Food Wars!: God's Tongue is no match for me.

Page 6

Most members of the scallion family are used as seasonings.

However, cooked onions become sweet and are very palatable when eaten directly as a vegetable.

Creamy onions and braised onions in broth can be used to accompany roast chicken, roast short ribs, braised meat, and other meat dishes. Onions are also indispensable in the process of making various Western-style chicken broths, beef broths, and vegetable broths.

In romantic France.

Onion soup is definitely a popular home-style dish.

Its status is like that of miso soup in Japan, borscht in Russia, and Tom Yum soup in the hearts of the Siamese.

French onion soup, also known as "baked onion soup" due to the baking process in its preparation, is also called "Parisian onion soup" because it is one of the representative dishes of the capital, Paris.

Along with Bouillabaisse, one in the north and one in the south, they are two soups that the French are most proud of!

……

"Whoo~"

"The ingredients are all ready, what's next?"

Tadokoro Megumi trembled slightly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Her eyes darted back and forth between the ingredients and the recipe on the whiteboard, trying to find that familiar feeling.

But, there was inner turmoil.

But it came like a surging tide, making it difficult for her to concentrate.

Today's topic is to make a classic French onion soup, but Lin Xu, as expected of a top chef, presented a detailed set of steps on the whiteboard that made every student present feel that it was extremely difficult!

"Don't panic, don't panic."

"It's just a simple onion soup. As long as you follow the steps the instructor gives, there shouldn't be any problems."

That's how it's said.

However, when Megumi Tadokoro started processing the onions...

The kitchen knife in her hand became unusually heavy, and the onion slices she cut were uneven in thickness, a far cry from her usual skill level.

As the butter and olive oil melted in the pan, Megumi Tadokoro carefully poured in the sliced ​​onions and sautéed them over medium-low heat, following the recipe instructions.

Perhaps her excessive nervousness prevented her from accurately judging the cooking time.

Take a closer look.

The color of the onions started to become uneven.

In some places, there was even a slight burnt smell.

Her heart raced, and beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, dripping onto the stove with a soft sound that seemed particularly jarring in the quiet kitchen.

……

"It's a little burnt."

"What should we do? No, there's no time to think, we have to add salt right away."

Tadokoro analyzed the situation in her mind, but unfortunately, the preparation time for the onion soup did not allow her time to calm down and think things through.

She hurriedly added the beef broth she had prepared beforehand, hoping to mask the slightly burnt smell. Then, in a panic, she quickly grabbed an opened packet of salt and carefully poured it into the pot.

As a result, she accidentally added too much salt, making the whole pot of soup taste excessively salty and bitter.

"what!"

"This time... I'm really going to die!"

At that moment, Tadokoro Megumi's delicate little face turned pale in an instant.

She knew full well that her mistake had caused the French onion soup to lose its original flavor.

……

"It's still the same as the original story."

"At the start, it's always chaotic, and then mistakes are made due to nervousness."

Lin Xu watched Tadokoro Megumi's every move.

"Making a dish completely is not actually that difficult."

"With a recipe and a little cooking experience, most of you elementary students from Totsuki Academy can make it quickly."

"What I want to say is that a real chef doesn't necessarily have to completely replicate the recipe I provide."

"But..."

"Understand the cooking process of this dish, as well as the logic behind the seasoning."

"This is the same logic as adding some pickled cucumbers and pickled onions to cut through the greasiness of pork trotter rice, which is too fatty."

"This logic permeates almost all cuisines, not only the logic of whether the seasoning is appropriate, but also the dietary tendencies implied by the widespread popularity of a dish!"

In short.

"A chef must have his own understanding."

Lin Xu then spoke loudly, his gaze remaining fixed on Tadokoro Megumi, never leaving her.

"Huh? Could it be..."

Tadokoro was stunned when she heard Lin Xu's words.

Then she quickly looked up and found that Lin Xu had been staring at her the whole time, as if his words were directed at her.

"A chef who lacks imagination."

"Therefore, most of the seasoning can only be done according to the existing recipes."

"For example, if it's your first time eating bread with strawberry jam and I tell you to add some black pepper, you might think it sounds weird and ridiculous."

"Only after you taste it will you discover a whole new world."

"The first person to discover this way of eating it, whether by chance or through imagination, is quite surprising."

"Similarly, imagination can create a huge difference between chefs, and it can also turn a terrible dish into a disaster..."

"Rebirth from the ashes!"

Lin Xu continued.

Even now, not only Tadokoro Megumi, but all the other students were shocked upon hearing this.

What the hell!

This lecturer is amazing!

Chapter 8 Children can be taught

During the cooking process.

Excessive salt intake is a common problem.

After all, everyone makes mistakes and sometimes things don't go right. But to make such a basic error when faced with a practical test from a new instructor is truly remarkable.

This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Tadokoro Megumi.

"10 minutes left."

"Students who haven't finished their onion soup, please hurry up and stop dawdling."

Lin Xu's voice echoed throughout the entire cooking classroom, and the silver cutlery on the podium reflected a dazzling, cold light under the lamp.

Tadokoro Megumi felt a cold sweat instantly break out on the back of her neck.

Even through the kitchen counter, she could smell the rich aroma of the beef bone broth being simmered by the students next door.

The bubbling onion soup in front of him had a salt concentration exceeding the standard limit of 3%.

detail.

It determines success or failure.

Misjudging the salt content is not only a denial of one's own culinary skills, but also a disrespect for the ingredients themselves.

Therefore, looking at the pot of onion soup in front of her, she was filled with self-reproach.

……

"What should I do?"

With her head down, Tadokoro Megumi fell into deep thought.

“Lecturer Lin is right. I... I can’t be discouraged by a small mistake.”

"Anything is possible before the assessment period ends."

Tadokoro took a deep breath.

Then, she slowly raised her head and slapped herself hard across the face. The burning pain on her face instantly sobered her up.

She began to approach cooking with a completely new attitude.

"Ah! This child is teachable."

Looking at the deep red handprint on her face, Lin Xu on the stage simply nodded and smiled softly.

……

time.

Like fine sand, it slips through your fingers.

Each grain carries an irreversible past.

The entire cooking classroom was enveloped in an indescribable atmosphere of tension and intensity, as if even the air itself had frozen.

Each breath, even accompanied by a faintly audible heartbeat, was suffocating.

Every point.

every second.

Here, it is stretched infinitely.

Every soft sound of a knife hitting the cutting board, every subtle sound of food falling into a bowl or plate, is amplified infinitely in this silent space.

However, amidst this almost suffocating tension, a delicate figure stood out from the crowd.

She stood quietly in front of the kitchen counter.

His expression was one of intense focus.

Those bright, star-like eyes remained fixed on a small piece of potato on the cutting board from beginning to end.

Suddenly, her seemingly delicate fingers moved with astonishing dexterity, manipulating the kitchen knife and beginning to trace its movements across the smooth surface of the potato.

……

Da da da.

Da da da.

Every strike was precise and powerful.

Without the slightest deviation or hesitation, without the slightest doubt or wavering.

In her hands, the potato has become a precious gem waiting to be sculpted, with every inch containing infinite possibilities.

Then, Megumi Tadokoro quickly put the chopped potatoes into the pot to stew, and after they absorbed the salt, she took them out.

Next, ladle out the rich onion soup from the pot.

"It was barely completed."

Megumi Tadokoro couldn't help but cheer softly, her face beaming with joy.

However, as the joy was still lingering in her chest, she was surprised to find that the other students' seats in the classroom were already empty.

The whole class.

She was the slowest at making Parisian onion soup.

……