Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe Chapter 383 - 295: Headache-Inducing R&D, Raphael’s Little S

The sll alone is a bit vague; there are too many complex aromas, clearly from spices he’s not very familiar with, except for a few vaguely familiar scents mixed in.

Without much hesitation, since slling doesn’t work, then let’s taste it!

As he put the piece of indistinguishable at into his mouth, he cast his gaze towards the Sakura person beside him.

He was, of course, aware of the reputation of this foreign head chef who shared the sa small city with him. In fact, it could be said that within the entire city, only the two of them had comparable status.

However, since the opening of the two restaurants, they had coexisted peacefully for many years without ever eting each other, each managing their own restaurant.

He didn’t expect to suddenly be called into soone else’s kitchen by Chef Marchello to say they wanted to collaborate on developing a new dish.

What kind of situation is this!

While feeling puzzled, he was also sowhat confused about why Chef Marchello seed to know this guy quite well.

When did they get to know each other?

Nagishiro Sho chewed a few bites expressionlessly and didn’t show any noticeable reaction, nodding slightly.

"Without considering the sauce or side dishes, just this piece of at alone, it does taste good. For Western diners, it should be a novel flavor, and for Eastern diners, especially... they will find subtle differences within the familiarity."

"However, I think it’s difficult to create a suitable sauce to pair with this preparation; it seems to be better enjoyed with a flavorless staple food, like what we ate last ti."

"Yes! Exactly, I noticed that too."

Marchello nodded in agreent: "I tried many sauces, at least more than twenty, and found that any addition would destroy this naturally harmonious flavor profile. Instead, it pairs very well with a staple like rice."

"But the problem is here; pairing it with white rice makes the dish seem uninnovative, purely imitative, which is sothing I don’t want to see."

Raphael listened silently to their conversation, growing more confused, his forehead full of question marks.

What kind of riddles are they talking in??

His tongue grazed, and the paste-like crust on the surface of the at was easily scraped off.

The rich umami mixed with a special spiciness quietly blossod on the tongue, and upon careful tasting, one could notice a distinct grainy texture, just like the surface seen monts ago.

This saltiness isn’t the sa as salt; it’s more like the umami of soy sauce, but on this foundation, there’s an even more intense fernted aroma, likely using a similar process as soy sauce.

Wait a minute, soy sauce?

A flash of Lin Chen’s face crossed his mind like a bolt of lightning, and suddenly he understood.

"I know!"

"Isn’t the inspiration for this dish derived from Lin’s side?"

"Hmm?"

Both Marchello and Nagishiro Sho looked over, eyes full of confusion.

"Why do you ask that? You haven’t tasted this dish, have you?"

"Huh?" Raphael blinked, instantly perplexed by the question, "Why would I have tasted it?"

"Hasn’t Lin worked under you for several years? I even heard he often cooked staff als, and yet you haven’t tasted them?"

"......"

Raphael seed to realize there might be so misunderstanding, so he candidly explained Lin Chen’s usual work state to the two head chefs, who then ca to realize.

"Oh right, I almost forgot the restaurant had its own recipe collection; it’s normal not to have the opportunity or ti to make Great Xia cuisine."

It’s not that they were feigning ignorance; it’s mainly because in the days spent at Lin Chen’s side, seeing him composedly and calmly handling hundreds to thousands of diners, they subconsciously regarded him as a head chef on par with themselves.

How could they rember that not long ago, he was just a station chef working in the restaurant kitchen, with no contact with guests?

Thinking this way, Marchello grew increasingly excited.

"That kid is definitely a genius!"

"In just a few weeks, he already has the deanor of a head chef. I rember when I started independently, I struggled to handle even ten diners simultaneously, taking months to adapt; this guy... he’s incredible!"

While speaking, Raphael had already bitten into the middle of the at piece.

It wasn’t the pork or beef or chicken he imagined, but surprisingly delicate sea bass!

Due to the layer of reddish-brown paste on the outside completely covering the color of the at, he had no idea it would be fish inside.

The bold flavors of the seasoning matched with the light and fresh sea bass, forming a perfect balance between the two tastes; the freshness of the seasoning and the seafood exist simultaneously without interfering, offering a taste he had never experienced before.

Most intriguingly, as the fish was crushed, while chewing it, he even faintly tasted a hint of rice aroma.

"The crumbly coating on the outside must be rice! I wasn’t wrong, was I?"

