Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

White miso is mixed with bonito dashi in a 1:3 ratio and left to stand in the refrigerator for 12 hours to fully activate the koji mold in the miso, resulting in a mellow sweetness.

Once both sauce portions are prepared, combine them thoroughly. Then, add a small amount of sake and olive oil, and emulsify by stirring in an ice bath. This creates a smooth texture similar to French sauces, while effectively preventing high temperatures from destroying the umami flavor compounds.

As Bai Yuan ate slice after slice of geoduck sashimi, savoring its flavor, a look of regret appeared on his face.

Although the food in front of me tasted good, I could still sense some obvious flaws.

"Following your method, the sauce's flavor can indeed be improved, but that requires time to prepare in advance."

If you had followed the normal booking process, I think that's how I would have handled it.

Cao Sandao nodded. He had considered the method Bai Yuan mentioned, but with time running out, he couldn't perfect every part.

"It's good as it is now; it has reached the level of a high-quality product in all aspects."

Upon hearing Cao Sandao's explanation, Bai Yuan nodded slightly in understanding.

As restaurant cuisine, reaching the level of luminous dishes is already quite remarkable, so naturally he wouldn't ask for anything more.

"This feeling is like the collision of the ocean and fire!"

As Bai Yuan put the last bite of geoduck sashimi into his mouth, a scene of crimson lava gushing from the seabed suddenly appeared before his eyes.

The millet peppers and fish sauce in the Chaoshan sauce transform into burning waves, enveloping the crisp and tender meat of the geoduck, forming a super dragon spanning the ocean and volcano.

The pungent sensation of chili peppers is visualized as the granular texture of volcanic ash, while the salty and umami flavor of fish sauce condenses into salt crystals suspended in the air, refracting a dazzling light!

"what!"

An invisible steam field erupted from Bai Yuan's body, causing his muscles to bulge high.

"A primal, wild flavor!"

Bai Yuan exhaled a long breath, a faint look of satisfaction on his face.

It's hard to imagine that such a remote little place could harbor a legendary five-star chef! Or even a six-star master chef!

"Let's move on to the next dish."

Seeing Bai Yuan's satisfied expression, Cao Sandao clapped his hands and then asked Shinobu Hisako, who was standing behind him, to bring up the next dish.

"This time the dish is called poached chicken."

Because the chicken is cooked without seasoning, its meat is white, and its skin is covered in yellow fat, preserving the original flavor and freshness of the chicken, hence the name "white-cut chicken."

As Hisako Niito put down the dish, Cao Sandao stepped forward and lifted the lid.

In an instant, a dazzling golden light burst forth from within. When the golden light dissipated, the dish inside revealed its form: Cantonese poached chicken, a dish that Bai Yuan was very familiar with.

Combining the geoduck sashimi prepared by Chef Cao earlier, the sauce uses the Chaoshan-style raw marinating method, resulting in a flavor that is both spicy and delicious.

This guy is most likely a chef from Guangzhou.

"The skin is crispy and the meat is tender, with blood still in the bones. The meat is cut through the bone but still connected when chopped. The 32 precise cuts even make the chicken neck look like it is holding its head up, which shows the exquisite knife skills."

Even Bai Yuan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration when he saw the poached chicken in front of him.

The wings spread out in a symmetrical fan shape, with each wing tip having a 0.5cm thin skin that allows light to pass through and reveal the subcutaneous jelly.

The chicken breast is sliced ​​diagonally into thin slices arranged in a fish-scale pattern, each slice being 3mm thick, revealing layers of pinkish-white meat and light golden chicken fat on the cross-section.

The leg meat retains the shape of a drumstick, the cuts at the joints are as smooth as a mirror, and the bone marrow oozes out a slightly amber-colored gelatinous substance.

Although it looks like a simple plating, it is a display of the chef's life's work.

"Now we'll see how it tastes."

Looking at the poached chicken in front of him, Bai Yuan didn't use chopsticks. Instead, he picked up a piece with his hand and put it in his mouth, chewing it in big mouthfuls.

He gave a thumbs-up as he spoke.

"White-cut chicken truly lives up to its reputation as a classic Cantonese dish. The chicken you used must be Qingyuan Ma Chicken, which can be described as a model of crispy skin and tender meat."

Savoring the exquisite flavors on his tongue, Bai Yuan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

The moment the teeth pierced the cold, goosebump-like skin, there was a cracking sound, like ice shattering.

The outer layer is crisp with a salty, crystalline texture, as crisp as a thin salted cracker. The middle layer of jelly melts on the tongue, releasing a fresh, mineral-rich seawater flavor infused with collagen. The bottom layer of fat glides across the palate like silk, leaving a nutty finish unique to Qingyuan chicken.

When your teeth sink into the tender meat fibers, the juices seeping out from between the muscle fibers first bring a sweet spring water sensation. After chewing for the fifth time, the unique umami amino acids of poultry burst forth, similar to the complex umami of matsutake mushrooms and dried scallops. A faint blood aroma wafts from the bone, like the sweet myoglobin of top-grade steak.

"After eating, they throw away the bones. Actually, most of them are eating poached chicken for the first time. True connoisseurs will suck the semi-solid chicken broth from the bones."

That umami bomb, infused with gelatin, is the soul of the entire dish!

As Bai Yuan spoke, he picked up the bone from the poached chicken leg and, with a little skill, neatly split it into two sections. Then he opened his mouth to savor the exquisite and unparalleled flavor.

