Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

Savoring the exquisite flavors on his tongue, Bai Yuan looked at Erina Nakiri, who was smiling at him, and couldn't help but sigh.

If it were her in the past, she wouldn't have been able to make a Special Grade Two dish so easily.

As expected of the Tongue of God, its rate of progress is truly frightening!

"Hehe, this is all thanks to Teacher Bai Yuan's excellent teaching. Without Teacher Bai Yuan, I wouldn't have been able to improve so quickly."

Hearing Bai Yuan's praise, Nakiri Erina's mood became exceptionally good.

She was not arrogant, because she knew that without Bai Yuan's unreserved guidance, she could not have progressed so quickly.

"Your talent is the main reason; my guidance can only play a supporting role. Keep up the good work."

After trying your orange salad shrimp, next up are the braised dishes from Himeko and Alice's cream puffs...

After tasting Erina Nakiri's cooking, it was Alice and Hisako's turn to be served. Bai Yuan showed a curious expression and then went over to check on them.

"I sell cream puffs, and the key is the filling inside."

Seeing Bai Yuan walking towards them, Alice Nakiri revealed a mysterious smile and took out the perfectly baked cream puffs from the oven.

"The filling?"

Upon hearing her words, Bai Yuan turned his gaze to the baking pan in front of Nakiri Alice.

At this moment, several long, thin cream puffs are placed on the baking tray. The cream puffs are covered with a layer of pastry made of meringue and almond pieces, and inside is the filling that Alice Nakiri calls the core and key ingredient.

A typical cream puff is made by using water, butter, flour, and eggs to make bread, and then injecting cream or ice cream into the bread.

Of course, as times have changed, more and more ingredients have become available as fillings, which has led to the development of all kinds of cream puffs.

"The filling inside is custard, but it's not your average custard. You'll find out once you taste it."

Seeing the questioning look in Bai Yuan's eyes, Nakiri Alice began to explain mysteriously.

"An unusual custard sauce? Your words have piqued my interest. I'd like to see what's so special about it!"

Seeing Alice Nakiri's expression, Bai Yuan became somewhat interested. As he spoke, he reached out and picked up a cream puff, then put it in his mouth and savored it.

"I see. You used natural herbs from Africa and fresh milk as raw materials."

First, use high temperature to bring out the sweetness of the cream, then use low temperature to bring out the freshness of the herbs, and let the two blend together over time.

Whisk egg yolks with granulated sugar, then add cooled vanilla milk, followed by cornstarch and flour. Mix well in a bowl and then pour into a pot.

Add the butter while heating over low heat.

As for why the texture is so smooth, if I'm not mistaken, you probably first used a vacuum high-speed blender to completely blend the sauce, and then used a high-mesh sieve to press and filter it.

As he spoke, Bai Yuan opened his eyes, looked at Nakiri Alice not far away, and revealed the secret behind the smoothness of the sauce in front of him.

"That's right, when the diameter of a particle is less than 50 micrometers, the human tongue cannot detect it."

So after blending with a vacuum high-speed mixer, I filtered it through a 30-micron sieve to ensure the custard reached its optimal consistency.

Alice Nakiri's voice rang out.

This method of preparation was not her original idea, but rather borrowed from the way sauces are prepared in Western cuisine.

When cooking some milder dishes, the sauces need to be filtered to achieve a perfect balance between flavor and texture.

"I see! The delicate sauce bursts in your mouth, delivering an unparalleled sweet experience, and the secret to the crispy surface of the cream puff..."

Feeling the ultimate smoothness on his tongue, Bai Yuan sighed from the bottom of his heart, and then looked at the crispy shell on the surface of the cream puff.

"This is made by wrapping a sweet frosting with wet-whipped meringue and oily almond shavings on the surface of the cream puff."

Although it looks simple, I spent a whole afternoon experimenting, trying to find the perfect consistency for the batter in the oven, adjusting the hardness and temperature.

I compiled statistics on these issues, and by summarizing and correcting the mistakes, I created the perfect cream puff shell. Then, by adding freshly poured custard cream, I created this incredibly delicious cream puff!

Noticing Bai Yuan's somewhat probing gaze, Nakiri Alice began to speak at length.

This cream puff wasn't made in an instant; she spent an entire afternoon researching and conducting numerous comparative experiments before creating the perfect cream puff.

This is also their daily routine as chefs.

"It's very good, but the oven's heat is a bit uneven, probably due to the placement of the baking tray. We could pay a little more attention to that."

Looking at the oven that Alice Nakiri used, it's safe to assume that she baked the cream puffs on the middle rack, as this is the only way to ensure even heating.

However, because the heat emitted from the top and bottom layers is different, and one layer has a flaky crust while the other does not, the cream puffs should be moved up another half centimeter during baking.

This way, the top and bottom of the cream puff will be baked evenly, and the color will be more appealing.

"I see, so you even considered these details? As expected of Master Bai Yuan!"

When discussing food, Alice Nakiri always addresses Shirobuchi as "Master".

The reason is simple: respect for teachers and the importance of teaching.

"If the goal is just to achieve a top-tier grade, then we should focus on solving the major problems in the cooking."

But if we want to go further, those endless little problems must also be solved. Only by perfecting every detail can the dish truly shine.

Looking at Alice Nakiri, whose face was filled with admiration, Bai Yuan did not show much emotion.

This is something he's been saying all along, but I don't know how much she's taken to heart or whether she can actually put it into practice.

"Over the next period of time, I will work hard to improve this cream puff and try my best to make it a special four-star dish."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's rather meaningful words, Alice Nakiri's expression immediately turned serious, and then she nodded at him very earnestly.

