Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 262 - 180: Half a Cow, Extreme Cuisine Challenge (Part 2)

Everyone here is from Great Xia, so who doesn't know each other? Maybe you're just giving this guy some face, to avoid the embarrassment of being seen when Old Lin hits him later, affecting his reputation.

As soon as Lucas picked up the box, his face changed dramatically.

This is insanely heavy, isn't it??

After moving a few boxes into the restaurant, Wang Ziqin arrived with his wife, Jiang Shuqi, and Dreya Anna, all familiar faces.

The reason he invited Dreya and Anna was actually quite personal.

Among the guests he invited, Dreya was the most available—she was famous but didn't have many endorsements, she loved Great Xia Cuisine, and they'd met once before, making the interaction comfortable.

As for Anna, she's purely here for a free meal.

"Mr. Nagishiro, let me introduce you. This is my wife, this is my... sister, and these two are locally famous models, especially this one. I wonder if you recognize her."

"Famous model?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Nagishiro Sho glanced at Dreya a few times and shook his head: "Sorry, I usually don't pay much attention to the fashion world. I focus solely on cooking, so I apologize if I've offended."

"Haha, it's fine, Mr. Nagishiro. It's understandable not to have time for other things when you've achieved so much at a young age. This is Miss Dreya, who has been a champion at the lingerie model competition for several years, is currently a Victoria's Secret model, and is our temporary spokesperson for Radisson."

Nagishiro Sho nodded, acknowledging the introduction without really understanding why Mr. Wang invited two lingerie models, but that wasn't important; his aim was the Great Xia chef.

Turning his head, he saw two men in black and gold chef uniforms walking towards them.

"Mr. Lin, nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you."

He extended his hand, speaking in broken Great Xia Language, clearly having learned it recently.

"Allow me to introduce myself; I am Nagishiro Sho, the founder and head chef of Dragon's Roar. I'm here to exchange culinary experiences with Mr. Lin, hoping we could inspire each other."

"You're hoping to learn Great Xia cuisine, right?"

Lin Chen couldn't be bothered with formalities and went straight to the point.

"Uh, yes, that's exactly it."

"Sure, I won't hold back. I'll show you how it's done, but how much you understand is up to you. I won't be offering detailed guidance; that's reserved for student-teacher relationships."

"Alright, alright, that's fair. If I have any questions, can I pay you for explanations?"

"Pay?"

Lin Chen tilted his head, unexpected at the persistence.

"We'll talk about it after we eat."

His gaze shifted from the man to the cart with several large boxes, stepping forward to open one casually.

Lying quietly on crushed ice were two entire beef legs.

He twitched at the corner of his mouth, clearly not expecting this guy to bring such hardcore ingredients.

Opening other boxes one by one, all kinds of beef cuts were inside, packed separately, complete with organs—tail too, even half a cow's head.

A rough estimate suggested there was enough meat equivalent to half a cow.

Judging by the beef leg size, it seemed to be between a calf and an adult cow, weighing around five to six hundred pounds for the whole, about two hundred pounds for half.

After removing bones, blood, and other bits, the pure meat on this cart was around a hundred or so pounds.

Besides beef, there was a box of various vegetables, mushrooms, fruits, and other common items, likely prepared in case stock in his kitchen was low, limiting flavor options.

"Does Mr. Nagishiro have any preferences for dish flavor or cooking method?"

"I do."

Nagishiro Sho nodded, excitedly licking his lips unconsciously: "I want to experience your legendary Great Xia court cuisine!"

"But since we're abroad, with limited time, equipment, and ingredients, it might not be fully authentic. I only ask for the closest approximation."

"Court cuisine?"

This was tricky for Lin Chen, it sounded quite complicated.

"Seems like Mr. Nagishiro came prepared, but there's something you might not know: what we call court cuisine is not necessarily rare dishes you can't have normally."

"Sure, some court dishes have faded due to ingredient limitations and skill demands, but most have been simplified into daily fare of the Great Xia People."

"Traditional court cuisine requires dedicated study and research; no one especially teaches it as a course. 99.9% of Great Xia chefs might not know it, myself included."

"So I might not fulfill that request, but if it's well-known beef dishes, those can be simpler."

He spoke truthfully; there's no shame in admitting one's limits—some things can't be realized by following recipes alone.

"I see."

A hint of disappointment flashed across Nagishiro Sho's face, "True, even in Sakura Country, court cuisine isn't something learned casually; I didn't consider this."

"But that's okay, I have a backup plan."

"I'd like Mr. Lin to use the beef and organs to make as many different flavors of Great Xia cuisine dishes as possible, with no procedural requirements, I just want to taste varied flavors."

"Alright, that's easy."

Lin Chen agreed right away.

If he can't make court cuisine, he can surely do beef.

Given the variety of recipes he knew and had invented, making dozens of different dishes was no challenge.

"Can Mr. Nagishiro eat spicy? Many Great Xia dishes are spicy, if you can't, the selection would be cut in half."

"Like Mapo tofu? I've seen introductions, no problem at all, apart from not eating alone, Mr. Lin, just go ahead."

Jonathan was not discouraged by being ignored and enthusiastically raised his hand: "I'll assist you, Lin, I'd love to see what amazing variety Great Xia cuisine offers."

He realized the short man in front of him, founder of Michelin-caliber Sakura Restaurant, there's nothing but benefit from observing such culinary exchange closely.

Being an assistant provided firsthand learning of Great Xia culinary techniques.

Considering the numerous advantages, losing a few meals was no big deal, having a chance to slack off wasn't bad either.

"Sure, please start heating water in the pot and preheat the oil."

"No problem!"

While Jonathan went to do the groundwork, Lin Chen was already brainstorming over the ingredients.

It's nearly five o'clock now, with four hours until nine.

How to make the maximum variety of beef dishes within four hours posed a new challenge itself.

For beef, simmering and braising couldn't be avoided.

Both methods are time-consuming, necessitating pressure cookers for efficiency.

Both the kitchen's and the catering cart's pressure cookers had to be utilized.

Apart from these methods, there were others like salads, clear stews, deep-frying, stir-frying, etc.

Planning within limited time was tougher than cooking.

Add green onion, ginger, cooking wine to the clear water, blanch the organs, beef shanks, and brisket, then load them into different pressure cookers for marination and braising.

For marinated beef, he aimed for its cold consumption, marinated flavors rich, allowing braised dishes to shine with sauce flavor.

Half of the cow head was blanched too, then put in a soup pot to stew, waiting for the first batch to finish cooking before processing further.

Beef head and pork head differ, mostly gelatinous; undercooked it's crunchy and chewy, cooked thoroughly it's like soft boiled beef tendon, tender and sticky.

Depending on doneness, beef head offers various dishes, being the most classic example of one cut cooked multiple ways.