"You two should have rested enough. Now, follow me to the kitchen."
At the doorway, Dylan leaned against the wall.
After listening to the conversation between the two inside for a while, he suddenly pushed the door open and walked in.
"Dylan-nii..."
Seeing the sudden appearance of Dylan, Alice Nakiri called out softly, but he ignored her, walking away on his own after speaking.
This made Alice Nakiri pause for a moment. She then exchanged a glance with Erina Nakiri, got up from the bed, and they left the room together.
Leaving the room, they walked straight to the kitchen. At this moment, Dylan was wearing a clean white chef's uniform, waiting for them in front of the stove.
"Go wash your hands."
Hearing the footsteps behind him, Dylan called out without lifting his head, his gaze always fixed on the cooking station, or more accurately, the ingredients on it.
When the two had washed their hands and were standing on his left and right, Dylan nodded, picked up an iron staff from the corner of the kitchen, and brandished it a few times in his hand.
In that instant, a fierce wind suddenly arose in the calm kitchen. The pots, bowls, and utensils all rose with it, flying and circling in the air. It was the strong wind brought about by the high-speed rotation of the iron staff!
"Let's begin. I'll first make the decorative type of Dragon Head Crisp. Most of the steps are the same as yours just now, but my version has a few more details."
Dylan said as he scooped up a spoonful of flour onto the table. Beside it were the already prepared edible coloring water and oil. He then performed the White Luo Snake Turning Chain.
Erina Nakiri stared intently, her eyes fixed on Dylan's hands, trying to learn his technique from them.
However, Dylan's speed was too fast; she couldn't see his movements clearly at all. She only knew that he was constantly rotating, rotating the iron staff in his hands.
Unlike Alice Nakiri, the white snake under Dylan's control looked much more agile. It didn't look like dough, but rather like a real giant python.
And that wasn't the most crucial part. The most crucial part was that he could control two giant pythons at the same time!! And with different frequencies, they postured in the air.
To control two giant pythons with one staff simultaneously—the skill required for this was self-evident. One must have a speed that reached a certain level to possibly achieve it.
And the python's form was agile, surrounded by wind, constantly changing. Its entire body exuded an astonishing presence, as if it had truly come alive!
Compared to Dylan's seemingly living giant python, the large snake Alice Nakiri had displayed in the morning seemed incredibly amateurish. Its movements were somewhat jerky, not even in the same league.
"I originally thought your White Luo Snake Turning Chain had already reached a proficient level, to have such exquisite expressiveness. But now, seeing Master Dylan's, I realize you've only just begun."
Her mind was shaken. By the time she came to her senses, the two giant pythons had already landed steadily on the table. Erina Nakiri turned her head to look at Alice Nakiri beside her and couldn't help but mutter under her breath.
At this moment, Dylan was preparing the shortening for the dough, his expression exceptionally serious.
"Puff pastry, there are two major categories in total: single-layer crisp and multi-layer crisp. Among them, single-layer crisp is also called mixed crisp. It refers to pastries formed by mixing the shortening and dough together. More famous examples include walnut cookies, small cookies, and biscuits. Multi-layer crisp contains many layers. Depending on the visibility of the crisp layers, it is further divided into visible crisp and hidden crisp. For visible crisp, you can directly see the crisp layers, suitable for making various exquisitely shaped pastries, such as durian puffs and swan puffs. For hidden crisp, the layers are on the inside, and you can only see the crisp layers from the cross-section, suitable for making Suzhou-style mooncakes, Huangqiao sesame cakes, and other puff pastries. In addition, there are also semi-visible, semi-hidden pastries, as well as small categories like round crisp and square crisp."
While placing the shortening into the pastry dough, Dylan explained to the two watching beside him. After a few simple folding treatments, they became straight crisps and round crisps.
The cut of a straight crisp is square, while the cut of a round crisp is crescent-shaped. The two can be combined to complement each other's weaknesses, allowing one to make the vast majority of puff pastries on the market.
"I see. Chinese pastry has so many categories. It's truly amazing and admirable."
Hearing Dylan's introduction, Erina Nakiri felt a headache coming on before she even started learning. To master so many types of puff pastries would take at least a few years.
"This isn't just Chinese pastry."
Hearing Erina Nakiri's words, Alice Nakiri beside her shook her head slightly.
"Huh? Isn't this Chinese pastry?"
Erina Nakiri was surprised, her voice filled with disbelief.
"This is only an insignificant part of Chinese pastry. You can't generalize it as the whole."
Alice Nakiri corrected.
