After a brief lesson on gravity magic with Marcille, Bai Mo set to work preparing tonight's dinner. Sensi's words proved true: the Blazing Red Feather Vulture wasn't just resistant to flames in its feathers—its meat shared that same defiance. Cooking this bird with fire alone would take an immense effort. Was that why Sensi opted for boiling it instead?
Undeterred, Bai Mo faced the half bird rack before him. Closing his eyes, he ran his hands over the faintly red meat, reaching out with his ability to hear the voice of all things, attempting to connect with the ingredient. With the enhancement of his magnetic field martial arts, his superhuman hearing caught a faint whisper.
"I see," he murmured. "The body resists fire, but freezing it to zero degrees before processing removes that issue, huh?"
He continued, tracing the meat's grain. "So, I should cut along this texture?"
"And the bones can be bent backward and flattened for even cooking?"
"The heart contains fire elements and needs constant roasting to cook through?"
Watching Bai Mo mutter to himself while handling the ingredient, Marcille, Laios, and Chilchuck couldn't help but swallow hard. Just moments ago, Bai Mo had been learning spirit-dispelling magic from Marcille. Was he now… talking to an invisible spirit?
Sensi, however, shook his head. "He's communicating with the ingredient."
"What? That's possible?" Laios asked, wide-eyed.
"Indeed. Your elven kin, the forest elves, can speak with trees. Some dwarves can commune with the earth's veins. It's not unheard of," Sensi explained. "But communicating with ingredients? I'd only heard rumors. To think someone could actually do it—it's incredible! Bai Yujing, with this ability, is the perfect chef for cooking magical beasts!"
It made sense. If you could talk to the ingredient, you'd know exactly which parts were edible, which weren't, and how to handle them. Laios, a fellow enthusiast of magical creatures, looked at Bai Mo with envy.
With his unique ability, Bai Mo quickly understood how to prepare the Blazing Red Feather Vulture. After some thought, he decided to cook it as an iron-grilled chicken rack.
He started by freezing the half rack, then cut the bones into a dozen large pieces, breaking and flattening them for even cooking. After rinsing the rack and draining it, he pierced the meat with bamboo skewers to create small holes for seasoning. Into a large bowl went soy sauce, cooking wine, scallions, ginger, garlic, and ground spiceberry powder, followed by cumin, chili powder, peppercorn powder, salt, sugar, and a touch of dragon honey. The meat needed to marinate for at least two hours to absorb the flavors fully.
Next, Bai Mo heated a large iron griddle over the stove. Once hot, he brushed it with a thin layer of herbivore dragon oil to prevent sticking. He also spread a layer of onion slices across the griddle, both to avoid sticking and to infuse the dish with their aroma. Instead of frying the meat first, Bai Mo placed the marinated pieces directly onto the oiled side of the griddle, where the dragon oil sizzled.
The heat was kept moderate, and he had Marcille use magic to maintain a steady temperature. After searing the meat to a golden brown on both sides, Bai Mo covered it with another iron plate, pressing down to make the rack extra crispy. After slow-frying for about ten minutes, he removed the pieces, letting the excess oil drain, then tore them apart with tongs.
Half the rack was plated, sprinkled with chili powder, five-spice, and chopped scallions. The other half was set aside.
On the griddle, Bai Mo sautéed garlic, ginger, and dried chili segments until fragrant, then tossed in freshly picked carnivorous plant fruit for a quick stir-fry. He added the remaining chicken rack, split it into two portions, and dressed one with a sweet-and-sour sauce made from tomatoes, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar, and the other with a simple black pepper sauce.
"Done!" Bai Mo announced.
The aroma of the grilled vulture rack was irresistible, and the other four couldn't hold back. Sensi grabbed a piece and popped it into his mouth. The low-temperature frying and pressing had made the rack unbelievably crispy—even the bones crunched satisfyingly.
"Delicious!" Sensi exclaimed, swallowing bones and all. "The skin is crisp, the meat and bones are perfectly tender, and the spices blend with the griddle's charred flavor. It's phenomenal!"
"So good!" Laios chimed in, gnawing on a bone. "The spicy kick is great, but the sweet-and-sour version is amazing too. And the black pepper sauce? Perfect! I could eat half a bird myself!"
"Honestly," Marcille said, savoring the sweet-and-sour portion with a blissful smile, "this magical beast isn't half bad!"
Chilchuck, meanwhile, said nothing, too busy devouring his share.
Tasting his creation, Bai Mo nodded. "It's got flaws—the marination could've been longer, and the griddle heat wasn't perfectly even—but the ingredient itself shines through."
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for tasting the 160 Blue Three-Star Dish: Iron-Grilled Blazing Red Feather Vulture Rack. Gained 600 Deliciousness Points!]
[Recipe successfully recorded!]
The dish's completion rate was just over half, showing room for improvement. Meanwhile, Sensi's boiled vulture soup was ready.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for tasting the Blue Three-Star Dish: Red Feather Vulture Forest Vegetable Soup. Gained 670 Deliciousness Points!]
[Recipe successfully recorded!]
Sensi's soup, enriched with foraged wild vegetables, thick slices of savory grass, and creeping vine buds, edged out Bai Mo's dish by a small margin. But the gap was narrow. Given time, Bai Mo's refined, modern culinary techniques from the Far Moon Academy would surely surpass Sensi's hearty dwarven style.
Sipping Sensi's soup, Bai Mo smiled. The dish incorporated his spiceberry powder, yet the flavors harmonized perfectly. The collision of otherworldly ingredients birthed new culinary possibilities—exactly the path he'd envisioned as a chef.
There was still much to learn from Sensi, but next time, Bai Mo vowed his dish wouldn't lose.
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