Chapter 1502: Let Grandmaster Guide You
Harris listened to Mag explain to him all the spices that he had never heard of before. He also kept asking questions like a serious student.
Of course, what shocked him the most was that there were still some spices that Mag mentioned which he didn"t recognize, even though he had ventured all over the Norland Continent and seen all the species" spices.
For example, that spice called star anise. According to Mag, it was produced in the mountains near the Issen Castle. However, he had never seen a chef use that spice after staying at Issen Castle for over 20 years.
And that cinnamon, which was a fragrant tree bark. This method of obtaining spices amazed him.
“Master, you said that these spices are needed, but I"m afraid no market on the Norland Continent will have all of them.” Harris couldn"t help complaining after Mag finished explaining.
“That"s true. I have to obtain some of the spices through special channels too. Furthermore, they"re not widely accepted and promoted.” Mag nodded in agreement. Some of the spices had never existed in this world. It was the system that had modified and grown them.
“In this case, wouldn"t we be unable to replicate this dish after we left Chaos City?” Harris scratched his head with a frown. That was a little annoying.
“I will give you a pack of spices when you leave. You can always come back and get the spices from me after you finish them,” Master said to Harris gravely. “As the saying goes, ‘while one"s masters are alive, one should not travel to distant places."”
“Grandmaster, isn"t it ‘while one"s parents are alive, one should not travel to distant places"?” Chapman asked softly after hesitating for a moment.
Harris couldn"t help giving him a side glance. That was obviously taking advantage of him.
“That"s roughly the meaning.” Mag nodded with a natural expression before he continued, “Knowing the spices is just the first step. Now, we"re going to talk about how to do the braising. This is the step that allows the beef and beef offals to absorb the spices perfectly. It"s also the most crucial step of the ‘husband and wife lung slice".
“A pot of excellent marinate could give the meat a soul, so these spices are the real main characters…”
Mag continued to explain. He set up a pot, and began to demonstrate while he taught.
As an old chef with dozens of years of experience, these steps were extremely simple to Harris. To him, it was more about learning about Mag"s understanding of the spices and how to use them, and how to add such a big amount of spices together to create an even more exquisite taste without hindering or interfering with one another.
Meanwhile, Chapman was a very honest student. He noted down every step that Mag explained in detail, and highlighted the important point at the same time. He looked just like a student who sat in the first row to take down the points.
“After plating, slowly drizzle the boiled red oil over it, and then scatter a bunch of roasted sesame seeds. Add a little green cilantro as a garnish, and the delicious ‘husband and wife lung slice" is done.” Mag took a step back to showcase the “husband and wife lung slice” that he had just completed.
“Both its aroma and presentation are exemplary. The astonis.h.i.+ngly complicated pairing sparkled with a genius" design stroke. Master, you"re truly a genius,” Harris praised with amazement.
The previous step of cooking the red oil had also amazed him. He"d never thought that oil could be processed with this method to become like a condiment. It subverted some of his fixed thinking.
“It"s simply a routine operation.” Mag waved his hands nonchalantly, and pa.s.sed a pair of chopsticks each to Harris and Chapman. “Come and taste it. You guys didn"t taste it yesterday, either.”
“Let me taste this beef first.” Harris took the chopsticks, and picked up a piece of the thinly sliced beef coated with a layer of red oil. Whiffs of the aroma of the braised meat coated with red oil drifted over gradually. His mouth already began to salivate even before it entered the mouth.
The beef was tender yet still a little chewy, but it wasn"t the melt-in-your-mouth type. The aroma of the meat slowly blossomed in the mouth as he chewed. Under the red oil"s catalysis, a scrumptiousness that made the taste buds go crazy was released.
“This taste!” Harris" eyes lit up instantly. This taste was simply too impactful. The spices weren"t stacked together meaninglessly. Every one of them was giving out a unique fragrance, which gave this mouthful of meat layers of tastes.
The rich aroma exploded in his mouth, entrancing and intoxicating.
Rip!
A loud tearing sounded, and Harris" ramie cotton top ripped apart.
This dish has actually reached the standard which could cause Master"s clothes to rip apart! Chapman stared at Harris" torn clothes with shock. He had followed his master for years, and had only seen this happen a couple of times.
Does this dish indeed have such amazing magic? Chapman used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of ox scalp expectantly, and popped it into his mouth.
The soft ox scalp wasn"t as hard as the hide, and he could bite into it easily. The ox scalp, which was the hardest to marinate, was still infused with the rich spicy fragrance after braising for a long time. The collagen gave it a slightly sticky texture. However, the gravy balanced out the stickiness, and gave it a very good flavor and texture.
Meanwhile, the red oil that coated the ox scalp gave it an aromatic spiciness!
So, this is what it tastes like! Chapman"s eyes glowed. The ox scalp"s taste had completely exceeded his expectations. The exquisite layers of tastes made him realize that all the complicated procedures and each and every spice had their unique uses.
“I think yesterday"s duel was a little unfair,” Harris said to Mag with a serious expression.
“Hmm?” Mag looked at him. Is he thinking of renouncing the result?
“This obviously should"ve been a 5:0 result! My "18-year-old maiden"s dress" has lost by a whole mile, alright! They"re not comparable at all! 3:1 was an insult to the ‘husband and wife lung slice"!” Harris said agitatedly.
“Erm…” Mag didn"t know how to continue the conversation, so he simply smiled. “Alright. I have done all the explanations for this dish. You guys can use all the equipment and ingredients you need in the kitchen to practice on your own. You can come and ask me whenever you have a question.”
Harris nodded, and then smiled at Chapman. “Manman, shall we both make a helping of ‘husband and wife lung slice" at the same time, and see which is better?”
“Your disciple is stupid, so I dare not compete with Master.” Chapman shook his head.
“It"s fine. I knew you"re stupid and a slow learner too. Otherwise, why would I pick you.” Harris chuckled. “But that"s not going to affect me from doing my best.”
“I…” Chapman was still a little hesitant.
“Don"t worry, let Grandmaster guide you.” Mag smiled at Chapman, and then reached out to him with his middle finger.