"How is it? How does the dish taste? Do you understand what sweetness is now?"
Considering that young children have more delicate stomachs and that coarse foods are difficult to digest, Liu Anqing could only use this method to guide them in experiencing the presence of sweetness.
"That flavor is a mixture. The sweetness of the pumpkin, the sweetness of the sweet potato... they seem a little different."
Okabe was the first to answer, his voice carrying the unique innocence of a young child.
This was his most direct impression after tasting the rice pudding.
The carbohydrates in the pumpkin and sweet potato converted during the steaming process, releasing their natural sugars. Combined with the sucrose, glucose, and fructose they already contained, they formed the most fundamental source of the rice pudding's sweetness.
The rice, after being simmered, produced starch, which not only brought a gentle, grainy sweetness but whose creamy texture also allowed the flavor to be released more lastingly.
"You've described it very well."
"The essence of cooking is precisely this: layering the various flavors of the ingredients, one on top of the other, until they finally merge into an intoxicatingly complex taste."
"Next, I will introduce you to sourness."
As he spoke, Liu Anqing gently pulled over a small blackboard that was leaning against the wall.
Okabe's answer had made his eyes light up, and he couldn't help but marvel at the boy's innate precociousness, grasping the essence of cooking from just a single bowl of rice pudding.
However, he didn't plan to delve deeper into this aspect.
He knew that for young children, profound theories were meaningless.
They couldn't remember them, nor could they easily understand them.
The core of early education lay in enlightenment. His task for the next two years was to familiarize the Nakiri sisters and Okabe with the various concepts of cooking.
Not too much, not too deep—just enough to leave a basic impression.
This would be enough to make their future culinary paths smoother. Even if they encountered difficult problems in the future, they would have a few more ways to approach them.
Time passed quickly in this process.
During this time, Liu Anqing fired up the stove again and made a dish of tomato-braised cod.
To make it easier for the children to eat, he processed the cod fillet into small, one-centimeter cubes, and the tomatoes were similarly diced.
This was because young children are quite sensitive to sourness.
The main purpose of this dish was to introduce a hint of bright acidity, without being overly stimulating.
Therefore, the fruit acid from the tomatoes was the most suitable choice.
Soon, the tomato-braised cod was ready.
"Don't just stand there. Try this tomato-braised cod and tell me what you think."
Liu Anqing handed over three small bowls. His core objective was to establish a preliminary impression of sourness, which would facilitate a more in-depth analysis later.
"Sourness is a little different from sweetness. It's like little needles, lightly pricking my tongue."
Erina Nakiri took a small bite of the tomato and cod, a thoughtful expression appearing on her delicate face. Then she looked up and said, "But when it's paired with the tomato, the fish actually tastes even better."
"Well said."
Liu Anqing nodded in approval. "Sourness can enhance the flavors of other ingredients. Adding it to fish allows you to perceive its umami more clearly."
Beside them, Alice Nakiri was using her spoon to pick at the small tomato pieces in her bowl.
Recalling the sensation of eating the tomato just now, she suddenly looked up and added, "The tomato tastes sweet and sour, and it makes my mouth water a lot!"
"That is another important function of sourness: it stimulates the appetite. It can effectively awaken the taste buds and make one feel hungry."
"After sourness, let's talk about bitterness..."
As he spoke, Liu Anqing returned to the stove.
With a flash of a silver blade, only the most tender tip of a bitter melon remained.
Without slowing down, he simmered it in a rich broth. The internal bitterness was mostly removed in the process, leaving only a crisp, clear aftertaste.
"This is bitterness. It's not as popular as sweetness and is even disliked by many, but it is an indispensable supporting character in many advanced flavors."
He placed the small saucers in front of them. Knowing they wouldn't be too interested, he had only prepared a single bite for each of them.
Erina Nakiri carefully tasted a piece, her delicate little eyebrows immediately knitting together, but she still managed to swallow it. "It's a little... not good," she commented, "but my mouth feels cleaner now!"
"That's right. Appropriate bitterness has the effect of cleansing the palate and cutting through grease."
Seeing Erina eat the bitter melon without hesitation, not spitting it out even though she disliked it, Liu Anqing nodded in approval.
He then looked at Alice Nakiri. But Alice was shaking her head like a rattle drum, her silver hair flying. "No way, no way! That flavor is so weird!"
Liu Anqing was amused by her reaction, a trace of nostalgia appearing in his eyes.
"When I was a child, I was also terrified of bitterness. Every time I saw my mother cooking with bitter melon, I would run far away. I'd rather skip a meal than eat it."
"But it wasn't until later that my father told me that only when a chef learns to appreciate bitterness can their cooking be considered to have truly reached the entry level."
As Liu Anqing said this, his gaze involuntarily softened.
Conditions were poor when he was a child. The kitchens were far from being as high-tech as they are now; the large woks required firewood to operate.
Every day, he had to get up and go up the mountain to chop firewood. At noon, he would work as a vegetable-cutting apprentice in the kitchen. Only at night, when the kitchen was empty, could he briefly touch a wok spatula.
Ten years as an apprentice to become a master chef.
There wasn't a hint of exaggeration in that saying.
