Rebirth as a Cooking God

What exactly is ‘wabi-sabi’?

After the frightening moment of his nap, the answer in Xia Yu's heart became clearer.

See the moss on the stone lantern?

Xia Yu glanced away and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Yes, this is ‘Wabi Sabi’!

It’s not some incomprehensible aesthetic or mysterious principle.

To put it simply, it refers directly to the simple inner nature of things.

Such essential beauty can withstand the test of time. Just like this stone lamp, covered with moss, it becomes deeper and deeper, revealing a beauty full of time.

However!

This is the ‘wabi-sabi’ revealed in objects.

Abbot Itshen once said that ‘Wabi-sabi’ is everywhere in the environment of the island country.

There is it in the tea ceremony.

It can also be found in utensils and decorations.

So, in cooking, in the way of cooking, how should ‘wabi-sabi’, or in other words, such a food meaning that points to the origin, or even a realm like the “Tongtian Avenue”, be reflected?

Xia Yu has many levels of understanding of ‘wabi-sabi’ in cooking.

Depending on one’s personal understanding, the lowest level should be ‘showing off the outside but showing off’. This is easy to understand. In fact, if the chef's skills have reached a certain level, he can cook a famous state banquet dish like Boiling Cabbage with just a piece of Chinese cabbage.

The second level is the passage of time.

This layer is not difficult to understand. Haven’t you seen the moss on the surface of the stone lamp? This is the accumulation of time!

As for the third level, Xia Yu is actually not too sure about it. After all, these are his personal thoughts and opinions.

You must know that if ‘wabi-sabi’ is an aesthetic taste, it must be closely related to life.

And cooking, gourmet food, and cooking skills are simply the focus of life!

Food is the most important thing for the people.

If a ruler lets his people starve, a change of dynasty is a matter of course.

After all, 'Wabi-Sabi' has returned to Zen. My understanding should be no problem. Wabi-Sabi is not dead silence. It contains the vitality of time...

Xia Yu picked up the stone lamp on the table and rubbed the layer of moss on the surface with his fingertips.

Rough stone, useless? It can be chiseled into something like this.

This is the principle of reusing old things.

When a stone becomes a stone lamp and is placed in the courtyard, does it become a dead thing? That's not the case. Look at this layer of moss, a useless thing, glowing with life...

This third level of understanding turned into a poem in Xia Yu's mind:

Thousands of sails pass by the side of the sunken boat, and thousands of trees spring in front of the diseased trees.

Yes!

Humming low, Xia Yu's eyes suddenly lit up.

During his nap just now, that unknown existence had actually expressed him!

...In my time, I could make my 'Wabi-Sabi Dragon Noodles'...Now I want to eat fresh food... When this sentence came to mind, Xia Yu stood there and smiled quietly. .

Old trees blooming?

A kind of inheritance?

no problem!

Let me satisfy you!

The confusion in his eyes disappeared, replaced by endless eagerness to try. Xia Yu clenched his fist and said, Try it and see.

All insights must eventually be turned into practice.

Unity of knowledge and action.

If you don't do it, you will never get the true knowledge of cooking.

…

Abbot's House.

The electric fan is in the tea room, babbling and shaking its head to blow the air.

Speaking of which, Shirinji Temple is obviously a well-established giant in the food industry. He even uses helicopters to transport ingredients, but after searching the temple, there is no air conditioner. What is going on? In addition to professional kitchen equipment, outside, an electric fan is a rare cooling device in this midsummer season.

And the electric fan has an air of the 1980s and 1990s.

call--

After drinking several cups of hot tea in a row, Souta Aoki's forehead became even more sweaty.

The monk's robes were half-undressed, Aoki Souta's posture and expression were just one word:

Be wild and wild.

But the elderly abbot Yizhen also exposed his chest, sipped hot tea, and made tut-tsk sounds.

boom.

Aoki Souta put down his tea cup and said with a smile: Teacher, how soon do you think our instructor Xia will be out?

