Sophie Crane

“The moment I put it in my mouth and bit down...
... an exquisite and entirely unexpected flavor exploded in my mouth!
It burst across my tongue, rushed up through my nose...
... and rose all the way up to my brain!"
"No! It can't be!"
"How is that possible?! Anyone with eyes can see there's nothing special to that dish! Its fragrance was entirely inferior to Asahi's dish from the get-go!"
"That there. That's what it is. I knew something wasn't right."
"Asahi?"
"Something felt off the instant the cloche was removed.
His dish is fried rice. It uses tons of butter, soy sauce and spices.
Yet it hardly had any aroma!"
"Good catch. The secret is in one of the five grand cuisine dishes I melded together...
A slightly atypical take on the French Oeuf Mayonnaise. ."
"Ouef Mayonnaise, or eggs and mayonnaise, is an appetizer you can find in any French bistro. Hard-boiled eggs are sliced, coated with a house-blend mayo and garnished with vegetables.
Though, in your dish, I can tell you chose very soft-boiled eggs instead.
Hm. Very interesting, Soma Yukihira.
He took those soft-boiled eggs and some homemade mayo and blended them into a sauce...... which he then poured over his steamed rice and tossed until each and every grain was coated, its flavor sealed inside!
To cook them so that each individual grain is completely covered...
... takes incredibly fast and precise wok handling over extremely high heat! No average chef could manage that feat!"
" Whaaa?!
Ah! It's so thin I didn't notice it at first glance, but there it is, a very slight glaze!
That makes each of these grains of rice a miniature, self-contained Omurice!
The moment you bite into them, that eggy coating is broken...
... releasing all the flavors and aromas of the dish onto your palate in one explosive rush!"
No wonder! That's what entranced the judges. That sudden, powerful explosion of flavor!
"Yep! Even when it's served, my dish still hides its fangs. Only when you bite into it does it bite back with all it's got.
I call it my Odorless Fried Rice.”
― Yuto Tsukuda, 食戟のソーマ 36 [Shokugeki no Souma 36]

“But most of all, where did this deeply complex sweetness come from?! It's far too nuanced to be solely brown sugar!"
"Oh, the answer to that is in the flavoring I used."
"Soy sauce?!"
"Oh my gosh, she added soy sauce to a dessert?!"
"I used it at the very end of the recipe.
To make the whipped-cream filling, I used heavy cream, vanilla extract, light brown sugar and a dash of soy sauce.
Once the cakes were baked, I spread the whipped cream on top, rolled them up and chilled them in the fridge for a few minutes.
All of that made the brown sugar in the cake both taste and look even cuter than it did before."
"Aah, I see. The concept is similar to that of salted caramels. Add salt to something sweet..
... and by comparison the sweetness will stand out on the tongue even more strongly.
She's created a new and unique dessert topping- Soy Sauce Whipped Cream!"
"Soy sauce whipped cream, eh? I see! So that's how it works!"
Since it isn't as refined as white sugar, brown sugar retains trace amounts of minerals, like iron and sodium.
The unique layered flavor these minerals give to it matches beautifully with the salty body of soy sauce!
"Without brown sugar as the main component, this exquisite deliciousness would not be possible!"
"It tastes even yummier if you try some of the various fruits in between each bite of cake.
The candy sculptures are totally edible too.
If you break one up into crumbs and crunch on it while taking a bite of the cake, it's super yummy."
How wonderfully surprising! Each and every bite...
... is an invitation to a land of dreams! ”
― Yuto Tsukuda, 食戟のソーマ 29 [Shokugeki no Souma 29]

“I'm sorry, mom. I have some bad news. I guess I messed up somehow, somewhere along the way. I didn't manage to become a princess. I became a fujoshi instead.”
― Akiko Higashimura, Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, Vol. 1

“This rich pork flavor, which lands on the tongue with a thump...
It's Chinese Dongpo Pork! He seasoned pork belly with a blend of spices and let it marinate thoroughly...
... before finely dicing it and mixing it into the fried rice!"
"What? Dongpo Pork prepared this fast?! No way! He didn't have nearly enough time to simmer the pork belly!"
"Heh heh. Actually, there's a little trick to that.
I simmered it in sparkling water instead of tap water. The carbon dioxide that gives sparkling water its carbonation helps break down the fibers in meat. Using this, you can tenderize a piece of meat in less than half the normal time!"
"That isn't the only protein in this dish. I can taste the seafood from an Acqua Pazza too!"
"And these green beans... it's the Indian dish Poriyal!
Diced green beans and shredded coconut fried in oil with chilies and mustard seeds... it has a wonderfully spicy kick!"
"He also used the distinctly French Mirepoix to gently accentuate the sweetness of the vegetables.
So many different delicious flavors...
... all clashing and sparking in my mouth!
But the biggest key to this dish, and the core of its amazing deliciousness...
... is the rice!"
"Hmph. Well, of course it is. The dish is fried rice. If the rice isn't the centerpiece, it isn't a..."
"I see. His dish is fried rice while simultaneously being something other than fried rice.
A rice lightly fried in butter before being steamed in some variety of soup stock...
In other words, it's actually closer to that famous staple from Turkish cuisine- a Pilaf!
In fact, it's believed the word "pilaf" actually comes from the Turkish word pilav.
To think he built the foundation of his dish on pilaf of all things!"
"Heh heh heh! Yep, that's right! Man, I've learned so much since I started going to Totsuki."
"Mm, I see! When you finished the dish, you didn't fry it in oil! That's why it still tastes so light, despite the large volume and variety of additional ingredients.
I could easily tuck away this entire plate!
Still... I'm surprised at how distinct each grain of rice is. If it was in fact steamed in stock, you'd think it'd be mushier."
"Ooh, you've got a discerning tongue, sir! See, when I steamed the rice...
... I did it in a Donabe ceramic pot instead of a rice cooker!"
Ah! No wonder! A Donabe warms slowly, but once it's hot, it can hold high temperatures for a long time!
It heats the rice evenly, holding a steady temperature throughout the steaming process to steam off all excess water. To think he'd apply a technique for sticky rice to a pilaf instead!
With Turkish pilaf as his cornerstone...
... he added super-savory Dongpo pork, a Chinese dish...
... whitefish and clams from an Italian Acqua Pazza...
... spicy Indian green bean and red chili Poriyal...
... and for the French component, Mirepoix and Oeuf Mayonnaise as a topping!
*Ouef is the French word for "egg."*
By combining those five dishes into one, he has created an extremely unique take on fried rice! "
"Hold it! Wait one dang minute! After listening to your entire spiel...
... it sounds to me like all he did was mix a bunch of dishes together and call it a day!
There's no way that mishmash of a dish could meet the lofty standards of the BLUE! It can't nearly be gourmet enough!"
"Oh, but it is.
For one, he steamed the pilaf in the broth from the Acqua Pazza...
... creating a solid foundation that ties together the savory elements of all the disparate ingredients!
The spiciness of the Poriyal could have destabilized the entire flavor structure...
... but by balancing it out with the mellow body of butter and soy sauce, he turned the Poriyal's sharp bite into a pleasing tingle!”
― Yuto Tsukuda, 食戟のソーマ 36 [Shokugeki no Souma 36]