Li Xiao used a special golden spoon to carefully scoop up a piece of the dark brown sea urchin roe.
Before he put the sea urchin roe into his mouth, the rich, sweet and sour aroma of black vinegar and the fresh scent of yuzu quickly filled his nostrils.
The mixed fragrance was very pleasant. The fermented notes of the black vinegar didn’t overpower the other scents; instead, it complemented the fresh yuzu aroma perfectly.
However, Li Xiao was still curious why black vinegar was used to season the sea urchin, especially since its dark color seemed to mask the uni’s own vibrant hue.
He placed the sea urchin roe in his mouth. The black vinegar flavor was indeed very faint, with almost none of a typical vinegar’s sourness.
Instead, the light black vinegar dressing perfectly enhanced the sea urchin’s fresh sweetness while preserving the refreshing yuzu fragrance.
The black vinegar sauce was like a key unlocking the sea urchin’s deliciousness, allowing Li Xiao’s taste buds to fully experience its unique flavor.
A trace amount of brandy in the black vinegar sauce added a hint of rich alcohol fragrance, cleverly masking the sea urchin’s slight fishiness.
Finally, the addition of yuzu peel enhanced the dish, bringing a refreshing sensation.
The slight bitterness of the yuzu peel added another layer to the sea urchin’s savory flavor, leaving a delightful, lingering aftertaste.
Li Xiao swallowed the sea urchin roe, somewhat surprised.
’Even though the dish’s appearance might be a little disappointing, the flavor itself is quite surprising—shockingly good!’
[Congratulations, you have unlocked the 26th item in the Food Guide]
[The food item you unlocked is: Black Vinegar Yuzu Sea Urchin]
[Dish Rating: 82/100 [Good]]
[As the dish rating is ’Good,’ you receive a 3x reward.]
[Congratulations, you have received a cash reward: 400,000]
[Congratulations, you have received an experience reward: Sea Urchin Selection Tips]
[Congratulations, you have received a recipe reward: Black Vinegar Recipe]
Li Xiao wasn’t surprised by the system’s evaluation.
This sea urchin dish did taste good, but it was far from reaching the level of ’Excellent.’
First and most importantly, the presentation was too poor. Although the purplish-black vinegar paired very well with the sea urchin in terms of flavor, their colors clashed completely.
As Li Xiao scooped up more sea urchin roe with his spoon, he began to explain the dish to his livestream viewers.
"Overall, this sea urchin is pretty good, but it’s nowhere near an ’Excellent’ rating."
"Unless you’re a die-hard sea urchin fanatic, I wouldn’t really recommend ordering this."
As he spoke, he picked up the sea urchin shell with two fingers, showing the contents to everyone once more:
"Putting everything else aside, the appearance alone makes it hard to even bring yourself to eat it."
In the livestream chat:
"Why is the sea urchin that color?"
"Did the person above not hear the waitress’s introduction? The black stuff on the sea urchin’s surface must be the so-called black vinegar, right?"
"The streamer’s camera lens has such high resolution, it’s triggering my trypophobia!"
"With looks like that, no wonder the streamer isn’t recommending it."
...
Li Xiao:
"In my opinion, instead of black vinegar, it would be better to use a specially mixed red or white vinegar.
"Red and white vinegar might not have the same rich and complex flavor profile as black vinegar."
"But in terms of color, they would be a much better match for the orange-red sea urchin roe."
"Another reason I don’t really recommend it is because the ingredient used is sea urchin from Dalian."
"Dalian sea urchins are indeed very good in terms of freshness. If shipped directly by air, sea urchins from Dalian can be served at the table within 12 hours."
He pointed to the sea urchin in front of him.
"The sea urchin I’m eating, the roe is very firm. There’s no sign of it melting, no fishy smell, only the faint saltiness of seawater.
This proves they are extremely fresh. It’s probably been less than 24 hours from the time they were caught until now."
"While there’s no problem with their freshness, the quality of Dalian sea urchins is still much lower."
"After all, the quality of sea urchins is heavily dependent on the local seawater quality and the quality of the local algae."
"The seawater quality in Qingdao and Dalian has certainly improved a lot in recent years, but there’s still a gap compared to some of the prime sea urchin harvesting areas."
"In my opinion, sea urchins from Hokkaido and Nagasaki in Japan are actually better choices."
...
In the back kitchen, after hearing the critiques of the last two dishes, Zhao Long was now paying his utmost attention to Li Xiao.
Li Xiao’s comments on the White Cut Chicken and Golden Tofu had been remarkably on point.
As a good executive chef, he naturally wanted to continuously improve, so he was eager to hear what other suggestions this streamer would have for his subsequent dishes.
Listening to Li Xiao’s eloquent evaluation of the Black Vinegar Sea Urchin...
Zhao Long lowered his head, pondering whether the suggestions were reasonable. A moment later, he was already calling over his chefs to prepare the corresponding ingredients.
Looking at the three bowls of sea urchin before him, Zhao Long had to admit that Li Xiao was absolutely right.
From a purely visual standpoint, the sea urchins prepared with red and white vinegar did indeed look much better.
Using white vinegar didn’t affect the sea urchin’s color, leaving it orange-yellow. Using red vinegar, however, made the sea urchin even more beautiful, dyeing it with a very special shade of red.
As for the taste, he didn’t try it right away.
It had taken him three or four days to perfect the recipe for the black vinegar he originally used on the sea urchin.
If he were to switch back to using other white or red vinegars now, the taste would certainly be inferior to his well-honed black vinegar.
However, now that he had a new direction, it wouldn’t take too long to slowly adjust the recipe later.
Staring at the three bowls of sea urchin, Zhao Long’s expression grew more and more serious.
’I thought I was taking him seriously enough, but it seems I still underestimated this streamer.’
’Not only can he easily identify the flaws in a dish, but he can also immediately offer suggestions for improvement.’
’This means he himself is likely a chef of extraordinary skill.’
Just after he finished critiquing the sea urchin, the fourth dish was brought out.
The vessel for the fourth dish was very unusual. It wasn’t served in a common glass or ceramic container, but on individual spoons.
On the long, silver spoons, eight button mushrooms were arranged neatly.
The mushrooms were turned upside down, their stems already removed. Each one resembled a tiny dish, holding a clear, sparkling broth.
The girl in the qipao introduced the dish:
"Honored guests, this is Button Mushroom in Black Truffle Consommé. Would you like me to collect all the broth into a small bowl, or would you prefer to eat them one by one?"
Li Xiao thought for a moment, then waved his hand.
"I’ll eat them one by one."
After reminding him to "be careful, it’s hot," the girl in the qipao pushed open the door and left the room.
Looking at the mushrooms before him, Li Xiao could feel his mouth starting to water.
The rich, enticing aroma of the button mushrooms wafted out continuously.