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Inside the Nodaiwa restaurant. It was a gathering of Gourmet Street's elite chefs. The reason they suddenly changed the Shokugeki theme was their suspicion that Renz might have been "predicting the topics," having prepared dishes for various themes in advance. Thus, [Soup Dishes] became an off-topic theme.
This is because "soup dishes" are difficult to sustain as the sole focus of a restaurant. Humans initially eat to fill their stomachs, and a restaurant's peak hours generally coincide with human eating peaks. It's impossible for a large restaurant to offer only "soup" and no other food.
Therefore, there isn't a single restaurant on Gourmet Street whose main Shokugeki theme is "soup dishes." It can be a signature dish, but not the staple of a restaurant. This leads to "soup dishes" being an outside topic for all Gourmet Street restaurants' "Shokugeki" themes.
This way, it would be difficult for Renz to have successfully predicted the topic. If Renz wasn't inherently strong enough, this round would become his most likely Shokugeki to lose. At Nodaiwa, the other Gourmet Street chefs naturally formed an allied force, strategizing for the fourth line of defense.
First, to eliminate the possibility of "predicting topics," they had to choose a "dish type" outside the usual themes to confront him. Their attempt wasn't wrong, and their analysis wasn't wrong either; the situation they envisioned was within the realm of possibility.
But the biggest problem was that Renz hadn't "predicted topics." In other words, these people were fighting wits with thin air, and after a thorough analysis, they believed themselves to be objective and rational. Not even Watson, Holmes's good assistant, had such acute intuition.
As for Renz?
He and Erina had already agreed not to hold back. Their attitude towards every dish was to present their absolute best work. And the dish Renz intended to use this time was the renowned Chinese clear soup, "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth."
This dish supremely embodies the depth of soup cuisine.
In a way, when he presents this soup dish and declares its name to the judges, he is very likely to win this Shokugeki. Originally, Renz had planned to make some more common, less complex nourishing soups, but after much thought, it seemed the Gourmet Street chefs hadn't changed their mindset.
They still believed Renz won his Shokugeki not by skill, but by luck and predicting topics. So Renz would be just as straightforward.
You're not convinced? I'll beat you until you are. He would bring out a dish that best demonstrates skill, one that leaves no room for others to speak: the most difficult to cook and simmer in Chinese soup cuisine
"Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth."
This is a very stomach-friendly soup dish with therapeutic effects, also very suitable for pregnant women. It has high chicken protein content and is easy to digest, strengthening the body. This dish also contains phospholipids, which are crucial for human growth and development. It has excellent benefits for malnutrition, aversion to cold, fatigue, irregular menstruation, anemia, and weakness.
The nourishing soups for Erina couldn't be the same every day; facing the God's Tongue, there always had to be new variations, and "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth" was one of them. Renz's opponent, Nodaiwa, after consideration, chose their most traditional and best-paired soup for their signature eel rice seaweed eel soup.
This was their most proficient and frequently made soup. When both parties entered the arena simultaneously and began their preparatory actions at their cooking stations, both chefs had to provide a list of raw ingredients. This is because some ingredients might not be available within the restaurant and need to be transported from elsewhere.
These lists are used to confirm the completeness of the ingredients. Renz's ingredient list also had to be reviewed by the judges. This process ensures the formality and ritual of the entire Shokugeki. Generally, judges of this caliber can tell what dishes both parties intend to make just by glancing at the ingredient list.
"This list, this soup, it's the exquisite masterpiece of Chinese national banquets 'Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth,' isn't it?" Gin Dojima swept his eyes over it and immediately recognized the soup to be made.
"Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth" is a very famous soup dish, a renowned Sichuan specialty. This dish sounds simple, but it showcases superior soup-making skills.
Senzaemon Nakiri nodded slightly. There's a reason why
famous dishes are famous. "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth" brings extreme complexity and extreme simplicity to perfection; it can be called the "pinnacle" of soup cuisine. Any famous chef specializing in soup dishes must learn this famous Chinese soup, "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth." This dish provides deep, valuable lessons for ordinary chefs in refinement and intricate details. It can even be said that "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth" is the one pinnacle of soups.
The "boiled water" in "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth" actually refers to extremely clear chicken broth. This broth requires ingredients such as an old hen, an old duck, ham hock meat, spare ribs, dried scallops, etc. Each ingredient must be separately cleaned, added to a boiling pot with cooking wine, green onions, garlic, and other seasonings, and simmered for at least 4 hours at least 4 hours, not just 4 hours is enough.
Afterward, chicken breast meat is minced into a paste, mixed with fresh broth into a slurry, and poured into the pot to absorb impurities. After repeating this absorption two or three times, the formerly slightly cloudy chicken broth in the pot becomes as clear and limpid as boiled water, with a rich and mellow aroma that is neither oily nor greasy, and deeply refreshing. Only then is the "boiled water" portion of "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth" complete.
Whether it's the time required for the entire simmering process or the details to pay attention to during cooking, "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth" can be said to be a tightrope walk of a soup. Even a slight error can affect the best, purest taste of this soup. Not to mention the techniques required for the "boiled water" in "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth," the cabbage part isn't that easy to do well either.
The cabbage must be a large cabbage that is almost cooked but not fully cooked, serving as the base. The yellow tender heart of the cabbage must be selected, lightly blanched, then rinsed in cold water to remove the raw cabbage smell. After that, the already formed "boiled water"-like chicken broth is poured over it until the cabbage is cooked through. The crucial part is that the "boiled chicken broth" used to blanch the cabbage must be discarded, because if it's not discarded, the taste will be distorted.
The blanched cabbage heart must then be placed at the bottom of a bowl, and fresh chicken broth gently poured in. Only then is "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth" truly complete. It's rare for a soup dish to achieve this level of meticulousness and refinement.
Indeed, some main courses are not as complex as this small "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth." Cooking steak in Western cuisine is barely half as difficult as "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth." Its delicate techniques and the knowledge it requires can be said to be a small microcosm of the vast and splendid Chinese culinary world. Senzaemon Nakiri saw this ingredient list. His heart sank.
He felt that Renz was going to win this round again, but he was also afraid that if he had this thought, Renz might accidentally make a mistake during the simmering of "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth" and lose a good opportunity, which would be bad.
At this moment, the old man was extremely anxious. He hoped Renz would win, preferably that Renz would thoroughly defeat all these Gourmet Street chefs, waking up these famous chefs who had slowly developed "habits" on Gourmet Street over time. Many people on Gourmet Street, once they developed their own style, stopped thinking about how to improve and instead focused on how to maintain their status.
Like Ono Sadayoshi, he never thought about improving. With the title of "Sushi God," he always made the same sushi, not thinking about researching more sushi dishes, just stopping there, thinking it was enough to be on par with his father's sushi, never thinking of surpassing his father.
Senzaemon Nakiri was very dissatisfied with this kind of inward-looking complacency; it would be best if Renz could awaken them. But, what if he won? If Renz really won, Senzaemon Nakiri would also be quite embarrassed, because Totsuki Gourmet Street is the Nakiri family's property, and after this battle, its reputation in the Japanese culinary world might decline. Just thinking that the person who defeated them was his own grandson-in-law, his head didn't hurt as much; after all, it was still family. So now, he would see how skilled his grandson-in-law's "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth" was.
Would it surpass the master, or would it be mediocre and ordinary? Senzaemon Nakiri's slightly narrowed eyes were fixed on Renz's distant figure.
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While waiting for the ingredients to be delivered, Renz's young competitor at the adjacent table, Kanemoto Kaiya, from the Nodaiwa restaurant, also kept his gaze on Renz, just like Senzaemon Nakiri. During a Shokugeki, chefs can directly communicate; there's no rule about absolute silence throughout.
This has led to a "trash talk" confrontation segment.
Influencing the opponent's performance through communication is considered a normal tactic. However, Renz's relationship with Gourmet Street was a bit complicated; after all, he married Erina, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him an owner of Gourmet Street.
There was naturally no trash talk.
Instead, there was an additional gossiper. The young man from Nodaiwa challenging this round was the second son of the Kanemoto family, in his thirties. He was competing in soup dishes, so he was undoubtedly the best soup chef within the Nodaiwa restaurant.
Kanemoto Kaiya also graduated from Totsuki Academy,
though his path was relatively ordinary, as he didn't become one of the Elite Ten. Still, as a Totsuki graduate, his credentials were not bad.
"What dish are you making?" Kanemoto Kaiya asked.
"Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth," Renz said frankly, there was no reason to hide it.
"Oh, that one, I can make it too," Kanemoto Kaiya said quite familiarly.
"It's just not very good. This dish has a very high ceiling and a very low floor. If you don't do it well, it's hard to eat. And the high ceiling really depends on skill. I studied it for a while; to do it well, you can't make a single mistake." As he spoke, he suddenly lowered his voice.
"Brother, I'm married too. Can you tell me how you get along with Miss Erina? She seems a bit difficult to get along with." Kanemoto Kaiya whispered.
"I have a hellcat at home and I'd like to ask how to make her more refined." So all that serious discussion about cooking skills before was just a prelude to this?
Renz secretly glanced behind him, confirming that Erina wasn't looking in his direction and no one was eavesdropping. He also lowered his voice and said,
"This, I don't understand either. But when it comes to family status, I do have some experience. Just remember one thing: we men need to be a bit more assertive. If your wife dares to give you a dirty look, you just stare at her. Stare at her, keep staring, and she'll get self-conscious. Then you press your advantage and explain what you want to do to her."
Kanemoto Kaiya nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, I'll try that when I get home."
As he finished speaking, Totsuki's small delivery cart had already brought fresh ingredients. Renz had explicitly mentioned the required state and appearance of the ingredients on his ingredient list. The moment Renz touched the ingredients and his chef's knife, his smile vanished. All his attention was on the cutting board.
Any distraction would affect the quality of a dish; he had developed a way to enter his focused state at any time. He raised his hand, and there was a flash. A single, quick cut. By the time one blinked again, thin slices of meat were already separated on the table.
The chefs from Nodaiwa and the three judges who were quietly chatting to the side, upon seeing Renz's moves and the ingredients he prepared, immediately knew that Renz was going to make the god-tier soup dish, "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth."
Not only was he making "Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth," but these few movements also indicated that he was an experienced chef capable of making it well.
"Mr. Kanemoto, can your second son win?" Hinako Inui
asked gently, narrowing her eyes. Seeing Renz's technique, she knew the outcome had already been decided. It seemed they had accidentally stepped on a landmine. Anyone who had even a sliver of complacency about a "Shokugeki" challenge would suffer.
When they believed Renz won his Shokugeki by predicting topics, they naturally became complacent. As the head chef and owner of the next restaurant, [Kiriya], Hinako Inui had long seen the problem. Her words were actually adding insult to injury, fanning the flames in the heart of Mr. Kanemoto, who was already frustrated by the scene.
"A formidable young man," Gin Dojima said with a helpless shake of his head.
"Since his first Shokugeki challenge today, he's been like a robot with no flaws, and his competitive level is truly stunning."
"No, I can tell his understanding of sushi is flawed. It's clearly an impromptu attempt," Hinako Inui said calmly.
"However, he used ample experience and knowledge of other cuisines to compensate for this misunderstanding."
Hinako Inui, a graduate of Totsuki Academy's 80th class and the second seat of the Elite Ten in her year, was known as the "Empress of Mist" during her Totsuki days.
She specialized in sushi but had high overall proficiency in various aspects.
Among the Totsuki Elite Ten, the top three seats, upon graduation, could create waves throughout the culinary world. As a woman, Hinako Inui was meticulous and noticed many details, confirming that this young man named Renz was incredibly skilled.
To compensate for a dish one is not good at or has made but not mastered, through broad culinary knowledge, is something difficult to achieve without decades of culinary experience. However, the other party is very young, so it might not be decades of culinary experience; it can only be attributed to talent. With the God's Tongue as an assistant, a highly talented person could
achieve Renz's level of performance.
"That Rising Dragon Sushi, its prototype... was like a dumpling," Hinako Inui mused.
"And now he's brought out Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth.
Hmm, it would be tough for me to go up against him.
Completely unwinnable. Well, his overall ability is quite versatile, and he has a lot of ideas. And looking at his Shokugeki performances, his error rate is the lowest among all the data. If this Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth also turns out well, in terms of technique and cooking temperature, it's also a super first-class chef's standard.
At this point, for a versatile chef like me to face a versatile chef like him, my versatility becomes a weakness and mediocrity."
"If I were to challenge him, it would likely be a disastrous defeat." The person a versatile chef fears most is a more versatile, more skilled opponent.
"So, Senior Gin Dojima, my Kiriya restaurant will not participate in this Shokugeki." Hinako Inui brushed her hair back.
"I had a sliver of hope, but this kid seems to have been trained quite well by the God's Tongue. Rather than participating in a Shokugeki and being publicly executed, it's better to just surrender and lose a little less face." Gin Dojima was stunned.
"In that case, four Gourmet Street restaurants have lost the Shokugeki, and one has surrendered," Gin Dojima's forehead beaded with a slight sweat.
"Half of the restaurants are out." Hinako Inui smiled.
"Senior, why are you speaking with such a sad tone?
Haven't you figured out the situation yet?
This kid's competitive state is far stronger than ours on Gourmet Street.
It's normal for us, in our comfort zone, to lose a Shokugeki.
Think about it, he has the God's Tongue constantly pushing him. It's normal that we can't beat him, right?"
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