Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1123 - 542: Soy Sauce Noodles_2

Just when Zhao Cheng'an was puzzled, Qin Huai served him a bowl of noodles so plain it could make Zhao Cheng'an cry. In the bowl, there were only monotonous noodles, a bit of chopped green onions, a broth with a faint soy sauce color showing sparse oil droplets, no egg, and barely a couple of boiled greens.

Zhao Cheng'an: ? Did Yunzhong Restaurant go bankrupt overnight? Has the employee meal transitioned from unlimited breakfast Three Meat Buns, Five Fillings Bun, Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns, and various breakfasts to a single bowl of plain noodles?

Zhao Cheng'an looked up in horror, meeting Qin Huai's calm eyes, as Qin Huai slightly mouthed, "Try it."

"Didn't you ask me yesterday what I realized? You'll know after you eat."

Zhao Cheng'an took the bowl of noodles and instinctively walked towards the small table, only to find that Cheng Gong and Ouyang weren't there today. Only Gong Liang, Wang Gen Sheng, and Shi Dadan were sitting at the small table.

Gong Liang was holding a tablet, carefully studying the competition chart, seemingly wanting to contribute to his daughter's competition. Shi Dadan and Wang Gen Sheng were eating noodles with their heads down, Shi Dadan using a large bowl while Wang Gen Sheng used a small one, muttering to himself while eating.

"Just eat a small bowl, just eat a small bowl, Wang Gen Sheng you mustn't eat more. If you eat more, you won't be able to eat the potato dumplings."

"If you fill up on noodles, how can you do right by Master Qin? You're here for the potato dumplings!"

Trying to brainwash himself with words.

Zhao Cheng'an sat down, picked up the noodles with his chopsticks, and found that the noodles were good, meeting Qin Huai's standard of hand-rolled noodles. Qin Huai's skill in hand-rolling noodles wasn't bad, his hand-pulled noodle technique was average, but his hand-rolled noodles were definitely not lacking. Otherwise, Zheng Siyuan wouldn't love Qin Huai's Chicken Soup Noodles so much and often specifically request them for breakfast.

Previously, these hand-rolled noodles were soaked in carefully prepared chicken soup, but now they could only soak in soy sauce broth with barely any oil, which Zhao Cheng'an found a pity for the hand-rolled noodles, feeling it was truly a hardship for them.

Zhao Cheng'an lowered his head and took a big mouthful of noodles.

"Slurp."

Chewy, smooth, with a lot of bite, full of wheat fragrance, very satisfying to eat. Zhao Cheng'an didn't even bother to think of these ordinary adjectives to describe noodles, as when the noodles entered his mouth, he realized he didn't understand hand-rolled noodles at all.

Noodles boiled in carefully prepared chicken broth are certainly delicious, but this seemingly ordinary soy sauce noodle before him isn't a bad version either.

The former is rich, the latter light; the former is abundant, the latter simple; the former is luxurious, the latter cheap. Yet... both evoke a feeling of being on par with each other.

What is this youth mini yet delicious version of plain pork noodles!

"Slurp."

Zhao Cheng'an took a second bite.

He initially wanted to give a review, but as he swallowed the chewy noodles and felt the light, savory aftertaste in his mouth, Zhao Cheng'an realized there was nothing to comment on.

The highest praise is to eat bite after bite without stopping, just eating is the highest compliment; those with leisure to give lengthy reviews just aren't eating something good enough.

With the noodles devoured, Zhao Cheng'an held the bowl and drank the broth clean. Warm, with just a hint of saltiness, but somehow tasting very fresh, the broth was simply a morning salvation.

After finishing the noodles, Zhao Cheng'an eagerly ran over to Qin Huai with the bowl and excitedly asked: "Qin Huai, did you figure out the recipe for soy sauce noodles or plain pork noodles? What exactly are these noodles? Whose recipe? What buff? Don't tell me, let me guess... Is it that after eating, it leaves you feeling warm inside and out?"

As he spoke, Zhao Cheng'an felt he was incredibly smart for guessing such a thing.

"This isn't a recipe; it's just plain noodles," Qin Huai said, "This is what I realized."

"Huh?" Zhao Cheng'an was stunned, holding the bowl in a daze for several seconds, "You realized a bowl of noodles on a roller coaster yesterday?"

"Aren't you best at making steamed buns?"

Qin Huai: ...

