Online shopping in the interstellar is extremely fast and convenient. Zhou Jinnan had just made a long list of the various ingredients and seasonings he needed, and ten minutes later he had received a package delivered to his door by FedEx. The package was a huge silver-white box of unknown material. It was square and could perfectly preserve quality and freshness in a short period of time. It was the best container for transporting fresh food and ingredients. Of course, the cost of this quality was relatively high, especially with such a large amount and by FedEx. The accumulated cost was an astronomical figure, which also led to the FedEx fresh-keeping box. The recipient must confirm the recycling on the spot.

“This thing is very useful. I’ll get two of them some other day.” Zhou Jinnan took out the ingredients from the fresh-keeping express box and pressed the confirmation recycling button. As a food cultivator, Zhou Jinnan always encountered all kinds of strange ingredients and medicinal materials when he traveled before. Some needed to be processed on the spot, and some could be taken away directly, but one thing is recognized, the rarer the top-level natural treasures, the more delicate they are. In order to preserve the best quality of these natural treasures, the cultivators often use all means. If you have such a fresh-keeping box, you can save a lot of trouble.

Zhou Shudi helped Zhou Jinnan to sort out the ingredients. He was very careful, fearing that a little bump would cause the ingredients to be imperfect. Especially when carrying the fresh ice spring knife fish, he was very careful and focused. This is a level 6 ingredient! You must be at least a level 7 senior chef to handle the ingredients smoothly! The price of this fish alone is more expensive than all the others combined!

Hearing that Zhou Jinnan was interested in this fresh-keeping express box, Zhou Shudi followed his words and said, “No need to be so troublesome, I have it at home. If you want, you can go to the warehouse and get two later.” His family runs a restaurant, so Zhou Shudi will of course prepare such things.

These purchased fresh ingredients are all for the two dishes that Zhou Jinnan will make. Zhou Jinnan couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had experienced such an assessment, but Zhou Shudi’s doubts about him yesterday were understandable. In order to dispel Zhou Shudi’s concerns and gain a more advantageous position in future cooperation, Zhou Jinnan decided to make a meal for Zhou Shudi alone.

After putting all the ingredients on the cooking table, Zhou Shudi was about to help put the washed and peeled water chestnuts into the machine to chop them, but was stopped by Zhou Jinnan: “Don’t use the machine, I will do the rest of the process myself.”

“Are you going to chop them yourself?” Zhou Shudi was a little surprised. Since the emergence of special cooking machines, many cooking procedures have been handed over to machines, and even basic skills such as knife skills and heat are not as valued as they were in the ancient earth era. Of course, there are still those old-school chefs who still follow the old traditions and do everything by themselves, but today, such chefs are very rare.

Thinking of Zhou Jinnan’s background, Zhou Shudi understood. He put down the water chestnuts and washed the ingredients with Zhou Jinnan. After finishing, he stood in a position with a wide view to watch Zhou Jinnan’s next move. It was not the first time that Zhou Shudi heard of the concept of food that has other functions besides soothing the spirit. Compared with Zhou Jinnan, he could better understand what this simple-sounding concept meant to the interstellar food world and people.

That would be a revolutionary storm sweeping the entire interstellar food world.

For thousands of years, since it was discovered that food can soothe the spirit and relieve mental breakdown, countless people have suspected that food has other functions, but no one has come up with examples. Now, will this idea finally become a reality under his witness?

The fresh shrimps have been shelled and the shrimp threads have been picked out, leaving only the shrimp meat and shrimp roe. After washing the shrimp meat, soak it in ice water for later use, and the shrimp roe is placed in a bowl.  Zhou Jinnan washed his hands again, cut the cleaned pork leg into small pieces, then held the knife with both hands in reverse, and beat the chopped pork into minced meat with the back of the knife. Zhou Jinnan beat so fast until you can almost see the afterimage of the knife. When the minced meat was almost formed, he took the shrimp out of the water and added it to the minced pork before he continued beating. This time it took much less time than the minced pork, and Zhou Jinnan stopped soon.

He put the minced meat into a large bowl, and poured the shrimp roe, salt, cooking wine, pepper salt and other seasonings into the large bowl. Zhou Jinnan stirred the minced meat vigorously until it was evenly coated with these seasonings,  then he waited for the flavor to be absorbed. While waiting for the minced meat to marinate, Zhou Jinnan began to process the knife fish.

After removing the scales, gills and fins of the fresh knife fish, he inserted bamboo chopsticks into the fish belly from the gills to remove the internal organs, and then cut off the tip of the fish tail before washing it. Zhou Jinnan changed to a smaller knife, cut open the fish along the spine of the fish and removed the spine. He gently beat the fish meat with the back of the knife until the fine bones in the fish meat were beaten out and stuck to the fish skin. Then, with the spine as the center, he cut the knife fish in half and steamed it. He put washed scallion knots and ginger slices in the water under the steamer to remove the fishy smell.

After doing all this, Zhou Jinnan began to prepare the sauce needed for pouring over the knife fish. When the minced meat was marinated and Zhou Jinnan’s sauce was ready, he continued to stir the marinated minced meat with chopsticks. During the stirring process, he slowly added chopped water chestnut foam and an appropriate amount of egg white. When these were completely integrated, he pinched them with his hands to judge the degree of viscosity.

