Shokugeki no Imitation Chef

"It's full of duck fat...wouldn't it be very greasy?" In the audience, Liu Maoyuan looked at the duck meat in front of the judges and said.

After Yuanyue's two teams entered the main match, all the college students were arranged to come to New York Town for off-campus study, and when there was a competition, tickets were arranged for everyone.

At this time, the dish presented by Paul looks like a normal western food plate, with a piece of golden duck leg meat, surrounded by mushrooms, small potatoes, bulbs...

But not long ago, everyone saw that this piece of duck leg was cooked in oil!

"This is 'French Confit Duck Leg', which is not a rare new dish. 'Fried Confit' is more common in French cuisine. If the final 'fried' heat is controlled enough, it can weaken the previous greasy feeling. " Yuki said.

She was originally a player of Yuanyue's third team, but because the third team had already been eliminated, although the competition had reserved a special viewing area for them, Yu Ji still liked to come and squeeze in the ordinary audience seats with everyone.

"However, what does this dish have to do with the title 'Winter'? As for duck meat... there is no restriction on the ripening season. If you insist on eating it in summer and autumn, it is more in line with health preservation, right?" Dawu and Zhaoji asked doubtfully. .

Zenji Marui raised his glasses and said, "Did you two sleep again in history class? This dish, or the method of "oil seal", was originally used in Western cuisine to preserve meat in winter." a method!"

"Preserve meat? Preserve in oil?"

"That's right, after the poultry is slaughtered, or the poultry dies, the fat is used to refine the oil, and then the meat is used to cook the meat in a low heat. After it is done, just keep the meat in the oil that has submerged itself, and refrigerate it for a while. It can be preserved for most of the winter." Shanji said.

But now "oil seal" is no longer a means of preserving ingredients, but a unique way of cooking. This transformation is very similar to "sushi" in Japanese cuisine!

Apparently, Paul chose to solve the topic of "winter", which is a cooking method derived from the ancient way of preserving ingredients in winter...

At the beginning, Paul divided the fat part of the duck meat, put it into the same amount of water and boiled it until the water evaporated completely. The duck fat has been "refined" into golden duck fat. This native duck fat, which is of the same origin as duck leg meat, is cooked slowly over low heat.

Just after the duck leg is cut, it is first marinated with the spices adjusted before. In order to save the time of marinating, Paul also used the way of "massaging" the duck leg...

After that, put the marinated duck leg meat into the duck fat that has submerged itself, and slowly "soak" the duck leg meat over low heat!

The temperature should be maintained around the boiling point of water, which means that the "oil" will not be boiled from the beginning to the end...

In modern cooking, the oven is actually used to directly heat the duck leg container covered with duck fat, which can mature the duck leg meat faster.

However, for the best taste and taste experience, Paul slowly soaked the duck leg meat in the oil with low heat!

And after it was cooked, it was kept warming in the oil until the temperature dropped to a level where it was only warm, then it was taken out and fried in a pan until it had the golden color...

The "oil seal" series of dishes are very common in French cuisine, but since Paul cooks them, it's not that simple!

Whether it is the conditioning of the spices, the control of the oil temperature, or the "frying" part that shows his skills the most at the end, they are all impeccable... No, to be precise, it should be described as breathtaking.

The final fried duck leg meat doesn't look greasy at all!

"It's true that judging by the appearance of the judges, not only does it not feel greasy, but it actually whets the appetite..." Liangzi said.

"That's right, it's still far away from the judges' seats, but I seem to be here, and I can hear the crisp sound of 'creaking'!" Yuji said and closed her ears.

Of course it's impossible to really hear it... Otherwise, the judges' eating noises would be too loud!

But when the judges bit off the crispy skin of the duck leg, the crispy taste spread completely in the mouth, followed by the expressions on the face and the body movements instinctively made by the body, which is reminiscent of " The skin of this duck must be really crispy”!

"First, it was scalded in hot oil for two hours, and then the duck was fried in the original sealed oil. How tender will the duck be?" Zhao Er swallowed.

"Not only is it tender! The duck leg meat itself is a relatively active part of the duck meat, and the initial marinating process itself will reduce the moisture content of the duck leg meat. Later, after the duck leg meat is taken out of the duck fat, There is also a short drying in the oven, which will increase the chewiness of the duck leg meat..." Yi Sehui saw more things.

Yisehui did not participate in "All? Blue", but "stayed behind" in Yuanyue's ten outstanding council.

