Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 380 - 379: The Attributes of Ingredients (Part 2)

Chapter 380: Chapter 379: The Attributes of Ingredients (Part 2)

"This is not ordinary ingredient."

Yuchuan Meisha said with a tense face, "Listen, it’s burning!"

"I hear the sound of flames burning fiercely..."

If these words had not come from Yuchuan Meisha, Xia Yu would have turned and walked away had it been any other chef.

"Burning? What do you mean?"

Instead of leaving, Xia Yu propped his chin and pondered seriously.

"It’s literally burning!"

With an air of obviousness, Yuchuan Meisha said, "In other words, this pufferfish is of the fire attribute!"

"Uh?"

Blinking, Xia Yu carefully examined the changes in Yuchuan Meisha’s expression. Seeing her face still tensed, he reluctantly accepted, "Fire attribute? Ingredients have attributes too?"

"Yes!"

Yuchuan Meisha’s eyebrows were tightly furrowed, as if she was searching for the right words to explain.

Attributes!

Xia Yu paced around the kitchen counter with his hands behind his back and suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Fire, isn’t it one of the five elements?"

He suddenly thought of a boss character in the Dark Cuisine World, ’Cloud Entering Dragon’ Kaiyou.

Speaking of Kaiyou, one must mention his ultimate technique—

"Demon-breaking Eight Formation!"

This was the supreme recipe of the dark system!

Ranked alongside the ultimate recipe of the Light System, "Mother’s Sun Sphere"!

The most terrifying aspect of the "Demon-breaking Eight Formation" was using the five elemental properties of the food, combined with powerful Qigong, to forcefully change the rules and combinations of the five elements, creating legendary dark cuisine that could control people’s minds, turning the tasters into puppet-like zombies.

Having found proof that food properties exist, Xia Yu suddenly felt certain in his heart.

In fact, having studied medicinal dietetics and understood pharmacology, Xia Yu also began to view many ingredients from a medical perspective, obtaining a whole new outlook.

Metal, wood, water, fire, earth.

Corresponding to the five viscera in traditional medicine: lung, liver, kidney, heart, spleen.

Simply put, that means fire-heart, metal-lung, wood-liver, water-kidney, earth-spleen.

"Heart" and "fire," the corresponding ingredients Xia Yu could list many, such as the most common ones containing rich substances that lower blood pressure and promote blood circulation—red peppers, carrots, tomatoes, etc.

Understanding pharmacology and classifying ingredients by their attributes is the most basic aspect of the field of medicinal dietetics.

Thus, from the perspective of pharmacology, the vast majority of fish belong to either the wood or earth attribute.

As for Xia Yu’s understanding of ordinary pufferfish, it went like this:

"Food has four natures: cold, hot, warm, and cool."

"Pufferfish are warm in nature, belonging to wood."

"Warming the interior to dispel cold, aiding yang and enhancing fire, activating blood circulation..."

Nodding his head and speaking authoritatively, he went through his explanation.

"What about the pufferfish that belong to fire?"

A voice suddenly interjected.

The voice came from behind, and Xia Yu turned around in surprise, finding an unfamiliar elderly man.

With long white hair flowing down like that of a woman, he was dressed in a dark teal men’s kimono, with a wide feather garment over it, which actually resembled an overcoat.

His hands were clasped in front of his chest, naturally exuding a carefree, unrestrained demeanor.

"Grandpa Nuliang!"

Yuchuan Meisha exclaimed, quickly bowing deeply at ninety degrees, showing great respect for this unexpected guest.

"Haha, Meisha, long time no see!"

The elder’s gaze finally shifted from Xia Yu to Yuchuan Meisha, his still handsome face wearing a friendly smile.

"It really has been a long time!"

Yuchuan Meisha lowered her head and spoke softly, "I think you left Kamakura when I was in my first year of junior high."

