Food Wars, my food not only glows!

　"Sizzle—that sound is so soothing! ...Wait, why are there so many bubbles? Did you not dry them properly? This is going to be a disaster...Oh, it's just water from the shrimp's tail, that's not a big problem."

　As the black tiger prawns were added to the pot, the sizzling sound of the ingredients hitting the oil filled the air, bringing a satisfied expression to Alice Nakiri's face.

　"The color is golden... but the sound still has moisture? 3 more seconds... 2 seconds... 1... Go! Perfect!"

　Looking at the tempura shrimp on the plate in front of her, Alice Nakiri rushed over to Shiroyuki and handed him the dish as if to show off her skills, with a serious expression on her face: "Try it, Master Shiroyuki!"

　It's been a long time since I've heard that name!

　Bai Yuan's body trembled uncontrollably, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

　"What's wrong, Master Baiyuan? If we don't eat soon, the taste of the food will suffer."

　"It's nothing, I just suddenly felt your determination."

　Hearing Alice Nakiri's call after so many years, a look appeared on Bai Yuan's face.

　He smiled, then reached out with his chopsticks and picked up the tempura shrimp in front of him.

　The golden batter, like a light veil, wraps around the curved shrimp's body, and the surface is covered with tiny pores.

　If you look closely, you can still see scattered drops of oil sizzling on the dough, and the aroma of sesame oil wafts straight to your nose from the hot steam.

　The moment he bit down, his teeth struck a thin, crisp shell, making a clear "crack" sound, and then Bai Yuan closed his eyes.

　The sound wasn't a heavy, hard, crisp one, but rather a crisp, light sound, like crushing an autumn leaf.

　Immediately afterwards, the tip of the tongue touches the translucent shrimp meat, which, thanks to the precise oil temperature, locks in all the juices. It bounces up the moment it breaks, releasing a burst of sweetness like ocean waves.

　The slightly salty taste of the batter and the sweetness of the shrimp meat clash in the mouth, while the lingering aroma of sesame oil is like a shadow at dusk, quietly lingering on the tongue.

　"In terms of taste, it undoubtedly reaches the level of a top-tier one-star restaurant, but the details are handled rather poorly."

　"You see, proper tempura shrimp wouldn't curl up like this. It should stand straight forward, like thick, upright pillars, not like this."

　As he spoke, Bai Yuan stood up from his chair, strode over to the oil pan, and began mixing the tempura batter, followed by preparing the black tiger shrimp.

　"Your oil temperature was too high just now. The solution is to lower the temperature and let the oil cool down, but that would take too long and could easily lead to mistakes in a real competition."

　As he spoke, the temperature of the oil in the fryer in front of Bai Yuan had already soared to 190 degrees Celsius. He didn't even need to test it; he knew the answer simply by feeling it through his skin.

　"Oil is alive."

　He lightly flicked a drop of batter into the oil, and squinted as the water burst open: "190℃, too volatile." Then he scooped up a spoonful of cold sesame oil and slowly poured it in, the ripples on the surface gradually stabilizing. "Now... 175℃, perfect for the shrimp!"

　"Then comes the second sentence. Shrimp, you need to know how to breathe."

　Hold the shrimp by the tail with your left hand, and with your right hand, use a knife to "swish" and cut it into three sections along the belly. Gently tap the shrimp's body with the back of the knife while simultaneously making an opening in the Nagi-ri Alice:

　"Did you hear that? The sound of muscle fibers relaxing." He ran his fingertips over the clear mucus seeping from the shrimp's belly. "Moisture is the enemy, but umami is the ally—use washi paper to absorb the excess moisture, but retain this layer of sea moisture."

　"The batter for tempura is not armor, but a feather robe."

　As he spoke, he poured ice water into the earthenware bowl, then quickly stirred it with his hands. He grabbed a handful of tempura batter and drew the character "の" in the air above the frying pan with his wrist.

　Slow movement will only cause them to clump together; for tempura, separating them is the best option!

　The batter flowed like the tail of a shooting star, and after falling into the oil, it quickly cooked and floated up, appearing to 'explode'.

　"Leave a vent when frying shrimp so that hot oil can seep in; this will make the inside taste sweeter and fresher."

　After saying this, Bai Yuan picked up the shrimp that had been processed on the cutting board, dipped the shrimp tail in a thin layer of flour, and deliberately skipped the last segment when dragging it over the batter. He then shook off three drops of batter in the air, leaving thin strands: "At this level, any more and it would look like the armor you were wearing earlier."

　The shrimp coated in tempura batter were placed in the pot. Because the batter itself was slightly sticky, the shrimp quickly resonated with the tempura batter that had been fried in the pot earlier, as Shirayuki grabbed the shrimp by the tail and swung it at high speed.

　Soon, the exploding tempura pastry, like a wanderer finding its mother, quickly nestled against her.

