Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

In addition, the top five players on the leaderboard in this midterm assessment can challenge the Elite Ten. Those who win will inherit their Elite Ten spot and become a proud member of the Elite Ten Council.

When the topic of the Elite Ten Council came up, the girl's face lit up with a fanatical expression, because it was a status that all students of Totsuki Academy dreamed of!

"The reward for the top five is to challenge the Elite Ten?! Are the Elite Ten willing to accept such a completely disadvantageous condition? They're the Elite Ten, for crying out loud!"

The boy was utterly shocked, his feelings a complex mix.

"Since the school has offered this as a condition, they must have persuaded the Ten Outstanding Students at some cost, so you don't need to worry too much."

I'm so envious! Just winning means becoming one of the Ten Heroes, the Elementary School Ten Heroes—there haven't been many in Totsuki Academy's history!

Another girl said enviously, already imagining herself as a member of the Elite Ten, being adored by everyone in the school.

Just thinking about it makes me tremble with excitement!

"Don't be envious. The Elite Ten were the ten strongest students during their time at Totsuki Academy. Even if they are challenged, they are not afraid and cannot be easily replaced."

The girl who shared this news was speechless. Who were the Ten Heroes? If they could be replaced so easily, then they wouldn't be the ones to become the Ten Heroes.

"That makes sense. No wonder. I was wondering why the first and second place on the leaderboard were fighting. It turns out the only penalty for losing is changing your ranking, and there's even no penalty for the challenger losing."

Standing at the door of a kitchen, the three of them stopped and looked at the two people having a cooking competition inside, their faces filled with envy.

"The theme is pork, such a broad theme, what kind of dish are these two planning to make?"

People around them were talking amongst themselves as they looked at the large screen hanging in the sky.

At this moment, the extra countertops in the kitchen have been moved around and connected end to end, becoming the most natural partitions.

In the middle of the partition, two cooking counters are placed facing each other.

On either side of the cooking counter stood Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri, poised to attack, while Shiro Abe sat in the middle, with a small table in front of him, serving as their referee.

Although formal matches usually require three referees, the two of them did not ask anyone else because they trusted Bai Yuan enough.

"Alice, this match is my chance to avenge myself! I will fight with all my might to defeat you, so you better be prepared to lose!"

Wearing a chef's uniform that accentuated her figure, Erina Nakiri crossed her arms and looked at Alice Nakiri, her eyes burning with fierce fighting spirit.

"Calling me 'sister' is an insult to you? Heh, bring it on!"

Hearing Erina Nakiri's words, Alice Nakiri couldn't help but get angry, and then she sneered.

She had originally planned to hold back so that Erina Nakiri wouldn't lose too badly in front of everyone, but now it seems unnecessary.

"??"

Looking at Alice Nakiri's appearance, Erina Nakiri was a little confused. Had this girl misunderstood something?

The two have never shown any sisterly affection, so what is she angry about?

"Humph."

Seeing Erina Nakiri's bewildered expression, Alice Nakiri snorted softly, then turned her head and looked at Bai Yuan.

"Teacher Baiyuan, the theme is pork, and you can decide the cooking time and restrictions on the dish."

"The theme is pork, the only type is pork shoulder, the cooking time is two hours, and there are no other restrictions. Let the competition begin."

Upon hearing Alice Nakiri's words, Bai Yuan nodded and then stated the restrictions for this assessment.

Since it was just a regular competition, he only restricted the types of meat.

"Pork shoulder? That's a familiar ingredient. In that case, let's make that dish!"

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Alice Nakiri closed her eyes and pondered for a moment. A dish came to mind, a dish that she could never forget after eating it just once.

Let's use her method to make improvements today!

With that in mind, Alice Nakiri sprang into action, jogging to the food sections on both sides and picking out a piece of good quality pork shoulder.

Erina Nakiri stood beside her, choosing pork shoulder while also picking out two apples, onions, and carrots from the side.

"It seems you're planning to cook Western food."

Onions and carrots hold a similar position in Western cuisine as scallions, ginger, and garlic in Chinese cuisine. Therefore, when Alice Nakiri saw Erina Nakiri's choice of ingredients, she immediately guessed what dish Erina wanted to cook.

This is a very classic Western dish: braised pork chops with apples.

However, foreigners usually use pork tenderloin or sirloin when making this dish; she has never tried using pork shoulder before.

"Make me an extra portion later so I can try it, and I'll make an extra portion for you too."

Thinking of this, Alice Nakiri said to Erina Nakiri, her voice light and cheerful, clearly not taking her seriously.

"Okay, go ahead and cook!"

Watching Alice Nakiri's departing figure, Erina Nakiri's eyes flashed with a sharp light. She then quickly grabbed a few ingredients from the ingredient area and hid them at the very bottom of her ingredient basket as her trump card.

This time, she will definitely win!

Using traditional apple stewed pork cutlet to deal with Alice Nakiri? She wasn't that stupid! At the same time, she didn't think this girl would be so easy to handle.

"Hum hum"

On the other side, Alice Nakiri, unaware of Erina Nakiri's unusual behavior, hummed a little tune as she placed the selected ingredients on the counter.

At the same time, the sound of wheels grinding against the ground came from behind. Alice Nakiri looked up and saw the hotel staff pushing her molecular gastronomy machine up on a large trolley.

Finally, he stopped next to the cooking counter, quickly unloaded the molecular gastronomy machine, plugged it in, and pushed the cart away from the scene.

"Is it still molecular gastronomy after all?"