Although the third team of Yuanyue had invited him, but this usually smiling student (bian) head (tai) obviously had a lot of ambitions, and did not accept the invitation of the third team of Yuanyue, but hoped to have his own team after graduation , And after you really have a chance to advance to the main match, sign up for it yourself!

In the same way, those who rejected Oda Nobuna also had Kuga Teruki and Kinokuni Ningning...

"That's not all! When President Paul marinated duck leg meat before, the pressing method used was not only to speed up the effect of marinating, but also a way of 'massaging ingredients'! According to his method, it added three-point chewing The strength is also normal." Kichi Sugiyama, from the family of acupuncture and moxibustion, interjected at this time.

"Ingredient massage? Isn't that the skill of some ancient families in the cultural circle of Chinese cuisine? Chairman Paul still understands this?" Zenji Marui wondered.

Just like the Sugiyama family is now proficient in acupuncture and moxibustion for ingredients, there are also some niche inheritances, who have the skills of massaging ingredients to change the quality of meat!

But how did Paul achieve such a stunt?

This is not something you can learn if you want to learn with an eclectic heart...

"I also know some friends who master the cooking skills derived from 'massage', and the Sugiyama family also has some scattered ingredients massage skills, but it is not as complete as the inheritance of acupuncture skills, so it is not the main focus of our Sugiyama family... Paul The president's method seems to be a little different from the massage stunt, it may be some kind of stunt he figured out by himself, but the principle is very similar to the ingredient massage." Sugiyama Yoshi said.

"That's reasonable... With Chairman Paul's skill, it's not surprising that he can develop a similar stunt..."

Properly marinated, the mellow aroma of the duck oil boiled, and Paul's control of the heat at the end of the frying, the duck legs will not look very greasy, but the skin is crispy, and the duck meat is soft and tender. chewy!

Just after Liu Maoxing and Paul also exchanged dishes, the judges on the other side finally got rid of Paul's "duck leg confit".

At the same time, the staff of "Black and White" came to Liu Maoxing and asked if the dishes were presented, and Liu Maoxing made a "please" gesture.

Although Liu Maoxing can now see some situations other than "Dark Cuisine Showdown", they are all in black and white. Even if outsiders enter the scope of "Dark Cooking Showdown", Liu Maoxing still has a style that he is not in the same style as them a feeling of……

Liu Maoxing even felt that if he ran into each other now, the two of them would pass right by...

Of course, Liu Maoxing doesn't want to make any big news, and it's not suitable for ordinary people to know about "catastrophe" and "dark cooking showdown", so he tries to avoid "supernatural events" as much as possible.

Several staff members presented the dishes to the judges, but Liu Maoxing didn't intend to go over at all. Instead, he "looked at each other" with Paul, each with the other's dishes in front of them.

The five judges just rolled their eyes at this. After all, as any cook, if they had to choose between "communicating with Paul" and "following the judges' tasting", most of them would choose the former, so they didn't think there was a problem. What's so strange...

Except for Senzaemon who guessed some things because they knew about the "catastrophe", the others didn't notice the vision on the field at all, and they understood the current state of Paul and Liu Maoxing as the chefs of the older generation. Master of art, appreciation for the new juniors.

No, some people seem to see something!

"Xiao Linzi, did you find anything wrong on the field?" Xie Yunlong asked in a low voice to Lin Yi beside him.

Most people obviously couldn't understand why this bald old man in beach shorts, floral shirt, and toad mirror would sit carelessly next to Chairman Lin Yi of the Dragon Chef Alliance...

If it wasn't for yesterday, when Xie Yunlong had a small test of his skills and defeated a regular player of the "Italian Royal Cuisine Team" in the individual competition, everyone would probably question now that the Dragon Chef Alliance made such an unreliable Did the old man become a regular player to mock other teams?

"Something's wrong? I didn't see it... The American Cuisine Development Association still values ​​the right to host this event. I watched it for a long time, but I couldn't find anything wrong." Lin Yi was a little puzzled by Master Xie's question.

"I'm not talking about this, I'm saying... that's right! Do you feel that I, to be more precise, we, look at that kid a little bit unpleasant recently?" Xie Yunlong said, pointing to Liu Maoxing on the field.

"Not to mention, don't you like him very much? I also think this young man is good. Compared with a few months ago, his cooking skills are more mature." Lin Yi said as a matter of course.

