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

Will we be able to have new dishes tonight?

The diners immediately erupted in excitement.

The smiles of the people from the Su Family Imperial Kitchen next door froze. Wait a minute.

You have new dishes?

Thank you Garfield for the 5,000 Qidian coins!

Thank you Huangquan Zhishang for the generous donation of 1600 Qidian coins!

Thank you Kongka Hengjin for the 500 Qidian coins reward.

Thank you Du Chunxi for the 100 Qidian coins reward.

This is just an extra chapter; the update will still be at 11:30 PM tonight.

Smaller portions will be available soon!

Chapter 62 Learning to Make Tea-Soaked Rice

When he returned to the store, Xu Zhou glanced at the morning's haul.

All 100 servings of grilled mackerel sold out, and my prayer points increased by 1,500 in just one morning, and they're still rising.

[Upgraded Recipe for Roasted Mackerel with Sichuan Peppercorns and Cabbage Puree!]

【Sichuan peppercorn roasted mackerel with cabbage puree: 2100/10000 (3)】

Current food purchase discount: 10% off

[Sichuan Pepper Roasted Mackerel with Cabbage Puree Ingredients (Daily Servings: 150)]

"Wow, it's 10% off!"

"Upgrading from simple meals is so fast!"

If the Sichuan peppercorn-roasted mackerel has such a high wish value, then the fast food hamburger patty meal must have increased even more today.

Xu Zhou took a look.

really.

We sold 300 copies today, which directly increased our prayer points by more than 4,500, and they are still increasing.

[The menu for the fast-food mackerel burger patty meal has been upgraded!]

【Fast-cooked mackerel burger steak: 11250/350000 (4)】

Current ingredient discount: 20% off

[Currently available quantity: 300]

When the discount on the mackerel fast food burger patty meal was reduced to 20%, the ingredients that originally cost 65 could be purchased from the system for only 52.

It's gone up to 300 copies!

Foot massage parlors should be able to supply it now.

Xu Zhou was very satisfied.

I bought all the ingredients for the extra 100 servings of grilled mackerel and 150 servings of fast mackerel burger patties that came with the upgrade before I started learning the new recipe.

...

This time, the place for learning to cook was in my own training room.

Xu Zhou had just finished arranging the ingredients, and before anyone could appear at the door, he heard a cheerful and hurried voice outside.

"Xu Zhou, my good friend!"

Little Red Hair pushed the door open and came in with an excited smile on his face: "You're so good to me!"

"I heard from the person in charge of delivery that all these things were given to me by you!"

"I love that blanket, the air conditioner, and the mini-fridge so much, haha!"

Xu Zhou was somewhat surprised: "You mean... someone brought these things to you?"

So this is how the things I added were rationalized?

Therefore, the things you add can become reality in the world of Food Wars!

This discovery excited Xu Zhou.

"correct."

Little Red Hair nodded: "They also said that you delivered those things and even packed them up for me."

"Everyone in Polaris House envies me and says they want to meet you!"

"By the way, Xu Zhou, did you call me here today to learn how to make tea-soaked rice?"

He looked around, and when he saw the ochazuke (rice with tea) set meal, he took the initiative to run over and said, "I'll teach you!"

...

As before, no tuition fee was charged.

Xu Zhou began learning how to make tea-soaked rice.

Little Red Hair, holding the ingredients, began to ramble on: "The most important thing about this dish is the technique for frying the fish, and the combination of the salted seaweed tea broth and the flavor of the fish..."

"Actually, it was originally made with salmon, but when I had a food battle with him last time, I used mackerel."

"Of course, if you want to learn how to make a salmon version of ochazuke (rice with tea), I can teach you that too."

I don't know who influenced him, but Little Red Hair gradually started to explain things in more detail.

The discussion started by comparing the texture of salmon and mackerel, then moved on to the habits of the two fish, and finally to the differences in how they are prepared.

"Salmon is very suitable for pan-frying and grilling, especially searing, because of its firm flesh, rich oil, and strong flavor."

"Tea rice made with salmon has more fish oil and a very rich flavor, but it needs to be pan-fried and grilled over high heat to bring out the aroma of the oil and make it delicious."

Little Red Hair spoke earnestly, almost breaking it down into small details, as if afraid Xu Zhou hadn't understood.

“But mackerel is different.”

"The flesh of mackerel is delicate and tender, with a fresh and elegant taste, mainly featuring umami flavor, which needs to be blended with the taste of tea soup... You should know this."

Xu Zhou nodded: "Yes, I did learn quite a bit about mackerel last time."

