"Damn, cactus can be eaten as a vegetable!"
An Xiaoxiao's words immediately made the whole restaurant quiet, and everyone looked at her in surprise. That green block-shaped mysterious dish... was it a cactus
Obviously few people know what cactus tastes like, so everyone became very confused.
Lin Wei frowned and asked An Xiaoxiao curiously, "Cactus? Xiaoxiao, how did you know?"
"Because I've eaten it before." An Xiaoxiao seemed a little nervous about the gazes of the crowd, but still explained, "When I was a child, I followed my uncle to beg. At that time, I often had no food to eat. I was greedy at that time. One time, I saw other children eating mung bean cakes but I couldn't. I found that cactus was also green, so I got a piece and pulled out the thorns to eat... Well, I was about five years old at the time, but I will never forget the bitter taste - although this green block has been improved and is only slightly bitter and has a faint sweetness, the astringency is unmistakable. This is definitely cactus!"
An Xiaoxiao's words once again made everyone unsure of what to think: she had tasted this cactus when she was five years old, so she still hadn't forgotten the taste. Moreover, she only took a bite just now and she tasted that this mysterious dish was cactus
Well, if you were not the God of Cookery’s apprentice, they would definitely laugh their heads off. How could there be such an amazing person who could remember the taste of food from more than ten years ago so clearly
An Xiaoxiao was a little nervous and looked at Ye Chui: "Master?"
Ye Chui also looked at the two plates of green blocky dishes again. After a moment, he looked at Manny who was standing next to him.
Manny didn't speak Chinese, but looking at the expressions of the crowd, he could probably guess that the little girl had said something, so he turned to look at a waiter next to him and asked in English: "What did she just say?"
"This little girl is really interesting!" The waiter said with a smile, "She actually said that our green dish is cactus, haha... cactus. She is really brave to say that. Can cactus be eaten? Eh? Mr. Manny, why do you look so unhappy? You..."
The waiter's words were infectious, because Manny's reaction was a little surprised. It seemed to clearly represent something.
The others in the restaurant also looked at Manny curiously, and Manny's reaction undoubtedly made them all understand a fact: that mysterious green block of food...
It's actually a cactus!
"Xiaoxiao, you are so awesome!" Lin Wei exclaimed immediately.
An Xiaoxiao also realized that she was probably right, she chuckled and looked at Ye Chui.
Well, what she was looking forward to most at this time was to hear Ye Chui’s praise.
"Yeah, very good." Ye Chui smiled and nodded at An Xiaoxiao, then he felt a little depressed - when the Mexican restaurant withdrew from the green cuisine, he thought that although Xiaoxiao's taste buds were good, he had never eaten Mexican food, so he subconsciously ignored An Xiaoxiao. As a result, An Xiaoxiao was still so sharp...
If I had known this earlier, wouldn’t I have to worry less these days
Ye Chui took the fork, picked up a piece of green food from Lin Wei's plate and put it into his mouth. It had a slightly bitter and slightly sweet taste, and it was unique. It seemed to be a specially cultivated cactus.
China does not have a tradition of eating cactus, but it can be used as medicine, and it is a traditional Chinese medicine. Mexican traditional cuisine has always included edible cactus. In fact, Ye Chui had already guessed that this green dish might be cactus. He even planned to ask someone to come in and eat if no one guessed the correct answer. Then he directly guessed the answer of cactus.
But now it seems unnecessary, as my third apprentice is indeed very powerful.
“This mysterious green food is actually cactus?”
"So this is what cactus smells like? I'll pull out the cactus at home and try it later."
"No, this is a specially cultivated cactus. How can it be the same as the one you grow at home?"
"I've really learned a lot today."
Everyone was talking about it.
Then, some people who were looking for good things had already posted the scene that just happened online.
Nowadays, any news surrounding the God of Cookery Ye Chui is a hot topic. Some time ago, there was a rumor on the Internet that Ye Chui had met his match. A mysterious dish made by the world's best chef in a Mexican restaurant stumped everyone, but it turned out that Ye Chui's third apprentice could tell what the ingredients were after just one bite.
You can't experience that kind of casualness unless you're there.
Photos of An Xiaoxiao were also posted online, and many people said they were starting to see An Xiaoxiao as a goddess.
The three official apprentices under Ye Chui's name were also revealed one by one. The scrambled egg Xishi of the Anran Xiaohun rice was Ye Chui's second apprentice, An Xiaoxiao was the third apprentice, and as for the eldest apprentice Tian Xiaodu, who is now a six-star chef, he has become the weakest one...
At this moment, in the Mexican restaurant, Manny had an ugly expression on his face, staring blankly at Ye Chui.
Ye Chui just smiled faintly and said to him in English: "If I taste your green cuisine, the bill will be free, right?"
