A Bite of Douluo Continent

In a world with wind and water attribute soul masters, cleaning has become a simple matter.

However, this was not the reason for Qi Han's surprise. What surprised him was that many shops and stalls on the food street had changed drastically.

For example, Qi Han clearly remembered the shop on the right corner right after entering the food festival. When he came here yesterday afternoon, the shop sold a kind of grilled meat skewers, which smelled quite good.

However, there was no smell of barbecue coming from the shop at this moment. Instead, there were large steamers and large covered pots set up at the entrance. There were also seven or eight sets of tables and chairs in front of the door, where many people were eating something hastily.

The person in charge of greeting customers was still the same middle-aged man with a somewhat honest smile from yesterday, indicating that the shop had not changed hands overnight.

This situation was not uncommon. Looking around the food street, many shops seemed to have changed their business overnight. This strange phenomenon aroused Qi Han's curiosity.

Every morning before, Qi Han would bury himself in the training space as soon as he woke up, and he really didn't know anything about the food street.

However, since he was already there, he decided to take a closer look.

Let's go with that barbecue restaurant from yesterday.

With a goal in mind, Qi Han strolled towards the store.

There were still very few people on the food street in the morning. The honest-looking middle-aged man quickly noticed Qi Han walking towards him. He naturally recognized him, and his smile became even brighter.

"What would you like, Mr. Qi?"

Qi Han didn't speak immediately, but looked around curiously.

Moving closer, he could also see the food in the hands of the diners sitting in front of the shop.

That's the world's steamed buns and mantou, and some diners have a bowl of white porridge and some simple pickled radishes in front of them to eat with the steamed buns and mantou.

"I remember you sold barbecue skewers at your shop yesterday, why are you selling these today?" Qi Han couldn't help but ask curiously.

Upon hearing Qi Han's question, the honest-looking middle-aged man's expression turned somewhat strange. "Boss Qi, it's morning now, of course we need to sell breakfast. Who eats grilled meat skewers in the morning?"

Breakfast... is what we call breakfast in Douluo Continent.

Upon hearing the middle-aged man's words, Qi Han was stunned for a moment before falling silent.

I'm really confused.

He hadn't had a proper breakfast in so long that he almost forgot about the concept of three meals a day.

But now he's intrigued.

What do people eat for breakfast in the Douluo Continent?

What kind of breakfast do you have here?

"Hehe, Mr. Qi, you've come to the right place." The honest-looking middle-aged man chuckled and pointed to a sign behind him. "My shop has a great location, right at the beginning of the food street. You don't have to go far to find a place to eat, so it's perfect for a breakfast stall. My breakfast selection is also the most complete of all the breakfast stalls on this food street. You can find whatever you want. Come and take a look?"

Oh?

That would be even better.

Qi Han was planning to visit a few more shops, but unexpectedly, this shop had a very complete selection of breakfast options, which saved her a lot of trouble.

Following the direction the middle-aged boss was pointing, Qi Han looked at the sign on the wall and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

Really a lot.

Meat buns, vegetable buns, steamed buns, white porridge, sweet wine, boiled eggs, and various pastries are all available for sale here.

Even the sweet rice cakes from Xingluo City can be found here.

"One meat bun, one steamed bun, a bowl of white porridge, and a jade cake, please." After glancing at them briefly, Qi Han quickly made his choices.

"Alright!" the shopkeeper replied, first lifting the lid of the steamer to take out steamed buns, mantou, and a pastry that looked greenish, placing them all on a plate. Then he took a large bowl, filled it with white porridge, and said, "Here you go."

After Qi Han took the plate and bowl, he pointed to the two jars next to him, "If you like it sweet, you can add sugar to the white porridge yourself. If you like it salty, you can help yourself to the pickled radish."

The middle-aged man chuckled, "I pickled these radishes myself, and everyone who's tried them says they're delicious!"

It was really good. For a moment, Qi Han felt like he was having breakfast at a breakfast stall on Blue Star. He smiled and responded, then put the things in his hand on an empty table next to him, and then took a small plate and put some pickled radishes in it.

He can eat both sweet and savory congee, but he wanted to try what the owner's pickled radish tasted like.

Looking at the sumptuous breakfast in front of him, Qi Han showed a touch of emotion.

How long has it been since I had breakfast?

He maintains peak condition at all times in the training space and has no need to eat breakfast, but now, seeing the simple breakfast in front of him, he actually felt a little envious.

His gaze first fell on the bowl of white porridge in front of him.

Plain congee, also known as porridge, is made by cooking rice with an excessive amount of water without adding any other seasonings.

Porridge, as a food with a completely different form from rice, actually has a certain requirement regarding its consistency. It shouldn't be too thick, so that when you scoop it up, it shouldn't clump together and should be able to flow naturally. But it also shouldn't be too thin, as if there's a layer of rice water on the surface after it settles naturally, that's not good either.

To determine the ideal consistency, you can refer to canned eight-treasure porridge sold outside; that consistency is the optimal consistency for porridge.

The degree to which rice is cooked in white porridge is also important. If each grain is distinct and floating in the porridge, it's more like water-soaked rice. Real white porridge should be cooked until the rice is completely soft and slightly broken, so that the starch in the rice is fully released and gelatinized during the cooking process, which improves the texture and makes it easier to absorb.

A well-cooked porridge should be so appetizing that it makes your mouth water at first glance, even without any seasoning.

However, achieving this requires considerable effort.

This middle-aged man was clearly very skilled at this, and the bowl of white porridge he cooked made Qi Han's appetite soar.

