บท 96: Chapter 96
Ch96 – Second Round
Three days later, the 2nd round started as scheduled, and as before, the venue was the Chefs' Association's branch office.
The 1st round had been very exciting. So as soon as this round started, a large number of spectators poured in, waiting eagerly to taste today's food.
The one hundred contestants were all in place. They were all standing before cooking stations arranged according to their ranking based on their performance on the previous round.
"First of all, congratulations to all 100 contestants. You have all successfully passed the 1st round, but the next rounds will only be more difficult so please make sure to prepare yourselves." Ruan Tang greeted them.
The contestants in the venue immediately gave a warm applause. They then stopped and waited for him to announce the details of today's contest.
[Miao Miao loves to eat all the dishes on the anchor: Oh wow, my Tang is also so handsome today!]
[Can't stop Hugging Trees: I don't know what it will be today, but I'm guessing mystery box!]
"Today's contest is a themed match. You will choose one of the three main ingredients specified and you will use it to create a dish together with the ingredients in the mystery box. The three best performers in the last round will enjoy a privilege in this round." President Gu paused, and continued, "These three players are, Zha Panpan, Cao Jun and Shi Mingxu. Please come with me. "
Zha Panpan, Cao Jun, and Shi Mingxu quickly left the ranks and followed behind President Gu inside the ingredients room.
The ingredients room was very large, about two or three hundred square meters. It was filled with a variety of fresh ingredients and various seasonings. The three main ingredients and mystery boxes to be used in today's game were also among them.
"The three of you, with your outstanding performances in the previous game, have won yourselves a privilege. Aside from the three main ingredients, you may choose any ingredient you wish to pair with it. You will not be limited to the contents of the mystery box and you may choose an ingredient that is your specialty."
When the three heard these words, their faces couldn't help but reveal their joy. After the last round, they already knew about mystery boxes. Compared to those random ingredients that appear in the boxes, it was, of course, easier to control their performance if they could use ingredients they chose themselves.
President Gu pointed to the ingredients in the transparent water tank. "These are the three main ingredients today. After you decide which one you want to make, you can go and get the ingredients you need to match."
The three main ingredients were fish, shrimp, and crab. These ingredients were difficult to handle, and Ruan Tang had cooked a variety of dishes using these three ingredients during his live broadcasts. If the contestants simply copied his dishes it would be impossible to obtain the viewers' support.
[Su Su Su Su Su: Wow, it's water monster crab again! It still looks so ugly …]
[Genuine Devil: All three already aren't easy to cook with, but they also need to be paired with other ingredients. I have no idea what they'll choose.]
Zha Panpan thought about it for a moment, and then she got right to it. She picked up the basket, filled it with a big, fat Perch. She then went to the vegetable area to take a very unexpected ingredient — lotus root.
Could it be … sweet and sour fish? Perch with candied lotus root?
Although it was not certain whether she had watched Ruan Tang's live broadcast or not, it was certain that she must have spent time researching this kind of ingredient.
As for Cao Jun and Shi Mingxu, they both coincidentally chose shrimp. For the accompanying ingredient, Cao Jun chose vermicelli noodles, and Shi Mingxu chose a piece of firm tofu.
[Happy snack goods ^ O ^: Well, no one choose the water monster crab. It's very delicious, you know!]
[Yue Mingya: Maybe there's not a lot you could make with water monster crabs? After all, apart from the spicy and steamed crabs that Tang Tang made, I haven't seen anything else. But it won't be interesting if they just copied Tang Tang's dishes.]
[Bai Yi'an: What the commenter above makes sense! Let's see if any of the other contestants choose the water monster crab. ]
After the three finished selecting their ingredients, President Gu took them out of the ingredients room and returned them to the site. Looking at these three lucky people, the other people began to size them up, trying to guess the topic for today's contest.
"Okay, now to present the three main ingredients."
As Ruan Tang's voice fell, an intelligent robot pushed out a transparent water tank. Inside the three aquatic creatures danced about. These were the three main ingredients — fish, shrimp and crab.
After seeing these three main ingredients, some people were happy, but others frowned.
