"Spice Nine-layered Egyptian Roasted Chicken?"
Ichise Hui was utterly confused.
"Yes, it’s this dish, there’s no mistake!"
Xingping Chuangzhen bit his thumb, his face contorted with struggle and complexity, "This is Dojima Yin’s dish, could it be, could it be that he’s already reconstructed the recipe?!"
"Do you, do you know who Dojima Yin is?"
Upon hearing this, Ichise Hui turned to gaze intently at Xingping, her eyes brimming with seriousness.
"Of course I know!" Xingping Chuangzhen said offhandedly, "On the night of the transfer student exam, I was also invited by the Far Moon Commander to visit the Tiqie Mansion and tasted the dishes of Dojima Yin and Liangzi Lina, two Special Grade chefs. That night, the masterpiece presented by Lord Dojima was the ’Spice Nine-layered Egyptian Roasted Chicken,’ truly a Special Grade Cuisine, possessing the ultimate flavor of spices!"
"But in my mind, that guy’s flame cooking is every bit as impactful on the taste buds as Lord Dojima’s ’Spice Nine-layered Egyptian Roasted Chicken’!"
The latter half of his statement made Ichise Hui visibly shaken.
Without informing Xingping Chuangzhen or Morioka Makoto to taste it, Ichise Hui placed a dish of ’Sichuan Pepper Grilled Mackerel’ she had just made on the table and quietly stood behind Morioka Makoto, staring fixedly at the phone screen.
In the video, Xia Yu stuffed Egyptian rice into the chicken’s belly and casually chopped some onion and carrot dices to stuff in as well.
Next, he used toothpicks to meticulously sew up the opening of the chicken’s belly, and then he plunged the whole chicken into a pot, covering it with a lid.
Xia Yu didn’t stay idle for a moment; he was cutting potatoes and tomatoes next, his knife showcasing its sharpness in his hand. If one looked closely, it wasn’t hard to notice the terrifying consistency of the side dishes he cut; the size and shape were as if cloned.
The third addition of spices.
This time, the spices were sprinkled into the pre-cut side dishes.
With each type of spice Xia Yu added, Ichise Hui recited the name of the spice:
"Curry powder, oregano powder, turmeric powder, cinnamon powder, black pepper powder..."
Finally, he poured in the right amount of olive oil and mixed it all up.
"Is he so confident with his use of spices?" Ichise Hui was filled with disbelief. The more skilled the chef, the more they demand perfection in their culinary art.
On television programs, she had seen some authorities in the field of spices typically measure out the needed spices before cooking, setting them aside for use.
One gram too many or too few of a spice, and the final taste of the dish would differ subtly.
These details often determine the height that the dish can reach!
Xia Yu spread the side dishes in a transparent large roasting pan, turned to turn off the heat, lifted the pot, drained the water, and then took out the steaming hot chicken, laying it atop the side dishes in the roasting pan.
The fourth and most crucial spice blending was next.
Tomatoes were peeled, a large dollop of French mustard was added, and with those two main ingredients in the mixing bowl, Xia Yu scanned the array of bottles and jars on the kitchen counter, and immediately, the corresponding ’spice inequality’ formulas came to mind.
Once he found the formula, Xia Yu started to calculate in his head.
"Oregano powder 5 grams, curry powder 6 grams, olive oil 70 milliliters..."
This step was crucial; one extra gram of any spice would shatter the balanced spice formula. Xia Yu’s expression turned serious. He took a 15 milliliter tablespoon and a 5 milliliter teaspoon.
In professional kitchens, tablespoons and teaspoons are different.
For seasoning such as spices that are used in small quantities, teaspoons are used to measure.
For fats and oils, like the olive oil used now, Xia Yu used the fixed 15 milliliters of a tablespoon.
A 5 milliliter teaspoon can hold approximately 5 grams of salt.
A 15 milliliter tablespoon, generally speaking, can hold 15 grams of condiments.
But please remember, the density and quality of each seasoning are different. Take soy sauce and olive oil for example, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce weighs 15 grams, but 1 tablespoon of olive oil weighs only about 8 grams.
