Chapter 39: The First Original Recipe
The honey badger is truly a treasure.
Qi Han tried various parts of the honey badger, and apart from the skin, which turned hard and had a strange taste when heated, the other parts exceeded his expectations in terms of deliciousness.
After some experimentation, Qi Han finally focused on three parts of the honey badger: the large intestine, ribs, and brain.
The honey badger’s large intestine was different from that of a regular pig. Since it primarily fed on fruits and honey, the honey badger’s large intestine had a faint fruity and honey aroma. This flavor mellowed the unique taste of the intestine, making it more easily accepted by regular customers.
After all, not all customers enjoy the distinct taste of fatty intestines.
The meat of the honey badger was already tender, and the ribs were likely the most tender among all the meat from its body. They were covered in a dense pattern of marbling, suitable for both lean and fatty cuts, and simply grilling or roasting them would result in a tender and juicy texture.
The combination of the subtle fruity aroma and rich meat juices created a deliciousness that, once experienced, would be unforgettable.
As for the brain of the honey badger, it turned out to be the biggest surprise for Qi Han.
With a rich aroma, a soft and fragrant texture, it was flavorful but not greasy.
The honey badger’s brain perfectly embodied the sixteen-word description. Qi Han simply added some seasonings and made a roasted brain dish using aluminum foil, which provided a completely new culinary experience.
Of course, if he chose this part as an ingredient for a 1 Star recipe, Qi Han would need to consider another issue.
The indigenous people of Douluo Continent had never eaten brains and considered such behavior to be extremely evil. If he couldn’t make them abandon this prejudice, this dish would likely provoke protests in his small shop.
However, such concerns were quickly dismissed by Qi Han. In his opinion, the deliciousness of the brain would be enough to make even stubborn Douluo Continent residents overcome their biases.
As for which part to choose for the recipe, Qi Han said that only children had to make choices.
He, Qi Han, wants them all!
During the mission, he could create multiple recipes, and the highest-rated one would serve as the basis for the system’s reward.
So what’s the harm in creating a few more?
Once he made his selection, Qi Han left the system space with a single thought.
He had spent almost a day in the system space, conducting various experiments, but in the outside world, it had been less than an hour.
At this rate, Qi Han was confident that he could create a 1 Star recipe within six days.
Well, including the four days of round trips, it would be a perfect ten days.
But the immediate task at hand was to catch another honey badger.
Honey badger, here I come!
Honey badgers didn’t possess much combat strength, so Qi Han wasn’t in much danger while dealing with them. However, they were agile in the forest and could easily climb up trees at the first sign of trouble, which increased the difficulty of hunting.
For the first honey badger, Qi Han chased it for over ten minutes before finding an opportunity to strike it down.
When Qi Han returned to the system space and placed the honey badger on the chopping board, he also had an additional bundle in his hand.
He opened the bundle on the chopping board, and inside were various wild vegetables, mushrooms, and fruits.
With the Douluo Continent Ingredient Encyclopedia, there was no need to worry about ending up with flat ingredients or burying mountains, attracting hordes of friends and family for a meal.
The ingredients he had gathered along the way were all labeled as non-toxic in the Douluo Continent Ingredient Encyclopedia, and their taste evaluations were quite good.
On one hand, Qi Han wanted to taste these wild mountain delicacies he had never eaten before. On the other hand, he mainly wanted to see if there were any good ingredients that could be paired with the honey badger.
He divided the ingredients into small portions and conducted cooking experiments, taking it step by step. This process was much slower and more meticulous than his previous superficial attempts.
Fortunately, Qi Han’s sense of taste was much more sensitive than most people, even more so than in his previous life. Perhaps it was a natural talent, preserved even in the Douluo Continent.
He could easily discern the subtle differences in taste between ingredients and determine how to combine them for a more delicious result.
For readers like you, it might be as simple as saying, “This is tasty,” “That is also tasty,” or “Everything is delicious.”
In the end, Qi Han resolved the honey badger completely, but this time, he had a more confident smile on his face.
He had found it.
He had found the perfect combination. He just needed to practice continuously and search for the perfect preparation method.
This process was bound to be difficult. Even if he was learning a 1 Star recipe, he still needed to practice hundreds of times or more. Not to mention creating his own recipe, which would only make this exploratory process longer.
The fire’s temperature, the timing of ingredient seasoning, and the method of ingredient preparation all required multiple trials for Qi Han to master completely.
After leaving the system space, Qi Han no longer blindly searched for ingredients. After hunting a honey badger, he found the necessary ingredients and entered the system space once again.
Although he chose the honey badger’s large intestine, ribs, and brain as the raw materials for a 1 Star recipe, it was impossible for him to simultaneously research three 1 Star recipes.
Qi Han first chose the ribs because they were the safest option among the three ingredients.
He exited the system space and hunted down a honey badger.
He entered the system space to create the recipe.
This process repeated continuously.
Each time Qi Han dealt with a honey badger, he would leave the large intestine and brain for the system to save.
Thanks to the system’s advanced technology, they would not spoil or decay and would remain fresh indefinitely.
This also meant that when Qi Han tried to make the brain and large intestine later, he wouldn’t need to obtain the ingredients as frequently. He could use the ones he had already prepared, saving a lot of time.
As the Spirit Beast Forest became dangerous at night, Qi Han practiced his Fish Belly Stuffed with Lamb technique within the system space, waiting for the sun to rise again.
Time passed bit by bit.
“System, what about this time?”
This was already the umpteenth time Qi Han had asked the system.
Since two days ago, he had felt that the dishes he made had reached the level of a 1 Star recipe and eagerly asked the system for evaluation, only to be rejected.
The reason the system gave was simple: there was still room for improvement in the recipe, so it couldn’t be recorded and evaluated.
However, although the system mentioned room for improvement, it didn’t tell Qi Han where he could improve. Because of this statement, Qi Han could only try over and over again.
This time, when Qi Han asked, he didn’t hold much hope, but unexpectedly, the system didn’t reject him as before. Instead, it fell into silence.
After a while, a cold voice resounded through the training space.
【Congratulations to the host for successfully creating an original recipe. The recipe has been evaluated as a 1 Star recipe with a score of 63. Please name the recipe.】
“Name it?” Qi Han recovered from his surprise and smiled. “Honey-Glazed Grilled Ribs.”
【1 Star recipe: Honey-Glazed Grilled Ribs. Successfully recorded!】