Yellow paper.
Vermilion.
Brush.
After preparing these items.
Zane washed his hands, tidied his clothes, and closed his eyes to meditate, calming his mind.
After finishing this simple ritual, he picked up the brush, dipped it in vermilion, and began drawing symbols on the yellow paper.
Every stroke.
Every line.
Though his movements were slow, they were filled with power.
When the last symbol was drawn, he stopped, gazing quietly at the talisman before him.
Looking closely, the patterns on this talisman were ancient inscriptions, which combined to form a mysterious phoenix, ready to soar!
"It should... have some effect, right?"
Zane thought, trying to draw a talisman for the first time.
...
At the tavern, on the first floor.
Ryoko was wiping the tables while her friend Sonoka was cleaning up.
Hisako, who had just moved in temporarily, was wearing a delicate pair of glasses. The frames and lenses reflected the light, adding a touch of intelligence to her appearance!
Her eyes, under those glasses, were as serene as autumn lakes.
Calm and gentle.
She looked curiously at the cash register.
At this moment, the whole tavern was filled with a warm, silent atmosphere, with only the wall clock ticking away.
"Hey!"
"What's going on?"
"Why didn't you tell us about hiring someone?"
Ryoko's thin eyebrows furrowed as she approached Zane, her eyes full of questions.
Zane put the talisman into his pocket and started explaining what had happened.
It wasn't surprising that she lost in the Autumn Selection, as even Ryoko had once lost in the finals. But it was rare for someone like Hisako to run away from home!
"Ryoko."
"At least she has a place to go here."
"So, as her senior, don't bully her too much."
Zane said.
Ryoko said nothing, just glanced at Hisako and nodded.
As fellow losers, and people who felt helpless, she could empathize with Hisako's situation.
...
At night, although it was quiet and cool.
The whole city was still bustling.
A small truck, like a little beetle, crawled along the road. The truck carried a sturdy cow and stopped in front of the tavern.
Then.
Mito, dressed a bit revealingly, got out of the driver's seat, looked at the tavern, and walked in.
As the heir to the Mito family.
Mito didn't live a life of luxury and idleness. Instead, she often worked hard for her family's beef business.
Especially during this time, she took advantage of her school breaks to personally deliver beef products to scattered customers, listening to their feedback!
"Phew~"
"I'm exhausted."
"Zane, could I have a cup of tea to quench my thirst?"
Mito, sweating, asked as soon as she entered.
"Sure."
Zane replied.
Typically, teas to quench thirst include apple peach tea, watermelon rind tea, bamboo leaf tea, and sour plum tea.
Plums are one of the earliest fruit trees humans encountered. In "Shan Hai Jing," there is a mention of "Ling Mountain has trees of peaches, plums, and apricots," and there's also the famous story of "looking at plums to quench thirst."
Prepare sour plums, dried orange peel, and hawthorn.
Add some licorice, clove, and hibiscus.
Put all the ingredients into a clean pot with water and bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat.
When the water in the pot is reduced by two-thirds, add some osmanthus and rock sugar, simmer for another two minutes, and then strain.
The resulting tea is:
Sour Plum Tea!
...
When tasting the sour plum tea.
You can clearly taste the sour-sweet flavor spreading in your mouth.
This taste is both refreshing and thirst-quenching, and the fragrance of the tea adds a touch of elegance, making the whole drink more attractive.
Then, the tea's rich aroma gradually emerges.
The fresh taste seems to wash away the tiredness, bringing comfort and peace.
"Mmm!"
"Great tea."
Mito couldn't help but hum softly.
But at that moment, her stomach started growling, making her blush and look embarrassed.
She nervously fiddled with a strand of her hair, sneaking a glance at Zane.
"Hungry?"
Zane asked with a smile.
"A little."
After a pause, Mito gathered her courage and asked, "Zane, besides beef noodles and rice bowls, what other beef dishes are you good at?"
"Lamp Shadow Beef!"
Zane replied without hesitation.
"Then I'll have a plate of Lamp Shadow Beef."
"Okay, just a moment."
With that, Zane turned and went to the cooking station.
...
According to historical records, during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty.
There was a hotel on West Street in the town of Daxian, owned by Liu Guanggan, known for making the best Lamp Shadow Beef.
In 1935, this hotel's "Lamp Shadow Beef" was exhibited at the Chengdu Qingyang Flower Fair as a local specialty and was rated as Grade A food.
Thus.
Lamp Shadow Beef.
Became a famous local specialty of Sichuan cuisine!
Of course, this dish has a very distinctive preparation method.
Select beef tendon from the hind leg, remove the skin, trim off any dirt, and cut off the edges to make uniform slices.
Spread the beef slices flat on a board, sprinkle evenly with salt that has been dried to remove moisture.
Roll into a cylinder shape.
Place in a bamboo basket and leave in a ventilated place to drain the blood.
Lay the drained beef slices on the back of a bamboo basket and roast over charcoal to remove moisture, then steam for half an hour.
Then, cut the steamed beef into pieces about an inch and a half long and an inch wide, steam again for half an hour, and cool.
Heat vegetable oil, add ginger and pepper, and then remove from heat.
After 10 minutes.
Return the pot to the fire, remove the ginger and pepper.
Coat the beef slices with marinating sauce and fry in the oil, stirring gently with a spatula. When the beef slices are crispy, remove from heat and drain.
Leave some oil in the pot, heat it, add sugar, chili powder, and pepper powder, then add the beef slices and stir-fry.
After cooling, the Lamp Shadow Beef is ready!
...
When the Lamp Shadow Beef was ready.