She naturally understood what the other person meant; they were simply telling her to focus, concentrate on mastering one type of cuisine first, and then consider others.

After all, a person's energy is limited. If you learn a little bit of this and a little bit of that, you won't master anything and you won't learn anything in the end.

Instead of doing that, it's better to perfect one dish so that you can apply the same principles to other dishes and truly establish yourself in that field.

"Hmm, I'm looking forward to your last day of cream puffs."

Hearing Alice Nakiri's words, Bai Yuan knew that she had taken his words to heart, so he patted her head with a smile to encourage her.

"And you, Hisako, I heard you make medicinal braised dishes, that's quite surprising. Hurry up and bring them out, let me taste what they're like!"

As he spoke, Bai Yuan ran up to Hisako Shinto, who had been silent since earlier and was standing in the corner of the kitchen fiddling with her cooking.

Although medicinal braised dishes are not Hisako Akito's original creation, this type of cuisine is very rare, and those that are well-made are even rarer.

Therefore, when he heard that Hisako Shinto was selling medicinal braised dishes at her stall, Shirabuchi had the idea of ​​coming over to take a look.

"The braised food is quite popular, and most of it has already sold out. When I came back, most of the raw materials had already been sold out, but there was still some beef shank left."

Looking at Shiro Awaki walking towards her, Hisako Shinto said somewhat shyly.

It was supposed to be a medicinal braised dish, but the pot only contained braised beef shank, so Bai Yuan couldn't really appreciate the flavor of this kind of cuisine.

"Beef shank is great! I love beef shank! Can I have some cut to try?"

Seeing Hisako Shinto's awkward expression, Bai Yuan noticed that he had a pair of chopsticks in his hand.

"Then I'll get it for you."

Seeing that Bai Yuan didn't mind and even seemed quite expectant, Shinoto Hisako immediately perked up and quickly opened the pressure cooker in front of her.

In an instant, a rich aroma of braised meat wafted over.

This is a complex fragrance that is both calming and appetizing, neither overpowering nor dry, and the more you smell it, the hungrier you become.

The spiciness of star anise and cinnamon, the subtle beany aroma of astragalus, and the woody fragrance of angelica blend with the rich meaty aroma of beef.

Meanwhile, the sweet aroma of goji berries and red dates is subtly released during this process, like a gentle sweet breeze, which not only neutralizes the overpowering aroma of the spices but also makes the overall fragrance more harmonious.

"Braised dishes still have the best aroma!"

"After all, a lot of spices were used, and the beef shank was braised for almost ten hours, so the aroma is naturally rich!"

Smelling the enticing fragrance in the air, Bai Yuan wore an expression of enjoyment.

Meanwhile, Hisako Niito used a spoon to scoop the braised beef shank from the pot and place it on a cutting board specifically for cutting cooked food.

The beef shank, freshly removed from the braising liquid, is coated with an amber-colored, gelatinous sheen. The muscle fibers are subtly visible beneath the dark brown braising liquid.

With a light press of her fingertips, the girl could clearly feel the delicate balance of elasticity and suppleness within. It neither collapsed instantly nor bounced back stiffly.

Hold one end of the beef with your hand and cut against the grain. This will effectively cut the fibers and make the beef more tender.

The outer dark brown brine layer resembles the annual rings of a tree trunk, gradually lightening in color from the outside in. The translucent beef tendons crisscross, forming snowflake-like patterns, trembling and glistening with oil. The tender lean meat fibers are clearly visible, making it exceptionally appetizing!

Thick slices?

Hisako Niito cuts the slices into thick pieces about three millimeters wide. This makes them easier to chew and allows for a more satisfying and enjoyable eating experience.

Some parts are thickly sliced, and some are thinly sliced.

This way, whether you prefer thick or thin slices, you can enjoy what you like.

She cut half of the beef shank into thick slices and the other half into thin slices. Hearing Bai Yuan's mutterings, Shinoto Hisako stuffed the thin slices she had cut into his mouth with a faint smile on her face.

"This texture..."

When it enters the mouth, it feels like a piece of supple Xuan paper gently touching the palate, with a slightly cool surface, but the aroma of simmering is instantly awakened by the temperature of the mouth.

The tendon part is not hard and brittle, but rather chewy like jelly. When you press it lightly with your teeth, it resists slightly for half a second before obediently cracking open.

"Is it medicinal braised food? If I'm not mistaken, you should have added astragalus, angelica, goji berries, red dates, and spices to it."

The spices included are essential ingredients in braised dishes such as star anise and cinnamon...

Savoring the flavors on his tongue, Bai Yuan closed his eyes and then revealed the various herbs and spices used in the braising liquid.

"That's right, Teacher Bai Yuan, you're amazing! You were able to taste all the medicinal herbs I used in my braising broth just from that tiny piece of beef!!!"

Even Lady Erina, with her God Tongue, couldn't do that!

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's evaluation, Hisako Shinoto's face immediately lit up with a fangirl expression.

Even Erina Nakiri, who possesses the God Tongue, couldn't accurately determine the elemental composition of her braising broth from just a thin slice of braised beef; she practically told him the exact proportions!

"I can still manage to focus on tasting it."

Upon hearing Hisako Shinto's words, Erina Nakiri blushed slightly and retorted.

However, she knew in her heart that even if she were to carefully examine it and given enough time, it would be difficult for her to be as meticulous as Bai Yuan and directly describe the color of Shinoto Hisako's underwear.

"It seems that Hisako has made great progress recently. I don't remember teaching you these things. You must have learned how to make this braised dish from Master Ma."

Experiencing the details of the braised food, Bai Yuan was genuinely happy for Shinoto Hisako.