Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 128: ’The Struggle’ -

Chapter 128: Chapter 128: ’The Struggle’ Chapter

Pole Star Dormitory Kitchen quieted down for a minute or two.

Xingping Chuangzhen, with his chin propped up, stared at Ichise Hui’s "Sichuan Pepper Grilled Mackerel" and suddenly said, "Hey, Yu, if you were to make this dish, you’d probably grill it over a charcoal fire instead of pan-frying it with salad oil, wouldn’t you?"

Xia Yu was taken aback, "Why do you say that?"

"Because you’re best at cooking with charcoal fire!" Xingping Chuangzhen scratched his head. It seemed the night Xia Yu made the "Flaming Roast Suckling Pig" in public had given him a profound impression and shook his heart deeply.

Xia Yu laughed, "Xingping, if it were me, I would use a similar method for the mackerel as well."

"Why?"

"You need to analyze Senior Ichise’s dish first, to understand the chef’s thoughts. In other words, analyze the theme contained in the dish—" Xia Yu said.

"The dish’s theme?"

Xingping Chuangzhen then focused intently on the "Sichuan Pepper Grilled Mackerel."

In the small white plate, there was just a small circle of golden-brown grilled mackerel, on which a layer of fresh and crisp coleslaw nested between the fish and the ceramic plate.

"Please enjoy—" Ichise Hui smiled and passed chopsticks to both Xingping Chuangzhen and Sen Tian Makoto.

After taking a small piece of the fish and tasting it, Xingping Chuangzhen immediately widened his eyes.

He suddenly envisioned a lush garden with flowers battling for beauty, a visage of spring’s courtyard. Xingping Chuangzhen, in his most primal form, stood in the courtyard as if returning to the embrace of his mother, feeling secure and warm.

"Such a refreshing clarity!"

The not-planning-on-a-late-night-snack-for-fear-of-gaining-weight Sen Tian Makoto still couldn’t resist her appetite and took a small bite, murmuring, "The umami, along with the rich vegetable fragrance of the coleslaw, is refreshing. Using only two simple and common ingredients to create such a dish... It’s truly deserving of the Seventh Seat of the Elite Ten Chefs! Even the casual dishes set her far ahead of other first-year students!"

She made a mental comparison.

Without using a trump card dish like the "Emperor Crab Thick Egg Omelette," derived from the "Furong Crab Meat Egg" recipe, she had no assurance of defeating Ichise Hui’s ordinary dishes.

"Spring!"

After swallowing the fish, Xingping Chuangzhen understood, "This is a dish that calls forth spring!"

Seeing this, Xia Yu smiled and said, "So now, Xingping, do you still think I would grill the mackerel over charcoal? If it were me, I would also fry it in salad oil. Moreover, I would coat the mackerel with egg and milk before frying it so as to lock in the ’umami’ of the fish while maximizing the tenderness of the mackerel meat..."

"The tenderness and delicacy of the fish are the secret to this ’spring dish’! The coleslaw is just the key, guiding one’s taste buds to discover this secret. It’s essential to clearly distinguish the primary from the secondary!"

Xingping Chuangzhen, scratching his head, felt like he was attending a lecture.

This feeling frustrated him. He was supposed to be the taster, and yet, that person on the other side of the video, having just observed the dish, had arrived at such a detailed tasting evaluation.

Such a formidable person, Xingping Chuangzhen thought.

All lines were stolen by Xia Yu, leaving Ichise Hui speechless.

"Mackerel with coleslaw could be considered a classic combination in Japanese cooking." As soon as Xia Yu started speaking, he seemed to be on the verge of an endless spiel, "Slow-cooked with a gentle fire, the soft and delicious mackerel, paired with the sweet and tender taste of coleslaw. One is a sea fish that is bountiful in spring, the other a springtime vegetable. When combined, they enhance each other’s freshness—a golden duo!"

The technique of frying fish after coating it with egg and milk was something Xia Yu had learned from Dubian Junya.

In the IGO two-star assessment, the "Classic Western-style Lemon-juiced Pan-fried Cod" prepared by Dubian Junya utilized this technique to lock in freshness and improve the texture of the fish.

And in Ichise Hui’s "Sichuan Pepper Grilled Mackerel" dish, Xia Yu spotted a similar method.

