Chapter 417: Chapter 416: Taming Yashan Liang (Part 2)
Coconut milk!
Xijian Run exclaid in surprise, “Isn’t it an Indian-style curry?”
Tanaka Hikari nodded.
“Curry cos in many varieties and is consud in many countries and regions, including India, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and so on. Curry initially spread throughout South Asia and Southeast Asia and, after reaching these places, it combined with local customs and food cultures, thus evolving into various styles and thods of consumption,” she said.
This was basic culinary knowledge every Far Moon student had to know.
Xingping Chuangzhen scratched his face and said, “As far as I know, genuine Indian-style curry uses heavy ingredients and generally doesn’t use coconut milk or shredded coconut to mitigate the spiciness. Therefore, authentic Indian curry is intensely spicy with a strong aftertaste.”
“Exactly!”
With a fist pump, Xingping Chuangzhen continued, “On the contrary, Thai curry, Singaporean curry, and Malaysian curry, these Southeast Asian countries’ curries, often add coconut milk and shredded coconut to reduce the spiciness and enhance the aroma.”
Amidst the analysis of the three professionals, Xia Yu’s curry dish gave a hint of its nature.
Southeast Asian-style curry?
“No!”
While cooking his own dish, Yashan Liang relied on his ‘Divine Sense of Sll’ to detect the ingredients Xia Yu had put on the counter.
The faint scents were easily captured by his Divine Sense of Sll.
Thus, the scents ford concrete images in his mind through his nerves.
In a sense, ‘Divine Tongue’ and ‘Divine Sense of Sll,’ these talents provided concrete information fragnts when tasting or slling.
“Cloves, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, turric powder…”
One by one, the shadows of spices floated through his mind.
“This is clearly a traditional Indian curry recipe, each spice asured out precisely; even without adding anything else, simply combining them could produce a decent curry dish,” thought Yashan Liang intensely.
“Wait!”
Inhaling through his nose, Yashan Liang couldn’t help turning to look.
“That yellowish concoction in the small bowl, no, it’s a sauce, it’s called fish sauce!”
His gaze imdiately swept to a small dish beside the fish sauce.
A few vibrant green leaves were placed on top.
This ti without needing to sll, Yashan Liang silently said in his heart, “Bay leaves!”
“Found it! And there’s lemongrass, too!”
Yashan Liang’s fist, resting by his side, suddenly clenched as his eyes sparkled with excitent, “Thai curry, is it? Indeed, beside the common spices, Thai curry often includes extra herbs like lemongrass, fish sauce, and bay leaves for seasoning… Your dish is now completely exposed under my ‘Divine Sense of Sll’!”
Caught up in his excitent, Yashan Liang had obviously forgotten the particular Fantasy Spices that had initially shocked him.
Xia Yu paid no attention to the outside discussions.
After waiting ten minutes, when the water in the pot boiled, she mixed in the diced pumpkin, coconut milk, and plain water to cook, filling the room with a sweet aroma.
Click.
She turned off the heat.
Rather than imdiately adding other spices into the pot, Xia Yu took another clean frying pan, set it on the second burner, turned the valve, and added a little oil to heat it up.
“Is that…”
Both Yashan Liang and Xijian Run were astonished.
One after another, Xia Yu poured three kinds of granular spices into the frying pan: caraway seeds, coriander seeds, and mustard seeds.
Pop, pop.
The dry spice granules burst open imdiately upon touching the hot surface of the pan.
Rich aroma continuously erged!
“Is this heating to fully bring out the aroma of the spices?” Tanaka Hikari exclaid.
“Are they separating the processes?”
Xijian Run murmured.
Xingping Chuangzhen’s spirit lifted as he watched Xia Yu pick up the “Indra Moon Orange” she had been grinding earlier. Although he did not yet know what this spice was, the ti Xia Yu spent contemplating it suggested it was no ordinary ingredient.
Perhaps, this spice played a key role in Instructor Xia’s curry dishes. Thinking this, Xingping paid even closer attention to Xia Yu’s every move.
“Here it cos!”
Soon, Xingping’s eyes widened.
With the fragrance of several spices being fried and wafting throughout the room, Xia Yu’s expression darkened slightly as she glanced towards the small dish to her right.
The finely ground orange leaf powder was contained in that dish.
The dried orange leaves had lost their freshness, and their aroma was certainly not as potent as that of the fresh leaves plucked directly from the plant.
Therefore, frying the orange leaves to bring out their aroma was crucial.
Success or failure hinged on this step!
“Sizzle—”
The dish tilted, and in the mont the gray-brown powder hit the pan…
Boom.
Tanaka Hikari and Xingping Chuangzhen, who were watching, felt as if they heard a thunderous explosion in the air, splitting the earth and shattering gold, as the nearby frying pan suddenly beca an intense volcano, with torrents of lava from the spice whirlwind, wave after wave.
“My God!”
Tanaka Hikari’s cheeks glistened with sweat, her hands clasped before her mouth.
A gust of wind ca face-on, lifting her sumr uniform skirt and scattering her long hair. Tanaka twisted in the wind, and with just a whiff of the fragrance, a warm stream coursed through her body—boom, boom, boom…
In her daze, several mountain peaks rose from the plains before her.
More and more peaks appeared.
Eventually, they ford a magnificent mountainous landscape in her view. Inhaling the explosive scent of the spices, she felt as if she saw a complex tapestry of ridges and peaks—a grand gesture in the composition of spices!
Oh!
Tanaka exclaid in surprise, as a small figure glowing with golden light appeared in her view, wandering among the mountains, and whenever it ca across an irregular peak, it moved the mountain aside. Boom, boom, boom—the landscape quickly transford again. From a bird’s eye view, one would recognize a strange formation composed of the mountain peaks.
Back to reality.
Xia Yu had already added onions, tomatoes, and other seasonings to the frying pan.
She simred these with the spices in the pan.
Then, the mixture was transferred to a blender.
Ten minutes later.
Xia Yu poured the curry sauce from the blender, now a paste, and added it back into the pot, which previously contained pumpkin cubes, coconut milk, and water.
Once the water ca to a boil again and a touch more coconut milk was added for flavor, Xia Yu imdiately turned off the heat.
Serve and plate.
The curry sauce was divided into four small dishes, poured over hot rice.
Without the taste of at, it was perhaps more appropriate to call it a vegetarian curry.
“I’m also finished—”
Yashan Liang served his dish at the table too.
“Southern Indian-style curry!”
Four identical plates.
“This is one of Southern India’s signature dishes, and I also used curry leaves to add aroma,” Yashan Liang said.
And unlike Xia Yu’s vegetarian curry, Yashan Liang’s dish contained chunks of chicken.
Xijian Run, Tanaka Hikari, and Xingping Chuangzhen gathered around.
“Whose should we try first?”
Tanaka Hikari was clearly conflicted.
As Xia Yu was about to speak, Yashan Liang interjected, “Try mine first!”
“You won’t be disappointed!”
Yashan Liang’s mouth curled into a confident smile, “I guarantee it’s a supre curry experience that you’ve never encountered before!”
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