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

However, as of now, quite a few people know of his abilities, but it seems that no one has dared to extend an olive branch yet.

I don't know if they felt he was too strong and difficult to control, or if they felt he was overrated and trying to win him over was a complete waste of time and effort.

But whatever the reason, it doesn't change the fact that he is free and unrestrained.

"However, Fujian has a lot of five-star chefs, even more than Guangzhou. It's necessary to visit them one by one. After challenging a hundred chefs this year, let's start the Dragon Chef Challenge directly."

Looking at the related topics under the "Dark Cuisine" category, this topic group was created last year. It clearly lists the names of the various leaders of the Fujian Culinary Association, as well as the president and vice president, and even their contact numbers.

Although it's most likely a work call and they wouldn't answer if you called normally, their sincerity is undeniable.

"Chief, my dish is ready."

Just as Bai Yuan was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, pondering the future, a clear voice suddenly rang in his ears. Turning his head, he saw Liu Yu carrying a dish and walking up to him. The other person looked hesitant, as if considering whether to disturb him.

Fortunately, I finally mustered up the courage.

"Okay, put it in front of me so I can have a taste."

Bai Yuan nodded gently, then looked at the dishes in front of him and said with a surprised expression, "You've made Fuzhou cuisine here."

At this moment, three dishes were laid out in front of Bai Yuan: lychee pork, seven-star fish balls, and a serving of drunken spare ribs, all authentic Fuzhou dishes.

"Yes, I've been researching this for the past few days. I went to eat at all the major restaurants and then came back to recreate them. As the saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.'"

Liu Yu nodded slightly, her eyes shining.

This is the principle that Bai Yuan taught them.

Since she was participating in the Fuzhou Youth Chef Competition, she naturally needed to understand the characteristics of Fuzhou cuisine in order to devise a suitable strategy.

After tasting and observing for several days, she found that Fuzhou cuisine is light, fresh, and slightly sweet and sour, with meticulous ingredient selection, precise knife skills, and attention to cooking time and temperature. It especially emphasizes the preparation of soups. An elderly person told her that there is a saying in Fuzhou: "One soup can have ten variations."

Based on these characteristics, she conducted detailed research and finally replicated what she considered to be authentic lychee pork, seven-star fish balls, and drunken spare ribs.

"Let's talk about this lychee meat first. The outer skin is not crispy enough. When frying, the oil temperature needs to be controlled at around 170 degrees Celsius. Frying it again will make the outer skin crispier."

Then, the meat is a bit tough, which affects the taste. Adding a little baking soda or egg white during marinating can make the meat more tender.

Besides that, you missed the most important step: the pork belly wasn't aged properly.

Bai Yuan picked up a piece of lychee flesh and put it in his mouth. His brows furrowed slightly. He was disappointed by this first dish, which lacked any attention to detail.

"Acid removal?"

Liu Yu looked at Bai Yuan with a puzzled expression. She could understand the first two points, since he hadn't done them well, but the last one was a bit...

"Actually, apart from the legitimate inheritors, not many people know this. It's normal that you wouldn't notice the replicas when you taste the hotel's signature dishes."

The process of aging meat involves wrapping it in absorbent paper and placing it at a low temperature to absorb some of its oil, which can greatly reduce its greasiness.

Then there's the red yeast rice, which you didn't add a single drop to. It represents the color of the lychee flesh, a dark reddish hue, telling people that the lychees are ripe.

Bai Yuan briefly explained the drawbacks of the lychee flesh in front of him, and Liu Yu nodded seriously.

She didn't ask Bai Yuan why he knew so much about Fuzhou cuisine, because in her mind, the leader was an omnipotent person.

"Then, regarding these seven-star fish balls, I once ate at a pretty good one in Sanfang Qixiang. Yours didn't stir the fish meat long enough, so it wasn't very springy... When stirring the fish meat, you need to use force and keep stirring, and add an appropriate amount of starch to increase elasticity."

The last of the drunken spare ribs…

Although Liu Yu had never cooked Fuzhou cuisine before, Bai Yuan's explanation was very professional, providing a thorough and insightful analysis that greatly benefited her.

"I see. I misunderstood from the beginning. No wonder I could never do it well. Even though I broke through to the first-level cooking level, I was still stuck at the first-level cooking level."

Liu Yu muttered to herself, then nodded seriously. Bai Yuan's vast knowledge had indeed taught her a lot; she really didn't know how he learned it…

"It's good that you understand. First, you have to choose the right path before you have any reason to continue on it."

Bai Yuan said meaningfully, "To learn to cook, you either follow a recipe or have a master chef guide you. Having a master chef guide you is the best, because recipes often hold back some details and don't explain things in great detail."

Bai Yuan is now that old master.

Chapter 242 Soma Yukihira's Creativity!

"Liu Yu's opponent in this match is actually him."

At the Youth Chef Competition, the host, microphone in hand, was enthusiastically creating a lively atmosphere. In the audience, Bai Yuan was momentarily stunned when he heard the host call out a name.

The drone hovered in the sky and soon landed on Liu Yu and a red-haired boy.

Sitting in the audience, Yoshino Yuuki and the others stared in astonishment, their mouths agape. Who else could it be but Yukihira Soma on the field?!

"Ah! It's Yukihira! He's here to compete too! No wonder I haven't seen him for a while, he came to China to compete!"

Yoshino Yuuki gazed at that familiar figure, and couldn't help but point in his direction, her voice filled with surprise, clearly not expecting him to appear here.

"Indeed, after the semi-finals, Yukihira disappeared without a trace, even skipping several classes. I never expected him to come to China."

Ryoko Sakaki was equally surprised, as they had initially speculated that Soma Yukihira's departure from Totsuki Academy was due to the blow of defeat.

