Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 233: The traps left by the competition organizers, the contestants' understanding of the test questions, and 21 chicken frames being put into the pot at the same time.
The skeleton remaining after removing the skin, breast, legs, wings, feet, head, and internal organs of a whole chicken is called the "chicken carcass".

Its initial form consisted of 70% bone, about 7% chicken skin, and the rest was the part Xia Ming mentioned earlier.

Actually, many people are unfamiliar with the ingredient "chicken frame".

Young chefs, especially those in southern China, have very little knowledge of this ingredient.

This is mainly because they do not have the opportunity to handle this ingredient in large quantities.

Chefs from the north might be slightly better at it, but chefs who live overseas are completely clueless about it.

Jing Ran felt exactly that way at that moment; he thought the people who set the questions in China had gone mad.

"Frozen chicken frames? Are you kidding me?! How can you even use that???"

Although the organizers gave Jingran 20 minutes to prepare the materials, the biggest problem was that he had no ideas.

In contrast, Kang Xincheng, a level 7 chef from the West, had a much better mindset.

Unlike Jing Ran, Kang Xincheng mainly researched his skills in China, so he was naturally familiar with popular snacks like fried chicken frames that have become popular in the last two years.

"I guess many people would choose fried chicken frames, stir-fried chicken frames, or smoked chicken frames?"

Thinking of this, Kang Xincheng looked up at Xia Ming's back not far away.

"I wonder how he will choose to prepare the chicken carcass?"

At this moment, Xia Ming, who was being stared at by Kang Xincheng, raised his eyebrows slightly as he looked at the frozen chicken frame in front of him.

It must be said that although the questions were tricky, the organizers still prepared a wide variety of main ingredients.

Contrary to the stereotype that chicken frames are just bones, Xia Ming knows that chicken frames are now categorized into different types.

"The one on the far left has a lot of fat, the skeleton itself isn't very big, and most of the meat has been removed; it's an 'old hen skeleton.'"

"Most restaurants sell this to chicken carcasses for making broth. Apart from that, there are basically no other uses for cooking this chicken carcass."

"The second box from the left contains chicken bones that look like they're of poor quality. They've been frozen for a while, and the color of the marrow inside has changed. You can tell they're from a rooster."

Xia Ming knew that this pile of incorrect options was deliberately placed there by the competition organizers to confuse the audience and eliminate chefs who knew nothing about chicken frames.

"It's quite remarkable that they could find such a poor source of goods. After all, it's usually difficult to find such substandard chicken frames."

China's chicken farming industry is very developed now, with a high output of white-feathered chickens. Chicken carcasses are considered the worst of the worst by-products for factories.

The lowest wholesale price on the market is 8 cents per chicken carcass. In terms of factory processes, the chicken carcass is flash-frozen and then packed into boxes as soon as it is removed from the carcass.

This kind of thing is still considered a "trendy snack" now, with a fixed supply channel.

In the past, the basic approach was to sell the food first, and if it didn't sell, they would make pet food. If the pet food still didn't sell, they would grind it into bone meal. If they couldn't even get bone meal, they could just throw it away.

The storage fees for large cold storage facilities are much higher than those for chicken frames, so it's very difficult to find "antique" chicken frames.
Let alone the "Shang and Zhou" period, if the factory has a wide sales network, you won't even be able to find chicken frames from last week.

Of course, although people may not know much about chicken frames, most chefs do have some knowledge of frozen foods.

So until now, the chicken carcasses in the second box from the left have basically been untouched.

Xia Ming also looked at the three boxes on the left.

"This box of chicken frames looks like it has a lot of bones, and it's practically impossible to find any meat anywhere. It's clearly the most basic version of a chicken frame, also known as a 'chicken carcass.'"

"The highest percentage of bones in chicken shells can be over 75%, so you can say there's practically nothing to eat."

That's what they say, but Xia Ming also saw relevant records in his memory. The chicken frames in the East Third District were all like this at the beginning.

"The environment is bad, so we stew chicken frames with potatoes. Adults eat potatoes while it snows, and kids slurp up chicken frames and bits of meat."

"Not bad, at least we still have chicken frames to eat!"

Suffering was nothing to Xia Ming, who came from the Nine Provinces Continent.

He felt no sadness whatsoever about the past associated with "chicken frames".

Compared to the miserable lives of most mortals on the Nine Provinces Continent, being able to drink wine and eat potatoes was already considered a great blessing in his eyes.

"Although there's no meat, this so-called 'chicken shell' perfectly fits the definition of 'ordinary' in the title."

"After all, this is the limit that the factory can do. Trying to squeeze more parts out of this chicken would be a losing proposition."

After thinking for a moment, Xia Ming took two "chicken shells" directly into the basket.

The viewers in the live stream were somewhat surprised to see this.

What is Xia Ming doing? Those bones look like they have hardly any meat on them, what can you even do with them?

[You don't know anything about chicken frames, do you? Are you planning to use them to make soup?]

[Is there any difference? At first glance, the chicken frames in these boxes look exactly the same, except for the size!]

Having once sold chicken frames, I have some authority to speak on this. The chicken frames Xia Ming is holding are "vegetarian chicken frames," basically inedible. They don't even use these for barbecue anymore; they don't sell well! I don't understand what he's trying to do.

[Xia Ge must have his reasons for doing this! Keep it up!!! Keep it up!!!]

While netizens were surprised, the other contestants also looked on with curiosity.

