I sell sweets in Konoha

"Old clam holding pearls." Junzi directly said the name of this dish.

"But there are no clams here." The chef shook his head and said, "And if you know the name, this dish is not original."

"It should be said that it is original." Junko retorted: "This is a dish I saw in a novel, but no one made it in reality. Instead, a large group of writers tried to identify whether this dish was It really exists whether the original author has eaten it, or whether it is a fictional dish based on some real-life experiences or similar dishes.”

This dish is made by Cao Xueqin.

Yes, there is no doubt that it is the hand of Cao Xueqin, who wrote the Story of the Stone. This dish is recorded in Dun Min's "Pinghu Maozhai Ji Sheng".The old clam Huai Zhu does not use clams, but fish, and it is said that seabass is the most delicious.But that’s not necessarily the case. You can also use mandarin fish.

In addition to fish, quail eggs and shrimp are also required.

The shrimp must be deheaded, shelled, deveined, and pureed. Add onion and ginger water, salt, starch, and eggs. Stir until the glue is released. Shape into balls about the same size as quail eggs. Boil cold water. After the water boils, quickly Dish out and set aside.The quail eggs are marinated in soy sauce, oyster sauce and honey.

And the most important step is to handle the fish.

Fish, this is the soul of this dish. If the fish is not good, the whole dish will be a lot worse, and if the fish is processed by conventional means, it will definitely not work.

In this dish, the fish must maintain its integrity to the greatest extent, so the traditional method of disemboweling it is not impossible.

This is what most tests the knife skills and the chef's patience. Junko must do it herself.

If she calls for help again, she won't be able to tell how good she is with the knife.

Chapter 73 The cook and the old turtle

Lao Clam Huaizhu, a dish that is not difficult.

The key is to remove the internal organs and fish bones while keeping the fish body intact, which is not difficult.Remove the gills and internal organs from the fish's gills, then take out the teeth from the fish's mouth, and finally use a knife to penetrate deeply into the fish's mouth to separate the bones and flesh bit by bit.

After the bones and meat are separated, use scissors to shorten the bones at the connection between the fish head and body, then break the bones at the tail of the fish, and pull the removed bones out from the mouth of the fish.

Well, it's very simple...

ghost!

The whole process must be done carefully. The fish meat must not be broken and the fish bones must be removed to retain as much fish meat as possible. The whole process cannot be seen in secret. Everything depends on feeling and the mastery of the distribution of fish bones.And the reason why I chose mandarin fish is not the more delicious sea bass.

It's just that Junko happened to have some knowledge of the distribution of bones of mandarin fish.

The chef stood aside and observed the whole process of Junko's actions, and he nodded slightly to express his approval.This process can be said to be difficult or difficult, and it can be said to be simple.It's hard to tell how good the knife skills are for a while, but judging from the relatively complete fish bones that were pulled out and not a lot of fish meat attached to the fish bones, this girl's knife skills are quite good.

Several of his apprentices can do this, but there are really few who can preserve the fish meat to a great extent like Junko.

After removing the fish bones, cut off the fish's dorsal fin, pectoral fin, and tail fin.

After finishing all this, the chef took a closer look, no wonder it was called Lao Ben Huai Zhu.With its pectoral, caudal and dorsal fins removed, the mandarin fish really looks a bit like a river clam.

After removing the fins, Junko used a knife to make small cuts across the fish, took three green onions, washed them, patted them loose, sprinkled them with salt, and stuffed them into the fish's belly smoothly.Then her hands kept moving around the fish, and a stream of white smoke came out of her hands and penetrated into the fish.

"This is..." Chef Dang couldn't help but frown.

'This girl is not simple. '

This is not an ordinary force of nature. No wonder the old magician came to him specifically to talk about this girl.

After resting at low temperature for a period of time, the quail eggs are almost marinated and flavorful.It's much simpler. Take out the fish, extract the green onions from your mouth, then stuff the prepared quail eggs and fish balls into the fish, put it on a plate, cover the fish with green onions and ginger, boil the water in the pot, and wait for it to breathe. Steam the fish for 15 minutes.

After steaming, take out the fish and remove the green onion and ginger covering it, but do not throw away the fish soup in the plate.

Prepare a small pot and pour it into it, then heat it up over high heat, pour in the seasonings, thicken the sauce, wait until it thickens, then turn off the heat and pour it over the fish.

In this way, a plate of Lao Clam Huai Zhu is ready.

"Generally speaking, the knife skills are good." Chef Dang picked up the chopsticks and walked up to Lao Ben Huai Zhu. It was not entirely possible to tell that the knife skills were good, but he shouldn't be too bad.At least it can meet the minimum standard that I recognized. Looking at its color, the fish body is golden and shiny after being soaked in the soup. Under the translucent golden soup is the light gray and silver body of the fish.From the smell, there are the aromas of quail eggs, honey, shrimp paste, and fish. It is a complex taste and does not simply pursue the aroma of fish.

