Food Wars, my food not only glows!

　For a perfectionist like her, the lack of raw materials was truly agonizing, but she had no choice but to do her best.

　With the fish maw and fillings prepared, Erina Nakiri looked at the fish bone and chicken soup simmering not far away. It was just bubbling slightly and would be difficult to finish in a short time.

　So she decided to rest and looked at Zhuang Lei at the kitchen counter across from her.

　At that moment, Zhuang Lei had just finished killing the mackerel and was using a kitchen knife to scrape the fish meat off the bones.

　It is worth mentioning that mackerel has firm and delicate flesh, moderate fat content, and a tender taste after cooking, making it suitable for various cooking methods.

　Its unique seafood flavor and tender, rich texture make it the best choice for making dishes such as fish balls, fish dumplings, and fish cakes.

　What Zhuang Lei is about to do is to make fish balls, a Fuzhou specialty dish that is best suited to be made with mackerel.

　"Hahaha, let's take it apart!"

　Once he got into cooking mode, Zhuang Lei's eyes went wild, his hands became extremely violent, and the noise from the cooking counter was deafening.

　"Are you preparing to make fish balls?"

　"It certainly looks like that. I remember that guy just took a hairy crab. If I'm not mistaken, he probably wanted to make stuffed fish balls, and the 'heart' would most likely be crab roe."

　"Crab roe fish balls? Not many people know how to make this dish. It was once served at state banquets, and it requires a high level of skill from the chef. The taste is delicious."

　Now it all depends on Zhuang Lei's culinary skills; can he bring out the deliciousness of this dish?

　"The other Nagi contestant's dish seems to be of the same type, using fish maw as an outer layer and a mixture of shrimp paste and fish paste as a filling, similar to a sausage? A very creative idea!"

　Watching the two preparing the food, the judges on the judging panel started discussing it again, and Bai Yuan, watching from the audience, also found it very interesting.

　Crab roe fish balls are a classic dish, considered top-quality even in Fuzhou, a place where fish ball dishes are plentiful, making them perfect for a competition.

　On the other hand, Erina Nakiri's dish using fish maw is a less common method.

　Fish maw, as a type of fish offal, was discarded hundreds of years ago. Later, a starving person, having nothing else to eat, went to collect discarded fish offal and was surprised to find that the fish maw tasted even more delicious than the fish meat.

　So he made up his mind that he must open a restaurant that sells fish maw in the future. After five years of hard work, he finally launched the fish maw hot pot.

　Fish maw has thus become a well-known and popular dish. Due to its unique taste, many people have developed dishes specifically for it, and now its price is even higher than that of fish meat.

　Because it not only contains high-quality collagen, but also has a tender and bouncy texture, it has won the hearts of many people, and some people even can't eat without it.

　Using such ingredients to make the outer skin can perfectly inherit all its advantages, which is also Erina Nakiri's plan!

　A qualified chef should be able to quickly assess the properties of the ingredients they have and react swiftly.

　"Erina's progress in the past six months has been really remarkable."

　Beside her, Alice Nakiri sighed in agreement.

　She remembered that when she first came back, she had a match with Erina Nakiri. At that time, Erina's skill level was very low. She could easily beat her with any dish she made. She was not serious at all.

　But now, if she wants to defeat Erina Nakiri, she needs to be a little more serious.

　"Judging from the opponent's cooking techniques, their skill level is roughly between a first-class chef and a master chef. They are capable of making master-level dishes, but at most they are only at the beginner level of master chef."

　Observing Zhuang Lei's cooking techniques, Bai Yuan gave a rough evaluation in his mind.

　For a young chef, this level of skill is already quite impressive, and it's almost certain that he will become a master chef before the age of thirty.

　A master chef is a national treasure in any country!

　"As expected, none of the guys who made it to the main competition are simple characters. Even the most unreliable ones can perform exceptionally well."

　Bai Yuan said with a sigh, then looked at Nakiri Alice beside him, his eyes revealing a hint of anticipation.

　Alice's current strength is roughly between Special Grade One Star and Special Grade Two Star, which sounds impressive, but if you take into account her accumulation from childhood and her continuous refinement of her fundamentals, she should at least be a Special Grade Two Star expert, and Special Grade Three Star is not out of the question.

　However, her extreme lack of practical experience has prevented her from making any progress in her skills, which is one of the main reasons why he brought Alice here.

　At this moment, Alice Nakiri looked at the arena, her body trembling slightly, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on her lips, as if she were excited.

　On the field, as time ticked away, Zhuang Lei encountered his first challenge.

　He originally planned to use scallions and ginger to remove the fishy smell of the crab roe and add aroma, but now he has replaced it with onions and celery. He doesn't know if it will achieve the same effect.

