"You didn't rest well last night, did you? Look at those heavy dark circles under your eyes. Did you pull an all-nighter?"
Looking at Huang Mei, whose expression betrayed her fatigue and whose dark circles were heavy, Liu Yu asked softly.
"Yeah, because I wasn't satisfied with the dish I developed, I scrapped it and started over."
From a place of desperation comes new life. At last, she had created a dish that was satisfying.
Huang Mei nodded, not hiding what she had been up to. After all, she didn't go back yesterday, and Liu Yu could find out just by asking Wang Jing.
"From a place of desperation comes new life, huh? That's a bold decision. I hope you can truly find that 'new life.'"
Liu Yu's expression was unreadable. She was well aware of Huang Mei's abilities, so she had never underestimated her, but she had more faith in her own strength.
If victory could be won with one or two extraordinary performances, then what was the point of all the diligent practice, day in and day out?!
"There will be a way out!"
Hearing Liu Yu's somewhat provocative words, Huang Mei's voice was exceptionally firm as she met her gaze without flinching. For a moment, they were like two blades clashing, neither giving an inch.
"Then let's begin. I hope your dish can live up to the preparations I've made during this time."
The pre-battle banter was over. Both sides entered their optimal state of readiness.
Huang Mei looked at the fresh grass carp before her, her face turning serious. She placed the grass carp on a clean cutting board, its head facing her and its tail pointing outward.
Before joining the Dark Cooking Society, Huang Mei was a highly skilled fishmonger at an RT-Mart. Despite her young age, she had a wealth of experience in butchering fish. Coupled with her Super Touch, every cut was incredibly precise.
One hand gripped the fish head firmly to hold it in place, while the other held a sharp kitchen knife. It slashed quickly from below the fish head, the blade staying close to the bone, splitting the fish's body open to the tail in one go and removing the internal organs.
Next, she gently inserted the tip of the knife into the fish's belly and sliced upward, carefully scooping out all the innards without rupturing the gallbladder, so as not to affect the taste of the meat.
Afterward, she used the knife to gently scrape away the black membrane inside the fish's belly and any remaining organ residue, ensuring the inside of the fish was clean and free of foreign matter.
This whole process was as smooth as flowing water, without a trace of hesitation or obstruction. In Huang Mei's hands, the lively grass carp was like a piece of dough, for her to shape as she pleased.
"Such fast knife work."
In the audience, Ryo Kurokiba witnessed this and praised it softly.
The knife techniques Huang Mei used were all fundamental, but because of her extreme proficiency, they looked incredibly impressive, as if she were using some special knife skill.
"This astonishing level of skill would require at least ten years of butchering fish to achieve."
Watching Huang Mei, who immediately prepared to start cooking after finishing with the grass carp, Zhou Tai's voice rang out, his eyes filled with appreciation.
"In contrast, the other one seems much more conventional. While you can't find any faults, there's nothing particularly outstanding either."
As Senzaemon Nakiri finished speaking, Dylan and Zhou Tai both turned their gazes over, noticing that Liu Yu's movements were slow, but her cuts were exceptionally decisive.
"This is only the first step. The final judgment still depends on the dishes they present."
Dylan spoke up. Liu Yu was not skilled at butchering ingredients; she was better at cooking with what was already prepared. Butchering a live fish here today was likely just a way to show off a little.
"That's true. But a fish theme, honestly, isn't it a bit too broad? It could easily turn into a competition of old recipes, with nothing new."
At this point, Zhou Tai frowned slightly, clearly dissatisfied with the theme. For chefs, an overly broad theme is not a good thing.
Although the range of choices increases, it can easily become a contest of who has the deeper foundation—whoever has mastered a powerful and suitable recipe can simply apply it and win.
Truly high-level cooking competitions add various restrictions, not only requiring chefs to create new dishes but also testing their ability to adapt on the fly.
"After all, this is just a competition for beginners. There's no need to make it too difficult."
Of course, there was another reason. Totsuki needs to show its fangs to the outside world.
A theme that's too difficult could easily lead to failures. When they reach the second year for internal academy assessments, we'll naturally raise the difficulty for them.
Senzaemon Nakiri spoke slowly, revealing his own considerations.
If it were an internal academy assessment, the more difficult, the better. The purpose, after all, is to eliminate students and put pressure on them to grow stronger.
But the Summer Selection is, for Totsuki Academy, practically a recruitment brochure. It attracts outsiders to watch and showcases the style of Totsuki's students.