"Alice is right. Pastries can be divided by form into cakes, biscuits, dumplings, crisps, buns, jiaozi, zongzi, rice noodles, noodles, strips, and so on. This is just one of them."
Wiping his hands with a towel, before officially making the Dragon Head Crisp, Dylan heard their conversation and couldn't help but explain.
China's pastry culture is very prosperous. If one were to generalize puff pastry as the whole, they would probably be scolded.
"Seeing one spot on a leopard to know the whole animal, seeing one leaf to know the coming of deep autumn. From this one small category, one can already see the formidability of Chinese pastry!"
Erina Nakiri said from the bottom of her heart, her eyes filled with admiration as she looked at Dylan. In her eyes, he was an existence who could do anything.
Compared to China, Japan's noodle and pastry dishes seemed a bit weak. Although they had all of the above, none were mastered. The only relatively famous one was wagashi.
Currently, in Japan, there were only two wagashi masters whose skills had reached Four-Star Special Grade. As for more formidable pastry chefs, they were unheard of.
For the Dragon Head Crisp that Dylan taught Alice Nakiri, probably no one in all of Japan could make it, because its shape was so difficult that it would take at least three to five years to learn.
"There's not much to say about the shaping part. It's mainly about practice. With more practice, it will be fine."
Just as Erina Nakiri's mind was shaken, Dylan had already begun to make it. He first used a round crisp as a base, constantly adding small parts on top, finally creating a majestic and domineering dragon head.
The dragon head was mighty. Just placing it there exuded an overwhelming presence, causing Erina Nakiri, who had just come to her senses, to subconsciously take a step back, her legs feeling a bit weak.
"This... is this really just dough?!"
Taking a step back, the recovered Erina Nakiri muttered in a daze, somewhat disbelieving what she was seeing. Was this really not a real dragon?
"It's been too long since I've made it; I'm rusty. I could do better before. Now, my spirit and energy are not locked in. No good, I'll start over."
However, looking at the dragon head before him, Dylan was not very satisfied. He directly tossed it aside and then continued to make another one.
This time, Erina Nakiri didn't get distracted. Instead, she stared intently, her lips slightly parted, her large eyes filled with the words 'eager to learn.'
"For frying puff pastry, the oil temperature is very particular. This time, for the Dragon Head Crisp, we'll use the immersion frying method. Put it in when the oil temperature is medium-low, and then slowly raise the oil temperature."
Dylan explained in great detail. Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri also listened with relish, thoughtful expressions on their faces.
It was clear that besides the preliminary preparation, the subsequent frying also required a lot of effort. For the frying of this Dragon Head Crisp, one would have to experiment at least dozens, if not hundreds, of times to find the most suitable time and heat.
"This type is the decorative Dragon Head Crisp. It requires an imposing and domineering appearance, able to leave a deep impression at first glance to serve its decorative purpose."
Placing the Dragon Head Crisp at the head of a long, rectangular plate, he then quickly sliced some vegetables, simply making them into a small cold dish, and placed them on two separate plates.
"This one over here is ¥18, and this one over here is ¥1118. Does this make it more delicious? No, this just makes it more expensive."
Placing the two plates of cold dishes in front of Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri to make a comparison, Dylan said with silent amusement.
"If it's made by Master Dylan, even the price of this one plate would need four or five more zeros. As for the one over there, adding another zero wouldn't be an exaggeration!"
Facing Dylan's teasing, Erina Nakiri was completely serious. She first pointed to the plate of cold dish emitting a flowing light, then pointed to the one beside it.
A 'Flowing Light' dish for a few hundred thousand yen—there should be plenty of people in the culinary world willing to pay.
"You, this girl, I love the way you talk."
Erina Nakiri's words made Dylan laugh out loud. He never thought this girl's mouth could be so sweet. Was this still the tsundere from the anime?
"This is the decorative type. It requires an imposing and domineering appearance, to leave a deep impression at first glance, so that customers will order this dish again next time. The filled type needs to have filling inside to make its taste full, but because of its small size, it requires the operator to have more delicate control. One careless move and all the effort will be wasted."
As he spoke, Dylan got to work.
The dough seemed to have a soul in his hands. It quickly opened up, wrapped around the pre-fried green bean paste, and then closed again, sticking to the dragon's head.
From the large dragon head to the small dragon teeth and whiskers.
Every detail had to be polished. This was the high standard Dylan set for himself.
"Because the inside is filled, and the filling itself is already cooked, the frying heat is a bit different from before. Two minutes less time, and the taste will be better."
Dylan explained as he put the prepared red bean Dragon Head Crisp into the pot for immersion frying. Before long, the fine 'hairs' on the Dragon Head Crisp exploded, revealing a wild posture.