　Bai Yuan let go of his hand, and the tempura shrimp sank completely only after it was covered in tempura.

　"The batter is currently at 68℃, and the shrimp core is just 53℃. Serve in three seconds, and the sweetness will surpass the critical point..."

　With his eyes fixed on the oil pan and his skin feeling its temperature, Bai Yuan's voice suddenly rang out, and his chopsticks fell to the ground at the same time.

　The next moment, the tempura shrimp appeared on the plate.

　A light tap of the chopsticks on the shrimp's back produces a crisp sound like a wind chime.

　"The secret to tempura is to let customers enjoy the 'crispness that's just starting to fade'!"

　For this kind of fried shrimp, only a small amount of sea salt is needed to bring out its infinite flavor.

　"And don't be shocked yet. Starting from the 9th second after it comes out of the pan, the deliciousness of the tempura shrimp diminishes by 7% per second until it becomes ordinary!"

　As they were talking, Bai Yuan had already picked up some tempura shrimp and brought it to Alice Nakiri.

　In just 9 seconds, the temperature of fried shrimp can drop to 50 degrees Celsius, which is the maximum temperature that the human body can withstand when tasting food; any higher and it will damage the stomach lining.

　To achieve this perfect moment of deliciousness, the dish needs to be moved from the moment it comes out of the pot until it enters the diner's mouth, allowing her to experience the ultimate flavor to the fullest extent!

　As Alice Nakiri swallowed the tempura shrimp in one bite, the entire kitchen suddenly fell into a deep, ocean-like silence.

　That's not the disappearance of sound, but the cognitive void created when all the senses are violently reorganized.

　The crisp cracking sound was like ice breaking in spring, and all 36,000 pores tasted the sweetness of a tsunami at the same time!

　A faint golden light emanated from Alice Nakiri's mouth, proving the quality of the dish.

　"The first layer is as light as the crest of a wave, with fluffy holes imprisoning lightning with the aroma of sesame oil."

　The second layer is the crispness of cicada wings, with a one-millimeter-thick golden mesh on the tongue.

　It will instantly collapse into stardust.

　That last, deliberately exposed shrimp tail suddenly became a lightning rod for the taste buds, sending a scalding, umami flavor shooting straight to the top of the head!

　A bright blush appeared on her face, and the girl's body became incredibly hot the moment she ate the food. The exquisite taste spread from the tip of her tongue, causing her body to tremble slightly.

　"The shrimp meat undergoes its final contraction at a deadly temperature of 53°C, transforming its muscle fibers into millions of elastic and flavorful strings."

　The teeth are like stepping on a trampoline, and each chew stirs up the ocean memories sealed in the transparent mucus.

　It wasn't just simple sweetness; it was a complex symphony of the morning mist over the rocks, the shallow sandy bed, and the collective migration of plankton under the moonlight!

　With her eyes closed, Alice Nakiri felt as if she were at the seaside.

　The salty scent of the sea breeze washed over her, stirring her heart. The waves of the ocean constantly cleansed her soul.

　Just a small plate of tempura shrimp was enough to make her see such a scene. Teacher Bai Yuan is truly an incredible guy!

　The aroma of sesame oil spirals upward from the honeycomb pores of the dough, like a precise chemical explosion.

　As Alice Nakiri's molars crushed the third section of the shrimp's belly, a cloud of umami flavor, a mixture of shrimp roe and batter crumbs, suddenly burst open in her nasal cavity, and a silvery-blue spot of light, like a swarm of krill, exploded on her retina.

　"what!"

　Swallowing the last bit of flavor, Alice Nakiri let out an incredibly alluring cry. At the same time, her chef's uniform burst open, scattering in pieces on the ground.

　This is the Nakiri family's talent, [Transmission], coming into play.

　It also shows that Alice Nakiri highly approves of the taste of the dish, and that the taste has reached the limit of what she can tolerate!

　"It's absolutely amazing! It's hard to believe that tempura shrimp can taste like this! Even though it only uses a little batter and shrimp."

　"It's mainly about techniques and skills."

　A strange emotion welled up in her eyes. Because only Bai Yuan was in the kitchen, even though her clothes were all torn, Alice Nakiri remained calm.

　After all, Bai Yuan had already seen everything she should and shouldn't have seen.

　There's no need to be shy now.

　"The main purpose of tempura is to bring out the original flavor of the ingredients."

　The batter covering the shrimp must be thin; otherwise, when the dish enters the mouth, not only will the sweetness of the shrimp not be apparent, but the bloated batter will also be unpalatable.

　Looking at Alice Nakiri in front of him, Bai Yuan took off his coat and naturally draped it over her, while explaining the characteristics of tempura to her.

　Although they are all fried dishes, different dishes need to present different things.