As long as the people on stage perform well enough, it's enough to make those parents eagerly send their own children to study here.
Therefore, the themes chosen for the Summer Selection are all very conventional, precisely to prevent contestants from losing control and embarrassing Totsuki Academy.
"That makes sense. Education has to be gradual. You can't become a master overnight."
Zhou Tai understood the connection as soon as he heard Senzaemon Nakiri's words and completely understood why he did it. After all, for a culinary academy, enrollment is the most important thing.
Although Totsuki's elimination rate has always been very high, making it seem like they don't care about students and even despise those without talent, they certainly wouldn't be happy if no students showed up.
"Ahaha."
Dylan, Zhou Tai, and Senzaemon Nakiri looked at each other, each pointing a finger at the others' faces with a smile. Everything was understood without being said.
"Onion, ginger, orange juice, yellow wine, and white pepper to remove the fishiness... that's a pretty good idea. A skillful use of the natural aroma of fruit."
Bringing his attention back to the competition and noticing Huang Mei adding various ingredients to the bowl of fish, Zhou Tai offered his unreserved commentary.
"Orange juice is rich in citric acid and other organic acids. These acidic components can give the fish a unique, tangy flavor, making the marinated fish more appetizing and appealing."
"Furthermore, during the orange juice marination process, the proteins in the fish meat will denature, changing from a semi-transparent state to opaque. The texture will also become firmer and crisper, enhancing the mouthfeel of the fish."
Dylan took on the role of commentator. When it came to common ingredients in the world, no one knew them better than he did.
To create better dishes, he had long ago memorized the functions and effects of all these common ingredients. Ordinary people thought his rapid growth was due to talent, but only Dylan himself knew that the reason he had become so strong was entirely through his own hard work, reaching the pinnacle step by step!
"People in Latin America use orange juice to marinate fish. It can be said to be a very distinctive style of cuisine."
Zhou Tai looked at Dylan in surprise, not expecting someone so young to have such a thorough understanding of ingredients. No wonder he could become a Seven-Star Special Grade Chef.
And although he couldn't explain it in such detail, he knew this dish was popular in Latin America because he had eaten it there before.
"The citric acid in orange juice can also neutralize the alkaline compounds in fish, thus effectively removing the fishy smell. At the same time, the aroma of the orange can add a touch of fresh fruit fragrance to the meat."
"Of course, the most crucial thing is that it can keep the fish meat tender and smooth, which helps to enhance its texture. It is indeed a very clever concept."
Senzaemon Nakiri, having been the director of the academy for so long, had seen all sorts of dishes in his youth. Using fruits in cooking was not uncommon at Totsuki.
After all, for cooking, fruit is an excellent ingredient.
Setting the marinated fish aside, she then sliced some orange peel and large scallions. When handling the scallions, Huang Mei used a decorative cutting style to release the flavor more easily.
Meanwhile, after marinating the fish for ten minutes, she fried it directly in the pot without coating it with any starch. This was the result of her experiments.
This technique is called 'clear frying.'
Clear frying uses no flour, no batter, and no slurry, frying the ingredient directly. This method preserves the original juice and flavor of the ingredient to the greatest extent, making the finished product more delicious.
Fry until dry, golden brown, and set, then remove and set aside.
Add clear water to the pot, briefly blanch the large scallions, remove them, then add chili peppers, also blanching them before removing and setting aside.
This was something Dylan had taught her before.
Because frying is a process of moisture loss, if the heat is too high, it can easily cause the ingredient to color instantly, preventing the aroma from being released. Blanching beforehand solves this problem very well.
"This is the first time I've seen this method. The purpose should be to retain the moisture in the ingredients. This little girl really knows a lot."
Watching the skilled movements of Huang Mei, Zhou Tai couldn't help but exclaim.
He had never even seen this technique before. As an Eight-Star Special Grade Chef, it only took a moment for his brain to figure out the mystery behind it.
He then turned his gaze to Dylan, suspecting it was his handiwork. After all, it would be difficult for a novice chef to come up with such a constructive cooking method.
Faced with Zhou Tai's gaze, Dylan's expression didn't change at all. He just silently watched the competition stage, pretending not to have noticed the inquiry in the other's eyes.
Seeing this, Zhou Tai couldn't help but smile wryly, knowing that the other didn't want to talk about it. So, he didn't pursue the topic and turned his gaze back to the competition.
Seeing one spot reveals the whole leopard. Huang Mei's current culinary performance could, in a sense, reflect Dylan's own culinary attainments.
