I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 795 - 348: Side Quests Can Actually Be Completed by Spending Money? System, I’ve Figured It Out! [Subscribe Please]_3

Chapter 795: Chapter 348: Side Quests Can Actually Be Completed by Spending Money? System, I’ve Figured It Out! [Subscribe Please]_3

What kind of fish is this?

"This is a Humpback Grouper, you know. I drove to the seafood market to buy fish, and since I didn’t know how to choose, I picked this one that looked like it was wearing a polka-dot dress. It reminded me of Yan Bao."

Lin Xu: "..."

Maybe it’s better to leave that comment unsaid, to avoid his sister-in-law coming after him.

However, now that she’d said it, looking at the fish, the image of his sister-in-law wearing a polka-dot dress and dining at the restaurant involuntarily sprang to mind.

Tsk, the netizens were right; once you accept certain ideas, there’s no going back.

Zhu Yong leaned over for a look, and his eyes immediately widened.

"Whoa! This is the Humpback Grouper, the king of Fragrant Harbor’s Four Great Fish! That wasn’t cheap, was it, Lady Boss?"

"Not too expensive, just a few thousand. I didn’t ask for the price; I just thought the fish looked like Yan Bao. The shop owner said it could be made into Sauerkraut Fish, so I bought it."

Just a few thousand... that’s all?

The perception of money really does vary from person to person.

Zhu Yong sighed inwardly.

Perhaps in the Lady Boss’s eyes, anything less than ten thousand yuan was negligible.

Lin Xu hadn’t expected to use such an expensive fish for his first real practice session and found himself a bit hesitant to start.

A few thousand yuan! Just yesterday, buying all those Carp only cost a little over three thousand. I never imagined this tiny polka-dot dress... Ptooey! Ptooey! I never thought this tiny Humpback Grouper could be so expensive.

When I cook it later, I must save a couple of pieces and steam them for Dundun to try.

"Xu Bao, hurry up and start! I’m waiting to eat!"

"Okay!"

With that, Lin Xu said no more and took the fish straight into the kitchen to start preparing the Sauerkraut Fish.

These pickled vegetables probably never imagined they’d one day be paired with such an expensive fish, right?

Grouper is high in protein and low in fat. Combined with its tender and delicious meat, it’s super tasty no matter how it’s cooked. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Following Dai Jianli’s fish-processing tutorial from today, Lin Xu cleaned the Humpback Grouper, which weighed nearly five and a half pounds. He then filleted the fish, separating the meat from the bones, and also removed the particularly smelly fish teeth from the head.

After cleaning, he sliced the fish meat for marination and washed the fish bones, setting them aside for later.

He then began to prepare the pickled vegetables.

He first rinsed them twice and then cut them into sections.

After all the ingredients were cut, he blanched the pickled vegetables to balance their sourness and saltiness.

After removing them, he stir-fried the pickled vegetables over high heat to dry them out.

When using a home stove, this step would take quite some time. However, in the restaurant’s kitchen, with its powerful stove, the moisture in the pickled vegetables reduced visibly and significantly.

The next steps involved pan-frying the fish head and bones and stir-frying the pickled vegetables in lard.

When all the ingredients were in the wok, being stir-fried together, he added a spoonful of White Vinegar. This helped to remove any unpleasant odors and also enhanced the sour fragrance of the vinegar.

Lin Xu recalled Dai Jianli’s method as he cooked.

Combined with the Boiled Fish technique he had mastered, the entire cooking process went quite smoothly.

Finally, when he poured half a ladleful of hot Seasoning Oil onto the Pickled Peppers in the basin, the Sauerkraut Fish made with the Humpback Grouper was complete.

The fish was served in two basins.

He couldn’t eat it all himself; Wei Qian and the others had to try some too.

After he was done, Lin Xu focused his attention, his eyes fixed on the Sauerkraut Fish in the basin. Soon, a line of text appeared before him:

"Sauerkraut Fish made with Humpback Grouper and other ingredients. Rating: Excellent Level."

What?

Just Excellent Level?

