Shokugeki: Start with an izakaya, making everyone cry

Chapter 171 Beyond Joichiro

Jiexingliao dormitory, room 303!

It was pitch dark here. Chuangzhen sat on the edge of the balcony, holding his chin in his hands and looking at the moonlight outside the window.

Suddenly, a gust of evening wind blew gently by, making him feel a little chilly, but his half-dazzled eyes showed a complicated look, as if he was thinking about something.

"Hey, I wonder what happened to the diners who often come to the dining room?"

Finally, Souma Yukihira sighed softly.

As soon as the residential training was over, he had the idea to go back and reopen Yukihira Shoshokuya.

What he didn't expect was that his father Joichiro would come to Totsuki to meet him, and he also learned that his father was a Totsuki genius who could compete with Dojima Gin!

"Chuangzhen."

"what are you thinking about?"

When he first came in, he saw his son in a daze, so Joichiro asked.

"Dad, are you really not planning to continue running the Yukihei Dining Room in the future?" Soma asked after looking back for a moment.

"Well, it's no longer in business."

"In two days, I will leave Yuanyue to work as a chef in a five-star hotel owned by an old friend of mine in France, Europe!"

Joichiro walked to Soma's side, admiring the scenery outside the window with him, and then said calmly.

"five star hotel?"

"Is it a hotel of the same size as Totsuki Rikyu? And he is also the chef?"

When Chuangzhen heard this, his eyes were inevitably a little shocked.

"Haha, do you suddenly feel that dad is more powerful than you thought?"

Seeing his son's reaction like this, Joichiro felt happy. After all, he rarely mentioned anything about himself in the past in front of Soma.

"Dad, you've really been hiding this from me all your life!"

Xingping Chuangzhen said helplessly.

……

Afterwards, the father and son were speechless.

The atmosphere in the whole room seemed a bit awkward.

And maybe because he knows Joichiro's thoughts, he is no longer in Yukihira's dining room, and he also knows that neither he nor his father can return to the original life, so Soma always has a depressed face!

Seeing that he was not in a good mood, Joichiro patted his shoulder with his hand and said with a smile: "Listen to Isshiki Kei, you were exhausted not long after school started."

"The beef rice bowl I made was defeated by that guy with a score of 5:0, Mito?"

"Dad, it's been a long time since that happened. Can you please don't take this opportunity to ridicule me?"

Chuangzhen's mentality was even more broken.

Which pot was not mentioned, but he had to mention this thing that made him still brood every time he thought about it!

"Hahaha, this is my son."

"I have lost a total of 499 games to me, and I will lose to someone else one more time!"

Unexpectedly, Joichiro burst into laughter. This situation made Soma on the side even more speechless. He could only say angrily: "Dad, you are so happy when I lose to someone else, right? And what about losing?" I’ll give you 498 games, not 499 games.”

"Well, are you afraid of failure?"

Joichiro stopped his smile and suddenly turned serious, and asked.

"Dad, you still don't know me?"

"It was just a disastrous defeat. Although it was really incredible at the time that the opponent could win the game in that way, I quickly thought about it!"

"Think about it, before I came to Totsuki Academy, my mentality was always relatively frivolous."

"I even thought that these students who are hiding in the Chaliao Cuisine Academy and studying all kinds of cuisines will definitely not be as good as me, a chef who has been running a restaurant with you since I was 6 years old and has rich practical experience!"

"But this defeat made me completely understand that this academy is not what I imagined."

"Dad, you are actually right."

"If I keep hiding in Yukihira's restaurant, I will just be like a frog sitting in a well, lacking knowledge of many things outside and becoming arrogant at the same time!"

Chuangzhen finally told his father all the thoughts he had suppressed in his heart for a long time.

Hearing this, Joichiro was stunned for a long time. Finally, the corner of his mouth curled up slightly, and he felt extremely happy in his heart!

……

The stars hung in the sky, and the cool breeze blew slowly, making the night even more peaceful.

"Chuangzhen!"

"Do you know the curse of God's Tongue?"

In the end, Joichiro just looked at Soma deeply and asked.

"I know about God's Tongue, but I don't know about the curse."

Chuangzhen was stunned for a moment, then shook his head.

"Well, it's okay if you don't know. Anyway, in this era where cooking is paramount, most chefs actually care too much about something they can't see!"

