Food Wars, my food not only glows!

　The aroma wafts up as soon as you scratch it!

　"Oh right, I almost forgot about you."

　Looking at the lonely gardenia on the counter, Bai Yuan threw it into the soup pot to add color to the dish and make it look better.

　This refers to the color in the phrase "a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate".

　Bai Yuan only added sugar, salt, dark soy sauce, and caramel coloring once.

　With his super sense of smell and super sense of touch, he can often add enough ingredients in one go, without needing to add seasonings again.

　This is also the source of his ability to create luminous dishes, polishing every inch of detail to the extreme!

　After processing the ingredients, Bai Yuan opened the pressure cooker and poured all the ingredients from the wok into it, ensuring that the broth did not completely submerge the ingredients.

　This is called stewing.

　If the amount exceeds the amount of ingredients, then it is called stewing.

　Although they look very similar and have some similarities in their methods, they are actually quite different.

　Otherwise, there wouldn't be two different names for it.

　Besides the preparation method, the cooking time also varies greatly.

　Traditionally, beef should be braised slowly over low heat, allowing time to perfect its flavor. Using a pressure cooker is, in a sense, a shortcut, but also, in a sense, a way of utilizing technological innovation.

　Although the braised beef prepared in this way doesn't taste as good as the traditionally made braised beef, it's still a top-notch, radiant dish.

　Because all the other details have been polished!

　If made using traditional methods, it would take at least three hours to prepare. That method is suitable for competing against experts, but not for taking exams.

　In short, let's focus on completing the assessment requirements first.

　Bai Yuan's gaze swept across the arena, observing the situation of the other contestants. At this moment, most of the cooking stations in the room were already in operation.

　Only a few cooking stations were empty, probably because there weren't enough people taking the top-level assessment. I wonder what it's like when there are usually so many people? Will the people who arrive later not get a cooking station at all?!

　Thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem impossible, since the main purpose of the top-level assessment is selection.

　It's only natural that the latecomers, who were slow in selecting ingredients and not as good as the other contestants, ended up having no leftover cooking station and were eliminated!

　"Beef, squid, rice, and squid ink were also prepared."

　Besides that, there's chicken broth and beef bone stock simmering in the pot. Are you preparing to make Spanish-style beef paella?

　Looking at the various ingredients in front of him, Bai Yuan immediately guessed what Kakuzaki Taki was cooking, and stood beside him talking about it.

　"You...that's right, you're not at your own work station, what are you doing here?"

　Kakuzaki Taki, who was cooking, was startled when he was suddenly spoken to. He looked up in annoyance, about to curse, but when he realized it was Shirabuchi who had come, he asked in a somewhat irritated manner.

　"I'm almost done. It'll be ready in another hour. Good luck to you."

　Then there's the west.

　For Spanish-style beef paella, it's better to use round-grain rice because Spanish paella tends to have a higher proportion of broth.

　A four-star chef once wrote in his autobiography that during his childhood, he experimented with dozens of types of rice and finally discovered that round-grain rice absorbed the broth better, creating the perfect paella.

　Looking at the ingredients on Kakuzaki Taki's table, Bai Yuan couldn't help but remind him that he had seen them in a magazine and then tried them out of curiosity. He found that round-grain rice did absorb soup better than pointed-grain rice.

　The round-grain rice, soaked in broth, blends perfectly with the ingredients used in the cooking process in terms of both texture and flavor – this is Spanish paella!

　"This is the roundest rice I can buy around here. All the others are diamond-shaped. Who knew we had to bring our own ingredients for the cooking competition! The organizers provided everything where we are!"

　Kakuzaki Taki pouted, his voice sounding dissatisfied as if he were complaining. Logically speaking, the organizers should have consulted with the contestants in advance and prepared all the ingredients in advance so that they could cook on-site!

　Their chefs are here to participate in a culinary assessment! Skill is the most crucial thing, not running around preparing ingredients themselves and almost getting lost because they're unfamiliar with the area...

　"Guangdong Culinary Association has its own considerations, and it has given you plenty of time. It's impossible for round-grain rice not to be sold in Guangzhou; you just haven't looked in enough places."

　Bai Yuan now understood why Kakuzaki and the others had arrived earlier than him. They had been slacking off. Round-grain rice wasn't uncommon, and even if one rice shop happened to be out of stock, other shops would definitely have it.

　"I'd like to, but I don't know the way..."

　Kakuzaki Taki blushed. In the vast city of Guangzhou, she could only painstakingly search for the rice shop by asking passersby one by one, as she couldn't understand the map.

　She finally found a shop, but it didn't sell what she wanted yet, and she couldn't spend all her time looking for rice shops because she still needed to buy other ingredients.

