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

However, Erina Nakiri did not feel happy; instead, her face darkened.

If your competitor ignores your own cooking and casually praises your improved skills, isn't that a form of disrespect?

Moreover, this kind of unintentional disrespect is more infuriating than intentional disrespect!

"Humph."

Since Alice Nakiri was praising her, Erina Nakiri couldn't say anything, and could only let out a slightly dissatisfied hum.

"How's your cooking coming along? Haven't you even started preparing it yet?"

As if she had thought of something, Erina Nakiri looked at Alice Nakiri's cooking station, pondering her words and preparing to turn the tables later.

"No rush. Since we've been given two hours, we should naturally spend two hours cooking to ensure the food tastes its best."

Upon hearing Erina Nakiri's question, Alice Nakiri smiled mysteriously, then turned her gaze to Bai Yuan with a gentle look. These were words her master had told her.

The goal is to perfect the dish within the limited time. This is a competition, a contest, and there's no such thing as submitting your work early!

"Tsk tsk, I'd like to see what kind of dish you'll serve up in the end."

After saying that, Erina Nakiri took a pair of chopsticks from the kitchen counter not far away. She hadn't eaten dinner and needed to eat something to fill her stomach.

If it were any other judge, she certainly wouldn't dare to be so presumptuous.

But this is Bai Yuan, who has an easygoing personality. They've done this kind of thing countless times in private, so naturally they don't feel any psychological pressure.

Ever since she learned that Shirai was living at Alice Nakiri's house, Erina Nakiri has been taking Hisako to visit every few days.

The reason given was that Hisako had a question to ask Hakugen-sensei. Taking advantage of Hisako's question, they naturally stayed, then cooked at Nakiri Alice's house, invited Hakugen to taste and analyze the shortcomings, and had dinner together.

This had become a habit for her.

However, she sat down to eat out of habit, but everyone around her was dumbfounded, staring in their direction with expressions of shock.

Isn't this a cooking competition? How did they end up sitting down and eating together?!

They're all still hungry!

Fortunately, time passed quickly, and Alice Nakiri didn't keep them waiting too long.

As the alarm clock rang, she immediately got up from beside Bai Yuan and strode over to the molecular gastronomy machine.

First, take out the slow-cooked pork shoulder and cut open the vacuum-packed bag with scissors. A rich, complex aroma immediately wafts out.

Alice Nakiri took a deep breath, savoring the aroma, a look of ecstasy on her face. She then placed the prepared meat on the grill rack with a metal tray underneath, and put it in the oven at 160 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes.

The time in between is used to prepare the honey.

While slowly simmering the pork belly at a low temperature, she was also busy preparing maltose in advance, which is the key to making the honey glaze.

The so-called honey-glazed char siu doesn't actually involve adding honey, but rather making the char siu as sweet as if it had honey added!

Dissolve the maltose in hot water, then heat it in a pot while adding the previously emulsified char siu sauce. Stir quickly in the pot with a spoon to allow the flavors of both to blend perfectly under the heat.

After completing this step, the oven will make a "ding" sound. Take the char siu out and let it cool for a few minutes. Then, add it to the malt syrup mixed with emulsified char siu sauce and roll it all over so that every part of the char siu is coated with the flavor of the syrup.

Once the char siu is coated with the mixed syrup, place it back on the grill rack, pour the remaining syrup from the pot over it, and bake in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for eight minutes.

As time passed, a rich aroma filled the air, wafting into the nostrils of the audience. At the same time, Erina Nakiri, who was sitting next to Bai Yuan, couldn't help but swallow and a look of longing appeared on her face.

"What? What? What did Alice make?! Why does it smell so good! Such a rich sweetness makes my mouth water!"

Sitting next to Bai Yuan, with her fingers pressed on her thigh, Erina Nakiri suppressed her desire and pretended to be calm, but inwardly she was churning with turbulent emotions.

Although I haven't tasted it, the aroma is so rich that I can only imagine this dish must be something special.

In other words, there is a lot of suspense in this competition.

Now it all depends on how Alice Nakiri performs in the end...

Chapter 123 Alice, come to my room tonight to receive your punishment.

"Finish!"

Watching the molecular honey-glazed char siu pork gradually reach its peak in the oven, Alice Nakiri clenched her fists slightly, an excited expression appearing on her face.

Opening the oven and feeling the sweltering heat inside, Alice Nakiri picked up the tongs and pulled out the oven rack.

The next moment, the char siu was completely exposed to the outside world, and the aroma reached its peak at this moment, rushing in all directions the instant it left the oven.

"What an intoxicating aroma."

Looking at the freshly baked molecular honey-glazed char siu, Alice Nakiri took a deep breath with a look of pure enjoyment, savoring the wonderful aroma.

Ignoring the scalding heat, she placed the grill on the counter, took the meat off, and quickly sliced ​​it into equal-length pieces with a cleaver, arranging them on a plate.

But that wasn't all. She picked up the pot from which she had been making the syrup and used a spoon to drizzle the emulsified honey sauce she had prepared onto the char siu.

"Try it, Master. This is the best I've done in a while."

This product combines emulsification technology from molecular gastronomy with traditional char siu cooking methods to create a molecular honey-glazed char siu.

