Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

After finishing the choy sum, Haruto moved on to the green peppers.

He pressed one pepper flat against the cutting board with his left hand, then slid the tip of his knife around the stem. With a light twist of his wrist, the entire core came free in one piece, along with every strip of white pith inside.

Another flick of the blade followed.

In moments, perfectly even strips of green pepper were arranged neatly on a plate. Their length and thickness were almost identical, and every cut was smooth and clean.

The chef working at the neighboring cutting station watched with growing respect.

Haruto continued trying his hand at other tasks throughout the kitchen.

By the end of the morning, his exceptionally solid fundamentals had already allowed him to blend naturally into Yangquan Restaurant’s kitchen.

And while completing every task assigned to him, Haruto quietly observed how the entire kitchen operated.

He memorized how each station flowed into the next and paid attention to the habits of every chef.

Chef Li at the cutting station preferred making three cuts against the grain when preparing beef, which preserved its tenderness as much as possible.

Chef Wang, who handled steamed dishes and miscellaneous preparations, always placed a fresh lotus leaf along the edge of the steamer. It helped retain moisture while adding the faintest fragrance to the finished dish.

Even the order in which the plating assistants sent dishes out and the rules they followed when arranging plates were carefully noted by Haruto.

On the second day, Haruto decided it was time to take over a stove.

Although Zhou Yu already knew his cooking ability was far from ordinary, he still asked Haruto to prepare one dish first.

Haruto agreed without hesitation.

The dish Zhou Yu chose was Beef Ho Fun with Black Bean and Green Pepper, a deceptively simple stir-fry that demanded excellent fundamentals. It relied on fierce heat, rapid cooking, and powerful wok hei. Miss the timing by even a little, and the dish lost its soul.

Haruto heated the iron wok until it glowed faintly red, poured in cool oil to season the surface, then added the marinated beef and quickly stir-fried it until roughly seventy percent cooked before removing it.

Without washing the wok, he immediately added bean sprouts, yellow chives, and shredded green pepper.

Two quick tosses.

Then the ho fun went in.

With a flick of his wrist, the entire wokful of noodles rose into the air in a perfect arc. Every strand became evenly coated in soy sauce, yet not a single one broke or stuck to the pan.

Finally, Haruto returned the beef and tossed everything together over intense heat.

From start to finish, barely a minute passed before the dish left the stove trailing hot wok hei.

The noodles were glossy and thoroughly seasoned.

The beef remained tender and juicy.

The yellow chives were crisp and naturally sweet, while the bean sprouts provided a refreshing crunch.

The instant it entered the mouth, the caramelized fragrance of soy sauce, savory beef, and clean freshness of vegetables burst together.

After everyone in the kitchen tasted it, no one had the slightest objection to Haruto working the stove.

Thanks to everything he had observed the day before, his coordination with Yangquan’s kitchen staff was almost unnaturally smooth.

The moment freshly cut ingredients arrived from the preparation station, Haruto’s hand was already moving to send them into the wok.

Whenever the plating assistants placed a preheated dish beside his stove, Haruto’s cooking finished almost at that exact moment.

He spent the entire day in front of the wok, sending out dish after dish without anyone knowing exactly how many he had made.

Not one had a problem.

In fact, his control of heat was even more seasoned than that of quite a few veteran chefs.

By the end of the day, everyone in Yangquan’s kitchen had fully accepted him.

On the third day, Haruto stopped limiting himself to the ingredients normally available at Yangquan Restaurant.

Instead, he began bringing out some of the unusual ingredients stored inside the Gourmet Restaurant.

Every single one attracted attention.

There was Almond Cabbage, naturally filled with a rich almond fragrance.

Garlic Chicken, with tender flesh that carried its own natural garlic aroma.

Walking Mushrooms overflowing with earthy fragrance.

Rich, fatty Sea King meat.

Plump, gelatinous Slowpoke tails with a faint natural sweetness.

And thick, creamy Moomoo Milk.

Ingredients gathered from worlds such as Toriko and Pokémon immediately drew the attention of everyone in the kitchen simply by being placed on the counter.

Mao was the first to rush over.

He practically threw himself against the workstation, grabbed a leaf from the Almond Cabbage, pinched off a small piece, and chewed it.

His eyes immediately lit up.

"So sweet! And so crisp!"

"This cabbage actually smells like almonds! There’s none of the raw grassy taste ordinary cabbage has either. This is amazing!"

"Haruto-san, where did you even find ingredients like these?"

Zhou Yu had also been drawn over.

He picked up the Garlic Chicken and pressed his fingertips lightly into its flesh, feeling how firm yet tender the meat was.

Then he brought it closer and smelled it.

The naturally occurring garlic fragrance was neither harsh nor pungent, blending seamlessly with the savory aroma of the chicken itself.

Even someone as experienced as Zhou Yu looked visibly moved.

"The ingredient already possesses this many layers of flavor without any seasoning at all."

"In all my years of cooking, I’ve never seen anything like this."

Haruto smiled.

"Everyone can use whatever you want."

The moment he said that, Mao could no longer restrain himself.

He stared over the array of ingredients, thought for a moment, and immediately started cooking.

