Chapter 683, Not for Aesthetics

Translator: Silavin

 

Su Bai began writing as he thought about this, [instant noodles would indeed bring tremendous benefits to the Tribe if successfully developed. In future, one could simply pack several meals’ worth of instant noodles for multi-day expeditions, taking up virtually no space. To supplement physical strength, we could also prepare additional dehydrated dried meat, or hunt small beasts temporarily to add to the meals. Hunting small beasts will be much simpler than hunting large ones.]

 

“Let’s use wheat to make the instant noodles…” Su Bai murmured to himself.

 

He believed that wheat-based noodles would certainly surpass those made from Wolf Tail Grass, providing superior physical nourishment.

 

Wolf Tail Grass was the ancestor of wheat and similar grains, so its nutritional value could not match that of modern wheat.

 

“Grind the wheat into flour, then begin kneading the dough…” Su Bai spoke to himself.

 

*Scribble scribble scribble…*

 

The quill pen moved fluidly across the Wolf Tail Grass Paper, covering substantial text in the blink of an eye.

 

“I need to create a mould for this. That’s the only way to hang the noodles properly so they’ll form noodle blocks after drying,” Su Bai thought.

 

He took out a pencil and began sketching on paper, gradually forming the image of a grid. This grid followed a regular pattern, horizontal and vertical lines intersecting, resembling a tennis racquet.

 

“Shaman, what are you drawing?” Yu Ying asked, having just finished pouring water.

 

Yu Ying’s pink eyes kept glancing over, her curiosity finally becoming unbearable.

 

“A mould for instant noodles.” Su Bai smiled. He was quite satisfied with his completed mould design; next came the practical application.

 

Yu Ying tilted her head, blinking her pink eyes as she asked, “Shaman, what are instant noodles?”

 

Yu Ying set down the teapot, studying the pattern on the blueprint whilst trying to understand this new vocabulary.

 

“A type of food that is very simple to prepare while delicious.” Su Bai explained.

 

Back on Earth, instant noodles were not exclusively for shut-ins. Many people genuinely enjoyed this food.

 

People even created elaborate variations, employing various cooking methods to transform them into quite remarkable cuisine.

 

“Instant noodles? Shaman, are they like the noodles we normally eat?” Yu Ying asked curiously.

 

“More or less. They’re just noodles that are convenient to eat.” Su Bai smiled.

 

“More or less?” Yu Ying scratched the back of her head.

 

“Ha ha ha ha…” Su Bai found her expression utterly adorable, ruffling her hair as he said, “Go and prepare some wheat flour for me.”

 

He had taught Yu Ying how to grind wheat flour some time ago, specifically for making bread, steamed buns and similar foods. The Flame Dragon Tribe had also recently opened a bun shop right beside the barbecue shop.

 

“Okay,” Yu Ying turned and went to prepare.

 

*Step step step…*

 

“Shaman, I’ve prepared wheat flour, wild chicken eggs, and water,” Yu Ying said cheerfully.

 

“Here, take this to Uncle Gu Mu and have him make it immediately. I need it urgently.” Su Bai handed over the piece of paper.

 

“Yes.” Yu Ying took the paper and ran out, her face beaming with smiles.

 

Su Bai began adding water to the flour and kneading dough, wanting to personally create the instant noodles from his memory.

 

*Splash splash…* He added water whilst kneading, ensuring the dough would not be too dry since he needed to form it into noodles later, it needed to be somewhat soft.

 

“This should do nicely. Next comes shaping it into noodle form,” Su Bai muttered as he washed his hands.

 

He stood and took a piece of linen, beginning to sew it into a funnel shape with a few stitches.

 

“That’s about right,” Su Bai cut a hole in the bottom of the linen funnel.

 

He tore off a large piece of dough, placed the soft dough inside the funnel, and began squeezing.

 

“Excellent, success!” Su Bai gazed with satisfaction at the short section of noodles on the chopping board.

 

He prepared a basin of cold water, adding considerable ice, then squeezed all the noodles from the funnel into that cold water basin.

 

*Step step step…*

 

Half an hour later, Yu Ying returned carrying several wooden boards.

 

She looked curiously at the noodles in the cold water basin, asking in puzzlement, “Shaman, why are you discarding the noodles?”

 

Yu Ying felt rather sorry for them, thinking these noodles would certainly taste delicious when cooked.

 

“I’m not discarding them. They’re in ice water for the preparation.” Su Bai explained.

 

“Shaman, why put them in ice water? Shouldn’t they go in hot water?” Yu Ying was completely baffled.

 

Su Bai scooped noodles from the ice water basin, smiling as he said, “Noodles prepared this way become more resilient and taste better.”

 

“I see…” Yu Ying handed over the grid board, continuing, “Shaman, here you go.”

 

“Great, let’s begin making the noodles  then,” Su Bai rinsed the grid board.

 

Yu Ying swished her fox tail, asking curiously. “Shaman, are instant noodles made using this grid board?”

 

“Indeed,” Su Bai nodded.

 

He bent his head, extracting one noodle from the ice water and beginning to wind it around the grid board.

 

Strand by strand, the noodles wound around the grid board, genuinely resembling Earth’s instant noodles.

 

“Shaman, why make the noodles into this curvy, winding shape?” Yu Ying asked curiously.

 

“For convenient storage and transport. If made straight, they’d break easily, and the texture won’t be as good.” Su Bai placed the wound instant noodles aside, continuing, “Besides, they’re much easier to pick up with chopsticks this way.”

 

This was precisely why Earth’s instant noodles were made curvy. It was not for aesthetics.

 

“I understand. Are they finished now?” Yu Ying’s clear voice rang out.

 

“Not yet. They’re only half-done once they’ve dried enough to be removed. Next we’ll prepare the seasonings.” Su Bai said gently.

 

The soul of instant noodles lay in the seasoning packets. Without them, eating instant noodles was true suffering.

 

“Okay,” Yu Ying remained beside him, learning earnestly.

 

Su Bai prepared portions of salt, chilli powder, and various other seasonings.

 

He also blanched vegetables in water, drained and dried them, then dug up a wild boar, heated it, and added seasonings.

 

“Once everything dries, the instant noodles will be complete,” Su Bai said with satisfaction.

 

“Great! We can soon try out the instant noodles.” Yu Ying anticipated seeing the finished product.

 

An hour later, everything had dried completely. Su Bai asked Yu Ying to boil a kettle of water.

 

He placed the instant noodles and seasonings into a wooden bowl, pouring in an appropriate amount of hot water.

 

“Wait a moment and we can eat,” Su Bai smiled.

 

“Oh!” Yu Ying happily exclaimed.