3D printing technology has seen rapid development in recent years.
It has found applications in many fields such as manufacturing, medicine, and construction.
In the food industry, 3D printing technology is also gradually being explored and applied. With this advanced technology, people can print various shapes of food and even customize it according to their taste and nutritional needs!
The most typical example is black bean tofu.
The production of black bean tofu has been listed as a traditional craft in China's intangible cultural heritage.
However, with the introduction of 3D printing into this field, some food companies in China have successfully brought 3D printed black bean tofu to the market.
Since the entire production process is fully automated, it can print 4,000 boxes per hour, significantly improving product standardization and quality control.
It is well known that the safety of tofu mainly depends on two factors: the raw materials and the coagulants.
So, using the original recipe, if you compare 3D printing to cooking, it's like changing from a small spoon to a big one. Under mechanical control, quality control standards improve significantly in terms of safety and health compared to traditional manual methods!
Additionally, it reduces costs.
Although Zane didn't directly mention it, the clever Alice quickly thought of 3D printing technology.
Who wouldn't like to see someone prepare their food at the School Festival?
Imagine this.
With just the push of a button, delicious food could be made.
Yes, through 3D printing, you can increase the speed of cooking and design many cute shapes.
From simple chocolate to cakes, and even some meats, this revolutionary technology might help Alice, who is currently facing a deficit, successfully turn things around!
...
"Alice, it's hard to believe."
"Such a small problem stumped you. You even interned at my tavern for half a month!"
After saying this, Zane gave Alice an exasperated look.
Then he playfully flicked her nose with his finger.
Alice, who was lost in thought, woke up at Zane's words. She quickly covered her nose and lowered her head, pouting playfully, "How was I supposed to know?"
"I did all my homework and preparation, developing several unique molecular dishes, but the customers didn't appreciate it!"
"You still pursue novelty and creativity in cooking, ignoring practicality."
"Running a booth at the School Festival, it's unwise to use ingredients like caviar, especially in the Main Avenue Area. That area has the most customers but also the most average ones."
"Starting with such innovative and expensive dishes was a mistake."
"No matter how delicious your molecular cuisine is, the price alone scares people away, and the expensive ingredients increase operating costs."
"So it's no surprise you're in the red."
Listening to Alice, Zane immediately identified the problem.
"It makes sense."
Alice nodded, beginning to understand.
In preparing for the School Festival, she had focused too much on new dishes and ignored the customers' quality, business strategy, and other issues.
...
"No matter how stressful things get, food always heals."
"Since you're here, let me treat you to a dish of 'Boiled Water Cabbage.'"
Zane smiled.
"Boiled Water Cabbage?"
Alice found it hard to believe.
With little knowledge of traditional cooking, she found it strange. Boiled water is just water, and cabbage is just cabbage. How could they combine?
"Heh!"
"Just wait."
"I believe this dish will change your perception."
After saying this, Zane returned to the cooking counter and began working.
Simplicity is the common impression of Boiled Water Cabbage, but this dish showcases top-notch soup-making skills.
First, you choose the cabbage, using only the tender yellow core.
Next.
The soup base, as clear as boiled water.
It must be made with chicken bones, pork bones, dried scallops, and ham hocks, boiled to remove blood and impurities, then washed.
They are then simmered together with seasoning, and the soup must be kept at a low boil for at least an hour without boiling over!
Chicken breast meat is minced to a paste, mixed with fresh broth to form a slurry, added to the pot to absorb impurities.
After repeating this two or three times, the originally cloudy broth becomes clear, like "boiled water."
It has a rich, mellow aroma that is incredibly appetizing.
Selecting ingredients isn't the issue.
But making a clear, flavorful broth tests a chef's skill!
...
Choose a cabbage heart that has just formed tight leaves.
Remove the outer leaves, keeping only the tender, white-stemmed inner leaves, about the size of a fist.
First, soak the root in the prepared broth to soften the outer stems, then gently peel back four or five leaves without breaking the root.
It should resemble a lotus flower, laid flat on a strainer.
Using a fine silver needle, pierce the cabbage heart repeatedly to create tiny, invisible holes.
At this point, Zane killed a whole chicken, carefully removing the fat.
He washed it thoroughly.
Blanched it in boiling water, then simmered it with abalone slices, white mushrooms, and other ingredients to enhance the flavor.
Until the broth, once slightly cloudy, became clear like boiled water, the task was complete.
It had a rich, mellow aroma without being greasy!
"This is Boiled Water Cabbage."
Zane placed a ceramic bowl of Boiled Water Cabbage before Alice.
...
Cabbage is a particularly cheap ingredient.
Boiled Water Cabbage, if you don't consider the ingredients, looks like cabbage soup.
Bland.
Flavorless.
That's the first impression of Boiled Water Cabbage.
However, blandness doesn't mean it's ordinary.
It's important to know that Boiled Water Cabbage is a Sichuan dish, and in Sichuan, clear broth is often called boiled water, meaning the soup must be clear and bright.