The semi-solid bone marrow is like a chicken-flavored caramel pudding, with a richness similar to butter and Parmesan cheese.

As you savor the flavor, your tongue suddenly detects a hint of the earthy aroma unique to wild mushrooms, followed by an incredible sweetness reminiscent of sugarcane.

Chapter 309 Professional Technician Bai Yuan at Your Service!

"Judging from the taste of the bones, this Qingyuan Ma chicken is a free-range chicken raised in the woodland area, with a lingering sweetness similar to sugarcane..."

If I'm not mistaken, this is likely the result of fasting before slaughter, allowing the intestines to be emptied and purified.

Savoring the flavors of the dish, Bai Yuan suddenly spoke.

“You can taste this?”

Now it was Cao Sandao's turn to be shocked.

Judging the state of this Qingyuan chicken before its death solely from the taste of its bone marrow seems almost unbelievable!

"This involves biology and the professional tasting technique of sucking. Mastering these two things allows you to easily assess the state of food before it is slaughtered."

A few years ago when he was in Denmark, Shirai read all the books related to cooking.

Because I was so bored, I found a bunch of professional biology books by Nakiri Leonora and started studying them, learning a lot about biology.

Fasting for 12 hours forces chickens to deplete their liver glycogen, at which point the muscles begin to break down fat and produce ketones.

These ketone bodies form sweet precursors in meat, similar to caramelization, and undergo a mild Maillard reaction during slow maceration at 92°C.

This sweetness from sugarcane isn't a straightforward sugary taste.

Instead, it has a mineral sweetness similar to the aftertaste of fresh sugarcane juice.

"Hold the bone marrow at the front of your mouth and quickly tap the roof of your mouth with the tip of your tongue. The high-speed airflow brings out volatile aromatic substances. Sipping is a way to appreciate red wine."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's method, Cao Sandao fell silent.

He thought he had thought highly of Bai Yuan. But seeing the talent Bai Yuan displayed, he realized he had underestimated him.

This guy's talent is probably the strongest he's ever seen in his life!

"Learn and apply what you've learned."

It doesn't mean that learning wine tasting methods means you have to apply them to wine; you can use the same methods to taste soup, bone marrow, and even beverages.

Looking at Cao Sandao's appearance, Bai Yuan shrugged. This was just the most basic thing for him.

"Been taught a lesson."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Cao Sandao spoke from the bottom of his heart.

Learning should be applied in practice. If you confine what you learn to a framework and limit it to a certain scope, it is better not to learn it at all, so as not to restrict yourself.

"Let's move on to the next dish."

After quickly finishing the poached chicken in front of him, Bai Yuan looked at Cao Sandao.

For an ordinary person, the first two dishes would be enough to fill them up, but for Bai Yuan, he only felt a slight feeling of fullness in his stomach.

"Alright, bring it on. The next dish is braised vegetarian lion's head meatballs..."

Noticing Bai Yuan's gaze, Cao Sandao nodded slightly, then looked at Satsuka Nao behind him.

"coming!"

As she spoke, Nao Satsuka took two steps forward, placed the porcelain cup in her hand on the table, and the moment she opened it, a dazzling golden light emanated from it.

This is yet another dish that shines like a radiant light.

Time passes.

One dish after another was served to Bai Yuan's table.

The worst dishes were all glowing dishes, and the best ones even faintly touched the level of flowing light dishes, but ultimately they still didn't cross that line.

At this moment, Bai Yuan is enjoying the last dessert of the set meal, the Basque Cheese Quartet.

One type of cheese, three types of cheese, as soft as tofu, and when you poke it from the edge with a fork, the molten cheese filling slowly flows out.

"I really like this dessert; it perfectly embodies structural aesthetics."

Looking at the dessert in front of him, which had been scooped out with a large spoonful, Bai Yuan spoke sincerely.

This Cheese Quartet Spark uses the classic richness of cream cheese as its base, while the middle layer incorporates the cloud-like texture of mascarpone.

Starting from the third layer, the salty and savory texture of aged cheddar becomes more pronounced, topped with a thin layer of blue cheese, with a distinct mineral aftertaste.

The four layers of milk fat are arranged in a golden ratio at the molecular level, forming distinct yet mutually permeable structures.

"The layers of flavor spread in the mouth, and as one layer dissipates, another layer rises, making it irresistible to linger."

Savoring the flavors spreading on his tongue, Bai Yuan's face showed a satisfied expression, and then he scooped up a large spoonful and put it in his mouth.

Before long, the cheese quartet Spark in front of us was completely cleared out, and the meal was officially coming to an end, with only a fruit platter remaining.

"Very good food, please swipe your card."

Because he didn't have high hopes for Cao Sandao's cooking, Bai Yuan was pleasantly surprised when he tasted the glowing dishes.

Glowing-level cuisine has immeasurable market value and is often only available to people of high status and position, yet its price is not expensive.

"We're glad you enjoyed your meal. Please come again next time."

He took the card from Shirai and swiped it on the store's standard POS machine. After entering his PIN, ten million yen was instantly deducted from his account.

"I will definitely come again. It's hard to imagine that such a good chef would be in such a remote little shop."

Taking the bank card from Cao Sandao's hand, Bai Yuan glanced at the restaurant's outdated layout, then met Cao Sandao's gaze, his voice carrying a deeper meaning.

He had finally found a decent chef in Japan, and he wasn't going to let him go easily. He had to make sure the chef made a name for himself on the food war list!

"It's getting late, Hisako, let's pack up and go home."