“I, uh, don’t really like green peppers,” I muttered.
I didn’t want Xiangling to feel bad, as she was my only friend in this world known as Tevyat. But she seemed to have heard me.
“I’m sure you’ll like it very much!”
“You sure?”
“Of course, I’ll add Jueyun Chili and slime condensation, you can’t ever go wrong with that!”
I raised my eyebrows, “Then I’ll trust you this time.”
“I’m the head chef of the Wanmin restaurant. You ought to trust me!” she boasted, laughing.
In the corner of her tiny kitchen, on the left of her stone stove, was a wooden rack full of all sorts of ingredients. She picked out a red vegetable, a green vegetable, and a purple vegetable. The red vegetable looked like a red bell pepper, except at the bottom, the lobes opened outward so the entire pepper looked like an octopus. Xiangling noticed that I was looking at her peculiar ingredients and giggled.
“This red thing,” she said while she rinsed the veggies, “that’s Jueyun Chili.”
Her navy hair bounced as she explained the rest of her ingredients and dish, her golden eyes sparkling with passion like glistening caramel.
Then, Xiangling set her ingredients aside in a woven basket on the table to the right of her stove, next to a plate with raw chicken and a bowl of clear jelly. She picked out her green pepper and started dicing it.
A sizzle indicated that the green peppers were gently frying in oil. However, it was an unexpectedly sweet, honeylike scent that drifted from the pan and hit my nose. I walked next to Xiangling, observing her cook.
“What smells so good?” I questioned.
She replied, “Lavender melon oil! It’s the best oil to use! It’s sweet and very fragrant.”
“There’s lavender melon oil?” I asked, in shock.
“Mhm!”
I picked up a fruit that was essentially a huge grape but had the texture of the exterior of a watermelon.
“You mean this?”
“Yup. I shipped it from Inazuma,” Xiangling complained, “It was sooooooo much work.”
For five minutes, I stood in silence, watching Xiangling cook. She indeed lived up to her title as head chef. Her hands flew across the stove, one-moment sprinkling salt and pepper, the other moment tossing the pan, ingredients flying into the air, curving backward, and then landing perfectly into the pan. As the green peppers simmered in the oil, Xiangling started chopping up some chicken. She then diced the Jueyun Chili, her sharp knife landing on the cutting board with a crisp thud. Her knife skills were immaculate and extremely satisfying. Next, Xiangling proceeded to add the chicken and Jueyun Chili into the pan and seasoned it. She tossed the pan a few more times and then added a half cup of some type of clear jelly (Xiangling said it was slime condensation) into the pan. Instantly, the viscous liquid vaporized into purple steam.
“What?!” I shouted, looking at Xiangling. She smirked at me.
“Tevyat’s full of wonders you know, just like this slime.”
“That was cool but ew, why would you eat that?”
“Trust me, it only makes the food taste better!”
I sighed and weakly smiled. Xiangling poured the dish onto a pan and topped it with green scallions. I went to get two pairs of chopsticks and two bowls which I filled to the brim with rice. I walked to the table, placing the two bowls of rice down.
“Tell me how it tastes!” Xiangling beamed and sat down. She pointed to the dish in front of her.
“Since you cooked it, why don’t you go first?” I reasoned.
Although it smelled amazing to the point my stomach couldn’t stop growling, I was still hesitant about eating food made from slime condensation, lavender melon oil, and all the weird ingredients you could name. She picked up her chopsticks and took a bite. Her eyes twinkled and she nodded her head in excitement.
“Try it, you won’t regret it!”
I picked up my chopsticks and carefully picked up a piece of chicken. I took a tiny bite.
“Wait, this is so good,” I murmured.
The chicken was tender and juicy, fused with the fresh earthiness of bell peppers, the sweetness of the oil, and the fiery spiciness from the Jueyun Chilis. The slime condensation indeed magnified these flavors. I picked up three more pieces of chicken and scarfed them down.
