Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

With that in mind, he covered the marinated short ribs with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator to cool and rest.

On the other side, cut the high-quality bacon into strips and place them on a plate as a garnish and seasoning. Quarter the button mushrooms and place them on the plate as a side dish as well.

Having done all that, Lancy Jon turned his gaze to Bai Yuan. He had done everything he could, and now all that was left was to wait for the marinating process to complete.

This time can be shortened, but it can't be less than a minute, otherwise the flavor of the red wine won't penetrate at all, and it won't be red wine braised short ribs.

Waiting is a required course for every chef.

"Steaming fresh pork belly should also work, right?"

Seeing Bai Yuan skimming the foam off the pot, Lancy Jon couldn't suppress his curiosity and suddenly asked a question.

"Theoretically, it is possible, but during the cooking process, the flavors of scallions, ginger, star anise, and cinnamon will all seep into the ingredients, which adds another layer of flavor."

Of course, steaming also has its advantages; it can preserve the original flavor and freshness of the meat to the greatest extent...

At this point, Bai Yuan paused for a moment, then remembered the theme of their competition.

The essence of meat—wouldn't steaming be a better way to cook braised pork belly than simply steaming it to capture the essence of the dish? How come he only realized that now...?

"I understand, thank you for the reminder. I will use two methods to make braised pork to verify it. If nothing unexpected happens, steaming should preserve the original flavor of the meat better."

Remembering Lancy Jon's reminder, Bai Yuan had a look of sudden realization.

The senior chef was indeed a senior chef. Regardless of his culinary skills, his experience far surpassed that of the young man, and he immediately grasped the key point of the matter.

The theme of this match is the essence of meat.

"??! Ah, okay, I'm glad you understand."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's thanks, Lancy Jon was completely bewildered. He didn't know much about Chinese food and had only asked out of curiosity.

Wait, how did this guy suddenly achieve enlightenment? Is this what they call a genius?!

However, Lancy Jon was too embarrassed to say that he was just asking casually at this point.

He put on the air of a reclusive sage, nodding slightly in Bai Yuan's direction, as if it were all his deliberate act.

Bai Yuan didn't care whether he did it intentionally or unintentionally. He simply picked up the remaining pork belly from the refrigerator and started processing it, but this time he changed from boiling to steaming.

High-temperature steam cooks the meat, and the juices and fat that are released will remain on the plate and will not be lost.

These concentrated, flavorful broths can be poured back into the pot during subsequent cooking, making the braised pork belly even more flavorful and pure.

Meanwhile, steaming uses stable hot steam to heat the meat evenly from the inside out, resulting in a gentler heating effect. This process allows the pork belly pieces to maintain their shape very well, with a firm and intact texture.

Of course, the most crucial step is removing the fat. Pork belly is a cut of meat with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, and it has a high fat content. Steaming is more efficient than boiling.

After processing the pork belly and steaming it, Bai Yuan took the cooked pork belly out of the pot.

Although steaming pork belly theoretically brings out the true nature of the meat, everything must be compared, and practice makes perfect—this has always been his philosophy.

Remove the pork belly from the pot after removing the fishy smell, and make a cut on its surface to remove excess lean meat and make it square.

Then cut it into small pieces about two centimeters square; this is how you get good texture in braised pork.

Place the prepared meat chunks on a plate. Bai Yuan returned to the pot, turned up the heat to high, heated the oil, added rock sugar to caramelize it, and then added the meat chunks when it turned a light reddish-brown.

As a highly skilled master chef, Bai Yuan had a keen eye for timing. As soon as the caramelized sugar in the pot changed color, he poured in the braised pork.

In an instant, a crackling sound rang out.

This step is called stir-frying.

Because boiled meat has a lot of moisture, the moisture gradually evaporates during stir-frying, while the caramel color slowly infuses the meat, thus giving the dish its color.

Color, aroma and taste.

These are the three winning formulas for cooking.

A dish containing all three is considered a top-grade dish.

Looking at the reddish-brown meat chunks in the pot, with a lot of oil rendered out, Bai Yuan added star anise, cinnamon, scallions, ginger, and a small amount of light soy sauce.

"Caramelized sugar itself has a burnt smell. Adding light soy sauce at this point can eliminate most of that burnt smell. Then, add cooking wine from the side of the pot."

Seeing the curious look from Lancy Jon beside him, he wondered why Bai Yuan had added water so early when he was making braised pork. Bai Yuan, sensing the gaze, explained.

He discovered this dish at Alice Nakiri's house years ago. The braised pork he made back then had a strong burnt flavor. Although it tasted good, he didn't like it, so he made several improvements to the dish.

This is the result of his improvements.

"I see."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Lancy Jon showed a look of sudden realization. While marveling at Bai Yuan's action-oriented nature, he also gained a clearer understanding of his talent.

So many people consider the burnt smell as the authentic way to cook braised pork, but he directly developed a new method to remove this burnt smell.

Bai Yuan didn't notice Lancy Jon's expression and continued cooking on his own.

Pour in all the previously boiled water, add sugar and dark soy sauce for color, then pour it into a pressure cooker and add the cleaned dates.

"Almost salt and sugar..."

Bai Yuan scooped up some sauce with a spoon, tasted it, and savored the lingering flavor on his tongue. He then brought over the salt and sugar jars, added some salt and sugar, and nodded in satisfaction.

The other one was steamed, and the steps were the same for both, except that it was taken out of the pot a little later, with a difference of about ten minutes.

Of course, this does not affect the final tasting.