　If scallions, ginger, and garlic are the three essential ingredients for removing fishy odors in Chinese cuisine, then carrots, celery, and onions are the three essential ingredients for pickling in Western cuisine.

　"No matter what, we have no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it now."

　He pursed his lips, a serious and determined look flashing in Zhuang Lei's eyes.

　In this situation, hesitation will not solve anything.

　Under limited conditions, no idea will become reality; the solution lies in making the most of the available resources.

　Having figured this out, Zhuang Lei no longer hesitated and chopped the onion and celery into small pieces.

　Pour peanut oil into a pot, sauté chopped onions and celery until fragrant, then add mashed crab roe and a little water and stir-fry until the oil is released.

　When the heat is almost up, add soy sauce and continue to stir-fry, allowing the soy sauce color to evenly coat the crab roe.

　"Alice, he just made a very obvious mistake. Can you tell me the specifics, and the others can think about it too?"

　Watching Zhuang Lei pour the crab roe into the wok, Bai Yuan frowned, then patted Nakiri Alice beside him, his voice carrying a questioning tone.

　As he spoke, he looked at the others around him; this test wasn't just aimed at her.

　"What mistake did you make..."

　Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Alice Nakiri snapped out of her daze during the match, then closed her eyes and began to recall the scene she had just witnessed.

　"The marinade isn't scallions and ginger? No, that's a problem with the ingredients, not the cooking. Professor Baiyuan's test won't be that simple."

　The thought crossed his mind, then he shook his head, carefully recalling every action Zhuang Lei had just taken, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.

　"The problem lies in the crab roe, right?"

　As Alice Nakiri spoke, she looked at Bai Yuan and revealed the crux of the problem: crab roe.

　"According to his method, the crab roe should be the heart inside the stuffed fish ball, but he crushed that heart too finely, resulting in no texture at all. The correct way is not to crush it, but to chop it up!"

　Alice Nakiri looked at Bai Yuan with a smug expression, inwardly praising her own cleverness.

　This is easy to understand. Fish paste itself is a term for something delicate. If crab roe has no texture at all, then why not mix the two together?

　"That's right. Perhaps to save time, or perhaps unaware of this, he chose to squeeze and crush it. The downside of doing so is that it loses its texture."

　Bai Yuan nodded in approval and patted Nakiri Alice's head as a reward.

　He likes to pose questions randomly like this to stimulate everyone's thinking. Having more of these kinds of segments helps them discover the flaws in their opponents' cooking during the competition, thereby improving their own expression in that area.

　This can effectively increase the chances of winning.

　It's a little trick.

　Use your spear to attack their weakest point.

　It can often kill with a single blow!

　On the field, Erina Nakiri was paying close attention to Zhuang Lei's every move. When she saw him crush the crab roe to save time, a smile appeared on her face.

　The enemy's weakness has been revealed; now she just needs to proceed step by step.

　As long as she can maintain the quality of her dishes, it will be difficult for her to lose!

　With this in mind, Erina Nakiri became even more focused. She absolutely didn't want to suffer the consequences of carelessness!

　In the first round, she should play it safe and not show too much of her strength. After all, she is still being watched by her opponent in the next round, and she doesn't want her weaknesses to be analyzed.

　Alice probably didn't use molecular gastronomy in the first round for this reason.

　The so-called Young Chef Competition does not necessarily guarantee victory just because you have the highest skill level. Although it is rare for the underdog to win, there are quite a few such cases every year, and each one can be called a classic!

　And that's precisely the fun of cooking competitions—you can watch the underdog rise to the top and witness the triumph of the strong; everything is full of unknowns.

　Erina Nakiri doesn't want to be the one who gets defeated by the weak; otherwise, aside from other people, Alice Nakiri will definitely laugh at her first!

　At this moment, Zhuang Lei's crab roe was cooked to perfection. Without hesitation, he poured in the cornstarch slurry, and the loose crab roe immediately clumped together. He then set it aside.

　"Next up is fish paste..."

　The crab roe was scalding hot and couldn't be processed immediately, so Zhuang Lei decided to process the fish paste first after placing the crab roe in a cool place.

　First, squeeze out the water from the fish paste. Then, add water that has been soaked with onions and celery, and put it into a blender in a 1:1 ratio.

　The fish paste made this way has a great texture and flavor.

　The high-speed blender mixes the fish paste with the onion and celery water, enhancing the flavor while also slightly removing any fishy smell.

　Once the two are mixed evenly, Zhuang Lei places the strainer on a large bowl, pours the fish paste from the blender into it, and presses it with a spoon to remove the tendons from the fish.

　This makes the fish paste smoother.

