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

Xu Zhou couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "This Se Hui really teaches a lot of useful information! He even described the texture and differences of each type of fish!"

...

There was already cut fish meat on the counter.

Xu Zhou took a piece and examined it closely.

The meat is tender and very fresh, with no fishy smell and a slightly moist texture.

The blond youth caught a glimpse of the piece of fish he had picked up out of the corner of his eye and glanced at it.

"The one you have is a blue-spotted mackerel."

"The blue-spotted mackerel has seven rows of blue-gray circular spots on its side. In your area, this fish should be called mackerel or mackerel."

"We use the premium part of the fish, five centimeters from its belly to its tail, for this dish."

"The best time to eat blue-spotted mackerel is when it weighs over six kilograms."

He paused, then suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "Do you know the difference between mackerel caught in spring and mackerel caught in winter?"

Xu Zhou shook his head: "I don't know."

The blond youth smiled and said, "In spring, mackerel has a refreshing texture, which is perfect for light flavors and suitable for cooking dishes that bring out the natural taste of the ingredients."

"Oh, so this time, the Sichuan peppercorn-roasted mackerel with cabbage puree was made with spring mackerel," Xu Zhou said thoughtfully.

"Yes, and the mackerel in the cold season is richer in oil, making it suitable for grilling. After grilling, it has a rich, fatty aroma, which is quite different from that in spring."

"Although mackerel is also a deep-sea fish, it has a very mild fishy smell and instead has a subtle sweetness and fresh ocean flavor."

After he finished explaining the recipe bit by bit, Xu Zhou listened to him talk about the principles behind the dish, as well as the thought process behind selecting and combining the ingredients.

After listening for a long time, they finally got to the point of cooking.

...

The first step Xu Zhou learned was the pickling process.

When the fish was handed to him, the blond young man gave instructions: "When marinating with salt and sake, make sure the salt is rubbed in evenly. You don't need too much sake, because the fish itself doesn't have much of a fishy smell. The marinating time doesn't need to be too long; this dish is mainly about preserving the natural flavor of the ingredients..."

From marinating to frying the fish, and then to the steps of cooking.

"Fry the fish skin until golden brown, then gently and repeatedly drizzle hot oil over the surface of the fish meat until the color changes..."

"The cabbage puree needs some cream and butter added, and it also needs black pepper for flavor..."

"As for the Sichuan peppercorns, we use fresh, fragrant buds, not powdered peppercorns. Powdered peppercorns will make the flavor too numbing, while our dish emphasizes a sweet and refreshing taste..."

Only when he heard this did Xu Zhou understand.

No wonder a sweet dish contains Sichuan peppercorns.

It turns out they didn't use Sichuan peppercorn powder!

After training for a long time, the blond youth stared at every step until Xu Zhou served up the perfect Sichuan peppercorn-roasted mackerel with cabbage puree. The blond youth nodded with great satisfaction.

This dish in front of us is Xu Zhou's most successful creation.

The fish meat and skin were fried until golden brown, and the tender fish meat changed color, but it did not fall apart. After being slowly roasted over a low flame, it had a golden hue.

With the addition of cream, the cabbage puree became even more vibrant green, and its texture looked perfect, with a slight runny quality that made the fish even more tender.

"Taste it."

Xu Zhou placed the dishes on the table, gesturing for him to taste them.

The blond youth carefully cut off a small piece of fish, dipped it in a sauce made of cabbage puree and whipped cream, and put it in his mouth.

After the cabbage is steamed, it is mashed into a puree and mixed with some cream, bringing out its sweet flavor to the fullest.

The fish meat was absolutely perfect.

When you bite down, you first touch the charred skin, and the aroma of the charred meat instantly envelops your taste buds. Then, the tender and sweet fish meat underneath, with its moisture locked in, delivers a second burst of flavor to your taste buds.

When the incredibly tender fish is dipped in cabbage puree, which embodies the elements of spring, its sweetness is brought out to two hundred percent.

It has a unique sweet and sticky texture, and it's not just the taste of cabbage puree.

Xu Zhou seems to have added something new.

"good to eat!"

The blond youth couldn't help but exclaim, "You're really talented; you've completely mastered this dish."

"And I noticed you added some lemon juice to the cream. Did you do that yourself?"

Xu Zhou nodded somewhat embarrassedly: "Yes, people in our area don't really like things that are too sweet, so I added some lemon juice to balance the sweetness."

"..."

"Although cream is sweet, it might make the sauce a little too heavy and lose some of its refreshing flavor. Adding a little lemon juice would make it more refreshing."

This is naturally his own understanding.

After all, I've been cooking for so long, it's impossible that I haven't made any progress at all.

The blond youth carefully tasted the cabbage puree, gently scooping a tiny bit into his mouth with a spoon.

Without fish, when he tasted only the cabbage puree, he could sense that besides cabbage, cream, and lemon juice, there seemed to be something else added.

"You added..."

"It's mashed yam."

Xu Zhou grinned and said, "Yam puree is good for the stomach. I added some to the cabbage puree, which not only increases its viscosity, but also because yam puree itself is not sweet."

"I see."