　Therefore, her strategy was to buy the essential ingredients first, and if she couldn't find them, she would buy cheaper alternatives, and then think of other ways to get the rest.

　"This is a little bit off, that is a little bit off, and in the end, it's a big difference. Cooking is not something to fool people. You clearly have a lot of time!"

　Even if you're looking for a replacement, it has to be done when you really don't have time, or you can't find one, or you've already done your best.

　However, the truth is, you arrived even earlier than me and must have spent quite a while at the scene, without actually putting in any effort to look!

　Having taught Alice Nakiri for many years, Shirabuchi has developed a unique teacher's aura, and has also acquired occupational hazard.

　He was furious at Kakuzaki Taki's lack of genuine care for cooking. Cooking is not something that can be done casually!

　As he continued to mutter this, Kakuzaki Taki's face visibly darkened, but he didn't know how to refute it, so he could only lower his head and let him talk like a child who had made a mistake.

　"Never mind, I was just being nosy. Don't take it to heart, just pretend I didn't say anything."

　Seeing Kakuzaki Taki's aggrieved look, Bai Yuan suddenly realized that this girl was not his disciple, and he had no right to reprimand her.

　Once he understood this, his expression became somewhat awkward, but he didn't regret saying those words, because it could change a chef's life!

　If you can listen, you can go further; if you can't, then your life will end here.

　Being a top-tier chef isn't something you can just achieve casually. Even in Japan, top-tier chefs are selected through a rigorous process!

　"No, you're absolutely right!"

　I did have the thought of backing down when I heard you mention the second round of the Guangzhou Special Grade Assessment.

　So I was a bit casual when choosing materials, and at the same time I kept telling myself that failing the Guangzhou top-level assessment was not my problem, but the absurd exam regulations, and that I didn't know the way and lacked materials.

　In reality, there are many other solutions, but I don't want to... or more accurately, I'm afraid to try them.

　I'm afraid that even if I find all the ingredients, I won't be able to pass this first round of testing... that would shatter all the belief I've built up over the years.

　Kakuzaki Taki suddenly raised her head, a tear stain on the corner of her eye. This was the first time she had been reprimanded since becoming one of the Elite Ten of Totsuki. She was being scolded for her cowardice and her ridiculous pride. She looked extremely unpleasant!

　"I understand now."

　Running away won't solve anything. I'll buy new ingredients, face the assessment head-on, and then cook the best dish I can!

　Kakuzaki Taki looked at Shiroyuki's face and said seriously, word by word. Then he looked at the broth simmering in the pot, calculated the time in his mind, and ran out.

　"You actually made that Kakuzaki-senpai cry! You're amazing, senpai!"

　Watching Kakuzaki Taki run off, Kikuchi Sonoka, who was at the next kitchen counter, couldn't help but peek out with a surprised expression.

　This was the first time she had ever seen that senior, Kakuzaki, cry, especially after being scolded. Usually, she was the one bullying others!

　Unfortunately, that scene was too short to capture on film, which is a real shame.

　Kikuchi thought with a hint of regret, then saw Shiroyuki come up to her, stand silently in front of her kitchen counter, and then sigh.

　………………

　“Private Marseille with red bean paste!”

　Kikuchi's face flushed slightly, and she bowed at a ninety-degree angle, revealing her ample figure.

　She sincerely apologized for her mistake regarding her career line.

　After saying that, she jogged away from the assessment site to buy the new ingredients needed after Bai Yuan's reasoned analysis.

　Bai Yuan watched her retreating figure and couldn't help but purse his lips. He finally said it: this guy's cooking was terrible, with all sorts of problems with the details.

　While it might be considered delicious to the average person, it would be a complete failure for a professional chef!

　It seems that the weakest one in this Guangzhou top-level assessment is this young girl who just got promoted to first-class chef in Japan!

　"What happened? Did he just get someone to give up the match with just a few words?"

　Several Guangzhou chefs at the surrounding counters noticed this scene and immediately looked at each other in bewilderment, because Bai Yuan's voice was not loud enough for them to hear their conversation.

　All I know is that the girl blurted out a sentence in Japanese, then suddenly bowed at a 90-degree angle and ran out just like the girl before her.

　"Organized crime?"

　"What exactly did he say to them...?"

　Swallowing hard, he watched Bai Yuan wandering around aimlessly. The surrounding chefs kept a close eye on him, while also protecting their dishes, afraid that he would sabotage them.

　However, they were indeed overthinking it. Bai Yuan didn't say a word the whole time, only glancing at them casually before walking back and forth.

　Seeing that he wasn't causing any more trouble, Ma Mei stopped trying to stop him and stood silently watching him walk back and forth, feeling somewhat puzzled.

