Food Wars!: Delicious Food of the Heavens

Chapter 83 Apple Stewed Pork Chops

After massaging for several minutes, Lin Yu finally stopped what he was doing.

By touch, you can clearly feel that the pork, which was originally somewhat chewy, has now become very soft.

Lin Yu gathered the pineapple puree, ginger puree, garlic puree, and other ingredients together again, wrapped the piece of pork shoulder in the mixture, pressed it firmly with his hands, and continued the final marinating process to ensure that the pork shoulder was fully flavored.

"Are the ingredients all cleaned?" Lin Yu asked.

"Phew~ Of course!"

Hisako Shinto was slightly out of breath, but she could still barely keep up with Lin Yu's pace.

"Did you dry it with kitchen paper?"

"Um, not yet..."

""

"Then hurry up and do it, don't let any excess moisture remain on the ingredients."

Lin Yu didn't turn his head, and his tone didn't convey any criticism or blame, but it made Hisako Shinto feel a strange sense of tension.

This reminded Hisako Shinoto of the feeling of being Erina Nakiri's assistant when she was researching cooking.

"Damn it! How could this guy possibly be compared to Lady Erina!"

I must be overthinking it.

""

Hisako Shinoto shook her head, clearing her mind of all distracting thoughts.

"Don't get distracted!"

Lin Yu glanced at Hisako Shinto and reminded her, "Go do your work."

"Understood, Chef."

Hisako Shinto took a deep breath and quickly followed Lin Yu's instructions to dry the washed ingredients with kitchen paper before handing them to Lin Yu.

Lin Yu took a clean towel, washed it, wrung it out, and wiped the cutting board and knife before placing a bamboo shoot on the cutting board.

"Tap tap tap!"

Lin Yu gently pressed down on the bamboo shoot with one hand, and brought down the knife in the other.

The blade first sliced ​​the bamboo shoots into thin slices, then Lin Yu switched to a jumping knife technique, quickly and neatly slicing the bamboo shoots into thin strips amidst rhythmic knife strikes.

Lin Yu's swordsmanship was swift and his movements were very decisive.

After cutting the bamboo shoots, he did the same thing, cutting the green peppers into thin strips with lightning speed.

Hisako Shinto, who was watching from the side, was secretly alarmed.

She had seen many people with good swordsmanship, and she even thought that her swordsmanship was not bad either.

However, to be able to perform the simplest knife techniques with such skill and precision, even to the point of being aesthetically pleasing, is something that is by no means something that an ordinary person can do.

At least in terms of the calm and composed demeanor when wielding a knife, Lin Yu was the most formidable person in her memory.

Lin Yu noticed the gaze coming from behind him.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Upon hearing Lin Yu's words, Hisako Shinto was stunned for a moment before she realized what he meant.

It turned out that Lin Yu had noticed her breathing earlier. When he was preparing the ingredients, he was both letting her watch and learn, and also giving her some time to rest and catch her breath.

Hisako Shinoto was somewhat touched, but she didn't say anything, only nodded, "Yeah, I'm feeling better."

"Hang in there!"

Lin Yu put down the cleaver in his hand, and the cutting board was covered with ingredients in shades of blue and white.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Yu had cut all the bamboo shoots and green peppers into evenly sized thin strips.

"Now that you've recovered a bit, go and prepare a yam for me."

"Grind half of it into a paste, the finer the better."

"Cut half of it into thin strips about the thickness of your little finger, blanch them, then put them in ice water, remembering to keep them firm...and so on!"

Lin Yu thought for a moment, worried that Hisako Shinto might not be able to control the doneness and texture of the blanched food.

"I'll do this in a bit. Go peel the longans for me."

"Also, wash the blueberries, take half of them, and grind them into jam."

"Okay, sure."

Hisako Niito went to get busy after receiving the instructions.

Lin Yu wasn't relaxing either, because the preparations weren't even finished yet!

Lin Yu set up a wok, poured in a small amount of olive oil, and then poured in the persimmon jam that Hisako Shinto had already ground. He then turned the heat to medium-low and simmered it.

Lin Yu also added salt, pepper, sugar, and a little oyster sauce to the pot for seasoning, while constantly stirring with a spatula to prevent the jam from sticking to the bottom.

