Everyday Life Starting with Food Wars

"Sure, I can use the kitchen for a bit."

Hisashi made a gesture of invitation.

Chen Yuxing walked to the worktable, with Tadokoro Megumi following behind him. Although she didn't know what A-Xing was going to do, her hands had already begun to help him get the seasonings.

He first took a small pot, put in half a bag of salt, turned on the heat, and placed his hand on the salt to feel the temperature change. When it got too hot to handle, he turned off the heat, then sprinkled in a handful of Sichuan peppercorns and used the residual heat of the salt to roast the peppercorns until they were fragrant.

The moment the aroma of pepper exploded, everyone in the hall could smell it; that fragrance was completely different from that of packaged powder.

Pour the roasted peppercorns into a small sieve to remove the salt, let them cool, and then finely chop them with a knife.

Each cut is light and quick, the peppercorns are chopped into extremely fine particles, and the edge marks of each particle can be counted with the naked eye.

"This is sesame." Chen Yuxing pushed the small dish of crushed Sichuan peppercorns aside.

Next, process the tofu. Remove the outermost hard skin from the firm tofu, cut it into cubes the size of dice, and put it in a bowl of cold water for later use.

The beef was minced, but not into a paste; it retained a fine, granular texture. After all, you should be able to feel the presence of minced meat in your mouth, and it should have a crunchy texture when you chew it.

Next are the chopped chili peppers and fermented black beans. Cut the dried chili peppers into sections and roast them in a pan over low heat until they are fragrant and the spiciness is released but not burnt. Remove them and chop them finely. Finely chop the fermented black beans and mix them with the chopped chili peppers.

Turn on the fire, heat the wok, pour in the oil, and when the oil is about 60% hot, add the fermented bean paste and stir-fry until the oil turns red and fragrant. At the moment the aroma bursts out, throw in the minced ginger, minced garlic, and chopped chili peppers. The fire will then blaze up, and the sizzling sound of the pot can be heard throughout the entire hall.

Tadokoro Megumi watched quietly from the side, noticing that A-xing's hands had changed again.

His movements as he pushed the ladle were gentle yet quick, his expression one of intense focus, his lips slightly pursed, and his brows furrowing occasionally.

Add the chopped minced beef to the pot and stir-fry over low heat. Add a little light soy sauce, and the minced beef slowly turns into a crispy brownish-red color in the pot, separating into individual pieces, each coated with the aroma of soy sauce.

In another pot, he boiled water. When the water was steaming but not boiling, he poured in the tofu cubes, added salt and dark soy sauce, and simmered it over low heat. He kept his eyes on the edge of the pot, his hand resting on the heat knob, constantly adjusting the flame height to ensure that the water did not boil, because if the water boiled, the inside of the tofu would become porous.

Five minutes later, take the tofu out and soak it briefly in cold water. This step seals in the heat, tightens the tofu skin, and locks all the juices inside into the tender and smooth texture.

Put it in the pan again, this time to stir-fry the red chili bean paste, add fermented black beans, and add chili powder.

He poured the fragrant base ingredients into the beef and bone broth he had prepared earlier. Once the broth boiled, he added the tofu that had been previously scooped out, along with salt and light soy sauce. Then he began to slowly push the tofu—using the back of the spatula to gently push the tofu, ensuring that the broth could soak into every piece of tofu.

"The saying goes, 'Tofu needs to be boiled a thousand times, fish a ten-thousand-times.' Tofu needs to be slowly simmered in the seasoned broth to absorb the flavor."

As Chen Yuxing pushed the food, he said, "When you stir-fry the tofu by flipping it in the wok, although it doesn't look broken, the internal structure has actually cracked, and it will have a slightly grainy texture when you eat it."

Jiuwo Zhaoji did not refute.

After simmering over low heat for about eight minutes, the broth gradually thickened. Chen Yuxing scooped half a spoonful of cornstarch slurry to thicken the broth for the first time, stirred it well, and continued stirring. Two minutes later, he thickened the broth a second time, then added the minced beef and garlic sprouts. The bright green of the garlic sprouts softened as soon as they came into contact with the hot broth, releasing a slightly spicy aroma. He stirred it well, added the broth a third time, and then turned off the heat and served the dish.

After plating, sprinkle the previously roasted and chopped peppercorns on top, and drizzle with chili oil. The hot oil explodes with the peppercorns the moment it touches the peppercorns, releasing the final burst of aroma.

