Shokugeki: Start with an izakaya, making everyone cry

At noon.

The sun was shining brightly and the sky was a bright blue.

Accompanied by Zhang Fan, Fei Shasha finally experienced the fun of shopping and bought his most beloved clothes.

So along the way, even though she felt more and more tired, she was still very happy!
……

the next day.

At night, the time should be around 8:.

Totsuki Academy, the most important building between the moon and the sky, is about to usher in the autumn selection of the semi-finals.

Ah!
That is, the finals!
The female emcee Kawashima Rei, who looked cute and was still wearing idol-style clothes, came to the stage.

The dazzling lights on the stage focused on her, making her temporarily the most shining presence in the entire competition venue.

And her appearance immediately aroused the enthusiasm of many boys present.

"Hey."

"Good evening, dear viewers!"

"Presumably, everyone is very excited now, right?"

"After all, tonight between the moon and the sky, we will witness history and a fierce and passionate cooking competition."

"Well, to make a long story short, I announce that the finals of this autumn selection will start at nine o'clock in the evening. Everything before that can be regarded as preparation and rest time."

After glancing around, Kawashima Rei blinked deliberately, and then said: "Okay, I would like to invite four contestants to appear."

Immediately afterwards, Nakiri Alice, Yukihira Soma, Kurokiba Ryo and Hayama Ryo, these four characters who currently represent the highest combat power among the freshmen, all appeared one after another.

At the same time, their ingredients, kitchen utensils, instruments, etc. were also moved to the cooking table by some staff.

"Next, I would like to ask the operating committee to start announcing the cooking topics for the finals."

After saying that, Hui Isekki, who was the operating officer of this final cooking competition, hurriedly brought up the freezer full of saury from the backstage.

In fact, in the final competition every autumn, the cooking questions are often not specific dishes such as curry, burgers, desserts, ramen, bento, etc., but specific ingredients.

In other words, after passing the evaluation of the top ten heroes represented by Si Yingshi.

The competition question is:
Saury.

……

At this time, it is the beginning of autumn.

Therefore, it is more reasonable to choose seasonal ingredients that fit the mood of autumn and let participating students compete against each other.

And there is no doubt that with the emergence of saury, autumn has arrived, and the story of the autumn selection has also reached its climax!

Although there are many seasonal ingredients, such as:
Spring Mackerel.

Sweetfish in summer.

Yellowtail in winter.

As for the taste of autumn, of course it’s saury!

In the neon country, saury is known as "the poetry of autumn".

Because at this time, the saury will go south to prepare for reproduction, so its meat is the most plump, and it is also known as the "fat saury".

Then, the name saury is also due to the slender body of this fish, which looks like a sharp knife as a whole.

However, fish that are rich in oil generally have a strong aroma, but saury is particularly fishy, ​​rich in oil but not fragrant. The taste of sea fish is usually relatively fresh. It is sea fish, but it is not fresh!

Therefore, this is a fish that combines all unpleasant tastes such as salty, oily, bitter, and fishy.

On this basis, its meat quality is still very good.

That's right.

The fish with such a rich oil tastes like wood!

A good saury must be alive, but this is also difficult to obtain.

Because 99% of the saury on the market is dead. After all, it dies when it leaves the sea water, and it deteriorates very quickly.

……

"It is my solemn invitation that the three judges of the final competition will appear."

As soon as Rei Kawashima finished speaking, Leonora, the commander-in-chief, and Gin Dojima all came to the judging table.

Then, the glass cover on the ceiling began to slowly open, causing the entire previously closed space between the moon and the sky to become "open air."

Thanks to this, the bright moon in the night sky finally shone little by little between the moon and the sky!
In an instant.

The audience present all exclaimed in surprise.

"The luminous scenery tonight is so beautiful!"

Looking up at this moment, I saw that the moon hanging in mid-air was as round as a jade plate.

Maybe it sensed this feast in the human world, and appeared shyly from behind the clouds in a very "interesting" manner, looming like a bright lamp moving slowly in the clouds, occasionally casting a few rays of silver-white moonlight from the gaps in the clouds. .

Involuntarily, Leonora Nakiri was immersed in it, unable to extricate herself.

In fact, it took exactly two hours for the moonlight to go from illuminating the entire competition venue to completely disappearing.

