A Bite of Douluo Continent

It was a large plate of finely crushed shaved ice, piled up in the shape of a mountain. Slices of dark brown, slightly rough-textured ingredients were neatly arranged and rotated on the side of the mountain. At the very top of the shaved ice mountain, there was a cute ice sculpture of a little calf.

This is...

Yu Lianxin flipped through the menu and quickly found the corresponding ingredient descriptions and cooking instructions.

Beef tripe: It comes from the stomach of the ancient beast Cangyue Ox, and has the effects of nourishing the spleen and stomach, replenishing qi and blood, replenishing deficiency and essence, quenching thirst, and relieving dizziness. It has a crisp and chewy texture and is suitable for hot pot.

How to eat: Pick up a piece of tripe and put it into the boiling pot. Move the tripe up and down 15 times with chopsticks in the pot, and it is ready to eat.

Huh?

What a strange way to eat it.

Do I really have to move it fifteen times?

Is it okay to do it one more time or one less time?

At this moment, Yu Lianxin's little head was filled with a big question mark.

However, since it was her first time eating there, she decided to follow the instructions on the menu.

After picking up a piece of tripe and putting it into the pot, Yu Lianxin silently counted to fifteen in her mind, following the instructions on the menu, and then placed the slightly curled tripe into the dipping sauce.

The natives of Douluo Continent rarely eat offal, and Yu Lianxin had never eaten it before. However, after eating bursting fatty intestines at Qi Han's shop, she no longer felt there was anything wrong with eating tripe. Therefore, she dipped it in the dipping sauce without any psychological burden. Yu Lianxin skillfully used her chopsticks to roll up a piece of tripe and put it in her mouth.

After a short chew, Yu Lianxin's eyes lit up.

Beef tripe itself doesn't have much flavor, but what amazed her was its unique crisp and elastic texture. The taste was a blend of the sauce in the dipping sauce and the spicy broth, which alone made it an excellent flavor.

After finishing a piece of tripe, Yu Lianxin pursed her lips, picked up a second piece with her chopsticks, and put it into the hot pot.

The crispy tripe is so delicious!

The portion of tripe was very generous, with dozens of slices on the plate. Under Yu Lianxin's strong recommendation, Yunruo and Fuya also tried this unique food.

Yun Ruo had also tried the bursting fat intestines at Qi Han's shop, not to mention Fu Ya. Neither of them had much aversion to beef tripe. After experiencing its unique crisp and refreshing texture, the two women quickly became captivated by beef tripe.

"Senior Sister, try this."

Not only was Yu Lianxin trying out various ingredients, but the other two women were doing the same. After Yu Lianxin started, the three women selected their favorite ingredients and shared them with the other two, making the atmosphere at the small table even more harmonious.

This is something that is difficult to achieve in ordinary restaurants, because previously in Qi Han's small shop, everyone ate their own food, and such sharing was rare.

Chapter 127 Snowflake Beef

Wow! What is this?!

The three women were enjoying their meal when Yun Ruo suddenly gasped in surprise. Yu Lianxin and Fuya looked over instinctively and saw Yun Ruo pick up a plate of meat emitting a wisp of cold steam from a shelf.

The meat was sliced ​​only slightly thicker than paper, its tender red surface interspersed with snowflake-like fat. It was spread in a swirling layer on the shaved ice piled on the plate, and the rising chill added an extra touch of luxury to the meat.

The three women exchanged glances, then lowered their heads to look through the menu. Soon, Yu Lianxin was the first to find the relevant information about this ingredient on the menu.

Snowflake beef: The beef comes from the lower rib area of ​​the hundred-year-old soul beast, the Purgatory Bull. It is named for the snowflake-like appearance caused by the densely packed, evenly distributed tiny fat particles within it.

How to eat: Put the food in the pot for five seconds and then take it out to eat. (It is recommended to use sukiyaki or spicy hot pot for this dish. When using sukiyaki, it is suggested to use it as a dipping sauce with beaten colorful scrambled eggs.)

Snowflake beef?

