1136 The Modified Recipes of The Sacrificial Dishes
Bu Fang did not care what others called him.
Furthermore, from how he saw it, being called the Tyrant of the Kitchen could still be considered as a compliment. If one did not have absolute control within the kitchen, then how could one be deemed as a good chef?
As the head chef, if he handled a group of a.s.sistant chefs that did not listen to orders, with their hearts filled with thoughts on how to skimp on work and stint on ingredients, then what would this kitchen become? It would definitely have a foul atmosphere.
Just now, when Bu Fang had surveyed one round, he had found out that at least half of the a.s.sistant chefs had made shortcuts and scrimped on ingredients. In other words, they were not doing their proper job.
Because these people had usually cooked in the kitchen, they had gotten used to dealing with the ingredients, so they would inadvertently miss out on a few steps.
For example, some traces of skin were still left unpeeled after peeling the ingredients. Furthermore, they were not washed properly after peeling.
Maybe to others, these processes would not be noticed, and maybe they might think that it did not matter. But to Bu Fang, these steps should not be missed. To constantly improve, he had very stringent requirements when it came to cooking.
One can simply refuse to do it, but if you skimp out on work and stint on ingredients, then that was unacceptable.
Jing Yuan’s mild and timid personality had enabled the unscrupulous behavior of these people.
Bu Fang, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. During cooking, his temper was pretty bad.
It was okay if he cooked alone, but if there was an a.s.sistant chef present, any mistake made by that a.s.sistant would be utterly reflected in his eyes.
Watching Jing Yuan’s departing figure, Bu fang’s face did not change in the least. To him, cooking was a type of art, and towards art, one had to strive for perfection.
Bu Fang pulled out a chair and sat down. His brows slightly furrowed.
Within his mind, the recipes of the three sacrificial dishes that he had seen in that room appeared.
The three sacrificial dishes, according to what Jing Yuan said, were not to be changed. However, in Bu Fang’s eyes, these three dishes still had flaws despite looking perfect.
If he was able to amend and fill the gaps in them, then the taste and texture of those dishes would be elevated to another level.
The three sacrificial dishes had very nice-sounding names—Spring Wind, Summer Wound, and Autumn Obscurity.
Who gave the three dishes these names? It was indeed a little interesting…
Bu Fang rubbed his chin. Just from the names of these three dishes, he was able to feel a slight wave of grief.
Of course, this could be just his own feelings.
Bu Fang did not move for a while. He remained sitting on the chair like that, deep in thought.
There were about five days left. Within these five days, he had to find all the required ingredients as well as deal with all of them.
Furthermore, he needed to first finish cooking the three dishes that were important for the sacrifice.
There were many requirements, and time was tight.
Time was flying past rapidly.
Meanwhile, within the imperial palace, the news about Bu Fang rapidly spread.
The news of Bu Fang chasing out all the a.s.sistant chefs from the kitchen eventually spread from the imperial palace to the entire G.o.ddess City.
After hearing this news, most people’s faces would turn a little strange and interested.
To chase out all the a.s.sistant chefs out of the kitchen…..
What was this man trying to do? Eighteen dishes… Could it be that he wanted to cook them all by himself?
Oh, he still had the great chef Jing Yuan as an a.s.sistant.
However…
Even with Chef Jing Yuan, there were only two of them, so it would be very difficult to cook all the dishes of the imperial feast in time…
The chefs who were chased out by Bu Fang mocked him, and their words spread as well.
In an instant, the entire imperial palace did not look favorably upon this year’s imperial feast.
Naturally, Empress Bi Luo heard about it. It only took around half a day for the news to reach her ears.
Listening to the recount of a maid, Empress Bi Luo revealed a playful look on her face. “He really chased all the a.s.sistant chefs out of the kitchen? A little interesting… Suddenly, I’m looking forward to this imperial feast.” Empress Bi Luo’s red lips slightly opened, revealing her white and gleaming teeth.