　Stir the filtered fish paste clockwise, add a little soy sauce to increase the saltiness, then add a little starch to increase the viscosity, and finally add some egg white.

　"You can't add starch first when making fish balls, and secondly, he added too much."

　The more common approach is to add a little salt at the beginning and stir clockwise until the mixture becomes sticky, allowing the saltiness to blend with the fish.

　Then add water and continue beating. Next comes the egg whites, and finally a small amount of starch. This amount must be carefully controlled, otherwise it will be too much.

　However, more importantly, the incorrect order has an irreversible impact on the taste of the dish. Don't follow his wrong method; fish balls made that way will definitely not taste good.

　"You're welcome at home."

　Seeing that the group was staring intently at the arena, Bai Yuan's voice rang in their ears, reminding them of the importance of the cooking order.

　Although adding starch can also make it more elastic, the texture is far from as good as directly mixing and beating. He has a lot to say about this because he has done a lot of research on this order.

　"Should we only add a little salt at the beginning, and then add other ingredients after mixing until it becomes elastic?"

　Hojo Miyoko succinctly summarized Shirabuchi's words: she had been the most serious about the Young Chef Competition from beginning to end.

　Because she loves Chinese food, she doesn't want to miss any details and absorbs the essence of the young chef competition contestants like a sponge.

　"That's right. The downside is that it's quite laborious at the beginning. You need to stir it at least 500 to 1000 times with a clockwise motion, and you need to keep adding water in between, and then add an appropriate amount of egg white. Finally, the starch is the finishing touch. Only in this way can you make chewy fish balls."

　Bai Yuan nodded and pointed out a flaw that wasn't really a flaw: for chefs, striving for perfection is their goal, and spending time and effort is just a condition.

　"Speaking of which, that guy added starch from the very beginning, and it looked very chewy after just a few stirs. Does that really make the fish meat chewy...?"

　Upon noticing the change in the fish paste in Zhuang Lei's bowl, Yoshino Yuuki exclaimed in surprise. Indeed, as Bai Yuan had said, adding starch could produce results very quickly.

　"That's the function of starch. After absorbing water, it becomes sticky and can naturally stick together quickly, but this is not the same as being able to hold together."

　Bai Yuan shook his head, realizing that he had overestimated Zhuang Lei. At most, this guy's cooking skills were only those of a first-class chef.

　Is there no one else in this competition? How did someone like this get into the main event? His actions are so baffling, didn't his mentor teach him the correct methods...?

　On the field, after processing the fish paste, Zhuang Lei started adjusting the crab roe filling, rolling it into small, dark yellow balls.

　Place the rolled crab roe balls in the refrigerator and freeze them slightly to set their shape. This makes them easier to wrap inside the fish balls. This is a little trick.

　"Won't the texture of the fish paste, which isn't cooked long enough, be terrible?"

　Mito Ikumi raised a question.

　"It's definitely not going to be any better."

　Bai Yuan shrugged. The deliciousness of a dish is proportional to the effort the chef puts in. Cutting corners will ultimately affect the dish.

　Place the crab roe balls into the freezer for ten minutes. When they are slightly set, take them out of the freezer and start squeezing fish paste to make fish balls.

　Soon, plump white balls jumped out from Zhuang Lei's tiger's mouth and landed in the cold water, looking exceptionally cute.

　"Put it in cold water? Why not use warm water to set it, like with pissing beef balls?"

　Watching Zhuang Lei put the fish balls into cold water, Mito Ikumi in the audience looked puzzled, then glanced at Shiro Awakening not far away.

　Bai Yuan did not disappoint her; after sorting out his thoughts, he began to explain.

　"This can actually be explained from three aspects: ingredients, structure, and cooking methods."

　"Ingredients, structure, and cooking methods?"

　Now, not only Mito Ikumi, but everyone else also turned their attention to him, looking at Hakuyuan with curiosity, all waiting for his answer.

　"The 'pissing beef ball' is mainly made of beef, contains broth inside, and has a relatively firm outer layer."

　Putting the meatballs into warm water can prevent the outer layer from solidifying too quickly, allowing the broth inside to heat evenly and maintaining the integrity and texture of the meatballs.

　Unlike regular fish balls, crab roe fish balls are mainly made of fish meat and crab roe. Fish balls made this way are more delicate, and the crab roe portion is prone to uneven heating.

　Putting the fish balls into the pot with cold water allows them to heat up gradually, preventing the outer layer from solidifying too quickly while the inside remains uncooked, thus preserving the tenderness of the fish balls and the freshness of the crab roe.

　Of course, there's an even more important reason...

　"There's a chance that adding hot water will dissolve it directly, am I right, Teacher Bai Yuan?"