Chapter 269: The Dragon Liver Popsicle
Chapter 269: The Dragon Liver Popsicle
Translator: CatatoPatch Editor: Vermillion
The new dish Bu Fang was preparing couldn't truly be considered new, because it was always in Bu Fang's memory. He just lacked an important ingredient to cook it, which was a table vinegar.
The dish depended completely on vinegar; the better the vinegar, the tastier it would be.
He carefully took out a pack of Eight Spirit Fruit Vinegar before returning to the kitchen, which was the same as before. Two small stoves close to him gushed with steam, and Bu Fang's stove had already been neatly cleaned.
Bu Fang placed the fruit vinegar on the kitchen stove and used the Spirit Lake water to wash his fair white hands. After wiping them dry, he directly went to the refrigerator.
As he opened the refrigerator, an ice-cold air immediately rushed out. This ice-cold air contained a surging and turbulent spiritual energy.
"System, is the dragon liver used for the Dragon Liver Popsicle harvested from a real dragon?" a puzzled Bu Fang asked.
That's right, the dish which he wanted to cook this time was the one which the system had once given to him as a reward, the Dragon Liver Popsicle. He didn't cook it until now because the system would only provide him with the dragon liver. He still needed to find or brew himself the most important ingredient, the vinegar.
Excellent vinegar takes many years to brew, and Bu Fang didn't have time to waste in such arduous work such as brewing an aged vinegar. The podgy old man's Eight Spirit Fruit Vinegar needed to be fermented for dozens of years, and during the process, it still needed to be separated into eight separate barrels. The vinegar in each barrel must also be switched to another barrel every year. Such a process must be done carefully without even the slightest mistake.
It was because of all this that the Eight Spirit Fruit Vinegar was so precious. The brewing was extremely difficult.
Extremely satisfied with the Eight Spirit Fruit Vinegar, Bu Fang prepared to cook the dish.
"The dragon liver the system provides is the liver of a seventh grade spirit beast called the Frozen Domain Flood Dragon. Its liver has been processed carefully to allow it to retain its dragon energy and spiritual energy. Frozen, these two have already fused together. It is as fresh as if it was just cut from that Flood Dragon," the system replied with a solemn voice.
A Flood Dragon liver... Bu Fang knitted his brows. How good would it be if it was the liver of a True Dragon.
"System, can you provide me a dragon liver of a higher grade? Such as that of a True Dragon?" Bu Fang undetered asked.
After a long while, the system replied to Bu Fang. "A True Dragon is a spirit beast of the ninth grade and above, the host's current rank is too low to qualify for obtaining a True Dragon liver. The system recommends using another dragon's liver."
"The eighth grade Deep Sea Flood Dragon liver, exchange value: 13,000 crystals."
"The eighth grade Ice Flame Demonic Dragon liver, exchange value: 15,000 crystals."
The system suggested two types of dragon liver, but after looking at their price, Bu Fang couldn't help smacking his tongue. He shook his head and chose to forget about it.
The system could provide a higher-grade liver like the ninth grade Extreme Region Ice Dragon liver, but his current rank was too low. He still didn't have the qualification to exchange for it.
He removed the dragon liver which had been sealed by a translucent ice crystal from the refrigerator. This dragon liver was permeated with various strange and queer blood veins. Sealed in ice it seemed as if it was a beautiful amber, releasing a gorgeous luster.
Bu Fang didn't immediately break the ice crystal, but set them aside.
At this moment, it seemed like the temperature in the kitchen suddenly dropped. Bu Fang took out a spirit fruit from the system's inventory. This was a fifth rank spirit fruit. Its pulp was crisp and tender, resembling a fried, shelled peanut just off the stove.
A wisp of green smoke twirled around his hand as he summoned the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife.
Crack! He directly broke the spirit fruit's peel into pieces and exposed the pulp inside. Bu Fang calmly waved his kitchen knife and cut the pulp into grain-like small pieces.
Bu Fang filled a small bowl he prepared earlier with the minced pulp and ignited the stove before placing it on top and frying them. He threw some seasoning in, and it began emitting a rich, sweet fragrance.
Once it was ready, he poured the pulp into a large basin.
After being fried, the fruit pulp became translucent and sparkling, like a mass of tiny diamonds. Each piece emitted a glittering radiance.
After he finished preparing the fruit pulp, Bu Fang took the Flood Dragon liver still sealed inside the ice crystal.
He waved his Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife before gently tapping it just above the center of each side of the ice crystal. Several thin fissures started spreading out from the ice crystal's center, as if they were ferocious dragon whiskers.
He revolved his true energy in his hand and placed his palm on the ice crystal. Immediately, the dragon's chilling energy was sucked up into his palm, causing his body to shiver.
Crack!
His True Energy ferociously surged forward and drilled into those whisker-like fissures, causing the ice to fracture. Piece after piece fell off until only a completely intact dragon liver remained in his hand.
A wild and sweet fragrance spread out from the dragon liver, a special fragrance which only a dragon liver could possess.
This dragon liver was the size of a wash basin, quite small for a dragon liver. After sizing up the dragon liver, Bu Fang immediately cut a small piece off with a wave of his knife.
The Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife was extremely sharp. It was quite easy for it to cut the dragon liver, despite it being frozen for a long time. If he'd used another knife, it wouldn't have been as easy for him to cut through it.
Bu Fang continued to cut and ground the dragon liver until all that remained was a small piece the size of a palm. Despite becoming quite small, the vein and spiritual energy contained in it were as ferocious as before.
He took a translucent ice crystal and swiftly waved his kitchen knife, making a popsicle out of it. Such a thing wasn't difficult for him to accomplish with his current carving skill level.
He stuffed a third of the dragon liver with several popsicles before beginning the next step of the dish.
Using his Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife, he ran it along the veins of the liver, digging out all of them in process before placing them all into a small hole in the middle. Afterwards he picked up the podgy old man's Eight Spirit Fruit Vinegar. The next step was going to be the most important one.
He carefully covered the newly-created fissures and the small hole with his True Energy so that the viscous fruit vinegar he'd begin slowly pouring in wouldn't be frozen by the dragon liver's chilling energy.
After the fissures and small hole were filled with fruit vinegar, he took the minced bits of dragon liver he'd cut before and used them to cover and pad the small hole and fissures. This made the dragon liver seem completely intact from the surface, despite its insides being now full of the sweet fruit vinegar.
Even after all of this, he still hadn't finished preparing the Dragon Liver Popsicle. He took the dragon liver and put it inside the fried fruit pulp, still sparkling like diamonds. The fruit pulp moistened and completely covered the dragon liver.
When light shone upon the sparkling fruit pulp, it seemed as though it was glowing. It was as beautiful as a work of art. One couldn't help but exclaim at its perfection as they laid their eyes upon it.
Even Bu Fang himself couldn't help exclaiming after looking at this Dragon Liver Popsicle. It was truly too beautiful.
He took a round cover made out of ice and covered the Dragon Liver Popsicle he'd already placed on a white ceramic plate. A dense cold breath spread out from it, into the surrounding.
Finally, the Dragon Liver Popsicle was complete.
The Dragon Liver Popsicle was different from the rest of the dishes he'd prepared until now, it couldn't even be considered a dish. It could only be considered a dessert; one that was quite complex to prepare.
Its ingredients were precious, and the procedures for preparing it were diverse and complex. They required a high level of True Energy control, and while it didn't require a high level of knife control and carving skill, its requirements were still not low. At the very least, someone like Xiao Xiaolong or Yu Fu couldn't make it.
Bu Fang lifted the white ceramic plate which was covered by the ice cover and leisurely left the kitchen.
The light in the store shone down upon him, and under such light, the ice cover seemed as if it was glowing.
At this moment, there were already many customers in the store, and all of them were attracted to the dish in Bu Fang's hands. Everyone raised their heads and stared at it while exclaiming.
Xiao Xiaolong and Yu Fu stretched their necks, curiously gazing at Owner Bu's new dish.
All of his new dishes had managed to attract their curiosity and amaze them, yet they couldn't help but wonder if this new dish would also manage to shock and astonish the masses.
The podgy old man was the most curious. He was a culinary chef. Moreover, his culinary skill wasn't inferior to a Masterchef. If Ye Ziling hadn't returned and said his dishes tasted inferior to Owner Bu's dishes, he wouldn't have taken the trouble to travel a thousand miles to reach a reclusive place such as the Light Wind Empire.
Although the Light Wind Empire was a human empire, in the vast Hidden Dragon Continent, it wasn't considered anything special. It was still a small corner, even when compared to the land of Southern Border.
He narrowed his eyes and stared at the dish Bu Fang was carrying in his hand. He immediately raised his eyebrow, and with his eyesight, he could clearly make out what Bu Fang was carrying.
"Is that an ice lump?" the old man confusedly whispered.
Bu Fang walked toward the old man and placed the dish in front of him. The corners of Bu Fang's mouth rose upward and he calmly said, "This is my new dish, the Dragon Liver Popsicle. Please have a taste."
Saying this, Bu Fang lifted his slender finger and tapped the ice cover.
TLDR of the whole process:
1. Cut Fruit and mash into pulp
2. Fry fruit pulp into glistening, sugary, fruit jewels
3. Crack open the ice block which contained the Dragon Liver.
4. Absorb the frosty energies from the ice.
5. Process the exterior of the Dragon Liver until only the best part remains.
6. Carve ice block into popsicle stick.
7. Shove ice popsicle a third into the liver.
8. Devein the Dragon Liver and pour the veins into the resulting hole.
9. Infuse Fruit Vinegar into the fissures caused by removing the veins and use True Energy to prevent the Fruit Vinegar from freezing up as it flows.
10. Cover the stuffed Dragon Liver with the minced Dragon Liver harvested from processing the exterior.
11. Dip the covered Dragon Liver with the fried Fruit Pulp.
12. Cover with an ice dome to keep it cold.
The end result is a popsicle that is glistening like a polished ruby. The popsicle itself has a crispy exterior, kind of like rice crispies, and a soft meaty and mushy interior that is bursting with sweet yet sour bits. A refreshing treat for both the eyes and the palette!