When the chopsticks are inserted lightly, there will be a slight resistance. The fish meat becomes soft under cooking, but it does not have the relatively firm texture of the mandarin fish itself.

Upon first taste, the fish meat is delicate and delicious, because steaming and then using steamed fish stock to prepare the soup ensures the deliciousness of the fish to a great extent, which can be said to be quite good.

Try the shrimp paste and fish balls inside. The complex taste is distinct and progressive layer by layer. The taste is different but each has its own beauty.

"Well, from the perspective of outsiders, your dish must be extremely delicious." Chef Dang put down his chopsticks and commented: "But as far as I'm concerned, this dish is still a lot worse. The creativity comes from what you said yourself If you can cook the novel you read, I won’t comment on whether it is original. If you can taste it, it’s your first time making it, so you don’t have a clear idea of ​​the order of this dish.”

"The fish meat is good, the quail eggs are good, and the shrimp sliders are good. Each one of them is good individually, but when put together, they seem to be unsatisfactory. People don't know whether to eat fish, eggs, or shrimp sliders."

Faced with the evaluation of being a chef, Junko could only scratch her head.

This is the first time I have made it. I have seen reproductions in books and videos before. This is my first time trying it. The chef’s evaluation is not that I am over the top or nitpicking.

"And..." The chef shook his head and said, "You're still missing something."

"What?" Junko asked curiously. It seems that her cooking skills have not deteriorated much, right?

"Don't tell me that it's Mo who got the soul. I've heard this before."

"More souls." Chef Dang took another bite, closed his eyes and tasted it for a while before saying, "It's still not hard enough, almost. And it feels like something you brought here is gone. Well, I can't say it's gone." , it’s incomplete. So I’m a little worried. In fact, you can take a step further and do better, but you’re still very careful not to let go.”

“Overall, the feeling of having confidence in yourself but not enough confidence.”

Not to mention this, it is in line with Junko's mentality. Although she is still very confident in her cooking skills, she always feels that the system's support for her has weakened when it comes to being a chef. She is still a bit weak.

"I just barely got through." The chef finally decided, "You'll let the matter of stealing my wine go, but you still have to stay. I don't want my apprentice to ruin my reputation. If it's always like this..."

"After you get out, don't say that I am your master!"

Seeing that the chef reluctantly agreed, Junko finally felt relieved.It can be regarded as reaching the minimum standard of my psychological expectations.The Ninja Turtles also breathed a sigh of relief. They all disappeared with just a swipe of the brush. No one wanted to stay here for a long time.And those turtles who had just been trained well showed complicated expressions.

"Okay, you come with me." said the chef.

"Go? Where to go?" Junko asked.

"Go see that old magic stick." Dangchu said with his hands behind his back: "It had foreseen that you would come and came here specifically to give me instructions. And you didn't come here to find me, the leader of the clan, right? You came here to find me. That old bastard, right?"

"Since we are looking for that old magician, why don't we leave quickly? Otherwise, the old magician will wander off somewhere later."

'Wild...' Junko couldn't complain about the word "cook".

But... Junko didn't plan to go so soon. Although she had already made up her mind, she was still a little worried. It would be better if it could be a little later.

Going to meet now.

It's really a bit...

It’s hard to say!

Chapter 74 The old bastard

The old bastard, at least that's what the chef called the old turtle.

In the entire fairy mountain, it seems that only this old turtle has the most mysterious origin. When Junko came here for the first time, she suffered a small loss at the hands of this turtle, although to a certain extent, she asked for it. .

Old Oogway never told Junko his name, and the nickname Lao Shengun was also given to him by the chef.

But Old Oogway was the first to see through her being a time traveler, so before looking for Orochimaru to completely solve the system's problems, he first looked for Old Oogway.It might be able to give you some advice.

Following the chef, we walked through the winding mountain paths along the mountain.

Junko finally arrived at the old turtle's residence.

It was similar to what I remembered, but a little bigger.It looks more like a temple than an ordinary mountain hut. Although the front door looks a bit shabby, it is very clean.

The chef didn't knock on the door but opened the door directly and went in.

"Creak~" The harsh and dull friction sound of wood echoed in the courtyard of this small house.

When you walk in and follow the path, you will see an old, dated small house with some Huizhou architectural features. The path divides this small yard into two halves.

There is a bamboo shelf on the left half, with some things that should be medicinal herbs placed on the bamboo shelf.

The right half is empty and contains nothing.

The chef didn't seem to like this place very much. He frowned and looked at it, then walked into the yard with his hands behind his back. Only when he came to the hut did he say: "Old magician, the person you predicted is here."

"Tested, it's okay." The chef seemed a little dissatisfied with Junko and said, "The foundation is good, but the polishing is a bit rough."

With that said, there was another creaking sound, and half the door of Old Turtle's small house was opened.

"Let's go." The chef said and led Junko into the house.

'Where are the people? As soon as he entered the door, after getting used to the darkness in the room, Junko noticed that someone seemed to have opened the door, but the turtle who he called "Kame Sennin" and the cook called "Old God Stick" was not here.

