Reborn in Japan as a Chef God

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Returning to the front desk.

Xia Yu looked around, "Huh, where did that uncle go?"

There were only two empty bowls on the table, the ramen and broth devoured cleanly. The third bowl of ramen was still behind the counter, reserved by Xia Yu to nourish himself.

"He left."

The old man lifted the curtain and walked into the shop.

Xia Yu didn't dwell on it, he brought out the third bowl of ramen he cooked, sat down casually, and gobbled it up.

"Ah..."

A few minutes later, the bowl was empty, and Xia Yu's stomach was finally full. He stretched lazily and was about to get up for a bath and sleep when a voice suddenly came from beside him, "How do you think your beef ramen tastes?"

The old man stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the shop door, his face hidden in the shadow, revealing no expression.

"..."

Xia Yu pointed to the other two empty bowls and smiled, "I say, old man, you ate one of the ramen, right? Why ask me such a question? You know the taste very well, heh heh."

In his food-loving mind, it seemed the old man's ramen had lost.

Under the miraculous cooking state of the 'Copy Crystal,' the dish he completed was much tastier than the original.

Not only did it win on the chewy texture of the ramen, but also in the flavor of the broth and the harmony of various ingredients, all of which surpassed the old man's dish. Of course, Xia Yu knew the old man hadn't given his all, and he couldn't estimate how much power the old man had shown, but having won a small victory, he finally found a vent for his years of oppression.

Hey, old man, you lost!

It was just that simple.

Actually, Xia Yu only dared to say those words in his heart...

"Kid, when did you sneak and learn our Xia Family's ramen broth recipe?"

After a moment of silence, the old man slowly asked, his expression serious.

"Steal to learn?" Xia Yu frowned, "Old man, can you be more polite with your words? We're part of the Xia Family, how does that count as stealing? I tasted it from the ramen you cooked. This should be called comprehension! Do you understand comprehension, huh?"

"You can taste the broth's ingredients?" The old man looked incredulous.

Xia Yu didn't waste words, cleared his throat, and began reciting, "Fresh yak bone, one piece; fresh beef, one piece; 50 grams of Sichuan pepper; 50 grams of dried ginger skin; 20 grams of fennel, tsaoko, and cinnamon; 15 grams of pepper; 10 grams of three palm, nutmeg; 5 grams of galangal, lemon grass; 3 grams of pipla, and dried tangerine peel, star anise, sand ginger..."

"This is the recipe for one pot of broth, with about 30 types of ingredients."

"If it's a large pot used for a restaurant, the ratio of materials is 20% dried ginger slices, 18% Sichuan pepper, 12% fennel..."

Xia Yu was interrupted by the old man waving his hand to stop him before he finished.

"That's enough!"

The old man turned and walked into the kitchen, "Come here!"

Xia Yu, puzzled, followed him in. With his back to Xia Yu, the old man put on an apron. "From today on, I'll teach you cooking. First, you need to master all the signature dishes of the Chinese Restaurant."

"No problem!"

In the past, Xia Yu would have casually brushed it off, made an excuse, and sneaked back to his room to sleep. But now, with the assistance of the Chef God System, if the old man taught him everything, wouldn't he be able to comprehend many recipes?

Just the thought made him so excited he couldn't contain it. The foodie's springtime had arrived!

"You are good at noodles, so we'll start with them."

The old man took out some flour, explaining while busying himself. Xia Yu listened intently, looking more serious than his usual lackadaisical school demeanor.

The next day.

Xia Yu, who had studied late into the night, still woke up at eight in the morning, unable to go back to sleep. It was the first day of spring break.

Neon had three holidays: spring break, summer break, and winter break.

Spring break marked the end of an academic year, usually from March to early April.

And April 1 was the start of the new academic year for Neon's middle and high schools.

Xia Yu could only sigh as he got up to wash.