"If it were a ’summer’ theme, I would use a charcoal grill," Xia Yu continued, already racking his brain, thinking about how to modify Ichise Hui’s recipe. This was also a "bad habit" cultivated by his mission system, always enjoying researching recipes, adding his own elements to them, then taking them over and making them his own.

"Of course, the coleslaw would need to be replaced with summer vegetables, and the spices would have to be re-matched."

Xia Yu, propping up his chin, fell into contemplation.

In the Pole Star Dormitory Kitchen, after Sen Tian Makoto and Xingping Chuangzhen finished their dishes, Ichise Hui smiled and said, "Sen Tian, Xingping, why don’t you both make a dish using ’mackerel’ as well, and let me have a taste."

Thump!

Xingping Chuangzhen clenched his fist and unwound his white headband, placing it across his forehead with full fighting spirit.

"I want to follow Senior’s lead and use spring as the theme, making a popular dish from Xingping Restaurant with mackerel!"

"Makki, what about you?" Senior Ichise, Xingping Chuangzhen, all looked at the girl who faintly showed traces of distress.

"Cook with mackerel?"

Sen Tian Makoto hesitated, "I have decided on the recipe, but, my recipe is a Western-style method, quite complex, and it requires at least an hour and a half to complete, and now it’s midnight..."

"It’s okay, Makki, just do it."

From the phone’s speaker, Xia Yu’s voice suddenly emerged, "I don’t close shop until four in the morning. I’ll keep you company."

"Then I’ll do it!" Sen Tian Makoto’s eyes immediately sparkled.

"Yeah, go ahead."

Xia Yu turned to glance at the oven’s timer, his own dish still needed some time to be baked. Taking advantage of the gap, he could just catch some of Sen Tian Makoto and Xingping Chuangzhen’s live cooking competition.

The two went to prepare one after another.

Ichise Hui found a chair and sat at the dining table, turning down the volume, "You know my intent, don’t you?"

"You want to gauge the depth of Xingping’s and Makki’s culinary skills?" Xia Yu shook his head, "If that’s all, I would just tell you directly, as for Xingping or Makki, their levels of culinary skills are among the top in Far Moon students."

"No!" Ichise Hui laughed, "I’m just going with the flow, giving them an opportunity for competition..."

Xia Yu was taken aback.

"A competition?"

"Excellent chefs all have their own persistence and confidence. Xingping and Sen Tian both passed the transfer student exam, both passed the Polar Star Dormitory’s admittance test. Don’t you think they have feelings of comparison and dissatisfaction in their hearts?"

Ichise Hui leaned back on both hands, her gaze piercing through the kitchen’s glass window, watching the brilliant stars in the night sky.

"Every single star has its own unique shine."

"And they always refuse to let their shine be overshadowed by others."

"So, since entering Far Moon, they have been tightly wrapped up in the atmosphere of ’competition’. I’m just going with the flow, giving them an opportunity to showcase and prove themselves," Ichise Hui shrugged her shoulders.

"A contest, huh?" Xia Yu found this quite interesting.

Competition!

Sen Tian Makoto versus Xingping Chuangzhen, who will win, who will lose?

If Makki had no embryonic form of culinary spirit, then the result would be unequivocal.

However, the protagonist is the protagonist, even if Makki has her shining points, she might not necessarily defeat Xingping Chuangzhen.

The chances of victory for both, Xia Yu analyzed carefully in his heart, were roughly fifty-fifty.

"What about the judge?" Xia Yu asked, "I won’t be present, so I’m not suitable to be a judge."

"The stage is already set, so the judge... has already been decided a long time ago!"

Ichise Hui suddenly rose to her feet, turning to open the door of Pole Star Dormitory Kitchen, and with a cry of surprise, several girls who were peeking tumbled to the ground.

They were Tanaka Hikari, Shen Liangzi, Yoshino Yuuki!

"So-sorry to intrude!"

The one with the bobbed haircut, Yoshino Yuuki, sat on the floor, chuckling sheepishly.

Outside the kitchen, there stood a fourth youth.

Room 208’s Iwazaki Jun.

A boy skilled in smoked cuisine, whose eyes were covered by bangs, reserved and taciturn.