First Impressions / Shokugeki no Souma

「官能の唐揚げ」 (Kannou no Karaage)
“The Seductive Karaage”

This is truly a very seductive fried chicken episode. Not only do I love fried chicken, but when it’s bite-sized and sizzling hot, oh my god, I can eat my own bucket. For those of you that have never had karaage before, imagine popcorn chicken from KFC but larger and more bite. Karaage is usually made of chicken thighs with the skin on because that’s where you get the most flavor and isn’t as unforgiving after you fry it. The spices on it are not like KFC or Popeyes’ original recipes (or Churches’ – that’s my personal favorite franchise!), but it includes garlic and ginger and I find it more sweet than salty or spicy. I highly recommend trying it if you haven’t, but if you have, then you know what I’m talking about. Chicken can be expensive where I am so it’s not like I have it all the time (nor do I make it at home) but I order karaage as a side dish if it’s on the menu.

Now let’s talk about the episode as I wipe away my drool…
An excellent return for Souma and as always – sticking his nose into other people’s business to help them out. Not a bad thing, but it’s going to be a challenge for him to try and create some buzz back in his own local shopping street. I’m sure Souma has all the right intentions in mind, but his specialty is not karaage and that’s why he recruits Ikumi to help him. His friend, Kurase Mayumi (Kakuma Ai) whom has a not-so-secret crush on Souma, offers to help him taste test. Not that she has a “god’s tongue” or anything, but I see her efforts to try and get closer to Souma. It’s now or never right? This guy isn’t going to be sticking around for long. Anyway, I had fun watching the girls give each other a once-over and “size up the competition”. It was even more fun watching them actually try this “award winning karaage” since the owner was a little too excited about her own product (and also crazy behind the scenes). Nakamozu Kinu (Hisakawa Aya) scares the sh*t out of me. This episode was funnier than most because I think Ikumi is hilarious with her idea of cheap meat and how to win Souma over (but being a tsundere about it). Seeing her outside the school setting is refreshing and if it’s between her and Mayumi, I’m on the Ikumi ship. Mayumi is a nice girl and all… but I feel like she’s just a bit too plain Jane for Souma right now.

At the end of the episode, we learn that Kinu is actually seeking advice from Eizan Etsuya (Sugita Tomokazu) – and he’s one of the Elite Ten along with Erina and Satoshi. We finally meet another one! God knows how long it will be until we’re introduced to the rest, but I don’t think it’ll be in this 2-cour run of Shokugeki no Souma. Etsuya seems to be advising, not only Mozuya, but other franchises and restaurants on how to be successful. I’m not sure what he gets out of it (Pride? Money?) but he’s determined to help Kinu drive all the traffic to Mozuya and the new shopping centre. As interesting as he is, I’m actually more curious about the Autumn Election. I know it won’t be another 2 or 3 weeks until we get there, but I think the Elite Ten get to nominate students of their choosing to compete… and my guess is, Souma will probably not get selected and somehow make his way in anyway. Of course, I might be wrong, in which case, all the more power to Souma for making it to the top of the list so quickly.

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: Holy shit… when you’re staring at #karaage past midnight for prolonged periods of time… #drool #ShokugekinoSouma. Nikumi isn’t my fav girl but seeing her get screentime again makes me smile. I prefer her to Kurase.

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Author’s Note: Sorry I’ve been so delayed with my posts recently! I don’t have any big excuses, but I’ve been helping out with weddings, and I have 3 more to go this month. Subsequently, all these weddings are on weekends and I may be delayed with my posts for the rest of the month. I know this isn’t what you guys want to hear and I’m feel incredibly bad so I’ll try my best to be timely, but just in case… I wanted to let you know I’m still thinking of you <3

 

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15 Comments

    1. A lot of methods to choose from really; the episode only dealt with the marination which can be eliminated in some recipes. Poached, steamed, velvet, etc, before the coat and fry. The variety in sequencing means that there’s a near-infinite number of ways in conjunction with the ingredients to get to the end product.

      Novices should start with something simple, but after the first few iterations to nail down the technique and general principles (and timing), they can really play with their own recipes.

      Do you add more salt to the chicken stock, or do you go with the already-seasoned bouillon and add salt to the coat? Neither?

      Do you shake the chicken in Cayenne-seasoned coating after dipping it in the batter? Or do you give it a gentler coat, deep fry, batter, then add the Cayenne-seasoned coat? How about flash frying the first coat instead?

      Just remember to write your sequence and recipes down. Even recording yourself on video might be simpler. There’s nothing’s worse than tasting your dish when you’re done, discovering that you love your new creation….then being unable to replicate it next time because you forgot where you did something, when , or for how long.

      Jerry
      Reply

    2. ? Skip which arc? They’re already doing the Kaarage arc, and it should take just one more episode, if that. After that, they should have 6 episodes left. It’s a little difficult to estimate because they’ve changed and rearranged a few things, and they’ll almost certainly have to pick up the pace to get to the best stopping point for them. However they shouldn’t need to skip anything noteworthy, aside from some extras that would probably be better served being released as an OVA rather than try and shoehorn them into the series.

      Krono
      Reply

      1. I’m thinking it’ll fit perfect if they’re aiming to end just after the Prelims:
        Show Spoiler ▼

        At this point I think the fans would be disappointed if they started cutting content, since they really haven’t done that at all so far.

        Aex
        Reply

  3. They won’t skip that other character(he would be around in 2016) base from the opening, this anime would briefly end after the preliminaries, and we get a 2nd season animated next year ^_^.

    QB
    Reply

    1. And that character that passerby thought will be skipped Show Spoiler ▼

      Raiu
      Reply

      1. On spoilers: Show Spoiler ▼

        Aex
        Reply

  4. Ikumi should be in every episode. She’s just too much fun, and she has amazing fashion sense. I’m trying not to stare… it isn’t going well XD

    I also love the chairman comparison to Konishi. How do these flimsy guys keep getting put in charge of stuff? Though you really can’t blame him for this predicament when it feels like this owner might have yakuza ties or something else as crazy >.<

    Aex
    Reply

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