There was activity in the narrow courtyard. After washing, standing in the hallway, Xia Yu found the old man had already gotten up. He was at the ancient stone mill in the yard, turning the millstone like an old donkey, producing a fragrant aroma as white soybean milk continuously flowed from the stone mill into a wooden bucket.

Watching for a while, Xia Yu intended to help. Unexpectedly, the old man suddenly let go, picked up the bucket of soybean milk, and walked back, "Fetch some clean water and wash the millstone."

As he passed, the old man instructed in his usual tone.

Was this for making tofu or?

Xia Yu's mind was full of question marks.

The old man rarely made tofu himself; most dishes requiring tofu were bought from the outside shopping street, with Xia Yu being the gofer for them. It was a bitter memory he didn't want to recall.

Uh...

Thinking of the soybeans for making tofu, Xia Yu's expression changed. He hurriedly ran into the kitchen, where last night, before going to sleep, he had soaked a bucket of soybeans, about 5 kilograms. These soybeans, ground and shelled, soaked for a few hours, could be used with the millstone to make soybean milk.

No need to say, the soybean milk was definitely for making water tofu. After all, last night in the Chef God System, he had just learned a new recipe, "Magical Mapo Tofu," and was eager to begin his culinary practice.

But the bucket of soybeans was gone!

"Old man..." he gritted his teeth and looked towards the busy figure in the kitchen. Anger in his eyes strangely subsided and vanished.

The old man was also making tofu. He had taken a bag made from tofu cloth and was pouring the soybean milk into the bag, pressing it hard so the filtered soybean milk flowed into another clean wooden bucket.

Each kilogram of soybeans was mixed with about 6 kilograms of water, so a bucket of 5 kilograms of soybeans could ultimately make about 30 pounds of soybean milk, more than enough to fill a large wooden bucket. When Xia Yu returned to the kitchen after cleaning the millstone, he saw the old man had already boiled a big pot of soybean milk.

On the kitchen counter beside him were some gypsum powder.

Xia Yu was quite familiar with tofu-making methods. Even if he didn't know them in his previous life, in this one, he'd seen the old man grind beans and boil soybean milk so often that he'd learned most of it.

Gypsum powder was crucial for tofu-making. Without this material, you couldn't solidify the soybean milk.

"Water tofu or dried tofu?"

The old man mixed the gypsum into a paste with a bowl of clear water and poured it into the boiling pot, stirring as he turned back to ask.

"Water tofu!" Xia Yu answered without hesitation.

The old man pointed to some wooden trays prepared beside him. There were many such trays, stacked like steaming baskets. Xia Yu knew what the old man meant, so he quickly picked up the trays and waited beside him.

Then came a division of labor. The old man ladled the soybean milk while Xia Yu held the trays. The trays were all lined with tofu cloth. Once filled with soybean milk, they were covered with cloth, and the next tray was filled.

They filled over a dozen trays before the pot of soybean milk ran dry.

Wiping sweat, Xia Yu looked at the stacked wooden trays and chuckled.

About half an hour later, as the water temperature cooled, the tofu set.

So many trays of tofu were enough for him to practice making "Magical Mapo Tofu." He didn't believe he couldn't produce a glowing dish, especially with ample ingredients to experiment with.

He couldn't just stand there during the waiting process. Xia Yu left the kitchen and habitually wiped tables and chairs in the restaurant.

Xia Yu had a bit of cleanliness obsession, so over the years, under his cleaning, the small shop was spotless. Once, when the kitchen had cockroaches, Xia Yu waged war by buying various insecticides from the shopping street, and after half a month of battle, he finally restored peace to the kitchen, with no more mysterious creature corpses appearing.

Don't think there are no cockroaches in Japan.

The climate here was hot and humid, so suitable for insect growth. Frankly speaking, Japanese cockroaches were even bigger than those back home. Xia Yu had heard tales from schoolmates about palm-sized cockroaches, which turned his face white with fear. Was this a Fukushima nuclear radiation mutation?

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