I'm the Culinary God

"This meatball soup is so delicious!"

Shen Jiayue took a bite of the meat roll and then used a small spoon to scoop up a vegetable meatball and put it into her mouth.

The meatballs were just fried, still carrying that crispy feeling outside, and soaked in the sour and spicy refreshing soup. When eaten, they were fresh, spicy, and extremely tasty.

Never thought vegetable meatballs in soup could taste this good.

Lin Xu said:

"If you want meatballs, I’ll make some for you later. The New Year is coming, and it’s indeed time to make some meatballs and prepare some New Year goods."

Although this year we won’t be celebrating in Beijing, the New Year goods still need to be prepared.

Preparing a day early means eating earlier.

Upon hearing about preparing New Year goods, Shen Jiayue began ordering:

"Then make some Laba garlic, the green garlic that’s great with dumplings."

"Sure, I’ll start once I’m done with my tasks."

Lin Xu is no stranger to Laba garlic, as Chen Meijuan used to make some every Spring Festival, adding not just garlic but also sliced cabbage stems.

The sour, crisp taste is indeed perfect with dumplings.

While they were eating, Chen Yan and Ren Jie arrived upstairs.

"Hurry up and serve us some soup, my stomach is empty."

Chen Yan took a bite of a fluffy crispy churro from the basket, thinking it was better than those on breakfast stalls. It instantly whetted her appetite.

Chezai went into the kitchen, served two bowls of meatball soup in large bowls, and said with a smile:

"This was made by Master Ma; he said it’s a delicacy from the Central Plains, sour and spicy, like the soup from water banquets."

The sour and spicy flavors are integral to many places in the Central Plains. The sour aroma of vinegar combined with the spicy flavor of pepper creates the hometown taste that people from the Central Plains yearn for.

Various delicacies from the Central Plains, such as water banquets, tripe soup, spicy soup, beef soup, meatball soup, and pot dumplings all use sour and spicy as their foundation.

Lin Xu took a sip of the soup:

"In the past, the Central Plains faced many disasters, people were poor, and food wasn’t good, relying on vinegar and pepper to enhance sweat and flavor, which led to a dining habit where meals and dishes were combined."

In other regions, meals and soup are generally separate, but many dishes in the Central Plains combine food, rice, and soup, with the most typical being braised noodles.

Ren Jie said:

"This spring, I went to Central Plains Luocheng for work with the Su team, and saw the streets full of beef soup varieties. Paired with staple food, it’s really satisfying."

Ma Zhiqiang brought a small basket of churro meat rolls and other staple foods, responding:

"Indeed, there are many beef soups in Luocheng. Each household seems the same, but their ingredients, main ingredients, and soup differ, keeping their secrets... A colleague of mine from Luocheng said it’s hard to drink beef soup that’s the same in two places there; they’ll vary slightly."

Shen Jiayue, curious, quietly asked Lin Xu:

"I know everything else, but what are pot dumplings you mentioned?"

Lin Xu broke the churro in his hand and soaked it in the soup, while eating and saying:

"It’s a dish combining sour soup dumplings with meatball soup, except it adds some dumplings to the soup we’re drinking now."

Shen Jiayue used her chopsticks to pick up a soaked churro from Lin Xu’s bowl, tasted it, and then soaked her churro into the bowl.

To enhance the flavor, she specifically drizzled some chili oil into the bowl.

Thus, eating while listening to everyone discuss the Central Plains delicacies.

Although Chen Yan had traveled all over the place, her understanding of the Central Plains was relatively little. Listening to the discussions, like Shen Jiayue, she was full of curiosity and wanted to try.

Lin Xu said:

"After attending Qi Siming’s apprenticeship banquet this noon, once the household registration book arrives, I’ll sort out the registration, and afterward, I’ll try to make some New Year dishes for you to experience the Central Plains New Year customs."

This year, Lin Ji is not taking a holiday, so we need to ensure everyone eats and drinks well.

Though not closed, there will be staggered rest days, allowing employees to return home in batches.

Dou Wenjing and Shu Yun are already organizing this. Though it seems simple, it requires early communication with employees.

Like Wei Qian, this year, he plans to spend New Year at Song Tiantian’s home. One is the front desk manager and the other the head chef. Arranging rest days requires considering colleagues on the same leave batch.

Can’t let all managerial staff go home for New Year, leaving a group of employees busy here.

After the meal, Chen Yan packed some food and drinks and went to Old Sun’s house with Ren Jie, while Lin Xu took out steamed rice pulp that had been steaming for nearly half an hour.

The rice pulp was thoroughly steamed, turning semi-transparent, with a strong rice fragrance wafting from afar.

He went into the small kitchen, cleaned the workbench, and then poured some peanut oil over it.

Next, he overturned the steamer, pouring out the clumping rice pulp inside.

The steamed rice pulp was very hot, with high temperature and, compared to glutinous rice, much harder. Lin Xu tried kneading it like dough but couldn’t budge it.

"It’s so hard, quite different from glutinous rice."

Lin Xu tried kneading it a couple more times, but it remained hard and couldn’t be kneaded.

Niu Chuan, skeptical, tried it out himself. With substantial strength, he barely managed to bend it, only for the rice lump to crack open.

"This method won’t work, we need a new approach."

Lin Xu tapped the rice lump a few times with a rolling pin; it improved slightly. But pressed with force like Niu Chuan, the rice lumps still cracked open.