Under continuous simmering, the persimmon jam in the pot began to boil, producing dense small bubbles. The water in the jam began to evaporate, and its appearance became glossy and its texture became viscous.

Lin Yu stared intently at the changing color of the jam in the pot, not daring to be distracted for a moment.

When the persimmon sauce in the pot turned a honey-like color and gloss, Lin Yu turned off the heat and ladled out the cooked persimmon sauce.

Lin Yu looked behind him and saw that Hisako Shinto had just finished the task he had been given.

"I didn't expect you to actually follow."

Lin Yu glanced at Hisako Niito, who was barely keeping up with him, and nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad!"

"Of course!" Hisako Niito breathed a sigh of relief. "I told you not to underestimate people!"

"It's too early to be smug."

Lin Yu smiled and reminded him, "The real show is just beginning!"

Lin Yu took the piece of pork shoulder wrapped in pineapple puree and ginger and garlic puree, brushed off the puree from the surface of the pork shoulder, and then took a small brush and brushed a layer of honey on the surface of the pork shoulder.

Heat oil in a wok until it's slightly hot, then add the pork shoulder that has been brushed with honey into the wok.

"Zi"

As the hot oil sizzled, the aroma of fat wafted from the pan, mingling with a refreshing fruity scent and a subtle hint of sweet and sour.

Under the influence of high temperature and hot oil, the surface of the pork shoulder was quickly fried until it developed an enticing charred mark.

Lin Yu flipped the pork shoulder over, and the fat between the pork fibers began to melt and seep out. The Maillard reaction and the sweet and sour fruity aroma complemented each other, attracting curious glances from Hisako Shinto, who was standing nearby.

Once both sides of the pork shoulder were seared to a beautiful golden brown, Lin Yu used tongs to hold the pork shoulder and, like searing a steak, sealed the edges of the pork shoulder.

After the meat was fried, Lin Yu removed it from the pan and, using the remaining oil, added the pineapple puree and minced ginger and garlic that he had used to marinate the meat. He then turned up the heat and began to stir-fry continuously.

Lin Yu glanced at his side out of the corner of his eye. Hisako Shinto was staring intently at the pot with a curious expression, occasionally twitching her nose to smell the aroma in the air.

Lin Yu immediately found the scene rather cute and said with a smile, "Don't just stand there! Go help me peel and core the apples and cut them into thick slices."

"Oh, I see!" Hisako Shinto was startled awake by Lin Yu's voice.

As the fruit puree in the pot is continuously stirred, its color gradually changes from a bright golden yellow to a deeper shade, while releasing a rich, sweet and sour fruity aroma.

Lin Yu turned down the heat, then took a bottle of white wine and poured half of it into the pot, just enough to cover the fruit that had been stir-fried into a light brown puree.

"Apples are ready!"

Hisako Shinto handed Lin Yu a bowl of thickly sliced ​​apples, while her eyes involuntarily glanced at the pot.

"Is this enough?"

Lin Yu glanced at the apple in his hand. "Two apples are enough."

"I mean, is there enough white wine in the pot?"

Hisako Shinto pouted and rolled her eyes at Lin Yu, clearly annoyed that Lin Yu had misunderstood her meaning.

"It seems like you're not planning to add water to the pot."

"Don't worry, that's enough."

Lin Yu gestured with his chin towards Hisako Shinto, indicating that she didn't need to worry.

He then laid the apple slices flat in the pan, took the fried pork belly, placed it on top of the apples, and added the peeled longan.

It seems they were still somewhat dissatisfied with the layers of flavor in the dish.

After seasoning the ingredients, Lin Yu added some dark-colored dried fruit and a mysterious gauze bag containing something to the pot.

After doing all this, Lin Yu bent down close to the pot, took a deep breath of the aroma emanating from it, and then revealed a satisfied expression.

Then, Lin Yu adjusted the heat to the lowest setting and put the lid on the pot.

Next, simply wait for the dish to reach its final, sublime state.

Lin Yu noticed that Hisako Shinto's gaze was still fixed on the pot.

"The marinating and frying of the pork were perfect, so the stewing time should not be too long," Lin Yu explained.

"Plus, simmering over low heat throughout the process is enough. Too much moisture will dilute the flavor of the apples and longans."