Upon seeing the name of the ingredient, the three women felt it was exceptionally fitting. The extremely thin slices of meat, dotted with tiny specks of fat, were just as beautiful as snowflakes.

Coincidentally, there was a spicy hot pot and a sukiyaki in front of the three of them, so they could try both of the dishes recommended on the menu.

Unlike spicy hot pot, sukiyaki has no spiciness at all, but its slightly sweet and delicious flavor is extremely unique and equally unforgettable.

"I...I'll go get the colorful brocade eggs for you." Yun Ruo quickly stood up and walked towards the dipping saucer station.

While she was preparing the dipping sauce, she noticed the colorful pheasant eggs on the edge of the dipping dish station, but she didn't realize that they would also be a type of dipping sauce.

Do you use raw egg yolk as a dipping sauce?

It feels a bit strange.

Soon, Yunruo brought three eggs from the five-colored golden pheasant and three clean dipping dishes.

For a Soul Master, it's not difficult to break the Five-Colored Golden Pheasant's egg evenly. Just tap the egg gently on the table, open both sides of the shell, pour the yolk and egg white into the dipping dish, and finally, with a burst of Soul Power, the yolk and egg white will be completely mixed together.

Yu Lianxin first chose to try a spicy hot pot. Although she didn't know that the hundred-year-old Purgatory Barbarian Beef was edible, she had eaten ordinary beef before. The common way to cook beef is to cut it into large chunks and stew it or to skewer it and grill it. She had never seen it cut into such thin slices before.

However, Yu Lianxin quickly understood that the purpose was probably to make the Wagyu beef easier to cook thoroughly.

The slices of beef laid on top of the shaved ice are stacked tightly together, making it almost impossible to distinguish each individual slice of marbled beef. However, the slices are not stuck together; instead, they are distinct and can be easily picked out with a gentle pinch.

After picking out a slice of snowflake beef, Yu Lianxin admired the beautiful snowflake patterns on the beef before slowly placing it into the spicy hot pot.

Remembering the five-second time limit recommended on the menu, Yu Lianxin put down her chopsticks, silently counted to five, and then picked up the beef that had fallen into the pot. The originally bright red marbled beef with white snowflake patterns had completely changed its appearance in those short five seconds.

If there hadn't been nothing in the pot to begin with, Yu Lianxin would have almost thought that what she had picked out and what she had put in were not the same thing.

The marbled beef that was picked up curled up slightly, and the surface was no longer smooth. Instead, it had many small and dense bumps. If someone with trypophobia saw it, they might feel a little uncomfortable.

Although Yu Lianxin wasn't, she had to admit that the snowflake beef looked much less appealing after cooking, which made her frown a little.

Did I make a mistake somewhere?

Why does the cooked Wagyu beef look strange?

Well, I'll give it a try. I hope it doesn't taste too bad.

Thinking of this, Yu Lianxin put the snowflake beef into the prepared dipping sauce, letting the sauce coat the surface of the beef, and then put it in her mouth. After a short chew, her eyes suddenly widened.

It still tastes the same as the original dipping sauce and the same as the original spicy hot pot base, but there is a distinct fresh and bright flavor in this chewing. It is the freshness that belongs exclusively to the snowflake beef. The appearance of this snowflake beef flavor even overshadows the former two, and even the rich flavor of the dipping sauce becomes like a green leaf.

Meat like this would be incredibly delicious even without dipping sauce, wouldn't it?

Without hesitation, Yu Lianxin cooked another piece of snowflake beef in the hot pot. This time, she no longer doubted that there was anything wrong with her steps.

Snowflake beef is so delicious, what could possibly go wrong? Perhaps it's just naturally like this, and it doesn't look as good after cooking.

Although... I had never seen anything like this before when cooking beef.

This time, Yu Lianxin didn't use a dipping sauce. Instead, she put the cooked beef directly into her mouth and chewed it slightly. Without the interference of the dipping sauce, the delicious flavor became even more pronounced, and the juices inside burst open, giving Yu Lianxin a completely different experience from before.

This beef tastes so good!

As Yu Lianxin was thinking this, Fuya suddenly exclaimed, "The combination of sukiyaki and snowflake beef is just too perfect!"

