Everyday Life Starting with Food Wars

His movements as he pushed the dough faster and faster, he could feel the dough's firmness gradually transforming into elasticity under his palm. There was resistance when he pushed it out, but when he folded it back, that resistance became elasticity and bounced back onto his palm—this was a signal that the gluten network was gradually taking shape.

The whole process lasted nearly twenty minutes, during which there was no sound in the kitchen except for breathing and the muffled sound of dough hitting the work surface.

Push, pull back, pinch, push, pull back, pinch—his arm movements were like a precise dough kneading machine, with an astonishingly steady rhythm.

The dough was finally kneaded into a smooth, pale yellow ball with a light golden sheen from the egg wash, and no cracks or particles were visible.

Tadokoro Megumi watched from the side the whole time. Her notebook was open on the side of the workbench, filled with several lines of writing. She would occasionally look down and write a couple of lines while Chen Yuxing was kneading the dough, but most of the time she would stare blankly at his technique. She noticed that the arc of the dough he pushed was slightly different when kneading different things—he pushed it very lightly and for a short time when making shumai wrappers, and he pushed it very deeply and for a long time when making dragon beard noodles.

"Let's make the dough."

Chen Yuxing covered the dough with a damp cloth, then turned to Tadokoro Megumi and said, "Then while the dough is resting, make the shrimp dumpling filling."

Dragon beard noodles themselves don't have any filling, but they are a complete dish when paired with a rich and flavorful broth. He plans to use the concentrated bone broth he received as a reward from a previous mission, along with the filling from crystal shrimp dumplings as a topping. Dragon beard noodles will be the main dish, and shrimp dumplings will be the dessert, making two new dishes in one pot.

I dug out the concentrated bone broth that I had previously won as a reward from "The Book of Cookery" from the cupboard.

The small package was opened, revealing a dark brown concentrated paste. Upon closer inspection, the rich aroma of bone marrow filled the nostrils. He placed a deep pot on the stove, poured in the broth paste, added water, and simmered it over low heat. In less than five minutes, the white broth slowly rose to the surface, becoming clear but not cloudy, and a unique oily aroma, characteristic of simmered bones, filled the air.

"The filling for shrimp dumplings needs to contain water chestnuts."

Chen Yuxing glanced at the vegetable display case. "If you don't have any, you can use crisp lotus root."

Tadokoro Megumi found a few sections of lotus root, washed them, and chopped them into small cubes. This time, she didn't hesitate and cut the lotus root slices much faster than yesterday.

Chen Yuxing glanced at it from the side and said, "The lotus root cubes can be a size smaller." She then picked up the knife again and chopped the cubes a second time, making each one the size of a grain of rice. They were crunchy but not abrupt.

The main ingredient in shrimp dumpling filling is fresh shrimp.

Remove the shells and veins from the shrimp, pound them with the back of a knife, and then crush them with the belly of the knife until they become sticky. After the shrimp paste is crushed, Chen Yuxing adds a spoonful of broth, a little salt, a little white pepper powder, and a little sesame oil. Stir in one direction until the filling is firm and sticky enough to stick to the tip of a chopstick without falling off. Then add the diced lotus root and minced fatty and lean meat and mix well. Put the whole bowl of filling in the refrigerator to chill for later use.

After the dough had rested, Chen Yuxing lifted the damp cloth. The rested dough was noticeably softer and shinier than before, and when pressed with a finger, it would slowly spring back. Its elasticity was a step up from when it was kneaded.

Then comes the core process of making dragon beard noodles – pulling the noodles.

The name "Dragon Beard Noodles" comes from the fact that the noodles are as thin as dragon whiskers. They are made by repeatedly stretching and pulling the noodles to form tens of thousands of fine strands, which requires a very high level of skill from the noodle maker.

Chen Yuxing flattened the dough, rolled it into a thin sheet, and then cut it into several thick strips. He picked up a strip, pinched both ends with his hands, and stretched it out with force. The strip was stretched to the width of his arm span. He crossed it, stretched it again, crossed it again, and stretched it again. Each crossing doubled the number of strips, and each stretch made the strips thinner.

