Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 60: Sakura People Shocked by Boxed Meals
Apart from discussing cooking techniques, Sakura chefs are indeed diligent in researching ingredients, with a persistence that’s almost exaggerated.
In Lin Chen’s view, these are all professional qualities that a qualified chef should possess.
The only issue is that Sakura chefs are relatively inflexible, lacking innovation.
Their artisan spirit binds them, making them unable to break original concepts, only allowing continuous research in the same field.
Egg rolls always have the same taste; even if they innovate, it’s just changing the ingredients inside.
Oden also retains the same flavor, as do the sweet sauces for grilled meat; wherever you go, these are unique tastes of Sakura cuisine.
Frankly speaking, it’s not much different from the national chain Shaxian snacks.
The skill of the chef may influence whether it tastes good or bad, but the flavor, well, it’s always the same.
By contrast, Great Xia has too many cuisines, and chefs can only master a limited amount.
Due to the extensive number of recipes, there isn’t enough time to delve into perfecting a single dish, resulting in a need to rely on population size for development.
As a result, while unique culinary cultures have formed in various regions, most head chefs have an ownership mentality towards their recipes, making it difficult to integrate and progress together.
Lin Chen shook his head, pushing away the extra distracting thoughts.
He realized he was thinking too far ahead.
Every country has its unique cultural differences, something he, as a small chef, cannot change.
The only thing he can do is absorb the culinary cultures of various countries to enrich himself, continually honing and improving his cooking skills and perspectives, so that he can become a qualified head chef in the future.
"Hello."
Unknowingly, the Sakura woman had come to the window, greeting him in broken Chinese.
"Hello."
Lin Chen nodded in response and switched back to the local language: "What would you like to order?"
"Two servings of each dish, please."
"Okay."
The woman didn’t bother to hide her intentions, raising two slender fingers, her big eyes focused intently on the four bowls on the table as if she was scrutinizing the food’s appearance, color, combination, and aroma.
Each time, the portion of stir-fried dishes isn’t large, only the braised eggplant requires more preparation and time, whereas the other two dishes are best freshly stir-fried as they don’t taste good if left too long, affecting their texture.
After serving about ten customers, he then needs to stir-fry another batch of shredded potatoes and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
At this time, there was only one serving left in the bowls, which was obviously not enough, so he needed to stir-fry again.
As Lin Chen picked up the knife, all nearby diners, including the Sakura woman, lit up their eyes significantly.
The Sakura woman even picked up her phone, aiming it directly at Lin Chen.
He didn’t mind, his hands busy cutting a bowl of tomatoes swiftly, skillfully scrambling eggs and brewing tomato sauce.
During the interval while the tomatoes were stewing in the pot, he picked up the pre-peeled and soaked potatoes.
Swish, swish, swish.
The knife flickered, and the crystal-clear shredded potatoes piled higher and higher on the cutting board.
Soaking in water, a simple rinse, drying, stir-frying.
Handling two pots simultaneously, Lin Chen appeared extremely composed; every step was orderly, without a single error.
In just a few minutes, two more pots of steaming hot new dishes came out.
"Thank you, your cooking is amazing."
The Sakura woman took the two packed meal boxes, smiled and nodded at him, giving a thumbs up.
After sending the meal boxes back, she received two servings of red bean glutinous rice balls and fruit ice powder from Lucas, then took out her bank card to pay.
"A total of 34 euros, thank you for your patronage."
Lucas couldn’t help but take a few more glances at her.
Considered an Old Xia, he naturally didn’t have a good feeling towards Sakura people, especially after studying the history of Great Xia.
But history is history, life is life; since she did nothing wrong, he couldn’t show a cold face, so he welcomed her with a smile.
The Sakura woman split the desserts and drinks into two trips to bring everything back. Both of them stared at the vibrant and aromatic table full of food, swallowing involuntarily.
"They say Great Xia cuisine is greasy, but it doesn’t seem that bad? Except this eggplant is indeed a bit oily."
Nakamura Arita meticulously took a few photos of the dishes before picking up the chopsticks: "Let’s eat, Ai, it’s a sign of respect to enjoy them fresh off the stove."
"Yes."
After witnessing Lin Chen deftly stir-frying shredded potatoes in flames, Hanama Ai was already curious, devoting her first bite to the shredded potatoes without hesitation.
Even though they were knife-cut, they looked evenly thick, like they were grated, showing the precision of Lin Chen’s Sword Skills.
The crispy shredded potatoes were infused with a flavorful wok aroma, crunching delightfully in her mouth, moderately salted, with a faint aroma of green peppers adding a unique freshness to the potatoes.
One of the favorite flavors among Sakura people is ’original taste,’ also known as ’salt taste.’
This type of dish that brings out the original taste of the ingredients captivated her instantly.
"So good, I didn’t know potatoes could be made like this, yum!"
The man, having a different target, picked up a piece of rib with both lean and fatty parts and placed it in his mouth.
With just a gentle press of his lips, the tender rib separated from the bone before he had time to bite.
The blackish-brown sauce on the surface appeared salty but offered a rich, sweet-and-sour fruit flavor, perfectly balancing the pork’s fattiness, highlighting its savory taste.
The fat melted effortlessly, and the rib meat lacked excessive muscle fibers, obviously selected from the finest rib cuts.
"Is this...plum fragrance?"
The man nodded repeatedly in astonishment, "Is the sauce made with plums, sugar, and vinegar? Interesting, this is a combination I never thought of."
Sakura people are known for crafting various soy sauces, but their expertise in vinegar is relatively average; dishes related to vinegar, mostly fruit-vinegar jellies paired with seafood, are rare.
Having a dish with a large amount of vinegar cooked together with the ingredients as a sauce was entirely new for him.
Although he could distinctly taste the vinegar’s acidity, the proportion of plum and sugar in perfect balance cleverly mitigated the excess acid, leaving only a suitable fragrance.
In his mouth, the vinegar and fruit flavors intertwined, slowly spreading with the aroma of pork fat, and there was a subtle sesame fragrance upon closer inspection.
"Amazing!"
The man couldn’t help but nod repeatedly, picking up another piece to savor while pulling out a notebook to briskly jot down the unique and delightful flavor profile.
After tasting the ribs, he instinctively reached for the bowl of red bean glutinous rice ball soup.
Sakura people are also familiar with this dessert; as long as you add some sugar, it always turns out tasty. Using the fresh red bean aroma to cleanse the palate perfectly removes the thick vinegar flavor, allowing for better appreciation of the next dish.
Scooping up a spoonful, he tilted it slightly, and the silky liquid poured down, occasionally seeing cooked red beans fall into the bowl.
Just by looking, he couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction.
