A Bite of Douluo Continent

"Mmm!" Ji Yunruo nodded and quickly walked into the store.

She was also very excited to be the first person to have breakfast soon.

After closing the shop door, Qi Han said softly, "Have a seat first. You can familiarize yourself with the menu and then think about what you want to eat for breakfast."

"Okay!" Without Qi Han saying anything, Ji Yunruo had already picked up the breakfast menu.

The price list on the wall also changed during breakfast, with the menu items now featuring breakfast delicacies.

Ji Yunruo noticed this, but she was already used to looking at the menu.

After all, the food descriptions on the menu are clearer, and there are also beautiful pictures.

There are currently only twelve types of breakfast, including the xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) that were moved from lunch.

But just looking at the descriptions of the other eleven breakfast options made Ji Yunruo swallow hard.

They all look so delicious!

After hesitating for a while, Ji Yunruo suddenly raised her head and said, "Boss, I want a soy milk and fried dough stick combo!"

That golden, crispy fried dough stick looks absolutely delicious!

Moreover, according to the introduction, it can be eaten in two different ways!

"Okay." Qi Han turned and walked towards the kitchen with a smile on his face. "Take a look at the other breakfast options. You might need to introduce them to the customers when we open for business later."

"Yes!" Ji Yunru nodded emphatically.

Although she had never worked as a waitress, she had occasionally watched Fuya work and had a general idea of ​​what a waitress's job entailed. Moreover, she had specifically asked Fuya and Ying Shuangshuang for advice last night.

While waiting for her breakfast, Ji Yunruo continued to study the menu in front of her.

It must be said that breakfast is much cheaper than lunch and dinner, and it mainly consists of various staple foods.

Cheap, filling, and nutritious – that's pretty much what it means.

I looked at the prices of all the dishes, and the cheapest ones were even less than one gold soul coin, requiring only a few silver soul coins.

Ji Yunruo's chosen soy milk and fried dough stick set meal uses extremely special ingredients. The rare and precious female earth spirit beans are added to the grinding of ordinary soybeans. Although only a small amount is added, it is already very precious.

But the price is only two gold soul coins.

Moreover, according to the portion description of this dish, one serving of soy milk and fried dough sticks is enough to fill you up.

Silently memorizing all the dishes on the menu and their general characteristics, and mentally rehearsing how to introduce them to the diners later, Ji Yunruo soon received her breakfast.

The rich aroma that wafted towards her made Ji Yunruo's eyes widen instantly. The steaming, golden-brown fried dough sticks looked exceptionally crispy. The dough sticks, about the length of her forearm, were concave in the middle, seemingly about to split in two, but they were firmly stuck together. The stuck part had a slightly white and tender feel, which was completely different in color from the other parts.

On the plate, three fried dough sticks were neatly arranged, with a large bowl of soy milk and a small bowl of fluffy white sugar like snowflakes on the side.

"How does it taste?" Qi Han smiled slightly.

"Mmm!" Ji Yunru nodded emphatically, eager to try.

Chapter 374 Two Ways to Eat Fried Dough Sticks (Bonus Chapter 8/10 for Alliance Leader Yue Zhuoshuo)

Ji Yunruo picked up a fried dough stick and began to enjoy her breakfast.

The surface of the fried dough stick is golden and crispy. With just a little force, you can split the fluffy fried dough stick in half, turning it into two thinner fried dough sticks.

At this time, the fried dough sticks are covered with a golden yellow color, with only the original sticky cut surfaces revealing a slightly yellowish white and soft texture.

Ji Yunruo took a small bite from one end of the fried dough stick and chewed slowly.

With a slight squeeze of the girl's pearly teeth, the fried dough stick made a crisp "crunch" sound, and a bite revealed it to be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a satisfying chewiness.

The chewiness comes from the soft, white interior of the fried dough stick.

During the deep-frying process, the baking soda in the dough sticks decomposes when heated, producing carbon dioxide, which quickly stretches the dough that has already been fermented and softened, making its internal structure fluffy.

