Professionals (Food Wars X Male Reader) 2.0

Finals Pt. 2

Well, my gyoza was finished and I thought the char on these dumplings looked perfect to eat.

Like, I really think that I could win this. I just need to focus on what the judges might say about how the gyoza looks and how it tastes.

Still, I'm not calling this gyoza "authentic", I'm calling it "Japanese Style" or "Region Inspired". To me, this sounds more respectful than just putting random-ass ingredients together, call it "authentic" and call it a day.

After the judges tried Akira and Soma's dishes, it was my turn.

Urara: そして今度は君の名は！ さあ！ (And now it's Y/N's turn! Come on up!)

The students cheered as I put a little Japanese flag next to the dish, for a little decoration and I thinly sliced some spring onion for a garnish on top of the Gyoza.

As I brought the gyoza up, Gin, Senzaemon, and Leonora Nakiri, Alice's mother, were looking a bit skeptical on what I cooked for them.

Senzaemon: 餃子？ (Gyoza?)

Y/N: はい、でも味見するまで待ってください。 それはあなたの心を吹き飛ばすでしょう。 保証します。 (Yes sir, but wait until you give it a taste. It's gonna blow your mind. I guarantee it.)

Senzaemon: 私はあなたの言葉を信じます、若い男。 (I'll take your word for it, Young Man.)

As they each picked up a gyoza dumpling with their chopsticks, they took a bite, and they looked like they wanted to keep eating, but I had to stop them.

Y/N: ちょっと待って、必ずソースを試してみてください！ (Hold on, be sure to try the sauce!)

Senzaemon listened and dipped the dumpling into the sauce, but after one bite, he bared his chest!

That told me he loved it!

Senzaemon: あなたの名前は、どうやってこのディップソースの味をとても美味しくて風味豊かにしました! (Y/N, how did you make this dipping sauce taste so delicious and flavorful!)

Y/N: サンマの出汁をソースに加えたとしましょう。これが MSG です。 私はすべてをできるだけ風味豊かにしたいと思っていました。 (Let's say I added the Saury stock into the sauce, where that is our MSG. I wanted to make everything as flavorful as possible.)

Leonora: そうか。 屋台料理に挑戦したい若者には、さんま入り餃子が海辺の屋台にぴったり。 海の近くに座って、この餃子を食べて、素晴らしい時間を過ごしている自分を感じることはできません! (I see. For a young man who wants to try street food cooking, this gyoza with the Saury is perfect for an oceanside stall. I can feel myself sitting down near the ocean, eating this gyoza and having a wonderful time!)

Gin: 確かに、この餃子は戸月の基準に達していないかもしれませんが、これらの味をどのように引き出したかは十分です. (I agree, this gyoza may not be up to Totsuki's standards, but how these flavors were brought out are enough.)

Y/N: そして味だけでなくさんまの旨味も忘れてはいけません。 ほら、食感を保持するだけでなく、肉のうま味を引き出すために、MSGで肉を乾燥熟成させる必要がありました. (And let's not forget that the flavor is not just from the taste, but also the Saury as well. You see, I had to dry age the meat with MSG to not only retain the texture, but to bring out more umami to the meat.)

Senzaemon: あなたは魚をダブルMSGしましたか？ (You double MSG'd the fish?)

Y/N: かしこまりました。 私が行った調査によると、さんまの筋肉が壊れ始めるのに 5 時間から 10 時間かかるので、私が行ったことは、筋肉を損なわないように粉末を使用して筋肉を切り始め、次に乳鉢と乳棒を使用して壊すことでした。 骨を取り除いた後、それはすべてです。 (Yes sir. Based on the research I've done, it takes 5 to 10 hours for the Saury's muscle to start breaking, so what I did was use the powder to keep the muscle intact as I start filleting it and then using a mortar and pestle to break it all up after removing the bones.)