Food Wars!: Delicious Food of the Heavens

"That's it! See, it's very simple, isn't it?"

Lin Yu took out the fried salmon and placed it on a plate, turning the fish downwards to show Tadokoro Megumi the skin side.

"Wow, it's really crispy now!"

Megumi Tadokoro tapped the surface of the fish skin with a spoon, and the texture was distinct; the fish skin even made a crisp echo.

"Want to taste the fruits of your labor?"

"Um."

Megumi Tadokoro nodded, used a spoon to cut open the crispy fish skin, scooped up a piece of fish meat and put it in her mouth.

The crispy fish skin contrasts sharply with the tender fish meat, creating a rich and layered texture, complemented by the richness of butter and the spiciness of black pepper.

Megumi Tadokoro felt her mouth filled with the rich, delicious flavor of fish, as if she were immersed in seawater, with salmon swimming by her side, splashing water all over her body. The comfortable feeling was very enjoyable.

"How is it?"

Lin Yu looked at Tadokoro Megumi with a warm gaze.

"Mmm, delicious!"

Tadokoro Megumi's eyes sparkled.

"I never imagined that even I could make such a delicious dish using such a simple method."

Lin Yu said in a gentle tone, "That's how cooking is. The key is not in fancy techniques, but in clever and flexible ideas."

"Although the steps for frying the fish this time weren't as meticulous as last time, with just a few adjustments, it still turned out great, didn't it?"

"Lin Yu-jun really never forgets to give me lessons anytime, anywhere," Tadokoro Megumi chuckled.

Lin Yu feigned anger and glared at her. "Do you think just anyone has the right to make me teach?"

"Alright, let's hurry up and make the rice balls. Everyone's probably getting impatient."

"Okay, I'll start making rice balls now."

Megumi Tadokoro opened the rice cooker, revealing steaming white rice inside.

Megumi Tadokoro kept stirring the rice in the pot with a rice paddle, and as the steam rose, the rice was made very loose.

The advantage of doing this is that it allows the rice to cool down quickly, so it won't burn your hands when you knead the rice balls.

More importantly, this method can accelerate the evaporation of moisture from the surface of the rice, preventing it from becoming too wet and making it drier, thus improving its texture.

Next, Megumi Tadokoro sprinkled a small amount of salt and seaweed flakes into the rice, stirred it evenly with a rice paddle, and gave the rice a basic seasoning.

Megumi Tadokoro carefully cleaned her hands, then held a ball of rice in one hand, placed the fried salmon on top of the rice, and then held another ball of rice in her other hand, covering the salmon. She then kneaded the rice into a ball with both hands, pressed it firmly, and attached a piece of seaweed.

"Lin Yujun, how is it?"

After finishing the first rice ball, Megumi Tadokoro opened her palm and showed it to Lin Yu, her face full of anticipation, clearly hoping to receive praise from Lin Yu.

actually......

Lin Yu hesitated for a moment, wanting to directly point out the problem with the rice ball.

But seeing the intense expectation in Tadokoro Megumi's eyes, Lin Yu sighed and ultimately decided to give her a chance, to remind her indirectly and see if she could realize it in time.

Lin Yu picked up the tightly wrapped salmon rice ball, broke it open with his hands, and handed one half to Tadokoro Megumi.

"Since you're curious about the taste of the rice ball, why don't you give it a try?"

"No need, didn't we already eat?"

Megumi Tadokoro waved her hand in refusal.

"If I eat too much, there won't be any left for everyone. Besides, I fried the fish according to Lin Yujun's method, so there definitely won't be any problems."

"No!"

Lin Yu's expression remained calm, revealing no emotion; he simply shook his head firmly.

"That pan-fried salmon with butter is just one part of this rice ball, and it's definitely different from the whole dish."

"You can't truly appreciate the experience without trying it yourself."

Lin Yu persisted, bringing the salmon rice ball closer to Tadokoro Megumi's mouth.

Seeing Lin Yu's persistence, Tadokoro Megumi had some doubts.

But trusting Lin Yu, Tadokoro Megumi still took the rice ball and took a small bite.

"There's nothing wrong with the taste, is there?" Tadokoro asked, puzzled.

"Hmm? Didn't you notice?"

Lin Yu frowned slightly.

Although Xiaohui is prone to underperforming due to nervousness, judging from her performance these past few days, her basic skills are still very solid. How could we really not have noticed?

Just as Lin Yu had some doubts in his mind.

Suddenly, he noticed that there was only a shallow chip on the rice ball in Tadokoro Megumi's hand, resting on the surface of the rice ball.

Lin Yu knew why.

He broke off a small piece of rice from his hand, put it in his mouth, and chewed it a few times.

"The rice is cooked to the perfect consistency and saltiness, which means that Xiaohui, the amount of water you added while cooking the rice and the seasoning you added after it was done were all correct."

Hearing Lin Yu say this, Tadokoro Megumi was even more puzzled.

"So, Lin Yujun, what do you mean?"

Lin Yu pointed to the rice ball in her hand, "Don't take such a small bite, try taking a big bite, take a bit more."

Lin Yu reminded him again.

This time, the warning is even more blatant.

Although Tadokoro Megumi was somewhat skeptical, her gentle nature led her to decide to obediently follow Lin Yu's advice.

Megumi Tadokoro opened her mouth wide and took a bite out of half a rice ball.

Tadokoro Megumi chewed on her rice ball while savoring the memory.

"There's clearly nothing wrong... Wait a minute!"

Suddenly, Tadokoro Megumi frowned, as if she had noticed something, but she was a little hesitant and couldn't bring herself to say it.

She threw the rest of the rice balls into her mouth again, closed her eyes, chewed carefully, savored the taste, and her face was full of serious expression.

The next moment, Tadokoro Megumi's eyes widened suddenly, and a look of sudden realization appeared on her face.

"The salmon skin...is no longer crispy..."

Tadokoro Megumi was a little confused. "Why?"

"Because of rice."

"You wrapped the whole piece of salmon inside the rice."

Seeing that Tadokoro Megumi had finally realized the problem, Lin Yu felt relieved and explained:

"Although this is the standard way to make rice balls, there shouldn't be any problems under normal circumstances."

"But the filling for the rice balls we made this time is not the usual filling."

"The soul of this pan-fried salmon with butter is the fish skin, which is pan-fried to a crispy texture."

"Although you deliberately loosened the rice to reduce the moisture on its surface."

"But the rice is still hot, and the internal heat will slowly be released, like a simplified steamer. The heat will further heat the salmon skin inside, and the fish skin will soften because of the heat of the rice, losing its crispy texture."

"Is that so...?"

"I can't believe I didn't think of that." Tadokoro Megumi's mood visibly dropped.

"Don't be so disappointed, silly girl."

"This is a rare situation. It's not surprising that you made a mistake since this is your first time encountering such a situation."

Lin Yu gently flicked Tadokoro Megumi's forehead, interrupting her reverie.

"Don't just stand there dumbfounded when you encounter a problem. When you meet a problem, just try to find a solution."

"I...I know..."

Megumi Tadokoro rubbed the spot on her forehead where she had been flicked, her eyes brimming with tears.

"For example, the problem we are facing now actually has a very simple solution."

Lin Yu deliberately ignored the pitiful expression on Tadokoro Megumi's face.

"Why not just leave the fish skin exposed when wrapping the fish in rice, and only wrap the fish meat with rice?"

"This not only solves the problem of the fish skin becoming less crispy, but the heat from the rice also keeps the fish warm, allowing it to maintain its soft texture."