"Now, try this. This is saltiness. It is the foundation of all flavors, firmly supporting the others so they don't fall apart."
As he spoke, Liu Anqing served three small bowls of kelp and tofu soup, which he had made while preparing the tomato-braised cod and blanching the bitter melon, to be used for experiencing saltiness.
Okabe picked up the kelp and tofu soup and couldn't help but savor it carefully.
The perfect level of saltiness skillfully blended the umami of the kelp and the gentle sweetness of the tofu, creating a harmonious whole.
"Without salt, this soup might feel weak, and its flavors would be blurry."
Closing his eyes to feel it for a moment, he replied.
Saltiness was like the timpani in music—unassuming, yet it determined the stability of the entire piece.
"A very good understanding. Saltiness is the anchor of cooking, the most used of all flavors. It's impressive that you could perceive that."
Hearing Okabe's description of saltiness, Liu Anqing nodded in satisfaction.
Sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness, and umami—he used a separate dish to explain each flavor. Only in this way could the impression be a lasting one.
In the blink of an eye, the morning had passed.
Of the five flavors, only the last one, umami, remained.
"Umami. It's not as immediately pleasing as sweetness, not as stimulating as sourness, and it lacks the foundational effect of saltiness. It lingers in the mouth after eating. But it is crucial, the very soul of many delicious dishes."
"The Three-Delicacy Hibiscus Steamed Egg Custard you are eating now."
"It fuses the sources of umami provided by the shiitake mushroom, chicken, and egg yolk, creating a powerful synergistic effect that makes the taste far better than if you were to eat each one separately."
Watching the three children tasting the Three-Delicacy Hibiscus Steamed Egg Custard, Liu Anqing spoke eloquently.
Okabe used a small spoon to gently break the surface of the tender yellow custard, and a complex aroma blending fungus, chicken, and egg fats wafted out.
Without hesitation, he put a small piece of the custard, along with the minced shiitake and chicken that garnished it, into his mouth, enjoying the combined state of the three.
The custard melted almost instantly upon touching his tongue, delivering an incredibly silky texture.
Immediately after, a rich and warm flavor filled his entire mouth.
It wasn't ostentatious, lacking the direct appeal of sweetness or the sharp stimulus of sourness. Instead, it was a steady, lingering, and enveloping taste experience.
"This feeling is exceptionally grounding, like having your feet firmly on the earth. It brings a sense of satisfaction from the bottom of your heart."
Okabe closed his eyes as he spoke, trying to chase that vague sensation.
"Exactly! The most magical thing about umami is its ability to bring deep satisfaction and a lasting aftertaste."
"It is precisely because of this quality that umami injects the soul into fine food, making the flavors of a dish solid and full-bodied, and the taste richer when savored."
Liu Anqing pointed to the half-eaten portions of the Three-Delicacy Hibiscus Steamed Egg Custard in the children's bowls.
"You should be able to feel it as you eat, right? Although the flavor of the egg is very fragrant, when it's steamed with the broth from the shiitake mushrooms and chicken, doesn't the taste suddenly become much richer? Even after you've swallowed, the aroma still lingers in your mouth for a long time, doesn't it?"
As he spoke with rising passion, Liu Anqing's voice grew louder. Okabe listened intently, while Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri seemed to only half-understand.
"After adding the chicken and shiitake, the custard did get richer."
"It's like the flavor is wearing a very warm, very comfortable coat that wraps around my tongue. And... after I finish eating, the dish's aroma is still in my mouth."
Erina Nakiri paused, carefully recalling the taste, then described it in the unique way a child would.
"I think so too! The egg custard I had before was just smooth, but this one has more texture."
"The flavors of the shiitake and chicken didn't take away the egg's flavor at all. Instead, it's like they're holding hands and dancing in my mouth, spinning and spinning without wanting to stop!"
"It feels like there's a tiny, fragrant party in my mouth!"
Hearing Erina Nakiri's description, Alice Nakiri nodded vigorously, the tips of her silver-white hair swaying slightly, as she excitedly gestured with her hands.
"Umami is like the best behind-the-scenes conductor. It might not rush to the forefront itself, but it can skillfully coordinate all the other flavors like sweet, sour, and salty, making the dish more harmonious and full-bodied."
Seeing that all three had their own insights, Liu Anqing stopped holding back and revealed the most crucial information.
With that, today's lesson came to an end.
Liu Anqing stood up and left, leaving the children to contemplate on their own.
At the same time.
As the last bite of the Three-Delicacy Hibiscus Steamed Egg Custard went down, Okabe opened his eyes from his reverie. A system notification sound then echoed in his mind.
[Host detected to have tasted Special-Grade dishes of the five flavors—sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami—within a single day. Conditions to unlock Basic Sense of Taste have been met. Unlocking skill: Basic Sense of Taste (Blue)]
[Basic Sense of Taste (Blue)]: Allows for the vague perception of the intensity and general balance of the five basic tastes in a dish, as well as the identification of the most prominent ingredients and spices.
[Proficiency]: Beginner (1/100)
____
🔥 Get 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories! 🔥
🪦 Join my P... (Walnutchan) now with a 25% discount!
✅ New releases are dropping, plus get exclusive content & updates.
✅ Help us unlock community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 55 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan