"What is he doing? He tossed the sea bream into the air!"
"How can he waste a sea bream like that!"
"If that sea bream falls, it'll probably be ruined."
The sea bream suddenly flew from the water into the sky, and the huge commotion it caused instantly attracted the attention of the surrounding audience, who immediately broke into a flurry of discussion.
Among them, many who cherished food showed pained expressions at this scene.
They believed Okabe was wasting a precious sea bream.
Falling from this height, the sea bream would most likely be damaged, and even if it could be used, the usable parts would be far fewer.
Okabe had no intention of explaining himself, and according to the rules, he couldn't speak anyway.
At this moment, he was staring at the sea bream in the sky, all his vital energy and spirit concentrated in his hands, transforming into a formidable power that could erupt at any moment.
The sea bream reached its highest point at that instant.
Its upward momentum ceased, and it began to fall vertically.
A dazzling silver light flashed. A thin white line appeared on the lively, thrashing sea bream in the sky, and then the entire fish was cleanly split in two.
The moment the fish separated, time seemed to freeze. The crowd, who had just been complaining about the waste, was silenced as if a mute button had been pressed, and the scene became utterly quiet.
And the two halves of the sea bream did not fall heavily as they had expected, but were deftly caught by Okabe using the wide part of his blade.
In the next moment, he tossed them onto the cutting board nearby, the scales refracting a rainbow of colors in the sunlight.
The cross-section of the fish flesh was as smooth as a mirror. If someone were to look closely right now, they could clearly count the growth-ring-like layers of the muscle tissue!
"The Flying Heaven Single-Blade Style? This kid is no simpleton."
Watching the sea bream lying on the cutting board, Li Wuque's gaze grew profound. From the knife technique he had just displayed, he faintly saw the shadow of an old acquaintance.
Although the execution was slightly immature, and the two halves of the fish weren't cut so evenly, for such a technique to appear in the hands of a child was truly astonishing.
"Flying Heaven Single-Blade Style. By tossing a fish into the air, one can swiftly split it in two and remove the bones and entrails. Unfortunately, this kid isn't proficient with it yet. For now, he can only slice the fish into two halves; the entrails and everything are still in the belly, requiring further processing."
Watching Okabe stride towards the cooking station to clean the scales, bones, and entrails from the bisected sea bream, Gongsun Yu's voice carried a hint of regret.
Then he added meaningfully, "Legend has it that this was the signature technique of the Japanese bladesmith Kōsaka Hachirōbei, which was later inherited by his daughter, Shigure Kōsaka. The current Shigure Kōsaka is at Ryōzanpaku in Japan, and only she could teach this move. The faction behind this kid is not simple at all…"
If Okabe learned this move under Shigure Kōsaka's tutelage, then it wasn't just Shigure Kōsaka behind him, but the entire Ryōzanpaku.
A disciple trained by so many Special-Grade chefs… I wonder what kind of surprise he can bring…"
"You're only describing the ordinary Flying Heaven Single-Blade Style. When this technique is mastered to a profound level, you can remove all the bones and entrails from a fish while it's still alive, without leaving any visible marks on its surface. Combined with the Cantonese technique of 'Fish Belly Hiding Treasure,' one could create the perfect stuffed fish belly."
Li Wuque explained calmly, a touch of sorrow flashing deep in his eyes.
He and Kōsaka Hachirōbei were quite good friends. One a bladesmith, the other a god of the blade, their relationship could be likened to that of Bo Ya and Zhong Ziqi.
Back then, when the Dark Culinary World invited both him and Kōsaka Hachirōbei to join, he chose to accept while Kōsaka Hachirōbei chose to refuse, eventually passing away from old age more than a decade later.
"However, could the utensil in this kid's hand be the Seven-Star Knives that have been missing for years? Have these knives reappeared in the world? Or did he just get lucky and happen to find one? Or is it a replica, one of Hachirōbei's relics?"
Knowing that the boy might be the disciple of his old friend's adopted daughter, Li Wuque focused more of his attention on Okabe, and soon noticed the knife in his hand.
Isn't that the kitchen knife used decades ago by the chef Lei En, who defected from the Dark Culinary World, and later disappeared along with Lei En into a secret realm?
How did it end up in this kid's hands!?
For a moment, many thoughts flashed through his mind. He even entertained the idea that it was an inheritance left by Kōsaka Hachirōbei, but he quickly dismissed it.
If it were truly a treasure obtained by Kōsaka Hachirōbei, it would be impossible for him not to know. In fact, it was highly likely that he would have gifted it to him.
After all, for a bladesmith, having a good knife used by a chef skilled with blades is in itself a very satisfying thing.
"Could it be that Lei En disappeared in a secret realm in Japan? And the Seven-Star Knife in Okabe's hand was retrieved from that secret realm by those masters from Ryōzanpaku…?"
Watching Okabe holding the Wu Qu Knife, a thoughtful look flashed in Li Wuque's clouded eyes, but he did not rush to say anything.
Because so much time had passed, besides himself, no one else at the scene recognized this Seven-Star Knife, let alone knew of its power.
Legend has it that the Seven-Star Knives can sense a chef's passion for cooking and respond to their expectations, allowing the finished dish to express even more intense emotions.
Intense emotions can influence the diner's experience, thereby earning a higher evaluation.
However, to make the Seven-Star Knives sense passion and respond to expectations, one must first collect the full set. I don't know if this kid has obtained all the Seven-Star Knives, or just this one. If it's only one, then it's just a bit better than an ordinary kitchen knife…
His gaze was fixed in Okabe's direction. By now, he had finished preparing the sea bream, then covered it with plastic wrap and a lid to avoid direct sunlight.
"Next is to select the side ingredients for the main course…"
Because the preparation of the sea bream had been so spectacular, the attention of many audience members was now focused on Okabe, eagerly anticipating his next move.
He got a few bamboo shoots from the ingredient area, and also grabbed some pea pods and mushrooms. The cooking process played continuously in his mind, helping him quickly familiarize himself with it.
"This is the most important part of the dish…"
Picking up the saffron prepared in the spice area, Okabe's gaze deepened.
He clearly remembered from the competition a few days ago, Erina Nakiri had relied on this little thing to perfectly balance the complex flavors of her dish. Now, it was his turn to use it.
At the same time, at the cooking station of Kannoyama Hikorintarou and Himeshima Kou, because the chicken provided by the Dark Culinary World was alive, they needed to slaughter it on the spot.
A sharp kitchen knife slashed across the chicken's neck, and fresh blood gushed into a prepared bowl, filling the air with a faint, metallic smell.
Kannoyama Hikorintarou watched with a cold gaze as the rooster in his hand gradually went still, then with a slight toss, threw it into a bucket full of hot water.
Using a long stick, he pushed the rooster to the bottom of the hot water to ensure every feather was soaked through, then pulled the rooster out of the bucket and placed it in front of Himeshima Kou.
Himeshima Kou looked at the slaughtered and scalded rooster with a serious expression, then began to pluck its feathers, cleaning every nook and cranny.
This wasn't any special technique, but purely an accumulation of skill.
They chose the rooster as the main ingredient not because it was superior, but because they were skilled at cooking chicken and could perfectly bring out the deliciousness of its meat.
In less than a minute, the feathers were stripped from the chicken's body, flying wantonly into the sky before being swept clean by Kannoyama Hikorintarou with a broom.
"Next is to remove the gamey taste and enhance the flavor."
The prepared rooster was quickly portioned. The chicken breast and liver were taken. The sinew and blood vessels were removed from the liver, then both were placed in milk.
On the other side, Kannoyama Hikorintarou deboned the chicken thigh and diced the meat.
The chicken heart was washed, minced, and set aside.
He mixed the diced thigh meat, minced chicken heart, garlic paste, minced ginger, scallion water, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of mirin, and stirred it vigorously in a bowl until it became sticky.
Once the chicken mixture was well-beaten, Kannoyama Hikorintarou grabbed it with his hand and squeezed out several ping-pong-ball-sized meatballs through the space between his thumb and index finger.