Yes, it just corresponds to the game time.

"Zhang Fan!"

"If you could have accepted my suggestion and come to Totsuki Academy."

"Then you will most likely be the judge of the autumn selection. Hey, what a pity!"

For some reason, the commander-in-chief, who was thinking a lot, actually thought of this at this moment:

The owner of the izakaya, Zhang Fan!

……

Finally, the time comes.

The commander-in-chief directly announced the start of the competition, and the four contestants present hurriedly went to the freezer to pick out the saury.

"It's interesting. The saury they got is of very good quality."

Leonora Nakiri, who was at the judging table, was a little surprised.

She couldn't help but look at her daughter Alice, her eyes were inevitably more doting, but also a bit expectant.

As a mother, she naturally hopes that she can defeat the other three people in the final and defend the championship.

But, on the other hand.

She is also the reviewer, so what she needs to do is:

fair and just!

……

After preparing all the preliminary work.

Alice couldn't help but pick up a slender saury, her eyes became sharp, and then turned to face the listless Kurokiba Ryo over there, and said lightly: "Ryo, when I was in Northern Europe, I always lost. Lose to you."

"But I think it won't happen this time, because I will use the latest molecular cuisine technology to defeat you!"

"Ok?"

"Miss, let's wait and see."

Kurokiba Ryo was startled, then took out a red scarf and put it on his head.

The next moment, his whole body's aura suddenly changed, like a ferocious wild wolf, full of dangerous aura, which made people shudder.

"Father, I will inherit your will and win this game."

Soma closed his eyes and enjoyed the cheers around him.

"Run, we have finally come this far. I think I won't lose this time, right?"

Over there, Ryo Hayama was smelling the smell of saury and muttering to himself.

From the preliminary round of 64 contestants, to the quarter-finals, and now the finals...it has not been easy all the way.

After all, everyone holds their own beliefs and ideals, and then pursues them desperately.

Lost?

Not necessarily a loser.

What about winning?
You may not be able to persist until the end.

Here at Totsuki Academy, there are possibilities for everyone!
...Time passes a little.

All I saw was that Ryo Hayama first removed the gills and internal organs of the saury, rinsed it clean, and drained the water.

Then apply cooking wine and steamed fish soy sauce all over the body, spread honey barbecue sauce all over the body, and marinate for more than half an hour. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees.

Place the fish on the tin foil, sprinkle ginger shreds inside and outside the fish belly, pour the marinade juice on the fish, wrap it with tin foil, place it on the baking sheet and bake on the upper shelf of the oven, it will take about 25 minutes.

"Oh?"

"Is it salt-grilled saury?"

Seeing what Ye Shanliang did, the commander-in-chief inevitably became a little interested.

You know, the taste of saury is three parts fragrant, three parts fresh, half sweet and three parts uncertain.

"The saury he brought out was of very good quality. I remember that he seemed to be good at using spices. I wonder what kind of cuisine he would make?"

Beside, Leonora's eyes flickered and she murmured to herself.

……

at the same time.

Kurokiba is cool, but what he cooks is pan-fried saury.

Also clean the saury and remove the internal organs, then add salt, black pepper, and sliced ​​lemon to marinate.

Heat the frying pan, pour a little olive oil, put the marinated saury into the pan, pour in oyster sauce, fry until the skin is slightly charred, flip the other side, and continue frying until the fish is slightly charred.

Squeeze lemon juice over the fish and sprinkle some chili powder and cumin powder.

Over there, Yukihira Soma also started to handle the saury. Before cleaning the saury, he scalded it in 80% hot water and took it out.

Gently scrape off the mucus on the fish, push the fish belly away, make a cut along the backbone with a knife, apply coarse salt and lemon on the internal organs, and place on the chopping board for pickling.

Then grill it until the sound of sizzling and the aroma of grilled fish fill the entire venue.

As soon as I smell the smell, I feel that autumn is already here!
"Look, look, look."

"What kind of machine is that?"

"As expected of the finals, Miss Alice seems to be serious about it."

Amidst the exclamations, everyone noticed Alice.

At this time, she is preparing two machines, one is a constant temperature water bath, and the other is a vacuum laminating machine.

Adjust the temperature of the constant temperature water bath to 60.5°C, and then cook the saury using the sous vide method.

