Ah Zhuang’s steak was delicious. He had excellent cooking skills and was the best chef she had ever seen, worthy to be a chef from the capital of Xiayi Divine Dynasty. Having tasted his cooking, Ah Zi did not have any expectations for Bu Fang’s dishes. Ah Zhuang’s dragon steak was not something ordinary people could cook.
But when she saw the expectant look on the faces around her, she thought that it was better for her to not say anything. A guest must do as his host does. Since these people had not seen the outside world, she would pretend she knew nothing as well.
Tian Cang smiled gently at Ah Zi. “Alpha’s warship has been destroyed. You can’t go back to the Great Goddess World now even if you want. Why don’t you just stay here…” he said. “You can taste Owner Bu’s cooking and use delicious food to relieve the sorrow and pain in your heart.”
Tian Cang was very handsome. At least Ah Zi was charmed by his face. She did now know what to say, and she agreed to stay without thinking too long. Even then, the little dragon seemed to feel no more malice from Lord Dog, so it entered the restaurant and licked Ah Zi’s face.
As the crowd continued to ask Ah Zi about everything they wanted to know about great worlds, Bu Fang stepped into the kitchen. Now that he had True Dragon meat, he was going to cook something with it.
He upended the bronze container, dropped the meat on a chopping board, and pressed it with his finger. A little stiff, the square chunk of meat was not large when compared with a Three-claw True Dragon. An adult Three-claw True Dragon was a Demigod, and its body was huge, not smaller than that of the Illuminating Dragon. Compared with a body of that size, the meat was nothing.
Bu Fang left the meat on the chopping board. There was a flash of gold, and the next instant, the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife appeared in his hand. After cleaning the meat, he placed it back on the chopping board and cut it with his Meteor Cutting Technique. The knife moved up and down like a meteor and split the square chunk into nine pieces that were identical in size.
The True Dragon meat was a Demigod food ingredient. Although much of its divinity was gone, Bu Fang could still feel a rush of powerful energy blowing in his face as he cut it. It was an unusual feeling.
After cutting it, he went to the Heaven and Earth Farmland, picked some spirit fruits and spirit vegetables, and came back to the kitchen. He began to prepare the other ingredients.
He asked the System for a clay pot, then placed chopped Scale Tail Scallions and Son Mother Ginger slices into its bottom. He put the scallions first before stacking the ginger slices over them. With that, the dragon meat would not stick to the pot during cooking.
After the pot was ready, his next step was to prepare the cut meat. Bu Fang lit the fire and heated the Black Turtle Constellation Wok. The Spring of Life was soon boiling in the wok, and wisps of refreshing hot steam rose from it. He added all nine pieces of dragon meat into the wok, blanched them to remove the blood and other impurities, took them out, rinsed them with clean water, and put them into the clay pot.
There was a particular way of placing the meat in the pot. Instead of casually putting them in, Bu Fang placed them skin side down and arranged them in a three by three pattern, which was rather pleasing to the eye. Next, he added wine, oil, soy sauce, broth, and spices to the pot. When the mixture was slightly over the skin, he covered the pot with a lid.
A plume of white flame gushed out, slithering like a divine dragon as it went under the pot and began to burn. Scorching heat was soon released, twisting the air and turning the pot’s color in an instant.
The Three-claw True Dragon meat was a Demigod food ingredient, and it could not be casually prepared. If the lid was removed before it was cooked, the energy of the dish would leak, and that would do more harm than good.
Bu Fang clasped his hands behind his back, slightly narrowed his eyes, and sent out his divine will to envelope the clay pot. Like silk threads, the divine will penetrated the pot and showed everything inside to him.
As his divine will rushed into the pot, he could feel that the seasoning, wine, and oil were all boiling and splashing, lapping at the meat. At the same time, a dragon roar rang out of the meat, and an illusory little dragon emerged, wheeling inside the pot and brandishing its claws as it roared.
Bu Fang targeted the dragon with his mental force, pinching it like a hand. The lid was jumping and rattling, and as the fire burned, the dragon meat trembled in the pot.
After a long time, he lowered the fire with his divine will. He began to simmer. Meat cooked in this way would be very succulent. He could sense that the dragon meat in the clay pot began to change. They swelled up a little, and their texture turned very tender.
The simmer took quite some time. After half an hour, Bu Fang finally completed the braising of the meat. He removed the lid, and a rich meaty aroma rushed out of the pot. As the skin was facing down, he could not see the change in the meat.
He asked the System for a stew pot. After cleaning it, he removed the dragon meat from the clay pot with chopsticks and put them into the stew pot. This time, he placed them skin side up, but he still arranged them in a three by three pattern. The red dragon skin jiggled like jelly as he transferred the meat from one pot to the other.
When he had arranged the meat, he added the broth in the clay pot into the stew pot until it was almost full. He then covered it with a lid and put it into the Black Turtle Constellation Wok to stew.