Facing the mayfly's train of thought, Qin Huai didn't know what to say, only managing, "You're incredible."

"Do you think this bowl of noodles is simple?" Qin Huai asked.

Zhao Cheng'an didn't hesitate, "It looks simple, just a plain soy sauce noodle, but it can't be as simple as it looks. Simple noodles can't have this flavor; I'm not a culinary novice. You must have added fish sauce and maybe some shrimp oil; otherwise, it couldn't be this fresh."

"As for other additions... I suppose there might be some, but adding too much would lose the simplicity of the flavor."

"Adding flavor is easy; reducing flavor is hard, so are you trying to tell me that you've grasped the essence of reducing flavors?"

Qin Huai didn't expect Zhao Cheng'an to be so adept at reading comprehension. He took the bowl from Zhao Cheng'an: "Would you like another bowl?"

"Just half a bowl, please. Any more and I won't finish it; I had a bit too much soup earlier."

"What I realized isn't as complex as you're saying, about additions and subtractions; I didn't think that much, but that's essentially the principle."

"I realized that at my current level, I don't need to rely on recipes from the game system anymore."

"To be precise, I don't need to rely on any recipes, including those in the Snack Encyclopedia. I can make any snack I want; if I think it's feasible, I should be bold enough to try, regardless of difficulty."

"When Zheng Siyuan was around, I made hand-rolled noodles every day because he prepared the broth for me. I always assumed these noodles must be Chicken Soup Noodles and needed a good chicken broth to bring out their value."

"But do these hand-rolled noodles have to be with chicken broth? Rib broth, beef broth, lamb broth couldn't work? Of course, I'm not good at preparing those broths, but why must good noodles go with a good broth? Can't I use what I'm good at?"

"My Fire Control level isn't high, but my seasoning skill is."

"Why can't simple noodles suffice?"

"Ordinary soy sauce noodles might be a bit plain, but what about adding something else? Fish sauce, shrimp oil, scallop water, or that layer of oil from simmering Crab Yellow Sauce; I've used this kind of seasoning thought in my snacks before. How to enhance freshness, how to remove odors, how to make simple flavors fresh, how to be rich, how to be bland, I actually know these things, but why do I have to follow a set recipe to do so?"

"Do I have to cook according to a recipe?"

"Remember when I told you on the ride yesterday that I figured out Old Shi's thousand-day breakfast side quest? I asked Old Shi what he wanted to eat, and he said anything. But when I asked, I already had the answer in my mind."

"At the time, I really wanted to make Old Shi a bowl of plain noodles. Even if I don't know why, I can make so many delicious snacks, and I'm really close with Old Shi, but I just feel like a warm bowl of plain noodles for breakfast is quite good." Qin Huai said, glancing at Shi Dadan, whose head was now buried in a bowl, "And it turns out, Old Shi does like it."

"But Old Shi likes soft-boiled eggs, so I topped his noodles with five of them."

Zhao Cheng'an: ?!

"Why weren't there soft-boiled eggs in my noodles?"

"...Is that the point?"

Qin Huai paused and continued, "What I want to say is, today's plain noodles are what I realized, but my realization isn't limited to plain noodles."

"But right now, I don't know what else I can realize. Let's see what I make for Old Shi's breakfast tomorrow. I've found this thousand-day breakfast quest is really great; Old Shi has versatile tastes and a big appetite, so if I want to try new things, starting with Old Shi's breakfast is the best choice."

Saying this, Qin Huai couldn't help but sigh, "Old Shi's quest is really thoughtful!"

After Qin Huai finished speaking, he waited for Zhao Cheng'an's response.

But Zhao Cheng'an didn't respond for a long time, simply giving Qin Huai a very complex look—three parts jealousy, four parts extreme jealousy, two parts I'm so jealous I'm going to die, and one part why isn't this person mine.

Qin Huai: ?

Bro, you talk a lot when it's unnecessary, but why not talk when it's necessary?

"Zhao Cheng'an, didn't you understand? Or..."

"I understood." Zhao Cheng'an's tone turned a bit indignantly, "I understood too well."

"I don't get it, is that amusement park roller coaster really that effective? Or is the secret actually in that dessert shop."

"What you just said is my master's requirement for us to complete our apprenticeship."

"Even my senior brother hasn't completed it, and you did it first."

"Is that fair?"

"Are there still tickets to the amusement park? I need to go ride the roller coaster!"

"Eat shaved ice first, then ride the roller coaster!"