The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 485 The Organizers Make an Appearance
While the fish head was steaming, Qin Lang had already chopped a handful of scallions. Now, he sprinkled half of the scallions evenly over the bright red chopped chili peppers. The visual beauty was immediately apparent when the lush green scallions met the bright and tempting red chopped chili peppers.

The orange-red oil left over from frying the chopped chili peppers now comes in handy.

After quickly reheating the oil over high heat, pour it evenly and slowly over the chopped chili fish head.

Countless tiny bubbles appeared, accompanied by the sizzling sound of oil and an irresistible aroma for Qin Lang.

The aroma is a blend of scallion fragrance released from boiling oil, spicy and savory flavors from stir-fried chopped chili peppers, and rich garlic aroma, as well as the fish flavor that emerges from the slightly charred surface of the fish meat when it meets the boiling oil.

Sprinkle the remaining chopped green onions on top, and the chopped chili fish head is done!
"Ding--"

The moment the cooking was finished, Qin Lang slapped the serving bell, and almost at the same time, the serving bell on the other side rang.

Such a coincidence?
Qin Lang looked up at the other side with some surprise.

His chopped chili fish head dish already had a fairly short cooking time. The three different steaming processes only took ten minutes in total. With the pre-treatment and marinating, the entire cooking process was perfectly compressed into less than half an hour.

What dishes did Xie Rui cook? And he cooked them so quickly?

Meeting Qin Lang's gaze, Xie Rui's eyes were filled with intense fighting spirit. "I've been looking forward to this battle with you all day."

"Hope, don't let me down."

"Don't worry, it won't happen." Qin Lang smiled confidently.

The two carried their dishes to the judging panel at the same time, but when they saw what was happening there, they were both stunned.

In the previous preliminary rounds, there were a total of twenty judges, and seven of them were selected for the second round of judging.

The judging criteria are fairly standard: a vote-based selection process, with the contestant receiving the most votes advancing to the next round.

Now that it's the finals, both of them thought it would be the same seven judges, but there was only one person sitting on the judging panel.

And he was a complete stranger—a middle-aged man in a suit and tie, with his hair slicked back and only a single strand falling across his forehead.

Seeing the two's confusion, the host explained loudly, "At the request of the organizers, there will only be one judge for the final competition, and that is Mr. Mengchang in front of you."

"The dishes will be judged by Mr. Mengchang himself, who will ultimately decide which of the two will be the winner of today's cooking competition."

"The ultimate winner will receive a commemorative medal and a prize of five million. So, who among the two will be the winner?" The host paused, pointing to the judges' panel.

"Now, please, Mr. Mengchang, step forward to judge!"

“I watched both of you cook the whole time,” Meng Chang said with a smile. “Truly, heroes emerge from among the young. Both of you are so young, yet you both possess extraordinary culinary skills.”

"I couldn't resist the urge, so I made the decision to judge alone. But don't worry, I will maintain the most public attitude and decide who among you will be the winner."

Hearing this, Xie Rui nodded, acknowledging the temporary change to the competition format, while Qin Lang's eyes flickered slightly.

Without a doubt, the person with the authority to make last-minute changes to the competition and to remove other judges from the stage to serve as judges must be someone from the organizers.

Moreover, they are people with a certain degree of influence!

So, the organizers of this event have finally appeared? Thinking of this, Qin Lang subtly scrutinized the other person. Apart from his refined appearance revealing the other person's meticulous character, he couldn't see anything special about him for the time being.

Adhering to a wait-and-see approach, Qin Lang nodded in agreement with Xie Rui, expressing his approval of the changes to the competition format.

"Now, let me taste your culinary skills." Meng Chang smiled slightly. "Although the two of you pressed the food bell at very close time, the results displayed on the back end show that Qin Lang pressed the bell faster."

"Therefore, I will first taste Qin Lang's cooking."

As he spoke, Meng Chang's gaze fell on the fish head covered with a thick layer of red chopped chili peppers and green scallions. Just seeing the red color that caught his eye made his mouth water.

As he approached the dish, an incredibly rich and spicy aroma, combined with the fresh fragrance of the fish head, assaulted Mengchang's nostrils.

"What an appetizing dish!" Meng Chang said sincerely, then picked up his chopsticks and easily pried open the gill cover, instantly revealing the reddish fish meat in the gill area of ​​the fish head.

Seeing this, Qin Lang's eyes lit up.

Meng Chang chose the most tender piece of cheek meat from the fish head. This piece of meat is rich in myoglobin, so even when fully cooked, some areas will still show a dark red color, making it look like it's undercooked, unlike ordinary fish meat which turns white.

However, precisely because it is rich in myoglobin, this piece of meat has a stronger fishy smell than other fish meat.

Therefore, whether the fishy smell is properly handled and whether the heat is just right during the cooking process of chopped chili fish head can be judged entirely by tasting the texture and flavor of this piece of meat.

Without any trial and error, the man in front of them flipped open the gill cover on the fish head, which was completely covered with chopped chili peppers, and chose to start with the fish face meat. This one move alone demonstrated that he had considerable culinary skills and a thorough understanding of the structure of ingredients.

For a moment, Qin Lang couldn't help but become even more curious about the identity of the person in front of him.

"Hmm~"

A pleasant hum came from Mengchang's mouth.

The moment the fish cheek meat touches your mouth, the tender and juicy texture of the fish meat, preserved during the steaming process, bursts forth.

What surprised Meng Chang even more was that even though it was protected by the gill cover, the chopped chili peppers on the outside still penetrated the fish meat very well. The unique spicy flavor blended perfectly with the freshness of the fish meat itself, as if the two were an inseparable whole.

This taste...

"It's absolutely amazing and wonderful."

Meng Chang sighed softly, and then his chopsticks skipped over the already opened gill cover and appeared on the front part of the fish body attached to the fish head.

The flesh of the fish body is not as tender as the flesh of the fish face. If you eat the fish face meat first and then eat the fish body meat directly, the difference in texture will make the flaws of the fish body meat even more obvious.

At this point, any oversight in processing the fish meat will result in the fish meat becoming scraps.

Qin Lang pursed his lips slightly.

This man named Mengchang has such a discerning way of tasting!

(End of this chapter)