Shokugeki: Start with an izakaya, making everyone cry

Crackling!

Crackling!

As the temperature gradually increased, there were also sounds coming from inside the tile.

At the same time, a strong aroma of pork dumplings slowly spread from the seams of the tiles to the surrounding directions, and finally enveloped the entire izakaya.

"fry?"

"bake?"

"stew?"

"Are they not water dumplings, but fire dumplings?"

Leonora, after recovering from the shock, said in shock.

"Mom, what are hot dumplings?" Alice, who didn't know much about traditional cuisine, listened in confusion.

"That's a dumpling dish from Nantong, Jiangsu Province. Different from steamed dumplings, fire dumplings are fried, so what Zhang Fan made is really not fried dumplings!"

"But it's also strange that flames are usually made with freshly boiled water."

“When frying, you also have to fry over medium-high heat.”

"But this method of installing it on a bamboo fence inside the tile and heating it with fire is rare."

"No!"

"I've never seen that in my life."

He looked at Alice with an "idiot" look.

Erina over there did not wait for Leonora to answer this question, so she stood up and answered first.

"Indeed, the filling of hot dumplings is made with fresh pork."

"Perhaps there is some deviation in the shape of the dumplings and the way they are heated, which is why I mistakenly thought they were fried dumplings just now?"

Leonora, nodded.

"Ah? Dumplings, it turns out there are water dumplings and fire dumplings?"

Alice, confused!

……

On the food map of China.

Nantong Fire Dumplings can be described as a shining pearl.

Maybe many people only know Huaiyang cuisine from Yangzhou and Huai'an, the two "world's food capitals".

But in fact, there is another treasure town in Jiangsu that was once as famous as Yangzhou and has the same delicious food, but has always been forgotten:

Nantong!

Thanks to the blessings of Jianghai.

In this place, you can eat all kinds of seafood and seasonal fresh products in different ways throughout the year.

It can be said that thanks to the geographical conditions, Nantong people can always find unique tastes in their daily lives.

Among many local Nantong dishes, the preparation method of fire dumplings is very different from that of boiled dumplings. The unique aroma of dumplings and the distinctive flavor of Huaiyang cuisine always attract the attention of diners.

……

Time passes slowly.

When the time was almost up, Zhang Fan put out the charcoal fire under the grill and used the remaining heat to continue heating the dumplings.

Then, after the temperature inside the Waong cooled down slightly, he used a pair of long chopsticks to pick out the flame dumplings one by one and placed them on an exquisite ceramic plate.

"You two, these are the flame dumplings you want."

Immediately afterwards, he brought two plates of dumplings to Leonora and Alice.

Taking a closer look, the shape of the dumplings on the plate really looked like a flame, and even some other aspects were completely different from ordinary dumplings.

"It doesn't feel familiar!"

"Could it be that the charcoal grilling method just now caused the heat to be insufficient?"

"No, I just remembered that... what kind of instrument it came from, and there was that crackling sound coming from inside, so..."

Seeing these flame-shaped dumplings, the surface did not have that burnt and crispy color, and they were still white, which made Alice deeply puzzled.

It might as well be fire dumplings.

Or I mistook it for fried dumplings.

According to her understanding, the dumplings should be heated until the skin has that crispy feel before they can be called flame dumplings, right?

"Don't worry, this dish still needs the last step!"

Zhang Fan raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

Then after a brief thought, he turned around and took out a cooking musket.

……

First increase the heat to maximum, then gently move your fingers.

Suddenly, the half-meter-long flame spurted out and enveloped all the dumplings on the plate.

The dazzling firelight and the crackling sound after the dumplings were directly burned made everyone wake up from a dream and completely understand.

Dumplings do not breathe fire on their own, but they can be engulfed by flames.

The hot flames quickly faded and dissipated, and the white dumpling skin turned brown.

This means that the real flame dumplings are finally taking shape quickly at this moment, completely revealed in front of Leonora, Alice and all the diners.

"So...so awesome!"