……

Two hours can be said to be long, but it can also be said to be short.

For the four contestants, every minute, or even every second, cannot be taken care of, and they must concentrate on making the dishes.

Finally, their saury dishes have entered the final stage.

Chuangzhen cuts 5 fish rolls in half, and 10 rolls fit into one plate.

Blanch the peas and pea sprouts, mash some of the peas in a food processor, add a little salt to taste and serve as green bean sauce, and serve the fish rolls with green bean sauce.

At this point, his rosemary grilled saury is complete.

at the same time.

Hayama Ryo's salt-grilled saury, completed.

Kurokiba Ryo's saury dish is complete.

Alice Nakiri's sous-vide saury is complete!

The four people finished cooking almost at the same time, which means that the finals of this autumn competition have entered the judging stage.

……

First, let’s taste Hayama Ryo’s cuisine.

His saury has a slight bitter taste in the mouth at first, but it is not very bitter.

Suddenly, the three judges, the Commander-in-Chief, Leonora, and Gin Dojima, were thoughtful and confused, feeling sad and lonely.

Ah!
Obvious.

This is the olfactory memory of saury!

Hayama Ryo, who is good at spices, naturally uses various ingredients to bring out the fragrance of saury to the extreme.

As a result, the saury after entering the mouth is mixed with the fresh aroma of the fish meat, the crispiness of the fish skin, and a hint of fishy smell.

Coupled with the slight acidity of lemon juice, your taste buds can feel the burst of appetite all the time.

Chew it carefully and enjoy the taste...

wonderful!

Next, it’s Ryo Kurokiba’s cooking.

When a piece of pan-fried saury was served, everyone present was attracted by its charming color.

The body of the fish is golden and attractive, the surface is slightly browned, and it exudes a mouth-watering aroma. Especially its graceful posture and smooth lines give people a dynamic feeling.

“Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and rich in seasoning flavor.”

"As soon as you take a bite, the deliciousness and seasoning of saury can be intertwined, leaving you with endless aftertaste..."

then.

It’s Yukihira Soma’s cuisine.

Then, there is Alice’s sous vide molecular saury cuisine.

……

"I really didn't expect that."

"These four people have different starting points and personalities."

"Ryo Hayama has a divine sense of smell, Ryo Kurokkiba has unique insights in the field of seafood, Souma Yukihira has rich experience, and Alice has unique insights into molecular cuisine. Her cooking cannot be done with common sense. Go and look at it and figure it out.”

"Generally speaking, their respective dishes are all done very well. It's hard to tell the difference."

Leonora looked at the moonlight above her head that was about to disappear. She had some thoughts and some realizations, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes!"

"But in the end, wasn't Alice the one who had the upper hand?"

"There are talented people from generation to generation, each leading the way for hundreds of years. With them here at Totsuki Academy, I feel relieved!"

The commander-in-chief nodded sympathetically and said softly.

Not to mention, the overall strength of this class of Yuanyue students is very strong.

In addition to the four finalists Ryo Hayama, Ryo Kurokiba, Soma Yukihira and Alice Nakiri, there are also Erina Nakiri, Hisako Nito, Eifan Tadokoro, Ikumi Mito, Miyoko Hojo, etc. wait……

Perhaps, the current Totsuki Academy has already entered:

The era of rough jade!

……

"Leora La, the autumn selection is all over."

"Do you want to go back to the Nordic Research Institute, or continue to stay in Toyue? It seems to me that Alice is here without your company, so that's not okay!"

Finally, the commander-in-chief came to his senses for a moment, turned around and said to Aurora Nakiri next to him.

"Commander, I'll stay in Yuanyue for the time being."

"After all, there are still many things here that need and are worthy of my witness."

Leonora said without thinking.

"Well, it's great if you can stay with Alice!"

Commander-in-Chief, after hearing Nakirei Aurora's answer, he couldn't help but feel a little satisfied.

Immediately afterwards, he hurriedly stood up and left Yuetianma, leaving the entire competition venue to Leonora and Dojima Gin.

After all, as the general coach, he still has a lot of things to be busy with after the autumn selection, such as:
Personally entertain the VIPs and experts who came to serve as judges for the autumn competition!

Ah!
So be it.

The autumn selection competition has officially ended! (End of chapter)