Food: I was a cartoonist in Totsuki

"No, this is not ordinary natto. I saw you used charcoal fire just now. Could it be...could it be...".

Ryoko Sakaki then explained, "You guessed it right, this is natto roasted over charcoal fire, which is called 'charcoal-roasted natto'. Put the soybeans with natto bacteria in the basement and continue using charcoal fire. For barbecue, the optimal temperature and humidity are maintained indoors. It takes 24 hours to ferment. When it is time for the competition, it will be roasted twice over charcoal fire to fully bring out its delicious taste."

Many lecturers on the faculty side were surprised when they heard that Ryoko Sakaki used this method to ferment natto.

"I see, the carbonic acid gas in the charcoal fire will accelerate the heating of the soybean protein. This is a way to make natto with a richer aroma, and it will not produce dead bacteria and effectively inhibit the ammonia. Stink.”

"Indeed, this is really a way to kill two birds with one stone."

Even though professionals have explained it, many students still don’t understand what is going on.And one thing that many students cannot do is that Ryoko Sakaki ferments natto herself.

Anyone who has made food in this area knows that making fermented food takes a lot of time, and it also requires a certain amount of experience to make successful fermented products.

"But it's not just that."

After eating a few mouthfuls of natto, Koda Shigenuchika discovered something very special and said: "What is this sweetness that suddenly rises and falls on the tip of the tongue? Ripe natto itself should not have this taste." .”

"That's the sweetness of 'soy sauce koji'."

Ryoko Sakaki's lips moved slightly, and she explained with a pure face: "Add soy sauce to the rice koji, mix it until it becomes a paste, and then leave it at room temperature for a few weeks to ferment the sauce. I am cooking natto. I added some ground, so the taste has a hint of sweetness.”

"So it turns out that soy sauce koji contains 10 times more thiamine (a sweet component) than salt koji, so it adds an indescribable deliciousness to this dish? Gooey Japanese curry It blends well with the sticky texture of natto!”

"The taste of chopped green onions is also very delicious, and the slight sweetness can be combined with the taste of soy sauce koji and natto... but it is still strange."

Minato Sakamaki touched his chin, still a little puzzled, and said: "Although the natto is roasted over charcoal fire, the aroma cannot be so strong. Even if it is eaten in the mouth for a long time, the aroma will still remain in the mouth. middle."

"Mixed spices."

Ryoko Sakaki's expression remained calm as she continued to explain: "In order to highlight the theme of 'curry', I mixed the spices that fit this dish on the spot, making the taste and aroma even better. In addition, I also added rice. Add a small amount of mixed spices and eat it with natto to make the taste more intense.”

After saying this, the five judges were once again surprised. They knew very well what the concept of mixing spices on the spot was.

Mixed spices, to put it bluntly, is a "low-end version" of traditional curry, using a few simple spices to combine the flavors.

It sounds very easy to make, but it is quite difficult to prepare a flavor that matches the food. It is impossible for ordinary people to do it.

This is the result of Ryoko Sakaki's training in the manga world. She can prepare the perfect spices for the finished dish on the spot. This skill was learned from Mira.

Of course, Ryoko Sakaki cannot be as perfect as Mira. She can only say that she has slightly improved the deliciousness of the food.

If Mira can make perfect spices that can increase the deliciousness of food by +10, then the spices prepared by Ryoko Sakaki are only +3.

But even so, Ryoko Sakaki's completed work has surprised the judges and the audience.

Soon Ryoko Sakaki's score also appeared, and the five judges' scorers also showed the scores they gave Ryoko Sakaki.

From right to left are the scores given by Koda Shigenuchi, Natsuya, Minato Minato, Sponsor A, and Sponsor B.

19、19、20、18、18。

Everyone rubbed their eyes to make sure they saw it correctly.

20 points, full score?

"Some... some judges gave it full marks."

"No, it's not that outrageous!"

"What's the total score, 94? One point more than Ryo Kurokiba!"

Ryoko Sakaki's total score was announced, with a score of 94 on the ranking panel, ousting Ryo Kurokiba who was originally No. 1.

