Chef at the University Canteen-Chapter 334 - 238: Jiang Yu’s Homemade Nutritious Meal—Wanna Try It?

In Jiang Yu’s left hand was a cone-shaped carrot of bright orange hue, sometimes turning, sometimes flipping, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, a dazzling display.

In his right hand, he held a long, narrow-bladed kitchen knife, using the sharp tip and edge to cut, shave, poke, or twist on the crisp and juicy carrot; within just a few breaths, the outline of a lifelike, mouth-slightly-agape little orange bird gradually emerged.

Even now, Jiang Yu did not relax in the slightest; he held his breath, eyes fixed intently on the half-completed carrot sculpture, continuing his busy work.

Among the various cuisines of Huaxia, Huaiyang Cuisine is recognized as the most particular about knife skills, whether it’s the famous Wensi tofu or the grandly cooked dried tofu slices, all exhibit the pinnacle of Huaiyang knife craftsmanship.

Even the Huaiyang lion’s head, a dish that seems not to require any knife skills, actually embodies the ultimate knife technique, a kind of "invisible knife work" within Huaiyang Cuisine.

In fact, although each major culinary style in Huaxia has its specific focus, exquisite knife skills are indispensable, although none carry knife work to the extreme as Huaiyang Cuisine does.

The culinary carving Jiang Yu was now practicing, then, is a unique art of knife work.

Unlike basic chef techniques like slicing, shredding, chopping, cutting, slicing, scoring, culinary sculpture appears far more complex, mainly utilizing techniques like rotating, cutting, carving, segmenting, shaving, engraving, and piercing to give fruits and vegetables unique artistic effects.

Back when the "Jiang Family Soup Dumplings" shop was operating in the second canteen, Jiang Yu had once practiced culinary carving for a time, but back then he didn’t even fully master basic knife skills and could only carve radish flowers from white radishes, which didn’t look particularly appealing.

Nowadays, not only had Jiang Yu’s culinary skills reached the level of a Technician, but his knife skills improved accordingly, and with frequent practice, his ability to carve ingredients now was countless times better than before.

It was already late at night. Outside the window, a crescent moon hung obliquely at the distant horizon, the cool moonlight slanting through the branches that had grown new leaves, leaving a ground covered in sparkling silver.

Sitting by the window, Jiang Yu still buried his head, his face intensely focused on the carrot in his hand. The knife’s shining tip, like a woodpecker’s beak, fast and meticulous, bit by bit coaxing the carrot into the shape he sought.

Time flowed slowly by his fingertips, oblivious to Jiang Yu.

"Phew~"

Who knows how much time passed when a long exhale suddenly pierced the quiet kitchen, bringing life back to the somewhat stagnant air.

Jiang Yu put the knife down, stood from his chair, twisted his stiff neck and sore wrist, but his face was all smiles.

In his left hand, a fierce-eyed bird with half-spread wings seemed ready to pounce, its long tail feathers arching high like a sword, appearing awe-inspiring.

This, of course, was the "bird" Jiang Yu had spent over half an hour sculpting from that ordinary carrot earlier.

Not only was this "bird" realistically vivid, but even the feathers were carved with intricate detail. If not for the lack of eyes and the slightly off-color, it might be mistaken for a real bird.

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Yu fetched two small black beans from the storage room and embedded them in the eye sockets of the carrot bird.

Seeing it again now, this carrot bird looked as if it had come to life, seeming ready to take flight at any moment.

Jiang Yu admired the little bird for a while, feeling somewhat satisfied. This was one of the rare times he had engaged in food carving; achieving such completion was joyous for him.

Admittedly, he had previously attempted to carve birds, but unfortunately, the resulting bird was a failure—clumsy-looking and rotund, like a silly, fat bird.

This time’s carving, now that was a truly remarkable bird!

However, Jiang Yu wasn’t prideful, as in food carving, making a single flower from a carrot is easiest, then comes single birds or beasts, and far more complex carvings are countless.

In some food carving videos, he had even seen people carve out entire "Jiangnan Garden" scenes from various ingredients, with lengthy corridors, pavilions, and towers, draped in mist and brilliant lights, looking splendid and as if one were in Jiangnan’s waterside villages.

With Jiang Yu’s current carving level, it was difficult to create such complex works, but he believed in his ability, maybe it wouldn’t take long before he could achieve it.

Of course, that still requires time.

He fetched a short bamboo skewer, inserting one end into the belly of the carrot bird, the other into a white radish with both ends shaved flat. From afar, it appeared as if a fiery red bird perched on the radish, vigilantly peering for food below.

At the moment he completed the bird carving, Jiang Yu felt somewhat excited, but by now, he had calmed down. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

After placing the little bird on the workbench, he wiped his hands, turned back to the resting area, and fetched a few clean clothes from the cabinet before heading into the adjacent bathroom to take a shower.