This broth is made with old hens, ducks, pork ribs, leg bones, fresh meat, and chicken, seasoned with scallions, ginger, Shaoxing wine, and salt. The broth is then clarified with chicken paste to remove oil, until the broth is crystal clear.
When the broth is clear, it's called boiled water.
At this moment, the cabbage leaves spread out, looking like a lotus flower.
The stems and leaves are as fresh as if they weren't cooked at all.
At first glance, it seems like a raw cabbage!
Meanwhile, the clear soup has no oil, no color, looking just like boiled water.
If you use the right ingredients and prepare them correctly, without rushing any step, the dish will be satisfactory.
But just satisfactory. Making it exceptional and uniquely delicious is hard.
It requires precise ingredient selection and preparation, portioning, pairing, and careful control of heat and seasoning.
...
As the saying goes, "Cabbage for one yuan, boiled water for a thousand."
In a bowl of "clear water," a few simple cabbage leaves stand out, elegant and delicate.
Just a few more glances bring unexpected delight.
Freshly served Boiled Water Cabbage, upon closer look, is elegant and has a rich, wonderful flavor that surpasses expectations.
In the long cooking process, the flavors of all ingredients blend together, finally presented as "boiled water."
Just by looking at this dish, Alice felt amazed.
Perhaps.
No, certainly.
This dish before her surpassed her molecular dishes at the School Festival!
...
With that thought, Alice eagerly tasted it.
It was rich.
Fresh.
Sweet.
Fragrant.
The three flavors quickly spread in her mouth.
Even the slightest taste buds could feel this exquisite taste.
"Wow… this… this…"
Alice was stunned.
This Boiled Water Cabbage gave her an experience she had never had before.
Seemingly plain, it was subtly flavorful. If described, it was like a fog-covered mountain, seemingly hazy but hiding beautiful scenery!
In life, many things become another kind of extreme when taken to the limit.
The richest things can appear plain on the surface.
And the plainest things can contain complex truths!
Alice believed that life, like cooking, has flavors that are subtly pleasing, and this bowl of soup perfectly embodied her belief.
...
"The broth here seems to use the traditional Chinese cooking technique of clarifying."
"Adjust the stove to keep the broth gently simmering without boiling, then add chicken paste, stirring in one direction, skimming it out, and repeating with beef paste."
"This process removes all impurities and oil, leaving a clear, slightly yellow broth, making the 'boiled water'."
"Finally, pour the hot clear broth, or 'boiled water', over the cabbage to cook it."
"The broth used for scalding the cabbage is not added back to the final dish."
"Place the blanched cabbage heart in a bowl, gently pour in the reserved broth."
"In this way."
"You can make this extremely delicious dish!"
Swallowing, Alice's bright eyes were filled with disbelief.
...
Extreme richness is simplicity; life's flavor is subtle pleasure.
This broth contains a Zen-like essence, reflecting the profound truths of life, appearing plain yet rich in content.
This "plainness"
isn't dull.
It is the true flavor after removing all embellishments.
This "plainness" isn't empty, but the
result of simplicity after experiencing complexity.
Zane's Boiled Water Cabbage had reached the pinnacle of culinary art. Even in the entire world, no chef could surpass it!
The preparation is extremely intricate, but the final dish is very simple.
It looks unassuming, but it offers a myriad of flavors.
Using the WGO food organization's standards to evaluate Chinese cuisine is like a violin master judging a piano master's performance. Both are music, but does mastering the violin mean understanding the piano's essence?
The answer is, not necessarily.
Similarly, different cuisines and Chinese cuisine might look like food, but are they the same?
No, they are not.
Chinese cuisine has invented numerous cooking methods such as stir-frying, deep-frying, sautéing, braising, simmering, stewing, slow-cooking, marinating, pan-frying, grilling, steaming, roasting, and many more.
Moreover, Chinese cuisine has learned other techniques such as grilling and hotpot to create various dishes.
After generations of famous chefs' legacies, it has developed into diverse styles.
Among these, Sichuan cuisine is one of the most classic, especially today.
To adapt to the growing variety of dishes, people have incorporated many spicy flavors, and calling all these diverse dishes "Chinese cuisine" is somewhat misleading.
Even if these food critics have tasted various dishes, do they understand the intricacies of Chinese cuisine?
...
After a while, Alice finally opened her eyes.
She looked at Zane deeply and smiled, "Zane, I finally understand the significance of this dish."
Zane hadn't responded. He was wiping a clean knife with a cloth. Under the soft yellow light, the knife in his hand gleamed sharply.
After a moment, he put the knife away and said to himself, "It's good you understand."
"Thank you, Zane."
Alice's eyes were filled with affection as she looked at Zane.
She might not realize it, but her dependence on Zane was growing stronger.
As her mother, Mana, said, when facing setbacks and difficulties, her first thought wasn't to seek comfort from her mother or close ones.
Instead, she thought of Zane and went to his tavern to cry and seek help.
Of course, it's undeniable that Alice's emotional world is still a blank slate.
But as time passes, her love for Zane grows stronger, even to the point of no return!
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