Sukiyaki?

Yu Lianxin then remembered that there seemed to be another recommended way to eat it on the menu.

Try?

Now she was intrigued. She picked up another slice of snowflake beef, put it into the sukiyaki, took it out after five seconds, and put it into the beaten egg on the side.

The egg liquid had a bright yellow color. The snowflake beef rolled in it and was then taken out. There seemed to be a layer of translucent egg liquid on the surface. Yu Lianxin curiously put the snowflake beef into her mouth, feeling a little puzzled about this completely new way of eating it.

Putting aside whether raw egg liquid can be eaten directly, can marbled beef and egg liquid be combined?

However, the complex and layered taste in her mouth soon told her the answer.

can!

Not only can it, but it's absolutely impossible!

The original and rich aroma of eggs, the freshness of beef, and the light and delicious flavor of sukiyaki blend together to create an extremely tempting taste.

Moreover, the smoothness of the egg liquid adds an extra layer of tenderness to the snowflake beef, making it even better than the previous spicy hot pot. It even enhances the umami flavor of the sukiyaki and the beef itself. With just a few chews, Yu Lianxin's eyes lit up.

The same ingredients, cooked for only five seconds, can taste completely different simply because of the different broth and dipping sauce. Hot pot is truly a magical way to eat!

Chapter 128 The Five Offices of the Empire

"Your yellow throat is here, please enjoy."

As the three women were enthusiastically enjoying the delicious snowflake beef, Qi Han's calm voice rang out.

He placed a plate of beautifully arranged beef tripe, stacked like flower petals, on the shelf next to the three women, then turned and left.

This was the last dish for the three women, and Qi Han, under some kind of "busy-to-the-points" buff, personally brought it up.

Fuya's face showed a strange expression. Yun Ruo, who often ate at the Cold Food Shop, had also heard some things about it and looked at Yu Lianxin with a gossipy gaze.

Yu Lianxin felt helpless, but she didn't show it on her face.

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and called out to Qi Han, "Boss Qi, wait a moment."

Qi Han stopped abruptly, turned around, and walked forward several times faster than when he left, as if he had been waiting for Yu Lianxin's call.

"what's up?"

Qi Han's tone remained calm, but only those with excellent hearing could detect a slight tremor in his voice.

Fortunately, Soul Masters generally have good hearing.

Therefore, the expressions on Fuya and Yunruo's faces became even stranger.

Yu Lianxin inexplicably wanted to complain, but she still forced herself to put on a natural expression. "I'm a little curious, why do small lumps appear after this snowflake beef is put into the pot?"

Yes, Yu Lianxin was really curious about this, so she finally couldn't help but call out to Qi Han, hoping he could answer her question.

Qi Han glanced at the snowflake beef on the table, which the three women had already eaten half of, and smiled slightly. "It's like this: the lean meat and fat of beef shrink to different degrees when heated. Fat shrinks faster when heated. In snowflake beef, the fat is distributed throughout the meat, and after shrinking, it's like a tightened net."

"This phenomenon wouldn't cause any problems in a large piece of beef or in beef with separate fat and lean meat, but it becomes more noticeable in very thinly sliced ​​Wagyu beef. The lean meat in Wagyu beef is like being tightly bound by a net, so bumps appear on the surface."

"Don't worry, this situation is proof that the beef is of excellent quality and is normal."

"I see!" Yu Lianxin suddenly realized. Having been exposed to her father's culinary skills since childhood, she quickly understood Qi Han's explanation.

"If there's nothing else, I'll head downstairs now." With that, Qi Han turned around, a slight smile unconsciously appearing on his face.

My mood inexplicably improved.

Upon reaching the first floor, Qi Han quickly noticed that besides the Qin sisters, there were two other guests.

One of them was a girl of similar age to the Qin sisters, with long blue-purple hair and a pretty face. She was chatting enthusiastically with Qin Yao.

The two seemed to know each other well.

Standing next to the young girl was a middle-aged man in a long robe. He was quite handsome, with a clean-shaven beard, and looked rather refined and easy-going.