He didn't know Dylan well, so he was unwilling to miss any detail. At the very least, he had to know his origins. It was impossible for him to be a genius who appeared out of thin air!
On the competition stage, Huang Mei steamed the fried fish. Then she poured out most of the oil from the wok, adding scallion sections, dried chili peppers, and orange peel.
"What a fragrant aroma!"
"The scents of scallion, chili, and orange have all blended together! This aroma is deep and rich. Just smelling it makes my mouth water uncontrollably!"
In the audience, smelling the fragrance released from the ingredients as they hit the hot oil, every spectator's face showed an expression of intoxication.
In front of her cooking station, Huang Mei saw that the heat was just right and directly added a spoonful of yellow wine to the wok. The aroma was further stimulated the moment the wine entered.
After that came a spoonful of soy sauce, and at the same time, she poured all the previously fried fish into the wok.
Clear water covered the fish. She added salt, pepper, oyster sauce, and other seasonings, then turned up the heat to high to cook the fish. Once the water in the wok boiled, she added dark soy sauce and fresh orange peel.
With all this done, the rest was left to time. Once the high heat evaporated the water, all the flavors in the wok would be absorbed into the fish.
To bring out its original fresh flavor, Huang Mei used very few seasonings. The proportions were all personally controlled by her!
On the other side, Liu Yu's dish was also halfway done. The ingredient she had chosen was crucian carp, but what was puzzling was that there was also a rack of lamb next to her, which she was currently working hard to trim.
And the moment they saw the ingredients she had prepared, Zhou Tai and Dylan looked at each other, having guessed the dish she was making in almost an instant.
Yu Yang Xian.
As the name suggests, it's half fish, half lamb. When the two are combined, they form the character for 'xian' (fresh/savory).
This dish combines the two, and it can be said to be a dish that perfectly embodies the fresh deliciousness of fish and lamb. It was very famous even in ancient times.
Although it's a famous dish, it's quite simple to make. You boil a pot of fish soup, stew the fish until it falls apart, then filter it, and add the lamb to slowly cook.
In the middle, you need to add a few spices and herbs, but not too many, since the focus of this dish is to highlight the original flavors of the ingredients.
Only by balancing the flavors of the fish and lamb can the two combine to create a new flavor, the so-called Yu Yang Xian.
In other words, it's all about controlling the proportions.
And that was precisely Huang Mei's specialty.
Watching the two of them cooking, Dylan felt a strange feeling arise in his heart for no reason. If Huang Mei were making this dish, with a little effort, she might even be able to break through the standard of a star-rated dish.
Unfortunately, there are no 'if's.'
Choice is important.
Judging by Liu Yu's appearance, she should be very familiar with this dish. She must have spent a lot of time this past week practicing it, and her current movements are as smooth as flowing water.
In comparison, Huang Mei's movements seemed much more clumsy, as if she had been forced to participate in the competition before even mastering the dish.
Although Dylan could see that she was already trying very hard, pushing her Super Touch to its limits, without a clear direction, whatever she did would be in vain.
Of course, in terms of completeness, the dish Huang Mei was developing was not bad at all; it could even be said to be very good, qualifying as an innovative dish.
But when compared to a dish passed down from ancient times, its degree of completion was incredibly low. Although her Super Touch gave her a boost, in terms of winning chances, she was still inferior to Liu Yu's Yu Yang Xian.
The 60-40 odds had become 30-70.
Liu Yu was now the 70.
"All that's left is to master this dish!"
After the water had boiled off, Huang Mei placed all the cooked fish onto the serving platter, arranging it neatly.
With that done, she then added scallion oil to the wok, then threw in the steamed scallions.
Dark soy sauce, the fish braising liquid, bring to a boil over high heat, then add two spoonfuls of cornstarch slurry.
"I'm done!"
Pouring the secret sauce over the fish, Huang Mei let out a long breath. Her voice echoed through the venue, attracting the attention of the judges and Dylan.
"So fast! From the start until now, it seems like it's only been an hour. This is definitely the fastest I've ever seen a competition dish completed!"
In the audience, the spectators also began to chatter, their faces tinged with excitement.
_____
Want more chapters? Our community goals are active!
🎯 Goal: 100 Powerstones for a bonus chapter for everyone.
🚀 Milestone: 55 SUPPORTERS to unlock +5 extra chapters on everything!
🎉 Your Welcome Bonus: A huge markdown on your first month!
👻 Get your perks by finding Walnutchan on (P). You know the one! 😉