The story begins in Food Wars, when Alice took him home.

Looking at the ingredients prepared in advance on the counter, each one was processed meticulously and neatly arranged in a row.

Isshiki Satoshi couldn't help but praise him. Although it was just a small detail, it was enough to show how exquisite Hakugen's cooking skills were, which he had cultivated over many years of cooking.

"You must be the third and tenth seats of the Elite Ten, right? Rindou mentioned you earlier. Are you Tsukasa Eishi and Isshiki Satoshi?"

Although he already knew the names of the two people in front of him, this was their first formal meeting after all. Bai Yuan stepped forward with a gentle expression and smiled at them.

"I am Isshiki Satoshi. Nice to meet you."

Seeing Bai Yuan take the initiative to greet her, Isshiki Satoshi stepped forward, bowed slightly respectfully, and introduced herself.

"I've heard Tadokoro Megumi and Yoshino Yuuki talk about you; you're an exceptionally talented child."

Seeing this, Bai Yuan nodded slightly to him and exchanged pleasantries with a smile.

"Honored."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Isshiki said.

"I am Tsukasa Eishi, and this should be our second meeting."

"I spoke with you during the Sino-Japanese Culinary Exchange Competition. There are some things I don't understand about cooking; may I ask you some questions?"

Looking at the man in front of him, Tsukasa Eishi briefly introduced himself, then spoke to him solemnly with a very serious expression.

"What do you want to ask?"

Taking the live shrimp from Kobayashi Rindou's hands, Bai Yuan dumped them all into the basket, then turned to look at Tsukasa Eishi, his expression unchanged.

"A problem I've recently encountered in cooking."

When cooking, I can have a conversation with the ingredients. They tell me about their growing environment, the emotions they felt when they were captured, and how they most want to be cooked.

Different ingredients express different emotions and desire to be cooked in different ways, but it's difficult to gather ingredients that share the same wish.

Therefore, I cannot cook according to the ingredients' own desires; I can only cook based on experience. But such cooking always feels like something is missing.

Thinking about the problem that had been troubling him for some time, Tsukasa Eishi slowly spoke, a pained expression on his face.

The more complex the dish, the more ingredients it uses, and the more nuances it needs to listen to, making it difficult for all the ingredients to radiate warmth in the desired dish.

"Si, your question is a bit too unconventional. How could anyone possibly answer it? Besides, isn't this one of your special abilities?!"

Upon hearing Tsukasa Eishi's question, Kobayashi Rindou couldn't help but chime in with his own sarcastic remarks.

The ability to communicate with ingredients.

This is a talent that Tsukasa Eishi was born with, and it would be impolite to ask others about one's own unique talent.

Moreover, people who haven't experienced it themselves simply can't understand his troubles!

"Is it because the ingredients have different desires, and I can't satisfy all of them, that the dishes I make fall short?"

Upon hearing Si Yingshi's words, Bai Yuan gave a brief summary.

"Yes, although everyone's reviews are good, I can clearly feel that there are shortcomings in the dishes, and these shortcomings are maddening."

Knowing that Bai Yuan was an incredibly capable person, Si Yingshi didn't hesitate to tell him his troubles. As he spoke, he grabbed his hair and looked at him with a strong thirst for knowledge in his eyes.

“I see. Although I don’t have your abilities, it’s not hard to tell from your description that you were swayed by the soldiers’ opinions.”

"Swayed by the soldiers' opinions?"

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Si Yingshi looked confused, as did the others, who were somewhat puzzled by what he was saying.

What does food have to do with soldiers?

Aren't these two things completely unrelated?

"You should be a general who commands ingredients, not a fence-sitter who is swayed by their words. The desires of ingredients are their own business. You can satisfy them without going against your own needs, but you can't let them lead you by the nose."

You actually succeeded in that aspect, but your inner resolve wasn't firm enough. That momentary hesitation was an unavoidable flaw in your cooking!

Bai Yuan's voice rang out, directly pointing out Si Yingshi's biggest problem.

He's too gentle; he wants to fulfill every ingredient's wish, but that's impossible for him.

Just like soldiers going to the battlefield, a general might care about their lives, but he would never listen to their wishes.

There are just too many to listen to.

What a general does is lead his troops and win battles!

A chef's mission is to use ingredients to create the best dishes they can make!

There's no need to hesitate about this, nor should you hesitate. If you hesitate, the dish will have flaws, affecting its flavor.

"Words are useless, just try it! Follow my steps one by one, listen to the ingredients, and then truly master them!"

Seeing the group deep in thought, Bai Yuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He then looked at the cooking station not far away, where many prepared ingredients were laid out.

"To rule them..."

Si Yingshi muttered to himself, pondering Bai Yuan's words.

"That's right, don't pursue perfection too much. There is nothing absolutely perfect in the world. Sometimes, flaws are also part of perfection."

They complement each other and are inseparable.

For example, burnt taste. Generally speaking, if a dish is burned, it becomes inedible and the taste is hard to accept.

However, dishes like tiger-skin green peppers and dry-fried green beans are best enjoyed with a slightly burnt flavor.

The key is in how you use that flavor, turning the flaws of the ingredients into strengths—that's what a chef should be doing!

Stepping to the kitchen counter, Shirabuchi suddenly said this before starting to cook, knowing that Tsukasa Eishi was a perfectionist.

Being too obsessed with perfection will ultimately backfire on you because of that very word.

"Been taught a lesson."

After hesitating for a few seconds, Si Yingshi spoke in response to Bai Yuan's words, but his eyes told Bai Yuan that he did not truly understand what he meant.