“See, I told you it was good!”
I didn’t want Xiangling to feel bad, as she was my only friend in this world known as Tevyat. But she seemed to have heard me.
“I’m sure you’ll like it very much!”
“You sure?”
“Of course, I’ll add Jueyun Chili and slime condensation, you can’t ever go wrong with that!”
I raised my eyebrows, “Then I’ll trust you this time.”
“I’m the head chef of the Wanmin restaurant. You ought to trust me!” she boasted, laughing.
In the corner of her tiny kitchen, on the left of her stone stove, was a wooden rack full of all sorts of ingredients. She picked out a red vegetable, a green vegetable, and a purple vegetable. The red vegetable looked like a red bell pepper, except at the bottom, the lobes opened outward so the entire pepper looked like an octopus. Xiangling noticed that I was looking at her peculiar ingredients and giggled.
“This red thing,” she said while she rinsed the veggies, “that’s Jueyun Chili.”
Her navy hair bounced as she explained the rest of her ingredients and dish, her golden eyes sparkling with passion like glistening caramel.
Then, Xiangling set her ingredients aside in a woven basket on the table to the right of her stove, next to a plate with raw chicken and a bowl of clear jelly. She picked out her green pepper and started dicing it.
A sizzle indicated that the green peppers were gently frying in oil. However, it was an unexpectedly sweet, honeylike scent that drifted from the pan and hit my nose. I walked next to Xiangling, observing her cook.
“What smells so good?” I questioned.
She replied, “Lavender melon oil! It’s the best oil to use! It’s sweet and very fragrant.”
“There’s lavender melon oil?” I asked, in shock.
“Mhm!”
I picked up a fruit that was essentially a huge grape but had the texture of the exterior of a watermelon.
“You mean this?”
“Yup. I shipped it from Inazuma,” Xiangling complained, “It was sooooooo much work.”
For five minutes, I stood in silence, watching Xiangling cook. She indeed lived up to her title as head chef. Her hands flew across the stove, one-moment sprinkling salt and pepper, the other moment tossing the pan, ingredients flying into the air, curving backward, and then landing perfectly into the pan. As the green peppers simmered in the oil, Xiangling started chopping up some chicken. She then diced the Jueyun Chili, her sharp knife landing on the cutting board with a crisp thud. Her knife skills were immaculate and extremely satisfying. Next, Xiangling proceeded to add the chicken and Jueyun Chili into the pan and seasoned it. She tossed the pan a few more times and then added a half cup of some type of clear jelly (Xiangling said it was slime condensation) into the pan. Instantly, the viscous liquid vaporized into purple steam.
“What?!” I shouted, looking at Xiangling. She smirked at me.
“Tevyat’s full of wonders you know, just like this slime.”
“That was cool but ew, why would you eat that?”
“Trust me, it only makes the food taste better!”
I sighed and weakly smiled. Xiangling poured the dish onto a pan and topped it with green scallions. I went to get two pairs of chopsticks and two bowls which I filled to the brim with rice. I walked to the table, placing the two bowls of rice down.
“Tell me how it tastes!” Xiangling beamed and sat down. She pointed to the dish in front of her.
“Since you cooked it, why don’t you go first?” I reasoned.
Although it smelled amazing to the point my stomach couldn’t stop growling, I was still hesitant about eating food made from slime condensation, lavender melon oil, and all the weird ingredients you could name. She picked up her chopsticks and took a bite. Her eyes twinkled and she nodded her head in excitement.
“Try it, you won’t regret it!”
I picked up my chopsticks and carefully picked up a piece of chicken. I took a tiny bite.
“Wait, this is so good,” I murmured.
The chicken was tender and juicy, fused with the fresh earthiness of bell peppers, the sweetness of the oil, and the fiery spiciness from the Jueyun Chilis. The slime condensation indeed magnified these flavors. I picked up three more pieces of chicken and scarfed them down.
“See, I told you it was good!”