Upon hearing this, Little Red Hair immediately went off-topic: "By the way, the senior praised you last time, saying that adding yam puree and lemon juice to the cabbage puree was a brilliant idea!"

"...You all knew?"

"Of course! Xu Zhou, my friend! Let's have a great food battle!"

Little Red Hair suddenly got excited again, and tried to untie the bandage on his wrist. His thoughts instantly jumped from teaching cooking to something else.

Xu Zhou's lips twitched.

Little Red Hair's habit of eating food battles every day... I don't know where he learned it from.

We chatted for a while about all sorts of random things before finally getting to the topic of teaching cooking.

...

The first step is to fry the fish.

Little Red Hair didn't do it himself, but let Xu Zhou do it on his own, while he guided him on the different frying methods required for the two types of fish.

"Salmon is pan-fried and then grilled with a blowtorch to bring out its aroma, while mackerel is pan-fried instead..."

"Well, I know that."

Xu Zhou put the fish into the pot and used a spoon to evenly pour hot oil over the surface of the fish skin.

I learned how to make the dish while I was at it.

"Yes, that's it... The way to drizzle hot oil over fish skin is called pan-frying."

Little Red Hair nodded approvingly: "Very professional technique!"

Xu Zhou skillfully fried the mackerel and cut it into square pieces.

The fish pieces have a very crispy skin, and because they are pan-fried, the color is very even.

One bite reveals a crispy, fragrant crust and tender, juicy fish meat, bursting with flavorful juices.

Little Red Hair ate with gusto, nodding as he ate.

"Next, all you have to do is make the salted seaweed soup... You should be able to make it yourself without me having to teach you."

"Of course, you need to pay attention to the blending of the fish flavor, the tea soup flavor, and the rice flavor."

"Because this is mackerel, the flavor is naturally mild. If it's not blended to its fullest potential... it will lose the characteristics of this dish."

Xu Zhou nodded.

understood.

The key to good mackerel is that one plus two equals more than three.

...

Making salted kelp tea is not difficult.

It's simply kelp soup simmered in broth, then salted and boiled to create a clear, tea-like flavor.

But Xu Zhou always felt that what he cooked was missing a certain flavor.

After several attempts, I finally managed to serve the mackerel ochazuke I made to Little Red Hair.

"Taste it."

"it is good."

Little Red Hair carefully poured the light yellow salted seaweed tea from the teapot into the rice.

The square-shaped pieces of mackerel meat are mixed with rice grains.

When the light tea broth is poured over it, the three ingredients blend together, finally releasing their true aroma and charm.

The light salted seaweed tea soup is clear and bright, the fish meat is evenly colored, the rice is snow-white, and it is also garnished with some seaweed flakes, making it look like a painting.

Little Red Hair carefully took a sip of tea from the bowl and then ate a bite of fish.

The fish meat and skin are crispy and fragrant. When you bite into it, the tender fish meat is extremely light and delicate, unlike the rich flavor of salmon, but it is tender and juicy.

The delicate flavor of the fish almost complements the tea soup.

Accompanied by tea.

It's so fresh that you can feel the charm of the freshest seasonal ingredients.

As the tea touched his lips, Little Red Hair's eyes widened suddenly.

Besides the taste of sea salt and the umami of kelp, the tea itself has a unique wheat aroma.

"This...this is not the tea recipe I taught you!"

Little Red Hair was shocked, and carefully examined it with his eyes: "The aroma of wheat is so strong that it makes the taste of the tea soup seem more refined. This is... Genmaicha? This is the aroma of wheat after roasting Genmaicha!"

"Yes, how are you feeling?"

Xu Zhou ladled out the remaining small bowl from the pot, took a sip, and smacked his lips.

The wheat aroma didn't overpower the soup; instead, it enhanced the sweetness of the seaweed soup and, when combined, created a unique feeling reminiscent of a spring breeze blowing through a wheat field.

"Delicious! Super tasty!"

Little Red Hair was immediately taken aback by the taste. After taking a few sips, his eyes lit up: "There's not much genmaicha flavor added, but it's very unique!"

"Xu Zhou! You really are very talented!"

After he approved it, he taught Xu Zhou how to make ochazuke (rice with tea) with salmon as the main ingredient.

"This is ochazuke (rice with tea) that I made with salmon at a small shop before."

"Haha, I'll teach you everything!"

Apart from the slightly different way of frying the fish, there is no other difference.

Xu Zhou quickly learned how to make salmon ochazuke at Yukihira's shop.