01x09 - Episode 9

[bunniefuu]

THIS IS FICTION WITH NO INTENTIONAL RESEMBLANCE
TO ANY PERSONS, ORGANIZATIONS, OR OCCURRENCES.

OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE SOURCE MATERIAL, THERE MAY BE
SCENES CONSIDERED OFFENSIVE TO MODERN SENSIBILITIES.

Still, you did great, Kota!

You made it all the way
to the semifinals!

That's plenty to be proud of!

Let's all head back to Hamamatsu
and have a party!

Thanks.

Thank you all so much.

That's really something.

He lost, but you'd never tell
from the way they're reacting.

It's nice to have friends, huh?

Yeah.

Yo! Good for you, Kota-chan.

You can lose, and all your buddies
will try and cheer you up.

Akiyama?

Look at you, clinging to your
followers like the soft loser you are!

Cooking is a showdown!

If you ever want a shot at winning,
then lose the cheer squad!

Try doing things on your own,
the way I do.

And if you can't manage that,
take your a*s back to Hamamatsu

and suckle on your mommy's
wrinkly old t*ts!

Y-You little...

You're a piece of crap!
A real conceited one!

Give it a rest, Akiyama!

Nah. Not a chance.

Nothing pisses me off more
than these kinds of displays.

All this babying crap
makes me wanna puke.

You dumbass!

Now that was a close one.

But I'm not gonna just
let you slug me every time.

I'll keep trying
as many times as it takes!

Until I straighten out that twisted,
over-competitive brain of yours!

I'd love to see you try!

- I'm not just gonna try!

- Come on, you guys!

Break it up!

Okonogi!

GOBANCHO'S CHINESE

I ended up soaked yesterday...

I might actually be sick.
This is bad news.

Wh-Who's there?

It's Akiyama.

Come by the kitchen
when you're done, okay?

The kitchen?

- CHUANBEI ZHENG LI

- What is this...?

It's a steamed pear dessert
with chameleon plant tea.

They're both good for colds.

Pears are good for fevers.

I used some chuan bei mu
and rock candy, too.

The chuan bei mu helps with a cough,

and rock candy helps keep
the trachea from getting dry.

Come on, let's eat.

What is this about?

Don't tell me he...

It's not poisoned or anything, all right?

I don't want you using some cold

as an excuse when you lose
in the finals. That's all.

What?

You eating or not?

I will.

Akiyama... are you really dead set
on this "cooking to win" thing?

Sure am. It's what defines my cooking.

Is that absolute? No exceptions?

I'll never stop. No matter what.

Then leave!

I want you out of Gobancho's Chinese!

I don't even wanna see your face!

Mornin'!

Ya havin' a good morning
or what, Kiriko-chan?

I saw the three of ya splash down
in the fountain yesterday!

Ya didn't catch a cold, didja?

Aw, hell, yer all banged up! Looks rough.

But not bad enough to hold you back.

Yer a real tomboy, ain'tcha, Kiriko-chan?

Quit acting so friendly.

We're going to be competing in the finals.

That Akiyama kid cooks up
some interesting dishes, huh?

I was legit impressed.

He hit Omae Kota's dish
right where it hurt.

"Cooking's a showdown," he says.
I got no problem with that.

I mean, nothing wrong with
playing to win, am I right?

I am never going to lose
to any chef who thinks like that.

Oh, don't get the wrong idea.

I don't personally think
cooking's all about competition.

If I had to choose, I'd say cooking's
about going all in. That's my philosophy.

All in?

I think cooking's all about taking
flavor, fragrance, and presentation

as far as you can.

You can't half-a*s anything.

The more you put in,
the closer you get to something special.

That's why no one stacks up to me.
And I mean nobody.

Ladies and gentlemen!

Only one round remains of the first
All-Japan Chinese Chef Championship.

And who will be competing to reign
as number one in this final battle

but these three?!

- From Kobe's Sea
Dragon, it's Celene Yang!

- You can do it!

- Show 'em that Tokyo chefs
ain't nothing on Kansai chefs!

- From Gobancho's Chinese Restaurant
in Ginza, it's Gobancho Kiriko!

- Kiriko! You're gonna
be the best in Japan!

The best in Chinese cuisine!

- And also hailing from Gobancho's Chinese
Restaurant in Ginza, it's Akiyama Jan!

- I hope you lose, Akiyama!

I don't care who wins! Just not you!

Now, what will be the theme
of this final battle?

It's noodles!
They'll be making noodle dishes!

Noodles?

But that's not all...
There's more at play here.

They must also make...
a dessert! A dessert dish!

A noodle dish and a dessert!
Our chefs must make both!

Two things?!

This is gonna be interesting.

Noodles and dessert, eh?

The judges have assigned
a pretty tough task this time.

- FIRST ANNUAL ALL-JAPAN
CHINESE CHEF CHAMPIONSHIP

- Those are...

the judges Akiyama sent to the hospital
with his poisonous mushroom soup.

They're back, huh?

Can't believe those idiots
had the nerve to show up again.

I want you out of Gobancho's Chinese!