At first, there were four noodles, then eight, then sixteen. The noodles seemed to come alive in Chen Yuxing's hands, becoming thinner and thinner without breaking. As he stretched, he sprinkled dry flour to prevent sticking, and his fingers slid across the surface of the noodles, alternating between thick and thin, to feel the tension.

If the tension on one surface is too high, the stretching speed should be slowed down; if it is too low, the stretching speed should be increased.

This kind of tactile judgment relies entirely on touch, and no instrument can replace it.

By the ninth round of stretching, the noodles on the table were as thin as hair. Hundreds of pale golden strands were neatly arranged on the worktable, gleaming with a soft egg-yellow luster under the light, each strand distinct and without any sticking together.

Tadokoro Megumi was helping him tidy up the stretched noodles, her movements very gentle, as if afraid of breaking them.

She carefully arranged the strands of noodles, her fingers digging into the translucent strands.

The surface of the noodles was as smooth as silk, but the elastic tension underneath was clearly transmitted to her fingertips.

"These noodles... are still firm, but not stiff at all," Tadokoro Megumi exclaimed in surprise.

"This is the effect of mixing egg liquid with dough. Once the gluten network is formed, the surface will be very slippery, but the internal structure is very stable, and the ultimate tensile elasticity is also higher than that of water. If you stretch it to this fineness, ordinary water would break long ago."

He put the stretched noodles into boiling water to blanch them, and after about eight seconds, he immediately took them out and cooled them in ice water.

Blanch the thin noodles and put them into a bowl. Pour hot, rich bone broth over them. The oily aroma of the broth rises with the steam, enveloping the noodles in the eggy fragrance.

Chen Yuxing chopped a small handful of scallions and sprinkled them on the noodles. The white soup, golden threads, and green scallions were layered together, and the aroma had already spread outside the kitchen.

The process of making crystal shrimp dumplings follows immediately.

The shrimp dumpling wrappers are made with wheat starch, which has no gluten, and the kneading method is completely different from that of ordinary dough.

Use boiling water to scald the flour. The wheat starch will instantly gelatinize and become transparent when it comes into contact with boiling water. Then add a little bit of cornstarch and knead until smooth. The resulting dough is translucent with a warm, soft sheen. Roll it into a thin, round wrapper, thicker in the middle and thinner at the edges. Wrap the chilled shrimp filling inside, pinch it into a half-moon shape, and fold the pleats from one side to the other. Each dumpling has twelve pleats. Place the shrimp dumplings in a steamer and steam over high heat for six minutes. When they come out of the steamer, the dumpling wrappers are completely transparent, and you can see the pink color of the filling and the scattered bright green scallions inside.

Yukihira Soma was the first to run over. Before Chen Yuxing could even call for dinner, he had already picked up a bowl of dragon beard noodles and slurped up a big mouthful.

His expression changed the moment the noodles entered his mouth. The thin noodles were so fine that they hardly required any chewing. Instead of melting into the soup, the noodles bounced firmly on his tongue before gently sliding down his throat. The rich flavor of the bone broth and the aroma of scallions filled the air at the same time, enveloping his entire mouth in the warmth of the broth.

He took a few bites before slowly putting down his chopsticks. Yoshino Yuuki urged him to share his thoughts, but he simply put down his chopsticks and said, "How can these noodles be so thin yet so chewy? One side is as thin as a thread, and the other side is as elastic as rubber. How can they do that at the same time?"

"The egg liquid, combined with high-gluten flour and high-intensity kneading, results in a gluten network with many layers and an orderly arrangement, which retains structural elasticity even when stretched to an extremely fine degree."

"I didn't understand," Daigo Aoki honestly admitted.

"The egg mixture prevents the flour and starch particles from spreading out when they are fine."

Yoshino Yuuki didn't listen to his explanation and had already picked up her bowl and was slurping it down.

