Su Ziji looked at the long, cylindrical, segmented worm. It had no bristles over its body, was pale yellow with a faint pink tint, and at first glance, it was rather unbearable to look at. Yet in his original world, it had been a famous delicacy—and more importantly, it had a special use.
Su Ziji looked up, saw the Wild Daoist's somewhat unseeable expression, and could not help laughing. He said to him, "This kind of worm probably has no name. I have a secret recipe and know it is good stuff. The recipe calls it Sea Intestine. Do not be fooled by how horrifying it looks, rather like an enlarged earthworm. In truth, it is an excellent thing."
"No one pays attention to it now, nor has anyone discovered its effects."
"When you purchase seafood, mix it in with the rest. If anyone asks, say it is bait fed to the sea fish during transport."
"In truth, dry it in the sun, grind it into powder, soak it in water, then dry it again. Taste the powder you get in the end, and you will know—it is even better than stock."
Did ancient times have monosodium glutamate? Of course they did. It was stock used to enhance flavor.
But the most basic method for stock was to chop chicken into a mince, soak it with scallion, ginger, wine, and water, wrap it in gauze, and put it into clear broth. When the soup was about to boil, the heat had to be lowered. The soup could not be allowed to roll, so that the cloudy impurities would be absorbed by the chicken mince. Once the mince was removed, this refining process was called "Soup Clarification." Clear broth refined twice was called "Double-Clarified Soup." Such refined broth was the finest