But he didn't even realize that there was a hint of impatience in his tone...

Because the influence of the "curse" on them is subtle, unless they face Liu Maoxing directly like Paul, otherwise they themselves will not notice the small change in their mentality!

For example, it's not that Lin Yi didn't dislike Liu Maoxing, but he didn't notice that he disliked Liu Maoxing.

"..." Xie Yunlong also felt this at this time.

But at the same time, I feel that there is a voice in my heart, telling myself that this is normal...

"It's normal...well...wait...it's not normal...it's normal...it seems a little bit wrong..." Xie Yunlong himself was entangled.

Maybe it's because of living too long, just like folklore, people who are too old or too young can see things that ordinary people can't see, but in this world, folklore is based on old people I eat a lot in my life, so I can see some unusual things...

Of course, the more likely reason is the nature of the "curse". After all, it is the extinct Neanderthals, and Xie Yunlong, who has inherited all the inheritance of the Bai Luo family, has the heart of "comforting souls". The dead have the function of superseding and comforting.

And the so-called "comfort to the dead" refers to "creatures" that have been transformed into life forms, and cannot affect normal creatures.

Although the life form of the entire Neanderthal group has changed, only Xie Yunlong's "comfort soul" kitchen heart is not enough to completely appease him, but it has made him immune to part of the "curse" and began to notice Own "something is wrong".

At this time, the judges were also discussing. A judge from Michelin looked at Liu Maoxing's cooking, and asked another judge of yellow race who seemed to be from the Dragon Chef Alliance: "Mr. ', does it have anything to do with the title 'Winter' this time? If you can't see it, you can only ask him to explain it."

Indeed, the dish presented by Liu Maoxing is a kind of "barbecue" that chops pork stuffing, steams it in a bamboo tube, and then grills it with charcoal fire. From the perspective of maturity, it is not considered a winter ingredient!

"It's 'Three Friends of Suihan', right? Didn't the name that contestant Liu Maoxing filled in before also say 'Sanyou Barbecue'?" said the judge surnamed Qiao.

"Three Friends of Winter?"

"There are three kinds of plants that keep green in winter. In our culture, they are called "Three Friends of Suihan". The 'plum' which symbolizes purity!"

"Pine, bamboo, plum... Bamboo was obviously used before, and now the barbecue is carried on a pine plate. What about 'plum'?"

The judge even looked at the barbecue in front of him a few more times, as if he wanted to find traces of the existence of "Mei".

"This pork is made from the front groove meat of the pig, and the pork front groove meat is also called 'plum blossom meat' in Chinese cuisine."

"Wait, I admit 'bamboo' and 'plum', but isn't it too far-fetched to directly replace the plate with pine wood?"

"No, that's not the case... I think the reason why I use a wooden tray is not to make a fool of myself, nor is it to forcibly associate with 'pine', but to prevent the oil from roasting meat from seeping out!"

"That's right, pork is rarely used for barbecue, because after roasting raw pork, the meat will be hard and the taste will be bad...The pork stuffing used in 'Sanyou BBQ' not only adds spices, but also balances the taste. Adhesive edible glycerin, but in this way, after roasting, it is inevitable that oil will leak out. If you use ordinary plates, it will make the grilled meat taste greasy, but using a wooden tray that can absorb oil can avoid this.”

"Okay, let's have a taste, how does this 'Three Friends Roast Meat' compare with Chairman Paul's 'Duck Leg Confit'! They are all meat, so it is easier to compare..."

As the five judges spoke, each of them picked up a piece of "Sanyou Barbecue" with chopsticks or inserted it with a fork, and put it in their mouths.

At the same time, Liu Maoxing had already cut a small piece of duck leg meat into his mouth during the competition, and Paul also put a piece of "Sanyou Roast Meat" into his mouth...

Immediately in Liu Maoxing's mind, he felt like a baby, curled up and wrapped in warm oil, and the warm oil continuously provided him with energy and essence, and a sense of peace of mind hit his heart.

On the other hand, Paul, in his mind, "sees" the tall and straight pine trees, the straight green bamboos, and the noble plum blossoms in the snow at dusk in winter. The three seem to be fighters against the cold in the severe winter. Standing proudly in the snow...

One is a gentle package, and the other is a sense of intense conflict...

Two dishes that are completely opposite in artistic conception!

Not only in the "artistic conception", Liu Maoxing also used a lot of "spices" to season the spices, the taste is more offensive than the "duck leg confit".

