Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 136 Let's start by sacrificing our "Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef," with whom you once competed! (Bonus Chapter for 3K Views)

Fish Soup

A famous Cantonese dish, belonging to the traditional cuisine of the Shunde area in the Guangzhou-Shenzhen region.

Fish is the main ingredient, commonly used fish such as sea bass, grass carp, and bighead carp.
Among them, bighead carp is generally the first choice because of its tender and smooth flesh, plump belly, and delicious and rich soup.

At this moment, Qian Youdao skillfully began to prepare the other side dishes, and Xia Ming also turned around to look at the others.

The rolling pin next to Shuai Qixing was particularly eye-catching, clearly indicating that he was making fish noodles.

As for Fang Xu, he processed the fish meat he received and then began to slice it very meticulously.

Based on the angle, the speed at which he sliced ​​the food, and the distance between the knives, Xia Ming judged that Fang Xu was probably making a decorative dish.

Judging from the rock sugar and oranges he took separately, this should be a sweet and sour fish dish.

"Squirrel-shaped mandarin fish doesn't need to be cut into pieces. Judging from his movements, it's more likely to be prepared as 'coral fish.'"

Xia Ming was right; Fang Xu was indeed making a "coral fish" at that moment.

This type of fish requires exceptional knife skills, as the fish meat needs to be cut into strips resembling mop handles while still fresh, then coated in batter and deep-fried.

After being fried, the fish strips separate freely, and together with the fish skin underneath, when turned upside down, they look just like coral in the sea, hence the name "coral fish".

In traditional recipes, this dish is usually served with a sweet and sour sauce, but judging from Fang Xu's appearance, he would probably also add orange juice to give the sauce a fruity aroma.

Xia Ming frowned slightly, realizing that Fang Xu had indeed chosen this dish specifically for him.

Because Shuai Qixing chose "Knock Fish Noodles", the main difficulty and selling point of this dish is "eating fish but not seeing fish".

It's no wonder they're from the same family; he and his dad, Shuai Xiaojian, are exactly alike when it comes to choosing dishes for the competition.

"Both fish balls and fish noodles are made with skill and ingenuity. Judging from the taste, they should be on the lighter side, mainly highlighting the flavor of the fish noodles."

If Shuai Qixing can perfect the preparation of fish noodles, then he has mastered the two characteristics of "smoothness" and "skill" in making fish noodles.

As for Qian Youdao, choosing to make fish soup means he is preparing for a rich, fragrant, and refreshing style.

Because fish soup itself contains many side ingredients, their role is mainly to enhance the umami flavor of the dish and make the cooking more refreshing.

The main challenge in making this dish lies in processing the fish floss.

Actually, the steps to disassemble the fish soup are not complicated, but the part that takes him a lot of effort is the word "disassemble".

After stewing the fish and leaving the white broth, the fish bones are removed by hand from the original fish meat.

The important thing to be careful not to break the fish into too many pieces, but also not to break it into pieces that are too large.

Ideally, the fish should melt in your mouth while still being edible.

To achieve this, the chef needs to have a special understanding of fish bones and be clear about how loose the fish meat will be after reheating.

Because the fish meat that has been removed from the fish is to be stir-fried again, you can't just look at the removed part; you also have to consider the rest of the dish.

If you're making this dish at home, it's perfectly fine to be a little careless and casual.

But this is a competition, and Xia Ming doesn't believe Qian Youdao would make such a basic mistake.

If he truly achieves this level of perfection, then he has essentially captured the essence of "freshness" and "richness" in fish.

After seeing the dishes they chose, it becomes clear why Fang Xu made his choice.

His "coral fish" is essentially fried fish, but in terms of appearance, knife skills, and final taste, he has made improvements on the previous two dishes.

If Fang Xu can perfectly prepare the dish, he should be credited for the "crispness" of the fish and the "knife skills".

When paired with a sweet and sour sauce, it sets it apart from other fish dishes and adds a touch of "refreshing" flavor.

Thinking of this, Xia Ming smiled slightly.

"So Fang Xu's idea is to bet separately, showcasing a portion of all aspects of the fish. If I choose a single aspect of the dish, in this mixed-eating evaluation, I might be overshadowed by other dishes due to their taste or the order in which they are served."

"On the other hand, if I want to crush them with a single dish, I must combine the characteristics of their dishes."

Xia Ming had never considered making spicy fish, mainly for two reasons.

The first point is that many of the other contestants on the field made salty and spicy dishes, so making a dish with umami flavor would be more prominent.

Secondly, the availability of chili peppers on-site limited the options for offering spicy and refreshing options.

It's possible that the judges were considering that if the food was too spicy or numbing, it would affect their judgment of other dishes.

After all, judges only have one tongue, and if a problem arises at the last minute, it would be difficult to call it fair to the subsequent contestants.

"A dish that combines all of the above special techniques? Theoretically, 40 minutes—no, 37 minutes now—is that enough?"

"If we could control it more precisely, it wouldn't be impossible, but the lack of a freezer here is a bit of a problem."

Just as Xia Ming was pondering, the viewers in the live stream also noticed some problems with this match.

[This has turned into a three-on-one battle against Lu Bu, and they're treating Xia Ming like a boss to farm!]

