Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

"The next store is here. Just walk straight ahead and turn right. It's about a kilometer away from this store, so walking is the fastest way."

"Okay, let's leave after we finish our noodles."

After watching the old man slaughter the loach, the two lost their expectations for his cooking and realized that there was a reason why the restaurant was so quiet.

Killing loaches is not difficult. The first step is to take a large iron basin, pour the loaches into it, and add salt.

In just about two minutes, the loach will die. At that point, the still loach is easy to handle and requires very little effort.

Although they only saw the process of processing the loach, they could tell that the old man's skills were not good, and there was no need to pay too much attention to such a shop.

"Consider it a negative example."

Leaning back in her chair, noticing that Liu Yu seemed somewhat distracted, Wang Jing spoke softly.

Good cooking methods can be learned from, and bad cooking methods can be used to eliminate mistakes. Going around and observing more will definitely not be a problem.

"That's what I was thinking too. I'm really hungry after coming down from Totsuki, so I'll have something to eat first."

Liu Yu nodded, and Wang Jing shared her thoughts before leaning on the table to wait.

This old man is really slow. No wonder he said something like that when he came in, asking if they could wait. I thought it was just a polite gesture, but it turns out he really is slow.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, the loach noodles are here!"

Just as they were thinking about crickets, a steady voice came from the kitchen, and the old man came out carrying a bowl of loach noodles and two small bowls.

He went straight to Liu Yu and Wang Jing's table, put down the loach noodles, and, worried that the two girls wouldn't have enough to eat, he cooked some extra noodles.

"Thank you."

"These noodles are handmade, and they won't taste good if they're soaked for too long. You'd better eat them quickly, because they're meant to be enjoyed while they're still hot."

After saying this, the old man left and continued wiping the table, even though it was very clean, because it was the only thing he could do.

"It looks pretty good."

"Indeed, it's not as bad as I imagined."

Looking at the noodles in front of them, Liu Yu and Wang Jing whispered to each other, then picked up their chopsticks and started eating.

The soup of the loach noodles is a soy sauce color, with a row of well-cooked loach on top, and some bright green scallions on top of the loach.

It didn't look particularly special at first glance, but it had a rich aroma that made one swallow hard. Liu Yu then picked up a loach from the dish.

"Fresh, fragrant, smooth, and soft"

As the tender loach entered her mouth, those four words came to Liu Yu's mind. Feeling the wonderful taste on her tongue, she couldn't help but widen her eyes.

"In the warm soup, the thin noodles are as smooth as silk, gently wrapping around each other, absorbing the essence of the soup, and becoming both soft and elastic."

Liu Yu first tasted the loach, while Wang Jing ate the noodles. The noodles, soaked in broth, had an exceptionally rich flavor, with an enticing aroma that lingered in the mouth.

"Before cooking, the loach should have been pan-fried, and dry-fried, without any starch coating on its surface. The aroma of the ingredients was fully released and infused into the soup, where it was absorbed by the noodles!"

Seeing Wang Jing's delighted expression, Liu Yu also picked up a mouthful of noodles, paired with loach soaked in broth, and savored the flavor.

"Unexpectedly delicious."

Wang Jing couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. She had given up hope after seeing how the old man prepared it, but she never expected it to be so delicious.

Unfortunately, they came out when the old man was halfway through cooking and didn't continue watching, so they don't know the deeper details.

"Uncle, we're still a bit hungry. We'd like to try the home-style loach again, and maybe have a dry-fried dish too. Your cooking is really excellent."

Liu Yu praised it without hesitation, and these words were sincere. The level of this loach dish was almost at the first-class level.

For a small, independent chef, this level of skill is already quite remarkable!

"After all, I've been teaching mudfish for over twenty years and have run this shop here for over twenty years. If I didn't have some skills, I would have been eliminated long ago."

It's a pity a new restaurant opened across the street; it's cheap and fast, so my little shop probably won't last much longer. Until then, I'd better make as many dishes as possible.

The old man put down the rag in his hand, his face full of pride, but that pride quickly faded as he went into the kitchen to prepare new dishes for them.

Seeing this, Liu Yu and Wang Jing exchanged a glance and followed him. This time, they wanted to watch closely from the sidelines to see how he made it.

The old man didn't say anything. It was rare for two young girls to come and enjoy loach dishes, so he couldn't just send them away.

Perhaps because someone was watching him, the old man felt exceptionally well today, and the dishes he made were more fragrant than usual.

Chapter 210 Kitchen Instruction, Enlightened Hisako Shinto

"Hisako, how can you be so useless? You can't even beat Megumi, and you lost in the semi-finals! I don't want a useless secretary like you!"

"Useless guy."

"Get away from Teacher Bai Yuan quickly, don't embarrass him."

"I don't have friends that weak."

"A waste of resources."

…………

"Hisako, you have disappointed me greatly."

"do not want!"

Hisako Shinoto opened her eyes and grabbed forward abruptly. Her chest heaved violently, her breathing became rapid, and her face turned pale.

She had a very long dream in which she lost the competition and was disliked by Erina Nakiri and looked down upon by everyone around Shirobuchi.

Just before she woke up, she was met with Bai Yuan's disappointed eyes, which she couldn't bear and woke up from her dream in fright.

"call..."

Her rapid, tense breathing gradually calmed down. Hisako Shinoto wiped non-existent cold sweat from her forehead, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Even though she knew that everything that happened in the dream was fake, she couldn't help but overthink it; it would be terrifying if such a thing actually happened!