"It turns out...it turns out that Ryoko Sakaki is so powerful. She deliberately hid her strength during the previous residential training, right?"

"Sister Ryoko Sakaki, you are the object of my greatest admiration at this moment."

"Now that I look closely, Ryoko Sakaki really has the demeanor of a big sister, like the 'big sister of the fermentation house'!"

While Ryoko Sakaki scored high, she also captured the admiration of many boys. At the same time, some people also gave her the title of "The Big Sister of the Fermentation House".

Others were surprised by Ryoko Sakaki's high score, but Tong Yu thought it was a matter of course.

After all, Ryoko Sakaki has a super sense of smell, and with the guidance of two "Five Tigers", she can still win this kind of competition easily.

After Ryoko Sakaki’s cooking, works with scores of 80 or above also appeared one after another.

Mito Ikmei, who had once been defeated by Soma, followed up by presenting her own dish, which was also served with rice and side dishes.However, Yu Mei’s side dish is the Dongpo Pork which has a strong impact and makes people full of appetite.

Dongpo Meat Curry Rice Bowl is the name of Mito Yumei's dish. It focuses on three layers of meat with alternating lean meat and fatty meat. It is supplemented by rice mixed with a small amount of vine pepper oil to form a delicious texture in the rice bowl. Closed loop chain.

After Mito Yumei, there are works by Marui Zenji and Imusaki Shun.

Amid the laughter of a few people in the audience, Zenji Marui served the "White Soup Curry Udon", which was all white from the noodles to the soup and the accompanying sauce.

The reason why some people laughed at Marui was because he almost fainted several times due to lack of physical strength during the residential training.

However, only a few people such as Tong Yu and Jun Imusaki knew that it was just Marui pretending to hide his strength.

A base soup similar to Vichy cream soup is combined with udon noodles, cumin, dill and pepper. In addition, half-boiled eggs, mashed potatoes and warm cheese are added to form a noodle soup-like dish.

Marui's cooking was recognized by the judges, and the students who originally laughed at him shut up.

Jun Imusaki also showed his expertise, and captured the judges again with a "special smoked curry".

Using smoked bacon, smoked potatoes and smoked eggs as ingredients, thin slices of smoked apples are added, and the taste is integrated with smoked algae salt, perfectly capturing the unique taste of smoked food.

Although the works of Mito Ikmei, Marui Zenji, and Imusaki Jun are excellent, they are still inferior to those of Sakaki Ryoko and Kurokiba Ryo. The final three scores were 86, 88, and 88 respectively. [-].

However, because of their unique style of cooking, they, like Ryoko Sakaki, have been nicknamed by the audience: "Meat General", "Smoky Prince", and "Taste Know-It-All".

Among the top five at the moment, three are from Ji Xing Liao.

However, both the audience and the contestants know that this ranking is only temporary, because the most powerful person in venue A has not yet finished cooking.

"Tong Yu, who is one of the top ten, and Ryo Hayama, the 'spice expert', have not yet finished cooking. With their strength, they can definitely squeeze out the current two places."

"No, there is another transfer student Yukihei Souma who may enter the finals. He is also very capable."

At this time, in the eyes of the vast majority of the audience, they believe that both Tong Yu and Ryo Hayama can advance, and the transfer student Soma Yukihira performs well and may knock out the current top five.

Apart from that, they don't think anyone else has that strength.

But at this moment, another person finished his cooking and walked towards the judging table.This person is not Tong Yu, Hayama Ryo, nor Soma, but the underappreciated Meisaku Subaru.

The reason why Mimasaku Subaru is not optimistic about him is not because of his strength, but because his personality still disgusts many students so far.

Although he returned the kitchen knives of other students after the residential training, he still could not change the views of a large number of students towards him...

"Hey, it's Misaku Subaru, that bastard."

"I wonder whose dish this guy copied?"

"If you are a stubborn guy who is just a bad copy, he will definitely be rejected by the judges!"

Obviously, everyone was not optimistic about Mimasaku Subaru's cooking, but the moment it was presented, it was the five judges' turn to be surprised.

I saw black and white tofu placed on a white flat-bottomed dinner plate.

