For "meat-eaters," this all-vegetable dish might not have rich flavors! However, in the eyes of vegetarians, this French-style dish with layers of different vegetables and varying textures is very interesting.
In fact, Megumi is a "vegetable worm." She cannot go a day without vegetables and especially loves seasonal vegetables. This is evident from her specialty in rustic dishes and the vegetable garden she tends behind the dormitory at Totsuki Academy. During the original residential training activity, she earned the nickname:
The Zashiki-warashi of Legumes (Vegetable Cuisine)!
"Mmm~"
Cutting a small piece of vegetable terrine and putting it in her mouth, the sweet and slightly sour taste of the vegetables hits her palate. The texture is smooth, soft, and bouncy. Despite the marinated exterior, the vegetables inside remain fresh. The cool, fresh taste fills her mouth and warms her belly, making her feel wonderful. Megumi can't help but let out a blissful sigh.
Her body tenses, trying to suppress the intense pleasure from the taste. Finally, unable to resist, she devours the entire plate of rainbow vegetable terrine, feeling unusually content and peaceful.
Gradually, Megumi's surroundings seem to change. The well-lit tavern fades, replaced by a lush forest. Mist swirls, birds sing, and the fresh scent of earth fills the air. In the distance, there's a field brimming with various vegetables, growing in neat rows like a meticulously arranged landscape. They thrive under the sun and rain, with crisp lettuce, red tomatoes, and large carrots, forming a colorful, enticing rainbow of produce.
Feeling the breeze, Megumi can sense the fresh, sweet aroma of the vegetables. Finally, she snaps back to reality, a look of happiness and surprise on her face.
"Amazing, really amazing! This simple, chilled vegetable terrine tastes so delicious, even warming you up when you eat it. It's like being wrapped in a mother's embrace."
She exclaims excitedly, her pretty face flushed with joy. She realizes that her heart has been touched by something profound. In her understanding, making a perfect rainbow vegetable terrine is challenging, as it requires preserving the original flavors of each vegetable. Humans are more sensitive to the taste of meat than vegetables due to their innate ability to recognize nutrient-dense food.
Achieving the harmony of different vegetable flavors requires a high level of skill in controlling the heat, a skill that Zane clearly possesses. More importantly, through this dish, she feels Zane's warmth and care.
"Um..."
"Did I taste allspice in this dish?" Megumi asks hesitantly.
Zane nods, "Yes, it's allspice. Making vegetable terrine is similar to making fish terrine. The key is in the broth, as only a delicious broth can create a tasty, bouncy terrine. I added allspice to improve the flavor and remove any off-notes."
Allspice, known as Allspice in English, is often mistaken for a blend of spices but is actually a single spice with the combined flavors of clove, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and juniper berry. As someone who specializes in rustic dishes, Megumi isn't very familiar with these spices, so Zane's explanation brightens her eyes.
"Megumi, the key to making a good rainbow vegetable terrine is preserving the natural flavors of the vegetables, so their quality is crucial. But what if you only have wilted vegetables? How would you handle that?"
"I... I don't know!"
Faced with such a tricky question, Megumi is stumped.
"There's a simple method. Mix salt and vinegar in water and soak the wilted vegetables for about 20 minutes. They'll become fresh and crisp again."
"Oh! That simple?"
Megumi feels enlightened.
Seeing her somewhat confused expression, Zane smiles silently, hoping that the incident with Kojirō Shinomiya doesn't occur during the upcoming residential training.
"In any case, don't worry too much about the training. Remember, no matter how rough the road ahead is, keep showing the gentle side of cooking to everyone, and you'll have nothing to fear!"
Zane says warmly.
"I understand, chef. It's true, talking to you when I'm upset always seems like the right choice."
Megumi feels encouraged and nods in agreement. If someone has a problem and needs to talk, they seek recognition, comfort, or a solution. Zane has become an important person for her to confide in, just as Mana and Erina are drawn to his cooking.
As the night grows deeper and darker, Megumi knows she can't stay too long since the tavern is already closed. After finishing the rainbow vegetable terrine and chatting with Zane, she leaves the tavern.
