Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 309 - 308: Precious Recipes

Chapter 309: Chapter 308: Precious Recipes

"Truly a main general, Liangzi!"

Kobayakawa Ryodan’s words, as well as the expression on his face, conveyed both respect and admiration.

The details were handled perfectly, flawless at the moment of tasting, eliciting genuine amazement.

The beef was fried in butter and then stewed in a double broth, the flavor thoroughly permeating all ingredients. As such, even vegetables like crown daisy, white cabbage, and shredded burdock tasted refreshingly meaty without being greasy.

But there was more.

Crab sticks added a richer flavor, elevating the meatiness to another level.

"Shiitake mushrooms!"

Kobayakawa Ryodan took a big bite with his chopsticks and, after only a few chews, exclaimed unclearly, "What kind of shiitake is this? Such a rich cream flavor, and there’s even the unique aroma of matsutake, so fragrant, so sweet!"

He shivered intensely.

Beneath his skin, his cells seemed to be brewing electricity.

An indescribable feeling overcame him. Kobayakawa Ryodan stopped eating, his facial expression frozen, and he murmured as if suspecting something mysterious, "I think I heard some sounds!"

After pausing to carefully listen, the sounds disappeared.

He continued chewing!

Kobayakawa Ryodan’s face lit up, his eyes even began to redden, and finally, after a few more bites, he abruptly dropped his chopsticks and ran out of the kitchen, a few tears scattering in the air.

"This..."

Xia Yu had just come to his senses when he caught sight of the fleeing figure and was immediately stunned.

"What happened to her?"

He turned around and asked with confusion, looking at Liangzi Lina.

Liangzi Lina just shook her head and pointed at Tiqie Helinai.

Unlike Kobayakawa Ryodan, Tiqie Helinai had a look of fear and trepidation, muttering phrases like "don’t want" and "I don’t want to eat," yet her chopsticks never stopped.

What had Eriina tasted?

Seeing this, Xia Yu grew curious. There weren’t many things that could scare the Far Moon Queen.

The answer lay in Liangzi Liina’s cuisine, so Xia Yu too picked up his chopsticks to taste.

"Ugh!"

The moment the beef dipped in egg batter touched his mouth, Xia Yu’s skin broke into goosebumps.

"Brother, brother!"

Instantly, he was transported to a cherished memory deep in his heart: sitting on a chair with a lavish New Year’s Eve dinner table before him, his grandparents, parents, and a little lolita about eight or nine years old with braids, constantly tugging at his sleeve, pointing at the dishes on the table, stating what she wanted to eat.

Laughter and joy filled the dining table.

A long-lost warmth, a kinship thicker than water, quietly flowed through his heart.

It had been a long time since he felt this way. After a long while, Xia Yu opened his moist eyes, blinked hard until his emotions settled, and then looked at Liangzi Lina with a strange expression.

"The sentiment of ’reunion’?"

Unexpected. Xia Yu would never have imagined, breaking his head over it, that the seemingly cold and distant main general had grasped such a unique heart of cooking.

"Sukiyaki" itself symbolizes familial gatherings and a festive atmosphere in Japanese hometown cooking. Now that Liangzi Lina had instilled such vivid sentiments into the dish, it was no wonder Kobayakawa Ryodan had fled; he was probably hiding in some corner, secretly wiping away tears, missing home and his mother.

As for Tiqie Helinai...

Xia Yu cast a sympathetic glance.

This young mistress, although born with a silver spoon, came from a broken home, raised by Ghost Father since childhood, so the images conjured by the dish for her were surely not pleasant, no wonder she was frightened.

Huh?

Suddenly, Xia Yu raised an eyebrow.

A faint, fleeting laugh—he only caught the tail end before it completely disappeared.

He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Ever since "Heart of Cooking" gained its purple frame, Xia Yu had naturally come to understand the deeper meaning of the culinary spirit without any external explanations.

That so-called culinary righteousness, the so-called voice of Chinese cuisine, wasn’t it just this?