It now seems that he was indeed dealt a significant blow, which is why he traveled all the way to China to participate in the Young Chef Competition in hopes of redeeming himself.

"Go for it, Yukihira! You lost to her in the semifinals, you can't afford to lose again this time! Show that girl what you're made of!"

Takumi Aldini raised his hands in the audience, his face flushed with excitement and his handsome features radiating warmth.

It was as if the person competing on stage at that moment wasn't Soma Yukihira, but him.

"We meet again, Liu Yu."

As the host spoke, Soma Yukihira looked at Liu Yu with a complicated expression, his voice somewhat restrained, but his face was filled with surging fighting spirit!

Losing to her in the semifinals, a defeat by a significant margin, has been a source of pain for him for the past few months.

During this time, he had been holding back a lot of anger and constantly honed his culinary skills, which is why he has grown to where he is today.

Now, he is fearless!

"It is true that we meet again. I never expected to see you here. You even passed the selection competition and entered the main competition. But you are destined to be my stepping stone!"

Looking at Soma Yukihira, Liu Yu said coldly that she had a reason not to lose the match, and no matter who her opponent was, she would win!

"Let's see who's a stepping stone after the competition. Just because you beat me once doesn't mean you can beat me every time!"

Hearing the other party's arrogant words, Soma Yukihira clenched his fists, knowing that whatever he said would be powerless, after all, he had lost a match before.

He was never afraid of failure; if he fell, he would just get back up, even if it meant getting a little dirty and tired. But he truly hated failure; that feeling of resentment would linger in his heart forever!

"I admire your fighting spirit; that's the kind of vigor a young person should have. But some things can't be won just by having a high fighting spirit."

"There's no point in saying more. Let's discuss the specifics after the competition!"

After a heated debate, neither of them could convince the other. The only way to settle their minds now was to compete in the arena and determine a winner.

Who will go up to draw lots?

Looking at the roundabout not far away, Liu Yu said.

"Let me do it."

Without any hesitation, Soma Yukihira strode over to the place where the spinning wheel was, raised his arm, and used all his strength to make the wheel spin rapidly.

The clear lettering gradually became blurry, the speed suddenly increased, then it slowly decreased, finally settling on the pork.

Seeing the two big characters on the turntable, Liu Yu's eyes lit up. She had just learned how to make lychee meat under Bai Yuan's guidance yesterday, and this might be a good opportunity!

She had never underestimated Soma Yukihira. He was no weakling, and neither was she, so this was destined to be a fierce battle.

Although using dishes prepared under Bai Yuan's guidance is suspected of being cheating, she must win this competition in order to make a name for herself, to make her father regret his actions, and to take everything from him!

The flames in his eyes burned brighter and brighter, a surging fighting spirit that was almost solidifying. Liu Yu closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his eyes were clear.

Although she had a significant advantage in cooking, she did not forget that she could only choose ten ingredients in this competition, and three of them would be taken away by her opponent.

In this situation, she must not let the other party discover her purpose, otherwise, if the ingredients she needs for cooking are taken away, she will have to find another way.

At that point, her chances of winning will decrease exponentially.

This kind of thing must not happen!

"The theme of this competition is pork, a very common theme. It can be seen that both contestants are ready to go and are eager to try."

Seeing the two guests locked in a fierce argument, the host smiled and then, holding the microphone, spoke passionately.

At the same time, the staff also brought up the ingredients prepared for this dish.

There are ten different kinds of pork alone, representing various cuts of meat from different parts of the pig. Pork belly, tenderloin, shoulder, thigh, ribeye... you name it, they have it.

In addition, there are plenty of various vegetables, as well as oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tomatoes, potatoes, and everything else you could want.

It can be said that this is the most abundant battle the contestants have ever fought since the start of the Young Chefs Competition. Even if each person selects ten items, there are still quite a few left over.

"I want pork belly."

Without the slightest hesitation, Liu Yu chose pork belly, which she had used yesterday. Because it hadn't been aged properly, it was a bit greasy.

However, now that we know about aging, we can overcome this shortcoming, perfectly interpret the dish, and thus get high scores from the judges.

"Then I'll take the tenderloin."

Instead of making a choice immediately, he looked at the ingredients in front of him and pondered for a moment. His brain worked quickly, and he soon came up with a dish.

"Horse hoof".

Seeing Yukihira Soma make his move, Liu Yu also sprang into action, quickly grabbing another crucial ingredient, water chestnuts.

"Pork tenderloin... all done, next up is the preserved egg!"

Looking at the pork tenderloin that he had already taken, Soma Yukihira suddenly had a flash of inspiration and immediately took the preserved egg from the kitchen counter.

"Century egg? What are you going to do with this...?"

Liu Yu was puzzled, but her expression remained unchanged as she reached out and took the potato starch. Yukihira Soma, on the other hand, took the cornstarch from the side.

Garlic, scallions, ginger, balsamic vinegar, pepper, and other seasonings became the subject of endless disputes between the two contestants. If you chose garlic, I would take scallions; if you took ginger, I would take balsamic vinegar…

Back and forth they went, and soon both of them had obtained ten ingredients, entering the anchoring and mutual selection phase.

What Liu Yu didn't notice was that after she finished selecting the ingredients, Soma Yukihira seemed to have confirmed something, and a smug smile appeared on his face.

The ingredients she chose were so specific that even if he didn't notice it at first, he couldn't figure out what dish she was going to make.

But after carefully observing the ingredients and seasonings Liu Yu chose, he still discovered the secret.

Lychee pork, a famous dish from Fujian, is no stranger to him. He has tasted quite a few of them recently, some good and some bad.

As for his methods, he had personally experienced them and knew their core secrets, which is why he was so confident at this moment and could make his own calculations.