"It's done, have a taste." Chen Yuxing placed the spoon on the side of the plate.

Kuga Terunori picked up a spoon, scooped up a piece of tofu, and put it in his mouth along with the chili oil sauce, minced beef, and Sichuan peppercorn powder.

Then his eyes widened suddenly.

The numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns first explodes on the tip of the tongue, coated with a smoky, pulsating numbness that makes the lips tremble slightly, but not to the point of losing sensation. It's like someone has pinched your cheek with just the right amount of force.

Following closely is the spiciness. The spiciness of the slicing chili peppers and red bean paste intertwines and spreads layer upon layer. It's not a single burning sensation, but a spiciness with varying degrees of intensity. The spiciness released by different seasonings achieves a certain balance in the mouth.

Just as the numbing and spicy flavors were locked in a battle, the umami flavor rose from below.

The tofu is tender, the broth is rich, the fermented black beans are savory and salty, and the minced beef is crispy and crunchy.

These umami flavors completely disregard the struggle between numbing and spicy, flowing freely on the tongue and gently enveloping the taste buds that have just been stimulated by the numbing and spicy sensation.

Then there's the crispness—the crispness of the minced beef and the crispness of the crushed Sichuan peppercorns—which provides a crisp, crunchy sensation as you chew, contrasting sharply with the smoothness of the tofu.

Finally, the blanching is the essence of Mapo Tofu; one scald is worth three times the freshness.

The heat remained steadily throughout the entire dish, without dissipating, because the three rounds of thickening locked in the heat and broth of the food. Every bite was piping hot, just like it had come out of the pot, and the scalding sensation amplified all the previous flavors.

Hisoka Terunori's hands couldn't stop.

One spoonful, two spoonfuls, three spoonfuls.

He scooped up four spoonfuls before catching his breath.

"Spicy, numbing, fresh, fragrant, crispy, and hot."

He put down the spoon, the words he was mumbling barely audible, but his expression was one of utter shock, the kind that comes from the bottom of his heart. “The textbook-level six-word mantra. No, not just the textbook—the textbook only has the first five. Did you figure out the ‘hot’ part yourself?”

He stared at Chen Yuxing, his eyes shining like two stove eyes.

"And then there's the roasted Sichuan peppercorn powder and the three rounds of thickening—you've been telling me the same problem from the beginning: my Mapo Tofu is releasing too much water. Your solution is to use three rounds of thickening to turn the water that the tofu would naturally release into a concentrated broth. I never even thought of such a simple process."

He scooped up another spoonful and ate it, then slammed the spoon down on the edge of the plate.

"I've made up my mind! Chen Yuxing! Join me! With your skills, you could easily become the second strongest force in the Chinese Cuisine Research Association! No—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say you're number one. Tell me what you want: funding, ingredients, freedom in the kitchen, cooperation from the training team—anything I can provide—"

"Stop, stop, stop."

Chen Yuxing raised his hand to interrupt him.

"what?"

"The Mapo Tofu served by your bunch of bald guys doesn't even know how to thicken it three times, and the Sichuan peppercorn powder is all packaged. And if I joined them, would I get my head shaved too?"

Terunori Kuga paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Interesting! Interesting!"

He laughed so hard he almost fell over. "It's okay if you don't join! I'm overjoyed to know that there's a Chinese person like you in Totsuki's team! But—if you don't join, I'll keep an eye on you even more. If you're in good form next time, I want to have a match with you."

His smile faded slightly, and his tone became more tense.

"Food Wars".

Chapter 8 Dragon Beard Noodles and Crystal Shrimp Dumplings

It was almost dark when we left the Chinese Cuisine Research Association.

Chen Yuxing walked along the path lined with ginkgo trees toward Polaris Dormitory with his hands in his pockets. Tadokoro Megumi followed beside him, carrying her notebook, her steps lighter than usual.

"Ah-Xing, are you really not going to accept Kuga-senpai's last 'food battle' challenge?"

"No."

Chen Yuxing yawned. "That was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. He might forget about it in a couple of days."

Tadokoro Megumi tilted her head and thought for a moment. She felt that given Kuga Terunori's personality, this matter probably wouldn't be so easy to let go of. However, seeing Chen Yuxing's indifferent attitude, she didn't say anything more.

