Shokugeki: Start with an izakaya, making everyone cry

Chapter 125 He is just like his father, incredibly strong!

Mandarin fish, that is, mandarin fish.

Many people find the character "霜" to be complex and easy to mispronounce, so they simply write it as the character "gui".

It has been used for hundreds of years without any mistakes, which shows the wisdom of the people.

At this time, take a mandarin fish.

Slowly remove scales, internal organs, bloodshot fibers, and fishy membranes...

Then with a "dou" sound, he used the kitchen knife to cut off the fish head quickly along the fins of the fish's head.

In an instant, blood splashed everywhere, and the fish head was completely separated and kept for later use.

Then follow the big bone in the middle, press the meat, and use a straight knife to cut into two-thirds of the fish, with equal depth and even distance.

"What kind of knife technique is this?" Ryoko Sakaki, who is good at fermented cooking, was stunned when she saw Zhang Fan actually using a very strange knife technique to handle mandarin fish!
"Ji Dao Technique!"

Yise Hui narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled.

"If I remember correctly, this seems to be a very common knife technique in Chinese cuisine?"

Next to him, Yukihira Soma was slightly thoughtful. He had seen this kind of sword technique from his father, Yukihira Joichiro.

"Correct."

“It’s a knife technique unique to Chinese cuisine.”

Yise Hui nodded.

……

in Chinese cuisine.

Not all knife skills can be called "cutting"

The so-called cutting generally means that the blade of the knife is vertical, the wrist is exerted, and the ingredients are divided evenly from top to bottom.

In addition, there are other sword techniques, such as:
Harder ingredients should be chopped or chopped; for thin, soft, and tough ingredients, you need to lay the blade flat or tilt the knife. This action is called "slicing"...

There is also a technique of cutting but not cutting the food, which is called "Ji".

"Chuangzhen, keep watching."

"I believe that you will understand from his cooking why I told you not to be so eager to show off your strength like Alice Nakiri!"

Just when Chuangzhen started to figure it out, Isekhui still kept that faint smile and said mysteriously.

"Oh!"

Chuangzhen is a little confused.

But he still sat upright obediently and continued to observe Zhang Fan.

Afterwards, Dan saw Zhang Fan sprinkle salt, ginger, sugar, cooking wine on the surface of the mandarin fish, and marinate it for 10 minutes to soak the fish with the seasoning.

Next, pat all parts of the fish with starch and spread evenly.

Apply to every crevice, then tap to shake off excess starch.

This step is actually to prevent the high temperature in the subsequent process from hardening the edges of the fish and keeping the fish meat delicate.

Wipe the pot dry and pour in an appropriate amount of oil. When it is about 7% hot, add the mandarin fish meat, fry slowly over low heat for 5 minutes, take it out and put it on a plate.

Empty the pot, add a little oil, then salt, sugar, and white vinegar, and simmer over low heat.

Add the water starch, stir to form a paste, take out and pour the prepared tomato sauce onto the mandarin fish meat, and sprinkle with pine nuts and green beans.

Finally, put the green cabbage leaves, fish heads, and join them into the shape of a squirrel.

……

Zhizhijiji!

Zhizhijiji!

As soon as it was served, the hot marinade was poured over the mandarin fish.

Because the fish itself is still hot, the marinade on it is also hot, so it makes this "squeaking" sound instantly!

This is the sound of the marinade soaking into the crispy fish meat, and it is also like the sound of a squirrel.

Especially the whole mandarin fish, which is processed with the knife method, the fish body is more like a blooming chrysanthemum, and the shape is also like a squirrel.

If you look closely, you can still see the fish head that was chopped off and then spliced ​​back together, and the fish mouth is open to the sky.

Next to the fish head, there are some pine nuts scattered, just like the pine nuts dropped by squirrels after eating them.

Such a look is really stunning!

"ah!"

"It's amazing!"

"This...this...really looks like a squirrel. Even the sound of the marinade pouring down on the fish is very similar~"

Yoshino Yuki was so frightened by this scene that she screamed.

Look at the fish fillets that are connected to each other but still not broken.

In fact, it was not just her, but the expressions of everyone present also inevitably changed.

"When I looked at it just now, I didn't see it clearly."

"Now that this squirrel mandarin fish is presented, I realize that Zhang Fan's sword-cutting skills have actually reached the level of proficiency."

Yi Se Hui, secretly shocked in his heart.

Objectively speaking, the recipe of squirrel mandarin fish is extremely complicated.

