Have you ever seen glowing food? That's why you draw a food-themed anime.

Xu Zhou became interested when he heard about the Spanish seafood paella dish.

"Then let's make this dish."

“I’m also very interested in this dish.”

You can also get a free dish.

Comfortable.

Xu Zhou glanced at the recipe he had written down.

Seafood risotto requires a lot of ingredients, and as we watched, Takumi couldn't help but offer some pointers.

"Traditional Valencian paella includes chicken, rabbit, green beans, string beans, and snails."

"This is too difficult for you, so we'll just make seafood risotto today."

"The main ingredients are shrimp, squid, and clams, just like this."

"You'd better look at the pictures to understand this dish better."

The recipe also came with photos.

Takumi's tone was very serious: "My standards are very high."

"If you can't do it well, I won't teach you my roasted hybrid duck."

After saying that, he turned away arrogantly and went about processing the ingredients on his own.

...

After glancing at the recipe and pictures, Xu Zhou had a preliminary idea of ​​what the dish was like.

This looks a bit like clay pot rice. I remember when I used to eat clay pot rice, the most important thing was the crispy rice crust at the bottom.

"This should be the same, right?"

Upon seeing this large pile of materials, Xu Zhou began to slowly and methodically process the seafood.

Remove the shrimp veins, and clean the clams and squid thoroughly before starting to cook.

While looking at the recipe, I was also thinking about the difficulties of this dish.

Preparing seafood isn't difficult; as long as it's cooked through and not too dry, it's fine.

The most difficult part of this dish is obviously getting the rice to form a perfect layer of crispy rice crust, rather than having the whole pot be all wet and soggy with water and broth.

This will make the entire seafood risotto very thick and sticky.

"Claypot rice is the same."

"They really do look somewhat alike."

Xu Zhou glanced at the recipe.

Upon seeing the water used to cook the rice, I immediately replaced it with stock.

Using stock to cook the rice should enhance the flavor.

After considering the difficulties and key points, Xu Zhou officially began the work.

...

Making broth is not difficult at all.

Xu Zhou simply took the recipe for the broth from the previous dish and made a simple salted kelp broth.

Kelp itself is a type of seafood, and it can also add a touch of umami flavor, so it shouldn't be too strange to pair it with other seafood.

After making the broth, sauté the diced onions, carrots, and red bell peppers as instructed in the recipe, then add the rice, garlic, and paprika and stir-fry together.

"This also adds aroma to the rice."

"In this case…"

"The flavor of the rice will be even richer the later on."

Now, when Xu Zhou sees these steps, he can roughly understand the principles behind why they are done this way.

Rice cooked in this way will turn a slightly brownish color and have the aroma of onions, bell peppers, and garlic.

Then add sweetness with wine and broth.

It will make the rice taste even more perfect when you eat it.

It adds several different layers of flavor to the rice, including sweet, salty, and savory.

Xu Zhou did it slowly and methodically, without any hurry.

...

When Xu Zhou picked up the wine, Takumi, who was next to him, held back for a long time but still kept reminding him.

"It's best to let the wine sit until some of the alcohol has evaporated before adding it to the broth."

"It seems your basic knowledge is indeed somewhat weak."

"This is a famous dish."

Xu Zhou didn't hide anything.

He nodded very sincerely: "I had indeed only heard of it before, but I had never had any contact with it or learned about it."

There's nothing shameful about it.

Xu Zhou spoke about it very frankly.

"..."

Takmi's forehead veins throbbed, and he couldn't help but explain to him.

"The purpose of stir-frying rice is not only to enhance its aroma, but also to add a perfect protective film to the rice itself during the toasting process, so that the rice grains do not absorb too much soup and water during cooking, causing the whole dish to become too sticky."

"And it's best not to stir it while you're cooking! Because the rice grains will release starch, which will thicken the soup!"

"If this dish turns into a sticky mess, it's a complete failure!"

This is a famous dish!