Black and white tofu cubes of equal sizes are scattered in bright red chili oil. The chili oil is also covered with a layer of something similar to meat sauce, and there are green chopped green onions as decoration on the top.

"This is Mapo Tofu!" Everyone recognized the dish presented by Mimasaku Subaru at a glance.

"But why does tofu have two colors? Is it just to highlight the 'color' and make the food better?"

"I'm afraid it's more than just that..."

After hearing the judges' words, Meizuo Subaru showed his "signature" smile: "Yes, this is Meizuo's special 'Magic Panda Mapo Tofu'!"

"Magic... giant panda... Mapo tofu?"

"Wait... wait, I seem to have heard the name of this dish somewhere!"

After Koda Shigeyuki reminded him, Minato Sakamaki also remembered something and said: "It's a recipe from a comic. The inspiration for this dish should come from the recipe in the recently popular food comic "Chinese Ichiban"."

"Yes, it's this comic. I just said this dish looks so familiar."

"If it's a recipe from "Chinese Ichiban", there's nothing surprising about it. So is it as delicious as the one described in the manga?"

It has been a few months since the release of "Zhonghua Ichiban". As the comic became popular all over the Internet, many chefs have successfully "reproduced" the recipes in the comic and displayed them online.

This also set off a wave of "reproduction" craze. Many chefs copied the recipes in the comic, and many people improved on the original recipes.

So everyone was not particularly surprised to know that Subaru Mimasaku was inspired by this comic.

In fact, Mimasaku Subaru is not just imitating and copying, because his dish is a third recipe that combines the two recipes of "Magic Mapo Tofu" and "Big Magic Panda Mapo Tofu".

“Did the idea come from a food comic?”

Xia Ya frowned slightly. Although she was not opposed to this, she did not support it.Because food comics are not just for entertainment, most of the things written on them are just made up by the author.

However, the fragrance and color of this mapo tofu are particularly attractive...

Xia Ya picked up the spoon, dipped it in a little sauce and put it in her mouth.

"So...so spicy!"

Just licking it a little with her tongue made Xia Ya's face turn red from the heat.

"Here, this is not how you eat Mapo tofu. The sauce must be eaten with the tofu to enjoy the delicious taste. The sauce alone is only spicy." Mimasaku Subaru said politely.

It's just that Mimasaku Subaru's appearance and height of 3.2 meters are somewhat inconsistent with his "polite" appearance.

After hearing what Mimasaku Subaru said, Xia Ya scooped up the tofu and the sauce again and put it into her mouth. This time she finally tasted the delicious taste from the combination of tofu and hot sauce.

"Well, this sauce paired with the smooth and tender tofu stimulates the senses! Although... although it is unreasonably spicy, it is completely covered up by the various tastes such as 'numbing' and 'hot'!"

"Is this black tofu sweet? Is it made from black beans just now? Is this sugar tofu?"

"The black and sweet tofu is really the finishing touch of this dish. It has a distinct sweetness with the spiciness. This complementary taste makes people want to stop. At the same time, a little sweetness is constantly interlaced between red, white and black. It doesn’t feel greasy at all, making it impossible to stop.”

Although the five judges were sweating profusely, their movements did not stop at all. They did not stop until the entire plate of Mapo Tofu was eaten.

After eating, Xia Ya ignored Sasaki Yua's dissuasion of "tasting in moderation, there will be cooking later" and took another sip of water before feeling extremely satisfied.

After eating, the five judges also started scoring.

18、19、18、19、19……93分！

Another high score of more than 90 points appeared, and it was the same as Ryo Kurokiba's 93 points. The audience was once again in an uproar. The score was also something that no one expected.

"93 points! Congratulations to Subaru Mimasaku, who is currently tied for No. 2." Yui Sasaki announced.

Not only did Mimasaku Subaru and Kurokiba Ryo share the same score, but Imusaki Jun and Marui Zenji also shared the same score.

If a tie occurs in tie No. 4, it will last until the end of the game.The last five judges will make a more detailed evaluation of the dishes from both sides and select one of them to enter the finals.

……