Shokugeki: Start with an izakaya, making everyone cry

It’s not a good idea to find your favorite izakaya.

Due to the popularity of short videos in recent years, small izakayas with acceptable taste and decoration often quickly become Internet celebrity shops and become noisy check-in landmarks!

Living in a super first-tier city where the surroundings are constantly changing is even more difficult to be like the plots of gourmet movies and film and television dramas.

Get to know a bunch of neighbors at the corner izakaya that has been in business for many years.

Over the years, trust and understanding develop.

Fortunately.

There is Zhang Fan’s Izakaya.

There are many dishes here, and of course most of them are side dishes to go with wine.

From the simplest egg fried rice, cold tofu, and wine steamed clams, to the more complicated ones like roasted bird, siomai, and sashimi sashimi.

After a few twists and turns, you can have a delicious meal in less than an hour!

……

Wipe the entire set of Quezhiyun kitchen utensils clean.

Afterwards, Zhang Fan, who was able to relax a little, secretly looked at the mother and daughter Nakiri Erina and Nakiri Managi with the corner of his eyes.

I remember the plot of the original book. They had a bad relationship with each other. They would quarrel and blame each other when they met.

Available in izakaya.

Wave after wave of diners were gone.

But they were always talking to each other and chatting non-stop!

"Haha, the progress of the relationship between the two is beyond my expectation." Looking back, Zhang Fan only murmured.

Soon, a stranger appeared in the izakaya. He was slightly short in height, his forehead was deliberately dyed golden, and he often held his hands behind his head when walking. He had a rather "dandy" temperament.

As soon as he came in, he kept looking at Zhang Fan, and finally stepped forward and asked: "Are you Zhang, the owner of the izakaya?"

"Ok!"

"I'm."

Zhang Fan nodded and responded.

"As expected, it's you. Just like what Miyoko Hojo said, your appearance is indeed not far different from Siyingshi."

Kuga Teruki's eyes flashed, he adjusted his clothes a little, and then continued seriously: "Let me introduce myself, I am the eighth seat of the current ten outstanding people in Totsuki, the leader of the largest Chinese cuisine research association in Totsuki, and the first master of Chinese cuisine... …Jiuwa Teruki!”

"Just tell me your name."

"Here, all diners are the same and will not be treated differently based on their status."

Zhang Fan frowned and felt a little ashamed. He thought that the original "protagonist" Yukihira Soma was already good enough for the second grade, but...

This Jiuwo Zhaoji is even better than him.

Of course, the two people's personalities are indeed very similar. They are both newborn calves who are not afraid of tigers.

Kuuga, as a first-year student, dared to directly challenge Siyingshi at the Red Leaf Hunting Competition. Although the final outcome was a complete defeat with a score of 5:0, due to this courage and courage, he has completely made a name for himself in Yuanyue!

"Cough cough."

"I heard that you have a rule here about ordering food at will?"

Kuga Teruki suddenly felt embarrassed. Maybe he also felt that what he just said was very frivolous and rude.

So, he could only pretend to cough and ask Zhang Fan.

"Yes, there is this rule. I just heard you mention Miyoko Hojo. I guess you were introduced by her?" Zhang Fan asked back.

"She said you are the real master of Chinese cuisine."

"I'm definitely not convinced by this, so I just want to come and see your cooking skills."

After saying that, Kuaga Teruki rubbed his chin with one hand, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Can I have a plate of Kung Pao Chicken first?"

"can."

"Just wait."

Zhang Fan shrugged and then returned to the cooking table.

……

giggle!

Soon, a clear and loud sound of cock crow appeared in the izakaya.

Zhang Fan, who grabbed a live chicken from the underground food warehouse, had a murderous look in his clear eyes.

The chicken he caught probably knew its fate, and kept flapping its wings, trying to escape.

Seeing this, Zhang Fan twisted the chicken's neck harder.

"Kekeke,kekeke..."

The chicken crows again.

It was louder than before, and it was indeed a singing voice that had been practiced for two and a half years!

Zhang Fan, who looked serious, took out another red rope, tied the chicken's feet, and pressed it firmly on the chopping board.

Then, without saying a word, he picked up the kitchen knife and slit the chicken's throat to bleed it.

Killing chickens may be a common thing for a chef, but seeing how neat and straightforward his whole process was, Teruki Kuaga couldn't help but be stunned.

