After processing the seven birds, they were cut and marinated.
Not knowing the local soil, Zhang Wei took wheat flour, mixed it with a small amount of caramel, milk, and clean fine sand.
Using lotus leaves and cotton thread, he sewed bags and placed the marinated seven birds inside. Big Wind Novel
He then wrapped them with the prepared sand and dough mixture and buried them in a wood fire to bake.
The key to this step was the heat control. Due to the large size, it had to be cooked over a low fire.
Otherwise, the outside would be burnt and the inside would still be raw.
In the initial version, the Four Treasure Feast used a soup-making method, aiming to combine the flavors of the four precious birds into one.
However, this method had a significant drawback: the soup would muddle the flavors of the four precious birds. Due to size differences, the duck's flavor would be concentrated, while the quail inside would have little impact.
In Zhang Wei's selection, the most internal nectar hummingbird was also small and bland.
Using the soup method would essentially be a waste of this ingredient.
In the flames, the thick dough immediately dried and hardened. A pitch-black shell covered with cracks formed, and the internal moisture evaporated slowly.
The manager asked in confusion, "Will it be unhygienic to let the flour directly touch the charcoal fire?"
Old Man Jun said hatefully, "You idiot, that dough is just a tool to even out the temperature, like an orange peel or banana peel. It's not meant to be eaten!"
"Then, Old Jun, can this dish really be made?"
"You ask me, who do I ask?"
"That's seven main ingredients, over twenty seasonings, and eighty side dishes all in one dish. How can it possibly taste good?"
Old Man Jun glanced at Zhang Wei by the fire and said with a grave tone, "I'm afraid he really can do it."
"He's the most talented young man I've seen in decades. It's a shame he talks too much and acts pretentious."
Even now, Old Man Jun couldn't believe that Zhang Wei had written this recipe in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
If it were the old Zhang Wei, of course, he couldn't.
But during this period, Zhang Wei had been tirelessly researching 'Formless'.
His mind was filled with various ingredients pairing with each other every day, and Zhang Wei himself felt like he was turning into a data simulator.
It wasn't that Zhang Wei was truly exceptionally gifted; external conditions were also crucial.
On one hand, the Treasure Hall had a ten-fold time dilation, allowing Zhang Wei ample time to practice once his mind was immersed.
Furthermore, with Zhang Wei's efforts, the Treasure Hall had a comprehensive collection of ingredients, providing enough resources for practice without the pressure of failure.
Time, resources, talent, and effort all converged.
Anyone in this situation would see their culinary skills advance by leaps and bounds.
"It's done!"
After five hours of baking, the entire dough had become as hard and black as stone, showing no signs of deliciousness.
When Zhang Wei turned around, he was startled by the dense crowd of people.
"What are you doing? You can't win so you're resorting to a group attack, huh?"
Old Man Jun chuckled awkwardly, "These are all chefs from Wangyue Zhai. They are very curious about your novel cooking method, so they've gathered to watch."
This method was indeed rare. The many seasoned chefs were now like curious babies.
"Forget it, old man, you try it."
Everyone was shocked. This young man dared to speak to the highly respected Old Jun in such a tone.
And "old man"?
What kind of address was that?
It sounded like something you'd call a gatekeeper!
Old Man Jun felt his face flush and snorted, "If it doesn't taste good, don't blame me for dealing with you!"
He approached the giant 'black stone'.
"This thing... how do you eat it?"
Zhang Wei snapped his fingers with his left hand. The charred flour shell cracked inch by inch, and a rich aroma of meat and waves of heat gushed out!
"The roast meat smell of the Overlord Ostrich, with fat dripping from the lotus leaves, the scents mixing... No, there's also the smell of passion fruit, licorice, and kumquat peel."
"Using a sealed space to lock in the aroma, completely fusing the meat and ingredient flavors. What a brilliant idea!"
"The lotus leaves are slightly charred but not burnt, caused by the fat seeping in. This way, no smoky smell will be produced!"
"And protected by the lotus leaves, the ostrich meat itself hasn't suffered any overheating damage..."
To be employed at Wangyue Zhai, their observational skills were already superior to Da Bingchuan's.
The chefs watching whispered among themselves, analyzing the merits and tricks with remarkable accuracy.
"Silence!"
Old Jun berated and took chopsticks from the side.
With a light touch, the ostrich meat chunks spontaneously split open.
"This is..."
Zhang Wei smiled, "It's the cold shock effect."
"During the high-temperature steaming process, the internal pressure is already very high. When it breaks out and encounters cold air, the ostrich skin and meat instantly tighten, and it will tear with the slightest external force."
"And the tears are exactly where I made the cuts earlier. Cutting three-tenths of an inch deep and leaving one-hundredth will achieve this effect."
As Zhang Wei explained, the shock on everyone's faces deepened!
Could a person truly conceive of and accomplish this!
It was divine skill!
They had meticulously calculated every last bit, every fraction.
It was as if he could foresee the future!
Zhang Wei said to the crowd, "Alright, stop looking. Come and taste it together."
Deliciousness, after all, should be shared.
The chefs looked at Old Man Jun with longing. He cleared his throat.
"The eyes of the public are discerning. Let's all have a taste and judge it together."
Everyone immediately fetched bowls and chopsticks.
As the ostrich meat split open, golden rice grains emerged like fish roe.
This was rice that had been half-steamed and then added to the meat to continue infusing flavor.
"Young sir, what's the story with this rice?" a chef asked.
"The seven birds have been braised and are very moist. The dough completely sealed in the moisture. On one hand, it uses the principle of rice absorbing water during steaming to control the moisture within the seven birds. On the other hand, it allows the rice to absorb flavor, killing two birds with one stone."
"Then... how do you determine the water absorption of the rice and the water retention of the seven birds?"
Moisture determined the taste of the steamed rice.
If there was too little water, the rice would be hard.
If there was too much water, the rice would be mushy and lose all texture.
Moreover, the ostrich body contained water, not just in one area, so how could the rice absorb the water evenly?
"This, there's nothing else to it. It's just practiced hands."
This was something that couldn't be taught; it could only be judged by experience based on the state of the ingredients.
The Soul of Soup was unable to create the perfect Lingxi Five-Bird Soup precisely because it couldn't accurately judge the ingredients.
And the difficulty of Zhang Wei's dish was ten times that of the Lingxi Five-Bird Soup!
Inside the Overlord Ostrich was a slightly smaller Azure Water Fire Phoenix, with the side dishes replaced by pepper and salt, white pepper powder, chopped herbs...
Coupled with sesame oil and chili sauce, one bite would make you break out in a sweat.
Numbing, spicy, fresh, fragrant...
"The taste is completely... different!"
"Was that meat and rice earlier, and now it's spicy roast?"
"Spicy but not painful, numbing and satisfying... the flavors are perfectly balanced!"
"The Seven Treasure Feast... does that mean each layer inside has a completely different taste?"
The crowd considered this possibility, their expressions growing even more astonished!