She first took a deep sip, her cheeks puffing out, then chewed twice, before lowering her head to drink a large mouthful of broth. When she lifted her head, her lips were still glistening with oil. After finishing that bite, she turned to Chen Yuxing and mumbled, "How did they make this soup? The bone flavor is way too strong..."

"The broth is made by simmering concentrated bone broth until it dissolves in water. The main reason is that the collagen from the bone marrow dissolves into the broth, which brings out the umami flavor. There's nothing particularly special about it; it's just that the ingredients are of high quality."

Then everyone turned to the crystal shrimp dumplings.

Ibuzaki Shun picked up the first dumpling. He habitually took a small bite to suck out the soup inside, but when he bit into the translucent dumpling skin, he obviously did not expect that juice would spurt out. A stream of scalding hot juice splashed onto his chin. He quickly looked down and wiped it with a tissue. His usually expressionless face turned red for the first time.

"The dumpling wrappers... are made with wheat starch," he said after he calmed down.

"Yes, wheat starch has no gluten. After being scalded with boiling water, it gelatinizes and becomes transparent. When steamed, it becomes translucent. You can see the color of the filling through this skin, and it does not affect the skin's elasticity. It won't break when you pick it up."

Marui Zenji was examining the shrimp dumpling on his plate.

He cut the dumpling with a knife and fork, then carefully examined the cross-section—a gradual transition from the translucent dumpling skin to the pinkish shrimp paste, with lotus root pieces scattered like millet grains in the meat filling, and the aroma of sesame oil and white pepper wafting from the cut surface.

"Lotus root pieces were added to the shrimp paste."

He pushed up his glasses. "It's not to increase the amount of filling, but to add a crispy layer on top of the elasticity and smoothness of the shrimp paste, right?"

Chen Yuxing nodded.

Daigo Aoki and Shoji Sato had already started putting dumplings into each other's bowls. Their mouths were stuffed full, and neither of them could speak clearly. Daigo Aoki mumbled a thumbs-up and poured a small dish of vinegar directly into his bowl. Shoji Sato poked at the filling part of the dumpling with his chopsticks. It was probably the first time he had eaten a translucent dumpling skin, and he looked at it for a while before he finally took a bite.

Ryoko Sakaki eats dumplings in the most refined way—first, she lightly dips the dumpling in a vinegar dish, then takes small bites starting from the pleated end, chewing and savoring each bite, pausing for a while after each bite before taking the next one; it's as if she's not actually eating.

"In addition to shrimp, this filling also contains minced pork, diced lotus root, sesame oil, and pepper; the dumpling skin is made of wheat starch, but cornstarch was added when kneading the dough, and the noodles are cooked in broth."

She paused here, then smiled at Chen Yuxing, "That's all I can taste."

Isshiki Satoshi put the last shrimp dumpling into his mouth and said while chewing, "Although both dragon beard noodles and shrimp dumplings are dim sum, they showcase two completely different pastry techniques. One is the extreme stretching of high-gluten dough, and the other is the transparent thin skin with zero gluten. One relies on precision, and the other relies on skill."

He put down his chopsticks and looked at Chen Yuxing. "Both of these are Chinese specialties, and they are very physically demanding. You finished them all without even breaking a sweat. Ah Xing, how many more tricks are you hiding?"

"I'm just a bit stronger physically."

"I don't believe you at all."

Yukihira Soma chimed in from the side, still with half a mouthful of broth in his mouth.

Megumi Tadokoro was the last to put down her bowl. She didn't say a word from the moment she finished eating until the last shrimp dumpling. She just held the empty bowl with her head down, as if she was thinking about something.

Noticing that she was lost in thought, Yoshino Yuuki leaned over and asked, "Megumi, what's wrong?"

She looked up as if startled awake: "No... I was just thinking that the things Ah Xing makes, like kneading the dough with egg liquid for twenty minutes to make dragon beard noodles and then stretching it to the point of being as thin as hair, and kneading the wheat starch for shrimp dumplings at the perfect temperature after scalding; I can't do either of those things right now. But..."