"I didn't expect it to actually turn into a flame dumpling."

Before she started eating, Leonora was shocked two or three times by the flame dumplings in front of her.

The same goes for Alice Nakiri here. Judging from her small mouth that was wide enough to put the eggs in, it shows that she was also particularly surprised!

……

Zizizi!

Heated by direct combustion of flame.

The thick special sauce began to overflow from the cracks in the flame dumplings.

The moment it comes into contact with the crispy dumpling skin, it immediately makes a wonderful sound.

Ok.

Very tempting!

"Using a cooking gun is also a helpless move."

"The most shocking thing about this dish is the scene at the end where the dumplings are burned directly with fire."

"It usually requires the kind of stagecraft, oh, that means holding a lit stick, holding strong liquor in your mouth, and then blowing it out in one breath."

"Using the effect of spirits turning into fine mist molecules in the air and igniting immediately when encountering an open flame, for heating."

"This kind of performance is definitely more amazing than using a musket."

"But the reason why I don't use it is that it is relatively unsafe. Secondly, I am a chef and cannot drink irritating wine."

Seeing that the size of the flame dumpling had doubled in size, Leonora and Alice, mother and daughter who were stabbed to death, did not understand Zhang Fan's explanation at all.

"Wow, dumplings can play such amazing tricks."

"I really... really don't know what to say for a moment!"

Finally, Alice, who regained her consciousness a little, became very excited for a moment, and even her speech began to be a little incoherent.

……

As we all know, no matter what kind of dumpling it is, it always has four main parts: dumpling wrapper, stuffing, making method, and dipping sauce.

Therefore, from a practical point of view, any dumplings must meet the "delicious" standard.

The dumpling skin should be firm, translucent and firm, the filling should not be fishy, ​​and the scallions and ginger should add flavor without being smelly or spicy. Then, the meat filling is full of meaty taste, juicy and rich in flavor.

The flavor of the dipping sauce should be soft and rich!

And if you can look at it from these angles, Zhang Fan's flame dumpling dish is not as dry as frying, but it doesn't have the greasy feeling at all.

If you look closely, you can see that it looks like a flame, with a little bit of wet oil.

The color gradually changes from top to bottom, with the upper part being light yellow and the bottom part slightly burnt.

Under the weak light, it is really like a smart "flame", which can be described in four words:

So cute!

……

"Yes, every step of this cooking."

"It's all beyond expectations. This is the first time I've seen it in my life. It's incredible."

Staring at the flaming dumplings, Leonora was filled with surprise.

Although she is from a foreign country, Northern Europe, due to her own eating habits, she rarely comes into contact with dumpling dishes from China. But as the head of the Nakiri International Research Department, she would definitely not know nothing like Alice.

This dish made her realize one thing:

There is no such thing as the most useless ingredients and dishes, only the most useless chefs!

Especially the unique aroma mixed with the flame roasting made her have the urge to eat it immediately.

Finally, she couldn't bear it any longer. Under the watchful eyes of Zhang Fan and others, she picked up a pair of chopsticks, eagerly picked up a small dumpling, and slowly put it into her mouth.

……

Click!

Just a small bite.

The crispy and slightly sweet skin immediately fell apart in her little mouth.

What follows is the meat filling inside paired with a slightly hot and salty sauce.

In an instant, every taste bud cell on the tongue is jumping for joy like an early bird.

"Ok?"

"This this……"

Leonora quickly noticed something and couldn't help chewing with her teeth again.

Sweet, salty, crispy, winey, wheaty, meaty, vegetable and other complex flavors and textures are constantly rippling in your gentle mouth.

For a moment, the slight tingling sensation rising from the base of the tongue gave Leonora, who had eaten countless delicious dishes, a taste experience she had never experienced before!

“From the selection of ingredients to the techniques of mixing dough and stuffing.”

"Actually, after some research, you will know that they are basically the same as ordinary dumplings."

"And if you follow the cooking method of dumplings, people will naturally not expect it, but this dish has a secret that even I almost deceived."