When Erina Nakiri saw the molecular gastronomy machine, a look of wariness appeared on her face.

She lost to molecular gastronomy last time with molecular fish jelly tarts, which had a very mysterious flavor. It's really hard to imagine that such a flavor could exist in reality.

Molecular gastronomy is not to be underestimated!

"Give it your all, Erina. After a month of training, my skills have improved by at least 30% since our first match."

She gently touched the molecular gastronomy machine with her fingers. Although she hadn't been exposed to molecular gastronomy for a while, she could clearly feel that she was making progress.

It's a feeling of uncertainty, but after mastering the basics, you can apply them to molecular gastronomy and elevate your skills to a higher level.

If she had only just reached the Special Grade before...

Now, she has taken a firm step toward becoming a top-tier one-star chef. With just a little more refinement, she can truly join the ranks of top-tier one-star chefs.

Erina Nakiri took one last look, then lowered her head, exuding an aura as she concentrated all her mental energy on the dish in front of her.

Pick up the kitchen knife that's lying to the side and slice the pork shoulder into large pieces. Then marinate it with onions, carrots, brandy, and black pepper.

After completing this step, Erina Nakiri began processing the apples, and later, while Alice Nakiri wasn't looking, she secretly took the other ingredients...

Chapter 124 The Second Clash of the Nakiri Sisters

"Mix onions, shallots, garlic, ginger slices, scallions, cooking wine, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, knotted scallions, and cilantro together to make a sauce..."

While muttering to herself, Alice Nakiri prepared the sauce, stirred it well with chopsticks, and set it aside. Then she cut the pork shoulder horizontally.

After cutting, use a knife to sever all the tendons and membranes of the pork, and at the same time use the back of the knife to pound the pork to achieve the desired thickness.

Once the pork shoulder is prepared, it can be placed into a bowl of seasonings, allowing the prepared sauce to come into close contact with it.

This is a method she developed herself; the preparation of char siu varies from region to region.

Hong Kong-style char siu needs to be marinated for a day and a night, and Cantonese-style char siu also requires a lot of time to process, but this competition only gives two hours.

Therefore, she combined several char siu cooking methods to create Alice's version of char siu.

There are no fixed rules for food; as long as it tastes good, that's fine.

This is what Bai Yuan has always taught her.

After marinating the pork shoulder, the remaining and most important step is the char siu sauce!

Smelling the rich aroma in the air, Alice Nakiri packed the sauce and pork shoulder into a bag, vacuum-sealed it, and then put it into a sous-vide cooker.

This is the signature skill of molecular gastronomy, which has become increasingly popular in Western cuisine in recent years. Its greatest advantage is its stability and precision.

Slow cook at a low temperature for one hour and twenty minutes to allow the sauce to perfectly penetrate the pork shoulder and cook it through, thus saving a lot of marinating time.

Next was the making of molecular char siu sauce, but since it was her first time trying it, Alice Nakiri was a little unsure of herself.

"call..."

Looking up at Bai Yuan, who was sitting calmly in the referee's seat, Alice Nakiri let out a long breath, and her eyes became firm.

Even if there is a risk of failure, she will try, so that Bai Yuan can taste her cooking and show a satisfied smile!

Opening the char siu sauce that had been prepared in advance, Alice Nakiri scooped up a spoonful and tasted it. The complex aroma spread across her tongue, then transformed into a series of images that flooded her mind.

White sugar, brewed soy sauce, water, and salt are the foundation of all flavors.

Salted garlic, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, red yeast rice, oyster sauce, honey, and seafood sauce... This is an advanced, complex aroma.

A variety of flavors danced on her tongue, forming images in Alice Nakiri's mind. Although she didn't have the God Tongue, her sense of taste was still very sensitive thanks to Hakuyu's training.

So sensitive...

You can tell what your partner ate for lunch just by kissing them. Teacher Bai Yuan can attest to this; it's been personally tested and proven effective.

"I see, if that's how it is..."

Opening her eyes, a sharp glint flashed within them. Alice Nakiri quickly began to work, mixing soy sauce, dark soy sauce, honey, and cooking wine together, stirring well to prepare a base sauce.

Add a small amount of oil to a pot and sauté fresh garlic cloves, ginger, and chopped shallots until golden brown and fragrant. Then add five-spice powder, star anise powder, white pepper powder, and cinnamon powder and continue to sauté until fragrant, allowing the aroma of the ingredients and spices to be fully released.

After sautéing until fragrant, mix the seasonings with dried orange peel pieces and roasted sesame seeds, which have unique flavors. Use the residual heat to enhance the aroma of these ingredients. Then, add them all to the base sauce and stir well.

After finishing this, Alice Nakiri added agar and gluconic acid to the sauce.

Agar can be used as a stabilizer to make char siu sauce thicker. Gluconic acid can adjust the pH value of char siu sauce and improve its texture.

At this stage, Alice Nakiri adds the sauce to an emulsifier for emulsification, which maximizes the flavor of the char siu sauce.

Next, it's just a matter of waiting.

“Smells so good!”

When the brandy was poured into the pot, a burst of flames erupted, simultaneously releasing the aroma of pork and garlic, which exploded in the air.

This caused the students watching the cooking to look on with enjoyment, unable to help but exclaim in admiration, while watching Nakiri Erina's movements intently in order to learn her cooking techniques.

The flames gradually subsided, revealing its true form.

Erina Nakiri gently put down the brandy in her hand, took out the meat and placed it on a plate for later use, while the garlic, having completed its mission, was discarded to the side.