Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 34: Offal Challenge

"How about it, should we start with the heart challenge?"

The two exchanged a glance, seeing the spark of competitiveness in each other’s eyes.

"Let’s eat, who’s afraid? Whoever spits it out pays!"

"Deal!"

Without much hesitation, they picked up the heart and tossed it into their mouths.

With one bite, just as Lucas had described, juices filled with an oily aroma burst from the heart, the meat was remarkably elastic and surprisingly tastier than chicken legs or wings.

Each chew made them feel the unique muscle elasticity of the heart resisting their teeth; the thrill of breaking through and crushing it was somewhat intoxicating.

"Hey man, you were right, all I can think about is chilled beer now!"

One of the officers playfully punched Lucas and gave him a thumbs up, "Why hasn’t this kind of food been popularly promoted? We eat Great Xia food often but have never heard of this."

"Indeed, we often buy stir-fried rice from the food trucks for lunch, and the General Tso’s chicken and pineapple chicken sold in Chinatown are delicious too."

"Uh..."

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Sorry to correct you, officers, while fried rice is indeed a specialty of Great Xia, those battered and fried dishes like General Tso’s chicken and pineapple chicken are practically unrelated to Great Xia Cuisine, they are a Westernized version of Chinese food. The Great Xia People themselves have never heard of them."

"And this, on the other hand, is truly one of the foods that Great Xia People commonly eat in their daily lives, it’s genuine Chinese cuisine."

The two officers nodded in realization, not stopping their hands, as they picked up a piece of semi-transparent pig ear and started to gnaw on it.

The skin was chewy, while the crunchy bone inside made a satisfying sound, and the mouth was filled with collagen, growing more fragrant the more they chewed.

After consecutively eating two ’bullets without stepping on a landmine,’ even the seemingly daunting heart turned out tasty; their limits further lowered, and they started eagerly anticipating the remaining pig tail and pig feet.

The texture of braised pig feet and pig tails was quite similar, primarily focusing on the taste of the skin and tendons.

Cooled pig skin was chewy, with not much fat underneath, yet each bite unleashed an explosion of aromatic fat, eating too much could almost make the mouth feel sticky, but it was never greasy.

Gradually as the spice accumulated, the two started drooling uncontrollably, their faces reddening, and fine sweat beads emerging on their foreheads.

Yet, neither showed any sign of stopping; they even discarded their chopsticks, directly grabbing the pig feet and indulging in the greasy feast.

"Damn, why have I only now tasted such delicious food!"

"Quick, boss, give me ten more chicken hearts! Anything else good that I haven’t tried yet? By the way, do you sell drinks here?"

Drinks were certainly available, even for Great Xia People eating braised flavors solo felt salty, so he specially bought several boxes of Coke and Sprite chilling in the fridge, along with some classic domestic green-bottled beers.

"There’s Coke and Sprite, also Great Xia’s specialty beer, Director Qing, you’ve heard of it, right?"

As a neighbor to Hops Country, Romantic Country is also a wine powerhouse, widely famous for its wine industry; of course, various beers are stocked in supermarkets across nations.

Upon hearing about Director Qing beer, their DNA twitched, exchanging another glance.

"During patrols, not quite suitable, right?"

"I reckon it’s fine, it’s just us two in this zone today, besides, Director Qing beer has low alcohol content, resembling water, I once drank ten bottles without feeling anything."

"Indeed, since the boss also recommends pairing it with beer... let’s have two bottles!"

Lin Chen beamed, retrieving two green bottles already frost-coated from the freezer, then reached toward another iron plate.

"Duck neck is one of the tastiest parts among braised flavors, along with this, chicken intestines, duck intestines, and the thicker one is pig intestines, all are best sellers, selling better than those you’ve eaten earlier. However, due to the hassle of processing intestines, they are supplied in limited quantities daily."

"Intestines... Intestines?!"

Duck neck was easy to accept, having eaten a heart, a neck was nothing.

But intestines indeed held a considerable shock factor.

"Eat! Today I insist on trying every food sold here! If you don’t have the courage, just prepare the money, haha!"

"Nonsense! Who’s afraid! Bring me a serving of everything!"

At this moment, students gradually ending their exercise began heading for the school gate, and the parked food truck on the street immediately caught their attention.

This area being near residential districts had never seen food trucks before, so spotting one, everyone unanimously approached.

From afar, they spotted two burly men in police uniforms standing by the window, holding disposable meal boxes, grabbing something in their other hand eating, their police uniforms faintly drenched in sweat. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Hello, sir, good afternoon!"

The officers were just stuffing chicken hearts in their mouths, warming up for the trial when children’s voices suddenly chimed beside them.

Turning around, they saw a few sweaty young boys smiling at them, eyes full of admiration.

"Hello, handsome lads!"

Lucas’ eyes darted here and there, suddenly joining in, "These tall and mighty officers are currently undertaking a food challenge, eating different parts and innards of animals, whoever couldn’t handle it pays, but so far, they’ve succeeded in all challenges!"

"Lads, do you aspire to grow up and become bold challengers like these officers?"

"Yes!!!"

Seeing the admiration in the children’s eyes, the officers’ smiles slightly twitched again, glanced at the box containing three kinds of intestines, and reluctantly picked up a seemingly normal duck intestine.

Initially, they wanted to sniff it, brace themselves before eating, but found no time for hesitation now, clamping down without a second thought.

Straining to maintain a normal expression, they started chewing.

"The officers are currently attempting duck intestines. Although it sounds scary, it’s actually a superstar ingredient in Asia, especially Great Xia, with a crispy taste and absolutely no weird smell."

Lucas wasn’t idle, actively explaining to the boys.

He quite fancied being a media-savvy food blogger, promoting Great Xia Cuisine, so certainly aimed for the widest reach possible, not letting any diner slip away.

Lin Chen couldn’t be left out, having fueled Lucas’ ambition these past couple of days.

As the officers chewed, their expressions gradually softened.

Merely overlooking this thing as intestines, purely from texture perspective, the taste was crunchy and chewy without any off-putting odors, only rich splashes of aromatic seasonings, and absorbed broth and oil better than any other ingredient.

With a few more chews, the concentrated beef fat aroma exploded in their mouths.

The chewiness was substantial, yet biting wasn’t challenging at all, their teeth easily snapped it.

Despite never having tasted duck intestines before, they could discern the chef’s high culinary skill, transforming such a daunting ingredient into a delightful texture.