The outside of the fried dough stick comes into direct contact with hot oil, where it undergoes a series of frying reactions, turning it golden brown, crispy, and fragrant. However, the inside is very loose and does not come into contact with hot oil. It is heated by hot air in its pores, producing an effect similar to steaming.

Therefore, beneath the crispy surface of the fried dough stick, the texture inside is somewhat like steamed dough.

The dough tightens again during chewing, giving Ji Yunruo a texture that changes from initially being fluffy to chewy. This chewiness, combined with the crispy outer surface of the fried dough stick, creates a wonderful new experience.

The unique flavor of the fried dough sticks, with their slightly alkaline taste, slowly enters the mouth as you chew.

This brings us to another byproduct of the decomposition of baking soda.

Sodium carbonate, also known as soda ash.

Soda ash cannot be used in large quantities, and in some cooking situations it is only added in small amounts. It has a slightly bitter taste, but when added to dough, it can effectively remove the sour taste of the dough and add flavor and texture.

Baking soda decomposes into two products when heated: one makes dough fluffier and the other improves its texture, so it is added to many foods that use flour.

After just one bite, Ji Yunruo was completely immersed in the wonderful taste. Like a silkworm devouring its prey, with a series of crisp "crunch crunch" sounds, the half-eaten fried dough stick in her hand was completely swallowed into her stomach.

"Oh!" Ji Yunruo suddenly remembered that there seemed to be another way to eat fried dough sticks.

Luckily, there were still two and a half fried dough sticks left on the plate, so we could try another way to eat them: with soy milk.

But before that, let's try the soy milk first.

Soy milk is one of the intermediate products in the production of tofu. Soaking soybeans and then grinding them with water can produce the purest soy milk. Tofu, on the other hand, is made by curdling tofu with brine and pressing out the water from the soy milk.

Therefore, in the Douluo Continent, where brine is used to make tofu, soy milk must exist, although few people drink soy milk on its own.

As for the reason, Qi Han only understood it after carefully asking the middle-aged owner who sold breakfast during the food festival.

In Douluo Continent, soy milk is called soy paste because less water is added during the grinding process, making it thicker. Moreover, due to different soaking and other steps, soy paste has a very strong beany smell, and few people would drink it directly.

The so-called beany smell of soybeans is actually the natural aroma of soybeans.

The same method of cutting the beans raw can be used to remove the beany smell.

Therefore, before using soaked soybeans to make soy milk, you only need to boil the soybeans in water to remove the raw beany smell, which will be completely eliminated and will not be introduced into the soy milk.

The bean paste in Douluo Continent is missing this crucial element, which is why it has become unpopular.

This was the first time Ji Yunruo had tasted this drink called soy milk. She first brought her mouth and nose close to the rim of the bowl, feeling the rich aroma of soy milk, which had no beany smell at all, enter her nostrils, and then carefully took a sip.

The soy milk had no added sugar and wasn't very sweet, but it had a slightly thick texture. The rich aroma of soybeans filled her mouth and nose the moment it entered her mouth, and that wonderful feeling made Ji Yunruo squint her eyes slightly, thoroughly enjoying it.

Hmm... I'll add some sugar then.

Although unsweetened soy milk is already delicious, Ji Yunruo still prefers sweets.

She picked up a small bowl from the side, scooped up some fine white sugar from the bowl with a small spoon, put it into the soy milk, and then slowly stirred the soy milk a couple of times with the spoon.

The granulated sugar crystals are exceptionally fine; they dissolve completely and disappear instantly upon falling into the soy milk, and with just a couple of gentle stirs, they become perfectly even, making it incredibly convenient.

After adding about two spoonfuls, Ji Yunruo picked up the soy milk again and took a small sip.

Mmm! This is much sweeter.

As the sweetness seeped into her heart, the rich aroma of soybeans seemed to become even more delicious. With a lingering aftertaste, Ji Yunruo then remembered that she wanted to try the second way of eating fried dough sticks.

She picked up the remaining half of the fried dough stick from the plate, carefully tore it into small pieces about the length of a finger, and then put them into the soy milk.