He nodded, and the elder—clearly not fond of pleasantries—headed straight into the kitchen, picked up the puffer fish on the chopping board, examined it from all sides, and suddenly said, "Hey, boy over there, make me something delicious with this puffer fish!"

Who is this?

Always calling me boy.

Xia Yu was very displeased and mumbled, "My name is Xia Yu, please address me by my name, thank you."

"That one, Grandpa Nuliang, let me cook for you instead!" Yuchuan Meisha raised her head and said cautiously, glancing at Xia Yu with a trace of worry and urgency in her eyes.

This old man seemed to be a heavyweight figure who was not to be trifled with.

"Although Meisha’s heartfelt cooking is delicious, I still want to taste this boy’s—" the elder slowly raised his hand, pointing at Xia Yu, and employed an unexpectedly provocative strategy, "How about it, don’t you dare? If you satisfy me, I will agree to any request you have!"

The elder waved his hand grandly, attempting to appear generous.

Xia Yu rolled his eyes in secret.

"Sorry!"

He responded stiffly, while mentally remarking, "I really don’t respond well to coercion."

"Yu..."

Yuchuan Meisha signaled to him with her eyes, her face showing signs of urgency.

But Xia Yu just chuckled lightly.

"It’s not that I don’t want to satisfy you, but processing a puffer fish takes at least a day. Let’s talk about it tomorrow!"

Saying this, Xia Yu took back the puffer fish, thought for a moment, and decided to proceed with processing it after all.

First, he removed the eyeballs.

The scene was somewhat bloody; a small knife sliced and poked with precise, minimal movements, and two round, blood-laden eyeballs fell from the cutting board and rolled a distance.

The eyeballs remained intact as he removed the surrounding sac.

"Whoosh—"

Next, a cut blossomed like a pear flower!

The sudden appearance of light was too dazzling; Yuchuan Meisha gasped and instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes.

"Oh?" The familiar old man’s pupils contracted as he murmured to himself, "...Fierce Bull Green Dragon Slash? So familiar!"

With one slice, Xia Yu’s hand plunged into the opened belly of the puffer fish, expressionlessly pulling out a large clump of intestines.

The fishy smell spread through the kitchen.

The third step: remove the fins and gills!

If it were an ordinary chef, at this step, they would need tools other than a knife, such as scissors, to remove the gills, and would have to use scissors to clean the internal flesh adhering to the bones—a very precise process where a single mistake could cause big problems with the puffer fish, leaving no room for carelessness.

Having just lowered her hand, Yuchuan Meisha saw Xia Yu swiftly make two more cuts.

Then, several pieces of fins scattered.

Taking another look at the puffer fish on the chopping board, its body, previously plump, was now shrively and deflated.

Another slice!

The tail of the puffer fish was severed, and blood gushed from the cut.

Bleeding is a crucial step in processing puffer fish; if the fish were alive, one could make an incision at the back of the head—a point connecting major blood arteries to the tail through which a metal wire could be inserted, causing the living fish to convulse and bleed out.

But not so with a dead fish.

Finally, the head and body of the puffer fish were separated.

The body was now completely processed, while the head still needed to be opened to remove the clotted blood.

"Very skilled!"

The elder, watching Xia Yu’s adept movements, displayed intense admiration and said, "It seems he must often process puffer fish, adept at some kind of puffer fish recipe, or he wouldn’t be so confident and composed. When novice chefs learn to handle puffer fish, who isn’t cautious, fearing the slightest slip? Carelessness is both harmful to others and oneself, causing harm to diners and potentially ending one’s culinary career!"

"Yes!"

Yuchuan Meisha joined the conversation.

"Yu must have passed the special examination by the IGO organization and already possesses a puffer fish chef license!" she asserted confidently.

Puffer fish chef license?

Xia Yu, with his back to them, shrugged his shoulders.

He didn’t have such a license.

Therefore, before serving the puffer fish dish, he had to taste it himself or let an animal taste it.

Children, do not try this at home.