Chapter 5

The old man unconsciously loosened his arms that were hugging.

After thirty minutes, Xia Yu lifted the wet cloth covering the dough, held a sharp steel knife, and swiftly chopped it, instantly slicing the dough into strips. He then sprinkled salad oil on the strip-shaped dough, laid a layer of starch on the cutting board, and began to pull the noodles!

It's not easy for a beginner to pull noodles, especially fine ones, which are even more difficult. However, Xia Yu's subsequent performance made the old man and Shinohara Masahito open their eyes wide.

The dough in Xia Yu's hands turned into noodle threads. He casually shook them, and the noodle threads danced in the air, flexible and evenly thick.

Bang, bang, bang...

He quickly placed three large bowls on the kitchen counter, stuffed the noodle threads sprinkled with clear oil into a perforated ladle. Xia Yu found an empty basin, filled it with hot water, and soaked the thousands of silver threads in the water. After a few seconds, he took them out and placed them in the three large bowls.

Then, he lifted the lid of the pressure cooker, filled a large soup spoon with fragrant soup, and poured a spoonful into each bowl. In the blink of an eye, three steaming bowls of pulled noodles appeared on the kitchen counter.

Xia Yu evenly distributed the beef slices he had just fried in the pan into the large bowls and sprinkled chopped green onions on top.

"Done—" He casually took off his apron without looking much at the pulled noodles he had cooked, but instead focused on the system's notification:

"System: The mirror crystal has been consumed. You have learned a new recipe, and your chef experience has increased."

Hmm...

He hurriedly opened his personal panel and found the "Xia's Beef Noodles" recipe he had just learned through the mirror crystal in the list of mastered recipes.

If he completed the initial task, he could also obtain the second recipe, "Magical Mapo Tofu."

"Xia's Beef Noodles" is a green recipe, while "Magical Mapo Tofu" is blue. Does this represent the final quality of the dish?

Xia Yu was full of doubts.

A good recipe can indeed help cook good food, but this is also based on culinary skills. Giving a beginner the best recipe in the universe and even preparing the ingredients for them would still result in mostly inedible dishes.

Therefore, in Xia Yu's view, a recipe only provides guidance and direction, similar to a formula. The specific execution depends on the chef's personal skills.

But what does the quality of a recipe represent? So Xia Yu asked the system.

"Green represents a general quality recipe, indicating the best quality the dish can achieve. Blue represents a fine quality recipe, and if cooked properly, there is a chance for the dish to glow." The system answered.

Glowing dishes!

In "Food Wars," the "God's Tongue" can detect glowing dishes, so it's not surprising to Xia Yu that "Chinese Chef" elements are present.

If you've watched "Chinese Chef," you'll notice a cooking truth: any dish that doesn't glow is not a good dish.

Does this apply to the current parallel world? Xia Yu couldn't help but ponder.

"Is this the beef noodles you cooked?"

A voice from behind woke Xia Yu up. He turned around to see the middle-aged man, Shinohara Masahito, had entered the kitchen. Xia Yu opened his mouth, but seeing the old man tacitly accept Shinohara's intrusion, he could only shrug.

"Yes, please enjoy!"

Xia Yu carefully carried the three bowls of noodles to the front counter.

Shinohara Masahito returned to his previous seat. Xia Yu took away an empty bowl and placed the fresh, hot noodles in front of him, then turned and disappeared into the kitchen with the empty bowl.

Shinohara Masahito, left at his seat, was taken aback, not expecting Xia Yu to leave just like that.

As a beginner chef, shouldn't he stand and listen to the customer's comments on his dish? Unless he is very confident in his dish!

A hint of suspicion crossed his eyes. Shinohara Masahito sniffed, inhaling the rich broth and beef aroma, which brought back that ethereal feeling. He couldn't help but murmur, "Such a familiar feeling!"

"Why does it taste similar to the bowl of noodles I had earlier?"

He leaned down and took another sip from the bowl, his face filled with bliss. His stomach growled, and without much thought, he picked up his chopsticks and picked up the noodles, putting them in his mouth.

They were a bit hot, and as Shinohara Masahito chewed, his eyes widened in surprise.

The texture and mouthfeel of the noodles were excellent!

From the first bite, he couldn't stop. Shinohara Masahito ate half a bowl in one go. A voice reminded him, "You can try the broth. That's the essence of my Xia's Beef Noodles."

The voice was deep and old, with a hint of emotion.

Shinohara Masahito looked up in surprise. The old man was standing beside him, an empty bowl in front of him. He had already finished a whole bowl of noodles, even drinking the broth.

"Broth?" Shinohara Masahito realized he might have missed the essence of the dish by eating so quickly. He put down his chopsticks, picked up a small spoon, and scooped a spoonful of clear broth from the bowl.

As the clear broth entered his mouth, Shinohara Masahito's body pores relaxed, as if he had just taken a hot spring bath, with a mysterious warmth flowing beneath his skin.

"Beef bones..."

"Sichuan pepper, cassia, star anise, ginger peel..."

"Wait, besides beef bones, there's a hint of beef liver? A little chicken broth... Hmm, and slices of radish to absorb the fat and make the broth clear and bright?"

He closed his eyes and muttered to himself. After a while, he opened his eyes, looked down at the half-finished bowl of beef noodles in front of him, and then glanced at the old man standing silently beside him.

"Mr. Xia, is your grandson really not a great chef?" Shinohara Masahito found it hard to believe.

In terms of taste and texture, this bowl of noodles surpassed the one he had eaten half an hour ago.

Both were beef noodles, one made by the grandfather and the other by the grandson. According to culinary skills, the latter should be far inferior to the former, as culinary skills are directly reflected in the dishes.

However, the two bowls of beef noodles completely shattered Shinohara Masahito's common sense.

Moreover, he was very clear about the old man's culinary skills, which made it even more unbelievable.

"He's not a great chef," the old man said with a slack face, making it hard to read his thoughts. "He's not even a chef. To be honest, this is the first time I, as a grandfather, have tasted a dish he cooked."

The old man glanced at the empty large bowl on the table, savoring the taste in his mind.

"You are very lucky, Mr. Shinohara."

"Lucky?"

"Yes, such an excellent first dish, don't you feel lucky?" The old man squinted his eyes slightly.

Shinohara Masahito felt a chill and nodded rapidly, "Lucky, very lucky!"

Xia Yu was in the kitchen washing dishes and wasn't paying much attention to the conversation in the shop.

Ding.

With a system notification, he completed the initial task of the Chef System, and the "Magical Mapo Tofu" recipe appeared in the item space.

"Learn!"

Xia Yu used the recipe, and a stream of information flooded his mind. His eyes were blank for a few seconds before they cleared.

"Soybeans, broth, tofu, Sichuan pepper, chili, minced garlic..."

He mentally recited the ingredients needed for the recipe, and the detailed cooking steps played in his mind like a movie, making him eager to try.

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