The remaining chicken skin was julienned and set aside.
After cleaning his knife, he didn't immediately continue cooking. Instead, he looked at Himeshima Kou, who gave him a hand signal, confirming their start time.
As a set meal that needed to be served together, they had to finish their dishes at the right moment and present them together to bring the set's deliciousness to its peak.
With the remaining time, Kannoyama Hikorintarou looked over at Okabe and Erina Nakiri.
As the king of Japanese seafood, it was a much higher-grade ingredient than theirs.
One could only say that it was expected of a wealthy family with a complete supply chain. The Dark Culinary World hadn't prepared sea bream for them; one day was just too rushed.
"Are they preparing sashimi? For fresh sea bream, sashimi is indeed a good choice, but sashimi is a great test of knife skills."
Watching Okabe and Erina Nakiri's preparation, Kannoyama Hikorintarou imagined the dish they wanted to make, then shook his head slightly.
His opponents were so young. Even if they practiced their knife skills day and night, it would be difficult to master them.
Especially when handling an ingredient like sashimi. It looks simple, but it's very difficult to do well. Without several years of practice, it's impossible to slice sashimi worthy of being served.
For children, the time they have to learn cooking is limited, making it impossible to hone their fundamentals.
If he were Okabe, he would definitely be focusing on a creative dish right now, rather than making something like sashimi that requires years of accumulation to achieve even minor success.
"Kids all like to show off. That flashy slice earlier was all for show. It looked like he split the fish in two, but it was practically the same as a normal slaughter. However, compared to a complex dish, sashimi is indeed more suitable for them. After all, it's the simplest and fastest way to showcase the deliciousness of fresh sea bream."
Following Kannoyama Hikorintarou's gaze, Himeshima Kou also began to analyze the pros and cons.
For children, their exposure to cooking is limited, and what they've learned isn't much. It's difficult for them to create dishes with a high degree of difficulty.
And a high degree of difficulty doesn't guarantee good flavor. A small mistake could easily disappoint the judges and lower their score.
In that case, it would be better to make sashimi.
She thought Okabe and Erina Nakiri were being very clever.
Okabe didn't start slicing the sashimi immediately. He just gestured with his hand, signaling to Erina Nakiri, who was watching him, to prepare the dipping sauce in advance.
As the appetizer of the meal, the interval between the appetizer and the main course cannot exceed five minutes.
Otherwise, the empty time in between would bore the diners, leading to a poor dining experience, which would be a negative for the entire set meal.
After giving simple instructions, he briefly processed the unwanted parts of the fish, then set up an iron pot and took out the ingredients he had just obtained from the vegetable section.
Leeks, onions, and the stalks from celery with the leaves removed. Besides these, there were also many herbs like parsley, thyme, and bay leaf.
These were the ingredients for Okabe's fish stock.
He added butter to the iron pot, sliced the leeks, onions, and celery thinly, and sautéed them over medium heat until soft and tender.
Then, he directly added the prepared fish bones and the leftover fish scraps.
"This is how you make French fish stock. Sauté the vegetables until soft over low heat, cook the fish until it breaks down, then add white wine, and add warm water to cover the fish and vegetables."
Watching the busy Okabe and Erina Nakiri, voices from the audience began to murmur. They were all high-society figures, very familiar with conventional cuisine. Many had made this French fish stock at home, so they couldn't help but explain when they saw Okabe.
"You're only talking about the general method. The real details won't be told to you in a recipe. To make a perfect French fish stock, you need to soften the vegetables without letting them brown, and the same goes for the fish. Only in this way can the flavor base remain pure. It looks like the boy is making this fish stock, but the one actually in control is the little girl behind him. She precisely controlled the timing of adding the ingredients, preventing the vegetables and fish from gaining a hint of golden brown. The little girl understands French cuisine very well."
Watching Erina Nakiri busying herself at the cooking station, a white-haired old man praised her admiringly.
