Shokugeki: Start with an izakaya, making everyone cry

It's about 300 meters from the izakaya.

This place still belongs to the category of food street, with an inconspicuous store entrance on the street corner.

What comes out of the exhaust fan is a mixture of meat and milk aroma. Hmm, passers-by who occasionally pass by will find it so fragrant!

Push the door and enter the store.

What was clearly visible before my eyes was only a long and narrow bar that could seat 8 people.

Then, there is the chef and several experienced assistants who are busy in an orderly manner.

Although this restaurant has not been recognized by the WGO food organization to become a one-star restaurant, it is still quite popular locally!

"I'm Matsumoto, please give me your guidance."

When seeing a new customer coming in, the chef usually puts down the kitchen utensils in his hands and says hello.

……

Kentaro Matsushita.

This chef once studied culinary skills in Italy.

After returning to Japan, he worked in a restaurant in downtown Tokyo, Japan, and then returned to the food court in the suburbs and opened this restaurant!

The space behind the restaurant bar is so narrow that it is difficult for even two people to pass side by side.

however.

This does not hinder.

Matsushita and his kitchen helpers prepare dishes that make diners "happy".

Typically, Chef Panasonic is in charge of one side of the stove, while the kitchen assistants handle the side dishes and tableware on the other side.

Of course, the so-called stove is only equipped with the most basic kitchen utensils such as frying pans, slush pans, and small ovens, which is no different from that of an ordinary family restaurant.

Similar to many Japanese-French restaurants with the concept of "Japanese soul and Western talent", this restaurant serves Italian cuisine with a very Japanese style!

Ah!

In short.

It's a very special Japanese-Italian meal.

So, what is Japanese Italian food?

To paraphrase the famous saying, it's hard for me to define what Japanese Italian food is, but when I eat Japanese Italian food, I know it is it.

At this moment, there were two different pastas in front of Kobayashi Ryodan, one with prawns and mullet roe, and the other with abalone and abalone liver sauce.

Both are ingredients with extremely local characteristics.

In particular, the sweetness of the prawns and the salty freshness of the mullet roe are blended into one after being seasoned with herbs and Italian sauce.

And because the seat was too close to the stove, it was hard for Longdan not to be attracted by Chef Matsumoto's series of skillful movements between dishes.

8 guests.

14-course set menu.

All this work is done by the chef and his assistant.

In addition, different customers come into the store at different times, making it even more difficult to control the preparation time of the dishes.

"It's a bit interesting."

"This restaurant is somewhat similar to Zhang Fan's izakaya!"

Kobayashi Ryodan, who was eating pasta, couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Are you...are you really okay?"

Chef Matsushita looked deeply at the dozen or so empty ceramic bowls over there, then looked back at Kobayashi Ryodan who was still slurping his pasta, and couldn't help feeling ashamed!

At the same time, his heart was filled with worries.

"Don't worry."

"At least I am the second in the current Ten Elites of Totsuki."

"They are just a bunch of late-night cooks who only dare to hide in the dark and do evil things. I can defeat them just by stretching out my hand, just like crushing ants!"

Wiping his mouth, Kobayashi Ryodan, who felt only 70% full, patted his chest and replied confidently to Chef Matsushita.

"It's not that I don't trust you students from Totsuki!"

"But even many chefs from one-star restaurants have been defeated by late-night chefs. I am really afraid..."

Before Kentaro Matsushita could finish his words, a masked man suddenly broke in from outside the door.

……

Half of his face.

She was tightly wrapped in a black face cloth, with only her determined eyes showing.

His stature was not tall, but well-proportioned. Every step he took was steady and powerful. Although his movements were a bit quick, he did not seem impatient, but instead revealed a calm and elegant demeanor!

The appearance of this masked man is always accompanied by a mysterious and weird atmosphere.

The look in his eyes.

His movements.

Every detail of him.

All of this made Kobayashi Ryodan, who had been waiting long ago, feel that it was full of stories and mysteries!

It also made her involuntarily think of the fact that the entire catering industry had been in a panic due to his appearance recently.

"My opponent is you?"

The masked man fixed his gaze on Kobayashi Ryodan, then he realized something and asked softly.

"Well, you guys are using the rules of food battles and the name of Totsuki to do such a cruel thing to the entire catering industry. Do you think we will let you off so easily?"

Xiaolin Longdan withdrew his gaze and replied indifferently.

"Okay, I didn't want to start a dispute or conflict with you Totsuki students in advance, but now it seems..."

