Food Wars!: Delicious Food of the Heavens

Seeing Lin Yu's grinning face, Mito Ikumi suppressed her anger. "Let's see if you can still laugh after the food battle is over."

Mito Ikumi turned away, ignoring Lin Yu, and began to focus on her cooking.

Sea salt, black pepper, sage, cloves, cinnamon...

Various spices were put into a grinder by Mito Ikumi and ground into powder.

She then poured an entire bottle of olive oil into the spice powder, mixing it thoroughly to create a richly fragrant, smooth paste.

Mito Ikumi took out the spice powder mixed with olive oil and evenly coated it on the surface of the beef.

That wasn't all. Mito Ikumi's hands began to roam over the surface of the beef, kneading and pressing it back and forth. It looked like she was using all her strength, but her movements were incredibly gentle.

It's like a masseur attentively treating a customer who is enjoying a massage.

"Good boy, show off your charm!"

As Mito Ikumi pressed the beef with deep affection, she murmured to herself, a hint of fanaticism in her eyes.

This top-grade A5 Wagyu beef has a beautiful, jewel-like sheen on its surface. As Mito Ikumi massages it continuously, olive oil seeps into the beef's muscle fibers, making the beef look even more enticing.

Over time, the texture of the beef visibly becomes more and more tender.

Meanwhile, the spice powder on the surface of the beef undergoes subtle changes as Mito Ikumi massages it continuously, releasing the flavors of various spices and allowing them to penetrate every pore of the beef.

"That's right, good boy, that's exactly it!"

"Show me your full charm!"

Mito Ikumi's expression grew increasingly fanatical...

......

"Looks like you're taking it pretty seriously~"

On the other side, Lin Yu also withdrew his gaze and opened the food box next to him.

As the large screen above the arena gave a close-up shot, the piece of beef with beautiful snowflake-like marbling inside the ingredient box was displayed to all the students watching the match.

"That texture...is it also marbled beef?!"

A murmur arose from the audience.

"Could it be that it's suitable for ingredients like Mito Ikumi?"

"When the ingredients are evenly matched, it becomes more interesting!"

In the audience, Isshiki Satoshi ignored the surrounding chatter. Although he was some distance away, the quality of the beef he saw was definitely top-quality.

"Like Mito-kun...A5 Wagyu beef...?"

Unlike the many ordinary students who were just watching the spectacle, Isshiki Satoshi noticed an extremely subtle detail that even he almost missed.

"Those two pieces of meat, Mito-san and Hayashi-san's... judging from their shape... seem to be cut from the same piece of beef?"

The moment this idea popped into his mind, even the usually composed Isshiki Satoshi was startled by his own conjecture.

"How is that possible?"

"Am I really overthinking it?"

Satoshi Isshiki suppressed his confusion and focused on the Food Wars arena.

......

On the stage, Lin Yu took out a piece of pigskin and swiftly wielded a cleaver, cutting the pigskin into thin strips.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the finely shredded pork skin, along with chopped ginger, scallions, and Sichuan peppercorns. Pour in cooking wine and white vinegar. Do not cover the pot. Bring the water to a boil over high heat.

Once the cold water has boiled, skim off the foam and impurities from the surface, remove the blanched pork skin, and rinse it clean with cold water.

Then, put a fresh pot of water on the stove, and add the pork skin strips, bonito slices, wine, ginger, scallions, and soy sauce to the pot in that order. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat.

While simmering the broth, Lin Yu took out a bowl of fresh shrimp and, with extremely nimble movements, removed the heads, shells, and veins from the shrimp.

Next, he placed the prepared shrimp on the cutting board, held two knives, and used the backs of the knives to crush the shrimp. Occasionally, he would mix in some scallion and ginger water to remove the fishy smell and enhance the fresh and fragrant flavor.

Lin Yu worked quickly, and in no time, a pile of shrimp on the cutting board was pounded into a fine shrimp paste.

Meanwhile, after being simmered over high heat, the shredded pork skin in the pot eventually turned into a pot of rich, gelatinous broth.

Lin Yu took out a tray, mixed the broth and shrimp paste together, added salt and pepper to taste, and finally added a small amount of lemon juice and finely ground ginger juice.

Then Lin Yu took out a blender and vigorously stirred it to thoroughly mix the broth and shrimp paste. The clear broth seemed to have turned into a very thick, dark soup.

Seeing Lin Yu put the broth he had made into the refrigerator to cool, Erina Nakiri immediately guessed Lin Yu's intentions from the VIP observation room above.

