Chapter 307: No Delicacy Can Compare to This Pot of Freshness
Humanity possesses a trait known as curiosity. It is a double-edged sword that can lead one down a dead end, yet it can also guide them to unexpected revelations. After all, if not for the allure of the unknown, who would ever bother to explore the mysteries of the world?
At this moment, the dish placed before them was a perfect vessel for such curiosity. Its name was Boiled Cabbage in Supreme Broth, a title that, when translated literally, meant nothing more than cabbage boiled in water. No matter how one considered it, it was just boiled greens. The sheer simplicity of it was enough to pique anyone's interest.
Boiled Cabbage in Supreme Broth—a fact most would refuse to believe—is a foundation of Sichuan cuisine. It is an authentic, genuine, and famous dish from a region renowned for its fiery flavors.
That's right. The bowl of simple boiled greens sitting before them, a dish utterly devoid of a single chili, was Sichuanese to its core. A dish with no discernible spiciness, yet it represented the pinnacle of its culinary tradition.
In the minds of many, Sichuan cuisine is defined solely by its spice, as if no other flavor profile could possibly exist within its repertoire. But this single dish served as the ultimate vindication, a quiet proof of the region's deep depth.
It was called Boiled Cabbage in Supreme Broth, but the liquid it rested in was no ordinary water. Though the bowl appeared to hold nothing more than a few tender cabbage hearts, the broth they were steeped in was a distillation of an unbelievably rich and complex array of ingredients.
The dish looked simple, but its creation was anything but. It was a masterpiece of opulence disguised as austerity. Setting aside the broth for a moment, even the sole solid ingredient—the cabbage heart—had to be the most delicate, tender core of a new-growth cabbage.
Then came the soul of the dish, the "Kai Shui," which literally translates to "boiled water." The list of ingredients used to create this "water" was a proof of its sublime flavor: an old hen, rich ham hocks, dried scallops, and a high-quality duck. These treasures were gathered, combined with fresh spring onions and ginger, and left to simmer slowly, patiently, until their essences merged into one.
The resulting stock was already fragrant and delicious enough to be a dish in its own right, but the process was far from over. All the solid ingredients were carefully removed, the stock was filtered, and only a clear broth remained. Into this broth, minced chicken was added to absorb the finest impurities, then strained out. The process was repeated with minced pork, and then again with chicken, each pass clarifying the liquid further until the final product was as pristine and transparent as pure spring water.
This shimmering, boiling liquid was the so-called "Kai Shui." Only those who had the privilege of smelling it could understand its intoxicating fragrance, and only those who tasted it could comprehend its divine flavor.
If the broth was prepared with such painstaking care, the cabbage could be treated no less. The tender hearts were first blanched in one pot of the supreme broth until they were just shy of cooked through, then immediately chilled. They were then subjected to a process akin to acupuncture, pierced with fine needles to allow for maximum absorption, before a second, fresh pot of the clear broth was poured over them, cooking them to perfection and infusing them with its very soul. This was the true nature of Boiled Cabbage in Supreme Broth.
Without this knowledge, who could possibly guess that such a humble-looking dish was born from such complexity? Who would imagine that so many exquisite ingredients were sacrificed merely to elevate a few simple cabbage hearts? The very thought of it was enough to make one's mouth water in anticipation of its incredible taste.
It was the softest, sweetest part of the cabbage, transformed by the baptism of the supreme broth. It was tender but not mushy, fragrant but not greasy. To taste it was to question everything one knew about the common vegetable.
The broth was utterly free of visible oil, appearing no different from water used to boil vegetables, yet its aroma was as enchanting as a sweet spring or a fine, aged wine, filling the senses with its delicate perfume. A single whiff was enough to promise an unmatched culinary experience.
The first taste was an explosion of freshness and delicacy, a flavor so deep one was reluctant to swallow. A single bite surpassed a thousand other delicacies. It was clean and elegant, with a rich, mellow fragrance that lingered on the palate. The soup was thick with flavor yet light and refreshing in texture, neither oily nor greasy. It could only be described with one word: perfection.
When the last drop was gone, the memory of the mellow, light, and elegant soup remained, clear to the bottom of the bowl. The cabbage, a vibrant tender green, had been a beautiful sight. To see it was to feel a sense of clarity; to smell it was to be graced with a refined fragrance; to eat it was to experience a softness that melted in the mouth, an exceptionally fresh and fragrant wonder.
No matter the variation, no matter the delicacy, nothing could compare to this unassuming cabbage heart soaked in its supreme broth. That single word—perfection—was enough to elevate it above countless other magnificent dishes.
The woman was utterly transfixed. After the first piece of cabbage heart entered her mouth, she simply froze. In that singular, stunning moment, she truly felt the magic of cooking. She finally understood the old saying, 'The way to a person's heart is through their stomach.''Is this really cabbage?' she thought, her mind reeling.'Is it truly a cabbage heart? Have I never eaten cabbage before? Why is it so fragrant, so impossibly rich? And this... this "boiled water"... what sorcery is this? How can it be more delicious than any rich, heavy broth I've ever tasted?'
She couldn't comprehend it, but she was deeply, fundamentally shaken. Some dishes were designed to awaken the taste buds, to bombard the senses with intense stimulation. But others, with a single bite, could transport a person to a serene mountain valley or a snow-dusted bamboo forest, instantly calming their entire being.
Such dishes were never complicated in their appearance. They were masters of illusion. Just as Longjing Shrimp looked like little more than shrimp stir-fried in water, its true genius lay in the chef's absolute mastery of heat. The Boiled Cabbage in Supreme Broth she was eating now looked even simpler, yet its hidden complexity and the sheer wealth of ingredients behind it were staggering.
Then there was the Wensi Tofu soup Clow Reed was enjoying. Who could even imagine the kind of knife skills required to slice soft tofu into strands as fine as human hair? These dishes were always defined by a single, powerful descriptor: classic, or in this case, absolute.
Ren watched the still-frozen woman, a faint smile playing on his lips. "It seems this boiled vegetable is quite impressive," he said softly.
Cerberus stared, his nose twitching. "Master, Master, Master! That boiled vegetable smells so good! But it just looks like water and cabbage! It really, really smells so good!"
Ren gently patted Cerberus's head. "That's not water, Kero-chan," he said softly. "That's soup. And it's a soup that no so-called rich broth could ever hope to compare to."
Cerberus nodded sagely. "Oh! I see. But why is the soup so clear? It looks just like water."
Clow Reed smiled. "Shopkeeper Ren's Boiled Cabbage in Supreme Broth is truly a marvel. Just the aroma of that freshness is irresistible. Thankfully, my Wensi Tofu is of a similar caliber."
Ren's smile turned playful. "So, Mr. Clow Reed, you know quite a lot about cooking, don't you?"
"Delicious food should not be forsaken, should it?" Clow replied smoothly.
"That's true," Ren mused. "But isn't the full saying, 'Delicious food and family should not be forsaken'?"
Clow Reed paused, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. Then he smiled and nodded.
The woman finally returned to her senses, her voice filled with disbelief and awe. "This... this Boiled Cabbage in Supreme Broth is incredible... Can cabbage really be this delicious?"
"You don't need to doubt it," Ren said calmly. "The rest of the leaves are still in the kitchen."
The woman swallowed hard. She suddenly felt as if the man before her was some kind of demon, wielding food as a form of magic to bind the very souls of his patrons. With cooking like this, it was no wonder that a culinary expert like Clow Reed would choose this place for his last supper...
She looked down at her empty bowl, a deep sense of peace settling over her.
"I suddenly feel," she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else, "that living... is really not bad at all."
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