　Why is this guy not cooking for himself, but just wandering around like an exam proctor?

　Just now, I suddenly ran over and talked to those two girls, and after I finished talking to them, they gave up the competition. One of them even cried? What's going on?

　Not only the chefs around her, but Ma Mei was also very curious. However, she was reluctant to ask because of her status. She didn't know why her brother valued her so much and even asked her to take special care of him.

　Thinking of her brother, who was the head chef at the "Tianfu" restaurant, Ma Mei couldn't help but sigh. He was a good man in every way, but unfortunately, he was henpecked.

　It's one thing for her to be henpecked, but the real problem is that her sister-in-law is a terrible person. She can't distinguish right from wrong at all, and is good for nothing except for being pretty.

　The two argued a lot because of this, and the older brother ended up caught in the middle, not pleasing either side.

　As if recalling some unpleasant memory, Ma Mei couldn't help but frown, and after a long while, she let out a soft sigh.

　"It seems that while there are some opportunists here, there are also genuine chefs who are giving their all to pass the top-level assessment!"

　The man, known as Iron-Armed Amu, is wielding a 20-pound iron bar and is pounding a beef hind leg in front of him at a rate of over 100 times per minute.

　Before beating, the surface fascia needs to be removed, otherwise it will affect the texture of the beef balls and reduce their quality.

　Secondly, the time for making beef balls should be controlled within half an hour; otherwise, the collagen will be lost quickly, affecting the taste.

　In addition, when making beef balls, the fascia inside the meat will gradually be exposed, and it is necessary to quickly remove them with a metal skewer.

　Seasonings and ice water are added during the process, and the beef balls are made firm and elastic by pounding them, with a smooth surface, sticky texture, and a firm and elastic feel.

　Bai Yuan nodded secretly, realizing that this guy was really good at making beef balls.

　Aside from a few overly meticulous details, this was made to the standards of a luminous dish, with every step handled very well.

　Of course, it's precisely because the deeper details weren't handled well that this Chaoshan beef ball dish could never become a shining dish! This is related to the person's personality.

　If Iron-Armed Amu wants to create glowing beef balls, what he needs most is not to keep making them, but to immerse himself in the world, to travel and hone his skills for a period of time, and to elevate his soul before he can succeed.

　"A blond-haired, blue-eyed Frenchman came to China because he disliked the armbands of his own country. Each of them had a steak on the table, and the ingredients were the same."

　Judging from the ingredients, what they made was unsurprisingly the Diana steak, a must-order for French couples on dates, with over a century of history.

　Are they planning to make the same dish, hoping to win by playing it safe? Normally, it should be fine, but unfortunately, the steaks on the two tables are different.

　Because there aren't many shops selling Western cooking ingredients in Guangzhou, by the time the two of them gathered all the necessary ingredients and returned to the restaurant, only one portion of ribeye steak, the perfect cut for Diana steak, was left.

　Looking at the two who had finally managed to prepare all the ingredients and rushed to the competition venue, and the ribeye and sirloin on their tables, Bai Yuan sighed inwardly.

　The so-called upper loin is actually the cut of beef used for sirloin steak.

　Although this is also a cut of Diana steak that can be used, the taste difference compared to ribeye is enormous.

　The so-called "eye meat" does not actually refer to the meat under the cow's eyes. It is located at the front of the cow's back, connecting to the brain at the front and the outer loin at the back.

　The cross-section of the whole piece of meat is oval-shaped with a ring of white fat, which looks like an eye, hence the name ribeye.

　After watching for a while, Bai Yuan shifted his gaze elsewhere and saw the mature woman from before. She was making Huaiyang cuisine, combined with some Cantonese cooking techniques, and it was a beef stew!

　In addition, there are several others who are not known to the outside world

　Despite various factors, the chef was focused and on his best, creating a very tense atmosphere!

　The Guangzhou Special Grade Chef Examination was reformed decades ago due to various reasons, such as the large number of people working in the culinary industry. It was changed from being held every four years to being held every year.

　This has led many people to believe that the difficulty has been reduced, and they want to take advantage of the situation.

　But how could the Guangdong Culinary Association give them this opportunity? Apart from shortening the interval between the two assessments, everything was done according to the original specifications.

　Only when one possesses sufficient culinary skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities, along with the ability to discern the quality of others' dishes and maintain a chef's pride and self-respect...

　Only people like this can be called master chefs!

　Thinking of this, Bai Yuan strolled back to his cooking station.

　Then he kicked the man who was loitering around his cooking station, preparing to slam the blower on and ruin his cooking, his face frighteningly cold.

　Chapter Sixty-Four: Beef Stewed Like Glue! Pass!