In Xia Yu’s understanding, it was intended to drug and heighten spirits. Originally, the Heart of Cooking only provided diners with an illusion, regardless of good or bad, which immersed the diners into a carefully crafted world of food. This meant the chef had mastered the Heart of Cooking and knew how to use it.

And the culinary righteousness, was about letting the diners perceive the world of food as more real and relatable.

Like Liangzi Lina, who gave the "Sukiyaki" in front of her the joyful laughter of togetherness.

With voice combined with the food illusion, it was hard for the tasters not to fall into it.

However, Xia Yu was self-aware, knowing that these stimulants were just his superficial understanding.

He couldn’t help it; he could only try to explain it himself. He had not reached the peak of Special Level Three Stars and hadn’t had the "Food’s Profound Meaning" thoroughly explained to him by Dojima Yin, Shinohara Shigetaro, or Liangzi Lina.

At the very least, the terrifying, inhuman appetite of Mars made Xia Yu certain that the "Food’s Profound Meaning" wasn’t merely about producing sounds.

"Eriina! Eriina!"

He put down his chopsticks and patted the shoulder of "Divine Tongue."

Thump-thump-thud!

Woken up, Tiqie Helinai, like a startled rabbit, retreated back to the cooking counter, hugging it tightly, her ample chest heaving, her face written with fear.

After a few seconds, once she saw Xia Yu’s hands raised innocently, she let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Don’t, don’t scare me like that next time!"

She glared at Xia Yu.

"I didn’t scare you," Xia Yu was truly innocent.

Humphing, Tiqie Helinai maintained her tsundere demeanor and turned to look towards the "Sukiyaki" and Liangzi Lina, who was preparing the dish. Fear flickered in her pupils, and she refused to pick up her chopsticks anymore.

"That stuff... it’s disgusting!" she muttered softly, based on the voices she had heard.

Xia Yu ignored her, focusing instead on the culinary world crafted by Liangzi.

In a moment, Xia Yu had polished off the entire dish.

Using a napkin, Xia Yu wiped his mouth and said with sparkling eyes, "Liangzi, did you soak the burdock in vinegar water to remove the earthy taste?"

"Yes!"

Liangzi Lina returned a surprised look.

Burdock was one of the vegetables that Neon people couldn’t do without, so in Neon, there were many ways to cook burdock, like slicing it to stir-fry with carrots or braising it in soy sauce.

To most people outside Neon, burdock was somewhat strange and unfamiliar, not particularly tasty but not disgusting either, its flavor odd and slightly bitter with a hint of herbal taste. Nonetheless, it was undeniably a healthy vegetable.

Xia Yu, an expert in Chinese cuisine, was probably unfamiliar with burdock, so Liangzi Lina was amazed that he knew how to process burdock to remove the earthy taste.

She smiled inwardly.

Pointing at the only piece of shiitake left in the pot, Xia Yu frowned, "This isn’t ordinary shiitake, is it?"

The scallions earlier, he had recognized their taste, blue quality, but not reaching the level of Fantasy Ingredients, most likely cultivated by Liangzi Lina herself. Many chefs were also skilled farmers, expert cultivators.

Speaking of Ichise Hui, who cultivated fruits and vegetables of blue quality with surprisingly high probability at Far Moon, it was no wonder he was treasured by everyone at Polar Star Dormitory.

"Yes."

Liangzi Lina blinked at him and said, "This dish I’ve prepared is the final rendition of the ’Sukiyaki’ recipe."

"Incorporated two kinds of Fantasy Ingredients?"

Beside them, Tiqie Helinai couldn’t contain her astonishment.

Kobayakawa Ryodan had also returned, casting an ardent gaze towards Liangzi Lina.

"It’s definitely a ’Special Level Three Stars’ recipe!"

She didn’t hide her envy at all.

Such a level of recipe was indeed a precious secret, not easily revealed even among Lin Chefs.