Shokuki: Start with an izakaya and make everyone cry

Sometimes, people will show a very strange situation, that is:

The mouth says no, but the body is very honest.

Mito Yumei, who has never been interested in ordinary beef, couldn't resist Zhang Fan's cooking after all, and was completely spoiled by the "play"!

Immediately, she could only move her cheeks and spread her teeth.

In front of her eyes was a whole plate of beef stir-fried with green onions and two bowls of rice, which she pushed into her mouth with her chopsticks like a whirlwind of lingering clouds, and she swallowed them in large gulps until they were all eaten.

In the end, she was a very nice person. She did not forget to save money and licked the plates cleanly.

…

"It's really amazing."

"Proper fire control makes the green onions slightly burnt on the outside, but the inside is full of soup and various spices."

"Beef, although it is ordinary meat, is far from comparable to A5 grade beef."

"But after being baptized with scallion oil, the smell of mutton is gone. When paired with some green pepper and special sauce, it adds a bit of spiciness and sesame flavor."

"Perfect!"

"It's so perfect!"

"This dish really represents the highest standard of beef dishes!"

Mito Yumei said with a very contented expression.

Then, she turned to look at Zhang Fan and saw that he was staring with his eyes closed. Her face turned a little red and said, "Shopkeeper, I once had beef fried with green onions. What do you think of the taste?"

"The onion flavor completely overwhelms the meat flavor, as if the protagonist is not the beef but the green onions."

"To be honest, in my eyes, if you can't bring out all the flavor of beef, it's a failed dish."

"However, you are different. In your fried beef dish with green onions, the green onions are rich in flavor, but it does not cover up the aroma of beef. On the contrary, the two can harmonize and influence each other to achieve a balanced state. !”

"If I were given 10 years to cook this kind of food, I'm afraid it would be difficult to make it."

…

"Um!"

"Timing is important."

"If there are too few green onions, the flavor of the beef will not be fully brought out."

"But if there are too many green onions, it will also affect and cover up the flavor that the beef should have."

"So the correct technique for stir-frying green onions is to first stir-fry a large amount of green onions in oil. When the aroma of the cooked green onions overflows, add beef and other seasonings, and then quickly stir-fry over high heat."

"burst!"

"quick!"

"urgent!"

"These are the three key tips for making green onions pop up."

“Only by stir-frying over high heat can the quality of the entire dish be guaranteed.”

"As for the choice of beef, it does not mean that the higher the quality, the better. Generally, beef stir-fried with green onions can only use beef tenderloin."

“In terms of cutting method, it can’t be too thin or too thick!”

"For green onions, you must choose the white part of the green onion. First use a kitchen knife to cut the white part of the green onion into hob pieces."

"Then peel off each layer of green onion skin and make it into loose flakes. This way, during the stir-frying process, the green onion segments and green onion cubes will cook faster, and the green onion will not collapse easily."

"When you eat it, it feels refreshing and refreshing."

"all in all."

"The processing of beef is definitely important, but other ingredients cannot be underestimated."

“Even a pinch of salt goes a long way.”

"If you only care about beef and ignore other factors and ingredients, then the whole dish will only be a carnival feast of meat, rather than an ensemble of various ingredients!"

…

Think about it, it seems to be when you were 9 years old, right?

It was Mito Ikmei's birthday, and her mother gave her a cute stuffed bear!

At that time, when my innocent self faced this kind of "cute" thing, I naturally liked it very much.

If nothing else happens, that birthday will be the best and most memorable birthday I have ever had!

But his strict father ruined all this.

In front of his mother and himself, he tore up the stuffed bear and threw it into the trash can. He threatened that his mother would never play with such a thing again and gave it to him.

"Yu Mei!"

"Listen to me!"

"As the heir to the Mito family, you don't need to be so dignified."

"You have only one choice in life, which is to keep getting stronger and make a difference in meat cooking..."

This was the warning her father gave her after destroying her beloved thing.

Since then, Mito Yumei has never liked anything.

She puts all her energy into the research of beef ingredients and the development of various meat dishes. Finally, at the age of 12, she successfully entered Totsuki Academy.

Unlike Tadokoro, who came from the countryside, her grades have always been among the best since junior high school.

Especially in the field of meat research, she has made extraordinary achievements every time, and has gradually become famous in Yuanyue!

In the end, her talents were appreciated by Erina Nakiri and she became a loyal subordinate of Erina.

From beginning to end, she has only one cooking philosophy, and that is:

The highest quality meat always reigns supreme and will always bring all ingredients to their knees.

This understanding and idea of ​​cooking has always been deeply rooted in Mito Yumei's heart.

But until today, after she tasted Zhang Fan's fried beef dish with green onions.

I learned that as long as the green onions are handled properly and the skill of frying green onions is perfected, the flavor of beef can also be enhanced to a terrifying level.

Therefore, she had a new breakthrough in her understanding of meat cuisine!

…

"My family has always been engaged in beef business."

"So my father asked me to work hard like them and keep researching various meat ingredients!"

"If I had even the slightest idea, I would be criticized by him, and they would never tolerate my slightest doubt."

"Sometimes, I also think about it."

“What can it bring to cooking if we blindly pursue the quality of meat?”

"However, no one can tell me the answer to this question, and no one can point me in the right direction!"

"Gradually, there is nothing else in my eyes except meat, meat!"

Mito Ikmei doesn't say she has no doubts about the cooking concept of "meat is supreme" that has been instilled in her since she was a child.

But after seeing that her own strength, and her deep understanding of meat ingredients, constantly surpassed her peers, she was slowly forced to accept it all.

Until now, if someone had told her.

Regular beef, as long as it's handled well, as long as it's done well.

It can also surpass the quality of A5 grade beef, so she must regard it as a joke.

