Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Some things don’t spark curiosity until you’ve tasted them, and once you do, there’s no turning back.

Great Xia Cuisine is a classic example of this style.

Especially since Lin Chen deliberately chose dishes that would suit the palate of foreigners like them.

Perhaps it’s because they’ve been working with Lin Chen for a long time and have somewhat adapted to the flavors, but they all feel that whatever this guy makes is delicious, and eating with their eyes closed is sure to be a safe bet.

Indeed.

When Daniel tasted the incredibly tender beef slices, he was stunned on the spot, his eyes widening so much they seemed like they might pop out.

"This, this, is this beef??"

"How is it done? Why is the beef so tender and soft?"

"It’s a matter of technique," Lucas said nonchalantly, waving his hand, "Great Xia cooking is magical like that, processing ingredients to achieve different textures according to different needs."

"Unlike Western cuisine, which can mostly only change the seasoning but can’t alter the texture of the ingredients themselves."

"So that’s how it is. Great Xia people are indeed impressive, skilled in both business and cooking, and so friendly. No wonder they aren’t favored internationally. Those old major countries don’t have many good things."

"Ahem... let’s not talk about politics and the global landscape, okay? Let’s just talk about food since we’re in a restaurant; it’s better to avoid unnecessary trouble."

"Ah? Oh, okay, okay, then I’ll continue eating!"

Although Daniel didn’t quite understand, he knew listening to them was the right thing to do; he had the insight for that.

They kindly invited him for a meal, so he definitely couldn’t cause them unnecessary trouble.

Some things were clear to him in his heart.

He also worried about affecting their work by staying too long in the kitchen. He picked up the two glutinous rice balls Lucas had packed and the two large cups of iced cola Dais had prepared for him, balancing the weighty spicy hot pot and left through the back door.

"I won’t disturb you guys anymore, okay? I’m sorry for taking so much food, but if there’s anything I can help with, just let me know!"

Despite saying this, he couldn’t immediately think of anything he could help with.

Delivery was his job, and he couldn’t urge the supermarket to send the goods quickly so he could load the truck.

For safety, he couldn’t speed on the highway.

He wasn’t skilled at cooking or slicing ingredients, and offering to help might not be helpful at all but rather a hindrance.

With these thoughts, he had already settled into the driver’s seat.

"Boom"

The car door closed.

In the enclosed space, the aroma of the spicy hot pot grew even richer.

Lin Chen had also packed a small bowl of spicy hot broth just for him; he had been curious about the taste for a long time.

"Whew~ whew~"

Blowing away the surface layer of red oil, he cautiously sipped the creamy white broth below, and the rich, savory flavor hit him instantly, clearly showcasing the unique umami taste of bone broth.

Furthermore, the taste of the soup was complex, featuring the flavor of bone broth along with subtle milkiness and sweetness, combined with the spicy aroma of the surface’s red oil, making him unable to stop, taking sip after sip.

With such delicious soup, anything cooked in it would surely be tasty!

Glancing at the various ingredients in the food container covered with rich sauce, he decided against the idea of soaking the food into the soup.

They were two different flavors with no need to force them together, which might end up ruining them.

This soup was best enjoyed by drinking it directly.

"What did the chef recommend to me... oh, that’s right, this is called crab stick, right?"

Picking up a rectangular piece of red and white striped food resembling a fish cake, the sauce covering it almost made it unrecognizable, and it had been cut in half, looking different from before it was cooked.

He wasn’t unfamiliar with fish cakes, just never seen one like this.

Usually, the fish cakes sold outside by restaurants or food trucks were made from salmon paste or other fish paste, and could be called fish patties, fried with breadcrumbs or directly grilled.

But this one here looked quite different, seeming devoid of any visible fish meat component?

Driven by curiosity and trust in Lin Chen, he popped the whole piece into his mouth.

That bite once again challenged his understanding of fish cakes.

Oh, that’s not right. I shouldn’t say it’s a complete fish cake. It seems Lin Chen introduced it as a food made by mixing crab meat, fish, and starch?

The overall texture tends to be smooth and tender, like tofu, but with a slight chewiness, evident in its seafood-like flavor, whether it’s fish or crab meat is unclear, but definitely related to seafood.

The crab cake itself is seasoned to be salty and fresh with a hint of sweetness, paired with a special sauce mixed with mala flavor and sesame sauce. It’s salty but fresh, fresh with spicy mala, followed by a rich sesame aroma, garlic fragrance, and nutty taste.

"Wow, this crab cake is amazing, it’s so delicious! No wonder it was recommended to me! It looks like it’s semi-finished, but why have I never seen other food trucks selling this kind of stuff? It’s so convenient and tasty!"