Wiping away the thin layer of sweat from her forehead caused by the heat, Alice Nakiri placed the dish in front of Shirayuki as if presenting a treasure, her eyes filled with anticipation.

"Actually, you made a fatal mistake."

Before even tasting it, just looking at the color of the molecular honey-glazed char siu, Bai Yuan suddenly spoke up.

"Huh? What error..."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Alice Nakiri's excited expression suddenly froze. She then swallowed hard, her initial anticipation turning into nervousness, and her heart began to pound.

"I think I told you before that oven temperatures are different from oven to oven, and there are many factors that affect them. The specific temperature can only be determined through repeated experiments by the chef."

At the same temperature, home ovens run at lower temperatures, while hotel ovens run at higher temperatures.

Because the hotel's large oven has a more powerful heating element, and because of its larger size, it also has better temperature control.

As a chef, I don't want you to make such a basic mistake.

Bai Yuan's tone was serious.

Although the midterm exam focused primarily on Chinese culinary techniques, with very little use of the oven, it's somewhat understandable that Alice Nakiri didn't notice this.

However, he did not accept this reason.

He had asked a similar question to Alice Nakiri when she was eight years old.

At that moment, Alice Nakiri patted her not-so-ample chest and solemnly promised him that she would remember it forever.

Furthermore, such a basic mistake should not have occurred to a master chef.

Even if he didn't say it, he shouldn't have shown up.

"Sorry…"

Alice Nakiri lowered her head, like a defeated rooster, her voice filled with frustration, and a chill ran down her spine.

Only after Bai Yuan pointed it out did she realize just how basic her mistake had been.

"Don't apologize. If you make a mistake this time, just correct it next time. But you still need to be punished, otherwise I'm afraid you won't learn your lesson."

Come to my room tonight, and I'll see you've gotten a bit carried away lately!

Looking at the dejected Erina Nakiri in front of him, Shiroyuki spoke further.

"okay, I get it."

His words made the girl blush, but she still nodded and replied softly.

"Eh…"

On the other side, Erina Nakiri was already taken aback by the scene. Why was the usually kind Hakugen-sensei suddenly so angry?!

Thinking of this, Erina Nakiri turned her head to look at Alice Nakiri again and found that the girl had her head down and looked dejected.

"If that's the case, then my chances of winning this match are pretty high!"

Thinking of this, Erina Nakiri couldn't help but feel excited. If Shiro Awakening and Alice Nakiri hadn't been there, she probably would have burst out laughing.

It seems that this time she can not only take the top spot on the leaderboard, but also get rid of the shameful nickname "Sister Alice"!

Long live!

"Actually, the problem of excessive temperature is not unsolvable. As long as you keep an eye on the oven and observe the color change of the malt syrup on the surface of the char siu, you can still find the problem."

Cooking requires a balance of tension and relaxation. If you take a break here during the cooking process, that's relaxation, and I won't criticize you for it.

However, you also need to be flexible when the time is right. From the moment the char siu goes into the oven to the final product coming out, there are only a few minutes in total.

"It's not difficult for you to keep an eye on the oven."

While instructing Alice Nakiri, Bai Yuan picked up a piece of char siu with his chopsticks and held it up to the light to examine it closely.

Looking at the varying shades of honey glaze on the surface of the char siu, I couldn't help but shake my head slightly; this was a sign of improper heat control.

This girl has always been number one and has never had any rivals in Totsuki Academy, so it's no wonder she's become arrogant, which is why this problem has arisen.

They need to be given a good talking-to, otherwise things could easily spiral out of control. Arrogance is the sharpest knife that kills a chef!

"I'm sorry..."

I understand! I will never make such a silly mistake again.

The words of apology were about to leave her lips when, remembering Bai Yuan's earlier words, Nakiri Alice clenched her fists and swallowed them back. The next moment, she raised her head, looked directly at him, and spoke with a firm expression.

"Very good, that's the kind of spirit we need!"

Although this mistake wasn't big, it can lower the quality of your cooking by a level. You should be more careful when cooking in the future.

Seeing Alice Nakiri's determined expression, Bai Yuan finally nodded in satisfaction and then put the char siu pork on his chopsticks into his mouth.

The char siu pork undergoes a meticulous slow-cooking process at low temperatures, allowing the deep aroma of the sauce to blend perfectly with the freshness of the pork shoulder, resulting in exceptionally tender meat while retaining its original chewiness and texture.

Under the gentle embrace of sous-vide cooking, every spice in the sauce seems to transform into a magician.

The aromas of onions, shallots, garlic, ginger slices, and raw scallions permeate every fiber of the meat, blending perfectly with the meat's flavor to create an indescribable, rich aroma.

The rich aroma of cooking wine and the umami flavor of oyster sauce are gradually released during the slow cooking process, perfectly blending with the pork shoulder and adding an incomparably unique umami and sweetness.

The addition of dark soy sauce not only gives the pork belly an enticing reddish-brown coat, but also makes its flavor richer and more layered.

The addition of white sugar harmonizes the flavors of the dish, making it neither too salty nor too sweet, achieving a perfect balance.

This is the most essential flavor of this molecular honey-glazed char siu, a flavor accumulated through the technique of slow cooking at low temperatures!

"The slow cooking method at low temperature makes the char siu meat tender and juicy with a slight chewiness. Compared with the common char siu, its texture is more delicate and the meat is more tender."