Food Wars!: Delicious Food of the Heavens

"Smoked?"

Ibuzaki Shun was always taciturn and had little presence, but when he spoke, everyone looked at him in great surprise.

"Isn't that your area of ​​expertise, Mr. Ibu?"

"yes."

Ibuzaki Shun's tone was somewhat solemn, "That's precisely why I'm so certain."

Ibuzaki looked up at Lin Yu, his eyes, usually hidden by his hair, now filled with indescribable shock.

"White sugar, tea leaves, cinnamon, bay leaves," Ibuzaki Shun said slowly. "There should only be these four ingredients for smoking, right?"

"Impressive! You figured it out right away." Lin Yu nodded and readily admitted it.

Ibuzaki Shun's serious expression did not lessen at all as he continued, "Furthermore... the smoking technique is probably not the one I usually use, the slow smoking with low heat, light smoke, and long time, that is, deep smoking."

"This rice ball was made using a quick smoking method with high heat, thick smoke, and short time, that is, a light smoking process."

Ibuzaki took another bite of the rice ball. This time, his focus was no longer on the filling, but rather on savoring the unique smoky flavor of the rice ball.

"The sweetness of white sugar, the fragrance of tea, and the rich aroma of cinnamon and bay leaves—the ingredients used for smoking are not complicated, but the smoking process is perfectly controlled, bringing out the unique aroma characteristics of each ingredient to their fullest extent!"

Ibuzaki Jun gave Lin Yu a deep look.

"A master!"

"Wow! Lin Yu-kun, it seems like you can do everything! And you're so good at everything." Yoshino Yuuki exclaimed in admiration, and suddenly felt that Lin Yu's figure was very tall.

"How is that possible? It can't be that powerful!"

Lin Yu smiled and waved his hand casually, "That's because Yi Wu is giving me too much credit."

"No! You really are amazing! That's a fact."

Ibuzaki looked at Lin Yu and spoke again, his words very straightforward.

"Given my personality, I would never say such things to deliberately flatter others, so you don't need to be overly modest."

"You should know that excessive humility is itself a form of pride!"

"Okay." Lin Yu smiled indifferently.

"I think so too!" Yoshino Yuuki raised one hand and said loudly, "Lin Yu-kun knows so much, so don't be modest."

"I already said I wasn't being modest..."

Lin Yu said somewhat helplessly, "It's just that because of my past experiences, I happen to know a lot about different kinds of cuisines, and my knowledge is quite diverse."

Lin Yu spread his hands, "But actually, in many aspects, my level is just average, and I haven't reached the pinnacle."

Upon hearing Lin Yu's words, Yoshino Yuuki rolled her eyes at him and said in a playful tone, "Ah! Is this the world of geniuses? We mere mortals are utterly ashamed of ourselves."

"Stop being so sarcastic!"

Lin Yu reached out and grabbed Yoshino Yuuki by the back of her neck, wanting her to experience the consequences of speaking recklessly.

But the girl had anticipated Lin Yu's intentions and moved very nimbly, dodging Lin Yu's clutches in an instant.

"Hehe, Lin Yujun, don't be angry, it was just a joke!"

Yoshino Yuuki gave a fawning smile. "By the way, Lin Yu-kun, how do you know all this?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"When I was little, I helped out at my family's restaurant. I was exposed to a lot of things, so I observed, memorized, and pondered on my own. Gradually, I learned how to do it."

Everyone was surprised. "That's it?"

"Otherwise what?"

After saying that, Lin Yu looked around, his gaze sweeping over everyone, his tone very calm, as if this was not a big deal, just a trivial matter.

"What's wrong? This isn't difficult, is it?"

Upon hearing Lin Yu's words, everyone's expressions immediately fell, and they were all at a loss for how to respond.

Yoshino Yuuki hugged Tadokoro Megumi next to her and let out a loud wail.

"That's truly a description of a genius!"

"Heavens above, this is so unfair! Leave some way for us ordinary people to survive!"

"So what else do you know?" Isshiki Satoshi asked curiously.

Lin Yu smiled faintly and extended one finger.

"You know one more thing?"

"No, no, no!"

Lin Yu shook his finger.

"Hehe, what I mean is, whatever it is, whatever kind of knowledge it is, as long as it's related to cooking, I can say a little bit about it."

Everyone froze on the spot, speechless for a long time, their eyes filled with complex emotions, unsure of what to say.

