Chapter 413: Chapter 325: Amazing Meatballs, This Trip Was Worth It!

The key point lies in the crushed fatty meat that Lin Chen intentionally added!

The chicken meatballs are made from pure lean meat, and since chicken itself has little fat, the resulting meatballs clearly have a different texture compared to the pork meatballs that have a mix of fat and lean meat.

He took a tentative bite, and his eyes lit up.

Indeed!

As soon as his teeth touched the meatball, before he could even apply pressure, he felt the pork meatball silently split in half.

The overall texture of the meatball was nothing like pork; instead, it was as tender and soft as fish, melting directly with a gentle press of the tongue.

Strangely, he didn’t perceive any greasiness; only the rich aroma of pork lingered in his mouth.

Unconvinced, he held the remaining half of the meatball up to his eyes for a closer inspection.

Clearly, there were many visible fatty granules, but why was there no greasy feeling when it was eaten?

What is the principle behind this?

Nagishiro Sho frowned and pondered for a long time, unable to figure out the reason.

The Sakura People generally prefer lighter tastes in their daily diet, except for foods like ramen that tend to be heavier in flavor.

Among them, tonkotsu ramen is the most representative.

In some tonkotsu broths, minced pork back fat is added to enhance the aroma of the soup; its effect is quite similar to the meatball before him.

The problem is, the tonkotsu broth is already a very rich and intense soup, heavily seasoned, with ingredients like garlic paste and soy sauce to mask the greasiness of the pork fat. Additionally, the condiments include ingredients like seaweed, wood ear mushroom, and bean sprouts to cut through the grease, so diners don’t feel it’s greasy.

Even so, if one were to drink the soup directly, it would still become greasy.

Yet this pork meatball was clearly simmered in plain water without any significant seasoning—why wasn’t it greasy at all?

Using a metal rod to pound the fat away would be worthy of a Nobel Prize!

If that’s not the issue, then is it the balance of proportions?

But... based on the amount of meat Lin Chen used earlier, the ratio of lean to fatty meat was roughly sixty-forty.

The fatty meat makes up half, yet it doesn’t feel greasy at all, which is perplexing to him.

Could it be the mushrooms?

That doesn’t seem right either.

The mushroom content in the pork meatball isn’t much; you can taste the mushroom flavor, but there aren’t many visible pieces.

He had almost memorized the proportions of ingredients and seasonings; he planned to experiment with different ratios of lean to fatty meat himself later to find the correct answer.

He truly felt embarrassed to keep asking Lin Chen questions, considering he was already gracious enough to demonstrate without charge. One should have some dignity.

Especially since he carries the title of Head Chef, it makes him even more self-conscious.

After tasting it, Lin Chen nodded in satisfaction. The taste of this pork meatball was indeed very similar to the handmade ones he had eaten in hot pot restaurants, maybe just slightly lacking because it wasn’t cooked in a hot pot broth.

If it were cooked in a flavored broth and paired with suitable dipping sauces, the overall taste profile could probably be elevated by one or two levels.

What’s left now is to wait for the sweet corn kernels to arrive.

With the experience from the previous two types of meatballs, he was confident in the texture of the shrimp balls, which are one of the most popular classic types of meatballs in Great Xia.

Except for those who don’t eat shrimp, no one could resist the allure of a smooth and bouncy shrimp ball.

Being idle, he decided to scoop a few more pork and cuttlefish balls and toss them into the fryer nearby to see if they’d undergo any new chemical reactions when fried at high temperatures.

After being fried, the surface of the cuttlefish balls puffed up slightly, their color changing from snowy white to a pale golden yellow, making them even more appealing—clearly identifiable as fried meatballs.

The changes in the pork balls were even more pronounced; the surface pork granules were all fried dry and hard, forming a crispy crust that resembled the exterior of a Scottish Egg.

Sprinkling some cumin and chili powder on them, he tasted each, and nodded in satisfaction once more.

"As long as the meatballs are well-made, they’ll be delicious whether boiled or fried."

With this attempt, he was already starting to anticipate the stir they would cause when he officially started his market stall.

"Making these meatballs might be more suitable for a livestock farm, right? Allowing customers to witness the process of meatball-making might inspire them to purchase animal products."

"What?!"

John’s voice suddenly rose an octave: "You want to make them at my place?"

"Why, is there any problem?"

"It’s fantastic!!"

"Oh my God, Lin, I can’t even imagine how well business will do that day!" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Lin Chen smiled and quickly raised his hand to interrupt his daydreaming.

"Hold on, you better first consider where I should set up so that it doesn’t interfere with the tourists’ experience. When a line forms, it’ll require a bit of space—if your farm fields get trampled, I won’t be responsible."