A hot stream of air started sweeping through the tavern.
Everyone, including Mito, Sonoka, and Ryoko, felt uncomfortable!
"This..."
"What's with this hot air?"
Mito couldn't help wiping the sweat from her forehead, astonished.
Using the Sparrow's Rhyme knife to slice the beef into very thin slices, then mixing with licorice, clove, amomum, and over ten other spices, the meat slices were laid on bamboo baskets.
Dried to remove moisture, they were placed in a special oven, controlled to cook evenly. Finally, they were packed in bamboo or paper containers lined with oiled paper, filled with fragrant sesame oil, sprinkled with pepper powder, and sealed.
Think about it.
This new way of making Lamp Shadow Beef.
As a beef cooking master, Mito had never seen it!
"So, Lamp Shadow Beef is made by cutting beef into very thin slices, not very fine shreds?"
Ryoko realized, murmuring to herself.
...
Lamp Shadow Beef, originally meant to be thin as a cicada's wings, would cast shadows when held up to a lamp.
Thus, Lamp Shadow Beef has two main features:
Thin.
Wide.
Thinness tests knife skills.
It takes time to make and requires a chef with excellent knife skills.
Width tests the quality of the meat, needing large, membrane-free pieces to make perfect Lamp Shadow Beef without any falsehood.
The reason Ryoko thought it was "shreds" was probably due to encountering unscrupulous vendors.
Then, Mito seemed to think of something.
She eagerly picked up a piece of beef with chopsticks.
Observing closely, she saw the beef slice was as thin as a cicada's wings, translucent under the light.
No layers.
No fat.
No tendons.
No holes.
Each beef slice was so evenly thin.
"Wow, these beef slices are so thin!"
This scene amazed Mito.
She marveled at Zane's knife skills, so dominant yet delicate.
"How is it? No one can cut beef like this, right?" Seeing Mito's amazement, Zane felt a bit satisfied.
"Yeah!"
"As far as I know."
"No one can achieve this level."
"But no matter how thin the beef slices are, it just shows your knife skills. The most important thing is the taste of the beef itself and whether the seasoning is balanced."
With that, Mito couldn't hide her excitement and began to taste.
...
Hot!
This was the first feeling.
Crispy!
The texture felt when biting.
Then came the numb and spicy flavors.
Chewing a few more times, it seemed as if she lost her sense of taste, unable to feel the dish's flavor.
Ordinary beef, with northern yellow cattle and southern water buffalo, sometimes dairy cattle.
Perhaps due to their feed, the quality of these beefs was often poor, coarse with little fat.
Meanwhile.
Ordinary cooking methods.
Such as frying, stir-frying, boiling, the flavors mostly stayed on the surface, leaving the inside dry and chewy, not worth mentioning.
Therefore, only Sichuan and Chongqing's Lamp Shadow Beef can be called miraculous!
...
Red and shiny.
Thin and wide.
Aromatic and crispy.
Delicious.
Throw it in your mouth and chew.
The thin beef naturally dissolves.
But the numb and spicy flavors linger in the mouth.
At this moment, it felt like every taste bud was numbed and lost sensation. Then a fiery sensation rose in the stomach, the numb and spicy flavors surged together, and sweat poured out!
This feeling was truly:
Exhilarating!
"Is the beef used here 'flower cake' beef?"
Suddenly, after a few bites, Mito's eyes widened with realization.
Unlike ordinary beef, she could tell this Lamp Shadow Beef was made with "flower cake" beef!
The so-called "flower cake is like fatty meat," meaning the meat must be freshly slaughtered, even still warm.
Only slightly pulsating fresh beef could be called "flower cake." Plus, with Zane's superb knife skills, the freshly sliced beef was red like blood, and fat was white like jade!
Each slice of meat seemed to glow, like blooming flowers.
"So... so warm!"
"My body feels hotter and hotter!"
Soon, Mito felt her body heat up, losing strength, and her limbs felt warm.
Then, her mind went blank as if her soul had left her body, losing control over her body, time, and space.
Next.
A stream of extreme pleasure.
Spread rapidly, flowing throughout her body.
After a second or two, Mito slowly regained a bit of consciousness.
"No... no way!"
"This Lamp Shadow Beef is so warm, ooh... ahh..."
...
After a soft moan.
Calming down a bit, Mito couldn't help but glance at Zane.
"Zane, how did you evenly coat the beef slices with seasoning without damaging them?"
Though reluctant to admit it, Mito had to acknowledge that Zane's cooking was full of surprises!
You couldn't imagine.
How many secrets lay within his dishes.
"Great question!"
"Typically, each slice of Lamp Shadow Beef is 1cm to 0.5mm thick."
"If it's too thick, it affects the texture. If it's too thin, it can easily damage the meat fibers, affecting the flavor!"
"However, my Lamp Shadow Beef slices are 0.3mm thick."
"Imagine a thousand-layer cake. Though it seems flashy."
"But to maximize the texture and flavor of Lamp Shadow Beef, it must be this thin!"
"Then, mix the seasoning lightly with the meat slices."
"Each time, mix about 8kg to avoid uneven seasoning or breaking the meat slices."
"Finally, brush a layer of oil on the bamboo basket's back to prevent the meat slices from sticking and tearing during roasting. Lay the slices flat, following the muscle fibers horizontally."
"Lay each slice flat, making sure they fit well without overlapping!"
"This way, the meat slices don't fall off during roasting, ensuring a beautiful shape and perfect texture."
"What?"
"You put so much thought into making Lamp Shadow Beef?"
Hearing this explanation, Mito was dumbfounded!
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