Reborn in Japan as a Chef God

Who says Lei Aoxue is only at the level of a top chef?

Of course, if we talk solely about culinary skills, that's not wrong. But if you ignore her strongest aspect and rashly give her a combat rating, then that rating must be superficial. Anyone who believes otherwise is a fool.

In other words, if you consider her perfect knife skills, Lei Aoxue's culinary prowess may not be inferior to Ye Feizhou's before his breakthrough.

To put it more directly, Lei Aoxue should be the one to inherit the first seat of the Five Talents after Ye Feizhou graduated, rather than Li Han, who hasn't maxed out Bursting Flame.

"It's exactly like me before I truly understood the essence of cuisine..."

Xia Yu exhaled.

Before returning home, he relied on Bursting Flame and the spices inequality—an "idea," a rather shallow culinary essence—to satisfy his craving for pseudo-Qilin cuisine. He even scared off Lei Zhe with his show of pretense. Now, Lei Aoxue is in the position he once was, so Xia Yu can clearly see through her.

Defeat?

Just talking about knife skills, before "Divine Hand" advanced to the purple frame, Xia Yu felt he was bound to lose.

But when it comes to overall culinary skills, let's put it this way: Xia Yu, looking back, could defeat ten former versions of himself. Previously, he had to work tirelessly to cook a Qilin dish. Now, with Qilin cuisine, he is as free as painting with a brush, creating dish after dish effortlessly.

Rubbing his nose, Xia Yu pointed at the dishes on the table, "Can I try some?"

"Help yourself."

Lei Aoxue glanced at him, "Get your own chopsticks!"

Xia Yu, Mrs. Liu, Liu Feng, and Liu Ying gathered around the dining table.

"Let's start with the first dish," Xia Yu suggested.

"Okay!"

Everyone knew the principle of starting easy and moving to the difficult. When tasting food, it's naturally best to start with lighter flavors. Otherwise, if you start with something too rich and overwhelming, the plain and simple will become unappealing, and where would anyone find the appetite and calm mindset to savor it?

"So this is the 'Thousand Island Noodle Strips Banana' I made with my own hands..." Liu Ying was the first to pick up her chopsticks and picked up a piece of fried banana from the plate.

Fried banana, also known as crispy banana, is a snack-like food that can be easily bought in slightly bustling food streets.

Due to the batter being brushed on in several layers, wrapped with noodle strips, and then deep-fried, the golden fried banana looks more like some delicate rectangular desserts, with a crispy shell, tangy sauce, and finely grated lemon zest...

Liu Ying took a bite and let out a long sigh of happiness, her cheeks flushed.

"It's delicious!"

It's practically a banana bomb attack—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, with a sweet and sour taste that made Xia Yu's tongue tremble slightly.

It was delicious.

But it merely stayed at the level of delicious; any eight-star or nine-star IGO-certified chef could replicate a dish of similar quality in a serious state.

"It lacks the ultimate taste that breaks barriers."

"And it doesn't have a memory imprinted on the tip of the tongue."

Xia Yu shook his head, put down his chopsticks, and smiled at Liu Ying, asking, "Little Ying, if it were a scoring system, with a full score of 100, how many points would you give yourself?"

"About, 80?" Liu Ying said shyly, lowering her head and answering timidly, "This was made under Miss Lei's guidance, so getting a high score is expected..."

"But if you were to cook it alone, could you produce a dish of similar quality 'Liu's Thousand Island Noodle Strips and Bananas'?"

Liu Ying was stunned for a moment and almost instinctively replied, "Of course, I can!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Yu and Lei Aoxue both nodded.

The little girl's honest reaction was a clear indication that she had fully mastered the 'Thousand Island Noodle Strips Banana' recipe. Recalling the Seven Countries United Fried Noodles business goal assigned to her this morning, Xia Yu secretly marveled, "So young, yet her comprehension is frightening!"

Everyone then tasted the second plate of 'Thousand Island Noodle Strips Banana.'

Crunch!

Liu Ying, upon gently biting into a piece of roasted banana on the chopsticks, had an initial food experience that wasn't a blush and a long sigh, but rather the bewilderment of a little girl venturing into the Disney Magic Kingdom for the first time. Her big, bright eyes widened in surprise and joy, as if meeting one fairy tale character after another.

Xia Yu chewed the fried banana in his mouth, yet the sensation was as if he were chewing on the softness of flowers.

"That's why I say..."

"The 'intent' in cooking, the chef's heart, the culinary essence, brings the depth and breadth of flavors to a broader and deeper place, making them all the more captivating!"

Exhaling as if releasing lotus blossoms from his mouth faintly.

Strangely, thoughts of Lei Aoxue's 'Sword Blade Blossoms' style knife skills, the pure and lofty tasting sensation, filled his mind.

"This is what leaves an imprint on the spirit and even the soul of the diner, beyond mere taste!"

Xia Yu couldn't help but give Lei Aoxue a thumbs-up.

"Your knife skills are amazing!"

The praise came straight from the heart, with no trace of sarcasm or mischief. Lei Aoxue could hear the sincerity in the compliment, yet she immediately turned her head, refusing to meet his gaze, and said, "Knife skills are the foundation for our Lei Family's reputation in the Chinese Realm!"

"I merely perfected one out of many knife skills. Our ancestor Rein was the true genius, mastering numerous knife skills..."

Knife skills, cooking time, seasoning—these basic skills give rise to countless culinary techniques.

Xia Yu suddenly shifted the conversation:

"However, my understanding of knife skills might be different from yours."

Hmm?

Lei Aoxue frowned, "What do you mean?"

She fixed a sharp gaze on the young man.

"Uh..." Xia Yu straightforwardly shared his actual tasting experience, "Do you treat knife skills as the core of your dishes, with all the ingredients tightly centered around the essence of knife skills?"

"Is there something wrong with that?"

Lei Aoxue frowned even deeper, "My strongest aspect should be fully showcased in my dishes!"

"Oh—" Xia Yu chuckled, "I thought you were intentionally demonstrating high-level knife skills for Little Ying, so you did it this way. But from what you said, is this how you usually cook?"

The smile made Lei Aoxue uncomfortable.

"What exactly are you trying to say?!" she demanded, her face turning cold.

"I'll ask again, shouldn't my knife skills, my strongest aspect, be fully displayed in my dishes?"

The impatience was evident.

First receiving praise, then being rebuked, Lei Aoxue's reaction was rather restrained. If she were as volatile as the haughty queen Tiqie Helinai, she might have pounced on Xia Yu to tear him apart.

Xia Yu always remembered something that might have been told to him by his old mentor or perhaps by other seniors.

So-called "knife skills" are meant to bring the ingredients to an ideal state.

This is how the predecessors explained knife skills.

In other words, it's a concept of deploying knife skills—knife skills detached from ingredients are meaningless—they lose their value.

Of course, there's no right or wrong in concepts.

"It's not about right or wrong." Xia Yu was speechless at Lei Aoxue's heated questioning. "Um, how do I put it? My knife skills don't follow the same path as yours."