The Gourmet Customizer

Making clear and milky broths isn’t difficult, but it’s by no means simple.

This was because it was the first S-Level item on Su Chen’s prep list, and a reusable stock at that.

’The stock must reach SS Level; it’s the soul of Lu Cuisine.’

Su Chen scooped a little of the freshly made stock to his lips. The milky stock had no discernible flaws; its defining characteristic was a pure umami flavor—a deep, mellow kind of savoriness.

’The key to a milky stock is boiling the bones over a high flame. There’s not much difficulty in that.’

’It has no noticeable flaws in flavor either. If things were as they should be, this stock ought to be SS Level already.’

The reason the system still gave an S-Level evaluation was likely because it was rating both stocks as a single item.

He took another sip, this time of the clear stock.

The flavor was fine, but it had a glaring flaw—it wasn’t translucent enough! It wasn’t "bright" enough!

It was a very subtle sensation. If not for his Peak of Flavor ability, Su Chen was certain that even he would never have noticed such a minute difference.

A clear stock should impart a distinct, bright savoriness—the kind that zings from the tip of your tongue to the back of your throat. But this savoriness isn’t as mellow and rich as a milky stock’s.

It’s meant to be light, yet luminous.

In Huaiyang Cuisine and Hubei Cuisine, the stock used is often just a simple chicken broth, functioning as little more than a substitute for chicken bouillon.

But the stocks in Lu Cuisine are a different beast entirely. Nowadays, most restaurants just use tap water and MSG for their "clear stock," and add a spoonful of evaporated milk for "milky stock."

To anyone who knows what’s what, a dish made that way isn’t worth a single bite.

Industrial flavorings and a stock extracted from real ingredients are two completely different things.

’The reason the stock isn’t translucent and bright enough is that the clarification process was lacking. But this clear stock is already crystal-clear; I can see the bottom of the pot.’

Su Chen stared at the pot of stock, lost in thought.

The method for this clear stock was similar to the broth base for the classic dish "Boiled Cabbage in Supreme Soup," only the ingredients were slightly different.

’Let’s review the process one more time!’

The raw materials consisted of four main ingredients: pork hock, chicken, duck, and pork bones.

The pork hock was to thicken the stock, the chicken and duck were to make it more savory, and the pork bones were to make it more aromatic.

’How can I achieve a more perfect clarification...?’

Su Chen set a large stockpot on the stove again, filling it with a good ten catties of fresh water.

He scored the pork hock twice along the bone, exposing it, then used the spine of his knife to crack it. This would help release the bone’s aroma.

After washing a hen, he removed its feet and sliced off the breast meat. He also trimmed the chicken fat and minced the breast meat into a paste, setting it aside. This would be used later to clarify the stock.

He did the same with the chicken legs. In Lu Cuisine stock preparation, minced thigh meat is called the "red raft" and minced breast meat is the "white raft." Their main purpose is to absorb impurities, rendering the stock clear and translucent.

As for the remaining chicken and duck carcasses, he used the spine of his knife to crack all their bones before tucking their wings. With that, the prep work was done.

Immediately, Su Chen began preparing the clear stock according to the recipe from the famous cookbook.

A pot of superior clear stock takes at least ten hours to prepare.

During this time, Su Chen couldn’t leave the practice room, or he would have to start all over again.

During the breaks while the stock clarified, Su Chen would find other dishes to practice.

He repeated this process over and over. Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

On the morning of the 14th, Liu Ahbao was up before five and heading to the nineteenth floor.

Sure enough, he found Su Chen already in the kitchen.

"Boss, President Ling and the others are on their way back. Some ingredients couldn’t be shipped, so they’re bringing them personally. They’re expected to reach Jingzhou by ten this morning."

Su Chen nodded, satisfied.

Leaving this matter to Ling Shuyu had been the right choice. She handled everything perfectly.

There were many things he didn’t need to say aloud; Ling Shuyu was probably the only one who would understand them.

"Let’s get started on the ingredients we have here. There’s a ton of work to do today."

Liu Ahbao patted his chest. "I already talked to my master. He’ll come over himself when he gets to Jingzhou, no need for me to pick him up!"

"Still, have Bai Xiaobo go pick him up. We don’t want the old man getting lost."

’That was a bit surprising. Lu Yongliang was coming for Cui Yufen’s birthday, so why was he arriving a day early?’

Su Chen pulled a set of pork intestines from the sorted ingredients. The provenance of this particular item didn’t matter; it had been bought from the main market.

"Go ahead and start cleaning the intestines. Get them all prepped."

"Are we making Nine-Turned Pork Intestines? I can handle this dish." Liu Ahbao was quite confident in his Lu Cuisine fundamentals.

Su Chen shook his head with a smile. "Let me handle all the cooking this time. You can just be my assistant. Oh, and one more thing! When you’re cleaning the intestines, remove about a third of the surface fat."

"Huh?" Liu Ahbao was baffled. "Boss, the whole point of intestines is that rich, fatty flavor. Are you sure you want to remove a third of it?"

Su Chen didn’t explain, just nodded.

’You think my SS-Level Nine-Turned Pork Intestines is a joke?’

Initially, Su Chen wouldn’t have removed the surface fat from the intestines either. That instruction came specifically from the famous cookbook!

After making Nine-Turned Pork Intestines a few times, the dish had smoothly evolved from A Level to S Level. When Su Chen tasted it, he found that it was, indeed, incredibly delicious!

But there was one problem: it was *too* aromatic!

Normally, a particularly aromatic dish is a good thing. But this dish was so aromatic that its fragrance completely overshadowed all the other flavors. Every bite was just an intense, overwhelming aroma, and nothing more.