Brainoid

Anton tried the dishes of this restaurant with a learning attitude, but when Mao Xuewang, Mao duck intestines, Mao Naohua, boiled fish, minced pepper fish head, stir-fried pork slices, dry pot fish offal... were served. , he looked at the large number of chili peppers and the bright red oil on the plate, and had to ask before taking off his chopsticks: "How spicy does this have to be?"

"It's just a little spicy." Qi Min had already picked up a chopstick of white and tender boiled fish fillets, blew on it a little and put it in his mouth, "Yeah, not bad."

Anton picked up a piece of it doubtfully, leaned forward and smelled it, and then he couldn't help but frown.

"It's so spicy." Qi Min said while adding another piece of duck intestine.

Seeing that she didn't seem to be spicy at all, Anton took a small sip - and then immediately drank a sip of wolfberry and chrysanthemum tea.

He put the remaining half of the fish back on the plate: "It's not spicy, but the peppercorn flavor is too strong. It's just numb."

"People are so good these days." Qi Min said, "No matter what it is, you have to be strong enough."

"The mustard dumplings are quite strong." Anton said disapprovingly, "Why do you have to torture others on hard food?"

"The mustard dumpling is strong enough, but some people can't eat it. Sichuan and Hunan cuisine are now popular all over the country, no matter how often you eat it." Qi Min took a chopstick and put it in Anton's small bowl. Serve over rice.

Anton didn't want to eat it when he saw the red oil on it. Most of the cuisines he learned were based on umami. Ingredients and seasonings that taste too strong are generally not used in large quantities in main dishes. Soaking good brains in spicy oil seemed to him a bit of a waste.

But it was all put into his bowl. Anton still took a bite, and then said with some surprise: "It's not too spicy...it's not bad."

The soup of Mao Nao Hua is very thick, but because the Mao Nao Hua itself doesn't have much flavor, after being prepared in this way, the taste is neither strong nor light, and the moderate spiciness also enriches the layers.

"Not bad, it shows that popularity must be popular for a reason." Qi Min added another piece of fish head with chopped pepper to him, "Try this again..."

Qi Min wanted Anton to taste the dishes one by one, but still failed. At first, Anton could still taste which one was better and which one was worse. Halfway through the taste, his sense of taste was so spicy that he lost the ability to distinguish. He could only keep drinking tea to relieve the burning feeling in his mouth. one time.

"That's enough, that's enough, I won't eat anymore..." Anton used chopsticks to put the things she picked up back into her bowl, "They are all good things, why should they be so spicy? The spiciness covers everything The taste, and several of these dishes are seasoned with the same recipe, do you think others can’t taste it?”

Maybe many people just can’t eat it. Qi Min thought that life is so stressful now and everyone is so busy. If it wasn't something stimulating, it wouldn't be able to relieve the numbness under the pressure of life. This is probably why there are so many famous non-spicy dishes in Sichuan and Hunan cuisine, but the most well-known dishes in Beijing are the spicy ones.

But there's nothing you can do about it. If you want your hotel to be popular, you have to cater to the needs of your customers. Qi Min said: "That's because everyone just likes to eat this taste. It doesn't matter what the ingredients are, as long as the taste is right."

"If you think so, it's better to eat spicy strips." Anton said, "A dish is not a simple sum of ingredients and seasonings. Cooking is a non-linear process and cannot be explained by reductionism... "

Anton also took AP courses in high school. Although he was too poor to spend money to take the final exam, it laid the foundation for him to explain cooking in a scientific way.

"But if you think about it from another angle, no matter how complicated the dish is, the real experience for customers is just a combination of several feelings." Qi Min said, "Theoretically, as long as all these combinations are exhausted, the dish will bring The feeling it gives people must be one of them.”

"Then why don't you try out all the combinations?" Anton said, "If you can solve this, you can probably publish an article."

Qi Min shut up. No matter how eloquent she is at the dinner table, it's all for nothing if she can't publish the article.

——

After finally finishing the meal, the two of us drank a 1.25L bucket of Coke to relieve the spicy taste. When it was time to think about what to do next, Anton asked: "Are you going back to the laboratory?"

When Qi Min was studying for his Ph.D., even if he fell on the road while riding his bicycle, he would go back to the laboratory as long as he didn't break his bones. There was nothing she could do about it. The cells she raised before had to be digested from living tissues. Their vitality was not good, and big problems might occur even if it was delayed for a day. Moreover, when she was studying for a Ph.D., she was the only one working on her project. If she didn't go, no one would be working on it.

However, now Qi Min has three people helping her with her projects, so even if she doesn't go for a day or two occasionally, it's not a big deal.

In this case, there is no need for Qi Min to force himself: "I have a bad cold, why should I go to the laboratory? Hey, while Mimi is going to kindergarten, is there anywhere you want to go?"

"Don't you have a bad cold?" Anton asked with a smile.

"Do you want to go out and play?" Qi Min asked.

Who wants to go out and play? Anton cursed, but still said: "Okay, I want to go to the botanical garden, is that okay?"

"The Botanical Garden... is there anything good to go to?" Qi Min was a little surprised. Wouldn't it be better to take Mimi with him if he wanted to go to the Botanical Garden? Why did he have to go when he could not bring Mimi with him?

"Your house is too boring, there are no plants." Anton said.

Only then did Qi Min realize that he wanted to go to a place where flowers and green plants could be sold. He couldn't help but feel that although Anton was raised by a Chinese restaurant owner, he still needed to practice his Chinese.

"The place you want to go to sell green plants should be called the Flower, Bird, Fish and Insect Market." Qi Min corrected him, "Okay, no problem."

"Flowers, birds, fish and insects? Flowering plants may have pollen, which is not good. You have to buy non-flowering ones..." Anton hesitated.

Whenever this happens, Qi Min feels that he is super cute - this may be one of the rare things where Qi Min can surpass Anton in daily life.

"For example, when 'potted flowers are placed on the balcony,' the 'flower' refers to the potted plant. Sometimes the potted plant just doesn't bloom, and it can also be called that." Qi Min explained.

"Oh, that's it." Anton nodded and suddenly had an idea, "Then if a merchant sells a pot of orchid to someone else and finds it doesn't bloom when you go back, wouldn't it be impossible to contact the merchant? Because it's called 'flower' It may not bloom."

After hearing this, Qi Min really wanted to say, "Are you mentally retarded?" and said a little funny: "Don't other people know whether orchids should bloom? Don't call them orchids, even if they are sold as 'orchid grass,' they still have to bloom. .”

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