Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

Did you not come here specifically, but just happened to be inspecting the place and thus took action to resolve the issue?

It seems she was being a bit presumptuous...

Thinking back to her initial fantasies, Mito Ikumi couldn't help but blush.

"This field training should, in principle, be conducted in pairs, with each other discussing and resolving potential problems. You've worked so hard all by yourself, which is truly commendable."

Seeing that Mito Ikumi's condition was not quite right, Bai Yuan took the initiative to reach out and rub her head, his voice gentle as if he were coaxing a child.

"Actually, it wasn't particularly hard. After all, there were fewer customers in the first few days. Apart from feeling very anxious, everything else was fine."

Feeling the gentle warmth emanating from her head, Mito Ikumi wore an expression of enjoyment.

“Sometimes psychological anxiety is more unbearable than physical fatigue. If I had to choose, I would rather be physically tired than psychologically anxious. This time, the school really didn’t think things through and assigned such a shop to you.”

As Bai Yuan put his hand down, his voice rang out, and he began to criticize the school on behalf of Mito Ikumi.

"Actually, you can't blame the school. The more difficult the challenge, the more it can help people improve."

This experience has been valuable; I'll have a solution for the same situation next time.

Mito Ikumi gave Shirabuchi a bright smile as she spoke.

Thanks to Totsuki's arrangements, she had the opportunity to be alone with him.

Based on this alone, she felt she had hit the jackpot!

"By the way, you haven't eaten dinner yet, have you? I'll go make you something to eat."

As if remembering something, Bai Yuan got up from the sofa.

Mito Ikumi has been busy since noon and hasn't eaten anything except for drinking some water.

"Now that you mention it, I do seem a bit hungry. Let me help out!"

Upon hearing that Bai Yuan was going to cook at her house, Mito Ikumi hurriedly got up, rolled up her sleeves, and prepared to help him.

This is not only Alice Nakiri's goal, but also the goal of all of Hakubuchi's students.

I hope that I can stand by Bai Yuan's side until the very end!

Chapter 317 Improvisational Cooking: Golden Rice Cake with Botan Shrimp and Soft-Boiled Egg

"What are you going to do?"

As Mito Yuki followed Shiro into the kitchen, a hint of curiosity flickered in her eyes.

"Then we'll have to check what's in the refrigerator first."

As they were talking, Bai Yuan had already opened the refrigerator.

Perhaps because I don't often eat dinner at home, there weren't many ingredients in the refrigerator in the kitchen.

The leftover rice from last night was used to make golden fried rice with eggs and scallions.

There were seven or eight unpeeled peony shrimps, and the stove was well-stocked with oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and other condiments, in addition to some cornstarch and potato starch.

"We might be short of some things at home, or I'll go downstairs to buy some."

I remember there's a 24-hour convenience store downstairs. Just let me know what you need, and I'll be right back.

Seeing Bai Yuan frowning as he looked at the food in the refrigerator, Mito Ikumi quickly stepped forward and stood beside him, her voice inexplicably weak.

During this period, she only bought ingredients occasionally when she went home to practice making golden fried rice.

Most of the time, I just eat a fried rice at the restaurant to fill my stomach.

After all, she came here for a field study, not to enjoy life...

"No need, these ingredients are more than enough."

Upon hearing Mito Ikumi's words, Hakugen waved his hand to indicate that he didn't need them. He then took out the leftover rice from the refrigerator, along with eggs, botan shrimp, and scallions.

"Are you planning to make fried rice next? Let me peel the shrimp for you."

As if she had thought of something, Mito Ikumi stood next to Shiroyuki and took the plate of shrimp on the stove to her. With great skill, she picked up a pair of scissors and began to prepare the shrimp.

"Making fried rice all the time is too boring."

While these ingredients are suitable for making fried rice, they would also make other dishes quite well.

Now you can mix rice with a little starch and salt, shape it into small patties, and fry them until golden brown on both sides. Then, press an egg into the center and use the residual heat in the pan to cook it into a soft-boiled egg.

Bai Yuan explained as he began to demonstrate.

The shrimp in front of him is a peony shrimp, and the egg is a food-grade sterile egg, which is perfect for his creative cuisine.

This is also an essential skill for an excellent chef, enabling them to effectively coordinate ingredients in the kitchen and transform them into a perfect dish that is delicious, visually appealing, and aromatic!

"It sounds simple, but I wonder how it will taste..."

Hearing the explanation, Mito Ikumi was quite moved.

She then began to process the peony shrimp, which was quite difficult for her due to their small size.

"You'll see once you try it. I guarantee you'll want a second one after you've had one!"

As Bai Yuan spoke, he began to process the leftover rice from last night.

This step is very simple: just divide the rice into equal-sized rice balls.

This is to ensure that the dishes made later have a consistent appearance.

Color, aroma and taste.

The absence of any one of these three elements would be a devastating blow to a dish.

As a qualified master chef, Bai Yuan would naturally not make any basic mistakes.