After finishing the remaining two crab cakes in the box in one go, he set his sights on the other semi-finished balls.

Covered in sauce, you couldn’t tell what was what, so just gobbling them up was good enough.

Chewy and bouncy beef balls, crunchy bone balls that make a crunching sound when bitten, stuffed fish balls, tempura, tribute balls, fish tofu...

Each type of ball has its unique flavor, opening up a whole new world for him, temporarily lost in enjoyment.

Apart from various balls, the vegetables totally amazed him as well.

Especially those strips of yellow vegetables, each crevice of the leaves soaked in sauce, bursting with juice at each bite, the sweet vegetable juice making him immensely captivated.

And there was the tofu, fried to a sandy yellow, which also burst with juice.

The takeout box was filled with an assortment of ingredients he had never seen before, but without exception, they were all incredibly tasty, even the ordinary thick potato slices had a memorable flavor when coated in rich sauce.

But he really couldn’t eat anymore, so he just tasted each food a bit, and given the generous portion Lin Chen gave, after eating for a while, there was still about half a box left.

He planned to pack the leftovers to take back for his sister to try anyway, since he wouldn’t be able to finish it himself.

However, his sister couldn’t handle spicy food, so if she couldn’t eat it, he could have it as a midnight snack after waking up.

While Daniel was enjoying the delicious food alone in the cockpit, the people in the back kitchen indulged in freshly prepared mala soup.

The four ladies were quite clever, with the idea of tasting every flavor, they divided their portions into three parts, using tomato soup, mala soup, and dry-mix sauce respectively.

This process was done by themselves, with Lin Chen only providing verbal guidance, though guidance was only needed for the dry-mix sauce ratio, while the other two soups were just to ladle out and pour in directly.

Lucas wasn’t idle either, he took some time to make each person two flavors of mini rice balls, about the size of a plum, finished in two bites.

"I think the dry-mix is tastier, heavier flavor, and the mala flavor is more pronounced, while the soup is slightly mild. But, wasn’t my taste not this strong before?"

"Well, I prefer the tomato flavor, this tomato soup is super tasty, didn’t expect high soup to be used for cooking food besides making finished soup, it’s a genius idea."

"Why does this mala soup have a milky taste, is milk added? Also, the flavor is a bit like mala crayfish, plus the bone soup, this soup would be great with anything!"

"It’s not milk, it’s milk powder, mainly to adjust the color and enhance the milky flavor, adding milk would dilute the soup’s taste."

"Oh my, this glutinous rice thing has a great texture, what’s the difference from regular rice?"

"Of course, glutinous rice has higher starch content and sugars, giving it a sticky and chewy texture, it can’t be boiled, only steamed or stir-fried, while regular rice has a higher protein content..."

Giving a brief explanation to everyone about these food basics, Dais and Elsa nodded while eating, silently taking notes in case guests come to ask.

"Oh right, this sesame sauce contains peanut butter, if guests are allergic to peanuts, it shouldn’t be added, need to take extra caution."

"What? So it actually has peanut butter, no wonder I found a familiar nutty aroma, that makes sense!"

"In Great Xia, this type of sauce usually mixes sesame paste with peanut butter, pure sesame paste or peanut butter don’t taste particularly good alone, but together they become more fragrant."

Lin Chen made himself a bowl of mala soup too, prepared dry-mix. The soup is tasty, but he grew up eating dry-mix, and given his heavy taste preference, this suits him better.

Just talking about the sauce, it’s pretty close to the taste from his memory, but to cater to foreigners, it’s generally milder in flavor complexity.

Moreover, many delicious ingredients for mala soup are unavailable here, only the basic ones are accessible, though it doesn’t go wrong, a lot of fun is missed.

Luckily, most foreigners haven’t tried mala soup, starting from basics isn’t really a problem, once supply channels are available, new items can be introduced creating more interest among customers.

"Everyone, finish eating quickly, once done, wash the ingredients Daniel just delivered, package them as needed, Lucas, come with me to move these three pots of soup to the food truck, I can’t move it alone."

"Tch, fine, fine, looks like I’m the only grunt here, sigh."

Lucas sighed, speeding up his eating, having tasted these foods countless times, so no need for savoring, just stuffing them into his mouth impatiently.

"By the way, when will those employees you hired arrive?"

"I’m not sure, they might be here soon, waiting for visa news, only hired two for now, President Wang said results are due in three or four days definitely."

"Does that mean I have to be a grunt for a few more days??"

"Why, feeling it’s tough work already? I’ve been working all day without complaining."

"...It’s not tough, just unlucky."