This kind of thing relies on kitchen experience. It’s not about making home-cooked dishes, but rather creating exquisite and flawless culinary delicacies. Xia Yu composed himself, with a clear and focused mind, he meticulously calculated, controlling the amount of each seasoning down to the very gram.
The calculation was quite taxing, and a faint sweat was visible on his forehead.
With a tablespoon here and a teaspoon there, Xia Yu busied himself among the assortment of bottles and jars. About ten minutes later, the chicken on the roasting tray had cooled, and he used a brush to evenly coat the chicken’s entire body with the curry-yellow sauce from the seasoning bowl.
Finally, he shoved the chicken along with the roasting tray into the oven, setting the temperature to 250℃, with a cooking time of one hour.
Glancing at the operating oven, Xia Yu finally exhaled a sigh of relief, washed his hands, and returned to the front of the mobile phone camera.
"Hey, you there, don’t tell me you’ve actually managed to steal Dojima Yin’s ’Spice Nine-layered Egyptian Roasted Chicken’ recipe?" Xingping Chuangzhen, who had been holding back for a while, finally spoke up.
"What do you mean ’steal’? Learning is learning!" Xia Yu rolled his eyes, "If Dojima Yin is willing to serve us a Special Grade Cuisine, then he shouldn’t be afraid of others learning his recipe."
"You make it sound so simple!"
Xingping Chuangzhen felt a tightness in his chest.
He and Xia Yu had tasted Dojima Yin’s cuisine almost at the same time. Xia Yu had gained some insight, and judging by his cooking performance just now, he clearly had been studying and experimenting recently.
As for Xingping Chuangzhen himself, his mind was still overwhelmed by the shock of the ultimate flavors of the Special Grade Cuisine. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to learn, but he had no clue where to start.
Xia Yu saw Ichise Hui standing behind Makki and his eyes lit up, involuntarily waving his hand.
"Ichise Hui, the Seventh Seat of the Ten Masters of Far Moon?"
"Indeed, that’s me..." Ichise Hui said in surprise, "You know me?"
"I’ve heard about you from Eriina. She said you are a very cunning and sneaky person, with the strength to challenge the top five seats, but you’re biding your time, ready to make a big move!" Xia Yu said teasingly, taking the opportunity to mock the haughty chef.
Ichise Hui stared blankly for a moment, then forced a laugh, the corners of his mouth twitching.
Unsure of the relationship between Tiqie Eriina and Xia Yu, Ichise Hui only half-believed what Xia Yu said.
"So this is your ’Sichuan Pepper Grilled Mackerel’?" Xia Yu focused on the dish on the table in the Pole Star Dormitory Kitchen, "As expected from one of the Ten Masters of Far Moon, merely looking at the dish whets the appetite."
Ichise Hui’s smile stiffened a bit.
He would gladly accept such compliments from his juniors at Polar Star Dormitory, but coming from a peer who might be his equal or even stronger, the words seemed somewhat grating and not quite palatable.
"Makki, bring the camera closer, let me have a good look at Ichise’s cuisine."
Xia Yu said with a smile, and Morioka Makoto obediently moved the phone’s rear camera closer to the ’Sichuan Pepper Grilled Mackerel’.
"Grilled mackerel paired with spring cabbage puree? That’s right, in Neon, cabbage is called ’kale’."
"The color of the grilled mackerel is very nice, it must have been treated with cream, and the kale puree must also have been flavored with cream."
After speaking, Xia Yu shook his head, appearing somewhat regretful.
"If I were at Polar Star Dormitory, I could enjoy a nice supper."
Ichise Hui narrowed his eyes slightly.
Xia Yu’s evaluation of his cuisine was just the word "nice."
In fact, Ichise Hui hadn’t used his full strength as the Seventh Seat of the Ten Masters to prepare this dish, and he could find several flaws in it himself.
Did he notice that? Ichise Hui thought to himself in shock, considering that was through the screen, without actually tasting the dish!