"Soup jelly?"

"This looks interesting."

"I just don't know to what extent you can do it..."

Erina Nakiri chuckled softly.

On the field, Mito watched Lin Yu's skillful and flexible movements, and saw the calm and composed expression on his face. Unconsciously, a sense of tension rose in his heart.

"Damn it, why am I daydreaming!"

Mito snapped out of her daze, shook her head, and splashed cold water on her face. Stimulated by the cold, Mito finally regained some of her senses.

"Since I started this food battle, how can I possibly lose!"

"Mito Ikumi, you can't lose, you have to win!"

Mito steadied her emotions, cleared her mind of distractions, took a few deep breaths, and then quickened her pace.

Lin Yu also noticed Mito's emotional fluctuations on the other control panel.

Because he was confident enough not to think he would lose, Lin Yu wasn't nervous at all. He remained calm about Mito's reaction and even wanted to comfort her.

However, considering that this was on the field and he was afraid of disturbing the opponent, he suppressed the urge to speak.

"Mito, do your best..."

While the broth was cooling, Lin Yu took out the piece of marbled beef.

With a flash of cold light, a large chunk of beef was cut open. Lin Yu put down the cleaver in his hand and chose a more nimble and slender kitchen knife.

Under Lin Yu's extremely focused operation, the sharp knife tip began to follow the muscle fibers of the beef, moving continuously between the muscle layers, carefully removing the tendons and fascia from the beef.

Lin Yu's expression was exceptionally serious and focused, and his movements were very careful.

After the last fascia was removed, Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief and shook his sore arms.

"What are you doing?" A voice suddenly sounded from behind.

Lin Yu turned around and found that Mito Ikumi had finished massaging the beef and was now setting up a frying pan on the stove and putting a piece of butter into it.

Mito Ikumi had been watching Lin Yu's actions closely. Taking advantage of the moment when the butter was still melting, she asked Lin Yu again, "What are you doing?"

"Can't you tell?" Lin Yu asked with a nonchalant expression. "I'm removing the tendons and membranes from the beef. This makes the final texture of the dish smoother, without any of the resistance caused by the tendons and membranes."

"Of course I know you're removing fascia! I'm not blind!"

Mito Ikumi's composure was somewhat shattered by Lin Yu's "Don't you know this is so obvious?" attitude.

For some reason, Mito Ikumi felt she had become unusually irritable lately, especially around Lin Yu. Sometimes, a single sentence or two, if not carefully considered, would ignite her anger, and her tone of voice would uncontrollably become agitated.

Mito Ikumi suppressed her anger. "I'm asking, what is the final dish you're going to make?"

"Well... that's a secret for now!"

Lin Yu raised a finger to his lips, revealing a mysterious and unfathomable smile.

You'll find out soon enough.

"If I really want a hint, I can only say that it's a delicious and fun dish, hehe!"

"Tch! Playing tricks!" Mito Ikumi was clearly annoyed by Lin Yu's silence.

"Are you that curious? Can't you even wait a little while?" Lin Yu joked.

"Who's curious!"

Mito Ikumi's voice suddenly rose several octaves, "I was just... just worried that you wouldn't cook it well and would ruin my piece of meat... after all, it's A5 grade Wagyu beef..."

Mito Ikumi's voice grew softer and softer, and the lack of conviction in her tone made it difficult for her to convince herself.

"Ha ha!"

Lin Yu was amused by Mito Ikumi's appearance.

"What are you laughing at! Is it that funny?!" Mito Ikumi was instantly furious.

"Don't worry." Lin Yu stopped laughing. "Since you're so worried, then I'll take your good wishes. I'll definitely make a dish that's better than yours."

"You bastard, all you do is say things to make me angry! Is that what I meant? I clearly meant..."

"Mito!"

Just as Mito Ikumi was about to curse in frustration, Lin Yu suddenly spoke up, interrupting her.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Yu pointed behind Shuihu Yumei and warned, "If you keep burning it, your butter will burn!"

"Oops!"

Mito Ikumi then remembered that her pot was still burning on the fire!

Fortunately, Lin Yu's reminder came in time, and when Mito Ikumi turned her attention back to her stove, the butter in the frying pan did not burn.

Mito Ikumi dared not chat with Lin Yu any longer and placed the beef, which had been massaged and marinated and was now fully flavorful, into the frying pan.

The oil sizzled loudly inside the pan.

Mito Ikumi became extremely focused, observing the color changes of the beef in the pot while continuously scooping up hot butter with a spoon and pouring it over the beef.

