Shokugeki: Start with an izakaya, making everyone cry

Teriyaki.

A cooking method in Japanese cuisine.

It's a simple, sweet sauce based on soy sauce.

The sugar in the sauce makes the surface of the ingredients shiny, which is "teriyaki". Because it is shiny, it is named "teriyaki".

The teriyaki mushrooms in front of you seem to have absorbed the essence of heaven and earth. Just take a small bite and you can feel the fragrance of the fields.

The taste of the wild fell into your mouth, and it was so wonderful that it was unforgettable.

Especially when you bite into it, the juice inside the mushroom explodes in your mouth instantly. It’s so delicious!
  Although, it’s just mushrooms, carrots, onions and other extremely cheap ingredients.

But the fungus aroma of the mushrooms and the rich aroma of the teriyaki sauce mixed together powerfully stimulated the taste buds and breath, making Hinata feel that every bite was extremely delicious.

"Only mushrooms, and teriyaki sauce made from carrots, onions, soy sauce, etc."

"You can create such delicious local dishes through simple stir-frying. It's really not easy for you!"

Finally, Hinata sighed after finishing her meal.

……

This kind of food is a bit mediocre.

But being able to dare to present such a dish at such an important training event proves one's strength.

Based on this, in Miki Hinatako's heart, she, Tasokoe, is commendable for her courage.

"Are you interested?"

"My Kiriya Restaurant needs a gentle Totsuki student like you right now."

Later, Hyugako came back to her senses and held Tazoe's hands tightly, seeming to see a trace of desire in her eyes.

"Hey?"

"What... what do you mean?"

Tian Suohui, who had never seen such a scene before, was immediately frightened and at a loss.

"I understand everything about Senior Shinomiya."

"He deliberately put in bad ingredients, thinking of using this method to further eliminate students."

"Anyone would be a little timid in that situation, but you relied on your tenacious spirit to make the most sincere dish and successfully impressed him."

"And today, you once again showed me that real cooking should be gentle."

"So, I am very optimistic about you and want to invite you to Kiriya Restaurant."

Mian Hinatako looked at the flustered Tadokoro and quickly explained the reason to him.

On the surface, the purpose of residential training activities is to train students' practical abilities. However, if students have excellent grades and performance, they can actually be favored by the examiner.

After all, these Yueyue graduates have achieved quite good results in the culinary world, but most of them have also reached a bottleneck period.

When they serve as assessors, on the one hand, they really want to continue to embrace Totsuki Academy.

On the other hand, I also want to take this opportunity to discover those talented students and then offer them an olive branch.

……

"No, no, no, Hinatako-senpai."

"I'm just a low-achiever with poor grades. How...how can I be so valued by you?"

Tian Suohui never dreamed that a poor student like her would one day be favored by the examiner. She was a little flattered.

But she soon came to her senses and refused again and again.

"What? Do you think so little of my Kiriya Restaurant?"

Seeing her refusal, Hinata was not that disappointed, as if she had expected this outcome.

Then, she let go of her hand and asked playfully.

"Nothing."

"Senior, I... I can work in your Kiriya restaurant. It will definitely be the honor of my life, Megumi Tadokoro!"

"But, in my mind, there is a place I want to go to most."

Tian Suohui clenched her fists tightly, thinking of Zhang Fan who was always willing to stretch out a hand to help her when she was most lost and helpless in life!
  "Oh?"

"I'm a little curious."

"What kind of place is worth what you are willing to pay for?"

Hearing this, Miki Hinatako narrowed her eyes slightly and asked with a smile.

"Senior, the place I want to go to the most is an izakaya."

"Although my current ability is not enough to help there, but...but I believe that the final destination of my Tadokoro Hui must be that izakaya!"

Tasokoro was stunned for a moment, and finally her eyes were filled with determination and she responded calmly.

"Izakaya?"

"It's actually an izakaya?"

Hearing this, Miki Hinatako suddenly showed a surprised expression.