That maid was instantly curious. “Your Majesty, could it be that that man is planning to cook all the dishes for the imperial feast by himself?”
“If he did not chase out all those a.s.sistant chefs, I might not be looking forward this much…” the empress said.
The maid was instantly confused.
“If he didn’t do that, how will I know what kind of people those a.s.sistant chefs are? Last year, this empress did not have any expectations for the imperial feast and just muddled through it. But this year, maybe something will change. If not, then this empress’ expectations will be wasted.”
Empress Bi Luo drowsily leaned back on her spirit golden throne, her well-proportioned figure forming a perfect arc.
…
After half a day, Jing Yuan rushed back.
From a distance, she saw Whitey standing guard outside the kitchen, which made her feel a little unsettled.
The pressure that Whitey had displayed previously made her a little scared.
However, she still drummed up her courage to push open the door to the kitchen.
Inside the kitchen…
Bu Fang sat on the chair, deeply pondering. In his mind, he was going through the steps of cooking those dishes.
Suddenly, his eyes moved, seeing Jing Yuan had already returned.
Jing Yuan shut the door of the kitchen, then walked towards Bu Fang. When she saw him, she did not speak. She just waved her hand, and a huge pile of ingredients appeared on the ingredient section.
“Here are two sets of ingredients for the imperial feast, so Head Chef Bu has two chances… If the dish fails, you can try once more. Many of the ingredients are all very valuable, so I was only able to obtain two sets on a short notice.” Jing Yuan looked at Bu Fang as she spoke.
Bu Fang stood up and clasped his hands. He walked over to the ingredient section and checked all the ingredients, rummaging through them.
Then, he turned to look at Jing Yuan and said, “Go out again and find some Green Jade Fruit and Violet Cloud Gra.s.s…”
“Hm? Green Jade Fruit and Violet Cloud Gra.s.s?” Jing Yuan slightly froze, baffled. “There doesn’t seem to be any dish among the eighteen dishes that requires these ingredients…”
She furrowed her brows. Suddenly, just as she was about to say more, her figure froze after meeting Bu Fang’s cold gaze.
Thinking of Bu Fang chasing away all the a.s.sistant chefs earlier, Jing Yuan’s small face turned pale.
“I’ll go now…”
This was the tyrant of the kitchen, and she actually questioned his orders.
A wave of fear suddenly sprung in her heart.
Jing Yuan turned her body and ran off into the distance, disappearing in just a short while.
The corner of Bu Fang’s lips instantly twitched…
This woman… Is she stupid?
After Jing Yuan left, Bu Fang’s gaze then landed on the ingredients. He sighed and rolled up the sleeves of the Vermillion robe, starting to prepare these ingredients.
Of course, he was going to deal with the ingredients of the three sacrificial dishes first.
Buzz…
A blade light instantly flashed.
Bu Fang’s gaze turned sharp as a screen of stars appeared. In the next instant, comets descended, and blade lights shot out.
These ingredients then flew towards the heavens. Under the blade lights, their shapes constantly changed.
Skin flew everywhere as stalks fell. Each strip, each piece, each slice was cut to near perfection.
After cutting up all the ingredients, Bu Fang then began to wash them.
The water of G.o.ddess City was clear with a very dense spiritual energy, and there was almost no difference from his Heavenly Mountain Spirit Spring Water.
Hence, he did not change to any other water and directly washed them.
Swish. Swish.
In the s.p.a.cious kitchen, only the sound of Bu Fang was.h.i.+ng the ingredients rang out.
After a long time, Jing Yuan returned.
The two types of ingredients that Bu Fang asked for were quite rare, so she had to flip through the entire ingredient warehouse before finally finding them.
When she pushed open the door of the kitchen and stepped in, she saw that the ingredients had already been dealt with and were placed on blue-and-white porcelain plates, with glistening water droplets still s.h.i.+ning on top of them.
Jing Yuan stood frozen on the doorway.