Lin Yu's interest was piqued, and he said with a smile, "What? Want to discuss this with me?"

"Hehe, Lin Yujun is here, of course we should have a good chat!"

"If I could hear any useful knowledge, that would be a huge bonus!"

Everyone quickly recovered, and Yoshino Yuuki was the first to raise her hand, indicating that she wanted to speak first.

"Okay, I remember Yuuki's specialty is... wild game cooking, right?"

Yoshino Yuuki nodded. "That's right."

"There are many kinds of wild game. Which kind is Yuuki better at?" Lin Yu continued to ask.

Yoshino Yuuki thought for a moment and replied, "My specialty... is probably pheasant, duck, and venison."

"Chicken, duck, and deer?" Lin Yu remarked with a sigh, "I didn't expect it to be such common wild game."

Yoshino Yuuki's interest was immediately piqued by these words. "Is there something unconventional about it?"

"In Chinese cuisine, wild game can indeed be considered a separate genre."

"Strictly speaking, apart from animals that are defined as livestock and poultry and are domesticated, wild animals, even some artificially raised wild species, can also be considered wild game."

Lin Yu spoke eloquently.

"Wild boar, pheasant, wild duck, birds, venison... these are relatively common."

"As for the less common ones..."

Lin Yu suddenly paused, looked at everyone with a teasing gaze, and uttered a sentence in a low voice.

"Have you... ever eaten snake meat?"

"Snake meat!"

Everyone shuddered and burst into a gasp.

"How do you eat that kind of thing?"

"Isn't this a bit too unconventional?"

"Snake meat, I bet it'll smell really bad! I have absolutely no idea how to cook it."

"I don't want to eat it at all."

The members of the Polaris Dormitory were all somewhat resistant, except for Soma Yukihira, who asked curiously, "What does snake meat taste like?"

Lin Yu recalled for a moment and slowly said, "In terms of texture... it's somewhat like chicken, but more tender. The taste is similar, and it also has a unique fishy smell characteristic of wild animals."

"However, if cooked properly to remove the fishy smell, and cooked over the right heat, it can still taste quite good."

"Have you tried Lin Yujun?" Yoshino Yuuki asked curiously.

I ate it once when I was a child. It tasted good, and I still remember it quite well.

Listening to Lin Yu's explanation, the group's resistance lessened slightly, but they still had no desire to taste it.

Only Yoshino Yuuki, listening to Lin Yu's description, felt a strong curiosity.

"You've made me curious; I really want to try it."

"It's best not to try it." Lin Yu's words were like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing Yoshino Yuuki's curiosity.

Why?

Lin Yu explained, "Putting aside the fact that many wild animals are now protected, cooking wild game is not as simple as you imagine."

"Wild animal meat often has a fishy or gamey smell, and its texture is coarser and tougher than that of ordinary livestock and poultry. If the chef's skills are not good enough, the handling methods are not right, and the heat is not well controlled, then the wild game cooked in the end will not be as good as the meat of ordinary poultry and livestock."

Lin Yu looked at Yoshino Yuuki, "I think Yuuki would agree with that, right?"

Yoshino Yuuki nodded. "That's right. Cooking wild game is far more difficult than cooking regular meat."

"Wild game often has a very unique flavor, and if cooked properly, this special flavor can become an indescribable and unique delicacy."

"But just like Lin Yujun said, if the chef's cooking skills are not good enough and the meat is not handled properly, not only will the game's inherent fishy smell be unable to be removed, but the meat will also taste very bad and be difficult to chew."

Yoshino Yuuki then changed the subject, talking about the animals she currently keeps.

"That's why I raise so many animals now, in order to improve the quality and taste of their meat, while reducing the difficulty of cooking it."

"Yoshino-kun has a lot of ideas," Lin Yu praised.

"Hehe! Of course!"

Hearing Lin Yu's praise, Yoshino Yuuki felt a little smug.

"My dream is that one day, I can breed a superior breed of chicken that can rival the French Rebus chicken."

"I've already thought of a name. If one day I really manage to breed the improved chicken of my dreams, I'll call it the 'Polar Star Chicken'!"

"Hey~ Let's name it after our dorm!"

"Yes! If one day I really realize my dream, then my name, [Yoshino Yuuki], will be famous throughout the entire Japanese culinary world, hahaha!"