At the same time, the order of the two is that the judges tasted the "duck confit in oil" first. , just "punctured" this layer of fullness, so that its flavor has a place to rely on...

As mentioned before, usually in the "food halberd decisive battle", because the dishes need to be compared, usually the dishes with pungent tastes have more advantages.

That's why Kuga Teruki only loves spicy food...

For this cooking showdown, Liu Maoxing has bet everything, even passively betting on "human recipes"!

So Liu Maoxing's recipes are naturally "extremely versatile". He often eats halberds in Yuanyue, so he specially chose a recipe suitable for duels.

On the contrary, because Paul had never seen Liu Maoxing who "already had a jade dragon pot with a dragon pattern" before, in his subconscious, his hostility towards him was also very limited.

And the recipes are what he thought up before the competition. Paul, as a senior, of course, would not specially choose targeted recipes for a little advantage, and when it comes to the degree of seriousness, he is far less than Liu Maoxing!

Although "inexplicably" started to be interested in Yulong pot, and Paul, as a model cook, would no longer pour water because he underestimated the other party when preparing recipes, but he didn't have the "desperate" posture of Liu Maoxing...

Therefore, although there is a gap in the culinary skills between the two in the end, under different psychological states and the inherent restraint of the recipes of the two parties to make up for it, the gap has been narrowed!

In the end, it should be said that Liu Maoxing performed at a super level, while Paul was a little lacking in vigor. In the end, if the food of the two was rated by the system, they were both at the peak of the Lin level, close to the dragon level but not at the level of the dragon level!

After all, even for Chef Long, not every dish is "Dragon-level"...

Feeling as if he was wrapped in warm fat, Liu Maoxing suddenly remembered the taste of his cooking, the power of pine, bamboo, and plum exploded in turn, and finally Liu Maoxing was freed from the warm fat.

At the same time, Liu Maoxing also opened his eyes with sweat on his head. At this time, he didn't know how long it had been since he tasted Paul's cuisine...

However, Liu Maoxing discovered that the surrounding space outside the arena can already be seen and heard normally!

And the first one to see, of course, was Paul in front of him. At this time, a tangled and even slightly painful expression appeared on the other party's face, his face was also a little pale, and sweat was dripping from the top of his head.

"Beautiful, delicious!" Paul finally passed out after admiring it!

At the same time, the results of the five judges have also come out...

Four to one, Liu Maoxing won!

The moment the result came out, the audience even fell silent.

Therefore, before this, even the students of Yuanyue Academy, who are half of Liu Maoxing’s relatives and friends, were just hoping as much as possible that their "strongest in active service" would be able to lose in the hands of the president of the Michelin Food Federation. how beautiful...

The vast majority of the audience obviously did not think in advance that Liu Maoxing had the possibility of winning. Even in the most "outrageous" pre-match predictions, they only imagined that the "Germinate team" could win in front of the "Michelin Food Federation representative team". Procrastinating through the individual competition, getting a "1:2" score, and then being upset in the team competition...

Of course, even this kind of speculation is dismissed as an "impossible event" by most people.

But now Liu Maoxing actually defeated Paul head-on!

Not to mention the audience, even the players of the "Germinate Team"... Fortunately, the preparations for the three duels have been completed at this time, otherwise Shinomiya's glasses would have fallen into the pot.

But the silence was only for a moment, and then the scene suddenly became noisy, not because the audience had thought about how to face this completely unimagined result, but because everyone found that Paul, after admiring Liu Maoxing's "three friends barbecue" then fainted...

Now the people from the Michelin Gourmet Federation and the staff maintaining order immediately surrounded him and checked Paul's situation with all his might.

The result was even more surprising!

Paul fainted because... Tired?

That's right, the result of the preliminary judgment is that Paul's body is normal, but there are signs of overwork and lack of energy!

Well, although this makes the reason of "carelessness" unreasonable, everyone can still forcefully use the excuse of "President Paul is not in good condition and participated in the competition with an illness" to convince himself to accept the famous Paul. The facts in the hands of sixteen-year-old Liu Maoxing.

Even so, no one dared to deny Liu Maoxing's record. Whether it was various tabloids or repeated underground gambling games, they all silently raised Liu Maoxing's strength estimate by two levels at this time. The bosses of the organization are treated as equals, but they are also considered to be at the same level as "Totsuki Myth" Dojima Gin!