"Alright, have a taste. The difference between a filled and an unfilled one is very large."
Looking at the imposing Dragon Head Crisp in the oil pot, Dylan seized the right moment to scoop it out, placed it in a bamboo basket on the side to drain, and then spoke to the two.
However, he received no response.
This also made him turn his head in curiosity.
Only to see the two sisters staring at the dragon's head in the bamboo plate, the hair on their entire bodies standing on end. Their legs, which had already felt a bit weak from seeing the dragon's head, now gave out completely and they slumped to the ground.
Alice, having seen it once as a child and now being a Special Grade Chef, had a higher resistance to delicious food and could barely tolerate it.
But Erina Nakiri was different. At this moment, her face was extremely red, a trace of tears at the corners of her eyes. Her legs were unnaturally clamped together, and a wet patch appeared on her pristine white pants.
Pfft.
Seeing this scene, Alice Nakiri burst out laughing. This also made Erina Nakiri's face turn even redder, the blush spreading all the way to her ears.
She opened her mouth to say something, but found she had nothing to say, and could only bury her head deeply, becoming even more submissive.
"Alright, the first time you saw the Dragon Head Crisp, your situation wasn't much better than Alice's. You're both people who've wet their pants; neither of you should laugh at the other."
Seeing Erina Nakiri look as if she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, and Alice Nakiri still laughing heartily, Dylan mercilessly exposed her old secret.
"No way, my first time was much better than Erina's, okay!"
Seeing Erina Nakiri cast a strange glance at her, Alice Nakiri's expression froze, and she could no longer laugh, her small face turning visibly red.
"The pot calling the kettle black. You're not much better."
Dylan had no intention of indulging her. Laughing at others was wrong in the first place. As he spoke, he stepped forward and extended his hand to Erina Nakiri, his face without a trace of mockery, only a faint gentleness.
"Master Dylan..."
Looking at the large hand extended towards her, Erina Nakiri's face showed emotion. She reached out her hand, felt a bit shy, and pulled it back a little, but finally mustered her courage, intertwined her fingers with his, and was pulled up by him.
The warmth from his palm made Erina Nakiri's heart race. Finally, with his pull, she stood up, her hand then moving to cover the wet spot.
"Let me cover you up. There are no outsiders here, no need to be so shy. Have a taste of the food, and then go take a nice hot bath."
Seeing the young woman's anxious and uneasy state, Dylan took a shirt hanging nearby and directly wrapped it around her waist. His nonchalant manner warmed Erina Nakiri's heart.
"I'll go wash my hands first."
The phrase "There are no outsiders here" echoed in her mind. Clearly, he didn't see her as an outsider. For some reason, she felt a little happy.
After washing her hands, Erina Nakiri returned to her original spot. Alice hadn't eaten first but was waiting for her. At the same time, they picked up a Dragon Head Crisp, did some mental preparation, and then, closing their eyes, took a bite in the direction of the dragon's mouth, biting off its upper jaw.
"Crispy, fragrant, the sweetness of the red bean spreads in the mouth. What an amazing taste!"
Opening her eyes and looking at the Dragon Head Crisp emitting a flowing light in her hand, Erina Nakiri couldn't help but praise.
The soft and delicate texture of the red bean paste and its sweet taste formed a sharp contrast with the crispy outer skin of the Dragon Head Crisp. Despite having an absurd number of layers, every bite allowed one to feel the taste of the red bean paste, without a single spot being missed.
This feeling was like being immersed in an ocean of red bean paste, surrounded by fragrance. When she came to her senses, she found that she was already flying in the blue sky.
That's right, flying in the blue sky!
A giant dragon roared and soared, carrying her into the boundless high sky, then swooping down. Feeling the wind rushing past her, she grabbed onto the dragon's horns.
However, even though she grabbed the dragon's horns, it couldn't reduce her excitement. That feeling of swooping down was simply too exhilarating for her.
"What magnificence!"
Erina Nakiri's face was flushed. Feeling the fierce wind in the air, the top-to-bottom thrilling experience, her outside self couldn't help but grab onto Dylan's arm, like a drowning fish.
Her body also became a bit weak from this intense stimulation, her face slightly red. Luckily, Dylan was quick-eyed and quick-handed, steadily supporting her.
"Rest for a while before taking a bath."
Seeing that Erina Nakiri was not in a good state, Dylan helped her to a chair and said with great consideration.
On the side, Alice Nakiri's situation was no better. He did the same for her, helping her to a chair to sit down, his expression very helpless.
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