"Isn't it appropriate?"

Seeing the blond youth lost in thought, Xu Zhou couldn't resist taking a spoonful and tasting it himself.

It has a sweet taste upon entry, without any astringency. It not only has the rich sweetness of cream, but is also very thick, yet has a refreshing texture.

It's perfect!

...

A moment of silence.

"No."

The blond youth sighed: "I just think... no wonder you and Yukihira are friends, you seem to be more daring than him."

"You are very talented and amazing."

If other people were to learn my recipe, they would naturally just stick to the recipe and not change any proportions.

Xu Zhou only followed the recipe the first few times, and then started to improvise...

After thinking for a while, the blond youth asked with curiosity, "I heard about your kiwi-marinated beef recipe from Professor Chappell. He praised your ingenious idea. Your spirit of experimentation is really great. I want to learn from you."

Xu Zhou was taken aback by his praise.

try?

Isn't this how it should be?

Every Chinese person loves to cook with their own creativity...

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xu Zhou suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but ask, "By the way, what's Xingping's dorm room like now?"

Has the deluxe dorm room drawing arrived yet?

The blond youth chuckled and said, "His dorm is the best in our Polar Star Dormitory. It has a mini-fridge, air conditioning, and carpet, so don't worry."

After exchanging pleasantries, Xu Zhou finally returned to his training room after hearing the system notification.

Congratulations! You've completely mastered the recipe for Sichuan peppercorn-roasted mackerel with cabbage puree!

Below that is a long list of ingredient descriptions.

[Spanish mackerel: Selected from blue-spotted mackerel caught at a depth of 200 meters in the prime fishing grounds, using the most precious and tender part, the five centimeters above the tail of the blue-spotted mackerel in spring...]

Price: 120 yuan/200g

[Cabbage: The cabbage used is grown in Yishehui Vegetable Garden. It is a pure green organic vegetable with thin leaves, very juicy, crisp and tender, and has a naturally sweet taste. It is a seasonal vegetable and the price is favorable...]

Price: 13 yuan/300g

[Yam: The selected variety is the iron yam cultivated in loess soil. It has a soft, sweet taste and the highest nutritional value. It also has high medicinal value, nourishing blood, improving brain function, anti-aging, and benefiting gastrointestinal health...]

Price: 2 yuan/100g

The other ingredients include whipped cream, sake, salt, and a few drops of lemon juice…

Because the quantity of a dish is so small, the price is very cheap, so only an overall price was given.

[The price of the fantasy ingredients needed for Sichuan peppercorn roasted mackerel with cabbage puree: 140, 50 servings can be purchased]

[Price Reference: 180]

[Enjoy ingredient discounts after recipe upgrade, starting from...]

"One hundred and eighty yuan a serving? And this price is still considered a simple meal? So, meals with relatively few ingredients and costing less than two hundred yuan are classified as simple meals?"

"Most of the ingredients for simple meals are still very expensive, just because each serving requires a small amount of ingredients..."

"The value of this yam is actually listed in the system's fantasy ingredients, and the price is even based on domestic prices..."

Xu Zhou felt as if he had discovered some blind spot.

If this were to become a TV series about medicinal cuisine, the recipes would be amazing!

Xu Zhou took another careful look at the recipe.

The fish can be pan-fried in the training room beforehand.

The sauce made from cabbage, mashed yam, and cream can also be prepared in advance.

All you need to do is drizzle some sauce and you're good to go; the service is quick too.

I'm just a little tired...

Chapter 54 This fish is awesome

After learning the new recipe, Xu Zhou bought fifty portions of the ingredients for today's Sichuan peppercorn roasted mackerel with cabbage puree before midnight.

After midnight.

I went into the training room again and bought fifty new sets of materials for today, as well as materials for one hundred and fifty fast mackerel burger meals.

At this time, his system training room had already stocked up on a lot of ingredients.

Ingredients for 100 servings of Sichuan peppercorn-roasted mackerel with cabbage puree.

Two hundred meat patties that were prepared two days ago, and one hundred and fifty portions of ready-to-eat mackerel burger ingredients that haven't been prepared yet.

Seventy portions of ingredients for a replica of barbecued meat dishes.

Ten servings of beef stew in Burgundy red wine.

The cost of stockpiling materials alone was 238,475 yuan.

Most of the money remaining in the bank card needs to be enough for Chen Yan and Xu Kai to eat and buy ingredients.

"Other materials..."

"The porridge sells out every day, there's no way to stock up, forget it."

"Transforming egg rice into a delicious dish requires precise temperature control, and I don't have that much time when I'm setting up a stall..."

Seeing the high prices of other materials, Xu Zhou only planned to continue stockpiling some meat patties, thinking that the rest should be enough.

On the day of the food festival, the main focus is on selling light meals, which are not only quick to prepare but also convenient to make in advance.

After preparing the meat patties and fried fish, I also prepared the sauces for both dishes.

Looking at the training room full of ingredients, Xu Zhou arranged them neatly, then left the system training room with satisfaction and went back to his room to sleep.

...

the next day.

When Xu Zhou woke up, he brushed his teeth while casually flipping through the comic book.