Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

　Although the hotel food tastes better, they would also like to try the street food if possible, as it's a different experience.

　As for Bai Yuan, he had a faint smile on his face at this moment.

　Because Kawabika's opponent this time is Wang Qing, who once defeated Liya and is a very strong opponent with a deep understanding of cooking, he is also very curious about the outcome of this match.

　Will the seemingly divinely inspired Sichuan water chestnut flower prevail, or will Wang Qing, who has cultivated his expertise in Fuzhou cuisine for many years, emerge victorious?

　But no matter what, it will be a fantastic match, and they should look forward to it.

　Soon, led by Bai Yuan, a group of people left the competition venue and came to the contestant passage to wait for the Nakiri sisters to come out.

　"Brother Baiyuan, I'm craving Xiamen's signature satay noodles!"

　The girl's voice was light and cheerful. She had just come out of the contestant passage when she saw Bai Yuan. Nakiri Alice quickly stepped forward and grabbed his arm.

　"Satay noodles? Why do I suddenly want to eat this?"

　Bai Yuan was slightly surprised by this. He looked down at the smiling face, pinched it, and asked for the reason.

　"It's nothing. I just saw a promotional poster on the big screen outside the contestant passage when I came out. It showed all sorts of ingredients piled up in a bowl of noodles, with a rich and flavorful broth. It looks like it's going to taste amazing!"

　Following Alice Nakiri's gaze, Bai Yuan saw the advertisement she had seen when she came out; it was a top-down shot of satay noodles.

　The satay noodles are piled high with all sorts of ingredients, making them look incredibly appetizing. You can almost smell the enticing aroma through the screen!

　"Then you should... go and try it."

　Seeing the expectant look on Alice's face, Bai Yuan withdrew his hand and instead took hers.

　I originally wanted to say it was a reward for you winning the match, but then I remembered that the person you defeated was Erina Nakiri, and the words caught in my throat.

　In the end, he had no choice but to change his story and then looked at Erina Nakiri, who was looking down and hadn't said a word since earlier.

　Don't be discouraged, you've done your best.

　Current setbacks are temporary, but if you dwell on them, even if a chance of victory arises in the future, your current frustration will destroy it.

　Looking at Erina Nakiri with her head down, seemingly lost in thought, Shirabuchi couldn't help but complain.

　"I've already moved on. It's not like I've lost a game once or twice. If I lose this time, I'll win next time. I'm looking down because I'm thinking about what toppings to add to my satay noodles to make them taste better."

　Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Nakiri Erina looked up and glared at him, seemingly speechless. Then she shook her hand to make him let go of her, and took three steps forward to discuss the matter with Shinoto Hisako.

　Realizing he had misunderstood, Bai Yuan rarely showed an embarrassed expression. He raised the hand that Nakiri Erina had brushed aside, rubbed his nose, and looked away.

　Can I add toppings to my satay noodles?

　As Erina Nakiri left, Megumi Tadokoro quickened her pace to follow Shirobuchi, then gently touched his waist and asked curiously.

　This touched on a blind spot in her knowledge.

　"Of course you can. For pork, you can add sliced ​​pork, pork liver, pork kidney, large intestine, pork blood, etc. For seafood, you can add fresh shrimp, squid, oysters, fish balls, clams, etc. to enhance the flavor. There are also many vegetables, fried foods, and pan-fried foods. If you have money, you can even add lobster, king crab, top-grade Wagyu beef, etc."

　"From this perspective, satay noodles seem to be a very inclusive dish."

　Hearing Bai Yuan rattle off the list of toppings for satay noodles like reciting a menu, Tadokoro Megumi's eyes lit up. This was a bit too exaggerated; it sounded amazing!

　"The characteristics of satay noodles are rich soup, fresh ingredients, and complex flavor."

　Seeing Tadokoro Megumi's wide-open mouth and surprised expression, Bai Yuan couldn't help but burst into laughter.

　"Teacher Bai Yuan, you're so knowledgeable! Have you eaten this before? Or have you seen it in a cookbook and felt that you know a lot about it?"

　Everyone knows that.

　Not far away, Mito Ikumi looked at Shiroyuki, who was speaking eloquently, with admiration in her eyes.

　"It's not just that I ate it; I spent a whole week practicing it. If I hadn't mastered it, you probably wouldn't be seeing me now."

　Bai Yuan shrugged with a wry smile. Back then, there was a Fujianese man in the dark cuisine world who wanted to compete with him in Fujian cuisine. At that time, he served satay noodles.

　Thanks to this, he conducted considerable research on satay noodles.

　In fact, although you can add many toppings to satay noodles, it doesn't mean you can do whatever you want.

　There are also some restrictions. Seafood with an overly strong fishy smell and offal will make the soup base taste unpleasant. Secondly, ingredients with an overly strong flavor, such as pickled bamboo shoots, are also not suitable.

　For a moment, many taboos about adding ingredients to satay noodles flashed through Bai Yuan's mind, and a melancholy expression appeared on his face.

　Driven by curiosity and a desire to create a completely new flavor of satay noodles, he ended up making a lot of bizarre dishes—not just any bizarre dishes, but dishes with an extremely dark taste that even dogs would shake their heads and walk away from.

　In Fujian, well-known satay shops usually help customers prepare their dishes in advance and specify which ingredients cannot be added together to avoid unexpected results.

　"Speaking of satay noodles, I saw a satay noodle shop over there. Let's go there!"

　As they pondered, a charming little shop appeared before them, its signboard bearing the three large characters for "Satay Noodles".

　Alice Nakiri trotted forward, stood at the shop entrance, looked left and right, her face full of excitement.

　"I don't think this place tastes very good, let's try another one."

　Sniffing the enticing aroma in the air, Erina Nakiri frowned slightly before turning to Alice Nakiri beside her.