What brought this on?

If you insist that your way
of doing things is the right way,

I don't want you cooking here!

I see.

But what if I refuse?

Because I don't think
what I'm doing is wrong.

Your whole "cooking is about heart" deal
is a bunch of naive nonsense.

So whoever loses will be proven wrong?

Is that what you're getting at?

Tomorrow, in the finals...

If you lose, I want you gone!

That's fine. And if I win,
then you've gotta go!

How's that?

Fine.

I have to win.

Win and kick him out of
Gobancho's Chinese!

Hey, Kiriko.

I'm taking your restaurant.

Now then... Ready?

Go!

First will be the noodle dishes!

I'm curious, Head Chef. What's so
difficult about noodles and dessert?

Couldn't you just make a fancy
combo like ramen and almond jelly?

No. For one thing, Japanese
ramen isn't a Chinese dish.

It's native to Japan.

Ramen!

Take a bowl and add soup
with a soy or miso base,

then add cooked noodles
along with toppings.

The soup is created with
a wide variety of broths,

like chicken, pork, vegetables,
kelp, or katsuobushi.

And the noodles can vary
from extra thick to curly,

often selected for compatibility
with the restaurant's soup!

It's a Japan original born
of knowledge and improvisation.

That's Japanese ramen.

In comparison,
China's four millennia of history

- have produced a food culture
of bei mian nan fan.

- BEI MIAN NAN FAN

- They have rice dishes in the warm south,

- while the north that has
a harder time growing it

BEI MIAN

- ended up developing around
the cultivation of wheat.

- FLOUR-BASED FOODS

- So when it comes to Chinese food,

- noodles are considered
a type of flour dish.

With the noodles being
a product of that flour...

What about the dessert, then?

Traditional Chinese cuisine
doesn't have "desserts"

like you'd find in the West.

That said, there are sweet tea snacks
known as dianxin, which are similar.

- XIAN DIANXIN

- Dianxin!

- You have the savory variety: meat buns,
rice ba*ls with meat, and gyoza!

- Then you have the sweet kind: red bean
buns, mooncakes, and almond jelly!

TIAN DIANXIN

Broadly speaking, they can be
split into these two groups!

The question is whether
the chefs will realize

the intent behind these themes.

There's something behind it?

Indeed.

Sticking to the fundamentals
of traditional Chinese cooking

while also showcasing
their own innovations.

In other words, it's a matter
of how creative their cooking is,

and whether or not they're chefs who can
conceive the future of Chinese cuisine.

Chinese cuisine for the 21st century.

Whoever has the clearest idea of that
will be the winner of this tournament!



Mama, I'm home.

Oh, welcome back...

- CELENE YANG [AGE 10]

- Cele...ne?

Wh-What the heck happened, Celene?

Nothin' worth talkin' about.
Just got into a scrape with some friends.

You were fighting?!

What's gotten into you?! You realize
today is your birthday, right?!

Of all the stupid...
What on earth happened?!

Hey, don't walk away from me!

Mama.

Where's Papa? At the restaurant?

What're you, some kinda moron?!

Real Chinese food is like
the stuff they serve in Chinatown!

What they got at your place
ain't the real deal.

You're the moron! Our restaurant
has got legit Chinese food!

It's as good as any other place's!

Well, my uncle who lives in Chinatown...

He says that yours is
just wannabe Chinese!

Nuh-uh!

Shut yer trap!

What're you doin'?!

Who're you calling "wannabe Chinese"?!

Stupid! Idiot! Jerk!

Stop it, you two!

Hey! What do you think you're doing?!

Papa.

We've got a Chinese
restaurant, right? Don't we?

What're you talkin' about?
Of course we do.

We're as authentic a Chinese
restaurant as you'll find anywhere.

It's where people can eat
a new type of cooking

straight from Hong Kong,
nouvelle chinois.

Nouvelle chinois...?

We make Chinese food tastier
and more beautiful than ever before,

and that's what we serve.

After meeting your mom,
I ended up eatin' a ton of French food.

And it occurred to me...

Chinese food could be served
and presented in a fashion

closer to the way the French do it.

Traditionally, Chinese food has been
about serving large groups

and hasn't been suited
to couples or smaller parties.

I realized that might be
its greatest weakness.

So when I cook nouvelle chinois,
I'm open to using any ingredients.

I just put in the effort
to make sure they look nice.

You also get a full-course Chinese meal,

even if it's only for one or two people.

Cooking needs to evolve with the times.

Do you understand, Celene?

Nouvelle chinois...

Now, go and enjoy your birthday
party with your friends.

I'll be making a feast for you all later.

B-But...

Besides, look.

Happy birthday! And congratulations!

Everyone...

It's like French food!

It's so beautiful! Amazing!

Thank you for the food!

Don't hold back now! Eat all you'd like!

You can use chopsticks if you want!

It's so good!

Yeah! Delicious!

What is this? It's incredible.

It tastes so interesting!

It's nothing like any
Chinese I've had before!

It...

It's good.

I've never had anything like it!

That's right.
Nouvelle chinois is the pursuit

of all-new flavor and beauty
from Chinese food.