……

At night, silence soothes Yuanyue Resort.

A faint beam of light refracted in the deepest part, causing the misty clouds to gradually disperse.

With the end of the last assessment, the remaining 428 students all came to the lobby of Yuanyue Palace again.

The five consecutive days and six nights of residential training had already tortured their bodies and hearts to the point of death.

"I'm dying!"

"How will this training camp end?"

At this moment, in the crowd, Zenji Marui, who was as tired as skin and bones with heavy dark circles under his eyes, was weak and weak.

"Let's gather here. It's probably like announcing the dinner assessment questions in advance on the first day, right?"

Next to her was Ryoko Sakaki, who was also exhausted, murmuring helplessly.

"Who knows, anyway, I don't want to participate in this residential training activity anymore."

Yoshino Yuki, recalling everything she had experienced these days, could not help but tremble with fear and her face turned pale.

Just when the panic was gradually spreading again, Dojima Gin, as the chief chef, still appeared on the stage as he had done several times before.

His expression was extremely serious. His sharp eyes swept around the circle first, and he was satisfied when he found that there were almost 400 students present.

"Congratulations."

"Once again passed the training topics of the training camp."

"Actually, if you want to become a top chef, it depends more on you."

"The existence of Totsuki Academy and our group of graduates is just a process of verifying your talents."

"A chef should always be confident, charming and excited. Only through carefully prepared and creative dishes can he reflect his delicate, elegant and value-for-money side, and also pay more attention to diners!"

"Those who do any job half-heartedly are not worthy of being a chef at all, let alone a top chef."

“This is the truth that this residential training activity can teach you!”

"In short, you still have a long road ahead, and there will be many ups and downs, and there will be many setbacks, but no matter what, you tonight will be the best students!"

"Therefore, I announce that we are entering the final stage of residential training."

"Our Yuanyue graduates will cook the food and form a grand celebration. You can enjoy it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent for an instant, and all the students who were so tired that they barely had the strength to speak held their breath at this moment.

Finally, they all came to their senses and raised their hands and cheered.    …

"Wow, woo woo woo..."

"Xiao Hui, great, we are finally over!"

Hugging Tadokoro tightly, Yoshino Yuki burst into tears immediately, her tears falling uncontrollably.

"Yes, it seems to be over."

Tian Suo Hui also had tears in her eyes.

When she learned that the elimination rate of this training event was 50%, she was so scared that she couldn't sleep that night, so she could only run to the izakaya to find some comfort with Zhang Fan.

Later, when facing Shinomiya Kojiro, she thought she would be completely finished.

But she never thought that the salt-vinegar-water soaking method provided by Zhang Fan allowed her to successfully restore damaged vegetables to freshness, and finally impressed the fourth house with the improved rainbow vegetable jelly, and successfully passed the exam!

Looking back on these days, she felt fearful, confused, helpless, and desperate...

But at this moment, she, who was weak at the beginning, was able to face her life with a smile!

"Xiao Hui, do you think we can taste the cooking creations of these seniors in person later?"

Then, Yoshino Yuki wiped away her tears and left Tazoe's arms. There seemed to be a glimmer of excitement in her eyes, and she asked excitedly.

"what?"

"This... seems to be it."

Tadokoro was stunned for a moment, then scratched the back of his head and said.

"Wow, that's the cuisine of Yueyue graduates. I never thought I would be lucky enough to see and taste it in this life."

Hearing this, Yoshino Yuki couldn't help but rub her hands, looking even more excited and expectant.

"Haha, and what's more, all the boarding students in our Jixing Residence have successfully passed the boarding training activities, and no one has been left behind."

Ryoko Sakaki had a smile on her face.

For her, it was the happiest thing to see that all her roommates were safe and sound.

"exactly."

"We all passed."

Hearing this, Yoshino Yuki also nodded excitedly.

Finally, led by some staff, all the students came to the wider hall.

Here, as far as the eye can see, there are all kinds of exquisite dishes.