But after tasting Zhang Fan's scallion-fried beef dish with her own eyes, she finally realized that the concept she adhered to might be wrong.

"Hisoko, is this why you want me to come to the izakaya?"

Finally, Mito Yumei whispered to herself.

Maybe only now did she know the purpose of Nito Hikoko handing her a hand-drawn map and asking her to come to the izakaya!

…

"Shopkeeper, can...can you give me another beef stir-fried with green onions?"

Mito Yumei took a deep breath to slowly calm down her emotions, then she raised her head and said to Zhang Fan with a smile.

"Okay, just wait a moment."

As the owner of an izakaya, Zhang Fan certainly hopes that diners can eat more and take care of his business.

So, without any nonsense, he turned back to the cooking table and started cooking beef stir-fried with green onions.

Not long after, a steaming plate of beef stir-fried with green onions was placed in front of Mito Yumei.

Different from the voracious eating just now, this time Mito Yumei chewed bit by bit and ate slowly. It seems that I want to taste the true essence of this dish through this slow and careful chewing method!

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

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

"Why...why can't I stop the tears from falling...wuwuwu..."

But at the end, she burst into tears!

…

It cannot be denied that she does have strong skills in handling meat ingredients!

This can be seen from her bold and unrestrained personality, but her knife skills and various skills turn to delicate and gentle every time she handles beef!

In the original work, she can even use her lips to feel the temperature of meat.

And this kind of extremely subtle temperature control, even Erina, who has the talent of God's Tongue, will feel that it cannot be underestimated.

In her eyes, if the original flavor of meat cannot be fully utilized, it is a kind of trampling on meat!

It is this strict requirement that makes her move like an artist playing piano music every time she touches the flesh, delicate, gentle and quiet...

Perhaps, in terms of meat ingredients, no one can surpass her.

But those who are familiar with the plot of the original work know that in the rice bowl research association incident, Mito Ikmei actually lost to Yukihira Soma in the shokuji duel.

And the price she paid was that she was forced to leave Nakiri Erina and join the Donburi Research Association!

The reason for the failure is, on the one hand, that Chuangzhen is very capable.

But on the other hand, she was so obsessed with the quality and taste of meat that she neglected the importance of other ingredients.

As a result, her beef rice bowl dish, the beef was so delicious that the judges ate it all, but the rice, green onions, etc., were quite unsatisfactory.

…

"Actually."

“The quality of the ingredients will definitely have an impact on the cuisine.”

“But in terms of cooking methods, the most important thing is to base on the diners’ preferences and actual cooking needs.”

"In other words, the higher the quality of beef, the better, but the deliciousness of a dish does not only depend on the quality of the beef."

"Take my izakaya as an example. The diners we face every day are often people who live nearby."

"Most of them are office workers, students, housewives, teachers...it is probably very difficult for them to eat A5 grade beef in their lives!"

"So, are they not eating anymore?"

"No, in their opinion, an ordinary and cheap beef stir-fried with green onions or barbecue may be the most delicious thing in the world!"

"Whether it's meat or vegetables, every ingredient has its own characteristics."

"As chefs, what we have to do is to cook them carefully and make delicious dishes that diners will like."

"I think this is the only way to maximize the value of the ingredients themselves, instead of having to use all the methods on one ingredient."

These words are a bit long-winded.

But for Mito Yumei, it had a profound impact!

…

At ten o'clock at night, Totsuki Academy is extremely quiet.

In a cooking laboratory, Alice Nakiri had just finished cooking a new dish, with tiredness written all over her face.

Then, she came to the window and stared blankly at the night scene on the horizon, as if she was thinking about something.

Thinking about it, it had been almost a while since she came to Yuanyue, but there was a person's figure that was always lingering in her mind, making her miss it.

"Mother!"

Alice murmured, her doubts growing deeper and deeper.

She thought that her mother, Leonora Nakiri, would be worried about her during this time.

He would call her to ask about various situations in Yuanyue, but... the mother and daughter had no contact at all.

After thinking about it, Alice reluctantly took the phone and made a call.

The call went through, but no one answered.

Alice could only press the end call button and initiate a video invitation link.

Soon, the video was connected, and it was seen that Leonora Nakiri had just finished taking a bath, her long silver-white hair was still wet, her delicate face without makeup was moist, and she was wrapped only in a bath towel.

It's a pity that except for the moon in the sky and Alice, no one else is blessed to see this peerless beauty!

"Ah? Alice, why are you calling me?"

Looking at Alice in the video, looking like she wanted to cry but couldn't hold back, Leonora Nakiri giggled: "Did you miss me?"

"Mother!"

"I've been coming to Yuanyue for so long."

"You didn't even make a call? Am I not your daughter after all?"

Looking at her mother who was as beautiful as a hibiscus in the water, Alice couldn't help but pouted and said coquettishly.

"this……"

"The research laboratory has been busy recently, so..."

Leonora Nakiri replied apologetically while blowing her hair with a hair dryer.

When Alice Nakiri was asked to transfer to Totsuki, as a mother, Leonora felt very reluctant to let go.

But for her growth and for her to have more educational opportunities, she had no choice but to let her go back to Neon Country and study in the Commander-in-Chief's Totsuki Academy!

Originally, after the mother and daughter separated.

Leonora wanted to call Alice every day to find out about her life there.

But as she said, she was really busy these days. Moreover, she didn't know what to say when the mother and daughter contacted each other.

"Alice, did you have any interesting experiences in Toyue?"

In the end, Leonora had no choice but to take the initiative to find a topic.

"Mom, Yuanyue is just a teahouse cooking school. What is there to say?"

"At most, it's just here, with relatives like grandpa and Erina. But there is an izakaya, that place and the owner are so interesting!"

After saying this, Alice began to talk endlessly.