"No need to think about it, just set up near the entrance hall. It has the highest foot traffic—everyone passes by coming and going—and has space and trash bins, plus it’s close to the ingredients selling area."

"Why does it sound like you’ve planned for me to set up at your place for a while?"

"Didn’t you come for an on-site inspection last time? I picked the spot right after that!"

"...Oh right, there’s that too; my memory’s just failed me."

Magna gazed at John enviously, then turned to Lin Chen: "Could you possibly set up at my place sometime as well?"

"I’m not going!"

"Why not?"

"Without saying anything else, let me just ask you, do you have any foot traffic there?"

"...No."

Upon mentioning this, Magna dejectedly lowered his head and let out a silent sigh.

Most of the buyers at the seafood market are local merchants, with very few tourists. Who would want to cook on a trip, especially when hotels don’t provide cooking equipment?

If anything, the only potential casual customers might be the nearby residents.

Living nearby, they’re probably already sick of seafood, so the entire seafood market usually seems to have very low foot traffic, with its main business coming from supplying restaurants.

"No worries, come visit my farm, no entrance fee for you~"

John patted his shoulder reassuringly and was about to say more when there was a knocking at the door from outside.

"John? Are you in there?"

"Coming!"

At the kitchen door, an employee dressed in farm attire was peeking in, holding two bags of heavy, golden corn kernels that looked extremely fresh, with even some droplets of water mixed in.

"Come in!"

John waved him in, and the young man cautiously stepped into the kitchen, looking around curiously.

It’s not often an ordinary person gets a chance to tour the kitchen of a restaurant, especially a high-end one under a big hotel. Saying you’re not curious would definitely be a lie.

"Lin, can you check if these corn kernels are okay? They’re the best-selling sweet corn from my side, the kind you can eat raw."

Lin Chen took the bag and opened it directly, a strong corn aroma wafting out.

Each kernel looked very full, juicy and tender, as if they would burst with juice at a touch.

He picked one up and tasted it; the corn flavor was rich, and the texture was crisp and sweet, indeed top-quality sweet corn.

"The taste is great, it’s really good, John. The quality of your farm’s products is indeed very impressive."

"Hehe, of course, to make money, you’ve got to provide high-quality products, right? I understand this simple logic."

While the two were talking, the employee had already noticed the two types of meatballs on the counter and the bowl of what looked like shrimp paste mixed with diced raw shrimp.

These corn kernels... could they be for making meatballs?

John glanced at him: "Is the farm busy?"

"It’s alright, at this time the guests are all experiencing things out in the fields, so we don’t need to do much. Around lunch, there might be a bunch of guests coming out to settle their bills."

"Then what are you doing standing around? It takes over twenty minutes to get back!"

Trying to slack off in front of me for your salary? In your dreams!

"Uh, I’m leaving, I’m leaving right now!"

The young guy chuckled awkwardly and pointed at the meatballs in the bowl: "Boss, I don’t think I’ve ever seen meatballs that look like this. Can I try one?"

"..."

John rolled his eyes and casually grabbed an octopus ball and a pork ball and stuffed them into his hands.

"Take them and go!"

"Thank you, boss! Thank you, head chef!!"

The young man cheerfully turned and ran off. He hadn’t expected to actually get some food to try, so he happily popped the pork ball into his mouth.

"This trip was worth it, I got to slack off and even tasted a new hidden... Hmm?? Why is this meatball so soft???"

He paused just half a step out of the kitchen, turning back with a face full of surprise, chewing continuously as the rich pork flavor mixed with the taste of mushrooms exploded in his mouth.

He could swear, this pork ball was definitely the best he’s ever tasted in his life!

"What are you looking at? Want a beating?!" John glared at him.

"Uh..."

He shrank his neck and quickly waved: "Goodbye, boss! Goodbye, head chef!"

He originally wanted to ask for more, but now it seemed impossible.

Luckily, he still had a white meatball that he didn’t know the taste of, but it surely couldn’t be bad!

Out of curiosity, his fingers instinctively squeezed it, wanting to see if this meatball would also melt like the one in his mouth.

But with just that squeeze, the white meatball didn’t shatter at all but instead bounced away like a tiny bouncy ball, leaping high off the ground.

"?????"

This comical scene happened to catch Helena’s eye as she walked towards them with a tray. Her big eyes were filled with astonishment as she watched the pure white meatball bounce up and down.

Not only her, but a few guests who were secretly admiring her graceful figure also saw this scene.

"What is that bouncing on the ground??"

"It looks like... a meatball?"