Although it was Okabe standing in front of the station, the one truly in control of this French fish stock was the other one.
As for the tedious chores like skimming the scum, those were handled by Okabe, while Erina Nakiri was preparing the dipping sauce for the sashimi in the process.
Meanwhile, the siblings Kannoyama Hikorintarou and Himeshima Kou, who had been resting for a while, also sprang into action.
She took the chicken breast and liver that had been soaking in milk, drained them, and set them aside.
Then, she put the chicken breast, chicken liver, egg whites, mirin, sake, soy sauce, and bamboo charcoal powder into a blender, and blended it into an extremely fine paste.
She added heavy cream in three parts, continuing to blend until smooth to ensure full emulsification.
This was the method for making the mousse.
She passed the mousse paste through a sieve and poured it into small, lightly oiled bowls. Then, she covered them with plastic wrap and steamed them over medium-low heat for fifteen minutes until thoroughly cooked, then let them cool.
While it was cooling, Himeshima Kou didn't stay idle, turning to make the accompanying sauce.
If the main ingredient is the body of an appetizer, then the sauce is its soul. Only when the soul and body are combined can a dish be truly complete.
Beside her, Kannoyama Hikorintarou also began to move.
He placed a frying pan on the stove, turned on the heat but didn't add a drop of oil. Instead, he poured in the previously julienned chicken skin and rendered it over medium-low heat until the skin turned into golden, crispy cracklings and the fat was completely rendered out.
"This aroma is much richer than that of ordinary chicken skin fried in oil. Could it be…?"
Smelling the aroma in the air, Okabe looked at Kannoyama Hikorintarou's cutting board and discovered the source of the chicken skin he was frying: it was a small piece from the chicken's rump.
The reason its flavor was more intense than skin from other parts was mainly because it connects to the middle of the chicken's body, and its subcutaneous fat is relatively thick.
So-called flavor is the aroma of fat.
Looking at the crispy chicken skin cracklings, Kannoyama Hikorintarou picked them up with chopsticks and placed them in a bowl.
Then, he added cooled rice to the pan and stir-fried it over medium heat, ensuring every grain of rice was coated with chicken fat and fried until slightly golden brown.
"I'm done. Hikorintarou's main dish can be finished within five minutes. We can serve."
Placing the dish and sauce on a delicate small plate, Himeshima Kou wore a faint smile. As she spoke, she picked up the finished dish and headed towards the judges' table.
"If I hadn't been watching her from start to finish, I would never have imagined that chicken breast and liver could be made into such a delicate dish."
"It has a bit of a French style, don't you think?"
"It's like a Japanese-French fusion. I saw her add wasabi when she was making the sauce."
Her words instantly drew the attention of the nearest spectators. Everyone's eyes fell on her plate, their faces shimmering with curiosity.
"A jet-black chicken mousse tightly wrapped in morel mushrooms, served with a vibrant green sauce. The spicy flavor is unmistakably wasabi. As for the faint sweetness coming from the sauce, did you use caramel?"
Not everyone was focused on Himeshima Kou. Ever since learning that Okabe was a disciple of Shigure Kōsaka, Li Wuque's attention had been mostly on him.
Now, seeing Himeshima Kou present such a vividly colored dish, he leaned in, sniffed, and began to analyze its elements, with the wasabi caramel flavor being the most prominent.
"That's right. This is a sweet and spicy compound sauce I made by boiling rock sugar into an amber caramel, then taking it off the heat and mixing in warm heavy cream and butter, and finally seasoning it with wasabi paste and a small amount of salt."
Hearing Li Wuque's question, Himeshima Kou nodded slightly and began to introduce her sauce.
As an appetizer, its flavor must be distinct and memorable, while also serving to whet the appetite. This sweet and spicy sauce is perfect for that.
"Bamboo charcoal powder has powerful absorbent properties, which can absorb the excess gamey taste of the ingredients. At the same time, unlike squid ink, it doesn't have a rich oceanic umami flavor, so it won't affect the dish itself. It's a very pure and clean ingredient."
