Picking up the remaining beef, Zhou Yi placed about five or six pounds of the short ribs on the cutting board, storing the rest as stock. To handle this premium beef, he eschewed a kitchen knife for a rolling pin—the best tool for preparing short ribs for dumplings.
The method was simple: pounding. By repeatedly crushing the beef thousands of times, the muscles, tendons, and cartilage were thoroughly mixed, ensuring the meat juices were fully absorbed.
Once the beef turned into a juicy mince, Zhou Yi seasoned it with pepper, salt, a little chili, chopped green onions, and diced shiitake mushrooms, completing the filling for the beef potstickers and pan-fried dumplings. He then whipped up five or six eggs into a thick mixture for coating, setting all preparations aside, as they were best served immediately after cooking.
The next main dish was sea bass and chicken soup dumplings. Zhou Yi picked up the large, plump eight-pound sea bass. He expertly cut open the fish's belly and cleaned out the internal organs without damaging the surrounding flesh, preserving the flavor.
With dazzling speed, he wielded his kitchen knife, slicing the fish into large, thin, uniform slices that accumulated like snowflakes on the plate, leaving only clean bones.
Since fish meat is loose, it needed assistance for the filling. He mixed the slices with a few eggs, diced Sichuan bamboo shoots, diced shiitake mushrooms, salt, and cooking wine.
For the soup, the cleaned hen, along with ginger slices, green onions, and shiitake mushrooms, was put into a pot. Using his abilities to control the heat, he continuously added egg whites until the entire hen was boiled down to a loose, mushy consistency. He then placed the tall pot on the stove to simmer over low heat.
The Main Course: Lobster Mountain and Sea Delicacy
The main dishes were nearly complete. Zhou Yi began the main course: lobster.
He removed all the meat from the largest blue lobster and mixed it with ginger powder, a small amount of egg, pepper, and salt, hand-rolling the mixture into shrimp balls the size of ping-pong balls.
He then put the pre-soaked mountain delicacies (bamboo fungus, lion's mane mushroom, matsutake, wood ear, and shiitake mushrooms) into a clay pot and simmered them. He added yam, white radish, and the prepared shrimp balls.
This dish emphasized primitive flavors, so artificial seasoning was minimal. To prevent impurities from interfering, Zhou Yi used his telekinesis to control everything in the pot, removing impurities the instant they filtered out. This required significant time and control.
Freeing up his hands, Zhou Yi checked his message from Charisse; they had just left New York City. It was just past 6:30 PM.
Feeling he had enough time, Zhou Yi quickly made a thick, rich sauce by simmering onions, apples, rum, chopped beef, and various seasonings in a wok until the water reduced.
He then removed the heads of the remaining three blue lobsters, keeping only the tails and meat. He coated them in a crust of starch and crushed nuts and deep-fried them until they turned a beautiful golden color. The aroma was immediately mouth-watering.
Just as he arranged the fried lobsters on a platter, the Villa's gate opened. Zhou Yi took off his apron and walked to the door, greeting his guests: Ororo, Jean Grey, Charisse, and three other young mutants.
He gave Ororo and Jean Grey a warm hug. Then, he introduced himself to the three young friends: Kitty (who he remembered), a girl named Vivien, and a new face, a tall, well-built young man with short hair.
"Welcome to my home, I am Zhou Yi, Charisse's brother. For these two Young Misses, it's not our first meeting. But this Gentleman is a new face, so I still need to introduce myself." Zhou Yi extended his hand to the young man.
The young man calmly shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Zhou Yi. I am Pietro, and I am delighted that you invited me as a guest."
"Welcome, Little fellow. It's my honor to invite Charisse's friends over." Zhou Yi patted Pietro's shoulder and stepped aside. "Come in, Gentlemen and ladies. Please make yourselves at home."
As the young people walked into the hall, Zhou Yi grabbed Charisse and whispered, "Hey, Charisse. Who is this Little fellow. Don't tell me he's your..."
Charisse playfully glared at him, then leaned in conspiratorially. "I'm telling you, Peter and I are just ordinary friends, but I saw he had a thing for Kitty, so I invited him over. I'm planning to help them make a little progress before we leave school!"
"Charisse, has anyone told you that your current behavior is really too sneaky?" Zhou Yi teased her, relieved. Charisse gritted her teeth and twisted the soft flesh on his waist playfully.
Zhou Yi addressed the group: "Girls, and Little fellow. If you find it too boring here, why don't you let Charisse take you to the game room for a while? I believe my collection won't disappoint you." He then winked at Ororo and Jean. "If you're worried about your teachers, don't worry. I'll keep them busy for you, until dinner time."
Seeing no opposition from the teachers, Charisse led her friends upstairs. Pietro, looking slightly embarrassed, followed the petite Kitty out of the hall.
Kitchen Assistance
Watching the young people leave, Zhou Yi immediately put his arm around Ororo's slender waist and smiled at the two teachers. "You two arrived just in time, I happen to need two people to help me out, you know?"
Ororo quickly slapped his hand away and glared. "Don't mess around, Jean is still here."
Jean Grey turned her head silently. "I didn't see anything."
Ororo, embarrassed by the ambiguity in front of Jean, became more resolute in refusing his advances. Zhou Yi quickly raised his hands in surrender, knowing he couldn't let the fried lobster get soft.
"Alright, alright, it's all my fault. But ladies, I really need your help right now."
"What do you want to do? I only have experience making pasta." Jean Grey responded.
"It's very simple, just follow what I do!" Zhou Yi pulled Ororo, leading both beautiful women into the kitchen.
Ororo looked at the prepared ingredients with surprise. "This is the first time I've realized you also have a talent for cooking."
"Believe me, it's absolutely professional level." Zhou Yi smiled, picked up the thickest dough, scooped in the beef filling, and deftly sealed it with his five fingers, making several dumplings in a second.
Ororo rolled her eyes at his unscientific speed. Jean Grey tried to imitate him but burst the wrapper.
"You call this easy?" Ororo said testily.
"Believe me, this is already the easiest thing. You just need to practice more."
"Forget it, I'd rather make sandwiches. Is there anything else you need help with?" Ororo rejected the dumpling-making.
"Alright, Darling. If you don't mind, could you get me something to drink? This place hasn't been tidied up in a long time, and besides wine and regularly delivered milk, there's nothing else. I don't want those Little fellows to complain about my poor hospitality."
"Okay, leave it to me." Ororo took the keys and left the kitchen with a light tone, heading to the store.
Watching Ororo leave the mansion, Zhou Yi turned back and smiled at Jean Grey, who was still diligently struggling with the difficult task of sealing the dumplings.
"Alright, from the looks of it, you seem to need a little help from me."