“Wow, Chen Yu, you actually dared to call You-Know-Who by his name!”
Ron looked at Chen Yu in surprise, astonished that Chen Yu dared to call Lord Voldemort by his name.
“What’s the big deal? I’ve read Lord Voldemort’s name in books too. Wasn’t he defeated by Harry and then vanished without a trace? There’s been no news of him for so many years; he’s probably long dead.”
Hermione was nonchalant. She hadn’t experienced that dark era and naturally didn’t understand the fear the title of Dark Lord instilled in pure-blood wizarding families.
Ron swallowed hard and said solemnly, “Hermione, you didn’t go through that dark era; you can’t possibly understand the fear wizards felt. Every day, people died, either killed by You-Know-Who or by his Death Eater. Everyone was terrified until You-Know-Who encountered Harry and then disappeared. Everyone said the Dark Lord was dead, but no one could confirm he was truly dead. Many adult wizards still live in fear, dreading You-Know-Who’s return, and dare not speak his name.”
Seeing Ron’s reaction, Hermione fell silent, not speaking.
The entire dining table fell into an eerie quiet.
Chen Yu quickly stepped in to “smooth things over”: “You all chat; I’ll go see how Dora and they are doing with the preparations.”
After Chen Yu left, the atmosphere became even colder… Soon, Chen Yu returned with a pile of ingredients and seven or eight House-elves.
The seven or eight House-elves carried large trays. Some trays held slices of meat as thin as cicada wings, others various utensils, and some held ingredients that looked ominous.
“Hey, Chen Yu, what kind of ingredients did you bring? Why do they look so… indescribable?”
Ron’s finger trembled as he pointed at the food on the tray above the pixies’ heads.
“These? They’re all common hot pot ingredients. Look at these broken internal organs, congealed blood, tangled tentacles, soulless eyeballs, twisted plants, shriveled limbs, incomplete brains, and crimson fruits. Don’t they look appetizing?”
Chen Yu explained to Ron with a grin.
Ron looked at Chen Yu in horror: “Are you sure the adjectives you’re using aren’t describing a murder scene?”
Harry, Neville, and Seamus were also trembling, somewhat regretting following Chen Yu, not expecting Chen Yu’s tastes to be so heavy.
British people are not accustomed to eating animal organs, and Harry, Neville, and Seamus had never eaten these things.
Only Hermione, who had been to a hot pot restaurant in Chinatown, rolled her eyes and told Chen Yu to speak properly.
“It’s simply tripe, blood tofu, squid tentacles, lamb eyeballs, kelp knots, various marinated meats, scalded pig brains, and tomatoes. Oh, and I’ve prepared four different flavored soup bases. Do you prefer clear broth, mild spicy, numbingly spicy, or extra spicy?”
“Of course, I recommend you try the clear broth, mild spicy, and numbingly spicy. It’s best not to easily try the extra spicy, or your stomachs won’t be able to handle it.”
Saying this, Chen Yu arranged the cauldrons the four brought, poured in the pre-simmered bone broth, and prepared the soup bases in order of clear, mild spicy, numbingly spicy, and extra spicy.
The soup base was a rich bone broth, a fresh soup simmered from pork, beef, chicken, and duck bones, with green onions and ginger added to remove any gaminess, and scum skimmed off. It had been simmered for a full eight hours.
Chen Yu was especially grateful to the Hogwarts House-elves; only they could have such patience, toiling in the kitchen for so long.
The entire soup was golden in color, exuding an alluring aroma.
The clear broth pot was a mushroom soup made from various fungi, with a few tomatoes added for garnish.
The mild spicy pot used Habanero peppers, which carried a tropical floral and fruity aroma, very suitable for Harry and others who were new to hot pot.
The numbingly spicy pot used jalapeños, with a mild to medium spiciness, considered an advanced version of the mild spicy, and also contained a good amount of Sichuan peppercorns to enhance the numbing and spicy flavor.
