Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Chapter 431 - 343: Eating Everything, Leaving Not a Blade of Grass

"What about peanuts? Can peanut leaves be eaten?"

"They can be eaten, but hardly anyone does. They’re more often used in herbal medicine because there are just so many edible things, there’s no need to eat everything you see."

Lin Chen didn’t even think before dismissing the suggestion, but Raphael wasn’t ready to give up. He casually picked a few leaves, put them in a plastic bag, and labeled them.

Since it can be eaten, he was determined to try it.

Just because it’s rarely used in Chinese cuisine doesn’t mean it can’t shine in Western cuisine. Since he’s here, he intends to taste everything that can be eaten.

Who knows, inspiration might strike?

"Oh, by the way, if you’re interested in peanuts, you might want to try peanut sprouts. They’re delicious."

"Peanut sprouts?"

"You’ve had bean sprouts and mung bean sprouts, right? It’s the same concept, just using peanuts instead. Peanut sprouts are thicker with a firm, crisp texture and a sweet taste, making them great as side dishes or cold dishes."

Anything Lin Chen particularly introduces must be good. Not just Raphael and Nagishiro Sho, even John took out his phone and noted this information down in a memo.

"I never thought about it before, but sprouted peanuts are edible. They used to be considered waste and either thrown out or burned, such a pity."

"Isn’t it a bit early to feel regret about that?"

Lin Chen smiled mysteriously, "This journey of missed opportunities has just begun, Old John~"

Hearing this, John couldn’t help swallowing, feeling a vague sense that he’d already lost millions.

If every plant’s leaves could be eaten, the hundreds of types of crops they grow on the farm would add up to hundreds of tons of leaves being disposed of every year.

But he quickly realized.

The raw materials being wasted is true, but before Lin Chen appeared, no restaurant would buy these ingredients.

No one buying means there’s no market, and it would end up as garbage.

With this thought, he felt much better.

However, Lin Chen’s words did give him some inspiration.

No market in Western cuisine doesn’t mean there’s no market in Asian dining.

He could totally reach out to nearby Sakura Restaurants, Kimchi Restaurants, and even Great Xia Restaurants. There must be demand there.

Especially the Kimchi People, who love pickling all sorts of vegetables. There would surely be a large demand for these miscellaneous leaves.

He secretly resolved to devise a plan tonight as soon as today’s rewarding trip ended. Make a list of all the unconventional edible parts of various plants, estimate the yield, and directly promote to nearby restaurants.

This could definitely bring unexpected revenue!

Leaving the sesame field, Lin Chen headed straight to the sweet potato field next door.

Before he could say anything, Raphael and the others had already started picking sweet potato leaves.

"All picked, next one!"

Raphael confidently raised the bunch of bright green, tender sweet potato leaves to his nose and took a deep breath. Indeed, there was a faint plant fragrance, but the aroma of sweet potato leaves wasn’t as strong as that of sesame leaves and seemed relatively ordinary.

Nagishiro Sho and John did the same, each placing some in their baskets and looking at him expectantly, wanting to know the next destination.

"Who said we’re done?"

Lin Chen grinned, bent down, and picked a tender, crisp sweet potato stem from the ground, lined with many little green leaves.

"Sweet potato stems are good too, with a crisp and sweet taste. Pick them."

"????"

"You can eat stems too?"

"I really wonder how you Great Xia People discovered these things are edible."

The three didn’t say much, immediately bending down to pick again.

Lin Chen sighed.

"Because of famine caused by war."

"...Sorry."

Hearing the word war, the smiles on their faces instantly vanished, and they awkwardly kept their mouths shut.

In their line of work, they encounter people from various countries. To avoid unnecessary trouble, they’re naturally somewhat familiar with relevant historical issues, especially around war or colonial events.

They all understood which period Lin Chen was referring to.

If one digs deep enough, who knows whose bloodline carries the legacy of a wrongdoer.

"No worries, the past is the past. We Great Xia People love peace, not petty by nature, but not to be trifled with either."

Lin Chen took the lead and guided everyone to the pumpkin field ahead.

"Pick away, besides the leaves and stems, the pumpkin flowers should be picked too."

"What?!"

"Now we’re not even sparing the flowers?"

"Then why not pick sweet potato flowers?"

"Because they’re not as pretty."

Lin Chen shrugged and made up, "Sweet potato flowers are a mix of white and purple, and cooked, they look bizarre. Plus, as you know, sprouted sweet potatoes are toxic; their color is purple. No one can guarantee whether the purple flowers are toxic."