Beside her, Mito Ikumi also found the trick, and her speed in processing botan shrimp became significantly faster. She deftly separated the shell from the body and removed the shrimp vein hidden on the back.

In just a few minutes, she had prepared the peony shrimp in front of her.

Mito Ikumi, in a boastful manner, placed all the peeled peony shrimp in front of Hakugen.

"You've done a very clean job, even paying attention to the details. Leave the shrimp heads and shells for now. Marinate the cleaned peony shrimp with lemon juice and salt for five minutes, and leave the rest to me!"

Seeing Mito Ikumi proudly present the peony shrimp meat, Hakugen stopped her from throwing away the shrimp shells and heads, and placed them on a plate on the cutting board for later use.

"it is good."

Mito Ikumi was puzzled by this, but she didn't say anything more.

She simply stood aside and followed Bai Yuan's instructions to marinate the peony shrimp meat with lemon juice and salt. Luckily, she had bought some fruit yesterday to try making fruit fried rice, otherwise she would have been helpless without any ingredients!

Mito Ikumi quickly marinated the shrimp, staring intently at Shirayu's actions, momentarily mesmerized.

Although it wasn't the first time I watched it.

But each time, she was captivated by Bai Yuan's profound and simple techniques.

It was a perfectly ordinary operation.

Using the same steps and the same heat, why is he able to make dishes of such exceptional quality?

But they just couldn't imitate it no matter what they tried!

Add butter to a skillet and pan-fry the shrimp over medium heat until both sides are translucent. Remove from the pan.

Leave some oil in the pan, add the shrimp heads and shells, and fry over low heat to extract the shrimp oil. Pour the oil into a bowl and strain it for later use.

"This shrimp oil smells so good! Its bright red color makes it look so appetizing!"

Pour the shrimp oil into a bowl and let it settle. It turns an enticing orange-red color. Mito Ikumi also leaned over and observed it. At this moment, she understood Bai Yuan's thoughts.

Because of the shortage of ingredients, he plans to make the most of the characteristics of each available ingredient.

The astaxanthin and amino acids in shrimp heads and shells are rapidly released when heated, and their umami intensity far exceeds that of MSG, giving dishes a depth similar to seafood broth!

Compared to vegetable oil, dishes made with shrimp oil can have their umami flavor elevated by three levels!

"As expected of Teacher Bai Yuan, he easily transformed this scrap into something magnificent!"

Thinking of this, Mito Ikumi looked at Hakuyu with eyes full of admiration.

Although it was just a simple operation, in her eyes, everything Bai Yuan did was impressive.

"Mix rice with flour, salt, and a small spoonful of shrimp oil, and shape it into a thick pancake about five centimeters in diameter."

As Bai Yuan added ingredients to the bowl, he explained things to Mito Ikumi.

Fry rice cakes in shrimp oil in a frying pan until golden brown on both sides. Press the center indentation, then crack a sterile egg into it. Cover the pan and simmer until the egg white is set and the yolk is semi-runny.

While waiting, Bai Yuan mixed together the meringue made from soy sauce, mirin, and egg whites.

"Ola Ola Ola Ola!!!"

Meeting Mito Ikumi's somewhat puzzled gaze, Bai Yuan took a breath, quickly exerted his strength with his Qilin arm, and directly used chopsticks to manually whip the mixture into a foamy state.

At this point, the main body of the dish is complete; all that remains is to assemble and plate the various parts.

For professional Western chefs, this is undoubtedly a required course.

Place the rice cake in the center of the plate, with the soft-boiled egg facing up.

Several peony shrimp were arranged curvedly next to the rice cake, their tail shells slightly upturned.

Next, pour a layer of incredibly fine soy sauce foam over both of them. Then, fry the shredded scallions in shrimp oil until they are crispy and fragrant. Pick them up with chopsticks and gently place them on top.

Finally, drizzle two drops of shrimp oil around the edge of the plate and spread it with a spoon.

"It looks alright, but it's still lacking something..."

Looking at the dishes in front of him, Bai Yuan fell into deep thought. Then he went to the windowsill and looked at the various flowers planted by the previous owner, quickly recalling their characteristics.

The next moment, she stepped on the pansies on the windowsill, washed them clean, and plucked a few whole petals to decorate the area next to the shrimp oil.

"Done, Golden Rice Cake with Botan Shrimp and Soft-boiled Egg."

Looking at the exquisite dishes in front of him, Bai Yuan let out a long breath.

As if sensing something, the golden rice cake with peony shrimp and soft-boiled egg in front of them had a faint shimmer on its surface the moment Bai Yuan finished speaking.

"Such a simple combination of ingredients can actually create a dish of dazzling brilliance?!"

Seeing the faint glow emanating from the dish in front of her, Mito Ikumi swallowed hard, her face showing disbelief.

"High-quality ingredients do enhance the creation of 'Luminous Cuisine,' but this is not the only factor. The chef's skill is more crucial; it is the key to transforming a dish."