"It is indeed rice grains, and I didn’t deny it, did I?"

Ever since Marchello learned that Raphael had hardly eaten any dishes made by Lin Chen, he felt a certain inexplicable superiority.

The smile on his face seed a bit irritating to Raphael.

"What I an is not entirely correct, because this layer of powder is itself made by crushing raw rice grains and is mixed with other spices, and the fish itself has been marinated with special sauces."

"Also, the thod used is different; it’s stead, allowing excess steam to fully retain the fish’s juices, while enabling the surface rice powder to be cooked by the steam, resulting in this mushy texture."

After explaining the principle of stead at to Raphael, he was instantly filled with intense curiosity.

Western cuisine generally involves pan-frying, roasting, and stewing, and only after the advent of high-tech smart panel ovens was the Oriental steaming technique introduced.

Before these smart ovens existed, when it ca to making rice dishes in restaurant kitchens, they typically used deep roasting pans, covered with foil, and put in the oven, creating a rice cooker-like effect.

Apart from that, steaming was almost non-existent.

If forced to say, it could be considered steaming when a baking product required a tray of water in the oven to increase humidity.

So when Marchello ntioned that the fish coated in rice paste was actually stead, Raphael suddenly realized.

No wonder the fish retained its juices so completely, with almost no loss, lting on the tongue with a gentle touch.

He had, of course, eaten stead fish before, but it was stead salmon in a Chinese buffet restaurant.

A whole fish laid on a baking tray, stead, with similar teriyaki sauce underneath, served for custors to pick their preferred size.

He had thought stead fish would always be like the texture of stead salmon, not as tender as pan-fried and lacking juice.

Only after tasting this piece with a rice coating did he realize that stead fish could actually be tender to the point of lting in the mouth, with perfectly retained juices.

It’s not a problem with the cooking thod, but with the technique!

This discovery sparked his great curiosity.

Exploring a new cooking thod ans creating countless new dishes, especially given the novel ingredients and seasonings Lin Chen previously showcased to him...

Suddenly, he seed to understand why Chef Marchello brought him to the Sakura Chef’s restaurant to discuss the developnt of new dishes.

"No way!"

His face changed, suddenly rembering that last weekend seed to be the wind festival hosted by the Radisson Hotel.

This event originally had nothing to do with him, so he hadn’t paid much attention.

Thinking about it now, such an important event would surely see Chef Marchello, as a restaurant investor, attending, and he would obviously take the opportunity to taste Lin Chen’s cuisine.

This dish might have been learned then.

And this Sakura Chef, on the surface, seed to have no connection with Lin Chen or Chef Marchello.

If they did et, it could only have been during the days of the event.

"So... Did I miss so very important opportunity?"

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but feel a bit regretful.

Recently faced with many obstacles while developing new dishes, given that they all had gone to Dieppe to exchange culinary skills, it seed reasonable for him, Lin Chen’s forr chef, to visit.

"Is the intention behind Mr. Marchello making this dish to see if we have any improvent suggestions?"

Nagishiro Sho had kept an expressionless face, appearing sowhat serious, as maintaining authority was crucial in his own restaurant with so many employees around.

"My personal opinion is to abandon this dish or try using another type of at."

"Great Xia is one of the world’s oldest countries, and its culinary culture has influenced the entire East, now remarkably refined."

"Trying to incorporate their cuisine into Western cooking is highly likely to fail. I personally believe the best approach is to only borrow cooking thods and seasonings, and thods of processing ingredients."

"When it cos to the preparation, it’s better not to lean towards their finished dishes; otherwise, the mindset cannot escape the inherent frawork of the original dish."

"For instance, Raphael, as soone who hasn’t tasted the original dish, what do you think of the flavor of this stead fish with rice coating?"

"?"

Raphael was startled, having been lost in thought, and he quickly gathered his mind to think carefully before answering.

"I think the technique is innovative, and the taste is unique. For soone who’s never tried it before, it should be a delightful surprise. The problem is that this thod is indeed not easy to pair, only serving as a semi-finished product, unable to be served at the table."

"As expected."

With an unsurprised expression, Marchello spread his hands: "I’ve tried many thods but consistently fail to find a proper solution, which is why I thought of bringing the two of you together to see if you could co up with new ideas."

"Seems Great Xia’s dishes aren’t so easy to borrow; without care, they easily beco imitations. If Great Xia diners had them, they might joke that Michelin chefs only know how to copy."