She got out of bed barefoot and went to the toilet, washed her face with water, brushed her teeth and rinsed her mouth, then relieved herself. Afterwards, Hisako Shinto changed into comfortable casual clothes and came out of the house.

The sun shone brightly outside, and a gentle breeze was blowing. She was heading towards Bai Yuan's house, where she was going to learn cooking, which was part of her daily life.

Although she hadn't been able to seek Bai Yuan's guidance for a while due to the Summer Selection, she hadn't been there for some time.

But now that she has lost the competition, the Summer Selection has completely severed ties with her, and she has regained her freedom, so naturally she should go as usual.

"Hisako, you're here pretty early."

Coincidentally, Hisako Shinto ran into Shirogen before reaching her destination. Shirogen was carrying large bags of groceries and walking home.

"I went to bed early yesterday, and I woke up naturally today feeling refreshed, so I came here early."

Hisako Shinto, with her obedient appearance, looked at the handsome young man in front of her, and while talking, took the ingredients from his hands to help him share the burden.

"Then come with me. We haven't made breakfast yet. Your cooking yesterday was quite good. You can have it as dessert for everyone later."

Shirai and Hisako Shinto walked steadily forward, one on each side, chatting casually.

"Well, it's a pity I suffered a crushing defeat. I didn't even have a chance to fight back. It was a very ugly loss."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan bring up yesterday's cooking, Shinoto Hisako lowered her head, looking somewhat disappointed, before raising her head again to probe.

"With the dish you made yesterday, it's actually quite normal that you lost."

You rely too much on ingredients. While ingredients are certainly a plus, isn't our role as chefs to turn various ingredients into delicious food?

Blindly pursuing high-end ingredients and trying to bring out their original flavor will only lead to a dead end, where the high-end ingredients will backfire.

Hearing Hisako Shinto's somewhat melancholy words, and thinking of the dishes she had served yesterday, Shirabuchi thought for a moment before replying.

Pursuing high-quality ingredients is fine, but it shouldn't be done blindly. The role of a chef is to bring out the deliciousness of the ingredients and combine them with another ingredient to create a synergistic effect that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Hisako Shinto brought out the best in taro by using a variety of ingredients, but this path was very difficult, and she underestimated her abilities.

Bringing out the best flavor from an ingredient is much harder than adding one plus one equals more than two; her overambition and lack of practical skills were the key reasons for her failure.

"Is it easy to suffer a backlash...?"

Hisako Shinoto murmured softly, her eyes filled with a dark and unfathomable light. She bit her lower lip slightly, looking as if she didn't want to believe it but had no choice but to.

"What you need to do now is to continue to solidify your foundation. The foundation is the root of us chefs. Only by making the roots deep enough can we have the strength to go far."

Looking at the girl's appearance, Bai Yuan patted her head.

This guy is way too ambitious; he can't even crawl before he wants to walk. To bring out the best in an ingredient, you need at least a top-tier (three-star) level of skill; otherwise, you're just a joke.

Lower-rated chefs often lack a sufficient understanding of ingredients, which is a matter of experience. Only chefs with enough experience can consider variations.

"Braising is actually the best way to bring out the original flavor of ingredients. Since this is a rare opportunity, let me show you how to bring out all the deliciousness of the ingredients."

"Okay! I'll listen carefully."

Feeling the warm, large hand on her head, Hisako Shinoto blushed slightly and nodded earnestly after hearing Shirabuchi's words, indicating that she would study hard.

Bai Yuan's house, kitchen.

"My braised dishes are different from ordinary braised dishes. I mainly use the white braising method from the Guangdong and Guangxi regions. This braising method is often used to braise poached chicken and poached pigeon, which can make their flavor more fragrant and rich."

Looking at the prepared ingredients in front of him, Bai Yuan nodded silently in his heart. Before cooking, he gave Shinobu Hisako a brief introduction to the function of the white brine.

This brine helps to bring out the original aroma, color, and flavor of the ingredients to the fullest extent, making it the best choice to bring out the ultimate taste of the dish.

"When using white brine to braise dishes, the first and most important step is to select the ingredients. You need to choose the best quality ingredients, because the higher the quality, the higher the potential."

At this moment, there were only two people in the kitchen.

Because she stayed up too late yesterday, Alice Nakiri is still lying in bed and doesn't want to get up.

"Uh-huh."

Hearing Bai Yuan's words, Shinoto Hisako nodded and quickly took notes in her notebook.

"Here's a leftover pig's ear from yesterday. Other ingredients aren't really suitable for braising, so we'll use that as an example for today's dish."

Looking at the remaining ingredients in the refrigerator, Bai Yuan took out a pig's ear, then picked up a blowtorch and burned off all the hair on the surface of the pig's ear.

The heat needs to be controlled; the surface should not turn yellow or black, otherwise it will affect the appearance and defeat the purpose of white braising.

"Taking pig ears as an example, the fishy smell of pig skin mainly comes from the layer of dirt on the surface of the pig skin, and secondly from the hair follicles and sweat glands of the pig skin."

As for how to process it, I've taught you before. After scorching, use a knife to scrape off the dirt and grime, then put it in a basin, add a little salt and white vinegar, spread it evenly, and marinate for ten to twenty minutes.

Do you know why we add salt and white vinegar?

While preparing the ingredients in front of her, she asked Hisako Shinodo, who was patiently taking notes beside her, whether she had really absorbed the knowledge.