Upon hearing this, the masked man pulled out a sharp kitchen knife from his cloak, and his aura suddenly surged!

……

Snake soup.

The most famous way of cooking it is Jiang Taishi’s snake soup.

Tai Shi Jiang is Jiang Kongyin, the last Jinshi in the late Qing Dynasty, who once entered the Imperial Academy!

The most important thing about the cooking method of Taishi Snake Soup is "Three fat snakes, which will make your appetite itch". The so-called three snakes are the rice shovel head, the golden foot belt, and the banyan tree. As for the so-called three snakes dragon and phoenix stew, it is a kind of stewed chicken.

of course.

There is also a version with five snakes, plus three ropes and water rules!

Moreover, stewed civet cat is also delicious. Putting the two together makes "Longhu stew".

At this moment.

Xiaolin Longdan caught a snake from the food warehouse!

And when the snake, which was tightly held in Kobayashi Longdan's hand, appeared in front of everyone, the whole audience was inevitably shocked.

Whenever you cook snake meat, you must first test whether it contains snake venom.

First of all.

After taking the snake out of the water, add white beans.

If the beans do not change color, they are non-toxic.

Because the snake used by Kobayashi Gentian is a banyan tree snake, it is non-toxic!

The second step is to boil the drained snake meat with bamboo shoots, ginger and tangerine peel for two hours, so that the soup will be sweet!

Then add abalone shreds, black bamboo shreds, chicken shreds, Sichuan pepper shreds, winter bamboo shoots shreds, and black fungus shreds. Finally, heat the pot, sauté ginger shreds and tangerine peel shreds, add a little Shaoxing wine, and then add snake shreds and other condiments.

Use a little water chestnut powder to thicken.

When it is ready to be served, add a little lemon shreds, chrysanthemum and coriander to enhance the flavor and relieve greasiness.

Finally, the incredibly fragrant snake soup dish was ready!

……

Every restaurant has done some research on food, and it is always in season!

It is winter now. We eat autumn crabs, snake soup, desserts after meals, etc. Although the main ingredients needed for these eating styles seem to be the same, the side dishes are very different!

Ah!

The taste that comes out.

There are differences in similarities, and ingenuity in differences.

But no matter what, the best dish is the one that suits the diners' taste best.

At this moment, placed in front of the masked man, no, in front of Cai Bo Chaoyang, was a bowl of freshly baked snake soup.

Take a closer look.

The ingredients used in this dish seem to be a little different!

For example, the chrysanthemum used in snake soup is an exotic chrysanthemum called "Crane Dancing in the Clouds", which is a rare and fine edible chrysanthemum.

Cutting lemon leaves into shreds is the most challenging part for the chef's knife skills. First, the leaf veins must be torn off and the leaves must be divided into two halves from the leaf stem.

Then fold them together and roll them into small tubes, cut them into pieces as thick as hair, and use them immediately after cutting to preserve their pure fragrance.

A small bowl!

There are thousands of shredded snake, chicken, bamboo shoots, abalone, fish maw...

Just like the hair-thin Wensi tofu, this snake soup dish is made by cutting all the ingredients into thin strips, so just by looking at it, Kentaro Matsushita, who was standing next to him, was shocked!

“This really is snake meat!”

Cai Bo looked up at the sun and exclaimed in surprise.

Facing this dark dish, he couldn't help but feel a little bit of anticipation!

"It was just slaughtered for you on the spot. If it's not snake meat, then what else could it be?" Xiao Lin Long Dan said speechlessly.

……

Talk about it.

Xiaolin Longdan is indeed braver than many people.

It was just a living snake, but she killed it on the spot without even blinking an eye.

The extremely bloody scene is enough to make people tremble all over and take a long time to recover when thinking about it!

Eat snake soup.

Must have chrysanthemum, lemon leaves and crispy.

This is because snake meat is very hot and chrysanthemum is needed to clear away heat.

Snake meat is greasy, so lemon leaves can be used to invigorate the stomach. Adding a few slices of crispy food together is the same as adding fried dough sticks to white porridge, all to enhance the taste!

So, take a look at the bowl of snake soup in front of you.

As soon as Cai Bo Chaoyang saw the sun, he put away his slightly complicated emotions, picked up the bowl and took a sip.

……

Just entered.

The soup is fresh and smooth. If we have to use one word to describe this wonderful texture and taste, it can only be: nectar!

There is no fishy smell of snake meat, nor is there that nauseating feeling, only a faint feeling of freshness.