Manny: “…”
These words are absolutely insulting!
Ye Cui had already stood up with Lin Wei and An Xiaoxiao.
He smiled and looked at Manny a few times, then left the Mexican restaurant holding one in each hand.
The reason why the Mexican restaurant's business has been rising recently is because of this mysterious green dish. Now An Xiaoxiao has revealed the secret. It turns out that the so-called green dish is nothing more than a specially cultivated cactus. This immediately made the originally mysterious food no longer mysterious at all. Then, the flow of customers in the Mexican restaurant immediately dropped to the original level.
That very night.
In the daily profit ranking, the gap between Anran Xiaohun Rice and the Mexican restaurant was only a few hundred yuan. In the next few days, Anran Xiaohun Rice took advantage of its victory and surpassed the Mexican restaurant to become the number one in the daily profit ranking. In the total profit ranking, the gap between it and the Mexican restaurant was less than 3,000 yuan.
It’s the fifteenth day since Hua Xia Food City opened, which is June 15th.
"This is the Benkujie." In the small courtyard behind the Manhan Building, Lin Weian and Wang Shiyu were sitting quietly around the stone table under the locust tree, looking at the shuttle-like objects placed on the table. The objects looked like wood but were not wood, and like beautiful jade but were not jade. They were the Benkujie, also known as bonito, made by Ye Chui in the past few days.
This is a food unique to Japan and is essential for making Japanese soup stock.
"The weather has been very good these days, so naturally this festival will be completed much faster." Ye Chui said with a smile.
The steps to make Benkujie are very complicated. This unique ingredient is one of the few ingredients in the world that is made by using mold.
To make this decoction, raw cod is used. The internal organs and head are removed, the fish meat is cut into long strips and then cooked. The fish bones are removed, and then oak wood is burned to dry out the moisture in the fish meat. This process is repetitive because it is impossible to completely dry out the moisture in the meat in one go.
After drying, it should be left to cool at room temperature, and then continue to be roasted. This should be repeated for nearly ten times before the moisture content of the fish meat drops below 30%. At this time, a layer of tar will adhere to the surface of the fish meat.
At this time, put the fish in a dark and humid place overnight, the surface of the fish will be stained with moisture. After removing the tar, put it in a humid room and the fish will start to grow mold. The first mold is called the first mold. After the mold grows, it needs to be exposed to the sun for two days, wipe off the mold and continue to put it in the humid room to let it continue to grow mold.
After repeating this process several times, the moisture content of the fish meat will drop below 20%, and the drying process is considered complete.
"Master, is this thing really delicious?" An Xiaoxiao asked curiously while playing with a dried root in her hand.
Lin Wei spoke directly with her actions: "Ye Chui, I want to eat... You seemed to have said that you can use this withered section to make something called cat food? I want to eat it!"
"I want to eat too!" Wang Shiyu shouted.
"Okay then, I'll make cat food for you right now." Ye Chui said with a smile.
Cat food is definitely the most direct, simple and authentic way to eat in this festival. Even the method of making it is a bit too simple.
He asked Lin Wei and a few other girls to weigh out a few small bowls of rice, then he took the chopping board and carefully cut some thin slices from the Benkujie with a kitchen knife. After the rice was served, he covered the steaming rice with these thin slices. Then he took some soy sauce and poured a little on the Benkujie. After the soy sauce penetrated the Benkujie and seeped into the rice, a bowl of cat rice was ready.
"Is it that simple?" Lin Wei was a little disappointed. She originally thought cat food was something amazing.
"Cat food is such a simple thing. It's not really a delicacy. It's more about eating but it's still about sentiment." Ye Chui said with a smile, "Try it and see how it tastes."
In fact, cat rice is not a great delicacy in the sense that many Japanese chefs don’t even know about it. What made cat rice suddenly famous was a Japanese drama, a food drama. The theme of one episode was cat rice, accompanied by a sad story, which made this simple meal popular.
At that time, there was a variety show in Taiwan, and a guest made cat food for the host to taste in a serious manner, but the result was not very good. To put it bluntly, to eat this kind of food, you need to chew it slowly to get the best experience.
At this moment, after Lin Wei, Wang Shi, Yu'an and Xiaoxiao had eaten the cat food, they were all a little disappointed, thinking that this kind of thing was not a delicacy at all. Ye Chui smiled and didn't say much.
Then she was suddenly stunned, holding the rice bowl in her hand, with a look of enjoyment on her face: "Brother, cat food is really delicious." (~^~)
PS: The Taiwan program mentioned in the chapter is kxll. In one of the food specials, a guest made cat food, and everyone thought it was not tasty... I was quite unhappy when I watched that episode~~~