Kushina Uzumaki feels like he can't keep up with Senju Chen's ideas.
One second ago, this guy was like a defeated rooster, with his head downcast and "I'm such a failure" written all over his face. She couldn't help but feel pity and was ready to save his injured soul with a steaming bowl of Ichiraku Ramen.
But in the next second, it was as if two will-o'-the-wisps were rekindled in his eyes, which were frighteningly bright. The dejection was swept away, replaced by an almost fanatical excitement, as if Columbus had discovered a new world.
Her hand was still in the position of being freed from him, and she watched blankly as he turned around, walked quickly to the corner of the courtyard, and carefully picked a red fruit from the unnoticed wild tree as if it were some unique treasure.
"Sister Kushina, I may have found a way?"
Senju Chen turned around, held the small red fruit in his palm, and showed her a bright and dazzling smile.
Kushina blinked and looked from his excited face to the red, unpleasant-looking fruit in his palm.
"Is this thing... edible?" She tilted her head, her tone full of doubt. In her knowledge, this brightly colored wild fruit is usually associated with the word "poisonous".
"It's more than just edible." There was a hint of mystery in Senju Chen's smile. He put the wild pepper to the tip of his nose and took a deep breath.
A fierce and domineering aura rushed straight to his forehead.
That's the flavor!
In that kitchen with an appalling lack of condiments, he fell into a misunderstanding. He always thought about recreating the "freshness" and "fragrance" in his memory that required complex techniques and time to settle, such as soy sauce and compound spices. That was the "kingly way" of pursuing mellowness, aftertaste, and layering.
But now, he figured it out.
Since the king's way doesn't work, then take the domineering way!
When a taste experience is strong enough to overwhelm all other senses and form an unreasonable and aggressive storm, the so-called layering and aftertaste become less important.
Numbness and spiciness are the "tyrants" in this world of taste.
"I was wrong before, Sister Kushina." Senju Chen's eyes were brighter than ever before, "I shouldn't always think about additions and using various spices to pile up the layers of flavor. Under the current conditions, I should do subtractions first and push a taste to the extreme!"
"Huh?" Kushina was confused. What about addition and subtraction? This guy started talking nonsense again.
"Tomorrow, I will cook you a dish that you have never tasted in your life." Senju Chen announced with confidence and squeezed the little red "bomb" in his hand.
The next day, when Kushina bleary-eyed Earth Flow left the room, an unprecedented and extremely aggressive aroma had already taken over the air of the entire mansion.
It was not the mellow aroma of meat, nor the fragrance of rice, but a... strange smell that made her nose itchy and throat dry, but she couldn't help secreting saliva like crazy.
She followed the smell and Earth Flow curiously headed to the kitchen.
The place that looked like the ruins of a battlefield yesterday has now been tidied up in order.
Senju Chen, on the other hand, was standing in front of the stove, looking as focused as if he was undergoing the most difficult surgery.
In front of him was a stone mortar. Inside was crushed, shockingly red dry Chili Pepper powder, as well as some numbing spices that he bought from a Land of Wind merchant a few days ago.
On the other side, the oil in the pot is heating.
This time, Senju Chen did not try to penetrate the spiritual power into the boiler to feel the ethereal temperature changes.
His mental power was like a large invisible net, all covering the pot of clear fat. He could "see" the fat forming tiny bubbles from the bottom under the heat, and "hear" the inaudible "buzzing" sound it made as the movement of the fat molecules intensified.
The oil temperature is rising.
One hundred degrees, one hundred twenty degrees, one hundred fifty degrees...
He was so concentrated that the whole world seemed to disappear, leaving only the pot of oil in front of him.
He knows that there is only one chance. If the temperature is too low, the aroma of Chili Pepper cannot be fully stimulated; if the temperature is too high, the Chili Pepper powder will be burnt in an instant, leaving only a bitter taste.
That's it now!
When the first faint wisp of smoke began to rise from the oil surface, Senju Chen's eyes suddenly condensed.
He picked up the oil pan, and the hot oil, which contained huge energy, was as steady as a mountain in his hand. With a tilt of his wrist, a golden dragon of oil was poured into the stone mortar filled with red powder with incomparable accuracy!
"Zila--!!!!!"
A violent explosion exploded in the kitchen!
An aroma that was so strong that it was almost real, it was like a smoke bomb detonating, spraying out in an instant!
Spicy, burnt, numb... countless overbearing flavors mixed together to form a red storm that swept through the entire kitchen and even spread outside the courtyard.
"Ahem! Ahem!"
Kushina, who was leaning against the door frame, was so choked by this sudden "aroma bomb" that he stepped back and almost burst into tears.
This taste is too strong! It's too overbearing!
But, underneath this choking smell, there was a temptation that she couldn't stop. Her stomach made a thunderous protest for the first time after three days of silence.
So... so fragrant!
Senju Chen ignored all of this. His entire mind was immersed in the red miracle of that stone mortar.
His mental power, along with the pouring of hot oil, rushed into the Chili Pepper powder. He could "feel" each Chili Pepper powder, and under the impact of high temperature, it instantly released the Chili Pepper elements and aromatic substances inside. He could even "see" the substances representing "hemp" and the substances representing "spicy" blending and colliding in the oil, and finally reaching a wild and delicate balance.
This is the exercise he wants!
If the previous attempt to make soy sauce was a static exercise of "shaping" and "penetration" of mental power, then at this moment, making this bowl of Chili Pepper oil is a dynamic martial arts performance of "explosion", "impact" and "balance" of mental power!
What he wants to control is no longer a docile energy, but a violent taste beast!
A bowl of Chili Pepper oil with bright red color and strong aroma was quickly completed.
Senju Chen didn't stop. He cooked the chicken that he had cooked yesterday in white water, took it out and immersed it in ice water to make the chicken skin shrink instantly and become smooth and elastic.
Then, he raised the knife and cut the chicken into pieces, and put them on the plate.
Finally, there is seasoning.
He scooped up a spoonful of the freshly made red oil chili pepper that was still warm, and poured it evenly on the white and tender chicken. He also added some salt, sugar, and the "sauce" that was better than nothing, and finally sprinkled a handful of green chopped green onions.
One dish is done.
tIt doesn't have a complicated name, Senju Chen calls it in my heart - saliva chicken.
When this dish was brought to the table, Kushina's eyes were completely opened.
The white chicken, bright red spicy oil, and emerald green onions formed a strong visual impact. The overbearing and alluring aroma was continuously entering her nostrils at this moment, making her feel like every cell in her body was shouting "I want to eat."
"Try it?" Senju Chen handed over a pair of chopsticks with a smile of anticipation on his face.