Tonpa didn't care what a Lion's Head was. He was completely clueless about cooking. Right now, he just needed to stick close to Law.
The benefits of knowing a top expert were evident here. Although the process was heart-wrenching and tortuous, at least the result was good.
Furthermore, the more difficult the cooking-related questions were, the better. That way, a large majority of the examinees could probably be eliminated.
If only he and Law remained in the end, that would be even better. Perhaps they could even receive their licenses directly?
Noticing Tonpa moving closer, Law didn't show any particular reaction, but he did intend to help Tonpa get through this test.
Gurgle...
Buhara's stomach rumbling echoed, montarily overpowering the discussions of the examinees in the venue.
'So, what exactly is a Lion's Head?'
nchi poked Buhara's belly again. She was growing more and more curious.
Buhara lowered his head, a puzzled expression on his face.
nchi glanced at the examinees present and, feeling helpless, reminded him, "You should announce the start."
"Oh."
Buhara, slow on the uptake, nodded and announced, "Well then, the test begins."
As soon as he finished speaking, the examinee closest to the door imdiately started running.
"Ah, I'll give you two hints. First, pork. Second, a sixty-forty split," Buhara added at that mont.
'What?!'
The examinee at the front stumbled and fell, causing a chain reaction.
"It's not a lion's head?!" Many examinees shouted in unison.
"Nope," Buhara replied calmly.
Their previous conclusion was rcilessly overturned.
"Pork and a sixty-forty split?" nchi montarily forgot her status as an examiner and tried to guess what kind of dish Lion's Head was based on the two hints Buhara gave.
While the many examinees stood still, speechless, Law drifted away, with Tonpa following closely behind.
After a while, the examinees in the factory building also left one after another.
No matter what kind of dish Lion's Head was, they just needed to get their hands on so pork first.
'Since Buhara gave hints, the test's difficulty will drop significantly. No matter, let's get through this stage first.' Law and Tonpa entered the forest.
"Law, make my portion too later," Tonpa said with a sly smile.
Law nodded, agreeing to Tonpa's request.
The two imdiately began searching for the only pig in the Visca Forest, the Great Stamp.
Inside the building, nchi was deep in thought.
'Pork, sixty-forty split. What connection do these two hints have with the dish na 'Lion's Head'?'
'Moreover, the gesture Buhara made subconsciously when he proposed the dish probably indicated the dish's volu.'
"Buhara, this isn't like your style," nchi looked up at Buhara and said. "With your appetite, you shouldn't be satisfied with such a small dish. If pork is the main ingredient, I thought the test question you'd propose would be Roast Whole Boar."
"Hmm." Buhara nodded honestly, grinning, "Originally, I was going to propose Roast Whole Boar, but..."
He stopped mid-sentence and changed the subject. "By the way, nchi, you actually know the dish Lion's Head?"
"Mhm."
nchi blinked, a sly glint flashing in her eyes. "The sixty-forty split, I know."
As a top Gourt Hunter familiar with all culinary systems, she really didn't want to lower herself to ask about the true nature of the Lion's Head dish. So, she could only use a little trick to fish it out from Buhara.
"Yeah, sixty percent fatty at and forty percent lean at," Buhara said with a smile.
nchi narrowed her eyes and, relying on her rich experience, instantly ca to the answer. She said with a sly smile, "atballs, huh."
"Mm-hmm." Buhara, not noticing anything, honestly confird.
nchi swung her fair legs and said calmly, "Buhara, you know that person covering their head and face, right?"
"Uh..."
Buhara was stunned for a mont and chose to remain silent.
"Don't tell you leaked the location of this second test to him..." nchi said softly.
"No!" Buhara imdiately shook his head vigorously. He hadn't ntioned the second test location to Law.
"Haha."
nchi laughed heartily a few tis and patted Buhara's belly with her hand. "I know you wouldn't. I was joking."
Buhara heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
nchi stopped laughing and looked at the wide-open door.
At first, she thought the person outside was a traveler, but it turned out to be an examinee. And they arrived nearly two hours early. That was just too abnormal.
However, she also believed that Buhara wasn't the type to break the rules.
'Interesting.'
'Soone who could make Buhara show that kind of expression. I really looked forward to seeing what kind of dish he could make.'
She thought to herself.
In the forest, the Great Stamp faced their doom as over three hundred examinees hunted them everywhere.
Those with superior skills quickly hunted down boars, while those with poorer skills died miserably under the boars' charges.
Just hunting for ingredients alone eliminated over fifty people.
Law and Tonpa were the fastest.
They left and returned with the corresponding ingredients in less than five minutes: a large piece of pork belly, pork bones, river shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, and bamboo shoots.
It took them less than five minutes to gather so many ingredients.
'Incredible speed. And as expected, he knows how to make Lion's Head.' nchi watched the ingredients Law brought back, a flicker of understanding in her eyes. More obvious was Buhara's breathing becoming heavier behind her.
Seeing that the building was empty, Law and Tonpa directly occupied one of the cooking stations.
After instructing Tonpa to take the bones to make broth, Law looked at Buhara and asked, "Stead or braised?"
"Both!" Buhara replied impatiently.
"Okay."
Law agreed.
'Two cooking thods?'
nchi thought in surprise. Then, her eyes focused as she saw that Law didn't use a knife at all. With a wave of his hand, he processed all the ingredients except the pork. Even the river shrimp were instantly stripped clean.
'Was his Nen Ability developed specifically for processing ingredients or cooking?'
nchi was very surprised inwardly, but her face remained expressionless. However, her impression of Law changed drastically, and her favorability skyrocketed.
As a Gourt Hunter, she strongly agreed with Law's philosophy: using Nen Abilities as part of creating delicious food.
Law didn't know what nchi was thinking. Using his ability, he processed all the supplentary ingredients in a few seconds.
Then, he picked up a wide noodle knife and began chopping the pork.
Thump thump...
The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board was richly rhythmic.
Lion's Head is a dish where fatty and lean pork are chopped into a paste, mixed with egg white and shrimp at, and then wrapped around at least two types of vegetables to form a atball.
Just chopping the at couldn't be done carelessly. It had to strictly follow the thod of fine slicing and coarse chopping to ensure the atball's texture was just right.
This was the first and most crucial step.
The reason Law didn't use his ability to process the pork was precisely because of this.
Under the watchful eyes of Buhara and nchi, Law quickly finished processing the pork. Then, he kneaded the chopped shrimp paste and the diced shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots into the at paste.
Finally, he added two types of spices he brought back from the Dark Continent.
As Law kneaded the at paste, his expression was serious, and his movents were gentle and precise, as if the at paste were a woman's most alluring curves.
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