Lin Xu felt a little disappointed for a moment.

Such an expensive fish, and it only reached Excellent Level? That hardly does justice to its price, does it?

As he was wondering about this, another line of text appeared before him:

"Due to the Humpback Grouper’s high price and rarity as an ingredient, the rating has automatically been adjusted to Superior Level."

No sooner had the text vanished than the system’s prompt sounded in Lin Xu’s mind:

"Host has made a Superior Level Sauerkraut Fish within twenty-four hours, completing the side task ’Accumulate Deeply, Erupt Powerfully.’ You have obtained a Superior Level aquatic dish—Braised Fish. Congratulations, Host."

From the moment the text appeared until now, Lin Xu had been in a daze.

He had been frustrated about not making a Superior Level dish, but he hadn’t expected such a turn of events.

The task was completed just like that.

Unbelievable.

I’m such an idiot, seriously. I only knew you could spend money to win in games; I didn’t realize the system also allowed for paid shortcuts... Lin Xu sighed inwardly. This system has thoroughly copied the essence of domestic pay-to-win games.

But to be fair, high-end ingredients indeed produce better flavors than ordinary ones.

For instance, when stir-frying mushrooms, if you compare common mushrooms that cost a few bucks per pound with Chicken Mushrooms, even if cooked using the exact same method, the taste is still worlds apart.

High-end ingredients naturally have their advantages.

It seems that for similar tasks in the future, I can just use the highest quality ingredients. It’ll save time and effort.

At this moment, Lin Xu had an epiphany.

"Xu Bao, is it ready? Yan Bao and I are still waiting to eat!"

The shout from the kitchen doorway brought Lin Xu back to his senses.

He picked up a basin of Sauerkraut Fish and strode outside.

Outside, Chen Yan and Shu Yun were both eagerly waiting to taste it. After all, Sauerkraut Fish made with ingredients costing several thousand yuan had an irresistible allure.

No sooner had he set down the basin than everyone eagerly picked up their chopsticks to try the Sauerkraut Fish.

"Wow, this fish is so fresh and tender!"

"The sour and fragrant flavor complements the fish perfectly!"

"Where’s the rice? Quick, bring a bowl of rice! This is made from fish costing thousands, no wonder! This dish is perfect with rice."

"Worthy of being Humpback Grouper, the flavor is truly exceptional!"

Seeing everyone enjoying it so much, Lin Xu also picked up his chopsticks and tried a piece of the fish.

The fish was indeed incredibly tender and smooth, its texture surprisingly delicate.

The flavor was indeed delicious.

But in terms of the actual taste...

He tasted it critically and quickly identified a slew of issues.

The pickled vegetables had been blanched for too long, making their flavor a bit faded. Too much White Vinegar had been added, giving the fish a slightly overpowering sourness. In contrast, Dai Jianli’s Sauerkraut Fish only had a delicate sour fragrance, not at all overpowering.

Also, the fish should have been cooked for a shorter time. The fish head and bones could have been simmered in boiling water for an extra minute. And the amount of Seasoning Oil poured at the end was a bit too much, making the dish slightly greasy...

He effortlessly identified a whole list of flaws.

As he was busy critiquing himself, the system’s prompt rang out in his mind:

"Host has bravely faced their own shortcomings, completing the Hidden Task ’Self-motivation.’ You have obtained the Perfect Level Sauerkraut Fish recipe. Congratulations, Host."

What?

There are rewards for this too?

Perfect Level Sauerkraut Fish.

Doesn’t this mean the restaurant can introduce a new fish dish?

That’s all money!

Just as he was getting excited, Shen Baobao, who was eating fish nearby, said,

"By the way, Xu Bao, the house has passed inspection. Should we get ready to handle the transfer procedures? Once that’s done and we replace the appliances and furniture inside, we can move in! WAHAHA! I’m going to live in a big house! Everyone’s welcome to visit my place!"

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Author’s Note: This Chapter is 5,200 characters. Planning for three updates today. Brothers, I need your Monthly Tickets!