[Ding-dong! Congratulations to the host for successfully signing in once.]
[Ding-dong! Congratulations to the host for receiving a special recipe: Real Bream Map, Magical Mapo Tofu, ingredients: 20 real bream fish, ordinary kitchen utensil: Sparrow Melody Spatula.]
"What? Two special recipes?"
Zane is stunned by today's sign-in rewards. The Real Bream Map was created by Liu Maoxing during a knife skills competition against Ren. In the original story, Ren quickly made ultra-thin sashimi and other dishes, showcasing impressive knife skills. Liu Maoxing, however, remained calm and used a real bream to create a dish resembling a map of China with four regional cuisines.
North represents Beijing cuisine.
East represents Shanghai cuisine.
West represents Sichuan cuisine.
South represents Cantonese cuisine.
The Real Bream Map's magic lies in its inclusion of China's four major cuisines, encapsulating the mainstream flavors from all regions of China!
Then there's Magical Mapo Tofu. While traditional Sichuan Mapo Tofu combines five flavors, this dish includes six: spicy, fragrant, colorful, hot, crispy, and numbing. The added crispiness comes from using soybean meat, fried to create a unique texture, hence the name "Magical Mapo Tofu." This dish was created by Liu Maoxing's mother, Chef Abe.
Interestingly, Japan also has a long history of enjoying tofu, though they are not known for eating spicy food. Despite this, they believe that classic Sichuan Mapo Tofu is the best dish to accompany rice, thanks to its soft, smooth tofu and spicy, flavorful seasoning.
As a result, Chinese restaurants have flourished throughout Japan, with an estimated 60,000 establishments offering Mapo Tofu as a staple. This popularity is reflected in Totsuki Academy, where the current Elite Ten's eighth seat, Kuga Terunori, focuses on spicy Chinese cuisine.
For Zane, the Magical Mapo Tofu recipe could attract many diners, while the Real Bream Map dish would certainly stand out even more.
"Great, this means the tavern can offer even more choices for diners."
Zane murmurs to himself.
[Ding-dong! New task issued. Given the tavern's recent upgrades and increasing business, the host must raise the tavern's customer flow to 500 people within 48 hours.]
"500? That's an average of 250 people a day?"
"If the tavern is open for five hours a day, that means serving 50 people per hour?"
Upon hearing the system's task, Zane does the math and rubs his temples.
Sigh! There's never a moment's rest!
With a resigned sigh, Zane stretches and heads to take a bath. As night falls, the sky grows darker, and the moon quietly illuminates the world.
After his bath, Zane doesn't go to bed but sits on the second-floor balcony, sipping flower tea and enjoying the night view. Nearly two months have passed since he arrived in this world. While the time hasn't felt long, running the tavern has brought many interesting experiences.
Reflecting on the people he's met—Erina, Mana, Rindo Kobayashi, Megumi, Alice, Sonoka, Momo —he feels less alone in this unfamiliar world.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
At that moment, the sound of someone drinking breaks Zane's thoughts. It comes from the balcony of Shunkatei, where Sonoka is drinking alone. Her loud drinking draws Zane's attention.
"Hey! Boss Zane."
"Would you like a drink?"
"Though my alcohol isn't as good as yours, it's still decent."
Noticing Zane on the balcony, Sonoka waves her bottle and calls out.
"What's on your mind?"
Taking another sip of tea, Zane asks with a smile.
Sonoka's face turns glum, "Don't ask. It's just so frustrating!"
Running a restaurant alone is not as easy as it seems. Before opening Shunkatei, she spent months preparing—securing funds, choosing a location, decorating, finding suppliers. She worked tirelessly for over two months.
Once Shunkatei opened, her days started early with market trips for fresh ingredients. Though not physically exhausting, working every day without a break became normal.
After a year, her hard work paid off when Shunkatei earned a star from the WGO food organization, marking her rise in the culinary world. It seemed like a great beginning, but it quickly became a struggle. She failed to achieve her goal of earning a second star and was warned by Mana to improve within a year or risk losing her star.
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