"To be safe, sweet potato flowers are usually not eaten."

"Pumpkin flowers, on the other hand, are golden yellow, which looks delicious. Usually, they’re battered and fried, kind of like tempura."

"That’s interesting!"

Nagishiro Sho instantly understood, already picturing the pumpkin blossom tempura in his mind, and took out his phone to start recording again.

Other items still need experimentation, but pumpkin flowers can be directly used.

If made into tempura while retaining the original flower shape, it can serve as both decoration and side dish, killing two birds with one stone.

If it tastes good, it would be the perfect side dish!

If pumpkin flowers can be eaten, does it mean other colorful flowers can also be eaten?

This quickly leads him to think of perilla flowers.

Perilla flowers are commonly used in izakaya or omakase, adding a unique fragrance while looking good, resulting in different effects when paired with various ingredients.

The more he thinks about it, the more annoyed he becomes.

His country obviously has a tradition of edible flowers, so why hadn’t he considered pumpkin flowers edible?

He straightened up and looked toward a few plots of farmland in the distance, soon spotting a wooden-framed area.

On the vines draped over the frame hung many green elongated fruits, some with small yellow flowers blooming.

His eyes lit up, pointing over there, he shouted, "Lin, are cucumber flowers edible too?"

"Yes," Lin Chen nodded, giving a thumbs up, "Congratulations, you’ve learned to answer quickly!"

The group wandered around the farm without any clear direction, just heading to places they hadn’t been.

As time passed, the bamboo baskets in their hands were already filled more than halfway, full of various plant parts, also mixed with some ingredients not commonly seen in Western cuisine.

"Lin, what is this?"

"It’s loofah, also called victory melon, but that’s what they call it in the coastal area of southern Great Xia, it’s generally called loofah. There are two types, one with a smooth skin and another like this with bumps, somewhat similar to lanterns. The taste is similar, it’s a very delicious sweet vegetable."

"And what’s this, with a bumpy surface similar to cucumber?"

"Bitter melon, I don’t know the name in French or English, as the name suggests, it tastes bitter but has high medicinal value and is considered a medicinal dish."

"Wow, what are these pretty flowers, without visible fruits, they don’t seem like stem vegetables either?"

Lin Chen followed Raphael’s voice and saw a large flower field indeed, with many vibrant orange flowers blooming.

Having a flower field on a food farm definitely meant something!

He hadn’t seen these kinds of flowers before, curiously approaching to observe.

"John, this is your farm, you must recognize them, right?"

Seeing Lin Chen seemed a bit unfamiliar, Raphael directly threw the question to John.

"This? Um, let me see, what is it called..."

John stared at the flowers for a few seconds, took out his phone from his pocket, and started swiping through; apparently, he hadn’t remembered either.

"Found it! It’s called yellow... slippery vegetable? Seems to be a unique plant from Great Xia, don’t know if the pronunciation is correct."

"Hm?!"

Lin Chen suddenly looked up: "Daylily?"

"Precisely, that’s the one! You Great Xia People have to pronounce it yourself."

He never thought daylily would look like this, it really is a flower!

Previously, the daylily he ate was always dried, he had never seen it fresh, reportedly only recently has it become popular to blanch or cook fresh daylilies in hot pot or spicy soup.

Yet the true nature of daylily remained quite mysterious.

Lin Chen searched around the flowers for a moment, quickly spotting something he recognized.

A flower bud shaped like a needle!

"Wow, daylily is actually a flower bud? Learned something new."

"Can this flower be eaten too?"

Nagishiro Sho eagerly leaned in, reaching out to pick one.

"Yes, it can be eaten, but we usually eat these unopened ones, though I’m not sure why."

Lin Chen pointed at those needle-like buds, a trace of confusion in his eyes.

Technically, if buds can be eaten, so can the flowers, being the same thing, just different in form, the taste should also be the same.

So why hasn’t he ever seen the flowers?

"I know the reason."

John held his phone, a look like a subway grandpa studying his phone, squinted his eyes.

"This yellow something vegetable, its flowers only bloom during the day and wilt at night, but after wilting more small flowers grow, overall lasting two to four months."

After John’s explanation, Lin Chen suddenly understood, makes sense that daylilies appear in bud form.

The flowers can’t stay, but there are many buds, which explains it.

"What?!"

While pondering, beside him Nagishiro Sho stared at his phone with a face like he’d seen a ghost.

"How is this possible!"

"I just searched for pictures of this thing online, one of its original places is also in Sakura?!"

"But why haven’t I ever seen or heard of this thing in the market!"