Squid ramen, gunkan sushi, akabe sushi, lasagna, braised veal shank, pan-fried foie gras, braised noodles, chargrilled salmon, pizza, lamb soup...

This grand feast consisting of countless dishes naturally left everyone completely overwhelmed.

They all quickly found a seat and sat down, and then couldn't wait to taste it.

……

Making colorful handmade fresh pasta is actually as easy as making regular fresh pasta.

The only difference between the two is whether "dying" is added to the dough, for example:
  Green pasta is usually naturally dyed with spinach juice, cabbage juice, etc.

Red pasta uses beetroot, tomatoes, etc.

As for black pasta, the most common one is made with squid ink, namely:
  Squid ink pasta.

First experience for Yoshino Yuki.

The first thing you can feel is the particularly unique elasticity.

The pasta is carefully cooked and has just the right consistency, neither too soft nor too hard.

This elasticity allows the pasta to fully mix with saliva when chewed, releasing more flavor.

Then, the delicious taste of cuttlefish began to spread in your mouth.

It is the soul of this dish, as if the taste of the sea is concentrated in this little pasta.

When you take a sip, the delicious taste you can feel is not strong. On the contrary, it is gentle and long-lasting, just like the gentle sea breeze blowing, making people intoxicated.

"Hiss, is this... is this... really the food of Toyue graduates?"

Unexpectedly, Yoshino Yuki was shocked.

……

"Xiao Hui, hurry up and eat."

“The quality of these dishes is really beyond what we can compare with!”

Immediately, she gently pulled Tadokoro who was still in a daze next to her, and then reminded her with a mouth full of black teeth stained with squid ink.

"Well, I... I see."

Tasokoro nodded. She did feel hungry at this time.

So, she looked around and was finally attracted by a plate of Akakai sushi not far away.

But maybe the distance seemed a bit far, so she could only stand up a little, reached out to pick up a small piece of sushi, and looked at it carefully in front of her.

If you look closely, the red scallop meat has a light pink sheen, which contrasts sharply with the crystal clear rice.

There is not only red clam meat on the rice, but also some bright fish roe.

This adds a touch of freshness and vitality to the whole dish, making it like a work of art that is hard to bear to swallow.

At the first bite, you can feel the tenderness and smoothness of the red scallop meat, especially when you bite it gently with your teeth, the red scallop meat melts in your mouth, leaving only a rich ocean flavor.

This kind of deliciousness is different from the strong taste of other seafood. It is more like a light and long taste, which is unforgettable.

Next, there is the softness and delicateness of the rice.

Carefully cooked, it maintains the right elasticity and a slightly sweet taste.

This concept of being able to bring out the true flavor of the ingredients without any fancy craftsmanship or overly complicated seasoning is definitely recognized in her heart.

"It's amazing. The texture of this Akabe sushi is really delicious!"

After saying that, Tasokoro's eyes suddenly lit up.

She licked her mouth and couldn't help but pick up another Akakai sushi and continued to taste it.

……

"The sushi I made tastes good, right?"

At this moment, Miki Hinatako actually came to sit next to her and asked with a soft smile.

"What? These sushi..."

Tadokoro, who was having a good meal, turned to look at Hinata, and couldn't help but be a little shocked.

She didn't expect that the examiner would come to her on purpose and tell her that all the sushi she was eating was made by her.

"Hinatako-senpai, your Akakabe sushi has reached a level that amazes me, whether it's the viscosity and texture of the rice, the freshness of the Akakabe, or even the kneading techniques and control of temperature, shape and gaps! "

Tian Suohui then truthfully stated what was in his heart.

"Then how does my cooking compare with the izakaya you talked about yesterday?" Hinatako asked curiously.

"This... I think Shopkeeper Zhang's food is more delicious and superior. There's no way you can compare with him."

Without thinking too much, Tasoko replied like this.

"Oh, it seems I've failed again. You really like that izakaya!"

After getting the answer she least expected, Miki Hinata could only sigh deeply. (End of chapter)