The old wooden building of Polar Star Dormitory glowed with warm yellow light in the night, and several figures were reflected in the windows. As soon as the two pushed open the entrance door, they heard Daigo Aoki's loud voice coming from the cafeteria.

"It's definitely going to be a battle between tonkatsu and tempura again," Tadokoro Megumi whispered.

Chen Yuxing pushed open the door to the cafeteria. The long table was already full of plates. Ryoko Sakaki was pouring rice broth for everyone. Yuki Yoshino was playing with a chick on her lap. Zenji Marui was reading a book and eating noodles in a corner. Shun Ibuzaki was still leaning against the wall. Satoshi Isshiki was still wearing his signature short apron and sitting in the main seat. Soma Yukihira was opposite him, and each of them had a plate of food in front of them.

"Oh! Ah Xing is back!"

Daigo Aoki was the first to spot him, holding half a tonkatsu cutlet in his hand. "How on earth did you manage to get an A+ in your French class this afternoon?!"

"And what's with Kuga Terunori's food battle?"

Shoji Sato also came over.

Chen Yuxing sat down at the long table, took the cup handed to him by Sakaki Ryoko, took a sip, and then began to speak from the beginning.

"In the afternoon class taught by Professor Chappelle, the topic was French omelet. The requirements were a smooth, unburnt outer layer and a semi-cooked, runny center. The judging criteria were only two aspects: shape and texture. I simply used a Chinese cooking technique of swishing the pan, filtering the egg mixture to remove any egg strands and air bubbles, and then stacking the omelet in the pan using a three-second heat-remove-roll-three-second heat-remove method. When it came out of the pan, the outer layer had an extremely thin, crispy crust, and when cut open, the egg mixture inside was just about to solidify, with a smooth transition from fully cooked on the outside to semi-cooked in the center. Professor Chappelle gave it an A+ after looking at the cross-section."

Marui Zenji's glasses nearly fell off his nose: "Professor Chappell—that cold-faced Chappell—gave an A+?"

“A+.” Chen Yuxing nodded firmly.

Ibuzaki Shun leaned against the corner of the wall and, for the first time ever, asked, "The pan-sliding technique? Is that the Chinese cooking technique where the pan is always on the fire but cooled down by shaking it?"

"Yes. Remove the pan from the heat source and let the egg mixture solidify with the residual heat, then put it back on the heat and repeat this process several times. This method can produce a crispy outside and tender inside effect, while preventing the surface from burning."

Ibuzaki Jun was silent for a moment, then said, "Applying the Chinese cooking technique of controlling the heat to French omelets is definitely an idea worthy of an A+."

"And then what?"

Yoshino Yuuki put the chick on the table and pounced on Chen Yuxing's side. "What's going on with Kuga Terunori? Why did you go to the Chinese Cuisine Research Association?"

"I took Ah Xing there."

Tadokoro Megumi raised her hand next to her, "After class in the afternoon, he said he wanted to visit the research club, so I made a list and ended up visiting the Chinese Cuisine Research Club."

"And then, my senior..."

She hesitated for a moment, then swallowed the last few words back.

"They let me try their Mapo Tofu. After I finished eating it, I asked a few questions. My senior asked me to make a plate myself, so I did. After he finished eating, he asked me if I wanted to join the research club. I didn't agree, and then he said that he wanted to have a food battle with me next time."

Chen Yuxing described the whole process as casually as buying a bottle of water at a convenience store.

"That's it?"

Daigo Aoki retorted, "You definitely omitted eight hundred words!"

“It’s true.” Megumi Tadokoro testified for him, “Ah-xing only corrected a few things about how to make Mapo Tofu—for example, the peppercorns should be freshly roasted and chopped instead of using packaged powder, the fermented black beans must be added to make the umami base, and the thickening should be done in three stages. After Kuga-senpai ate it, his face changed, and then he mentioned Food Wars.”

Isshiki Satoshi put down the cup of rice broth and chuckled, "You're probably the first person from Totsuki to say that his Mapo Tofu isn't authentic in front of Kuga."

"I was just stating the facts."

"So you really used cornstarch three times?"

Ryoko Sakaki asked curiously, "I watched my senior Kuga's public demonstration before, and he only thickened the sauce for his Mapo Tofu once."