It hadn’t been that long, and Bu Fang had already dealt with all the ingredients needed for the sacrificial dishes?
“What are you doing standing there for? Give me the ingredients, then go and deal with the rest of the ingredients. Remember, you must not be sloppy when you deal with them.”
Jing Yuan got a hold of herself and hurriedly pa.s.sed the two ingredients to Bu Fang.
After Bu Fang received them, he immediately swung the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife, cutting the Green Jade Fruit into two halves.
He took the two halves of the fruits, then tightened his grip, squeezing out the dark green colored liquid from within. That dark green juice fell into a blue-and-white porcelain bowl that he had already prepared.
As for the Violet Cloud Gra.s.s, Bu Fang opened his mouth and spurted out a bundle of white-colored flame, causing the Violet Cloud Gra.s.s to melt into violet-colored liquid.
He then put the liquid form of the Violet Cloud Gra.s.s into a blue-and-white porcelain bowl.
The ingredients of the three sacrificial dishes had been all dealt with.
As Jing Yuan dealt with the ingredients at the side, she looked over at Bu Fang’s direction and asked curiously, “The Green Jade Fruit and Violet Cloud Gra.s.s doesn’t seem to be required in the sacrificial dishes, right?”
Bu Fang did not reply immediately. He just gave Jing Yuan a glance and said, “Just wait. You will know in a while.”
In the next instant…
The White Tiger Heaven Stove emerged, which was followed by the Black Turtle Constellation Wok. After the wok was placed on top of the stove, a bundle of flame was spat out, falling onto the stove to burn brightly.
The scorching heat suddenly spread out.
Bu Fang then used a velvet rope to tie up his hair, then began to cook.
The ladle in Bu Fang’s hand spun. His mental energy spread out, causing his Vermillion Robe to fly.
Jing Yuan stood in the distance, a little dazed…
Bu Fang’s movements were as smooth as water. It caused one to be dazzled just by watching.
The first of the three sacrificial dishes was Spring Wind.
It was a vegetable dish. According to the recipe, this dish was made by mixing thirty-two different types of spirit herbs and immortal Ingredients. Each ingredient had its own taste and could not just be combined. When eaten, it should give thirty-two flavors, so this was a huge test of a chef’s control.
It represented the recovery of thousands of living things along with the spring wind, giving off a splendid feeling like hundreds of flowers had bloomed.
The Spring Wind was meant to be like that.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The light of the flame rushed towards the skies.
Then, ingredients were poured into the wok.
Bu Fang shook the wok while stir-frying it. As every ingredient flew towards the sky, the oil on them dripped off, giving off a brilliance.
After gently flipping the wok, the ingredients fell into the ladle. Then, he placed them on a porcelain plate.
With his mental energy, the presentation of the ingredients was very intricate.
Hot oil boiled. As it dripped down, sizzling sounds rang out ceaselessly.
It caused that dish to give a dazzling brilliance.
Boom!
Above them, thunderclouds flooded the skies.
The lightning punishment was descending.
Of course, Whitey would deal with it. This time… it should be able to eat its fill.
Jing Yuan watched like she was intoxicated. She learned a lot just by watching Bu Fang cook.
Among it was the control of the flame, as well as sensing the heat within the ingredients…
This literally shocked her to the heavens.
Before this, she had a hazy control towards all of this. Compared to her, Bu Fang’s skills were complex and intricate.
Many practices must have been needed to reach such a level… She still lacked a lot.
Suddenly…
Jing Yuan’s face changed.
After Bu Fang had boiled the juice of the Green Jade Fruit in the wok, she realized that he intended to pour it over the dish that had been plated already.
This step… was not recorded in the recipe!
“Head Chef Bu, no! The recipe of the sacrificial dish cannot be changed at all!” Jing Yuan subconsciously opened her mouth and shouted.
However, Bu Fang only calmly gave her a glance, and the movements of his hands did not stop.
The dark green liquid continued to pour down.