After swallowing, Leonora seemed to have some realization.

She raised her head and took a deep look at Zhang Fan. Her thoughts were extremely confused and she didn't know what she was thinking.

After all, Zhang Fan's cooking shocked her every time, and even easily subverted her own concept of cooking.

"Mom, what's the secret?"

"When I was eating it, I felt that there was no difference between these dumpling dishes. Aren't they still dumplings?"

"It's just that smell...ah...mmmmmm...it's so good!"

Next to her, Alice Nakiri, who had eaten so much that there was grease residue on the corners of her mouth, was talking stupidly. Then she felt that it was not enough, so she picked up another dumpling and started eating it with her mouth wide open.

"Alice, do you know why you use those traditional Chinese wares?"

"Wa Weng? That strange and strange instrument is called a Wa Weng?"

Alice shook her head innocently, saying that she had never seen such an instrument before.

"The reason for using this kind of Waong utensil."

"It should be that this kind of utensil is more airtight and can preserve the fresh taste of food to the greatest extent."

"Coupled with the material of tile, it is particularly suitable for slow and gentle cooking, and the requirements for heat are relatively high."

"At the same time, the tile is also arc-shaped vertically, so that a circulation can be formed inside to retain the heat to the maximum extent."

"In short, you don't have to understand Alice, but you can't underestimate anything inconspicuous. It can often play a major role without you knowing it!"

……

"I see."

"It turns out that the use of anything has its value!"

After hearing her mother's meaningful words, Alice couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

In the plot of the original work, it was because she didn’t understand seaweed bento and some common sense that she lost to Yukihira Soma in the autumn selection.

Since the end of the residential training activity, she has been working very hard to develop new dishes and constantly summarize the shortcomings of her abilities, but she has not gained anything, or has not made much progress.

The reason must be related to her lack of knowledge and awareness of many common people.

"I see."

"Kneading the dough with boiling water will form two different kinds of dough."

"General dumplings are made from cold water dough, but flame dumplings are made from hot water dough, so the ripening methods are different."

“The former must be boiled, but the latter can be fried and grilled to produce different flavors!”

As she continued to eat the flame dumplings, Leonora couldn't help but activate her mouth escape technique and wanted to talk endlessly.

"Yes, but using boiling water to knead the dough is not a groundbreaking technique."

Hearing this, Zhang Fan just smiled and replied.

"Of course I know that boiling water to make noodles is not a strange idea in itself."

"But one thing is obvious. There are definitely many secrets in this flame dumpling dish that I don't know about. No, I have to eat a few more."

After saying that, Leonora quickly picked up another dumpling and tasted it carefully again!

To be honest, if it weren't for her noble "mature woman" image.

She really wanted to swallow all these flame dumplings in one bite.

After taking a few bites, the taste of the meat filling became more and more wonderful. It contained a taste that she had never tasted before.

Compared with beef, shrimp, etc., these steamed buns stuffed with ordinary pork were much smoother and more tender, and even made her have the illusion that the tip of her tongue was melting.

……

Slowly, she couldn't help but enter a state.

I saw Leonora Nakiri in a tender green grassland, wearing a crown, riding a white horse, holding a sharp sword, and wearing armor. She looked like a cold and glamorous queen, exuding a noble temperament all over her body.

Opposite her, there was a knight riding a "pig". The knight's appearance was naturally that of Zhang Fan.

But unlike the gentle character in reality, he is almost crazy, holding a long gun, and what's even more interesting is that when he sits down, the pig's two nostrils can spit out flames, and his expression is quite ferocious.

"Attack!"

Suddenly, Leonora rushed over with a sharp sword raised.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Fan, who was riding a pig, also ran quickly from a distance, waved the spear in his hand, and gave her the hardest blow!

"what!"

"I...what's wrong with me?"

"Why does it seem like you were fucked by a pig? No, no, no, Zhang Fan?"

Suddenly, Leonora woke up, couldn't help but murmur, her expression became more and more shocked. (End of chapter)