"Tofu will slowly release water. If you only thicken the sauce once, the soup will become thinner towards the end. Thickening it three times is essentially about using starch to repeatedly lock in the water, turning the water released by the tofu into part of the sauce. This way, the sauce will still be thick and flavorful until the very last bite."

He put down the empty cup: "Oh right, and roasted Sichuan peppercorn powder. The aroma of the ready-made packaged powder has dissipated, so I roasted the dried Sichuan peppercorns with salt, then chopped them up and sprinkled them on."

Marui Zenji pushed his glasses up to his forehead, his expression completely serious like that of an academic researcher: "Dry-roasted and crushed peppercorns provide a sustained numbing sensation when chewed, while the numbing sensation of ordinary peppercorn powder fades quickly. The taste curves of the two are completely different."

Chen Yuxing nodded: "That's exactly it."

Yoshino Yuuki suddenly slammed her hand on the table and stood up: "After saying so much—can we try some?"

Everyone turned to look at Chen Yuxing.

"Yeah! You have to make that egg roll you got an A+ in class so we can have a taste!"

Daigo Aoki's voice completely drowned out everyone else's.

“And that Mapo Tofu with the sauce thickened three times!” Sato Shoji exclaimed.

Soma Yukihira peeked out from the other end of the table, his eyes full of fighting spirit: "No, I still want to try that crispy on the outside and tender on the inside omelet you mentioned!"

Chen Yuxing was surrounded by a cacophony of voices, and even Ibuzaki Jun, who was leaning against the corner of the wall, nodded in agreement that he wanted to eat.

Before he could even speak, Daigo Aoki and Shoji Sato had already grabbed him from either side and pushed him toward the kitchen.

“There’s not enough seasoning for Mapo Tofu. The cafeteria doesn’t have any broth, and they might not even have dried Sichuan peppercorns for roasting.” Chen Yuxing struggled for a moment, but Aoki Daigo’s arms, which he had developed from constantly tossing large iron woks, gave him no way out. “But we can make something else.”

"What are you doing?" Yoshino Yuuki's eyes lit up.

"I learned two new dishes a few days ago, but I haven't had a chance to try them yet. One is noodles, and the other is a dessert."

When he was wheeled into the communal kitchen, Megumi Tadokoro had already followed him and stood two steps away from him. She could sense the subtle change in A-xing's aura—from his languid demeanor at the dining table to his seriousness after entering the kitchen. The transition was almost seamless, as if they had passed through an unseen door.

"Do you need my help?"

"Yes, I need to get a large bowl and beat twenty eggs. Beat the whole eggs until smooth, no need to add water."

Chen Yuxing had already started rolling up his sleeves to wash his hands, "and then he's helping me prepare two pounds of high-gluten flour."

Tadokoro Megumi quickly got to work, grabbing a bowl, cracking eggs, and beating the eggs.

Her movements were very steady, and she would occasionally turn her head to look at Chen Yuxing while she was fighting.

He had already poured the flour into a large earthenware basin and used his hand to create a small crater-like pit in the middle.

"No water needs to be added to the egg mixture."

He poured the beaten egg mixture into the flour bowl, started stirring with one hand, and held the bowl in a circle with the other. The egg mixture and flour made a bubbling sound as they collided, and the golden liquid slowly seeped into the white flour layer.

"Use egg liquid to knead the dough."

As he kneaded the dough, he said, "The kneaded dough has an eggy aroma, and the gluten is a level higher than that of water-based dough. But the downside is that it's very difficult to knead because there's too little water in the egg liquid, making it hard for the gluten to form."

At first, the dough was like a pile of dry, loose sand, unable to stick together. Chen Yuxing's fingers moved back and forth in the flour, grabbing, pinching, pressing, and pushing it forcefully.

His forearm muscles tensed, and his entire shoulder was straining. The sound of kneading dough changed from a soft rustling sound to the dull thud of dough hitting the bottom of the bowl.

The loose sand gradually transformed into an irregular lump of dough; what followed was the real skill.

Chen Yuxing moved the dough pieces onto the work surface and began to push them with the heel of his palm, pushing them out, folding them back, and pinching the edges—a rhythm he had already demonstrated once last night when making three-egg shumai. But for today's dragon beard noodles, this technique required much greater intensity because the stretching process for dragon beard noodles demands extremely high levels of continuity and elasticity in the gluten; any uneven kneading will cause the noodles to break when pulled later.