The processed minced meat was scooped into balls with a semicircular spoon and put into a boiling water pot. After the balls were shaped, they were immediately removed and cooled. The hot oil in the pot on the automatic stove nearby is at the right temperature. The cooled meatballs are fried in the pan until golden brown. After draining the oil, they are placed in a shallow bluish-white dish and a thin layer of pepper and salt is sprinkled on the surface.

After the shrimp meatballs were fried, Zhou Jinnan opened a corner of the steamer and poured Shaoxing wine on the knife fish. The alcohol instantly turned into mist and evaporated when it came into contact with high temperature. The aroma of the wine was blocked by the steamer that was quickly and tightly closed halfway. The aroma was completely locked in the steamer and absorbed by the knife fish.

After doing all this, Zhou Jinnan brought the shrimp meatballs to Zhou Shudi. His mouth was still a little dissatisfied: “Try it, golden fresh shrimp meatballs. The energy of third-level ingredients is still a little less so this dish can only relieve fatigue.”

Zhou Shudi sat down half-believingly and picked up a meatball with chopsticks. The golden meatball was made into a quarter of the size of a fist, and it was exactly half when bitten. The meatballs were fried in the pan for just the right time, and skin made a unique crisp sound when bitten. The pork leg meat was chopped very finely, and it melted in the mouth with a light bite. The shrimp meat was slightly larger, which added a sense of layering to the taste of the meatballs. The sweetness of the shrimp itself and the pork mince were perfectly matched. The meatballs that were fully marinated should have been a little greasy, but Zhou Jinnan’s dish was not like that at all. The oil content was just right, and there was not even a little extra oil stain on the plate when it was picked up.

The taste was secondary. The most important thing was that after eating a total of eight meatballs, Zhou Shudi really felt that his fatigue was relieved. It was not the kind of mental relaxation that other delicacies could achieve, but the muscles covering every part of his body were sending comfortable signals to his brain.

What Zhou Jinnan said was actually true! Zhou Shudi savored the taste of the fresh shrimp meatballs, and a storm was set off in his heart.

 Just when Zhou Shudi was immersed in the deliciousness and wonderful effects of the golden shrimp meatballs, Zhou Jinnan’s voice pulled Zhou Shudi back from the deliciousness: “This is steamed knife fish. The effect is probably to nourish mental power and increase the potential upper limit of mental power… Oh, it can also relieve the symptoms of mental collapse, and of course it can also delay the time when mental collapse is about to occur.” He didn’t feel at all that he had thrown a big bomb, or in other words, he actually knew it but just showed it off deliberately to scare Zhou Shudi.

Zhou Shudi’s hand couldn’t help shaking. He cut open the fish belly with chopsticks, and his eyes looked at the steamed saury differently.

Mental collapse, what a terrible word. Human science and technology are advancing, and the exploration of themselves has never stopped. During this period, one terminal illness after another has been conquered, but the balance of nature has also allowed new terminal illnesses to emerge one after another. Mental collapse is the most feared terminal illness today, and the more potential and strength a genius has, the more likely he is to suffer from this disease. With the current medical technology, people can only send patients to the medical center for palliative treatment before the early signs of mental collapse appear. However, even the best medicine can only relieve the pain of patients when they have mental collapse.

Zhou Shudi dared not imagine how crazy people would be if the effect of this dish was made public.

As soon as the fish meat entered his mouth, Zhou Shudi instantly forgot the golden shrimp meatballs that had amazed him just now. Just now, he was just amazed, but this steamed knife fish made him know how exquisite a chef’s cooking skills could be. It is not an exaggeration to call it superb workmanship. Zhou Shudi knew a description of the skills of top technicians in the ancient Earth period, which was close to the Dao. He felt that Zhou Jinnan’s cooking skills were just like this.

 When he was watching Zhou Jinnan cooking, he thought the complicated process of making the golden shrimp meatballs was the highlight, but it turned out it wasn’t. The highlight was the steamed knife fish, which was much lighter than the golden shrimp meatballs. Top delicacies do not need many fancy techniques to embellish them. The cooking method of simplifying the complexities can maximize the efficacy and original taste of the ingredients.

Knife fish is a river fish. Compared with seafood, the meat has a more earthy smell, but after being steamed with scallions and ginger, the earthy smell is melted away. The Shaoxing wine is also washed away by the steam. The light wine aroma is perfectly locked in the fish meat, without the choking disadvantage of the wine itself. The fish meat is extremely fresh and tender. It melts in the mouth, slides down the esophagus into the stomach, and leaves only a light aftertaste.

In terms of deliciousness alone, this dish must be at least level seven!

Zhou Shudi had no doubt that the function of this dish Zhou Jinnan mentioned really existed. He felt his spiritual power being washed and cleansed by a cold spring, as if the whole world was bright. It was a wonderful experience he had never experienced before.

“The best food must be perfect in every detail.” Zhou Jinnan saw Zhou Shudi immersed in the food and nodded secretly with satisfaction. When he said this, his expression was full of confidence and determination, “Now, do you have any questions about my proposal?”

Zhou Shudi, who had no time to answer Zhou Jinnan, was busy finishing the whole plate of steamed knife fish in front of him. He just shook his head repeatedly when he heard Zhou Jinnan.

When he reacted, huh… It seems that he was full…