"If it were an ordinary person, or even some chefs who just started cooking, they would subconsciously underestimate Teriyaki Chicken, thinking it's just a common home-cooked dish that can be easily made, but this dish is actually not simple.
The most important point to note is to avoid letting the chicken skin come into contact with the marinade when marinating, and after marinating, wipe the surface dry to prevent excess moisture.
Because everyone thinks Teriyaki Chicken is easy to make, just mix a sauce and cook it, they often overlook these essential details.
As a result, the Teriyaki Chicken they make is usually of average quality, neither the texture nor the taste reaching its best."
Looking at the perfectly shaped Teriyaki Chicken before him, Dojima Gin praised it unreservedly, his gaze turning to the young man beside him.
For a chef like Erina Nakiri, who only makes high-end dishes, to have such a thorough understanding of Teriyaki Chicken, it seems Hoshino Sora has truly had a great influence on her!
In fact, Erina Nakiri's initial attempt at Teriyaki Chicken used the wrong method; because the dish was too simple and common, she had only casually made it once while learning, and many details were not controlled properly.
It was Hoshino Sora who personally taught her the most authentic method, allowing Erina Nakiri, who only knew how to make high-end dishes, to create such a perfect Teriyaki Chicken!
The secret is to first pan-fry the chicken skin to fully release the fat and provide a caramelized aroma from the protein, while also giving the chicken skin some crispiness.
When it's time to flip and fry the meat, because the chicken skin has already released enough fat, the caramelization speed will slow down, and the caramelization distribution will be more even, thus forming a perfect caramelized layer.
If the entire piece of meat is covered in marinade and not wiped dry, the sugar will caramelize very quickly during frying, and after deep caramelization, it will turn bitter, as Teriyaki Chicken marinade contains a lot of sugar.
To avoid bitterness, one must either end the frying of the chicken skin early or add oil and fry it earlier, but the result is that the chicken skin cannot be fully fried to perfection, leading to a disadvantage in taste.
Therefore, truly making a good Teriyaki Chicken is not a simple matter.
"The slight char adds layers to the dish's flavor, the chicken is tender and rich, and all the juices are locked within the meat.
Although to outsiders this is just a very ordinary and common dish, to make it to this extent, it's impossible without putting in a lot of effort."
With a glint in his eyes, Nakitiri Senzaemon was also somewhat shocked by the dish Erina Nakiri presented; Erina, who only made high-class dishes, actually served such a home-cooked meal.
Hoshino Sora is truly an incredibly miraculous man!
He actually managed to make Erina, who used to look down on commoner dishes, willingly prepare them, bringing about such a huge change!
"The rich teriyaki sauce combined with the chicken's inherent freshness, paired with the unique taste of the charred areas, these flavors together make me feel like I'm losing my mind!"
Compared to Nakitiri Senzaemon and Dojima Gin, who could control themselves, Akame's reaction was a bit more intense; she gripped the table with both hands, her fair thighs constantly twisting under the table, as if some sensation was emanating from deep within her body.
This feeling was far more intense than the previous Egg Zha Jiang Mian! If she could resist the impact produced by the Egg Zha Jiang Mian before, then this one had truly reached her limit!
A slight charred aroma spread in her mouth, the teriyaki sauce was savory with a hint of sweetness, and its flavor was rich; combined with the tender and smooth chicken, and the slightly crispy chicken skin, the texture and taste reached their peak in an instant!
Amazing!
Her toes, hidden in her shoes, slightly flexed and extended, and her fair, soft thighs rubbed uncontrollably under the judges' table; the intense flavor almost made her unbearable, and she only managed to endure by sheer willpower, avoiding fainting from this astonishing deliciousness.
Fortunately, there were only two pieces of Teriyaki Chicken, and the tasting ended after two bites.
Unfortunately, there were only two pieces of Teriyaki Chicken, and they were gone after only two bites.
As the Teriyaki Chicken was finished, Akame turned her gaze to Hoshino Sora, or more precisely, to the Watermelon Chicken in his hand; what kind of sparks could watermelon and chicken create?
"Is it finally my turn, the last dish, Watermelon Chicken, to cleanse the judges' palates."