She looked at the cutting board she had used to chop lotus root: "But today I learned how to chop lotus root into smaller pieces, how to judge the feel of the shrimp paste when it's been mixed properly, and how to use a strainer to pass through mashed potatoes, which Ah Xing taught me last time. I use it every time I make it now. I can learn these basic skills little by little."

She put the bowl down and said thank you to Chen Yuxing very solemnly.

Chen Yuxing leaned against the countertop, draping the towel he had just used to wipe his hands over his shoulder: "You don't need to thank me at all. Every single lotus root piece was the same size; you cut them, not me. It's all your own doing."

Chapter 9 The Vegetable Garden in the Early Morning

Tadokoro Megumi lowered her head, but this time she didn't say anything like "still a long way off." She simply opened her notebook and added two more lines. Yoshino Yuuki leaned closer to glance at it and saw the title "A-xing's Kneading Technique Record." Below it were densely packed sketches and annotations. One page showed a breakdown of the pushing, returning, and pinching techniques, with arrows next to it indicating the different strengths required for different dishes.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the bowls, plates, and chopsticks on the table were piled up like a small mountain. Aoki Daigo and Sato Shoji volunteered to wash the dishes, splashing water on each other as they washed them by the sink.

Soma Yukihira slumped into a chair, patted his stomach, and said, "I'll have the energy to research rice bowls again tomorrow."

As Marui Zenji yawned, he headed back to his room, muttering to himself in his notebook before leaving, "The three concepts of 'sliding the pan,' 'gluten stretching limit,' and 'flour gelatinization temperature' all appeared in the same meal today."

Ryoko Sakaki put her bottle of rice koji juice into the cupboard, while Yuuki Yoshino picked up the chick and walked towards her room. As she passed Megumi Tadokoro, she leaned down and whispered something in her ear, causing Megumi to suddenly blush.

Ibuzaki Shun was the last to leave the kitchen. He stopped abruptly at the door without turning around and said, "By the way, A-Xing, call me next time you make smoked dishes."

Then, without waiting for Chen Yuxing's reply, he pushed open the door and left.

Isshiki Satoshi remained seated at the head of the long table until almost everyone had left, at which point he stood up and said, "Well done, Hoshino."

Chen Yuxing yawned: "I just cooked those two dishes once."

"It wasn't just the food; I was also there when you were teaching Megumi Tadokoro in the kitchen."

Isshiki Satoshi patted his shoulder lightly, but meaningfully, "It's getting late, go to sleep."

It was almost 11 o'clock when Chen Yuxing returned to room 301. He collapsed onto the bed, feeling a slight ache in the muscles of his arms and calves.

Kneading the egg and dough for those twenty minutes definitely took a lot of energy.

He closed his eyes, and as his consciousness floated on the edge of falling asleep, he suddenly remembered what Isshiki Satoshi had said in the kitchen—"I was there when you were teaching Tadokoro Megumi in the kitchen." He also remembered the dense notes in Tadokoro Megumi's notebook, the simple line drawing of her fingers pressing dough, and the sound of her saying "thank you."

Something was stirring in his mind, but before he could grasp it, drowsiness enveloped him.

The next morning.

Chen Yuxing was awakened by the chirping of birds.

It was a flock of sparrows perched in the vegetable garden outside the window.

They chirped and chattered as if they were having a meeting, loud enough to pierce his drowsiness. He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. Sunlight had already squeezed in through the gaps in the curtains, drawing a pale golden line on the floor.

He sat up and checked his phone; it was 6:30 in the morning.

Forget it, I might as well get up earlier.

When he washed his face, changed his clothes, and went downstairs, the first floor of the Polaris Dormitory was still quiet. Only Mrs. Wenxu was busy in the kitchen. She was a little surprised to see him up so early.

"Up so early?"

"The birds are too noisy, I can't sleep at all."

