Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 160 Sun Xingyao's crushing defeat, the first appearance of the New Chef Competition. (First update in 4K)
Sui Wubai's problem was also a problem shared by all the judges except Wei Yan.

The more meticulously they examined the food, the more they felt that this stir-fried pork kidney dish was illogical.

Its tenderness and crispness seem like they can coexist.
Therefore, in order to better appreciate the taste, the judges took one bite, two bites, three bites, four bites.
Then I looked down and realized it was gone.
Looking at the plate with only a little bit of sauce left after the accident, and the bowl in their hands, the judges desperately wished they could have more.

The intention was good, but the quantity could not be changed again. No matter how much they sighed in their hearts, the dish could not be conjured up out of thin air.

Tan Zhifeng stroked his chin, already secretly plotting how he could bring Xia Ming to his restaurant as an example.

Tan Zhifeng doesn't expect his chefs to master the essence of his craft; if they can even resemble him to some extent, that would be enough for him to be grateful for.

At this moment, Xia Ming, standing in front of the judges, saw the empty plates and bowls, and their eyes, and the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.

He knew that the judges were mentally simulating whether the dish was raw or cooked.
He was also very clear about the answer to this question.
According to urban standards, this pork kidney should be cooked to about 9% done.

That is, all parts are heated, but the very center perfectly retains the tenderness of the internal organs.

As for why there were no blood streaks, it's actually quite easy to understand.
Because in the last two seconds before the dish was taken out of the pot, Xia Ming extracted all the remaining uncooked blood essence from the food.

That's why, while maintaining the texture inside, you can't see any blood at all.

"Therefore, theoretically speaking, this is a dish that cannot be replicated by anyone else, because no matter how they try, it will only ever turn out the same."

"Fully cooked, or with traces of blood, two forms."

Xia Ming knew that even if the God of Cookery came, he would still have to follow the basic rules of this world.

Unless he can cultivate immortality in the city, he can only obediently follow the path of science.

Of course, even if the judges asked him privately, Xia Ming would only say that it was because he was in good form and just hit the critical point that he was able to achieve such a perfect level of ripeness.

Whether others believe it or not, the food has already been eaten by the judges, so whatever they say goes.

Xia Ming raised an eyebrow at this thought.

He could imagine that after the competition, a bunch of people would watch the video clips and discuss how the "squeezing with a sieve" played a decisive role in the dish.

He could only express his regret.
You're overthinking it. It doesn't matter at all. Even if you just shake the oil a few times with a strainer, there's no real difference.

If there has to be a difference, then it can only be said that it played a role in Sun Xingyao's "stir-fried pork kidneys".

Just then, Sun Xingyao brought his dishes to the stage.

When Xia Ming turned his head to look over, Sun Xingyao's eyes instantly ignited with fierce fighting spirit.

He wasn't blind, so he could see that Xia Ming's plate was almost empty, with only a little bit left. Although he sensed something was wrong, he still had absolute confidence in his cooking.

After all, Sun Xingyao's father was Sun Mo, a master of Hunan cuisine. Although the Sun family could not be considered one of the sixteen major culinary schools, they were still considered to have a legitimate lineage in the culinary world.

His father recognized his exceptional talent for temperature control when he was very young, so he taught him the art of stir-frying during his school years.

While other kids were playing hopscotch at the door, he was already wielding a spatula in front of the stove.

The doctor's words may be true, or it may be that he was just born with this personality. As he spent more and more time in front of the stove, his temper became more and more unstable.

It was as if the fire on the stove had burned into his heart.
As he grew up, thanks to Sun Mo's guidance, Sun Xingyao was able to come into contact with many "Hua Level 6" and "Hua Level 7" chefs, and sometimes even "Hua Level 8" chefs.

Although he couldn't formally become an apprentice, he could certainly get some pointers from the chefs out of respect for Sun Mo.

For example, his current "stir-fried pork kidneys" was prepared under the guidance of "Chen Zhongmin", a "Level 8" Shandong cuisine master.

Although Master Chen Zhongmin has a habit of keeping his skills to himself, and his online reputation has declined recently, his status is still undeniable. Even just a few words of advice are enough for ordinary chefs to learn profound lessons.

He refused to believe that his authentic and enhanced Shandong cuisine techniques would be defeated by a chef from Sichuan or Chongqing.

Seeing the fighting spirit in his eyes, Xia Ming simply yawned.

Before even looking at Sun Xingyao's stir-fried pork kidneys, he noticed a problem just by smelling it, and after glancing at it twice, he noticed two more problems.

"Under normal circumstances, you might have overlooked these issues, but you ended up doing them right after me!"

With a slight raise of his eyebrows, Xia Ming stopped looking at Sun Xingyao and turned back to his stove.

Sun Xingyao's face twitched slightly, but he couldn't show it in front of the judges, so he handed over his dish first.

Sui Wubai took a sniff of the dish in front of him, and a look of understanding flashed in his eyes.

Xia Ming returned to the stove and, without pausing for a moment, put the plate aside and began to prepare the sauce.