Although it's a simplified version.

But Xu Zhou seemed to have never heard of or knew anything about this dish.

He wasn't a professional in this field?

...

After saying that.

Takumi felt that Xu Zhou's work this time was definitely not going to be very good.

After all, the temperature control requirements will be very high later.

Not only does the pan need to be heated evenly to create a perfectly crispy crust at the bottom, but this dish is also considered truly perfect.

That is also the soul of this dish.

When Takumi saw the flaws in Xu Zhou's work, he initially wanted to tell him to go back and study again before coming back. However, his expression quickly changed.

"you……"

He stared at Xu Zhou in disbelief.

Once the temperature control phase began, Xu Zhou's entire demeanor changed.

Just as he had perfect control over the temperature of the entire dish, he skillfully and carefully held the frying pan and began to slowly rotate it.

Even just by gently inserting a metal skewer and touching your lips, you can sense the temperature inside the pot and the cooking status of the rice.

"You have a very good grasp of temperature control. You also use metal skewers? Did Meat Charm teach you that?"

Takmi couldn't help but be surprised.

now.

Xu Zhoucai truly demonstrated his skill and meticulousness in cooking.

Sizzle...

The frying pan in my hand was steaming.

After glancing at it a few times and testing the temperature with an iron skewer, Xu Zhou turned off the stove without hesitation.

"All right."

"Want to try some?"

Chapter 138 This Xu Zhou seems to be quite something!

Takumi stared wide-eyed at the dish Xu Zhou had cooked.

The whole pot was steaming.

The shrimp inside were curled up in a ball, and the pot was filled with the aroma of seafood, as well as the fragrance of wine and the sweet aroma of kelp.

I took a closer sniff.

You can also smell the pungent aroma of paprika and onions.

"The rice grains are in perfect condition!"

Takmi gently separated the seafood with a spoon, and when he saw the state of the rice grains, he couldn't help but break down a little.

...

The seafood risotto in front of me had some minor issues with the preparation of the seafood and other steps.

However, the preparation of the most important and essential ingredient—rice—is 100% perfect.

The temperature control is absolutely superb.

Every single grain of rice was exactly the same, even displaying a perfect golden color.

There was absolutely no situation where one side was sticky and the other side was overcooked.

He gently scooped down with his spoon, took a mouthful of rice, and put it in his mouth.

The moment the rice hit his mouth, Takmi's expression nearly cracked.

The rice is not sticky at all; instead, each grain is distinct and very refreshing. When you bite into it, it is not hard, and the surface is just the right amount of soft.

After biting through it with your teeth, you can taste the crispy, caramelized flavor of the rice crust at the bottom.

Even just eating rice on its own is incredibly flavorful, delicious, and sweet.

After the alcohol in the wine evaporates, the sweetness of the grapes is completely infused into the rice grains.

After the broth evaporates and the water evaporates, the umami sweetness of the kelp blends with the umami sweetness of the seafood that seeps into the rice, creating a savory and delicious flavor.

The fresh and sweet flavor remained in the pot.

The rice grains, however, were incredibly refreshing.

It also carries a hint of saffron's medicinal fragrance, and even this medicinal fragrance is perfectly integrated.

Just one bite.

That alone is enough to demonstrate Xu Zhou's skill.

...

Takmi couldn't believe it.

With a dark expression, he took another bite of shrimp and squid rings. The soft and chewy shrimp meat melted in his mouth with a big spoonful of seafood rice.

The fresh and sweet shrimp had no fishy smell at all, and when paired with a big mouthful of rice that had a slightly charred aroma but also the sweetness of seafood, it was incredibly satisfying.

The subtle scent of saffron was the perfect finishing touch.

Salty, savory, sweet, and caramelized, yet perfectly golden rice crust.

good to eat!

Both ingredients were cooked to perfection, not dry at all, and cooked just right.

Aside from a few minor flaws, the cooking time for the entire dish was perfect.