Gongsun Yu also spoke up at this moment. As he spoke, he picked up the knife beside him, cut off a piece, and brought it to his mouth to savor it carefully.
"The mousse has a silky smooth texture that melts in your mouth. The richness of the chicken liver and the delicate sweetness of the chicken breast are perfectly fused. The bamboo charcoal powder not only removed the gamey taste but also brought a unique mineral aroma."
Beside him, Li Wuque also scooped up some mousse, dipped it in the deep green sauce, and put it in his mouth. A sharp light flashed in his eyes.
"The toasted aroma of the caramel and the pungent spice of the wasabi form an exquisite balance. It stimulates the palate without overpowering the original flavor of the chicken. The outer layer of morel mushrooms has a crisp yet tender texture, creating a sharp contrast with the dense interior, while their rich flavor enhances the meat's aroma. It can be called the finishing touch."
"This appetizer, you've done quite well."
Morel mushrooms wrapped around a jet-black chicken mousse, drenched in a vibrant green sauce. Through the dish, he found himself transformed into a proud, upward-striving rooster.
The summer heat was oppressive, but a cool breeze blew through the air, making it squint its eyes in comfort.
"This coolness… under natural cooling, it's impossible to reach this temperature in an hour. How exactly did you manage to do it, to make the mousse set so quickly?"
Senzaemon Nakiri opened his tiger-like eyes and looked at Himeshima Kou, asking how she had cooled the mousse so rapidly, his heart filled with curiosity.
Hearing his question, Li Wuque also turned his gaze towards her.
He was equally puzzled. Logically, this dish should take at least a few hours to prepare, yet Himeshima Kou had shortened the time to about forty-five minutes.
"I sealed the steamed chicken mousse and placed it in an ice water bath to rapidly cool it to room temperature, taking it out to stir in between to ensure it cooled evenly. Then I piped it into the morel mushrooms and put it in the refrigerator to quickly cool and set."
Hearing Senzaemon Nakiri's inquiry, Himeshima Kou explained with a smile, holding up a finger.
Simply put, she wrapped the steamed chicken mousse in plastic wrap, then placed it in ice water to cool down quickly, taking it out to stir a few times to ensure even cooling inside and out. Then she piped it into the morel mushrooms, and put both together in the refrigerator to set.
When it was time to serve, she took it out, sliced it into thick pieces, and drizzled the wasabi caramel sauce over it. It was a pity there was no caviar available, otherwise adding a little for a touch of salty umami would have been nice.
As the dish entered his mouth, Senzaemon Nakiri closed his eyes, and a cool breeze suddenly brushed his cheek.
The next second, he was surprised to find himself standing in a verdant bamboo forest. He had no hands, only a pair of talons. He had transformed into a rooster.
The bamboo leaves rustled in the wind, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of bamboo charcoal.
"Why… this feeling, welling up from the depths of my heart, impossible to suppress, is…"
Senzaemon Nakiri murmured in shock.
The fighting cock he had become suddenly spread its wings, leaped lightly in the bamboo forest, and quickly flew up into a tree. The sun also revealed a corner of itself in the process.
It raised its head and crowed proudly.
As a surge of immense pride erupted from his mouth, a crisp tearing sound was heard, and Senzaemon Nakiri's kimono burst apart.
The fabric scattered like starry butterflies, revealing his muscular upper body.
The bamboo leaves and dewdrops seemed to fall on his skin for real, bringing waves of coolness that made him involuntarily open his arms, letting that refreshing sensation permeate his entire body.
"It's here! The Gourmet Demon King's clothes-burst!"
"I can't believe a mere appetizer could make the Gourmet Demon King burst his clothes! Even though it's not a 'complete clothes-burst,' it's still incredibly impressive!"
Seeing this scene, the audience cried out in excitement, their eyes showing no fear of the Dark Culinary World's display of power, only appreciation for the delicious food.
Senzaemon Nakiri's upper body clothes had disintegrated. This state is also known as a 'half-body clothes-burst,' an exaggerated reaction that only occurs when he eats delicious cuisine!
____
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