Then, smart robots carried in wooden boxes and placed them on the cooking table next to the players.
Ruan Tang, "There is a set amount of ingredients in the mystery box. Now, please choose the main ingredient you'd like to use."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions became even tenser. The compatibility of each ingredient was different, yet they had to choose their main ingredient without knowing what ingredients were in the mystery box. It really made people feel very uneasy.
In order to increase the possibility of making a good match-up, most people chose the fish or shrimp. Because the crabs had a strong taste, few contestants chose it. Only three people chose it, and they are relatively low-ranked contestants. Obviously, they were hoping to rely on this to bring about a decisive turn for the better.
After everyone had made their choices, Ruan Tang continued, "Next, please open the mystery box and use the ingredients in it to match with your chosen main ingredient to make an amazing dish."
With the exception of Zha Panpan and the two others, almost all of the players took a deep breath, slowly opening the wooden box on their table with much anxiety. There were many ingredients in it, but none seemed to match particularly well with today's main ingredients: lotus root, vermicelli, tofu, eggs, flour, tomato, pepper and celery.
[To live up to you, live up to Qing: Hey! I just checked Zha Panpan and the other two's chosen ingredients. All of them are included in the mystery box. Is this a coincidence or a conspiracy? [Can't help but show a scheming look.jpg]]
[Hand over the dried fish to the meow: Wow, the judges are pretty sneaky. That must have been intentional!]
[Lin Jing'an: Hahahaha, I just took a look at those three. They look like they want to cry from anger. 23333]
Soon, the match officially started, and the players tried their best to create a dish that would conquer the taste buds of the audience. Faint blue flames or bright yellow flames — flames of varying degrees rose up on their stoves. The sound of sizzling hot oil immediately came one after the other.
As before, the three judges observed the contestants on the field. They paid particular attention to Zha Panpan, Cao Jun and Shi Mingxu.
Each person's specialties and abilities were different, and you could find a clue in the way they prepared the ingredients. For example, when deveining the shrimp, Cao Jun's method was nearly perfect. He used scissors and started from the raised thorn in the middle of the shrimp head. he used the flat side of the scissors to take out the shrimp's brain, followed by the long digestive track. It was very fast and thorough.
Others also knew how to use this method. But instead of mastering it well, the shrimp heads would end up in a mess, and they would fail in pulling out the entire digestive track. You could also use a toothpick to pull out the digestive track but often times it would break in the middle. The contestants would just muddle through, trying to make the best out of their mistake, and directly put the shrimps into the pot.
Ruan Tang, President Gu, and Ge Lao would shake their heads upon seeing this. This in turn would affect those players who had poorer mental fortitude. Seeing these contestant act all flustered, the three judges didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.
They didn't dare place additional pressure on these players so they could only go and observe other people. People like Zha Panpan, Cao Jun and Shi Mingxu, who because of their strong abilities also had a stronger mentality than the others.
Zha Panpan was making a spicy fish stir-fry with lotus root slices. It was a quick-fry dish, using the high heat to lock in the fish's umami and the lotus root's sweetness. She had first used hot water to blanch the lotus root until it could easily be snapped off. She then deboned the Chinese perch and sliced it into fillets. She used white vinegar to remove the fishiness from the Perch. She then put the two together in a frying pan and stir-fried. She seasoned it with a little fresh soy sauce and salt. After adding the red chili peppers, she quickly took it out the pan.
She brought the dish out and looked at Ruan Tang standing to the side. She didn't know whether to let him eat it here or if she should send the dish to the judges' table first. There was no one on the judges' seats as they were all strolling around the venue.
"I'll have a taste of it here." Ruan Tang couldn't help laughing. He picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.
Zha Panpan had great mastery of heat control. The fish was very smooth and tender while also tasting savory and spicy. It even had a hint of sweetness from the lotus root. This dish used a lot of oil, but since she chose to use the lotus root, it was able to absorb the oil. As a result, the oil was locked in the ingredients. It had also absorbed the savory and spicy seasonings, giving it a strong taste while also cutting down on the greasy feeling.
