Sakura net abalone slices and soft boiled octopus feet.
Although it is said to be sashimi, both of these items have been slow-cooked at low temperature for a long time.
Sakura net abalone is a traditional abalone type of Sakura country. The quality is very good, but the size is usually relatively small.
The meat of Sakura Abalone slices is relatively crispy, but after being slow-cooked at low temperature for a long time, the crispy meat becomes soft and waxy.
The portion of abalone slices is not much, only two pieces, and the octopus legs are only two small pieces.
Some viewers in the live broadcast room who didn't understand why couldn't help but complain when they saw the weight of the dishes.
“A small place is a small place, and the dishes are all carefully selected.”
"It's so funny. It's not even two fingers together. Who can eat this?"
"I finally understand why the host thinks it tastes delicious. It's because the portion is too small."
"I'll talk about the ones upstairs first. Last time I ordered an 800 set meal and almost didn't finish it. The appetizers have just been served, and I haven't even gotten into the main topic yet. Anyway, after one set, I will definitely be full."
...
Li Xiao did not pay attention to the comments in the live broadcast room, otherwise he would definitely help to speak.
If a set of Omakase dishes is finished and the guest expresses that he or she is not full, the chef will continue to cook until the guest is full. It is impossible for the guest to remain hungry after finishing the meal.
Of course, if it is really a dish served by a big eater at the back, the store will probably use some lower-priced ingredients.
But no matter what, even if there is a loss, the store will let you leave with a full stomach. This is the basic principle of Omakase cuisine.
After all, Omakase cuisine is meant to be left to the chef, but you, a chef, actually let the guests leave without having enough food.
If something like this were to spread, I'm afraid not only would the restaurant's reputation be damaged, but even the chef who made the meal would be cast aside.
Li Xiao picked up the abalone slices with chopsticks. As soon as the chopsticks touched the abalone slices, he knew that the texture of the abalone must be very special because it was so soft.
The chopsticks easily left deep scratches on the abalone slices. This was the first time Li Xiao had seen this happen to abalone.
You must know that whether the abalone is large or small, the texture is crispy and chewy.
However, what he saw in front of him showed another feeling. He did not continue to think, but stuffed the light yellow abalone slices that were cut into squares into his mouth.
It feels very soft when it enters the mouth, like a girl's tongue.
It is said to be sashimi, but this piece of abalone slice is slightly warm, very soft and tender, and it will break when you bite it lightly with your teeth.
There is no stagnation at all. It tastes like eating a piece of glutinous rice cake, but it is more refreshing than the rice cake.
Abalone has no fishy smell, and the strong abalone aroma is constantly released from the light yellow abalone meat during chewing.
It's just a simple low-temperature cooking, but it fully demonstrates the other party's control over the heat.
You must know that the piece of abalone in front of you is the hardest abalone core, but the other party can use simple techniques to make the originally tough abalone into a soft and waxy state.
He does have some skills. It would be difficult for an ordinary chef to cook it in this state.
After swallowing the delicate and tender abalone slices, Li Xiao extended his chopsticks to the softly cooked octopus legs next to him.
The method of making soft-boiled fish legs is different. You only need to put the washed octopus legs into boiling water.
Turn off the heat, cover the lid, and wait until the water temperature drops to room temperature before taking out the octopus legs inside.
Just use 100-degree water to slowly cook the octopus legs. Of course, in order to remove the fishy smell of the octopus, you need to add salt, cooking wine and a little ginger slices to the water in advance.
Although it sounds simple, different pots, different amounts of water, and different sizes of octopus fillets will have huge differences in the maturity under the same circumstances.
As for this soft cooking method, after turning off the heat, you cannot turn it on again, otherwise the skin of the octopus legs will be re-boiled, causing the entire skin to fall off.
Dip a small piece of octopus leg with a little mustard and put it in your mouth.
The wasabi here is made by the chef grinding fresh horseradish, so the spiciness is lighter than that of mustard made with horseradish.