As soy sauce, oyster sauce, MSG, and other seasonings were placed in small bowls, viewers in the live stream began to wonder.

[What's going on? Xia Ming's dishes have already been served, haven't they?]

[Yeah, perhaps you've suddenly gained some insights and are planning to do it again?]

[That's utter nonsense. They don't even have pork kidneys left, what are they going to make? Air?! If you ask me, it's probably just because they're hungry, since it's almost noon!]

【No, I could tolerate them eating at the staff meals before, but this competition, including the judges' comments, is only about 20 minutes long. Couldn't they go down and eat?】

[Perhaps he's not used to the taste, which is understandable. If Xia Ming's cooking skills were used to cook for other chefs, wouldn't it just become "we're here to find fault"?]

The question is, what does he need to do to catch up?

Just as the audience was bewildered, Xia Ming turned on the fire in the wok, poured in the oil, and with a few quick flips of the spoon, added sour sauce, chopped chili peppers, and small red chilies to the pot.

Xia Ming made these cuts while waiting for Sun Xingyao, knowing that Sun Xingyao would be slower than him.

As the chili peppers released their aroma in the hot oil, the freshly sliced ​​beef, which had been cut earlier that morning, was added to the pan. The spatula was used to break up the beef and allow the oil to heat it evenly until it was about 50-60% cooked. Then, some cilantro was added.

Then Xia Ming casually introduced the fire into the pot, and then, holding the fire in one hand, poured the sauce into the pot with the other.

The sauce sizzled as it was released by the flames, and then a delicious aroma burst forth from the pot.

The surrounding contestants, smelling the flames and the aroma of the sauce, all looked up at him, only to see the flames continuing to surge in his pot.

In the blink of an eye, a classic Hunan dish, "Stir-fried Beef with Yellow Peppers," was plated.

I quickly rinsed the pot and then used a rag to wipe up the little bit of oil that had splattered when I was making the pork kidneys.

Then he moved a stool over, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating with his lunchbox.

The entire cooking process took less than a minute, and when Sun Xingyao looked up again, the judges hadn't even started tasting her dish yet.

He casually picked up a slice of beef, thinking to himself how delicious the free beef tenderloin was. Then, while eating, he kept glancing in the direction of the judges' table.

"Sun Xingyao probably still doesn't realize that he put in too little vinegar when he was cooking it."

He probably mistook the smell of my cooking vinegar for his own.

Xia Ming smiled slightly. He had a very precise control over the temperature. As soon as the vinegar was added to the side of the pot, the aroma instantly spread to the surroundings. Since he and Sun Xingyao had put the pot in at about the same time, the aromas of the two blended together under this impact.

However, the difference was that Xia Ming's vinegar was more fragrant, so the aroma from Sun Xingyao's cooking had no effect on him. On the contrary, because of his actions, Sun Xingyao did not distinguish the specific situation, and due to his mistakes, the taste became unbalanced.
"Don't be fooled by the small amount of vinegar used in this stir-fried pork kidney dish. Without that touch of sourness to balance the saltiness of the sauce, it would taste dry and be prone to a fishy smell."

"Although the ingredients he chose were still very fresh, they were cooked for too short a time, so there were bound to be some residues."

“Normally, this amount would definitely be within the judges’ acceptable range, but now…” Smiling, Xia Ming put the beef slices and cilantro into his mouth and chewed. He knew that the judges present could definitely judge the quality just by the aroma.

Of course, this is not the biggest flaw of this dish. Its biggest problem is that the pork kidneys were overcooked.

"I don't know who taught him this stir-frying technique, but the person who taught him definitely held back."

"The seasoning ratio should have been given a fixed value, but it didn't tell him that he needed to adjust the amount of seasoning according to the condition of the kidney."

After swallowing the meat, Xia Ming picked up another piece.

In my memory, some chefs in the city liked to mark "appropriate amount" or "a little" on the menu, but it wasn't always to hide their intentions.

For some dishes, the ingredients themselves will affect the amount of seasoning. For example, if kidneys are slightly fishy, ​​you can consider adding more scallions, ginger, or cooking wine, or scallion and pepper cooking wine.

However, the dosage of soy sauce needs to be adjusted accordingly.
"There is never anything that is set in stone. If you just follow the steps taught by others without using your brain to practice and experiment, it will never be your own."

Xia Ming took another bite of beef as he spoke.

He recalled that when he was on the Nine Provinces Continent, the first lesson his master taught him was to classify the Soul River Fish that were caught from the river and tell him what characteristics indicated what they ate.

"Look at this green-skinned one, it was weak from a young age, the kind of scrap that gets thrown out of the 'Blood Fusion Pile,' so it has less of a bloody smell and a stronger earthy smell."

"Look at this one with red eyes, it's the one that often eats the waste from 'Blood Fusion Pit'. It has a stronger blood essence, making it suitable for making soup. Remember to leave half of it when extracting its blood essence for a better taste."