"You must know that once what you insist on cannot solve the current dilemma, it will easily lead to psychological collapse."

"The chef has been unable to recover due to psychological problems."

“I’ve really seen a lot in my life.”

Speaking of this, Joichiro's tone became very sad. These words were not only describing his past, but also talking about all the chefs who once had great glory, but eventually collapsed because of being too attached to something!

"Dad, don't worry."

"I really won't fall completely because of one or two losses!"

Now Soma, of course, still couldn't understand the meaning behind Joichiro's words. He just naively thought that his father wanted to encourage him in this way.

"I didn't really want you to come to Yuanyue at the beginning. This place can indeed help you improve your strength quickly. However, how many geniuses have fallen here and fallen here?"

"As someone who has experienced this, I naturally don't want to see tragedy happen to you again."

Yukihira Joichiro thought for a while, and finally sighed: "But now that I see you, I am very happy, because you are really completely different from me. Maybe in the near future, you will completely surpass me, and even grow up to the point where even I can." A state that has never existed before!”

……

The night is deeper!

At the izakaya, I heard Zhang Fan's analysis.

Miyoko Hojo soon realized that she had indeed looked down on Tazoe a little bit, and her purple autumn eyes couldn't help but feel a little sad.

But then, her eyes gradually brightened, and after staring at Zhang Fan for a while, she said, "Shop owner, can you order whatever you want as long as there are ready-made ingredients or you know how to cook?"

"Yes, that's the rule."

Zhang Fan nodded.

"Well, because I am a chef who specializes in Chinese cuisine, I would like to try Dongpo Pork, is that okay?"

After thinking for a moment, Miyoko Hojo asked softly.

"Dongpo meat?"

Zhang Fan was stunned for a moment.

I just got the Dongpo Pork sign-in reward, but this stranger who came to the izakaya for the first time actually ordered this dish. Is there some kind of fate that is destined to exist?

"Then what do you want, a bowl of Dongpo pork and two bowls of rice?"

"Okay!" "Okay, wait a moment."

After saying that, Zhang Fan turned back to the cooking table and prepared to cook Dongpo Pork.

……

Dongpo Pork was created in Xuzhou, perfected in Huangzhou, and famous in Hangzhou.

The main ingredient is definitely pork. The characteristics of the dish are thin-skinned and tender meat, bright red in color, mellow and juicy, crispy but not broken, fragrant and glutinous but not greasy.

First, prepare the skin-on pork belly.

Heat the Chinese iron pot and rub the skin of the meat toward the bottom of the pot until it is charred black.

The purpose of this is to remove residual pig hair, and it is also the key to removing the fishy smell of pork.

Then, soak the pork belly in clean water and scrub clean.

Put it in a pot and blanch it until it takes shape, take it out and let it cool, then cut it into pieces with a kitchen knife, take out the hemp rope to fix it, blanch it until it takes shape, and prepare for the next step of cooking.

First use a large casserole and place the shallots on the bottom of the casserole.

Add the ginger slices, then arrange the processed pork belly evenly in the casserole, finally add rice wine, rock sugar, light soy sauce, fermented glutinous rice wine, dark soy sauce, star anise, cinnamon, white cardamom, bay leaf, yellow gardenia, and cover!

After the fire comes to a boil, turn to low heat and simmer for 1 hour before serving.

……

Miyoko Hojo couldn't help but twitch the tip of her nose.

The unique aroma emitted by the fat and seasonings of the pork belly after being simmered for a long time made her instantly intoxicated!

Looking carefully, the Dongpo pork served in a ceramic bowl has a red luster, as attractive as onyx.

The shape is neat, and each piece of meat is similar in size and shape. They are all square, and coupled with a layer of dark meat skin, it looks very layered.

Even if you look at it a few more times, you can't help but swallow your saliva!

"what?"

"what happened?"

“Is the meat so soft after just stewing it for an hour?”

Immediately, Miyoko, who was greedy, couldn't wait to use her chopsticks to gently touch the skin of Dongpo Pork.

Because the Dongpo pork has been slow-simmered for a long time, the meat is already crispy and rotten. It can be separated with just a touch of chopsticks, and the rich soup quickly flows out from the inside of the meat!

Then part of the soup is absorbed by the lean meat, and the fat and lean complement each other, making it especially delicious and soft!