A white plate's my canvas.

I make better-tasting,
better-looking food!

Here we go!

Get a load of Celene Yang's
nouvelle chinois!

All right! Let's make some art!

I-It looks like Yang...

is using some kind of cookie cutter?

She's using it to shape her noodles!

- She's not going with
the traditional string style!

- Whoa, whoa, whoa!

What? Hang on a sec!

Head Chef, is that allowed?!
Can she do that?

This chef named Yang is
taking a pretty bold approach.

She clearly knows what she's doing.

R-Right...

Now, let's see what our
other chefs are doing!

Oh, w-would you look at that?!

Akiyama has a circle of woks,
all full of boiling water!

Akiyama—

Oh, right, stay one meter away.
I remember.

But this is a lot of woks!
What are you using them for?

Um...

No good. They're not uniform
in terms of length or thickness.

Ready to give up?

There's no need to hide it.

This isn't the kind of technique
you can master in short order.

It's only possible
with daily diligence, Jan.

And...

With enough training...
you'll be able to do this!

In addition to...

What do you think?

They all went in...

They all went in, sir!

Pay more attention, boy.

The trick is making accurate cuts
of consistent length and thickness.

They really are...

Don't rush it. You can rest for now.

No! I'll keep trying. I can keep going.

Go ahead, then. Your goal is
to cut 110 noodles in 30 seconds.

Yes, sir!

A technique like cutting noodles is
best learned through muscle memory.

Even if you spent every day
from dawn to dusk cutting noodles,

it'd take around six months
to get it down.

This one time, beating you
won't make you learn any faster.

Right!

Here we go. This is how I make noodles!

What the hell?

Amazing.

Head Chef... Wh-What is he doing?

That's daoxiaomian...

The boy is making daoxiaomian!

Jan...

This is unbelievable.

He knows how to do that?

Hell of a trick to have up your sleeve!

I've never heard of a Japanese
that could make daoxiaomian!

Listen well, Jan!

Once you've learned how to do it,
you'll need to practice daily.

Even if it's only for one
or two minutes a day.

Because if you break the habit,

you'll lose the knack for it.

Just look at me now, old man!

I've mastered this amazing trick,
just like you said!

Each noodle is uniform
in thickness and length.

And now, I can make 150 of them
every 30 seconds!

It's perfect!

Plus...

Wha—

H-Hey, look!

H-He's rotating!

He's filling the woks with noodles
as he spins around!

That's why he laid them out like that!

This is how you make
the ultimate noodle dish!

An Akiyama Jan original technique:
High-Speed Rotating Daoxiaomian!

I would've never guessed he knew
how to make daoxiaomian...

I didn't think there were any
Japanese chefs who could do it.

What?! Not even you, Head Chef?!

There are many varieties
of noodle in China!

- DAOXIAOMIAN

- Among them, daoxiaomian originates
east of Beijing, in Shanxi Province!

- You add water and salt to flour,
then knead it thoroughly.

- No need to submerge it.

- It got its name from how the noodles
are shaved off the finished dough.

It was first introduced
to Japan in the mid-1980s.

It was a special dish that only chefs
from Shanxi could make.

And this dish, which had yet
to gain notoriety in Japan...

was featured in the original manga,
as yet another example of its foresight!

One of the interesting facets
of daoxiaomian

is in the shape of the noodles.

When carved with that distinct blade,

the noodles take
the shape of a willow leaf.

Their thickness in particular is notable.

The thinner ends mingle
wonderfully with the soup,

while the thicker parts build
the backbone of the noodles.

It's considered one of the
finest of China's noodle dishes.

One of the finest noodle dishes...?

That's right! I'm gonna use this
daoxiaomian to clinch the championship!

Akiyama Jan really knows his stuff.

But... that won't be enough to beat me.

What is that?

Some kinda black gyoza?

What did she mix into the wrappers?!

From the looks of it... she mixed
minced shrimp and squid for the filling.

And the blackness of the wrappers
comes from squid ink!

It reminds me of ravioli! The shape
and coloring both give an Italian vibe.

Correct. But that dish has another
impressive factor: the sauce.

The sauce?

She used gochujang. Basically Korean miso.

She used Korean miso
in her Chinese dish?!

The girl really is an incredible chef.

It's almost cheating,
but at the same time,

not being tied down by existing
conceptions of Chinese food is impressive.

Our noodles dishes ain't
your typical Chinese food.

They're free-spirited and free-wheelin'.
This is Celene Yang's nouvelle chinois!

This ravioli is gonna win it all for me.

I'll blow the traditionalists
outta the water.

Some dish that's whole appeal is that
it's "new" can't beat my cooking.

- I'm gonna beat him and win this thing!

- I'm gonna beat her and win this thing!

The two of them are really standing out.

Meanwhile, Kiriko-san seems to be
steadily working on her prep...

Is she gonna make it in time at this rate?

Huh?

Look at that...

Her noodles... are red?

This is what I'm going to use.

I'll fight with shanhumian!

EPISODE 9: INNOVATING FOR THE FUTURE