As time passed and the Maillard reaction progressed, the color of the beef began to change. When Mito Ikumi flipped the beef in the pan, the large screen in the venue showed a close-up shot, revealing an extremely tempting charred mark to everyone present.

"Ah~ it smells so good!"

The emcee raised the microphone in his hand, revealing an expression of rapture.

"As you can feel, the entire venue is now filled with a rich, comforting aroma of butter."

After saying that, she sniffed the air again, "And this irresistible aroma of meat, it makes me hungry just from smelling it!"

"As expected of the [Invader of Flesh]!"

......

On the other side, Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief after repeatedly checking and confirming that all the tendons and membranes of the beef had been removed.

But then, Lin Yu's expression turned serious.

He knew that the next step would be the most challenging for him!

Lin Yu took out two iron rods, each about the length of an arm.

He applied for this from the Food Wars Bureau staff this morning.

When the two Food Wars Bureau staff members approached Lin Yu and offered to help with kitchen utensils, Lin Yu didn't have high hopes. He just submitted his application with the idea of ​​giving it a try.

Surprisingly, the application was actually approved.

It's unclear where the Food Wars Bureau staff found two iron rods of suitable length that matched his application description, and the rods even seemed to have signs of use.

But Lin Yu didn't care about that. When he received the hard-won kitchen utensils in the lounge, he immediately washed the iron rod clean, preparing to use it in the food battle today.

I swung the iron rod; both its center of gravity and the feel of holding it were excellent.

Lin Yu smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.

The next second, Lin Yu's expression became extremely serious. He raised the iron rod with both hands and brought it down heavily.

With a swing of the arm, the iron rod slammed into the beef with great force, creating a large dent in the beef with just one blow.

Lin Yu's movements were without the slightest hesitation; the second blow followed immediately, then the third, the fourth...

The iron rod fell on the beef at a uniform speed and frequency, its powerful force and tremendous force smashing the beef into a silky paste without any resistance.

The VIP boxes at the top.

"etc!"

"What did I just see?!"

Erina Nakiri could hardly believe what she was seeing.

"He just smashed up an A5-grade Wagyu beef like that?"

Hearing Erina Nakiri's low murmur, Hisako Shinoto walked over to her and offered her affirmation.

"Yes, Lady Erina, you are not mistaken."

"That Lin Yu really did grind the beef into small pieces."

"Hisako, that's not what I meant. My eyesight is fine, of course I know I didn't see wrong."

Erina Nakiri glanced helplessly at her assistant, her subsequent words tinged with disbelief.

"The most distinctive feature of Wagyu beef is the marbling that is evenly distributed throughout the beef fibers."

"It is precisely because of the fat that is evenly distributed in every fiber of the beef that Wagyu beef has an indescribable and breathtaking flavor."

"With such perfect ingredients, the focus is on highlighting the original taste and flavor of the ingredients themselves."

"Therefore, the simpler the cooking method, such as hot pot, pan-frying, or grilling, the more suitable it is for ingredients like marbled beef. In short, it is to fully bring out the texture of the beef."

"But this guy... he actually chose to grind up such perfect beef!"

In her anger, Erina Nakiri stomped her foot hard.

"Doesn't this ruin the exquisite texture of Wagyu beef? It's utterly absurd! A complete waste!"

Not only was Erina Nakiri in the VIP box puzzled, but the entire venue erupted in chaos when Lin Yu's actions were displayed on the big screen in the arena!

"Look!"

"What did this kid do?"

"Wait? I didn't see that wrong, did I? This kid just smashed up such good quality beef like that?"

"This is absolutely absurd!"

"What a waste! Utter waste!"

"Such perfect beef should be grilled or pan-fried; otherwise, it's a waste! Everyone in this academy knows that!"

"No! Even if you're not a student of Totsuki Academy, but just an amateur cooking enthusiast, you should know about this kind of thing."

"As expected of a transfer student, isn't he? A half-baked amateur who joined halfway through his studies, I don't know how he managed to sneak into Totsuki Academy, and now his true colors are showing, aren't they?"

"What a waste!"

"Damn it! Such perfect beef, if only I had it, I definitely wouldn't have wasted it like this!"

"Mito Ikumi is definitely going to win this time, there's no doubt about it!"

"A chef who shows such disrespect for the characteristics of ingredients has no right to stay at Totsuki Culinary Academy!"

The audience was outraged, with many students even criticizing the performance, and even the three judges on the judging panel frowned.