But the flavor is stronger and milder than mustard made from horseradish.
The tenderly cooked octopus legs have a very delicate texture and the gravy inside is well stored. When you bite into it, the sweet octopus juice will seep out from the octopus meat.
The taste of octopus legs is very rich. The red skin is in direct contact with hot water and has a glutinous texture after being soaked for a long time. When you bite it, it feels QQ waxy, a bit like eating QQ candy.
The white octopus meat inside maintains a crisp texture, and it makes a crunching sound when you bite it, just like eating crispy chicken bones.
The two kinds of sashimi have completely different textures. One is soft and glutinous, and the other is crispy. It feels wonderful to eat them together.
However, the only drawback is that the portion of the octopus leg in front of me is too small, and it tastes a little less refreshing.
After chewing it twice, it was gone, but Li Xiao also knew that there was no way around it.
If the octopus legs are too big, it means the octopus is older. As we all know, the older the octopus is, the older its meat will be.
And relying on low-temperature cooking method, there is no way to handle ingredients that are too large.
Once the ingredients are too big, the natural heat of the water temperature cannot penetrate into the food.
Using this soft cooking method without heating can easily cause the food inside to be undercooked.
Of course, octopus that is fresh enough can actually be eaten raw.
However, as a technical consultant, since he has chosen octopus legs of this size, he naturally has his thoughts and considerations.
Maybe the other person has tried larger or smaller octopus feet, but found that this size of octopus feet tastes better.
After all, everyone's taste and taste are different, and as a chef, he needs to cater not to one person's taste, but to the taste of more people.
Li Xiao ate all the abalone slices and octopus legs before commenting:
"The taste is very good. The two different textures of sashimi bring different taste experiences. It is very comfortable and soft."
"Especially this abalone fillet, it has a very special feeling. This is the first time I have eaten such soft and waxy abalone fillet."
Although there is not much seasoning, the simple boiling can bring out the freshness of the ingredients, which is very good.
"Are these small pieces of food so delicious?"
"Speaking of octopus legs, I remember the time the anchor ate raw octopus."
"I looked back and saw that it was really weird."
"Anchor, when will you take us to eat again?"
"By the way, I went on a trip to the host's second uncle's place. It was really fun. I highly recommend it."
"We also went there, a total of ten of us, and we spent three days playing there. We only spent a total of 4,000 yuan. Each person only spent over a hundred yuan a day. It was a great deal."
"I still think the one in the front is more delicious!"
Hearing Li Xiao's praise for themselves, Shang Yuanchun and Qian Benqiao also had faint smiles on their faces.
As a sushi chef on the board, hearing compliments from customers is the best recognition for myself.
Of course, in addition to praising, eating all the food very quickly and then showing an unfinished expression can also have the same effect.
After Li Xiao finished eating the abalone slices and octopus legs, the lady next to him helped remove the plate.
After removing the plates, Senbonbashi brought the next dish.
Another soup.
【White clam, crab meat and tofu soup】
When I opened the soup cup, a rich aroma came out.
Unlike the hairy crab gravy soup, which is crystal clear, the tofu soup appears richer, with a layer of rich floc at the bottom of the soup constantly floating and sinking.
The tofu was cut into small square pieces the size of a fingernail, the white clams were cut in the middle, and the debris in the abdomen was removed, leaving only the pure shell meat.
The crab meat was torn into tiny pieces and floated in the soup.
Just listen to Senbonbashi explain:
"The guest said that he likes soup after all, so we prepared four soups in total. The first two are clear soup, and the second one is thick soup."
As he spoke on the Senbon Bridge, he paused for a while, seemed to remember something, and then asked:
"By the way, I wonder if the guests can accept the thick soup?"
Li Xiao nodded:
"Of course, I don't have too many taboos. Just follow Mr. Qiaogami's arrangements."
"OK."