If the heat is slightly wrong or the color of the marinade is not good, the taste of the entire squirrel mandarin fish will be affected.

And the requirements for knife skills have reached a level of harshness.

Usually, the body of the mandarin fish needs to be cut dozens of times, and different forces must be used for different parts.Rao is an experienced chef, and he will be sweating profusely after cooking the mandarin fish.

Because when cutting at an angle, the angle between the knife and the fish body cannot be too small, otherwise the rat hair will be too long and appear messy, which is a pity.

In other words, this dish not only tests the chef's knife skills, but also tests the chef's ability to blend the five flavors, and also considers the chef's ability to control the heat in a timely manner...

Therefore, people in the industry know it very well.

If you want to make the "Squirrel Mandarin Fish" dish well, it is not a one-step effort, it takes time to settle down.

……

"Shopkeeper, how many knives did you stab?"

"108 cuts."

Zhang Fan, facing Yi Sehui's question, just shrugged and said softly.

"Clothes!"

"I'm convinced!"

At this moment, can Isekhui say anything more?

Even though he was the seventh among the top ten, when he learned that Zhang Fan's flower-cutting knife actually reached 108 knives.

The sword was precise, and each sword felt like it had been practiced thousands of times. He could only feel that he was inferior!
Finally, a few more side dishes were served.

The squirrel and mandarin fish placed in the middle suddenly filled the table with brilliance.

"Well, first of all, congratulations to Tadokoro Hui for successfully passing the first assessment of the semester!"

After looking around and feeling that the atmosphere was about the same, Issekhui held up the tea cup and said, "Then, I would like to welcome the transfer student Yukihira Soma as a new member of our Jixing dormitory!"

After saying this, he drank a drink with all the boarders present.

At this point, a reception for the new students of Jiexingliao was successfully held in the izakaya!

……

A sharp aroma of wine.

With the aroma of mature glutinous rice, the bitter aroma of tea leaves, and the floral aroma of pickled roses... Just take a sip and you will quickly experience the full and soft body of the wine.

Moreover, the wine goes from sweet when entering the mouth to bitter when entering the throat, then immediately returns to sweetness, and then produces saliva. The whole process is done in one go!
In the mouth, it feels like chewing fresh orange peel.

A spiciness develops on the tongue and roof of the mouth, leaving behind a hint of bitterness and a touch of fresh acidity, like the tannins in red wine, but without the astringency.

"Ok?"

"In this teacup, it turns out that it's not the jasmine tea from last time, but...tea wine?"

Ryoko Sakaki tasted it and couldn't help but look at the tea wine in the teacup!

"I see."

"Glutinous rice is fermented with tea leaves and distiller's yeast."

“When the fermentation is complete, the distillation method is used to separate and sterilize the tea, thus retaining the aroma and taste of the tea and the characteristics of the wine.”

"And strictly speaking, this tea wine can be considered a kind of tea with the flavor of wine!"

Although Zhang Fan used a variety of brewing methods last time to reduce the alcohol content of the wine in the izakaya without affecting the taste and texture.

However, it did happen that some diners got drunk.

At the same time, in order to satisfy minors, they have the experience of drinking "wine" in an izakaya.

Zhang Fan brewed this wine-flavored tea.

In order to brew this fine tea wine, he actually tried all six categories of tea and brewed it hundreds of times with various ratios before finally succeeding.

……

"oops!"

"It doesn't matter if it's tea or wine."

"There are so many dishes. If you don't eat them quickly, you will miss out on a lot of experience if you wait until they are cold before eating them!"

Yoshino Yuki here is seeing the plate of shiny squirrel mandarin fish.

The lines on the back of the fish are clearly visible, and the meat looks very firm. It has been greedy for a long time.

So, she put down the tea cup, couldn't wait to pick up a small mouthful of fish with her chopsticks, and ate it with her mouth wide open.

As soon as you enter your mouth, the unique umami flavor spreads. The fish meat is particularly elastic and has a good texture when chewed.

And it is still refreshing in the rich marinade. If you pick up a pinch more and eat it in a big mouth, the wonderful taste will be led to the deepest part of your taste.

Finally, after swallowing, I felt that the fish was particularly tender and the taste was extremely fresh. The marinade was also sour and sweet, and the texture was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It was a masterpiece!

The interest was not exhausted, and Yoshino Yuki, who regained her composure for a moment, had no choice but to continue with the next bit of fish.

"The tenderness of the meat, the freshness of the fish, the superb taste, and the different levels of taste will immediately make people..."