"Gah~~" As the door closed, Kame Sennin's voice also appeared behind Junko and said: "Behind you, little girl."

"Scared!" Junko felt a little startled.

"I'm not as mysterious as you think." Kamesennin seemed to have seen through Junko's thoughts and said, "Open the door out of thin air, and then say something to you that you don't understand but feels very powerful."

"Isn't this what you always do?" Dangchu mocked, a little dissatisfied: "Just do a trick, and then say a bunch of words that the turtle can't understand?"

"It's just for some people who can't listen to what I say." Kame Sennin slowly walked to the small table in the room, leaning on his bamboo cane, put a futon on it and said, "Sit down, what do you want to drink? Tea?"

"Hey, you old bastard?! What about me?" Dangchu was even more unhappy.

"Oh, then you can do whatever you want." Turtle Immortal didn't seem to care about being a cook.

Don't care... Junko couldn't help but feel a little strange.Could it be that the relationship between the Kame Immortal and the chef in this world does not seem to be very good, although the relationship between the chef and the Kame Immortal in that world is not very good either.

But that's not the case, is it?

"You are worrying too much." Turtle Immortal said: "If the relationship is really not very good, then it is impossible for this old guy to come in."

"We are just familiar old friends, that's all. Even if I don't tell him, he will just mess around."

'Recklessly? ''wild? 'Junko finally remembers the word that Chef used when talking about Kame Sennin. It does feel like an overly familiar old friend.Well~ forget it, this kind of personal relationship is not something she should care about.

"Bring me a cup of green tea." Junko sat down cross-legged and said politely: "I heard from the head of the kitchen clan that you knew I was coming here?"

"Yes, and no." Turtle Immortal said ambiguously.

"Tch~" The chef also pulled a futon for himself and sat down. Then he poured himself a cup of tea unceremoniously and said, "Stop saying such ambiguous things all the time. You meant it when you told me." Chisel.”

"Pretty sure this human girl will come."

"This is different." Turtle Immortal shook his head and said, "The future is always full of uncertainty. If a human girl visiting the Immortal Mountain is bound to happen in the future, then where does this girl come from? It’s not something that’s absolutely set in stone.”

"She can be the girl she is now, or she can be another girl. She can be a native of this world, or a visitor from another world."

"Even..." Kame Sennin paused and then said with a gentle smile: "As long as the two basic conditions of being a woman and a child are met, it doesn't matter if you are not a human."

"It's the same as saying it or not." Dang Chu didn't want to hear this explanation.

"I know." Junko roughly understood and said, "This means that the constraints of the world and the changes in the world line have the same result, but the process to reach the result is not the same."

Just like what Kame Sennin said, he expected that a girl would appear, but this girl was not necessarily him.

"Then if I don't show up." Junko tried to ask, "Will another girl like me show up?"

"I don't know." Turtle Immortal shook his head and said, "This is something that has already happened. Since it has happened, it is already a certain thing. Your appearance here is a certain thing, and this kind of thing that has not happened has always happened." I can’t give you an answer.”

"Oh..." Junko nodded and didn't ask anything.

"Let's get to the point." The chef seemed a little anxious and said, "I didn't bring you here just to listen to your chatting here."

"Well, that's it." Junko said, "I think you know my origin, right?"

"Yes." Turtle Immortal said: "As a stargazer, I am not entirely clear about your origins, but I am not completely unclear either."

"Look, here we go again." The chef said impatiently.

"Well..." Junko knew that this matter could not be rushed. If the chef was still here, she would not be able to do anything.

"..." Dangchu gritted his teeth and mouthed, as if he had something to say, but he endured it again and finally stood up and waved his hand and said, "Okay, you guys can chat slowly. Tell me after we come up with a result." !”

After saying that, the chef slammed the door and left in anger.

"This..." Junko remembered that the chef's temper was not very good, but it wasn't like this, right?

"You don't need to think too much." Kamesenren took a sip of tea and said, "Since you are his disciple, don't you know that being the team leader is just his interest."

"It's not easy to find someone who can integrate what I have learned all my life. If it were me, I would be anxious."

'Is this a joke? ' Junko scratched her head and didn't know what to say, so she guided the topic to the question she wanted to ask and said: "Well, since you know that I'm here, you should know that I..."

"Well...how should I put it...Although I look awesome and powerful, I am bound by a strange thing."

Strange thing... Junko sighed in her heart, and she changed her tone and said: "I call this thing a system, maybe it can also be called an 'evil god'. It is the system that gives me strength, and also gives me The foundation of my cooking skills, at least in that world, many of my achievements, including being valued by a chef and becoming his apprentice, are all because of the system."

"But this thing about the system..." Junko said a little tangledly: "It gave me power. The important thing is that it hopes to use me as a fulcrum or guide to devour and destroy the world where I am."

"I could never protect my world if I couldn't escape the constraints of the system."

"But if I get out of the system..."

Junko did not continue. Although she had made up her mind, there were always some things that she did not want to see.Sometimes you say something that doesn’t sound nice but is very realistic.