　Tempura is the light and airy 'instant aesthetic'. Karaage chicken gravy is the 'explosive aesthetic'.

　Fried pork cutlets and fried oysters represent a rich sense of 'satisfaction'.

　Deep-frying without coating the ingredients preserves their natural flavor.

　Each frying method has its own unique characteristics, and only those who master these can be called frying masters!

Volume 1: Transmigrating Through Food Wars, Becoming Alice Nakiri's Master: Chapter 280 Training! Training! Training!

　"The crispy-skinned turbot was successfully caught; the skin is crispy and the meat is tender, leaving a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth!"

　"Try it! This dish should be at least a two-star premium level!"

　The girl's voice was filled with a special kind of anticipation. Then, she presented the dish to Bai Yuan like a treasure, standing there gracefully with her big, bright eyes looking at him.

　As expected, Bai Yuan watched as Alice Nakiri held the Turbot in her hands. He picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of fish, closed his eyes, and savored it.

　"In terms of taste, this dish barely meets the standard."

　After completing this dish, your understanding of fried food should have improved significantly.

　Now let's counterattack against this advantage!

　Bai Yuan placed his chopsticks on the plate and looked at Nakiri Alice, who was wearing his coat and had an expectant look on her face.

　"Going a step further, how exactly should we proceed?"

　Alice Nakiri blinked and asked the question with a puzzled expression.

　"Using the inherent oiliness of fried foods, we create dishes that taste even better when eaten afterward."

　Here's a little tip: crispy corresponds to soft, hot to cold, and oily to refreshing. You can start with these aspects. Besides that, there's the balance of flavors: salty corresponds to sour or sweet, and rich flavors to light textures. These are all little tricks for winning cooking competitions.

　Since fried food is Wang Qing's strength, he will use this strength to create dishes that taste even better after being fried.

　In this way, the threat of the opponent's cooking can be turned into an advantage for one's own cooking.

　This move was used by Tadokoro Megumi during her match against Kurokiba Ryo in the Summer Selection.

　Without any guidance from anyone, Tadokoro Megumi figured out the move on her own, which shows her exceptional talent. He wasn't surprised at all that she won the Summer Selection Championship.

　"I see, from..."

　Was Xiaohui's competition strategy clever? This is indeed the best way to win against a stronger opponent!

　Alice Nakiri had also watched Tadokoro Megumi's match. At the time, she thought her opponent was very smart, but she was too arrogant to take her seriously. Now that Shirabuchi mentioned it, a look of realization appeared on her face.

　"That's the charm of cooking—it's not just about skill, but also about the battle of wits!"

　"Cooking is such a fun thing!"

　Seeing Alice Nakiri lost in thought, Bai Yuan glanced at his watch and stood up from his chair.

　"Although I really want you to keep practicing, it's getting late. Staying any longer would mean staying up all night, which isn't good for your health. Get some rest and continue tomorrow."

　"Okay, but I feel a little ashamed to just go down like this..."

　Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Alice Nakiri snapped out of her reverie and noticed her current attire. She was only wearing Bai Yuan's coat, which made her look quite cool.

　There wasn't much of a problem in the kitchen because Bai Yuan was alone, but if she were to go back looking like that, it would be better to kill her. So, Nakiri Alice looked at the boy in front of her with pitiful eyes.

　She believed that Bai Yuan would definitely not let her go downstairs in such a humiliating manner.

　"I already thought of that, hurry up and change and let's go."

　Seeing Alice Nakiri's awkward appearance, Bai Yuan couldn't help but smile. As he spoke, he opened the kitchen door and handed her the clothes that he had asked Hisako Shinomiya to bring up earlier.

　After receiving the clothes, Alice Nakiri didn't rush to put them on. Instead, she looked at the clothes in front of her with a complicated expression. After a long while, she looked up at Bai Yuan and said angrily, "When were these clothes delivered? Why didn't you tell me?!"

　"You looked so captivating before that I didn't tell you so I could admire you a little longer."

　Bai Yuan readily admitted his earlier thoughts, while making no attempt to conceal the intense, almost overwhelming gaze he was receiving.

　"abnormal."

　Having received the answer she had long anticipated, Alice Nakiri showed no joy whatsoever. Instead, her face flushed as she uttered two words.

　Then she took off Bai Yuan's coat and threw it on the sofa, quickly changed her clothes, and even thoughtfully brought him pajamas.

　"Women won't love men who aren't perverted."

　Upon hearing Alice Nakiri's heartfelt complaint, Bai Yuan burst into laughter and then pulled the girl, who had just fastened her bra straps, into his arms.

　"Although I really want to refute what you said, the words just seem to come out of my mouth, and I realize that what you said might actually be true..."

　Being forcefully pulled into a hug, feeling the heat of the boy's chest, Alice Nakiri's face turned very red, and a strange girlish shyness welled up in her heart, especially in her current state.