Chapter 28: Raw Hide Meat and Large Intestine Sashimi
[Enhancement-type Energy +5]
Watching another Great Stamp collapse with a crash, the Enhancement-type Energy value on his status panel had accumulated to 630.
The time he had pre-estimated was almost up, so he could only dismiss his Zanpakutō and carry one Great Stamp back to the venue.
When Mord returned to the examination venue, the air was filled with the distinctive aroma of roasted meat, mixed with some burnt smells—clearly some examinees had failed to control the heat properly and charred their pigs.
Fortunately, Buhara wasn't picky at all—he'd accept any food offered to him.
By the time Mord arrived, a considerable pile of Great Stamp bones had already accumulated beside Buhara.
Judging by the distressed expressions on some examinees' faces, it was clear that no one had passed the assessment yet. While Buhara's standard was easy to meet, Menchi had nearly harsh and picky standards for fine food.
"Overcooked. Fail."
"Too tough. The natural deliciousness of the meat is wasted. Fail."
"Fail!"
"Fail!"
"Fail!"
...
Menchi kept raising the failure sign in her hand, her expression growing increasingly impatient.
"Really, every single one of them is an idiot. It's like they're all copies—nothing but whole roasted pigs. None of them put any effort into their cooking, treating culinary arts like child's play."
"Isn't there anyone who can satisfy me?" Menchi complained.
It wasn't that the examinees didn't want to make dishes other than roasted whole pig—they simply didn't know how. Those who managed to reach this stage were all combat specialists.
Expecting them to cook properly was nothing but a pipe dream.
"Not a single pass so far," Leorio remarked nearby. His own roasted whole pig was ready, but he was hesitating whether to present it.
"And Menchi hasn't even taken a single bite." Kurapika pondered for a moment, then spoke as if realizing something. "That's right, this exam's theme is cooking, but the judging criteria are originality and observation skills."
Upon hearing Kurapika's words, Leorio and Gon nearby showed expressions of understanding, looking completely confident.
Mord didn't use a grill. Instead, he gathered a pile of straw and placed it in an open area, setting it on fire.
He then threw the small-headed Great Stamp directly into the flames before turning to watch the performances of Gon and the others.
I have to say, these guys are truly geniuses.
Mord nearly laughed himself sick.
Leorio still presented a whole roasted pig, except he decorated it by sticking numerous children's flags all over it.
Menchi became so angry she flipped the table.
Gon simply placed a floral wreath on the roasted pig.
His outcome was no different from Leorio's.
As for Kurapika, truly worthy of being the brains of the main group, he actually used the vegetables and various fruits provided at the venue to create an oversized pork steak.
Mord glanced at it and began preparing the dipping sauce he would need later.
"Next is my dish. Please judge it," Kurapika said sincerely, looking at Menchi.
"Finally, a proper dish has appeared," Menchi examined it and finally picked up her fork.
This was the first time she had made any move to eat, which gives you an idea of what the previous offerings were like.
Menchi speared a large piece of the pork steak with her fork and began chewing vigorously.
"He perfectly utilized the provided ingredients and tools. The key was whether he could highlight the pork as the main dish. The taste actually wasn't important," Kurapika thought to himself.
But the next moment proved him wrong.
"This tastes terrible!"
Menchi overturned the plate again.
"While appearance is important, it also needs to have flavor. You're at the same level as contestant 403."
Menchi showed Kurapika the failing sign.
Contestant 403 was none other than the genius Leorio who had stuck children's toy flags all over his roasted pig.
Meanwhile, Mord finally completed his preparations.
He set the prepared dipping sauce aside.
Then he pulled the pig that had been cured with raw ash from the pile of embers, washed off the exterior with clean water, and used a small knife to scrape away the charred outer layer, revealing the golden skin beneath.
"Look, what is Brother Mord doing?" Gon asked.
Kurapika and the others followed Gon's gaze, their faces showing puzzled expressions.
"Simply throwing the pork into the fire like that won't cook it through, right?" Leorio said bluntly.
"He must have other steps he hasn't completed yet."
Not just Gon and the others.
At this moment, all the examinees present had their eyes fixed on Mord, as they had all been eliminated and couldn't think of any other approaches.
Mord skillfully butchered the pig, first cutting the golden roasted skin and arranging it on a plate, then beginning to dissect it, removing the lymph nodes and other inedible parts from the pig's body.
He took out the liver and kidneys from the internal organs, sliced them, and arranged them on plates.
Finally, he took a piece of pork belly, chopped it up, and arranged it on another plate.
"Hey, hey, those things aren't even cooked yet, is he planning to serve them directly to the examiner like that?"
Whispers began to spread through the crowd as they watched Mord's actions.
Upstairs, Menchi and Buhara watched Mord with equal curiosity.
"Mord's special, super invincible raw pork skin is complete." Mord brought the raw pork skin and dipping sauce, placing them before Menchi.
At the same time, he set the entire remaining Great Stamp in front of Buhara and drizzled it with dipping sauce.
"Is this your dish?" Menchi looked up at Mord, questioning, because no matter how you looked at it, it seemed like a dark cuisine.
Apart from the pork skin being medium-well, the rest was entirely raw.
Menchi had eaten seafood sashimi but had never consumed raw pork before.
The raw pork skin Mord made was a delicacy from his previous world. He had only seen it introduced once on the internet.
At the time, he had exclaimed, "Holy crap!"
Fortunately, the entire process was extremely simple, with no unnecessary steps. Having seen it just once, he could reproduce it perfectly.
The so-called raw pork skin wasn't actually completely uncooked; it was charred with straw to a medium-rare state before eating. The pork skin, for instance, appeared almost fully cooked, and during the charring process, the gamey taste of the pork was masked by the smoky flavor. When eaten, it was dipped in a savory, sour, and spicy sauce. The thought of this tangy, spicy, and fragrant raw pork skin still made one's mouth water.
Besides the raw pork skin, there was also raw pork and raw pork liver. Since the entire pig was charred at once, the pork skin would end up semi-cooked, while the pork and internal organs remained noticeably raw.
Of course, Mord himself didn't eat this delicious delicacy.
----------
For advance chapters join my Patreon.
[email protected]/Aarvan