Chapter 1709: Sharing Is Pretty Interesting Too
Mag always thought that he had come to accept more kinds of food since he arrived in this world, and could already get used to the shock of food from different aspects, accepting their pros and cons.
However…
He seemed to have overestimated himself.
Therefore, when he put that mutton into his mouth, he could not control himself, and spat it out when that rank odor assailed him.
The restaurant fell into dead silence all of a sudden.
Harrison and Gjerj glared wide-eyed with shock and a little awkwardness.
Leiden’s face flushed red. He lowered his head, and did not know where to put his hands.
Meanwhile, Moore clenched his fists as he glared at Mag.
Mag felt awkward too. That was a little beyond his expectations. That should not have happened.
If it had been in his previous life, he would have walked out straight away should any restaurant serve him this kind of mutton.
But he could not do it right now. He was in his own restaurant.
And this mutton was brought to him especially so that he could give them some pointers knowing their inadequacies. The scenario was slightly different.
“Ah, er….” Mag put the half-eaten meat between his chopsticks back into the bowl, and wiped his mouth with a tissue. He had already regained his composure. He looked at Leiden, and straightforwardly said, “It’s indeed a very terrible mutton stew.”
Harrison and Gjerj looked at each other nervously, and suddenly questioned their decision to bring the orcs over to Boss Mag.
Leiden saw that Mag had a sincere look, and was not mocking him. He nodded, and said, “Yes, compared to the mutton you make, this is terrible.”
“You don’t have to compare it with me. I made mutton soup, while you made mutton stew. They are two completely different dishes.” Mag shook his head with a smile, and said, “However, even for mutton stew, if the rank odor is so strong, I doubt anyone could accept it except for those with a very extreme taste preference.”
“How could that be? Father’s mutton is very good…” Moore said indignantly as his eyes turned red. Even if this fellow was a very impressive chef, how could he spit out previous mutton just like that?
“Moore, you have to respect the person who’s teaching you and giving you pointers,” Leiden said seriously as he glared at Moore.
“Yes.” Moore’s expression changed. He quickly lowered his gaze and stood aside.
“The child’s ignorant. Please, go ahead,” Leiden said apologetically.
“It’s alright. My actions were a little rude too.” Mag shook his head. When he saw that Leiden was indeed very sincere in learning, he said, “The people in Chaos City usually go for lighter tastes. Although people from different races gather here, after hundreds of years of interacting with each other, their tastes have morphed to become slightly lighter. In this case, the spicy hot pot might be able to pique their interest, but the strong smell like the rank odor would not work. It belongs to the kind that people would shun.
“There’s not much problem with the control of fire and choice of spices in your mutton stew, but you did not consciously try to get rid of the rank odor. That caused the fragrance and odor to mix together.
“The rank odor has already been infused into the meat. I really don’t know how to get rid of it,” Leiden answered honestly.
“Harrison, I would have to trouble you to buy the spices and half of the sheep you bought in the morning. On top of that, could you help me get half a kg of ginger and half a kg of orange peels?” Mag asked Harrison.
“Right away.” Harrison left immediately, and came back with the ingredients within 15 minutes.
“It’s actually not difficult to get rid of the rank odor, but most people don’t know the way. Let me show you.” Mag brought the half of a sheep into the kitchen, and Leiden followed behind.
“Thank you.” Leiden did not think that Mag would actually be willing to do a live demonstration.
Leiden’s and Moore’s eyes lit up as they stood at the door of the kitchen, looking at the wide space glimmer as light was reflected on the metal furniture. Compared to their clay pot and stone stove, this place was heaven.
“Getting rid of the rank odor is a process on its own. You cannot start thinking of a way after the mutton goes into the pot. It starts from when you prepare the meat.” Mag pulled out his cleaver, and chopped the mutton into pieces similar in size to Leiden’s mutton before putting them into a huge basin to wash.
“The first step is to chop the mutton up and use clean water to wash the blood away completely. The blood would make the rank odor stronger.” Mag poured the basin of water away, and filled it up again for three rounds until the water poured out was clean.
“At this time, we shouldn’t be eager to drop the meat into the pot. First, cut some ginger and pour some alcohol in to marinate the mutton. This step helps to remove the rank odor to a certain extent as well,” Mag said while he continued his demonstration.
“Alcohol? Any kind of alcohol?” Leiden asked. Although he was not knowledgeable about ginger as well, the alcohol available in the market was more of a problem to him.
Mag thought for a while, and said, “Sheep-milk-based alcohol would definitely not do. The usual fruit wines won’t do, either. You have to look for cooking alcohol. Such alcohols have the best results in removing rank odor,”
“Food alcohol is quite disgusting, but I know where to get it. You can leave this to me,” Harrison said from outside.
During the marination, Mag filled the large pot at the side with water, but he was not in a rush to turn the fire up first.
“Can you cook it right now?” Leiden asked.
“No. We have to wait for the meat to marinate for around 15 minutes before putting it into the cold water.” Mag shook his head. Around 15 minutes later, he placed the marinated meat into the pot, and threw a few slices of ginger in before turning the fire on.
“Rinsing the meat in water is a necessary step. It can force out the impurities and blood in the meat, therefore getting rid of the rank odor. Adding ginger and alcohol had the same effect as marinating the meat,” Mag explained as he started to scoop up the impurities floating in the water. “You have to get rid of all these impurities. This is an equally important step.”
Leiden watched quietly at the side as he memorized everything Mag did.
After scooping up all the impurities, when there weren’t impurities surfacing anymore, Mag closed the fire. After that, he took the mutton out of the pot, and poured out the entire pot of mutton soup.
“You’re going to pour away this pot of rich mutton soup?” Leiden could not help but feel pity for the soup.
“This first pot is filled with rank odor. If we don’t pour it away, we won’t be able to get rid of the smell completely,” Mag said calmly. He used clear water to wash the mutton once more before picking up a piece of mutton to pass to Leiden. “Smell this. What changes do you smell?”
Leiden received the mutton. He wanted to see what was different in the mutton after Mag had done all those steps.
He put the meat to his nose and took a whiff. He was stunned.
The strong rank odor of the mutton was actually almost completely gone. Instead, there was actually a hint of refreshing smell, making the fragrance of the mutton even stronger.
“The rank odor is really gone!” Leiden was so shocked he did not know what to say. Those steps that Mag did were not difficult, and they were probably just a little complicated, but he did not expect the rank odor could be gotten rid of so cleanly.
“Boss Mag is Boss Mag indeed.” Harrison and Gjerj smiled.
“That’s… impressive.” Moore’s face was flushed red. He didn’t think that Mag would be so impressive.
“This is the pre-preparation. After this, we can follow your original steps for your mutton stew. Then, add some dried orange peel into the stew.” Mag placed the ready mutton into a bamboo basket, and passed it to Leiden. “I have to get ready for lunchtime soon, and I have limited space. You can complete the rest yourself. Taste it after you’re done, and if you have any questions, you can look for me again.”
“I am really grateful to you.” Leiden received the mutton and bowed deeply to Mag.
“You’re welcome. I believe that you can present mutton to the people in Chaos City in a different way and bring them a delicious eating experience,” Mag said with a smile. “I will go over to try it myself if you open the restaurant. You can also come to me if you face any difficulties with your opening.”
“Thank you. Thank you.”
Leiden thanked Mag time and again with Moore before leaving with Harrison.
“Sharing is pretty interesting too.” Mag sat back down by the window, and watched Harrison’s horse-drawn carriage drive off with a smile.