Only for the extra spicy pot, Chen Yu added bird’s eye chilies, Er Jing Tiao chilies, and lantern chilies, turning the entire pot of soup a vibrant red from the peppers.
The broth continuously bubbled and rolled in the hot pot, emitting steam that exuded a mouth-watering aroma.
Harry and the others watched, sweating and drooling.
The pixies placed the hot pot ingredients and utensils on the dining table, bowed, and then disappeared.
Harry also noticed that the pixies had placed many small bowls on the table, filled with various colored powders and sauces that Harry had hardly ever seen.
“Chen Yu, what are these?”
“These are the soul of hot pot—the dipping sauces. Allow me to introduce them grandly: this is minced garlic, this is crushed peanuts, this is beef sauce, this is sesame paste, this is spicy soy sauce, this is sesame oil, this is vinegar, this is oyster sauce, this is white sesame seeds, this is cumin, this is fermented tofu, this is chive flower paste…”
Chen Yu pointed to the dipping sauces in the dishes and introduced them one by one. When he got to the chopped cilantro, Chen Yu specifically explained: “This is chopped cilantro, a very magical herb. People who like it find it incredibly delicious, while those who dislike it can’t eat it at all. Just go with what you like. Personally, I quite enjoy cilantro.”
After introducing the dipping sauces, Chen Yu said to Harry, Hermione, and the others: “Next, please follow me. I’ll teach you how to eat hot pot. Everyone first uses a spoon to scoop a bowl of clear broth from the clear broth pot into their bowl. If you prefer spicy, you can also scoop soup from the other pots. Now, before any ingredients are added, the soup base is at its freshest. Once ingredients are added, the flavors mix, and personally, I feel it’s not as fresh.”
Chen Yu scooped a spoonful of fresh broth into his bowl, and the others followed suit.
Ron picked up a pair of chopsticks, looked left and right, very confused: “Chen Yu, what’s this thing for? It feels like a wand.”
Chen Yu explained: “These are chopsticks, eating utensils used by East Asians. Learning to eat with chopsticks will feel very convenient. I’ll teach you how to use them, but if you find it troublesome, eating with a spoon is also fine.”
“Also, what is this? Such a strange spoon.”
This time it was Neville who raised his hand, pointing to a slotted spoon and asking.
Chen Yu knew his companions were all eating hot pot for the first time, so he patiently explained every question they raised.
Feeling that his companions had asked most of their questions, Chen Yu began to educate them on how to eat hot pot: “Dipping sauce is the soul of hot pot. Without dipping sauce, it’s like the West losing Jerusalem, or the 3D zone losing… cough, cough, um, never mind, let’s continue. For beginners, I recommend a garlic oil dip: sesame oil + minced garlic + green onions + cilantro + salt. This is the most basic hot pot dipping sauce. It makes food smoother, the taste richer, and stimulates your taste buds and appetite, making you unable to stop! It’s best paired with spicy hot pot.”
“Next is the dry dip. I recommend a combination of white sesame seeds + chopped green onions + chopped cilantro + chili powder + cumin + salt. It’s suitable for dipping meats, pig brain, duck blood, etc. A bite of dry dip with a piece of duck blood is simply my favorite!”
“Finally, there’s the sesame paste dip. I recommend sesame paste + fermented tofu + chive flower paste + salt. This is an essential dip for mutton hot pot; they are simply a perfect match!”
Chen Yu spoke while combining various condiments.
By the time Chen Yu finished, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and the others’ eyes were wide, and they were desperately swallowing their saliva.
“Of course, all of the above can be freely combined. Everyone remember, vegetables generally blanch for one minute, tripe can be eaten after a quick swish, duck intestines are ready when they curl up, lettuce slices shouldn’t be blanched for too long, otherwise, they’ll lose their crispness, kelp for about five minutes, thick meat slices and blood products for about ten minutes. If the meat feels greasy, you can drink fruit juice to cut through it. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me anytime!”
Chen Yu paused, cleared his throat, and then announced: “To celebrate Harry becoming the youngest Seeker of this century, let’s eat!”
“Oh oh oh oh!”