Chapter 59: Water Spinach with Shrimp Paste

While not a lot, this mucus would still affect the caviar’s texture to some extent.

Additionally, soaking it in clean salt water replenishes the caviar’s moisture, restoring its plump texture.

Though this tedious step makes only a minuscule difference to the mouthfeel, it elevates the dish to another level.

After all, every dish is composed of countless steps. A small improvement in each step elevates the entire dish to a whole new level.

Next came the mayonnaise-coated Emperor Crab leg meat. The firm crab meat, enrobed in mayonnaise, took on a rich character, like a beautiful dance. Delicate strands of meat danced in his mouth, the warm, delicious flavor exploding on contact.

The warmth of the crab leg meat, balanced by the caviar and mayonnaise, became intensely warm and tender.

A fresh, sweet flavor drifted across his teeth and tongue. The strands of crab meat continued to dance in his mouth, like lively musical notes.

A sense of satisfaction instantly filled his mouth. The crab meat was fresh, sweet, and succulent.

A single bite fused the rich fragrance of the crab, the eggy notes of the mayonnaise, and the savory umami of the lobster broth, all intermingled with a fresh, sweet cauliflower purée.

The complex, shifting layers were like opening Pandora’s box, unleashing an endless world of flavors.

Li Xiao let out a long breath. This caviar and lobster aspic had shown him what a true masterpiece tasted like.

Having obtained the recipe from the system, he was fully confident he could replicate this delicious dish.

However, he understood that execution wasn’t the hard part—creation was.

Only with masterful culinary techniques and an encyclopedic knowledge of ingredients could a chef transform those ingredients into musical notes and compose a beautiful melody.

Fine food, like musical notes, danced on the tip of the tongue.

Only a chef with an intimate understanding of their ingredients could create a truly distinctive fusion dish.

They spend decades learning and training, day in and day out. Even after becoming a head chef, they still devote a great deal of time to developing new dishes and revisiting old ones to gain new insights.

If a fraud calling another a fraud is just malicious jealousy between frauds...

...then a genius calling another a genius is admiration born from mutual respect.

And Chef Lubson, now in his seventies, was precisely that kind of genius.

Aside from his clear soup extraction method, which drew criticism from many chefs in Xia Country, he was universally lauded by nearly every food critic, a testament to his enviable talent.

In the past, Li Xiao would never have had the chance to encounter such a top-tier master.

But now, with the Gourmet Food Illustration System, his culinary skills were bound to improve as long as he accumulated enough experience.

’Maybe one day, I’ll really be able to stand beside him, tasting and discussing food together.’

He polished off the rest of the crab in one go. This time, Li Xiao made sure to scoop up more of the lobster aspic with it.

As expected, it tasted even better this way. The layers were more distinct and complex, and the mouthfeel was more intense.

Even after finishing the entire dish, Li Xiao was left wanting more.

Unfortunately, the dish had one small flaw: the lobster broth had a slight fishiness to it. Otherwise, it would have easily qualified as an excellent-grade dish.

Li Xiao set down his utensils.

"This dish is quite good. Its only flaw is that the lobster broth used in the aspic has a slight fishiness to it."

"I get the feeling the chef wanted to emphasize the umami of the lobster broth, so they cut back on the aromatics."

"I can’t say this approach is necessarily wrong; it’s just that every chef has their own culinary philosophy."

"Using fewer aromatics does help preserve the lobster broth’s flavor, but it also fails to mask any potential fishiness from the lobster itself."

"In my opinion, the umami from the other elements in this dish is already quite rich."

"Both the caviar and the crab have excellent flavor. That being the case, there’s no need to chase that tiny bit of extra umami at the cost of introducing an unnecessary fishiness to the lobster broth."

「In the back kitchen.」

An Chongwen’s handsome, thick eyebrows furrowed slightly.

He stroked his chin, carefully recalling what Li Xiao had just said.

That’s right. After returning to the kitchen, he had immediately tuned into Li Xiao’s livestream.

Although Li Xiao was nowhere near the age of those veteran food critics, the fact that he could identify the problem with the truffle in the meat patty in a single bite proved his discerning palate was quite outstanding.

As a star-rated chef constantly striving for improvement, he naturally welcomed more suggestions and opinions to refine his creations.

Upon hearing Li Xiao’s suggestion, An Chongwen was instantly lost in thought.

He began to reflect, wondering if he had fallen into a conceptual trap while recreating the dish.

He had originally believed the theme of the dish should be the pursuit of ultimate umami.

Therefore, he had been reluctant to use too many aromatics that might mask the ingredients’ natural flavors.

But after hearing Li Xiao’s point, he suddenly felt as if he’d had an epiphany.

He finally realized his thinking had indeed been stuck in a blind spot.

’Ultimate umami doesn’t mean every single component has to be pushed to its extreme.’

’Making the caviar and lobster aspic is like cooking a pot of congee filled with nothing but top-tier ingredients.’

’That slightly fishy lobster broth is like not controlling the heat properly, causing the bottom of the pot to burn slightly.’

’It might not be badly burnt, but in the eyes of a chef striving for perfection, it’s an undeniable flaw.’

An Chongwen immediately took out his notebook and jotted down these key points.

Modifying it on the spot was impossible. After all, changing a recipe requires several trials to finalize, which isn’t something that can be resolved in a moment.

Li Xiao had no idea his casual remark had sent a star-rated chef in the back kitchen into a state of serious reflection.

Right now, his attention had already shifted to the next dish.

Water Spinach with Shrimp Paste

Water Spinach with Shrimp Paste is a distinctly southern dish; Li Xiao had rarely ever seen it in the north.

It’s considered a very traditional dish, and since its fanbase consists mostly of the older generation, fewer and fewer restaurants make it anymore.

As demand for shrimp paste has fallen, the number of producers has also dwindled.

This has created a vicious cycle. Good shrimp paste is now nearly impossible to find on the market. Without good shrimp paste, you can’t make good Water Spinach with Shrimp Paste. Customers won’t accept a subpar version, which in turn leads to even fewer restaurants being willing to make it.

In reality, the recipe is quite simple and doesn’t require many ingredients. The most difficult component to find is the shrimp paste itself.

In most cities in Xia Country, it’s impossible to buy decent shrimp paste.

The only two cities where you can buy good shrimp paste are Hong Kong Island and Ao Island.

Both islands are surrounded by the sea and boast abundant marine resources.

[P.S. Tuesday’s continued readership will determine if this book gets another round of recommendations. The more recommendations, the better the performance, and the more motivation this little brother will have to write!

During this initial release period, I can only write 4,000 characters a day. If there is another round of recommendations, I guarantee a minimum of five Chapter releases on the day the book goes premium. I’m begging all you handsome guys and Immortal Sisters to help this little brother advance to the next round!]