a small stool and a bellows, and sat in front of the charcoal stove.

The glass container filled with "hemp ropes" was set aside. Xia Yu laid a fine mesh wire over the charcoal stove and immediately used chopsticks to pick up the colored "hemp ropes," placing them one by one on the wire mesh.

Eventually, the 20 "hemp ropes" completely covered the wire mesh, some in inner circles, some in outer circles.

Some spice water remained in the glass container, so Xia Yu calmly collected the prepared sheep casings and submerged them in the spice water, soaking all the casings; there were only 20 after all.

From kitchen knife to holding chopsticks.

The bellows kept blowing wind straight into the charcoal stove’s air inlet.

Thus, the red-hot charcoal in the stove reached extremely high temperatures.

"Hmm? This one is almost done, time to flip!"

"This one needs flipping too!"

"The heat’s just right; I’ll move you to another spot, banished to the outskirts!"

Muttering to himself and having a bit of fun, Xia Yu used the chopsticks to flip the "hemp ropes," alternating between turning them and switching their positions.

From Eriina’s point of view, Xia Yu, fully absorbed in his task, looked just like the conductor of an orchestra, and she eagerly awaited the symphony of flame that would soon resonate in her palate.

This grilling process was meant to infuse the flavors of the spices, not to cook the ingredients through.

Fifteen minutes later.

The 20 "hemp ropes" on the wire mesh had all changed color. Xia Yu smoothly removed the sheep casings, one by one, skillfully stuffing the "hemp ropes" into them using a tool.

Meanwhile, a steamer and a cooking pot were already prepared, and water had been added to the pot, with a high flame burning underneath the stove.

Once the 20 handmade fish fin sausages were done, Xia Yu turned to pick up some kitchen paper, carefully wiping off the excess moisture from the outside of the casings, before finally placing the fish fin sausages into the steamer compartments.

Evening, 5:45 PM.

"Boss Xia——"

The door echoed with an enthusiastic call, as a couple, a man and a woman snuggled into the restaurant, intimately close.

"Ah, we didn’t manage to be first!"

The young man, Shuigu Jun, saw a few people seated at the bar and immediately showed a disappointed expression.

"I was shopping in Ginza with Shuigu Jun and we came here early on purpose, but we still didn’t make it to the front of the line!" Ren Xue also pouted, not very happy.

Xia’s shop had been closed for a week, and these regular customers were almost going crazy. After getting used to Xia’s shop’s dishes, tasting other Chinese cuisine or even going to high-end restaurants felt tasteless in comparison.

The window at the bar was open, and Xia Yu was quietly chatting with Eriina, more of a student-teacher chat really, as Xia Yu repeatedly drilled into her the intricate details necessary for the "Flame Dragon Roll Fish Fin Sausage" recipe.

Upon hearing the voices, Xia Yu straightened up, startled.

"You’re here."

With a laugh, Boss Xia held his waist and greeted them like friends, "What dishes have you reserved? I’ll get started on them right away for you!"

"Three dishes, all today’s specials!" Ren Xue immediately said, plonking herself onto a bar stool, not caring who was beside her, and clasped her hands pleadingly, "Yu, Boss Xia, please be generous with the portions today, okay?"

"Why do you make it sound like I’m so stingy!"

Xia Yu glared, "Xia Family’s dishes are absolutely conscientious! You can get very full with just one dish per person!"

Ren Xue stuck out her tongue and whispered, "Just a reminder, afraid you might have changed after closing for a week."

"Eriina, head into the kitchen please, help out for today, okay?" Xia Yu then turned to ’Divine Tongue,’ who seemed to be ducking her head as if avoiding something.

"Okay... okay..."

She hesitated slightly but still nodded her head.

Eriina Tiqie stood up and disappeared swiftly into the diner.

"That beautiful girl looks kind of familiar!" Ren Xue looked up, but only saw the figure with golden wavy hair fluttering away. It made her think of Midori Hozoi, who she hadn’t seen in a long time. With her hands propped on the bar, her chin resting on her palms, she grinned at Xia Yu and asked, "Where did that purple-haired beauty go? Yes, I’m talking about Midori; don’t play dumb!"

"Isn’t it nice to have a variety of service staff?"

Xia Yu smiled, "Seeing the same beautiful girl every day gets boring after a while, doesn’t it?"

"True!" Ren Xue nodded.

A few minutes later, when Eriina Tiqie appeared in the kitchen, her hair was tied into a neat ponytail, and she wore a face mask. Although she didn’t have the brown bat coat’s hood covering her hair, with this disguise, Ren Xue and Shuigu Jun obviously couldn’t recognize this very popular culinary star.

"First, gather the ingredients— the first dish, a special Fujian cuisine, pot-roasted fat chicken."

Xia Yu glanced at the ’Divine Tongue’ already in position, not holding back, he began to instruct: "Take half a chicken, 100 grams of winter bamboo shoots, 80 grams of mushrooms..."

Eriina Tiqie seemed very familiar with Xia’s Kitchen; upon hearing his voice, she prepared the ingredients in just a couple of minutes.

"Second dish... wait, ’Flame Dragon Roll Fish Fin Sausage’ is ready!"

Xia Yu slapped his forehead, almost forgetting about the cooking that was on the stove, and pointed to the steamer, "Wear heat-resistant gloves, and bring two tiers of the steamers out."

"Okay."

Eriina nodded, found the insulating gloves and put them on, her hands looking like large fish fins.

Each tier of the steamer only had five fish fin sausages and wasn’t heavy. Eriina Tiqie easily carried the steaming hot steamers to a table in the dining area.

"Sorry, I need to attend to other customers now, make yourselves at home."

Xia Yu said to Cao Chun and Smith, then closed the window at the bar.