Ruan Tang nodded slightly, looked at Zha Panpan's expectant eyes, and smiled, "It's well done. The fish is very tasty, and the spiciness is just right. I say you pass."
Zha Panpan's eyes suddenly brightened and she bowed to him, "Thank you!"
Ruan Tang smiled again and said, "But this dish could still be improved. Your lotus root was cut a bit too big. It would be better to dice them, which would result in better flavor absorption. In addition, you chose vinegar, which had a stronger sour taste. You could add a little water to the vinegar to reduce the acidity of the vinegar, so as not to let the fish absorb it and cause a dissonant taste. Or, you could just use rice vinegar. "
However, these details were all flowers on brocade and wouldn't have an effect on the results.
"Ah, I see, then I will pay attention next time!" Zha Panpan listened to him seriously, then nodded, indicating that she had taken note of these. Ruan Tang encouraged her once again and then went to the two other seeded players.
Cao Jun had used vermicelli, chili and celery with the delicious prawns to create a shrimp and vermicelli clay pot dish. He wrapped the shrimp with a thin layer or flour before frying it and then setting it aside. He then used another pan, to sauté the ginger slices, minced garlic and red pepper. Once they had turned fragrant, he put the water-soaked vermicelli, celery and shrimps in the pan. He let it boil over low heat, and then added pepper, salt and a little sugar for seasoning.
In fact, his approach was based on the Emperor of the Seas Clay pot dish made by Ruan Tang a while ago. The main ingredients of the Emperor of the Seas Clay pot dish were cuttlefish, scallops, crab, shiitake mushrooms, leek, carrots, onions, ginger, garlic, etc. The taste was delicious and rich, a true delicacy. But the shrimp and vermicelli didn't have strong tastes. The celery had a relatively strong taste, but it leaned towards a slightly bitter vegetable taste. He could only rely on the spicy chili to flavor his shrimp. Thus, when compared to Ruan Tang's Emperor of the Seas Clay pot dish, his Shrimp and Vermicelli Clay pot dish tasted a lot blander.
Ruan Tang had a taste of the dish and thought that it wasn't bad. Though it would be difficult to place in the top 3, it shouldn't be a problem to get into the top 50.
However, Shi Mingxu's dish was more surprising. The soup he made looked a bit like the Thai dish, Tom Yum Goong. The main ingredients were celery sticks, firm tofu, tomatoes and prawns. The taste was sour and sweet. The shrimp had absorbed a lot of the soup and was very flavorful. The tofu had been stewed soft and a single bite floods your entire mouth with the soup. The taste was quite good.
But what made this dish surprising was that this probably wasn't the dish he had in mind in the beginning. After all, when he chose the ingredients, he didn't know what were in the mystery box. That he could quickly and cleverly utilize the tomatoes and celery, made Ruan Tang very optimistic about his creative ability.
There were also many other contestants who were experts at handling fish and shrimp. After all, they all made ample preparations before the match. Some people used fish, celery, firm tofu and other ingredients to make a fresh fish stew; some people made dry-fried fish maw, adding vermicelli to absorb the oil and umami; others used pepper, celery and fish to make spicy stir-fried fish fillet. They all stood out with a good number of votes and successfully advanced to the top 50.
There was also relatively low-ranked contestant who showed a very impressive performance this time. He chose prawns as his main ingredient. He removed the shrimp head, deshelled and deveined it. He processed more than a dozen shrimps. Amongst the ingredients in the mystery box, he picked lotus root, tofu, tomato, pepper and celery — no less than five ingredients.
He walked round and round the seasoning area and then finally picked out a small bowl of spicy soup base. He then went back to heat oil in a pan, he poured in the soup base, put in minced garlic and waited until it turned fragrant before putting in the ingredients one by one. Finally, he added soy sauce, cumin, salt and ground peanuts, to create an original spicy fragrant hot pot.
Ruan Tang took a sip and immediately passed him without any hesitation. The other audience members were also very amazed at his dish and gave him a fairly high number of votes, sending him directly into the top three.
As for the other contestants who showed a mediocre performance and did not have any new ideas, they were without a doubt, eliminated from the competition.
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