He raised his hand and pointed down the mountain.

The tea house is open on all sides, and the abbot's courtyard is on a high ground in the temple. It is condescending, and one can see Xia Yu's living room. A door has been silent for a long time from noon to afternoon.

It's easy to come out, but difficult to enter. The old monk laughed.

In the opinion of the old abbot, within a few days, the young man could not realize the Zen meaning attached to the stone lamp.

As for ‘Wabi-sabi’, it is a deeper level of Zen, so don’t even think about it.

The old monk obviously hasn't tasted Xia Yu's masterpiece yet. Therefore, there is not a dime in his judgment.

Of course Aoki Souta heard the Zen intention and clicked his tongue, Actually, teacher, we should have cleaned the temple a long time ago. This time it was Lecturer Xia, who will it be next time? After all, Shilin Temple is half a Buddhist pure land.

There was a subtle caution in his tone. As he spoke, he observed the old monk's expression.

The old monk Yizhen just nodded lightly.

Aoki Soutai sighed secretly.

The current situation of Shirin Temple can be regarded as the result of the abbot's connivance.

There are some past events that the teacher still can’t let go of.

He didn't know how to continue persuading him.

…

In the afternoon, there is a cool breeze.

There were not many people in the temple, and it was not meal time. The temple canteen, located in a secluded corner, was shaded by a clump of trees, dim and even cooler than elsewhere.

The sound of clogs clicking on the stone path leads all the way to the canteen.

The old monk who was still in the tea house chatting with Aoki Souta over tea, at this time walked into the cafeteria with a wooden tray in hand.

On the tray, steam curled up.

A bowl of fragrant ramen was placed on the table by the old monk.

This table is a very special position. No one dares to sit on it normally. It is equivalent to the restricted area of the cafeteria. However, every time a meal is served, if there is food like ramen, there must be a portion on the table.

Eat.

The old monk Yizhen sat down on the tatami on the side of the desk and greeted the air.

Of course no one said anything.

The ramen on the table was steaming hot, and there was no abnormality in the airflow fluctuations.

Really, it's still the same as before. Do you want me to help you place the bowls and chopsticks every time? He complained, but the old monk still bent down and picked up a pair of black chopsticks from the wooden tray on the ground.

The chopsticks clinked and were placed on the bowl.

At the same time, outside the cafeteria, two young monks happened to pass by. They stopped when they heard the noise, looked at the dim room from a distance, and began to whisper:

Wow, the abbot must have secretly cooked noodles and ate them himself!

Actually, I really want to tell the abbot, can I stop cooking noodles? I have to eat ramen for at least two or three days a week. I really can't survive it! One of the teenagers said with a bitter face.

Then you tell Senior Brother Aoki, his companion said.

good!

Before the two of them could turn around, someone spread their arms behind them and placed their palms on their shoulders.

Senior brother! The two of them were shocked.

Aoki Souta glared over, You two, why don't you rush to the evening class? Otherwise, let alone ramen, there won't be even a grain of rice! You will be hungry tonight!

The little monk had no choice but to run away.

After a pause, Aoki Souta walked straight into the cafeteria, his expression on his face changed from the barely calm one in front of the little monk to one of anxiety, Teacher, Xia Yu...he's cooking!

The scene in the house did not make Qingmu Zong too surprised or strange.

The old monk sat quietly next to the table. On the table was ramen that he had never eaten. However, the ramen gradually became colder and the fog on the mouth of the bowl was much less.

Is it there?

Aoki Souta glanced vaguely.

He could never see this thing, and his strongest feeling only came from his intuition.

There seems to be a very stubborn spirit floating there.

Cooking?

Abbot Yizhen's eyes were filled with astonishment.

Yes, just cooking!

Aoki Souta took a breath and said with an extremely sure expression and tone: And he also asked Sugamoto to help him find flour...

Hand-Pulled Noodle!

The old monk's pupils shrank, and he blurted out to the empty seat next to him: Is this what you expected?