Chapter 303 Nobody Can Make Me Work Overtime (Bonus Chapter 2/2 for Pipa Boss's Donation)

I picked up the bowl and took a big gulp. The warm white porridge slid smoothly into my mouth, and after a slight sip, it flowed into my stomach, leaving only a slightly sweet taste of rice water in my mouth.

After swallowing a mouthful of congee, Qi Han nodded to himself, impressed by the congee served at this shop.

It takes at least several years of experience to cook a simple bowl of white porridge so deliciously.

Qi Han's gaze quickly fell on the small dish next to him. The pickled radish on the dish was cut into small pieces, with a slightly yellowish surface and some chili flakes stuck on it.

It has to be said that the chopsticks Qi Han brought have, to some extent, changed the food in other restaurants in Shrek City.

Take this pickled radish in front of you, for example.

What Qi Han didn't know was that before he arrived, the pickled radishes at this shop were at least five or six times larger than they were now, and it would take two bites to finish them. The reason was to make it easier to use with a fork. However, pickled radishes cut into such large pieces were not easy to absorb the flavor and were not convenient to eat. The middle-aged shop owner had been troubled by this for quite some time.

Now that chopsticks are available, the pickled radishes can be cut into smaller pieces and absorb more flavor, and there's no need to worry about them being inconvenient to use. Therefore, the middle-aged shop owner is very grateful to Qi Han.

Pick up a piece of pickled radish with chopsticks and put it in your mouth. The salty and spicy taste fills your mouth and nose instantly. The radish is pickled until it is crunchy, and you can hear a crunching sound when you chew it.

It's really good.

It's a pity it doesn't have a sour and spicy flavor, otherwise it would be even better.

Qi Han felt a pang of regret in his heart, then picked up the bowl of white porridge and took another bite.

If you were to eat this salty and spicy pickled radish directly, it would be extremely salty, but that's not the problem with the pickled radish itself.

As a side dish, it's saltier than regular food so it can better complement the white porridge.

With each sip of the congee, the slightly overpowering salty and spicy flavor was instantly diluted. Moreover, the salty and spicy taste slowly seeped into the congee, adding a touch of saltiness and spiciness to the otherwise starchy and slightly sweet congee. Combined with the soft and slightly broken rice grains, the texture was quite amazing.

After eating some pickled radish and drinking a few mouthfuls of white porridge, Qi Han's gaze slowly shifted to the plate beside him.

On the plate were a meat bun, a steamed bun, and a jade cake that I had just ordered.

The meat buns in Douluo Continent and the meat buns on Blue Star have similar names, but they are completely different things.

In comparison, it looks more like a steamed bun.

Both are round and slightly flattened, looking somewhat similar to flying saucers.

The difference between steamed buns and mantou is that steamed buns are plumper because they contain meat or vegetable fillings, while mantou are flatter.

Apart from one having filling and the other not, there are no other differences between the two, and they are even about the same size.

Although it looks ordinary, if made well, it won't taste too different from the meat buns from Blue Star.

After all, the principles behind both are the same.

Qi Han first picked up the meat bun and took a big bite.

The buns had a thicker outer layer than those from Blue Star, but because the shop owner's method of fermenting the dough was somewhat unusual, Qi Han didn't find them bland when he took a bite. Instead, the soft outer layer made him nod in approval.

Yes, the dough has fermented very well.

The loose structure of the dough actually has a great impact on the taste.

The more you chew a steamed bun, the sweeter it becomes. This is because during the chewing process, salivary amylase breaks down the starch in the bun into maltose.

The looser the dough, the larger the contact area between the salivary amylase and the starch, and the faster the decomposition speed will be.

In other words, it's sweeter.

Clearly, this middle-aged boss is an expert at kneading dough and fermentation.

The first bite barely reveals the meat filling, and the second bite allows you to fully bite into the filling and dough together. Chewing at this point gives you a completely different texture.

Although the meat filling in Douluo Continent doesn't involve adding soup to buns like pork skin jelly, the meat the vendor chose wasn't purely lean; it included some fat and a small amount of chopped shiitake mushrooms.

Therefore, during the heating and steaming process, a considerable amount of meat juice still overflows from the rich meat filling and slowly seeps into the inner wall of the dough.

Because of the loose and porous structure of the dough, it absorbs meat juices very efficiently. The dough becomes less loose and slightly firmer after absorbing the meat juices, but it becomes softer and almost melts in your mouth. The meat filling itself is tender and slightly elastic, making it exceptionally delicious.

The dough that hadn't absorbed the meat juices, the dough that had absorbed the meat juices, and the meat filling—these three parts slowly blended together during chewing, creating a unique texture that made Qi Han exclaim in admiration.

The local cuisine of another world should not be underestimated.

Even though the cuisine of Douluo Continent is still far behind that of Earth due to the limitations of food development, a truly dedicated chef will still strive to make the food even more delicious.

People eat for food.

That's absolutely true.

Just the skill of kneading the dough and preparing the meat filling for these buns requires a long period of practice.

Steamed buns and baozi are similar, both using the same type of dough. However, steamed buns have no filling, making them less impressive than meat baozi, but they are still soft and delicious.

After finishing the meat buns and steamed bread, Qi Han took a sip of white porridge and looked at the last green pastry on the plate.

Jade cake.

He had never actually heard of this kind of pastry before, but the name sounded nice, so he decided to give it a try.

The surface of this piece of jade cake is crystal clear, not transparent, but as warm and smooth as jade. Its greenish-blue appearance is particularly pleasing, truly deserving of the name "jade cake".

In terms of shape and size, this jade cake is somewhat similar to a local snack on Earth.