I'm the Culinary God

After taking a bath, he came out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe.

As soon as he pushed the door open, he saw Shen Jiayue, dressed in white suspenders, putting on a nearly transparent nun costume. He was stunned, somewhat unresponsive:

"What’s this?"

"Don’t look, don’t look, I’m not ready yet... I wanted to surprise you. How did you finish your bath so quickly?"

Lin Xu chuckled helplessly:

"Take it off; it’s so thin. Be careful not to catch a cold."

Shen Jiayue spun around, and the sight of her clothes made Lin Xu’s throat tighten.

"Do you really want me to take it off, Honey Lin?"

"Well... ahem... it can wait, anyway, it’s quite warm in here..."

Shen Jiayue approached with a cheeky smile, gently licking Lin Xu’s earlobe:

"Honey Lin, you’re poisoned. Let this nun perform a purification technique on you!"

Lin Xu: ????

Where did she learn such seductive tactics?

To think she’d use beauty tricks on me. Well, I’ll just play along!

The couple embraced and fell onto the bed, with the New Year’s chimes ringing early...

In the morning, after a simple breakfast, Lin Xu drove Dundun to the store while Shen Jiayue yawned and went upstairs to catch up on sleep.

Apparently, she was the one who ’surrendered’ last night.

In the store, Lin Xu placed Dundun on the service counter and then headed upstairs.

"Boss, the yellow mustard and duck feet have arrived. Do you want to use them now or later?"

"Bring the yellow mustard here first. I’ll start preparing the mustard."

Yellow mustard as a condiment cannot be used directly; it needs to be mixed with water into a paste for preparation, so that the unique spicy flavor of mustard can emerge.

From a scientific perspective, mustard powder encounters water, and with the catalysis of myrosinase, it hydrolyzes into isothiocyanate with a pungent spicy scent.

This taste is what mustard lovers crave, and what those who dislike it avoid.

Preparing yellow mustard requires specific water measurements; too much water results in a thin paste that won’t stick to the ingredients.

Also, the water temperature shouldn’t be too high.

Generally, when the water temperature exceeds sixty degrees, it can kill the myrosinase, resulting in a bitter yellow mustard sauce.

Usually, using warm water is best.

Myrosinase is most active at about forty degrees and prefers slightly acidic conditions, so it’s best to add a bit of rice vinegar during preparation.

Adding rice vinegar can also neutralize the bitterness of the yellow mustard sauce.

Once yellow mustard is ground into powder, the activity of myrosinase decreases over time, so it’s best to grind and use it fresh for a stronger flavor.

"Boss, here’s the yellow mustard delivered by Mr. Huang, which he said was ground fresh at dawn."

Lin Xu took it, opened the bag, and smelled the unique punch of mustard. He poured the entire bag of yellow mustard into a basin and began preparing the paste.

First, he added a small spoon of salt, two small spoons of sugar, two small spoons of rice vinegar, and two small spoons of mustard oil into the basin.

He took a bowl of warm water at about forty degrees and poured a little into the basin, stirring the mustard powder with a spoon in the other hand until it formed a shaggy consistency, then added a bit more water to stir it into a thicker paste.

After preparation, he drizzled some sesame oil over it to seal it, covered it with plastic wrap, and left it to ferment in a forty-degree environment.

Adding sesame oil serves three purposes: neutralizing bitterness, enhancing aroma, and using the oil’s adhesion to retain the mustard flavor.

This makes the taste more long-lasting and appealing.

Once the yellow mustard was prepared, Lin Xu remained busy in the kitchen until nearly ten, by which time Shen Jiayue had arrived, standing by Zeng Xiaoqi to admire the gift from Qi’s mom.

The scarf was beautiful, probably worth several thousand bucks.

A gift from a senior can’t be refused, but accepting it feels a bit embarrassing due to its high cost.

Zeng Xiaoqi thought about it, secretly spending a few thousand online to buy a pair of matching full helmets, planning to give the male one as a return gift to Qi Siming.

If things progress further in the future, she’d bring out the female version to make a pair.

If nothing happens, she can keep the helmet as a memento.

In the kitchen, Lin Xu took out the duck feet that had been soaking for a few hours, put them in a pot with cold water, and added scallions, ginger, and rice wine to blanch.

Ingredients with strong smells, like chicken feet, duck feet, pork trotters, and lamb trotters, should be blanched to reduce the odor.

Once boiling, he skimmed off the foam, took them out, rinsed them clean, and placed them back in a pot with cold water, adding star anise, bay leaves, cardamom, angelica dahurica, fennel, dried chili, and salt.

He simmered them on low heat for half an hour, then quickly transferred them to ice water to rapidly cool the duck feet.

Using the contrast of hot and cold separates the bones from the meat, making it easier to debone and also leaving the duck feet crisp and tastier.

After thoroughly soaking the duck feet, it was time to remove the bones.

Lin Xu used a small sharp knife to cut open the outside of the duck feet, separating the toe bones and leg bones, easily removing the bones, leaving only the meat and tendons.

The duck feet delivered today were of good quality, all with tendons attached.

Cheaper duck feet usually have the tendons removed.

With his perfect-level knife skills, Lin Xu deboned quickly and efficiently, finishing all of them before boiling a new pot of water to blanch the deboned duck feet for ten seconds.

Blanching the deboned duck feet removes oils and debris, making them cleaner and tastier.

After blanching, he soaked the duck feet in ice water again.

Bringing over the prepared mustard, he took a small bowl half-filled with fragrant yellow mustard sauce, adding a small spoon of salt, two small spoons of sugar, a tablespoon of rice vinegar, a small spoon of mustard oil, and a small spoon of honey, stirring it even.

He took out the soaked duck feet, used kitchen paper to dry the surface, as this step is crucial; otherwise, the mustard sauce won’t adhere.

He placed the duck feet in a clean small basin, poured in the mixed mustard sauce, put on gloves, and tossed them to coat the duck feet thoroughly with the sauce.

He arranged them on a plate.

He lined the bottom with cucumber shreds for a refreshing contrast that removes the greasiness.

Then he placed the duck feet one by one on top, forming a mound-like shape to cover the cucumber shreds, which made the portion look larger.

Finally, he drizzled the sauce from the bottom of the basin over the duck feet, completing the dish.

Bringing it outside, he announced to everyone:

"Freshly made mustard duck feet, have a taste and see how it is."

As soon as Shen Jiayue smelled the mustard, she felt tempted and immediately picked up her chopsticks to try a bite. The mustard’s sharpness hit her, and tears flowed down her face instantly.

Just arriving upstairs, Chen Yan saw and was puzzled.

What’s going on?

So delicious it made her cry?

Is my cousin this good at acting now?

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I really want to eat mustard duck feet! 5,200 words published on this site; monthly tickets, brothers, please!