Seeing the empty plates in front of them, Hoshino Sora pushed the Watermelon Chicken and walked over from not far away.
Immediately, the air was filled with the fresh sweetness of watermelon and the rich aroma of chicken soup; the light taste made the appetites of those who had just eaten several greasy dishes surge.
"Watermelon Chicken, that's a very novel dish."
With the last dish served, this League Food Halberd truly came to an end; holding their spoons, the three judges almost simultaneously dipped their spoons in.
Dojima Gin scooped up a watermelon ball, Nakitiri Senzaemon chose to taste the soup first, while Akame immediately scooped up chicken and started devouring it.
Cool, warm, elegant, simple, sweet with a hint of umami, tender and delicious chicken with the fresh sweetness of watermelon—it must be said that this combination was truly amazing!
She thought it would be delicious when she saw it, but she never expected it to be *this* delicious!
Her hands couldn't stop working, spoon after spoon she brought the chicken, watermelon balls, and Watermelon Chicken soup to her mouth; the sweet and fresh taste permeated her oral cavity, a feeling that was utterly wonderful!
Mutated watermelon paired with mutated Small JZ; even without any seasoning, it was incredibly delicious. This was the core of this dish: winning by the quality of the ingredients.
Looking at the golden chicken gradually converging in the sky, becoming incredibly solid, Hoshino Sora only felt his blood boil; then, the golden chicken pounced towards the flock of sheep.
With a flap of its wing and a pounce, the flock of sheep scattered and fled, the golden chicken pursued them, eventually killing them one by one, causing them to dissipate into the air and return to nothingness.
Only the golden chicken remained on the scene; the golden chicken walked around a few times, then raised its head and crowed, and the golden chicken's proud and majestic aura instantly spread throughout the arena.
The audience didn't know what was happening, only feeling that they had been awed by something, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, and their eyes looking around with a hint of confusion.
And the three judges, under this awe, also unhesitatingly wrote Hoshino Sora's name on the paper, announcing the winning team of this match.
"The winner of this match is Hoshino Sora's team! As agreed before the Food War, Hoshino Sora's team will obtain all the tenth seat held by Eishi Tsukasa's team."
This was a cooking competition destined to fail from the start.
From the moment the ingredient difference began at thirty times, Eishi Tsukasa's side had no chance of winning; with similar cooking skill levels, the ingredients produced by Gourmet Manor were like a bug in existence.
Therefore, the moment Kawashima Rei announced the result, Hoshino Sora's side felt it was only natural, but Eishi Tsukasa's side found it somewhat unacceptable, especially Eizan Etsuya.
He had originally thought this was a sure-win battle, which was why he chose to join Eishi Tsukasa's team to seek benefits for himself, but he never expected to lose, and such a defeat without any suspense.
How could he accept this?!
"Impossible, how could your dishes win against ours? Just by relying on such simple, technically unsophisticated home-cooked dishes?! It must be favoritism! I demand a rematch!"
The tenth seat he had so painstakingly regained were lost again in less than a week; Eizan Etsuya simply couldn't accept this blow, and even the expression on his face became somewhat distorted. He still needed the tenth seat to make money, and if he lost this seat, his income would definitely be drastically reduced!
"How dare you mess with a fair League Food Halberd?!"
Nakitiri Senzaemon, who was about to leave, glared sharply at Eizan Etsuya, who had suddenly jumped onto the stage and was speaking loudly.
Seeing this, the surrounding staff immediately surrounded him and escorted him away from the scene.
The people in the surrounding audience seats looked at each other in confusion, their eyes revealing bewilderment.
Was the gap between the two teams really that big?
Why could the three judges so decisively rule that Hoshino Sora and his team had won?!
"You've been too kind, Tsukasa-senpai."
Looking at Eishi Tsukasa, who was dejected and looked like a frost-bitten eggplant, Hoshino Sora stepped forward and said respectfully, then left Tsukiten Space with his wives.
"…"
Standing in a corner of Tsukiten Space, Azami Nakiri's expression was gloomy as he watched Eishi Tsukasa, whom he had entrusted with important tasks, being easily defeated.
His gaze followed Hoshino Sora's figure until he left.
"What a troublesome fellow!"
Things had come to this; the die was cast.
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