Mao first dipped the Almond Cabbage leaves briefly in warm water, softening them just enough to remove their raw edge while preserving their crisp texture.

Then he wrapped the leaves around a filling made from fresh shrimp, Snake-Tail Chicken egg whites, and a small amount of finely chopped Walking Mushroom.

He shaped them into delicate shrimp dumplings and placed them into a steamer over high heat.

The moment the lid came off, hot steam rushed out carrying the combined fragrance of almonds, fresh shrimp, and mushrooms.

The finished shrimp dumplings were bright green.

When bitten open, the plump filling was springy and bursting with juice.

The natural sweetness of the shrimp blended perfectly with the Almond Cabbage’s fragrance. Rather than clashing, the two flavors elevated one another until both seemed even fresher than before.

Haruto tasted one and immediately nodded in approval.

Mao’s instinctive understanding of ingredients really was extraordinary.

Zhou Yu, meanwhile, had also become eager to experiment.

Using the Garlic Chicken, he prepared a simple White-Cut Chicken.

He added no garlic seasoning whatsoever.

Instead, he relied entirely on the chicken’s natural fragrance, gently poaching the whole bird in water kept just below boiling while carefully controlling the temperature and timing.

The skin came out crisp and springy.

The meat was tender and overflowing with juices.

The bones retained the faintest blush of red without releasing any blood.

Zhou Yu chopped the chicken into serving pieces and plated it without even preparing the usual ginger-scallion sauce.

The chicken needed nothing else.

Haruto picked up a piece and tasted it.

The skin split easily beneath his teeth, releasing a mellow burst of fat.

The meat itself was so tender it nearly melted in his mouth.

And throughout everything ran that naturally occurring garlic fragrance, mild and rounded rather than sharp, intertwining perfectly with the savory chicken.

The longer he chewed, the better it became.

No additional seasoning was necessary.

The ingredient itself was already delicious enough.

Haruto remained silent for quite a while after tasting it.

Over the days that followed, he and Mao were together almost constantly, exchanging ideas about cooking.

Once Yangquan’s kitchen closed for the night, it became common to see the two of them gathered around a workstation, endlessly discussing ingredients, techniques, and heat control.

Haruto learned a great deal from Mao.

Much of Mao’s knowledge, after all, came from his mother, Master Pai.

Mao taught Haruto how nothing more than simple scallion-ginger water and a handful of salt could completely awaken the natural flavor of even the most ordinary ingredient.

They also discussed different levels of heat—fierce flame, medium heat, low flame, gentle simmer—and which ingredients and techniques suited each one best.

Mao’s openness and complete lack of reservation genuinely affected Haruto.

The boy trusted him without hesitation and shared everything he knew.

So beyond providing unusual ingredients, Haruto also taught Mao as much as he could in return.

Most of what Haruto shared came from Western culinary traditions.

He taught Mao how to prepare classical French sauces, the precise ratios used in roux, and how butter, flour, and stock could be combined into sauces that were silky and rich without becoming heavy.

He also taught him the principles of low-temperature cooking—how careful control of temperature could keep meat evenly cooked from edge to center while preserving as much juice and tenderness as possible.

Then there were Western herbs.

Rosemary.

Thyme.

Basil.

Ingredients rarely used in traditional Chinese cuisine, along with the techniques needed to draw out their fragrance without letting them overwhelm the main ingredient.

Chinese cuisine possessed tremendous depth, but these unfamiliar Western techniques opened an entirely new door for Mao.

He was fascinated by them and studied with exceptional seriousness.

The two continued learning from one another, each improving because of the other.

It was genuine mutual growth.

During this period, Haruto finally experienced firsthand just how monstrous Mao’s talent truly was.

Many Western techniques only needed to be demonstrated once.

As long as Haruto explained the underlying principle and the important points clearly, Mao could turn around and reproduce the method almost immediately.

Worse, he rarely stopped at simple imitation.

He would adapt the Western technique and integrate it naturally into Chinese cooking.

Haruto had shown Mao low-temperature cooking only once.

Soon afterward, Mao used it to improve the White-Cut Garlic Chicken Zhou Yu had made earlier.

The chicken prepared at low temperature was noticeably more tender than the traditional version, with even more of its juices retained.

The natural garlic aroma and meat flavor blended together even more completely.

Mao then paired it with a smooth sauce made from Snake-Tail Chicken egg yolks and Moomoo Milk.

The richness of egg and milk complemented the garlic-scented chicken beautifully, producing layers of texture and flavor that were astonishing in a single bite.

Even Haruto could only marvel inwardly after tasting it.

Mao’s culinary talent was absurd.

It was as though heaven itself were determined to force-feed him genius.

Without either of them realizing it, both Haruto and Mao grew enormously during the time they spent together.

Haruto’s cooking had originally possessed a powerful, aggressive edge.

During his time at Yangquan, however, learning beside Mao and Zhou Yu taught him restraint.

He began to understand that the highest level of complexity could often be expressed through simplicity.

The sharpness in his cooking gradually softened, replaced by a deeper, quieter refinement.

Mao’s growth was even more obvious.

More importantly, the Western techniques Haruto taught him completely broadened his way of thinking about food.

They pushed Mao beyond the framework he had always known and raised his understanding of cooking to an entirely new level.

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