Li Xiao had no doubts about Qianben's arrangement, but the audience in the live broadcast room immediately burst into an uproar.
"No, no, this set of dishes actually has 4 soups?"
"This is a bit outrageous, isn't it? A 2,500 yuan meal for one person actually uses 4 soups to top up?"
"If I'd rather have a few more pieces of sashimi, the abalone slices would be pretty good."
"I actually think that foie gras stewed egg is delicious."
"Do you know what it takes to make soup in a high-end restaurant like this? It actually takes more effort than making sashimi directly, and consumes a lot of materials. It's not like you think. The chef wants to cut corners and cook it like that.
Lots of soup.”
"I came here to eat meat, not to drink soup. If I go there next time, I will definitely tell him that meat is my favorite."
"Do you want to make that 2,500 yuan back by eating meat alone?"
"It's not impossible. After all, some seafood is still very expensive."
"Knowing that I say I like caviar, will he keep serving me caviar?"
"There are some cheap caviar, one pound is only 1,000 yuan. If you eat two pounds, you can still earn 500."
The umami flavor of this white clam crab meat and tofu soup will not be as strong as the hairy crab meat soup just now, but the taste is richer than it.
Tofu brings rich soy protein to the soup base and forms a flocculent object in the soup base.
Plant proteins and meat proteins are blended into the soup under heat, and glutamic acid from vegetables and inosinic acid from meat bring different umami flavors.
The flavors blended very well, but lacked a bit of wow factor.
With the super sweetness of the authentic hairy crab gravy soup, the impact of this soup on Li Xiao was much less.
The taste is average. If it weren't for the hairy crab gravy soup at the beginning, Li Xiao would have given it 80 to 85 points, but now the two soups with similar tastes can only give 75 points.
"It's not bad, but the flavors of the two soups are somewhat overlapping. The objective score could be 80 points, but now the subjective score is only 75 points."
"In addition, in order to pursue the purity of taste, the chef here removed the debris from the belly of the white clams, which is a good idea."
"However, it will make the taste of the soup a little monotonous."
"The undigested seaweed in the belly of all shellfish is actually rich in rich and sweet taste, which can bring a strong umami flavor to the dishes."
"Before chicken essence and MSG were developed, there was a cuisine in Han Dynasty that liked to cut open shellfish and specially collect the black algae material from the belly of the shellfish."
"Expose it to the sun and then grind it to get natural MSG."
"However, because this collection method is very difficult and labor-intensive, this collection method was abandoned after the mass production of chicken essence and monosodium glutamate."
"But if you are interested, you can learn this ancient method of making MSG. Its taste will be purer and more natural than chemically made chicken essence and MSG."
On Senbonbashi, who was making food, although the movements of his hands did not stop, his ears quietly perked up.
It is also the habit of these chefs working in front of the plate to collect information and feedback from customers while making.
When he first heard that Li Xiao was not satisfied with the second soup, his heart started to rise, but his worry did not last long.
Because later he heard Li Xiao start to explain some secret recipes of cooking, about which he had never heard of.
Natural MSG?
His eyes narrowed slightly, shining with interest.
You know, Sakura cuisine originally focuses on natural flavors. If you can directly use natural MSG instead of chemical MSG, that would be a pretty good gimmick.
He secretly wrote down the method in his mind and planned to try it tomorrow.
Although this method seems to be very labor-intensive, if it is only a small amount of production, it does not consume too much time.
And when he really figured out how to make it, he only needed to instruct the chef's apprentice to make it, without him having to do it himself.
At the same time, Li Xiao's eyes also fell on the process of the two people making food.
Although Shang Yuanchun is a three-star chef, you need to feel that his skills are obviously slightly inferior to He Beibei's.
After all, the assessment standards in each country are slightly different, and the difficulty of verification is also very different.
It is recognized that the star chefs in the Han Dynasty are the most difficult to pass. Some chefs who have obtained four stars in the country may not even be able to obtain three stars in the Han Dynasty.
