Red Oil Dumplings!
As the fiery sauce poured onto the plate, Xingping’s Red Oil Dumplings were complete.
Red Oil Dumplings are a common dish on the nu at Chinese Restaurants, belonging to Sichuan cuisine within the major Chinese culinary traditions, characterized generally by thin skins, tender ats and a spicy, aromatic chili oil broth.
Thus, to make authentic Red Oil Dumplings, there were two key elents—
The dumplings themselves.
And the soul-enhancing red oil broth.
The number of spectators was large, among them Chinese tourists and gourts knowledgeable about Chinese food. At first glance at Xingping Chuangzhen’s plate of Red Oil Dumplings, they started giving thumbs up.
Dumplings arranged in a circular formation, small in size, light in weight, with a thin layer of dough that acted like a crystal screen, encapsulating the filling and faintly emitting a aty aroma.
Just glimpsing these shiny dumplings in the red oil broth made the onlookers salivate, their eyes broadcasting intense signals of appetite—
Wanting to eat!
But the professionals, which included so industry chefs and top students from Far Moon, rely glanced at the dumplings a few tis, then stared intently at the circles of floating red oil broth.
Relying on their keen sense of sll, they could tell just by the scent.
This red oil broth was extraordinary!
"Not the traditional red oil broth!"
Posing as a reporter, Chen Yang had already blended into the periter of the crowd. He deliberately avoided Lei Zhe, standing at an angle out of his line of sight, and it wasn’t long before he stopped walking as the spicy aroma wafted from the inner circle. The strong, enchanting scent took him by surprise, "Traditional red oil sauce mainly uses red soy sauce and red chili oil mixed together, with sugar, minced garlic, and chopped green onions added depending on the chef’s preference and the guests’ taste..."
However, in the scent that diffused through the air, apart from the spicy fragrance of red soy sauce and red chili oil, Chen Yang also detected hints of sourness and sweetness.
This mix of aromas swirling around his nose, Chen Yang beca addicted, inhaling deeply—
"Sour, sweet, spicy, and richly fragrant!"
He internally appraised it.
"Spices!"
"This red oil broth must contain classic Chinese spices, otherwise the flavor wouldn’t be so rich, full-bodied, and lingering!"
Chen Yang concluded, and squeezed through the crowd to move closer to the inner circle to catch a stronger whiff and confirm his judgnt.
At this mont.
The closest to the stall and the Red Oil Dumplings was undoubtedly Lei Zhe.
On the surface, he appeared the sa as when he had left Kogama Restaurant, but an observant person could spot the faint sweat trails under his hairline, showing signs of spreading.
To achieve this with just aroma was a significant success.
To know, not even Koga Shoji’s extre spiciness had managed to draw a single drop of sweat from Lei Zhe.
Therefore, as a cuisine that triumphs through spiciness and hooks diners with its heat, Shuchuan cuisine’s failure outright in Koga Shoji’s case was undeniable. But Xingping Chuangzhen’s Red Oil Dumplings had touched upon a threshold of success!
On the outskirts.
Koga Shoji, leaning against the gate at a higher step, watching this scene, wore a complex expression on his face.
"Co, have a taste—"
In the silent crowd, a refreshing young voice, full of vitality, spoke.
It was Xingping Chuangzhen, who for the third ti within a quarter hour, extended an invitation to taste his dish to a Lin-level chef who had co with ill intentions.
Hearing this, Koga Shoji covered his face with his hand, scolding him as reckless, yet inside he felt a hint of admiration.
Kobayakawa Ryodan and Tiqie Helinai also looked at him with slightly astounded eyes.
"Is this the spirit of a chef?"
A Far Moon student said, recalling the address at the opening ceremony from the Far Moon Commander—that 99% of you exist to refine that 1% of gems.
Now, they saw in Xingping Chuangzhen the unique sparkle of a "Generation of Jades"!
Lei Zhe suddenly burst into laughter, his admiration evident in his eyes no longer hidden.
As everyone turned to look at him, his laughter ceased, and he stared at Xingping like a formidable bear standing on two legs, his entire persona exuding a dangerous aura, "This is the third ti!"
"Three strikes!"
"If you can’t satisfy ," I’m sorry, but I’ll have to give you a lifeti of bad reviews!"
"That’s the shackle I, Lei Zhe, place upon you!"
"Unless soone can defeat and prove their worth, this shackle cannot be broken!"
Lei Zhe’s words exuded an air of superiority.
Tiqie Helinai gritted her teeth, furious at the sight of soone causing a ruckus in her territory. Normally, any top chef would have had the person kicked out, rather than reluctantly hosting them.
The Far Moon ’Academy Festival’ was hosting Lin-level guests for the first ti!
Logically, with Far Moon Kingdom’s status in the Japanese food industry, even Lin Chefs wouldn’t dare to act so boldly, saying it represented the national food industry’s face was an understatent.
But thinking of the colossal entity behind Lei Zhe, Tiqie Helinai felt a wave of helplessness.
The Culinary Association, a dragon entrenched in the West, had recently forced the IGO to retreat progressively from the Eurasian continent.
Moreover, when it ca to national matters, the Japanese governnt had long beco a subordinate of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region. Only the culinary world had managed to sowhat hold its ground in recent years.
Lei Zhe himself represented the will of the Culinary Association and the United States.
Face-stepping?
Dare you resist?
That’s probably what imperialist thought feels like.
"Eat, you should enjoy the cuisine while it’s hot!" Xingping Chuangzhen, unlike Tiqie Helinai, wasn’t burdened with such thoughts and greeted again.
Lei Zhe coldly took the chopsticks handed to him and picked up a delicate dumpling.
He opened his mouth and swallowed it whole.
As expected!
Instantly, the spicy chili oil was overwhelming.
But within the spice, a rich aroma that made his tongue tremble erged—spiciness isn’t a flavor, but richness is, and this aroma blended with classic Chinese spices. Lei Zhe imdiately identified the structure of the spices—
based on cinnamon and star anise, the faint sweetness derived from this!
That hint of sourness was crafted by vinegar.
Then the core elent—
Sesa oil, also known as sesa oil!
Lei Zhe’s forehead began to sweat, and his usually stern face gradually softened.
"Boom!"
The gates unbreachable by re spiciness were easily conquered by a strange mix of sour, sweet, and intensely rich flavors.
The scorching desert stretched endlessly.
Thirsty and sweating profusely, Lei Zhe stood on a sand dune.
His entire body scorched by the sun.
Thud!
He fell to his knees. Since the awakening of his gourt cells, his tongue and mouth had never experienced such severe pain; he clutched at his neck.
The sound of footsteps approached, and a desert youth with a goatskin bag stood before him, "Do you desire it?"
"Give —"
He roared, snatched the goatskin bag, pulled out the stopper, and started frantically gulping down water.
Cough, cough!
The pain on his face did not ebb; his expression twisted even more.
"Ah!"
A loud cry.
What slipped smoothly into his mouth was not water but a red oil slurry that whizzed through his throat and plumted into his intestines, his entire body as if impaled by a spear of flas.
"Heh, heh, heh..."
Heavy breathing ensued.
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