Chapter 276 - [Bonus] Cooking with Hua Tuo (1/2)

AN: Scene is a reference from Chapter 121 - Calm Before The Storm (3). Enjoy.

Watching Grandma Moppo and Zoe cook so much, wearing themselves out just to feed an insatiable black hole called Zero, Hua Tuo decided that it might be a good time to teach Zero how to cook for himself. The boy already knew how to prepare ingredients for cooking after watching Hua Tuo and helping him out back at Endow Hill. All he needed to do was teach Zero about heat control and seasoning. Surely that wouldn't be too difficult. Zero was a bright child after all.

Mii definitely remembered a lot of recipes, definitely way more than the few simple dishes that Hua Tuo knew. If Zero wanted to eat the more complex dishes, he wouldn't stop his student from exploring. However, before Zero blew up a kitchen, Hua Tuo decided to give a basic crash course for cooking. As Zero's teacher, it was not only his duty to teach morals and values alongside medicine. It was also his duty to teach Zero self-help skills. What if there weren't any inns that they can buy food from? Surely Zero had to cook from time to time or he would suffer malnutrition from eating grilled fish and meat all the time.

”Zero, come here.”

The child skipped over with a smile.

”Yes, master?”

Hua Tuo hesitated. Surely, Zero couldn't mess up something as simple as cooking. Right?

”Would you like to learn how to cook?”

Hearing that, the young doctor's eyes sparkled. Would he like to learn? Of course! Zero adored learning new things. In fact, it has been on his mind for a while now. Cooking was one of the things nobody allowed him to do. Zero read up on the basics but no adults would allow him in the kitchen. The fact that Zero could hardly reach the handle of the pots on the stove back at Hua Tuo's hut might attribute to the reason why he was never given the opportunity.

In Half Moon Village, things are different. There were people of all different heights, sizes and species so the height of the stove was something Zero could reach. Lovina wasn't very tall but because she helped around in the kitchen so much, she had her own special stove. Raj and the lab rats made it especially for her. Zero would definitely ask for permission to use Lovina's stove when he learnt how to cook.

The news about Zero learning to cook spread around the village quickly. Soon, every villager was telling Zero about their home recipes and the secret to good taste. The poor apprentice became so overwhelmed that Hua Tuo had to ban visitors. For starters, Hua Tuo was going to teach Zero how to boil water and make soup. Zero already knew how to boil water to make pill bases. He helped his teacher out on a few occasions so bringing water to a boil was simple.

The boy was positively giddy with excitement. Hua Tuo simplified the recipe for the beginner cook in the kitchen.

”While the water boils, you need to prepare these ingredients. We are making a simple fish and vegetable soup.”

Zero nodded seriously and tied the apron around his tiny waist. He held the knife and got to cutting leek, cabbage and carrots. Hua Tuo didn't stop his student. Zero remembered to peel the carrot this time and the pre-training proved to be a huge success.

Zero constantly checked for the water to boil and Hua Tuo told him to add salt when it did. Zero didn't know what a pinch of salt meant but he supposed he would take that literally.

The fish was quickly removed off scales and had its gut cleaned. Zero paused. How should he cut the fish? Should he debone it first? Hua Tuo usually didn't add the head and tail in the soup so Zero cut those two parts away first. He looked at the fish and turned to his teacher for some help.

”Do I debone it first?”

Hua Tuo nodded. ”You can if you want to. Do you need me to show you how?”

Zero shook his head. He saw how Hua Tuo did it a few times before and knew how it should be done. With confidence, Zero slid his knife from the side to meet the bone at the centre and slide the blade all the way down. The smooth cut successfully separated the flesh from the bone and Zero repeated the process for all sides. He laid the filleted fish out on the chopping board for Hua Tuo to inspect and the physician nodded. Zero might have a knack for cooking after all.

”Here is where it gets tricky. Most fishes have many small bones in the stomach area. We want to remove this part.”

Hua Tuo made a cut on one side of the fish and sliced thinly just enough to get the section out and Zero nodded. When it was Zero's turn, the boy didn't hesitate. He approached it with confidence that made Hua Tuo consider pushing his schedule ahead. He simply couldn't wait to see Zero perform his first operation.

Although it wasn't as good as Hua Tuo's demonstration, the physician gave Zero a pass. Now that the fish has been deboned successfully, Zero cut them into smaller pieces to be added to the soup. With that, all the preparations were completed and Zero slowly added everything into the water. He also added that pinch of salt and pepper that Hua Tuo suggested and watched the water boil. The ingredients in the pot swirled in the bubbling water and Zero turned to his teacher again.

”What do we do now?”

Hua Tuo smiled. ”We wait for it to cook and simmer it for about ten minutes then serve it up for eating. How's your first experience with cooking?”

Zero gave his teacher a cheeky smile. ”Easy.”

Hua Tuo shook his head in mock disappointment. ”Don't say that so soon. Watch the fire, make sure that the water doesn't dry up or overflow. If it is too big, it's not very good either.”

Zero quickly checked on the fire and reduced it so that the soup won't boil over the pot. With plenty of time to spare, Hua Tuo decided to teach Zero more basic cooking styles such as stir-frying, frying and deep-frying.

Zero had no problems with stir-frying mushrooms. He did relatively well for frying even if the bottom of his egg looked charred. Zero added a lot of oil to the wok as Hua Tuo instructed and waited for it to bubble for the deep-frying of shrimps. However, when the hot oil started to splatter, the boy panicked.