“Hm. A dal bean curry, eh? It looks similar to Chana Masala, a Punjabi dish that uses chickpeas... ! This viscous stickiness...!" "It's Natto!" Gooey texture and savory flavor are melding together inside my mouth! Was natto ever this delicious? "Wait... this is no normal natto! Could it be..." "Yes, sir. This natto I made by hand using charcoal smoke. It's charcoal-aged natto. After I added the natto spores to a batch of soybeans, I stored them in an underground room. There I lit a charcoal fire and then kept the room at just the right temperature and humidity to ferment the soybeans. As this process takes several days to complete, I prepared it ahead of time, over my summer break." "The carbon dioxide generated by the charcoal fire impacts the maturation of the soy proteins. It gives the natto a richer flavor. It also halts bacteria death in the beans, preventing the typical smell of ammonia from developing!" "Did you know all that?" "I heard a little about it once. It's supposed to be a really hard process that takes loads of time to finish!" "And she made it by herself?!" "But that isn't all. There's another flavor--- a deeper, more savory one that resonates across the tongue like a deep bass chord." "Oh, that? As a special hidden seasoning, I added shoyu koji." SHOYU KOJI Instead of salt, soy sauce is added to the koji bacteria and mixed with the rice until thick. Then it is left to ferment at a constant temperature for several weeks. So that's the black stuff that was in that jar! Shoyu koji has over ten times glutamic acid---an umami component--- than shio koji does. I see. While the strong flavor of curry spices drowns out most other seasonings, shoyu koji's flavor is powerful enough to that it is instead a savory magnifier! Her curry takes full advantage of her detailed knowledge of fermentation techniques! It is truly a magnificent dish! "The creamy Japanese-style curry roux has blended in with the natto's gooeyness beautifully!" "The mound of crisp, minced green onion on top is hard to resist as well!"” Japanese FoodCurrySeasoningAgedSoybeansSoy SauceFood ScienceFermentedSmokedNatto Book:食戟のソーマ 7 [Shokugeki no Souma 7] Source: 食戟のソーマ 7 [Shokugeki no Souma 7]
“Mm! Good stuff, good stuff! Wild-game curry, eh? That dish was way more of a masterpiece than I expected!" Really! Who would've thought I'd get to try deep-fried duck cutlets! Their robust, gamey flavor paired exquisitely with the curry sauce! "The strong smelliness of the meat was thoroughly ameliorated by the clever use of turmeric and orange. In French cuisine, duck is traditionally garnished with an orange sauce." "True! I added in bits of orange and grated peel into the roux too! It goes awesome with the special garam masala spice mix I put together!” OrangeDuckSeasoningsCurryGamey Book:食戟のソーマ 7 [Shokugeki no Souma 7] Source: 食戟のソーマ 7 [Shokugeki no Souma 7]
“The aroma of spices and pineapple melded into a beautifully colorful fragrance in her pineapple-curry fried rice!" The sweet tart of the pineapple and the saltiness of the fried rice spread through the mouth in a wave! It's a similar idea to sweet-and-sour pork, another Chinese dish that uses pineapples. "As a finishing touch, she hollowed out a whole pineapple, poured the fried rice inside its shell and then baked it in the oven. The inside edge of the pineapple shell was even rubbed with salt to prevent too much sweetness from leeching into the rice." "Doing that meant only the fragrance of the dish increased without changing the taste or drying out the rice. Traditional Chinese cooking has taken yet another small step forward with this dish.” CurryPineappleChinese CookingFried RiceSweet And Salty Book:食戟のソーマ 7 [Shokugeki no Souma 7] Source: 食戟のソーマ 7 [Shokugeki no Souma 7]
“Wait, is that... ... a Calzone?!" *A calzone is meat and cheese folded together in a pouch of pizza dough, depending on the area of Italy, calzones are either baked or deep-fried. "Aren't calzones usually stuffed with salami, mozzarella cheese and other pizza toppings?" "Ah, I know! Yes, I was right! This calzone is stuffed with curry! Then this dish is "Italian-Style Curry Bread!" Oh-ho! This dish is already interesting, being so different from all the others! Now let's see what it tastes like." "Mph! Th-this flavor... tomatoes? The curry is bursting with the rich tanginess of tomatoes!" "Yep. I made that curry using only water I extracted from tomatoes." "Tomato water only?! Are you saying you used no other liquid in this curry at all?!" Yes, sir! See, if you stuff a pot full of tomatoes and turn on the heat, you can get a surprising amount of water out of them. I blended a special mix of spices that works with the tart tomato water... ... and made a thick curry sauce that's full of the rich flavor of tomatoes. The crust is a sourdough I made using my family's handmade, natural grape yeast too." The outer crust is crispy and flakey... ...while the inside is chewy and mildly sweet.” WaterTomatoesCurryItalian FoodExtractionCrustIsami AldiniCalzone Book:食戟のソーマ 7 [Shokugeki no Souma 7] Source: 食戟のソーマ 7 [Shokugeki no Souma 7]