Pick up a pair of chopsticks and gently press down a few times to let the small pieces of fried dough sticks floating on the surface of the soy milk sink into the soy milk. Small bubbles then emerge from both ends of the fried dough stick pieces.

After silently counting a few times, Ji Yunruo hurriedly picked up the fried dough stick from the soy milk and put it in her mouth.

The instructions say that you shouldn't soak the fried dough sticks for too long, otherwise they will dissolve in the soy milk and the taste won't be as good.

As small bubbles were squeezed out of the fried dough sticks, the inside of the dough sticks had already absorbed the rich and sweet soy milk. With just a gentle bite, the soy milk burst out from the gaps inside the dough sticks, and the rich aroma of soybeans instantly overwhelmed the aroma of the dough sticks themselves, filling Ji Yunruo's mouth with fragrance.

After being soaked in soy milk, the fried dough sticks become softer overall. The outer skin is no longer crispy and makes a crackling sound, but it has become more chewy, giving it a completely new texture. As for the originally chewy interior, it becomes completely soft and glutinous after being soaked in soy milk, almost melting in your mouth. The rich soy flavor becomes more and more abundant with each chew, along with the aroma of the fried dough stick itself.

So delicious!

Ji Yunruo's eyes widened, and a pair of black cat ears with silver tips couldn't help but pop out from the top of her head.

Well…

Her face immediately turned red.

Even though cat ears don't usually pop up so easily after spending so much time during the Cold Food Festival...

At this moment, Ji Yunruo seemed to have opened the door to a new world. Then, the other two fried dough sticks were not spared either. She tore them into small pieces and ate them little by little while soaking them in soy milk.

Clearly, Ji Yunruo prefers the second way of eating.

After finishing the fried dough sticks, there was still soy milk left in the bowl. Because the soy milk had been used to soak the fried dough sticks, a few strands of oil appeared on the surface under the light, but it did not make it greasy at all. On the contrary, it made Ji Yunruo more eager to drink it all in one go.

Touching her slightly full stomach, Ji Yunruo picked up the soy milk and drank it down in one gulp. She felt the greasy taste dissolve quietly in the mellow aroma of soybeans, while the original rich soybean aroma gained a subtle hint of the aroma of fried dough sticks after being soaked in it, creating another wonderful fusion.

"Hiccup~"

Ji Yunruo finished the soy milk in one gulp, a look of satisfaction on her face.

What a great breakfast!

Chapter 375 Breakfast Service Begins (Bonus Chapter 9/10 for Alliance Leader Yue Zhuoshuo)

After finishing her meal, Ji Yunruo conscientiously cleaned up her dishes and then continued to carefully look at the menu in her hand, trying her best to memorize the key points.

Hmm... I need to memorize all of this before opening for business.

It wasn't until Qi Han spoke up and told Ji Yunruo to open the shop door that she was pulled back from her trance.

Walking briskly to the store entrance, Ji Yunruo glanced at the long queue outside, took a deep breath, recalled Fuya's demeanor and actions every time she opened the store door, then smiled and opened the door.

"Welcome!"

The eager diners swarmed in, led by Tang Qianqiu and Qi Poxiao.

Seemingly noticing his disciple's nervousness, Tang Qianqiu smiled slightly and whispered reassurance, "Relax a little."

"Mmm!" Ji Yunruo nodded vigorously, quickly took out a pen and paper from her pocket, and began to record the diners' orders one by one.

They chose a spot by the floor-to-ceiling window again. Tang Qianqiu and Qi Poxiao first glanced at the new price list hanging on the wall, then smiled at each other.

"Eleven new dishes, enough to keep us going for a while." Tang Qianqiu nodded in satisfaction and picked up the menu on the table to carefully read through it.

"This breakfast is indeed similar to breakfast, and it's much cheaper than a regular meal." Qi Po-xiao opened the menu, flipped through it, and said with a smile, "From now on, I'll be in for a treat every morning."

As a powerful expert at the Limit Douluo level, Qi Po Xiao is still self-disciplined despite his advanced age, going to bed early and getting up early every day. He will be able to eat breakfast every day from now on, and just thinking about it makes him genuinely happy.