However, Bai Yuan wasn't in a hurry. He figured he could solve the problem with cooking, and the food would give Tsukasa Eishi the right answer.

"First, let's process these shrimp."

Shrimp is the key ingredient in making shrimp dumplings. Looking at the lively shrimp in the basket, Bai Yuan divided them into two portions, handing one portion to Si Yingshi.

"Ah."

Looking at the shrimp Bai Yuan handed him, knowing that the other party was testing him, Si Yingshi nodded solemnly and then picked up the scissors beside him.

Just as he picked up the shrimp and was about to start processing them, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Bai Yuan tossing all the shrimp into the air, which slowed him down.

Bai Yuan reached behind his back, making a grasping motion, and the next moment the Wenqu Blade was drawn out by his internal force and landed steadily in his hand.

Immediately afterwards, the shrimp, which were swaying in various poses in the air, landed steadily on the table after a flash of silvery-white light, their shells and heads forming a small mountain.

"What just happened?"

Looking at everything before her, Kobayashi Rindou rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things, but even after rubbing her eyes until they were red, the scene before her remained unchanged.

"The knife cleaved the shrimp in an instant, performing an extremely delicate technique that separated the shell and head from the meat, while simultaneously removing the intestinal tract..."

Isshiki Satoshi was also shocked. His eyes, which had been narrowed, suddenly widened and stared intently at the composed Bai Yuan. His common sense was shattered.

What laymen would only think is impressive is, in his eyes, a miracle!

So elegant, so effortless, cleaning the shrimp so perfectly—this guy must have some kind of superpower!

Such thoughts crossed his mind, yet he maintained a relatively calm expression. However, the fact that he kept his eyes closed for a long time revealed the unease within him.

"This technique requires extremely precise control over the knife, and the force applied to the shrimp is also crucial. Too much force will damage the shrimp, while too little force will prevent it from being cut open."

Furthermore, since a single shrimp has no foothold in the air, Teacher Baiyuan used a method of throwing a group of shrimp into the air simultaneously, utilizing the slight resistance generated by the collisions between the shrimp to quickly process them.

Because he was staring intently, Tsukasa Eishi saw it very clearly, but Shiro Awakening was moving so fast that even he only got a general idea.

"You'll get used to it once you're familiar with it. Let me finish this before you start, otherwise I'm afraid you won't be able to keep up."

After Bai Yuan finished speaking, he slapped the shrimp with the back of his knife, crushing it into shrimp paste. He then made two vertical cuts to maintain the desired large, granular texture while breaking it up, which is the most important part of making shrimp dumplings.

taste.

Many people eat shrimp dumplings for their texture, and secondly for their flavor; the combination of ingredients is the key to the taste.

Shrimp is a fat-free ingredient, so Bai Yuan chose to add a little bit of pork fat to the filling to enhance its flavor and texture.

Dice the bamboo shoots, about one-third the size of the shrimp dumplings. You'll also need some minced ginger, making sure there aren't any pieces larger than one millimeter in size. Do the same with the scallions.

The preparation of the shrimp is very particular. Salt and white pepper must be added first. Because the shrimp is very fresh, there is no need to add egg white.

After adding the pepper, stir clockwise until the mixture becomes sticky. At the same time, use the force of slapping the mixture to make the shrimp filling sticky. Once sticky, set it aside for later use.

Add salt and sugar to the pork fat, then add umami sauce to reduce its greasiness, light soy sauce, and a small amount of lard. Stir clockwise, then add diced bamboo shoots, minced ginger, and minced scallions. Continue stirring until well combined with the shrimp filling. Use a kneading motion to blend them together. Finally, add sesame oil to enhance the aroma of the filling.

Watching Bai Yuan's incredibly skillful movements, Tsukasa Eishi, Isshiki Satoshi, and Kobayashi Rindou forgot everything else and stared intently.

This feeling is like appreciating an extremely beautiful waltz!

Chapter 120 The Ten Heroes Gather, Four of Them, She's a Good Girl

"After the filling reaches this stage, add some diced carrots and shelled green peas. Since they need to be blanched before adding them, they are added last."

The purpose of adding these two ingredients is to enhance the color, texture, and flavor; other ingredients can be substituted according to personal preference.

As Bai Yuan spoke, he stirred the shrimp dumpling filling in the bowl again until it was evenly mixed.

Then pick up a shrimp dumpling wrapper from the side and place it in your palm: "When wrapping, the oily side should face outwards and the non-oily side inwards. After wrapping the filling inside, just pinch the pleats in one direction."

As Bai Yuan spoke, he placed his hand between the group of people and demonstrated with great skill, wrapping the shrimp dumplings in just a second or two.

"This is what it looks like after it's wrapped up."

When steamed, their skin becomes translucent, hence the name "crystal shrimp dumplings" in Cantonese dim sum.

He briefly showed off the shrimp dumplings in his hand before placing them on the table.

Seeing the puzzled expressions on their faces, Bai Yuan demonstrated a few more before speeding up and finishing wrapping all the remaining shrimp dumplings.

Open the preheated steamer with boiling water and remove the top steamer basket.

Place thinly sliced ​​carrots directly on the steamer rack, put the shrimp dumplings on top of the carrot slices, cover and steam for four minutes.

"Tsukasa Eishi, don't worry, the shrimp dumplings will be ready in four minutes. Let's continue after you've tasted them."

Seeing that Tsukasa Eishi had withdrawn his gaze and was about to start practicing, Bai Yuan interrupted him.