After bleeding, Zhang Fan wiped the little bit of chicken blood remaining on the kitchen knife with a disinfectant wipe, then plucked the hair and started cutting.

Turn the belly of the chicken downward, make a small incision on the left side of the right wing on the back, take out the crop, and finally pull out the internal organs from the incision below for the next step.

After that, cut off two chicken wings.

Remove the bones, peel off the top skin, and wash it.

Then use the back of the kitchen knife to gently pat the chicken thigh meat, and finally cut it.

I saw dazzling knife lights flashing by, and Zhang Fan cut the chicken legs on the chopping board into diced chicken pieces that were only 1 cubic centimeter in size!

"So fast... I can't even see his knife skills clearly."

With his eyes fixed on the diced chicken that was cut into square and even pieces, Kuga Teruki couldn't help but show an expression of disbelief.

……

Water and fire are incompatible, but the harmony of water and fire is the essence and soul of cooking.

Chinese cuisine originally emphasizes the importance of heat among various and colorful cooking techniques.

However, knife skills are also very important.

And it’s no exaggeration to say that knife skills can completely change the texture and taste of a dish.

For example, if you cut carrots into shreds as thin as vermicelli, they will be soft but not meaty, the taste will be greatly improved, and it will be easier to savor.

Therefore, Jiuga has always respected knife skills more than others. He also deeply understands that a true master of Chinese cuisine should have skilled knife skills.

In front of him, Zhang Fan displayed his knife skills.

He felt inferior to himself and looked forward to the next Kung Pao Chicken dish even more.

Afterwards, Zhang Fan held a bowl.

Add half a spoonful of oil, cooking wine, and pepper, add diced chicken and stir, then add starch and water, stir, and finally set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.

During this 10 minutes, he quickly cut the cucumber into cubes.

Cut the scallions into sections, take another bowl and add salt, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, cooking wine and ginger slices, mix well.

A black pot was already hot. He poured a little oil into it, added Sichuan peppercorns, and when the spiciness was boiling out, he added scallions, then added marinated diced chicken, and began to stir-fry.

Finally, when the chicken becomes golden brown, add peanuts.

Continue to stir-fry a few times, and finally thicken with water starch and serve.

In this way, a steaming plate of Kung Pao Chicken is completed.

……

Upon closer inspection, this plate of Kung Pao Chicken looks particularly beautiful. The chicken is slightly shiny with oil, and the chubby peanuts are topped with chili peppers, as if they are wearing a red robe, and it is like a picture of a fairyland on earth.

The fragrance it exudes can make people almost intoxicated just by smelling it.

Simultaneously.

Some of the soup that has been thickened three times is dark brown.

There are oil flowers floating on it, making every ingredient tender and juicy.

The color of the long and thin chili peppers is very bright, and a slight spiciness permeates the rich soup, bringing the passion contained in this dish to Kuga Teruki who is very close at hand.

He couldn't help but move the tip of his nose and get closer to smell the aroma of Kung Pao Chicken. He suddenly felt a slightly spicy smell that hit his face instantly.

Whether it's chicken or shredded carrots.

The aromas of these ingredients are all invisibly intertwined.

This makes Teruki Kuaga at this moment really have the urge to pick up chopsticks and take a few bites!

……

quack!

First throw a peanut into your mouth and chew it a few times.

In an instant, the crispiness of the peanuts appeared immediately, and then the mellow fragrance was instantly stimulated in Kuaga Teruki's mouth.

Fragrant.

crisp.

concentrated.

fresh.

There is a little bit of salt and Sichuan peppercorns stuck to the peanut kernels, which highlights the salty, peppery and numb taste.

At the same time, after the oil is passed through, it cools down quickly, resulting in the crunchy texture of the peanuts. Even if I don’t need any words to describe it, it will make me feel very fragrant and delicious.

Finally, Kuga slowly closed his eyes.

Start to calm down and experience these wonderful feelings carefully.

After tasting a few peanuts in a row, he opened his eyes directly, picked up the diced chicken more eagerly, and continued to feast.

"what?"

"This...this smell."

After entering the mouth, the first thing you feel is a slightly stimulating spicy aroma.

Then, when I took a bite, the diced chicken was smooth and chewy, with a hint of mellow aroma and a sweet lychee aroma.