The stewing did not last long. It was completed after about a quarter of an hour. When Bu Fang removed the Black Turtle Constellation Wok’s cover, a plume of churning water vapor rose into the sky like a dragon.
Outside, many people were actually paying close attention to the situation in the kitchen, including Ah Zi. She watched everything in there with her mind as she told the story of great worlds to the crowd. She sniffed from time to time, but she smelled no aroma of food. She found it hard to believe that someone was cooking.
When Ah Zhuang was cooking, the fragrance of his dishes filled the whole warship and went as far as dozens of miles. That was the most painful moment for her. She always swallowed her saliva at the smell. Not only her, but those little dragons also flapped their wings restlessly and wanted to taste the delicacies. Of course, Ah Zi never let them taste his dishes.
When she compared the cooking styles of Ah Zhuang and Bu Fang, the difference between them seemed stark. After all, it was a technique to not let even just a little fragrance leak.
Others, of course, were looking forward to it. They wondered what kind of delicious food Bu Fang would cook with the True Dragon meat.
…
The water in the Black Turtle Constellation Wok was boiling. Bu Fang removed the stew pot from the wok, placed it on the stove, and let it rest for some time. While waiting, he prepared a round plate and began to decorate it. He took out the spirit vegetables and spirit herbs he had picked earlier, chopped them into pieces, and placed them around the plate into the pattern of a lotus flower.
When he was done decorating the plate, he lifted the stew pot’s cover.
Buzz…
Shafts of colorful light burst out of the pot, dazzling to the eyes and intoxicating to look at. Glowing was already the basic feature of Bu Fang’s dishes.
He carefully removed the pieces of meat from the stew pot. Their skins were translucent and glittering like jelly, reflecting the color of oil. As the chopsticks touched them, the meat rippled like waves. He took them out one by one and placed them in the round plate, surrounded by the lotus petals. There were nine pieces, and he arranged them into a three by three pattern. At a glance, they looked like a sunflower.
A rich aroma exuded from the meat, but Bu Fang enveloped it with his divine will and trapped it within the plate. He was somewhat tempted to taste it when he looked at them. They were all True Dragon meat, which he had not tried before.
He doused the pieces of meat with a spoonful of braising broth scooped out of the pot, causing them to glitter even brighter. Then, he produced a silver cloche and covered the meat on the plate with it. The fragrance was trapped inside as well so that no one could sniff it before he revealed the dish.
With that, the dish was completed. It was actually the famous Red-braised Meat in his previous life. Bu Fang had not modified the way it was cooked. The only thing that he changed was the main ingredient. It would be an ultimate enjoyment to taste Red-braised Meat made of dragon meat.
Holding the round plate, he walked out of the kitchen. The bell tinkled cheerfully as he lifted the curtain.
All the people in the restaurant stopped talking in an instant and turned their eyes to Bu Fang.
“The food is ready?”
Everyone beamed and swallowed as they fixed their eyes at the round plate in his hand. Bu Fang’s dishes always made their mouth water. Even Er Ha woke up from his daze. Perhaps he had sniffed the dish’s aroma. Lord Dog, lying under the Path-understanding Tree, also stuck out his tongue with an expectant look.
Ah Zi pursed her lips slightly as she watched the excited looks of the people around her. ‘Sure enough, they have not seen the outside world… I can’t believe they are so excited over a dish. No matter how delicious it might be, it can never be tastier than Ah Zhuang’s dragon steak. That is his best dish, which is also the dish that gave him a place in the Divine Dynasty’s capital.’
Nevertheless, she could understand their reaction. After all, this place was too remote. It was nothing but a corner of Xiayi Divine Dynasty, a newly formed great world.
“Owner Bu, what is the name of the dish?” Tian Cang piped up. Although he was left with a puppet body, his sense of taste still existed. Enjoying delicious food was also the ultimate happiness for him.
Bu Fang glanced at the crowd before resting his eyes on Ah Zi. He could sense the disdain in her. It was not a deliberate disdain, but the disdain for his food that had inadvertently been revealed on her face. That refreshed him. He was very familiar with that expression, which could only be found in those who had tasted higher-grade dishes.
‘Perhaps in her eyes, my cooking skills are not praiseworthy?’
The corner of Bu Fang’s mouth twitched. Ah Zi was inexperienced, so he did not blame her. However, he was confident that this dish could certainly conquer everyone.
He glanced at the crowd as the corners of his mouth curved upward ever so slightly. Then, with all eyes looking at him, he slowly lifted the cloche.
Wisps of steam rose, and through them came a rich meaty aroma. Ah Zi stared at the plate, and she was stunned the moment the delicious aroma poured out and a dazzling light shot into the sky. She was struck dumb!
“Red-braised True Dragon meat is served,” Bu Fang said lightly, holding the cloche in one hand.
