"Glug glug glug—"
The aroma of Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers filled the air, and a thick layer of red oil floated on the scalding broth. A specially designed grid divided a round pot into nine equal portions, each containing different ingredients.
The black tripe still has uneven barbs on it. After being blanched in the pot for a dozen seconds, the whole piece of tripe shrinks a lot. At this time, dip it in a sauce made of minced garlic and sesame oil and put it in your mouth. When you chew it, it can make a "crunch crunch" sound.
Yellow throat is actually the heart tube of a pig. After processing, it not only loses its fishy smell, but when cooked in a hot and spicy broth, it becomes incredibly crisp and refreshing, with a slightly chewy texture.
Most hot pot restaurants don't serve freshly cut beef and lamb. Instead, they press large chunks of beef and lamb together to form a large, easily cut cylindrical piece of meat, which is then sliced off piece by piece using a sharp machine to obtain uniformly thin slices.
The lamb slices still have a bit of fat on them. The blanched lamb is rolled into pretty shapes and soaked in the spicy aroma. You can taste the deliciousness of the lamb with just a few chews.
After soaking, the dried gongcai (a type of dried vegetable) is boiled in a pot. Its bright green color is tinged with a slight reddish hue, and it makes a "crunch crunch" sound when you bite into it. Every bite is a treat for your teeth.
"Waiter, two more bowls of ice jelly, it's so spicy...it's killing me, slurp...slurp..."
Li Ning was sweating profusely from the spiciness, but when he turned around, he saw Xu Milu looking relaxed and not even blushing. She was still slowly gnawing on the boiled braised chicken feet, as if the hot pot broth with its numbing and spicy flavor had no effect on her at all.
"Little Martial Aunt, is it spicy or not?"
Li Ning's tongue was practically tied in knots; he had to gulp down several mouthfuls of ice jelly before the burning sensation on his tongue subsided a little.
"Fortunately, this hot pot restaurant is quite authentic Sichuan and Chongqing style. The more you eat, the spicier it gets, and the more fragrant the broth becomes. I'll see if I can figure out what ingredients are in it. Next time, I'll make my own broth at home and keep it on hand so I can cook it whenever I want."
Xu Milu spat out a chicken bone. The large chicken feet were very flavorful after being braised. After being boiled in the pot, they absorbed the spiciness of the hot pot, making them both chewy and soft. It was so delicious that you couldn't stop eating them.
"The hot pot broth here is really good. They use several kinds of oil: beef tallow, rapeseed oil, lard—and there's even a hint of chicken fat. The Sichuan peppercorns at the bottom should be from Sichuan and Chongqing. The onion and scallion flavors are quite strong, and there are many kinds of spices—star anise, cinnamon, fennel seeds, and nutmeg..."
Xu Milu scooped up some hot pot broth with a spoon and tasted it. She smacked her lips as she drank, completely unaware of the incredulous expressions on the faces of Li Ning and Sasha next to her.
"Junior Aunt, is your mouth on steroids? You can even taste the broth in someone's hot pot?!"
Sasha stared in disbelief: "And you can drink the hot pot broth? Really... it's not spicy?"
"It's alright. Apart from the fact that there were too many things cooked in it, making the taste a bit mixed, it still tastes very good. Would you like to try some?"
Xu Milu handed over a spoon and asked in return.
Perhaps it was because she suddenly gained a thousand years of magical power, but her sense of taste, sight, and smell all seemed to have become much more acute. For example, when she eats hot pot now, she can accurately find the taste of the Flaming Mandolin Chili in a pot with hundreds of ingredients.
Everyone at the table shook their heads.
No, no, they really wouldn't dare to drink hot pot broth on its own.
Li Ning reacted the most, slurping as he stared at Xu Milu, before letting out a wail after a long while:
"I knew it! I knew it!!! Either we explode in silence or we perish in silence!! Junior Aunt, you haven't been bothering us these past few days, you must be holding back a big move!!! Why didn't you include me in your evolution?! If you had a tongue like yours, would Grandmaster need to keep an eye on me every day to distinguish flavors??"
He pointed at Xu Milu, trembling, and said indignantly:
"Junior Aunt, why are you acting so perverted again? Are you trying to kill us all?!"
Just as an embroidery master can distinguish between two very similar colors, a chef must also have the ability to distinguish subtle differences in taste. Li Ning's basic skills are quite solid, but in Cui Shengguo's eyes, they are not enough.
"Keep it up, young man."
Xu Milu felt refreshed and invigorated. She patted Li Ning on the shoulder and immediately felt all the pressure disappear.
...
...
Among the spells that Sun Wukong left for Xu Milu, there happened to be a record about cultivating an external body.
There are three types of cultivation of external bodies. The first is that monsters with the supernatural power of creating clones can cultivate to a certain level and then use their main body to create a second or even a third external body. Monsters like the Nine-Headed Insect, the Nine-Tailed Fox, and the Cat Demon are born with the ability to create external bodies.
The second type is cultivators who practice the method of creating external bodies. The external bodies they create are similar to "clones". The more external bodies they create, the higher their magical power and the deeper their cultivation.
The third type is like hers, who uses celestial items or magical artifacts to cultivate an external body, somewhat like a "magical treasure" used by immortals. The crafting itself is not difficult; the difficulty lies in controlling the external body while multitasking.
"Sizzle sizzle..."
The white jade lotus root floated in the air, its segments gradually lengthening, its veins slowly turning white and tender, its branches transforming into a waist, its fibrous strands becoming long red hair, and its rounded pieces slowly outlining the face of a mature woman, ultimately transforming into the image of "Ren Honghe" in Xu Milu's memory:
Long red hair, deep and delicate features, but utterly lifeless; her naked body was perfectly proportioned, making her look like a giant doll.
[Congratulations, host, you have succeeded.]
Even when Xiaoqi offered her congratulations, her tone was flat and devoid of any emotion.
"This is only the first step. Later, I need to cultivate my divine sense and learn to multitask... But it does seem a bit strange that I'm looking at myself like this."
Xu Milu tried to calm herself down and divert some of her consciousness to control the puppet on the ground.
At first there was no reaction, and "Ren Honghe" on the ground did not move. After about ten minutes, the doll's hand twitched slightly.
"..."
Xu Milu stared intently at her doll-like body. The next second, the doll lying on the ground sat up straight and forced a stiff smile onto its face.
She immediately became excited and tried to wave her hand, and "Ren Honghe" on the ground also made the same movement.
How can I describe this feeling?
It was as if she was controlling two game characters at the same time. Everything she sensed in each body could be clearly fed back to her brain, but compared to her original body, the characters attached to her body always made her feel like there was an unreal barrier, like looking at flowers through a fog.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ren Honghe."
Xu Milu reached out and helped the woman sitting on the ground to her feet. The next second, the doll also spoke:
"Hello, I am Ren Honghe."
Both faces showed the same faint smile, and Xu Milu nodded in satisfaction.
It's time for her to appear on stage alongside "Ren Honghe".
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