[He was the boss to begin with, and once the results of the Chicken Dinner round are in, he will undoubtedly be number one. It just goes to show that the strong always get stronger!]

Don't get your hopes up too high. With the changed format, a dozen or so stars may seem like a lot, but they don't actually have that much of a suppressive effect.

[Mainly because as players clustered towards higher-scoring teams, coupled with an increased elimination rate, the early-game gaps were closed.] [I don't know about other things, but Qian Youdao looks strangely more handsome when he gets serious!]

[I'm from the Taiwan region, and I've watched his matches. He gets stronger as the game progresses; his fighting power is like Schrödinger's cat!]

This looks like fish soup. This dish can be made in many ways, and if done well, it's easy to get a high score.

While everyone in the live stream was discussing, inside the judges' room...

Wei Yan looked at Fang Xu, who was looking down in the corner of the screen, and smiled slightly.

"This kid named Fang Xu did it on purpose. He used his dishes to make up for his shortcomings in selecting ingredients, and blocked the road from multiple directions as much as possible when time was tight."

"I remember he came last year too, right?"

You Zhangwen, who was standing to the side, nodded.

"The twentieth place finisher in the previous competition, along with Han Tianyan and Wu Yong, were collectively known as the 'Three Wise Ones' in the previous competition."

Wu Yong got sixth place in the previous exam, and now I heard that he has passed the "Hua 4" exam and is preparing for the "Hua 5" exam at his family restaurant.

"The two of them, one was 11 in the previous class and the other was 20. Being able to stay in this class with greater benefits and scale can be considered as having more opportunities."

Wei Yan nodded after hearing this, and then asked Yin Shengjiang.

"Brother Jiang, this system wasn't changed on the spot, was it?"

Yin Shengjiang smiled.

"Of course not. The rules were set from the beginning, and the stages were calculated using big data algorithms."

"However, I didn't expect the star-level rewards to be so different in this round. It seems that the AI ​​has actively accelerated the process based on the elimination speed."

"Of course, it's also possible that the AI ​​discovered someone was exploiting a loophole and made corresponding modifications."

Wei Yan was taken aback.

"Wait, is AI really that advanced now?"

Yin Shengjiang chuckled.

"Commercially available AI systems certainly can't perform such precise calculations, but you should know that the AI ​​we use is essentially borrowed from the 'Aerospace Academy'."

"They were previously used for other, more sophisticated calculations, so this kind of technical adjustment is normal."

Wei Yan was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"This does seem somewhat like Xia Ming is playing a game with AI."

Yin Shengjiang did not agree with his view.

"Not yet. Current AI is just more adept at calculation. The so-called game theory is just that AI makes corresponding adjustments in terms of probability and payoff conversion. It is far from being a game theory."

"However, I am very curious about what method he will choose to break the deadlock under these circumstances."

Xia Ming, however, looked very relaxed in the arena. He seemed to have thought of something funny, and the smile on his lips never stopped.

After skillfully killing the fish in his hand, he even had time to pick out another one over there.

Then he took some local delicacies, and finally, somehow got a plastic bag and carried it back to his stove.

Then, he quickly began to process the fish in his hands.
At the same time, the sound of fish being knocked on Shuai Qixing's end could be heard.

To be honest, this sound was just like when Xia Ming dealt with Chen Xiaodong in the competition, making the other contestants extremely irritated.

However, according to the rules, he did not do it intentionally, so there is no reason to criticize him.

Xia Ming even suspected that Shuai Qixing might have learned this skill from him, since making fish noodles at this time of year is inherently risky.

Those with slightly weaker arms might not be able to pound the fish meat evenly enough before having to cook it hastily.

This dish is essentially one that requires a lot of effort; if you're pressed for time, the chance of making a mistake is quite high.

Taking advantage of a lull in his work, Xia Ming glanced at Qian Youdao again.

He appeared serious and quiet, and his fish meat was dissected skillfully and quickly. Judging from the size of the fish meat on the plate, he deserves a high score, at least in terms of the preparation of the raw materials.

As for Fang Xu, his movements were not as quick, which Xia Ming could understand.

Firstly, it requires a high level of knife skill; a mistake could easily ruin half a fish. Secondly, since it's deep-fried afterward, the cooking time is relatively short, allowing time to process the fish meat more meticulously, thus increasing the score.

After all, not everyone has his knife skills.
As for Marre, he's done much the same as the others; he probably prioritized avoiding relegation after seeing the other four come in.

As time passed, the sound of Shuai Qixing tapping the fish finally stopped.

Xia Ming glanced at the time; he had finished typing in less than 20 minutes.

"Hmph, either you have some special technique, or your control over force is at the level I have when I activate Blood Soul. Otherwise, with this speed, I seriously doubt the fineness of your fish noodles."

But Shuai Qixing was clearly more confident, and he had already cut the fish noodles and thrown them into the pot.

As the fish noodles in the pot churned, Xia Ming's image flashed through his mind first, followed by Shuai Xiaojian's.

"Dad, just wait and see your son surpass you! As for this round, let's start by using 'Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef,' who once competed against you, as a sacrificial offering!"

(End of this chapter)