My Restaurant's Guests are All Abnormal

Chapter 314: Chapter 174: Half-Grown Melon

Chen Ze took out the bitter melon that had been in the refrigerator for several days, an item that could be considered a shadow over his childhood.

He remembered that as a child in his home, Chen Ze was a happy foodie, spending his days eating and studying.

Then one day, Chen Ze saw green vegetables sliced into pieces on the dinner table, and his parents urged him to eat more.

So, Chen Ze honestly picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and immediately felt so bitter that he questioned life. He wanted to spit it out, but with his mother’s glare watching him, he had no choice but to swallow it with difficulty.

Since then, Chen Ze had developed a profound dislike for this thing called bitter melon, until he grew up a little and understood that despite its bitterness, eating it was beneficial for health.

"Now the question is, how should I cook this bitter melon?" Chen Ze was a bit indecisive.

Bitter melon was a versatile vegetable, suitable for stir-frying, cold mixing, or steaming, and the taste of the cold mixed bitter melon was the most intense, with a deeper bitterness.

As for steamed bitter melon... Chen Ze couldn’t help shuddering at the thought; that was something he’d rather not consider, preferring stir-fried bitter melon instead.

Steamed bitter melon carried a very unique taste, both bitter and soft, and when bitten into, lacked the crispness of bitter melon. It felt more like the texture of a pumpkin.

"Let’s just stir-fry it..." Chen Ze nodded, thinking the idea was feasible. He then sliced the bitter melon, removed the seeds from the middle, and started heating the pan.

"Boss... I’m here," Betty’s voice was listless, and Chen Ze couldn’t help but look over to see the dark circles under Betty’s eyes.

"Did you stay up late again?" Chen Ze frowned, looking at the weary face of Betty.

"Ah... Boss, last night, I caught up on the ’Detective Conan’ movies," Betty rubbed her eyes and yawned again.

"And then?" Chen Ze put the bitter melon into the pan, suddenly thinking that making a bitter melon steamed meat dish might also be a nice option.

It just so happened that he could use this dish to perk up Betty, to save her from drifting off lately and staying up late watching shows. And of all things, catching up on ’Detective Conan’?

Are you going to tell me next time that you caught up on the TV series of ’Detective Conan’?

Chen Ze did some quick math: the ’Detective Conan’ TV series has 1031 episodes on the small broken station. Skipping the opening and ending, each episode would take about twenty minutes, so it would take roughly 14 days to finish.

And that was on the premise of watching continuously without sleep; otherwise, it would take even longer.

"Mostly for Lindsay’s sake, she asked me to be a motion capture model. Her game is almost done," Betty yawned again, and Chen Ze’s expression softened considerably.

Lindsay’s game, of course, Chen Ze knew about it. It had already achieved a very high download count on the gaming platform, and the reviews were also exceptionally positive.

Many players were pressing for the full version to be released as soon as possible, and some were even demanding DLC, which had amassed quite a fortune in Chen Ze’s bank account.

But Chen Ze hadn’t spent any of it, as it was Lindsay’s personal earnings, so he only followed her requests to buy things like a computer and motion capture equipment.

"Go upstairs, take a shower, and change your clothes. Come down later for something to eat." Although understanding, this didn’t prevent Chen Ze from having the intention to feed Betty some bitter melon.

"Long live the boss!" Betty immediately scurried up the stairs, and Chen Ze smiled.

[You have made a decent stir-fried bitter melon, which increased your home cooking experience by 5 points]

A moderate evaluation, Chen Ze didn’t mind and just tasted it—the flavor was about right.

As it was bitter melon, the dish couldn’t be said to be delicious, but the bitterness was rather strong.

"Next up, I’ll make a bitter melon steamed meat dish for Betty," Chen Ze smiled triumphantly.

"Speaking of which, it seems the correct name should be ’stuffed bitter melon,’ right?" Chen Ze stroked his chin, recalling that it was a Hakka dish from Guangdong.

However, Chen Ze didn’t plan to follow the recipe because he had just checked that the proper stuffed bitter melon was sweet without bitterness, suitable for both the young and old.

But Chen Ze wasn’t about to let Betty enjoy a delicious meal. He intended to prepare this unique stuffed bitter melon in his own way.

Chen Ze took out some meat, chopped it into minced meat, and then cut the bitter melon into sections, hollowed out the center, stuffed the meat inside, added some salt, and started steaming it in a steamer.

Before long, a faint meaty fragrance began to permeate the air.

"Manager~" Betty came over with eager eyes, full of anticipation.

Chen Ze first opened the braising pot to take a look, added some spices and water, and then pulled out the deceptively named ’stuffed bitter melon.’

"Wow, is this meat?" Betty excitedly picked up her chopsticks.

"Yes, but there’s a special way to eat this dish," Chen Ze said earnestly.

"What’s the method?" Betty was very intrigued.

"That is, you need to pick up several pieces at once and eat them together to truly appreciate the flavors," Chen Ze replied, still with complete seriousness.

"Okay, thank you, Manager." Betty, unsuspecting, happily grabbed three pieces of bitter melon and put them in her mouth, biting down hard.

Chen Ze watched with interest as Betty’s face turned from normal to white, then to green, just like a changing face.

Her expression also changed from joy to disgust, and upon catching Chen Ze’s gaze, it ultimately turned to questioning life itself.

Betty struggled to swallow the bitter melon, then laid down her chopsticks, suddenly feeling that the hamburgers at home were much more appetizing.

"Not eating anymore?" Chen Ze asked with a smile.

Betty shook her head hurriedly. What a joke, she didn’t want to eat this thing ever again.

"You clearly don’t know how to enjoy food. This is called bitter melon, also known as ’half-ripe melon.’ Without certain life experience, indeed you can’t appreciate it," Chen Ze said leisurely, picking up a piece and chewing a few bites before swallowing it. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Indeed, it retained the usual bitterness, accompanied by a mushy texture, with only the meat filling tasting somewhat decent.

Betty looked at Chen Ze with a skeptical expression. Chen Ze didn’t react but instead ate another piece.

"Really?" Betty was somewhat hesitant as she picked up her chopsticks again.

"Why would I lie to you? Bitter melon is actually good for your health," Chen Ze said, rolling his eyes, and in this, he truly hadn’t lied to Betty.

In Li Shizhen’s Compendium of Materia Medica, the uses of the bitter melon are noted.

It eliminates heat and fatigue, clears the mind, and improves vision.

Betty hesitated for a while, then still picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a piece of bitter melon, and painfully swallowed it.

Chen Ze watched silently on the side. Although it certainly had benefits, how could I tell you that I’ve eaten a tastier version of sautéed bitter melon?

Hehe.