Involuntarily, Yoshino Yuki was stunned for a moment.

Even though there are many words in my mind that I want to describe the taste of this squirrel mandarin fish, I really can’t come up with them.

Because her consciousness began to gradually become lost, and only the word "delicious" remained in her mind!
……

As a Kung Fu dish.

It needs to be cut, marinated, powdered, oiled and juiced in one go.

To determine the taste of the squirrel mandarin fish, the preparation of the soul sauce is the most important, even comparable to the Ji Dao technique!
Obviously, the sauce for the squirrel mandarin fish made by most chefs outside restaurants is made with tomato sauce, white sugar, etc., but the mandarin fish marinade made by Zhang Fan should have used borneol sugar.

It makes the juice brighter, and plums and lemons are also added to the ingredients.

As a result, it tastes with distinct textures and full of fruity aroma, and it is even more "beautiful" when topped with mandarin fish at the end.

"It's really strange. Why do I have a very familiar feeling?"

When Yukihira Soma also ate squirrel mandarin fish, he vaguely saw the shadow of his father in this dish!

He didn't believe in evil, so he had to take another bite. The excellent squirrel mandarin fish first tasted sour from the nose to the mouth, then chewed with a fruity sweetness, and finally the fish itself was sweet and juicy.

And this last bite of sweetness actually tests not only the quality of the mandarin fish, but also the marinating action before patting it into powder:

With salt as the base, the sweetness can be brought out.

"Could it be..."

"Shopkeeper, the meat of the mandarin fish is obviously very firm, but why does it need to be re-fried?"

Chuangzhen thought of something and couldn't help but ask Zhang Fan.

Ok?
He really deserves to be the son of Yukihira Joichiro.

Although now, his own strength may not be very good.

But because he has run a restaurant with Joichiro for a long time, he knows more about many cuisines than his peers!
Zhang Fan sighed slightly, and then replied: "As you know, re-frying is also a cooking technique in Chinese cuisine."

"It was the first time I deep-fried the mandarin fish. Although the fish was already cooked, the meat inside was actually very soft. So I continued to deep-fry it again to achieve the crispy outside and tender inside."

"Of course, special attention should be paid to the control of the heat when re-frying. If you don't take it out and keep heating it, the fried fish will be old!"

"I see."

Chuangzhen heard this and nodded.

……

For some reason, he saw Yukihira Joichiro in Zhang Fan.

Thinking about it a few days ago, Minenosaki Yaeko used many dirty methods to force him to transfer the Yukihira restaurant, but he was rejected by Soma.

However, Minezaki became so angry that he ordered people to smash up the restaurant and destroy all the ingredients in the kitchen!
Finally, she asked Soma to cook the food for her to taste. If it satisfied her, it would mean that his cooking skills could indeed support the operation of this Yukihira restaurant, so she gave up.

And if he couldn't do it, he would sell the Yukihira restaurant to her unconditionally.

Since all the ingredients in the kitchen were destroyed, Minezaki thought he had a winning chance.

Unexpectedly, Chuangzhen agreed and successfully made a dish that satisfied her with limited ingredients!
I have always had feelings for Yukihira Restaurant.

His biggest dream is to succeed Yukihira Joichiro and take over this restaurant from him.

But even as he struggled to keep the restaurant, his father chose to stop business, closed Yukihira's restaurant, and then forced him to enroll in Totsuki.

And such a life plan is not what he Chuangzhen wants at all, nor is it a path he is willing to take.

……

"Dad!"

"Why are you doing this?"

After carefully recalling the creation of the squirrel and the mandarin fish, I couldn't help but say to myself.

Indeed, when he first came to Yuanyue, he was shocked by the scale of this tea house cooking school.

And knowing that the talents and abilities of many students here are no worse than his, it is inevitable that he will have the urge to prove himself urgently.

In particular, Nakiri Alice's performance in that Shokugeki match further strengthened his idea.

However, Yise Hui stood up and stopped him.

Tell me that his current ability is not enough to fight against everyone in Yuanyue!
"Dad, I... what on earth should I do here in Totsuki to be meaningful? Can't I really take over the Yukihira restaurant from you?"

Clenching his fists, Chuangzhen's eyes looked a little complicated.

"Soma, what do you think of the strength of this izakaya owner?"

Looking at Soma who was deep in thought because of this squirrel and mandarin fish dish, Isshiki Hui asked with a chuckle.

"powerful!"

"Really strong."

"I can feel the pressure from my father on him!"

Create truth without thinking.

(End of this chapter)