……

"Ah...uh huh..."

Although shocked, Hojo Miyoko didn't think much, but started to pick up a large piece of dongpo meat, opened her mouth wide and started to bite.

There was a "Puff" sound, and as soon as I took a bite, my mouth was filled with rich soup.

But when you continue chewing, you can feel the texture of the whole Dongpo pork. It is warm, soft and glutinous, and the pork is fat but not greasy.

The texture of the sauce-colored meat is like fine jade. The rich layering and fragrant aroma immediately spread on the tip of the tongue, and the whole piece of meat slowly melts in the mouth. The charming aroma and its delicious taste permeate every taste bud.

And if you taste it carefully, you can also find that the taste is sweet and mellow.

An alluring fragrance can whet the appetite in an instant, making Miyoko want to leave.

"What a surprise."

“A izakaya can actually make such delicious Dongpo pork.”

"Look at this pork belly. It's coated in sugar sauce on the surface, so it tastes a little crispy, but when you bite into it, it's very soft and chewy."

“The sweetness melts in your mouth and lasts for a long time!”

"Well!"

"It's not boring at all."

"It's really chewy. The aroma and texture make people want to pick up a piece and put it in their mouth."

As Miyoko Hojo who works in Chinese restaurants all year round and is also good at Chinese cuisine, she can naturally taste Zhang Fan's Dongpo Pork in one bite and how delicious it is!

Actually, slow-cooking Dongpo Pork is just that, it takes time to create a delicious dish.

Therefore, there is no doubt that the perfectly stewed Dongpo pork in front of you, no matter how delicious and sweet it is, does not seem to hide that it is a piece of fatty pork.

However, for Miyoko.

But she didn't feel disgusted by it. On the contrary, she felt that the Dongpo meat in front of her was really delicious.

If paired with fragrant rice, the taste will be just one word:

Absolutely!

……

There are many legends about the origin of Dongpo meat.

The most famous one is when Su Dongpo was the magistrate of Huangzhou. One winter, he wanted to cook a meal for his friends.

So he bought a piece of pork belly and planned to boil it in water and slice it for the table. However, he was busy writing poetry and painting and forgot to turn off the fire. As a result, the water was boiled dry and the meat became charred and hard.

Su Dongpo felt so ashamed that he could only put the meat back into the pot, add some soy sauce and sugar, and simmer it slowly over low heat.

Unexpectedly, the meat became tender and delicious, and his friends all praised it after tasting it.

Since then, this dish has spread and was named after his trade name "Dongpo".

At this moment, Miyoko, who was silent, took another bite.

Chew it carefully, and the rich sweet and salty taste can instantly fill your tongue.

I can only feel the fluffy and tender Dongpo meat floating in my mouth, not filling my teeth at all. The taste of fat meat is interspersed with it, soft and smooth, fat but not greasy.

Taking another sip, the taste became more intense, and the meat juices in the mouth sprayed out, creating a feeling of complementing each other.

……

"This Dongpo meat..."

"It's fragrant and glutinous but not greasy in the mouth. It's sticky and stays between the teeth. It can be said to leave a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth."

After swallowing it, Miyoko Hojo's eyes were filled with excitement.

Good Chinese food is hard to come by in Neon Country, and she might be really hungry, so she abandoned her elegant eating attitude and started to devour it.

It has to be said that until now, this Dongpo meat with complete color, aroma, taste and nutrition has completely conquered her heart.

Perhaps it was this kind of Dongpo meat that allowed Miyoko Hojo to slowly see through something.

Not being greasy does not mean that you are pure-hearted and stoic, but that you should not be defeated by the difficulties in front of you, and then always stick to your original intention, maintain enterprising spirit, creativity and thirst for knowledge.

At this moment, Hojo Miyoko, who had some understanding, was finally relieved, and unknowingly shed tears!

"why?"

"I'm obviously better than others."

"But just because I am a girl, I have been afraid to inherit the Chinese restaurant. Is it wrong for me to be born?"

"No, I don't want this fate where I can see my head at a glance."

"I just want to resist to the end, and I just want to prove to everyone that women are not necessarily worse than men, and they can also do anything well!"

Miyoko Hojo couldn't help but recall her past time at a Chinese restaurant in Osaka, with unavoidable unwillingness in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)