　"Indeed, although the broth of satay noodles can be enhanced to some extent by adding toppings, it does not mean that the flavor of the broth can be completely ignored. The broth of this shop is not very good."

　Beside him, Bai Yuan nodded slightly in agreement upon hearing Nakiri Erina's words.

　Judging from the aroma wafting through the air, that old-fashioned, unchanging scent, he could basically tell that this was a chain satay noodle shop.

　The satay sauce in these shops is all transported from the main store, not made fresh by the chef. The aroma and flavor are much worse, and most importantly, they taste basically the same.

　Eating at a restaurant like this doesn't matter where you eat; there's no need to make a special trip to Fuzhou to try it.

　It's also worth mentioning that many satay noodle shops use satay sauce recipes developed many years ago, which have long been obsolete in the market.

　It is only because the brand has accumulated considerable influence and gained public recognition over the years that it has been able to survive.

　The most outrageous one is a satay sauce called Lao Gan Die.

　Their recipe was ahead of the industry for decades, dominating the national satay sauce market and on the verge of becoming the sole player.

　As a result, the founder's descendants complained about the high cost of production. Once they took office, they immediately replaced the best ingredients with cheaper ones and raised prices, causing the market share to decline at an alarming rate every year.

　"That place over there is pretty good. Although it doesn't have anything special, it uses high-quality ingredients and has a very authentic satay noodle flavor."

　As he spoke, Bai Yuan turned his gaze to a satay noodle shop behind the chain satay noodle shops.

　Because there was a luxuriously decorated shop in front of them, this shop wasn't doing well. When Bai Yuan and his group arrived, there were only two college students who had just finished eating satay noodles and were about to leave.

　Looking around, the shop's decor was quite ordinary, but the dining tables were spotlessly clean and the tableware was neatly arranged, clearly indicating that the owner was a meticulous person.

　What would the guests like?

　Upon suddenly seeing so many customers, the shop owner put down the rag in his hand, a look of surprise and uncertainty on his face.

　He seemed incredulous that his shop could receive so many customers at once, but he still stepped forward to greet and inquire, with a gentle smile on his face.

　"I want fresh shrimp, squid, oysters, and minced garlic, plus a few quail eggs and a fried egg."

　"Yes, these ingredients are enough."

　Looking at the boss in front of him, Bai Yuan spoke a little quickly, but the boss nodded lightly and looked at the girls behind Bai Yuan.

　"Crispy pork, fried tofu, and fried eggs."

　Yoshino Yuuki's voice rang out. Since Shirabuchi-sensei said that random combinations would affect the taste of satay noodles, then it should be fine for her to order some ingredients that can absorb the soup!

　Fish balls, beef balls, and water spinach.

　"Pork liver, lean meat slices, large intestine, and chives."

　"steak..."

　They went back and forth, making their requests, while the boss remained silent, only nodding repeatedly, making one wonder if he had actually memorized all those dishes.

　"Fresh shrimp, squid, oysters..."

　That's about it. If there are no problems, I'll go to the kitchen to prepare.

　After Bai Yuan and the others finished speaking, the shop owner repeated what they had just said. Bai Yuan and the others went from being nonchalant at first to being surprised later.

　Because the owner actually repeated every single word of the dishes they ordered.

　What a terrifying memory!

　"This boss is quite capable!"

　Alice Nakiri muttered to herself, and sat down in a corner of the shop with Shirai Awakening, Erina Nakiri, and Hisako Shinomiya. The others also chose their own seats.

　In an instant, the once somewhat empty shop became unusually lively.

　"With such a memory, he's a natural-born culinary prodigy, and at his age, his skills are certainly not weak. Fuzhou is truly full of masters!"

　Looking at the old man's back, Bai Yuan's voice revealed a hint of admiration. It truly is worthy of being the capital city of Fujian Province, where hidden talents abound.

　"That's right. It should be said that China has too many hidden masters."

　Erina Nakiri's voice rang out, tinged with reverence: "If you were to ask which country has the most culinary masters in the world, it would undoubtedly be China!"

　"Not only are there many masters, but Chinese cuisine is also among the best in the world, with a wide variety of dishes and different styles in each region."

　Sichuan cuisine is known for its numbing spiciness and savory aroma, and it excels in seasoning; Cantonese cuisine emphasizes the original flavor and focuses on light and fresh tastes; Shandong cuisine is mainly savory and fresh, and it is good at cooking seafood and broths...

　Having been influenced by Shiro Awakening and having studied Chinese medicinal cuisine since elementary school, Hisako Shinto already had a biased view of Chinese food. She had a kind of fanatical worship of Chinese food, and when she heard the others talking about it, she couldn't help but chime in.

　Every country has its own unique characteristics.

　I used to think Chinese cuisine was the best in the world, but after learning about cuisines from various countries, I've discovered that their dishes all have their merits.

　Bai Yuan's voice rang out, but he did not overly affirm Hisako Shinto's words.

　When he was young, he thought Chinese cuisine was unbeatable, but now, as he gets older, he has gradually come to understand that there are always people better than you.

　Moreover, the truly skilled people are the chefs, not the cuisine of a particular country.

　If a country's cuisine, from ancient times to the present, is its body, then its chefs are its soul.

　A dish without a soul is just an empty shell, and a soul without a body will soon dissipate.

　The two complement each other and are indispensable.

　"Teacher Bai Yuan is right, this needs to be viewed dialectically."

　However, compared to China, our country's cuisine is indeed relatively weak, with very few representative dishes, and we still need to work hard to promote it.

　Erina Nakiri's voice rang out, and she could somewhat understand what Shirai had said.

　When she was a child, whenever she was eager to learn Japanese cuisine, her father would stop her and make her spend her time on foreign cuisine, especially French cuisine.