Star chefs from some small countries are not even recognized by star chef associations around the world because the level of local cuisine is too low.
As a vassal state of the Han Kingdom, the level of cooking skills of the Sakura Kingdom is obviously slightly inferior to that of the Han Kingdom.
The main reason is that although Sakura Country is constantly learning from Han Country, there are still relatively few types of cuisine.
Moreover, the small island structure also limits their access to food materials. The economy is not very developed, and they cannot import too many good food materials.
Even if good ingredients are obtained, not many people will consume them.
So much so that for so many years, the cuisine of Sakura Country is still studying how to better eat raw seafood without further development.
On the other hand, the Senbonbashi next to Gengharu has quite good skills, even though he has a five-star certificate from Sakura Country.
But by gaining the strengths of others and learning from famous teachers in different places, he is probably not far away from becoming a five-star chef in the Han Dynasty.
The two were very fast, and the second set of sashimi was delivered to Li Xiao.
There are two sashimi dishes on this second plate, namely white shrimp and sea urchin sashimi, and ink fish.
The white shrimps were lightly pickled, and the shrimp meat changed from the original snow-white to dark yellow, and a little mustard was applied on top.
The white shrimp sashimi is topped with a small piece of sea urchin, and the sea urchin is dotted with a flower-shaped mashed radish.
Squid is not cuttlefish but a very oily marine fish. It can be caught in cold water waters, but it is relatively expensive.
Usually, you need to be close to the Arctic Ocean and the water temperature is below 5℃ to catch this kind of cuttlefish.
And because the journey is quite far, the cuttlefish is only available chilled, not fresh.
The portions of the two sashimi were not large, only one bite each.
Li Xiao first stretched out his chopsticks towards the former, gently pulled up a corner of the white shrimp sashimi, and lifted the white shrimp slightly.
Then use white shrimp sashimi to wrap sea urchin, wasabi and radish puree.
Stuff everything into your mouth in one bite. The sweetness of the Fuji white shrimp and the denseness of the Hadachi sea urchin will make you unforgettable.
After being lightly pickled, the white shrimp meat becomes rich in flavor, with a fat and glutinous texture that is sweet and slightly umami.
Light pickling can not only bring umami and salty taste to the white shrimp meat, but also allow the tongue to better feel the freshness and sweetness of the shrimp meat.
There is not much mustard wrapped in the shrimp meat, but the spicy taste can stimulate the taste buds.
The taste of Udachi sea urchin is very rich and thick, with a light creamy taste, and a very rich milky and sea urchin flavor.
The taste of white radish puree is also very special, with a slight sweetness and sourness, which enriches the overall taste.
The fatness of the shrimp meat and the greasiness of the sea urchin were immediately neutralized by the white radish puree and mustard, making the whole dish very complete and comfortable.
Li Xiao opened his mouth and explained to the audience:
"You should have seen just now that the chef gave me two sashimi dishes at the same time, but I had the white shrimp and sea urchin sashimi first instead of the ink fish. Do you know why?"
Studio
"Isn't it obvious? The anchor likes to eat!"
“I think it’s because the white shrimp sashimi is placed in the front.”
"Isn't this very simple? The taste of white shrimp is lighter!"
"That's right, cuttlefish tastes great!"
"I also think so."
Li Xiao drank the tea provided by the other party while watching the barrage in the live broadcast room.
When everyone was almost finished discussing, he opened his mouth to explain:
"Generally speaking, for the same plate of sashimi, eat the lighter color first and then the darker color."
"Because usually the lighter the color of sashimi, the lighter the flavor. Eat the lighter flavor first and then the stronger flavor, so that the stronger flavor will not overwhelm the lighter flavor."
"In addition, some viewers are right. The smell of cuttlefish is indeed very strong. If you don't eat sashimi often, you can remind the chef to avoid this sashimi, because many viewers may not be used to it."
