The Glowing Cuisine Conquers the Tongue of God
Chapter 18 - Chef Liu Long's Test

Chapter 18  Chef Liu Long’s Test

A Tiger-level chef?

An eighteen-year-old Tiger-level chef?

This must be the youngest Tiger-level chef in the world, right?

Even the youngest one-star chefs are usually in their twenties, and Tiger-level chefs are typically over forty!

However, no one disagreed with Chef Liu Long’s statement. If, before, the golden fried rice with over 100% perfection gave Li Yang the qualification to become a Dragon-level chef, some might have raised objections.

After all, there are only twelve Dragon-level chefs in the world. How could one possibly be on par with these twelve esteemed figures just because of a fried rice dish?

But if Li Yang were to be named a Tiger-level chef?

It didn’t seem too hard to accept!

Beside them, Chef Tang Hu gave a bitter smile.

“At least I can’t cook such perfect fried rice. Not only is it visually appealing, but it also has a fantastic aroma and taste, and the culinary light and food illusion it presents are just too perfect.”

“And I’m not just a chef, but also a culinary reviewer for IGO. Yet, I couldn’t find a single flaw in the golden fried rice Li Yang casually cooked.”

“This is unbelievable!”

“Chef Liu Long, can you help me understand?

Is it because my tongue isn’t sensitive enough, or is it because of my lack of experience that I can’t taste any flaws in the golden fried rice from earlier?”

Others also looked to Chef Liu Long, waiting for an answer. Only Chef Sōke Sen Zuoemon realized the key point, casting a thoughtful glance at Eri Nai.

He knew very well what the “Divine Tongue” could do, capable of tasting even the most subtle flaws in food. Because of this, there was almost no dish in the world that could satisfy the Divine Tongue.

And as the owner of the Divine Tongue, Eri Nai would gradually lose interest in food, and eventually either starve or only be able to survive on nutritional liquids.

But now, seeing Eri Nai’s satisfied expression, it was clear that her Divine Tongue had found immense satisfaction in the dish.

“So, even the Divine Tongue can’t taste any flaws in the golden fried rice… could it be that perfect food really exists in this world?”

Chef Sōke Sen Zuoemon was shaken to the core. At this moment, Chef Liu Long provided the answer.

“Because this golden fried rice is flawless; it has no flaws. Naturally, you wouldn’t taste any imperfection in it.”

“And that’s why I said Li Yang is qualified to be a Tiger-level chef… after all, even I can’t cook such perfect food!”

Hiss~

Chef Tang Hu and the other two five-star chefs gasped in surprise. They never expected Chef Liu Long to give such an astonishing answer.

Flawless cuisine?

Perfect food?

Does such food really exist in the world?

Even if miracles could happen and perfect food existed, should it really be made by humans?

Moreover, they had all watched Li Yang cook the golden fried rice earlier. His calm and effortless demeanor, with each step done casually, made it seem like cooking was a breeze.

Does this mean…

Li Yang could cook flawless golden fried rice in bulk?

This thought made Chef Tang Hu and the other chefs feel even more shocked, and they began to feel like their worldviews were being shattered. They looked at Li Yang again, this time with a mixture of curiosity and newfound respect.

This young man was extraordinary!

Chef Liu Long, equally interested, smiled and asked Li Yang kindly, “Li Yang, besides golden fried rice, do you have other specialty dishes? I still have some time; we could discuss culinary techniques.”

Hiss~

The crowd gasped again.

Not only Chef Sōke Sen Zuoemon and Zhang Haoran, but Chef Tang Hu and the other two five-star chefs also looked at each other in disbelief.

Wait a minute… what qualification did Li Yang have to discuss culinary skills with a Dragon-level chef?

But soon, they all looked at Li Yang with envy. If they could receive pointers from Chef Liu Long, they would benefit greatly in the culinary world!

Before Li Yang could respond, a voice from Eri Nai suddenly interrupted.

“Grandpa Liu, Li Yang can also make magical Mapo Tofu, and not just any Mapo Tofu, but the true, six-flavor magical Mapo Tofu!”

Eri Nai had just finished her moment of enlightenment and gracefully walked over to Li Yang, gazing at him with admiration in her eyes.

The over-perfection golden fried rice had brought Eri Nai immense satisfaction. As long as she could remember its taste, she no longer feared the huge side effects of the Divine Tongue.

Because every time the Divine Tongue tasted imperfect food, she could recall the transcendent flavor of the over-perfect golden fried rice, which soothed the loss of flavor on her mental taste buds. It could be said that Li Yang had saved Eri Nai’s life.

How could she not revere him?

Nearby, as soon as Eri Nai spoke, Chef Liu Long and Chef Sōke Sen Zuoemon were both taken aback.

“What? Magical Mapo Tofu?”

Chef Sōke Sen Zuoemon’s reaction was even more intense than Chef Liu Long’s. Shocked, his eyes were filled with intense hope, as if he had grasped onto a life-saving straw.

Li Yang humbly replied, “The two versions of the Magical Mapo Tofu still have flaws. Eri Nai and I have been trying to improve them these past few days, but there hasn’t been much progress.”

Hiss~

“Two versions of Magical Mapo Tofu?”

Chef Liu Long’s expression changed as if he had thought of something.

“I don’t remember much about my father’s memories, but I still vaguely recall my mother telling me.”

“When my father competed for control of the Jiuxia Tower with a rival, the cooking challenge they were given was Magical Mapo Tofu!”

“And Magical Mapo Tofu was a dish invented by my grandmother…”

Chef Liu Long looked at Li Yang with a slightly excited expression.

“Could it be that the two versions of Magical Mapo Tofu you mentioned refer to the ones made by my father and his rival?”

“I only know that their interpretations of the six-flavor unity were slightly different. While both were ‘crispy,’ the way they expressed it was different!”

Chef Liu Long grew more and more excited as he spoke, suddenly asking, “Li Yang, is the key to the six-flavor unity in Magical Mapo Tofu the ‘crispy’ texture, does it refer to the tofu?”

Li Yang shook his head.

Chef Liu Long suddenly clapped his hands, excited like a child.

“I knew it!”

“I’ve tried over a dozen different kinds of tofu, but I couldn’t build the perfect six-flavor unity. So the key issue is not in the tofu, but in…”

Chef Liu Long gestured to Li Yang, and together they said the answer.

“Ground meat!”

Hearing Li Yang give the same answer, Chef Liu Long became even more excited. His look towards Li Yang was like that of a kindred spirit.

“That’s right, ground meat!”

“I only figured this out in the last few years, and I think the ingredient that can replace beef ground meat should be some kind of mushroom!”

“Because Jiuxia Tower is located in Sichuan, which is rich in wild mountain delicacies, the ingredients that best mimic the texture of meat are mushrooms, such as lion’s mane mushrooms.”

“Unfortunately…”

Chef Liu Long shook his head regretfully.

“I’ve tried dozens of different mushrooms from the Sichuan region, trying to replace beef ground meat, but I still couldn’t achieve that six-flavor unity crispiness!”

“So, Li Yang, what ingredient did you use to replace beef ground meat?”