Various flavors are combined together, salty, spicy, fragrant, sour, sweet, etc. are constantly blending with each other, and the taste buds in the mouth are instantly detonated.

……

"Great!"

“In my impression, Kung Pao Chicken is always spicy.”

"It tastes very much like lychee, but I rarely taste it. Even Kung Pao Chicken tastes better!"

"Is this...is this still the Kung Pao Chicken that I remember?"

At this time, Kuga Teruki really wanted to swear that he had never tasted such delicious Kung Pao Chicken in his life.

Even though he is a chef who is good at Chinese cuisine, even though he has always been highly accomplished in this area, he was still particularly shocked at this time.

For a person of his status, in fact, every time he eats, he basically has some rather arrogant dishes.

And he must have eaten a lot of state banquet dishes like Kung Pao Chicken in his life.

but.

Even so.

In my mind, this Kung Pao Chicken should...have never tasted so delicious, right?

Obviously, compared with the many Kung Pao Chicken dishes he had eaten before and made, the dish Zhang Fan made was definitely 10 times, 100 times, or even 1000 times more delicious than them!

……

Gradually, after eating a few pieces of diced chicken.

Kuaga Teruki no longer maintained the slow and chewing motion, but quickly picked it up with chopsticks.

Finally, he asked Zhang Fan for a bowl of rice and ate it with the delicious Kung Pao Chicken. Unexpectedly, as soon as the rice entered his mouth, he completely won over Teruki Kuga!

"hiss!"

"What kind of fairy rice is this?"

"How...how does it taste so delicious?"

There is a fragrant taste in the simple rice.

As he continued to chew, the smell filled his mouth and nasal cavity. It was fresh and pleasant, making him feel refreshed.

Rice has distinct grains.

It’s not like the one made in a rice cooker, it’s very sticky and lacks texture!

Especially the soup in Kung Pao Chicken, put a little more on top of the rice. The sweet, sour and spicy juice is a great addition to rice, and you can't stop eating it.

In this way, he quickly devoured the entire bowl of rice.

Next to it, the plate of Kung Pao Chicken was also at its bottom. Finally, even the few green onions left on the plate were put into the bowl by Kuga Teruki, and the soup was also mixed into the rice.

Ah!

I can tell.

But no one who comes to the izakaya wastes food.

……

"Spicy lychee flavor?"

"Sure enough, this is another flavor of Kung Pao Chicken."

"The entrance is as sweet and sour as lychee, and then slowly turns into a mellow salty taste, and the final aftertaste is filled with a hint of spicy..."

"This change in taste is the real Kung Pao Chicken!"

"Shopkeeper, prepare the Kung Pao juice."

"But the essence of this dish is also the test of the chef's seasoning ability."

"Especially this kind of spicy lychee-flavored Kung Pao juice requires the chef to use a scientific and rigorous attitude to prepare it gram by gram and taste it bit by bit."

"In this process, dozens of ingredients and hundreds of tests may be required. One minute more or less will have a fatal impact on the taste."

“I’ve made Kung Pao Chicken countless times in my life.”

"But I have to admit that when it comes to mixing kung pao juice, I'm far behind you!"

After saying that, Teruki Kuga's eyes unconsciously showed a hint of complexity.

This plate of Kung Pao Chicken was undoubtedly a slap in the face. It was a way to prove to him that Chinese cuisine can be very successful even if it does not deliberately lead to spicy food.

……

"The soul of the preparation of Kung Pao juice is that the ratio of vinegar to sugar is 1:1."

"Only with this kind of arm strength can you have a taste experience of sourness before sweetness. In short, the seasoning part is different from the heat and knife skills. It is actually very subjective!"

"There are no fixed combinations, and there are no certain techniques, but this is where the truly great Chinese cuisine chefs excel."

Zhang Fan just smiled and said lightly.

"It seems to make sense."

I pondered for a while, and then I seemed to realize something.

He has always believed that Sichuan cuisine such as Kung Pao Chicken uses Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers to stir-fry the dish, using spiciness to bring out the excitement of the dish.

But in Zhang Fan's view, this approach is obviously too simple and crude.

Without a history of blood and tears in kitchen experiments, how could one make Kung Pao Chicken with a variety of flavors and a rich taste that resembles the ups and downs of life? (End of chapter)