"Those with sharp, patterned teeth are the ones that have eaten humans."

"These bodies feel smoother to the touch, and if you touch the belly area, there's a bulge; that means they've eaten a cultivator's body. We have to keep these kinds."

Gently brushing away the memories, Xia Ming slowly exhaled and continued eating his beef.

"Therefore, adapting to local conditions is the key; nothing in this world is immutable."

"If people's circumstances are like this, what about seasonings? Can the old techniques and flavors really be preserved to this day?"

If the kitchen were a cultivation manual, Xia Ming felt that anyone who tried to draw spiritual energy into their body through rote memorization was no different from a fool.

It's obvious that Sun Xingyao is a fool at this moment.

Even though his skill in hype is already quite good among these contestants.

But he's just a fool who's good at hype.
"Judges' Seat"

Sui Wubai was slowly chewing the pork kidney in his mouth.

Actually, he noticed several problems as soon as he took a bite.
"The vinegar flavor was insufficient and didn't mask the fishy smell. The oil was overcooked, and the stir-frying time wasn't reduced during the later stages. It had some crispness, but it lost its tenderness."

"The sauce is too salty, probably due to insufficient vinegar. The cooking time was okay, but the sauce is too rough."

If this "stir-fried pork kidneys" dish came from a small restaurant and cost 38 yuan, he might even praise it a bit.

If I sell it for 58, he might nitpick and offer some suggestions.
However, in the "New Chef Competition," this dish did not quite meet the standards of Shandong cuisine.

Although the water chestnuts managed to achieve a glossy appearance, and there was very little juice left at a 45° angle, the superior quality made it difficult to enjoy them.

Mao Xianzheng is rather traditional; he took a bite and then stopped eating, and judging from his attitude, it was clear that his chances of getting a good score were slim.

Wei Yan personally liked the crispness of the pork kidneys, but his seasoning was so good that he could tell the dish was over after just one bite. He could clearly tell that Sun Xingyao had seasoned it according to a fixed ratio.

Rubbing his forehead, Wei Yan sentenced him to death.

"Still too inexperienced. Arrogance alone, without corresponding strength, won't get you far."

Thinking of this, he looked up at the back of Sun Xingyao. At this moment, Xia Ming had already eaten half of the stir-fried beef on his plate. Judging from his posture, he was preparing to finish the plate before going on stage to score.

Wei Yan wore a somewhat strained expression. In all his years as a chef, this was the first time he had ever seen someone treat the competition's menu like their own buffet.

Although the ingredients for the competition dishes were only specified, and it wasn't said that you couldn't bring anything else, is it appropriate for you to eat alone in front of so many viewers in the live broadcast room?

Do you even know what it means to respect your elders?
Could you... give us some too?

Feeling Wei Yan's gaze, Xia Ming didn't feel guilty at all and continued to eat heartily. However, some netizens in the live broadcast room understood the fleeting look in Wei Yan's eyes.

[This is hilarious! It gives me the feeling that while I'm suffering, you're enjoying the good life without even taking me with you.]

[I've learned my lesson now. Tan Zhifeng's smile means everything's settled; Sui Wubai's smile means everything's very settled; and Yin Shengjiang's closed eyes mean everything's as solid as iron.]

[You know what, it's actually pretty accurate. What about Wei Yan?]

If Wei Yan laughs, it means he's a noob; the more sarcastic his laugh, the less skilled he is. But if he falls silent, then he's truly impressive!

[66666, now I understand too. By this standard, Sun Xingyao has already been taken away!]

[The bag was carried away. What kind of person is Sun Xingyao? Does she deserve to cook the same dishes as Xia Ming?]

Just as netizens were teasing Sun Xingyao, Xia Ming, who had finished lunch, took a tissue to wipe his mouth and then went to the judges' table with the host who walked over.

This time, the judges did not hesitate at all and immediately entered the scores into the scoreboard.

A few seconds later, Sun Xingyao's score appeared on the big screen. After discarding the highest and lowest scores, his final score was "84.1 points".

While it wasn't bad, it certainly wasn't good either. The judges probably took the difficulty of the dish into account and gave it some technical points.

Upon seeing the score, Sun Xingyao's face fell. He felt a great sense of crisis, because he felt that relying solely on this score would make it difficult to compete with Xia Ming.

Just as he gritted his teeth, Xia Ming's score appeared on the big screen.

[Yin Shengjiang: 100]

[Tan Zhifeng: 100]

[Sui Wubai: 100]

[You Zhangwen: 100]

[Wei Yan: 98]

[Mao Xianzheng: 100]

[Yu Fangmei: 99]

[After removing scores according to the rules]

Xia Ming's final overall score: 99.8 points

The moment viewers saw the score, their eyes widened in disbelief.

Everyone in the players' lounge was so frightened that they all stood up.
In the crowd, Qiao Ruoning's braided hair was still trembling slightly, but her mouth was already wide open.

"Huh??? Zun Du is fake??? Five perfect scores in one go???"

(End of this chapter)