Mrs. Fumio chuckled and handed him a pair of old canvas gloves: "The vegetable garden is to the left after you go out the back door. That boy, Isshiki Satoshi, is already over there. Go and help him pick some fruit when you have time."

The backyard vegetable garden was much larger than he had imagined. Several rows of vegetables were neatly arranged, the tomato trellis was laden with heavy red fruits, the cabbage glistened with dew in the morning light, the eggplants were a bright purple, and the air was filled with the dampness of the soil mixed with the fresh scent of tomato leaves. Taking a deep breath made him feel refreshed.

Isshiki Satoshi was already busy in the vegetable garden, wearing only a white apron—yes, just an apron, nothing else.

He was bending over, pulling weeds in the field, his movements light and quick, humming a song as he went. His bare back was bathed in the morning sun, revealing clearly defined muscles—the physique of someone who worked hard all the time.

"Ah Xing! Good morning!"

Isshiki Satoshi stood up and waved when he saw him, completely oblivious to the fact that he was wearing a naked apron. "Are you here to help? Thank you so much! There are a few rows of tomatoes that need to be picked today."

"Isshiki-senpai, could you please put your clothes on first?"

"It's so hot, why are you wearing clothes!"

Chen Yuxing was too lazy to argue with him. He walked over and took the bamboo basket handed to him by Yise Hui. He squatted down in front of the tomato trellis and began to pick the fruit. One ripe tomato after another fell into the basket. They were thin-skinned and thick-fleshed, heavy in the palm of his hand, and there were still wet marks of dew around the stem.

After Isshiki Satoshi finished weeding, she came over to pick fruit with him. She picked a fruit, wiped it on her apron, broke it in half, and gave it to Chen Yuxing: "Try it."

Chen Yuxing took it and took a bite. The tomato juice exploded in his mouth instantly. It was a delicious sweetness. The skin was so thin that it was almost imperceptible. The flesh had a sandy texture that rolled over his tongue. After swallowing, a sweet aftertaste lingered in his mouth.

"These tomatoes are so sweet."

He took another bite and savored it carefully.

"I specifically chose this variety. I composted it myself, controlled the water-fertilizer ratio, and measured the sunlight exposure every day during the fruiting period. You can't buy this kind of sweetness on the market."

Satoshi Isshiki also took a bite of his own, a satisfied smile on his face. "This is the meaning of growing your own vegetables. The upper limit of ingredients you can get is much higher than the market supply."

"Did you grow all the vegetables in Polaris Dormitory?"

“I do most of the work, but Daigo and the others also help out. This is a collective activity of the Polar Star Dormitory, a tradition passed down through generations. In the past, when the Polar Star Dormitory was full, a dozen or so students would work together on the vegetable garden, and the harvest could feed the entire building for a whole week.”

Chen Yuxing put a few picked tomatoes into the basket, and then picked a few eggplants. When the eggplants were picked, a thin layer of white juice would flow from the stems, which felt cool on his gloves.

About half an hour later, Yoshino Yuuki appeared next to the chicken coop at the edge of the field carrying a basket of feed. When she saw Chen Yuxing in the distance, she was so surprised that she almost dropped the basket: "Yuxing?! You're up so early?"

"I was woken up by birdsong."

"Hahaha! Those sparrows come to the vegetable garden for a feast every day without fail!"

Yoshino Yuuki squatted down and scattered feed into the chicken coop. A flock of chirps rushed over to grab the food. "Yukihira Soma is still sleeping, and you can get up and do chores all by yourself. You've improved so much!"

"Who said I was sleeping?"

A voice, grumpy from just waking up, came from the edge of the field.

Soma Yukihira was also dragged here by Yuuki Yoshino. He yawned, his hair sticking up like a hedgehog, clearly having just been pulled out of bed. He was wearing the same shirt as yesterday and slippers, obviously not fully awake yet.

Yoshino Yuuki shoved a pair of gloves into his arms: "Now that you're here, get to work. Go water the tomato field."