"We'll let our Polaris Dormitory benefit too, hahaha!"

"That's ambitious!"

Lin Yu looked at the empty lunchbox and suddenly remembered something.

"I suddenly remembered something, and it's quite a coincidence."

"What coincidence?"

Lin Yu pointed to the few rice balls left in everyone's hands, "Speaking of wild game, the most crucial point in cooking it is to remove the unpleasant fishy smell that it naturally carries. And the method we used for lunch today is just right for preparing wild game."

"Make it into rice balls?" Soma Yukihira was a little confused.

"fool!"

Yoshino Yuuki panicked.

"Lin Yujun was referring to smoking and roasting!"

"That's right, it's smoking and grilling."

Lin Yu affirmed Yoshino Yuuki's answer.

"Smoking can give food a unique smoky flavor and mask unpleasant tastes in ingredients, making it very suitable for processing game."

"Roasting, on the other hand, uses the high temperature of the flame to liquefy the fat inside the game meat. This not only allows the gamey smell inside the meat to evaporate with the extracted oil, but also solves the problem of the game meat being too tough and dry."

Up until now, the atmosphere of everyone's conversation has been quite harmonious, which has made Lin Yu feel relaxed, and before he knew it, he had been talking more and more.

The members of Polaris Dormitory were listening very attentively.

"In my hometown, people have the custom of smoking cured meats as the New Year approaches. This includes not only pork, but also pig heads, pig legs, and even chickens and ducks."

"With such a wide selection of ingredients, what kind of smoking materials are used?"

It was rare to find someone skilled in smoke effects, which caused even the usually taciturn Ibuzaki Shun to lose his curiosity and take the initiative to ask.

"The traditional recipe uses fresh cypress branches, with plenty of tender leaves."

"These tree branches have a high water content and contain a certain amount of oil, producing thick smoke when burned, and they also have a rich, pleasant aroma."

At this point, Lin Yu hesitated, then looked jokingly at the onlookers.

When the people in Polaris Dormitory saw Lin Yu suddenly stop, they became anxious and showed anxious expressions.

Lin Yu found it somewhat amusing before continuing to speak.

"However, in my secret recipe, I also add sugarcane and orange peel to increase the sweetness and fruity aroma, as well as tea leaves and Sichuan peppercorns to enhance the flavor and enrich the layers of aroma."

"By the way, speaking of this, there is a very famous duck dish in Sichuan called camphor tea duck. It involves braising the duck to infuse it with flavor, and then using tea leaves and spices as smoking materials to smoke the flavorful duck, making the duck skin crispy and the duck meat firm."

"This dish perfectly blends duck meat with the smoking technique!"

"Wow, it smells so good, it's making my mouth water."

"Lin Yujun, can you make that... camphor tea duck you mentioned earlier?"

"I can do it..."

Before Lin Yu could finish speaking, everyone hurriedly blurted out the next sentence.

"Really?"

"cannot!"

Lin Yu spoke decisively, rejecting the proposal without hesitation: "The proposal is rejected!"

"Ah~ why?" Yoshino Yuuki's face was full of regret.

Lin Yu sighed helplessly, revealing an impatient expression. "It's not that I can't make it, nor that I want to cook for you. It's just that things like camphor tea duck are so troublesome to prepare, involving braising, frying, and smoking, which is time-consuming and laborious."

"Please, Lin Yujun!"

The one most interested in this dish was Yoshino Yuuki. She rushed up to Lin Yu and looked at him with teary eyes.

"I...I'm really curious about the taste of that dish!"

"Tsk!"

Lin Yu felt somewhat helpless.

"But this is really troublesome!"

Yoshino Yuuki's eyes widened, tears almost welling up in them.

"I can offer up my duck, I guarantee it's the best one I've ever raised."

"Please..."

"That's not the point... Let's talk about it another time." Lin Yu couldn't help but give a vague and perfunctory answer, unable to resist the girl's pitiful look.

But Yoshino Yuuki took it as a yes and jumped up with joy.

"Alright! It's settled then, hehe."

"I knew Lin Yujun, you're the best person!"

"Come on, let's make a vow with a high five."

Seeing Yoshino Yuuki, who was teary-eyed one second and cheerful the next, Lin Yu rolled his eyes at her, reached out, and touched her hand.

"Hooray! We can look forward to more delicious dishes made by Lin Yujun!"