Chapter 322 - Chapter 322: Chapter 322: Black Duck

Chapter 322: Chapter 322: Black Duck

Translator: 549690339 I

“Wow! What is this new delicious food?”

Before Shen Qian could speak, Zhou Tianhao, who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion, already had a look of anticipation on his face.

He carefully took the large pot full of deep brown soup from Qin Lang’s hand, and then magically conjured up a small spoon, scooping up a spoonful and preparing to put it in his mouth.

“Wait a moment, brother Zhou!”

Qin Lang finally reacted and hurriedly stopped him.

“Huh?” Zhou Tianhao’s hand paused mid-action, a puzzled look on his face, “What’s wrong? Can’t eat it?”

It’s not that it can’t be eaten…” Qin Lang looked a bit strange.

“Then it’s fine.” Without further ado, Zhou Tianhao plunged the soup into his mouth.

The very next moment, his facial features scrunched up tightly, instantly putting on a mask of pain.

“It’s just that the taste is a bit strong.” Qin Lang leisurely added the latter part of his statement.

“Hiss!” Seeing Zhou Tianhao’s pained expression, Shen Qian sucked in a breath of cold air and instinctively retreated a few steps, looking at the soup in the pot with a dash more uncertainty, “What in the world is this?”

“Water! Water!” Having recovered, Zhou Tianhao grabbed a large cup of water and gulped it down completely, finally catching his breath, “That taste was really strong.”

The moment the soup entered his mouth, all sorts of rich flavors that would not dissolve exploded in Zhou Tianhao’s mouth. It felt like he was drinking a mouthful of seasonings, and moreover, a mixture of multiple flavors of seasonings.

“So this delicious food is not soup?” Zhou Tianhao stuck out his tongue, still recuperating from the flavor just now, but his gaze towards the pot was still brimming with curiosity.

The proof lay in the pudding.

“This soup is actually a marinade.” Qin Lang found a slotted spoon and ladled out the ingredients hidden in the soup, “This delicious food is called…”

“Zhou Black Duck!”

The kitchen went quiet for a moment, then Shen Qian spoke with some uncertainty, “You call kelp and dried tofu ‘duck’?”

“Wait.” Qin Lang smiled and continued to fetch ingredients from the pot.

Duck feet, duck neck, duck collarbone, duck wing, duck leg, dried tofu, lotus roots, knots of kelp, bean skin, quail eggs…

A variety of mouth-watering ingredients, exuding a rich and unique aroma and deep brown odd color, looked especially tempting.

Zhou Tianhao: “…”

He suddenly felt that his unhesitant action of scooping up the marinade and drinking a mouthful was extraordinarily foolish.

“Now it makes more sense.” Seeing those tempting parts of the duck, Shen Qian’s face showed anticipation, “Can we eat it now?”

“Not just yet, there’s one more step.” Seeing the eager expressions on the two people and the eight food spirits, Qin Lang placed all the marinated ingredients on a large plate, evenly sprinkled with white sesame seeds, and then looked at Spicy, “Accelerate.”

“Cha Ka?”

Accelerate what?

Spicy showed a puzzled look.

Qin Lang didn’t cook the ingredients, did he?

“Speed up their cooling.” Qin Lang explained, “Only after they’re cooled, can you taste their perfect flavor.”

“Cha Ka!”

Got it!

Spicy nodded its head.

If only he had said that earlier!

The next moment, an invisible force enveloped the various delicious foods in the plate.

While everyone was waiting, the ingredients soon cooled to room temperature. The vegetable ingredients didn’t seem to have changed much from before, but the meat ingredients had undergone a noticeable transformation after cooling. Their color became a few shades darker, presenting a deep brownish-black color, and the meat texture became firmer. Under the light, it glistened with an enticing luster.

Combined with the sprinkled white sesame seeds, it appeared even more tempting.

“Taste it.”

Qin Lang placed the plate in the center of the dining table, and everyone quickly swooped in.

“Don’t rush, there’s more in the marinade.” Seeing everyone hasty to snatch the food, Qin Lang shouted, and then leisurely picked up a quail egg and put it in his mouth, “I made a lot, enough for everyone.”

As he savored the fully flavored quail egg with its rich marinated flavor and crisp texture, along with the yolk that was no longer dry but also filled with the marinated taste after soaking up the soup, Qin Lang nodded in satisfaction.

It is a familiar taste.

In his previous life, he visited the founder of Zhou Hei Duck multiple times. Through sincerity, he won the person over and learned the most authentic Zhou Hei Duck marinade recipe.

The first taste is sweet, but it is spicy in the aftertaste. The more you eat, the spicier it gets. The unique experience of sweet and spicy interweaving in the mouth is the soul of Zhou Hei Duck.

Shen Qian picked up a piece of duck mid-wing and bit into the thickest side, savoring the taste as she chewed.

Cooling made the duck wing’s meat become firmer, giving it a noticeable bounce as she chewed on it. It was not sticky between her lips and teeth, but seemed quite chewy instead.

Even more strangely, was its taste.

The moment it first entered Shen Qian’s mouth, she could taste the clear sweetness. But after a few more chews, once the meat was swallowed, the spiciness emerged.

Her expression gradually changed from disinterest and expectation to seriousness and surprise.

How did he achieve this flavor transformation?!

Sweet and spicy.

These two extreme tastes were perfectly blended together by Qin Lang?!

Shen Qian quickly consumed the duck mid-wing in her hand, her astonishment deepened, and her admiration for Qin Lang evident in her eyes.

What exactly does this guy not know how to do?

This taste…” Zhou Tianhao tasted a thoroughly marinated piece of dried tofu, the unique texture of the slightly bouncy tofu and the special flavor of the marinade left him no less stunned than Shen Qian.

If this unique flavor had a name, it should be sweet and spicy.

Sweet first, then spicy, the sweet and spicy taste perfectly intertwined.

He never imagined that food could have such a unique taste.

He then picked up a piece of kelp knot and tasted it again.

The same sweet and crisp taste, but due to the different textures and inherent flavors of the ingredients, there were slight variations.

The flavorful kelp knot had a crisp texture, filled with a strong sense of satisfaction from chewing, and the kelp’s own umami taste blended into the sweet and spicy marinade, in such harmony.

This reminded Zhou Tianhao of the Gravy Seafood dish that Qin Lang served at the Leaping Fish Banquet. The same sauce cooking perfectly with different ingredients, presenting different flavors.

While the sameness of the sauce gave these different flavors a common feature.

Is it the complementary relationship between ingredients and seasonings…

Zhou Tianhao showed a thoughtful look, feeling that he had learned a little more.

As for the eight Food Spirits, they were purely in joy.

Different Food Spirits prefer different ingredients due to their original cuisine, but here, they all can find their favorite things.

There is more if it is not enough.” Seeing the progressively emptying plate, Qin Lang continued to serve the food from the marinade with a smile.

This time, Spicy consciously stepped forward, using Cooking Acceleration to cool the ingredients quickly.

Shen Qian, with a duck leg in her mouth, her eyes had unknowingly become exceptionally bright.

“I get it!”

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Colored egg content at the end of this chapter: [Homemade Zhou Hei Duck]