Bai Yuan placed the two pressure cookers side by side, then moved a chair over and sat down to rest, looking curiously at Lancy Jon who was preparing the next dish.

His short ribs were now marinated.

Next, take a frying pan and place it on a rack. Pour peanut oil and butter into the pan, heat it up, and then place the short ribs on it to brown the surface of the meat quickly.

"If you only use butter, it's easy for it to burn as the temperature rises, but if you add some vegetable oil, the two oils won't burn so easily when mixed together."

As Lancy Jon prepared the ingredients, he explained that the high temperature gave the beef an enticing brown color, and a rich aroma wafted out.

Under high temperatures, the moisture inside the beef is also locked in tightly.

"That way, there will be some oil left in the pan at the end, which is just enough to fry the bacon."

After sealing the beef, Lancy Jon scooped it out of the pot, then looked at the bacon on the plate next to him and naturally poured it into the pot.

As the temperature rises, the bacon turns a light golden brown, releasing a rich aroma. Lancy Jon nods in satisfaction and serves it, then adds shallots and mushrooms.

Once the surface was slightly browned, Lancy Jon quietly removed the frying pan from the stove, then took a regular frying pan and added butter and vegetable oil.

Add all the marinade ingredients to the pot and simmer over low heat until the surface is browned. Then add all the short ribs.

Then came the red wine.

As the red wine was poured into the pot and heated, a faint aroma of wine wafted out. Lancy Jon leaned closer and gently waved his hand.

The next moment, a look of ecstasy appeared on his face.

"That's the taste! The cooking time is just right!"

After muttering this sentence to himself, Lancy Jon poured in the prepared sauce and added some beef powder to enhance the flavor.

Once it boils over high heat, transfer it to a pressure cooker.

"I have to say that it's so convenient to have a pressure cooker now. Decades ago, before pressure cookers existed, it would take half a day to cook a pot like this."

Seeing that Bai Yuan had somehow appeared beside him, Lancy Jon's words became more teasing, and he also moved a chair over and sat down.

"Indeed, pressure cookers are very good. They can speed up the cooking process. In ancient times, they would have been considered legendary cooking utensils by local chefs."

Bai Yuan's words carried a hint of teasing.

Many of the convenient kitchen utensils available today would have been considered legendary in ancient times.

"Remember the Spirit Treasury among the eight legendary kitchen utensils? Don't you think it functions a lot like a refrigerator? A refrigerator with solar panels installed."

As Bai Yuan spoke, he thought of the legendary eight kitchen utensils, one of which was very similar to the refrigerator in modern society. It was sealed in Dunhuang and was used specifically for preserving food.

"I've also heard of the Lingzang Treasury. Throughout history, countless chefs have gone to Dunhuang, but none of them have found anything."

Some people even suspect that the legendary eight kitchen utensils were just idle embellishments by storytellers, and I actually think so too.

The food was already in the pot, and all that was left was to wait for it to cook. Bai Yuan and Lanxi Jon sat side by side and started chatting over the legendary cooking utensils.

"At least the Eternal Spirit Knife is real. It can help ingredients that have lost their freshness regain their freshness, but it only works on seafood. It is truly an incredibly magical kitchen tool."

Thinking of the Eternal Spirit Blade in its sheath at his waist, Bai Yuan's words were tinged with emotion. This blade was truly excellent; no matter how long seafood had been stored, it could restore its freshness as long as it was cut.

"I've heard of the wonders of the Eternal Spirit Blade, but I've never seen it. It seems that a young genius conquered that blade in Guangzhou."

It's said that a real dragon coiled around him that day, which was quite impressive. However, I feel that's a bit of an exaggeration; how could such a magical kitchen utensil exist in the world?

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Lanxi Jon looked up at the ceiling.

At his level, it's difficult to improve further through regular cooking training, so he prefers to rely on external tools, and the legendary kitchen utensils are what they desire most.

But as much as they longed for it, they also understood that such magical kitchen utensils could not possibly exist in the world; they were beyond the realm of physics.

Only a few extreme individuals would believe in and aim to find the legendary kitchen utensils, but if they don't exist, they simply don't exist.

They often search for many years without finding it, only to suddenly realize the truth in the end.

There really are no legendary kitchen utensils in this world.

"Who knows?"

Seeing that Lancy Jon was unaware that he was the recipient of the Eternal Spirit Blade, Bai Yuan didn't say anything more.

After all, the fact that the Guangzhou Culinary Association hasn't made any public statement proves that this matter is not suitable to be spread abroad, so he wouldn't be a leaker.

“Smells so good.”

The rich aroma emanating from the dish filled the air, and Alice Nakiri and the others, who had been waiting outside, looked on with anticipation. This smell was so tempting!

"It will taste even better later."

Hearing the girls' whispers outside the kitchen, Bai Yuan couldn't help but move closer, his voice laced with a hint of seduction, which only heightened their anticipation.

"Without further ado, hurry up and serve it!"

Megumi Tadokoro, Yuuki Yoshino, and the others went downstairs to watch the match, while Erina Nakiri, Hisako Shinto, Ikumi Mito, and Miyoko Hojo stayed behind.

The speaker was Erina Nakiri, who could clearly feel her God Tongue cheering with joy, obviously eager to taste the braised pork in the pressure cooker.

As for the red wine braised short ribs on the other side, perhaps because they had just been put into the pot, the aroma hadn't yet been released, so she didn't feel it very strongly.

"No matter how anxious you are, I can't speed things up. Just wait patiently."