Moreover, as the teeth continue to chew,

I just felt the taste of the snake meat becoming more and more amazing!

The bone came out of the mouth with a slight push.

The meat is neither dry nor greasy, and has a river fish feel. It tastes as delicious as freshly caught fish.

Correct!

It is this feeling.

Just like the fish we ate as children, this is delicious!

clear!

fresh!

Cool!

soft!

slip!

These are the flavors and tastes.

Cai Bo Chaoyang was quickly captured and he didn't even realize that what he was eating was snake meat.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the delicious taste, like the feeling of first love, will always be unforgettable to her.

I closed my eyes and took a sip, and was surprised to find that the soup was so rich and smooth. With the addition of shredded lemon leaves and crispy garnishes, it was fresh, sweet, crisp and refreshing...all kinds of excellent flavors swirled around in my mouth in an instant!

One word:

wonderful!

hard to imagine.

This rare ingredient can be so delicious!

"The snakes used to make snake soup need to be slaughtered, skinned, head and tail removed, and internal organs removed."

"These steps need to be carefully performed to ensure the taste and nutritional value of the snake meat. In the cooking process, it seems to include multiple steps such as boiling, frying and steaming, and each step requires strict control of the heat and time."

"When I eat this bowl of snake soup, the snake meat doesn't have a strong fishy smell."

"I see. In addition to using sugar cane, red dates, and tangerine peel to remove the fishy smell, they also used a lot of ginger, right?"

"The reason why it doesn't taste spicy is because the shredded ginger takes a long time to soak and bake, so the spicy taste is completely removed, leaving only the spicy fragrance!"

"so."

"A whole snake soup dish."

“The taste experience it brings is still very warm!”

"The chrysanthemums are slightly bitter and sweet, and have a refreshing fragrance, which elevates the thick snake soup from being fragrant to a higher level. This is truly a rare and magical dish!"

At the end, Cai Bo Chaoyang actually began to enter a state of mind.

……

Just see.

In front of me, this bowl of snake soup.

It actually turned into dozens of tentacles that could wriggle like snakes.

Cai Bo Chaoyang's limbs were all tied up by tentacles, and his whole body was suspended in the air.

Afterwards, he seemed to realize that he was trapped, and began to struggle frantically!

but.

No matter how he struggled.

The tentacles were still tied tightly, making it impossible for him to escape.

Fresh, this was Cai Bo Chaoyang’s first thought.

Don't underestimate the small bowl. First, the soup base is made of fresh chicken, abalone, and fresh snake bones. Then, fresh snake meat is shredded, and fish maw, mushrooms, fungus, chicken, etc. are added to make snake soup.

It not only enhances the freshness but also enriches the taste.

Although the appearance of the snake soup is very plain and rough, which may make people feel intimidated, the soup is relatively thick and not too embellished.

Especially the greasy feeling of the snake meat makes the whole bowl of snake soup fresh and elegant, and the soup base is mellow.

The soup is not chicken soup, but it is better than chicken soup. It is truly a delicacy on the table.

"hiss!"

"Sure enough, this special flavor is unmatched by other meats."

Chaoyang came back to his senses, and there was a gleam in his bright eyes.

He did begin to have a new respect for Kobayashi Ryodan and this bowl of snake soup.

Followed by.

Not yet satisfied, he took another mouthful of the snake soup and ate it.

Pork has basically no fishy smell, beef has a little, and mutton has the strongest smell.

By taste:

Beef is the hardest and toughest, pork is second, and lamb is the most tender.

However, the taste of snake meat is a light meaty aroma, pure and without any other smell.

This snake soup is very delicious, fresh and refined, and the transparent soup is filled with beeswax-like butter, which looks very nutritious.

……

The most important thing about the bright red snake soup is its taste.

It is a special test of the chef's control over the heat. After all, if it is too much, the meat will be too mushy, and if it is too little, the meat will be difficult to tear.

Kobayashi Longdan, who is good at handling rare ingredients, can naturally cut the snake into very small pieces skillfully. The thickness of the snake meat is only half as thin as the snake soup we usually see.

At this moment, Cai Bo Chaoyang closed his eyes and savored the memory even more carefully.

Finally, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "What a dish full of surprises!"

Snake, as a game food.

The food culture behind it has a huge influence and is the main force in high-end banquets.

Some chefs, such as Ryodan Kobayashi, who specializes in game cooking, devote a lot of energy to developing various ways to eat game.

As a result, these dishes are exquisitely made, varied, and full of creativity, giving people a strong sensory impact.