Xia Ming is still quite well-known, and his appearance is easily recognizable, so most people in his generation in the industry know him.

Similarly, as his face became more familiar to everyone, people also gained some understanding of his playing habits.

Compared to the confusion of netizens, many contestants' first reaction was...
What kind of trap is Xia Ming planning to set now?

"There's definitely something wrong with this. Who takes only bones and not the meat?!"

"Are you planning to 'smoke' us? Maybe you'll mix up a really awful grass scent to completely block out our sense of smell."

"No, I suspect he wants to use blood marrow!"

"Is it even possible to cook with chicken blood marrow? That stuff isn't very tasty!"

"Never mind that, he can't just do nothing."

Seeing the wariness in the eyes of the other contestants and hearing their hushed whispers, Xia Ming smiled slightly.

"They may have misunderstood. The reason for using 'strategies and tactics' is often to ensure victory or to save effort."

"Essentially, it is a choice made to achieve a goal."

"But that doesn't mean I only use underhanded methods. In fact, most of the time, directly overwhelming the opponent with strength is the most convenient and quickest way." Of course, Xia Ming wouldn't tell the other contestants what he was thinking.

Just like how he often rubs his nose with the back of his finger, the so-called "Xia Ming from the 'Dark Cuisine World'" is just another layer of disguise he puts on for himself.

"When every action a person takes is viewed with calculation in the eyes of others..."

"Then some people will subconsciously start to fill in the blanks, start to have self-fear, and start to look for an explanation that they think is reasonable."

The saying goes, "A person's reputation casts a shadow on their character." When people begin to believe stereotypes, their judgment often becomes flawed, causing them to overlook the most truthful things.

Indeed, Xia Ming knew that the methods he always used were extremely easy for people to guard against, and the best way was to adapt to changing circumstances.

When a person can use both tactics and adjust their strategies at any time, overwhelming others with their personal strength, then that person can truly be unpredictable.

Just as his actions are being over-interpreted right now, Xia Ming's original intention is no longer important.
The important thing is, in the eyes of these contestants, what is Xia Ming's purpose in doing this?
Of course, Xia Ming's smile at this moment seemed to these contestants like the scythe of death raised by the Grim Reaper.

In just a moment, many people subconsciously quickened their pace in selecting ingredients, seemingly wanting to present their dishes before Xia Ming.

Although some people on short videos have summarized that the dishes he presented before and after didn't actually have that much impact on the final outcome.

After all, if you can't beat someone, you can't beat them; don't harbor any unrealistic fantasies.

However, many contestants still prefer to believe the conclusions drawn by bloggers earlier.

[“Xia Ming’s First Move Guaranteed Victory” Theory: To get a high score, always remember to serve your dish before he does.]

While everyone else was speeding up their work, Xia Ming continued to leisurely pick at the chicken carcasses at the back.

"After the chicken carcass, we come to the standard 'chicken breast,' which is the part everyone loves to see."

Xia Ming smiled as he took out a chicken carcass from his basket, compared to the chicken carcasses in his other basket.
The chicken carcass in my hand clearly shows two narrow strips of chicken breast meat at the breast position.

On the other side, the chicken frame that the contestants were scrambling to grab had a whole piece of seemingly intact chicken breast meat on its chest.

The former is called "small chicken breast" and the latter is called "large chicken breast". The difference is obvious: how much chicken breast meat is left.

Unlike the "chicken carcass" Xia Ming took, these two chicken frames have a much wider range of uses.
Chicken breast is the most common ingredient for grilled chicken frames. It is an excellent main ingredient whether grilled, roasted, smoked, or mixed.

Because there is not much chicken breast left, it doesn't cause the choking sensation that can occur with large pieces of chicken breast. It's a part with an extremely balanced sucking and meaty texture.

At this moment, three or four cardboard boxes have been emptied of the "chicken chest frame" space. Based on a quantity of about 23 pieces per box, more than 70 "chicken chest frames" have already been taken away.

Unlike the "small chicken breast rack" which is suitable for grilling, the "large chicken breast rack" is more expensive (around 3.5 yuan per pair) and has more uses.

The most common way to prepare it is as "stir-fried chicken frames," since there's more meat on them, and the texture is much better than just bones.
Of course, because of its low price, it often appears in various low-priced fast food meals.
Functions include but are not limited to
"Used to imitate spicy chicken"

"Used to pretend she's a slightly thinner stir-fried chicken."
Since it is indeed chicken, most people can't tell the difference; at most, they might think there are a lot of bones.

Clearly, most of those who know these usages are experienced professionals.

Xia Ming witnessed a master chef fumble around for a long time before taking out three chicken frames and leaving them behind. Judging from the remaining parts, he was definitely going to use them to make spicy chicken.

"It's a good solution, simple and efficient, but it requires sacrificing some flavor."

Xia Ming reached into the "big chicken breast frame" and rummaged through it, finally picking out a pair to take away.

He had no intention of using this to make spicy chicken, because the chicken skeleton lacked the soul of spicy chicken.
"Chicken skin"

Just as Xia Ming was selecting chicken frames, Zheng Zeqian and Yang Yanbin simultaneously realized the problem with the chicken skin.

Don't be fooled by how oily chicken skin can sometimes be; if you want to make a stir-fry, it really lacks flavor without it.

Seeing the wisps of smoke rising from the competition venue, the two of them knew that techniques like "barbecuing chicken frames" would definitely have a super high plagiarism rate.

The two also knew that once something involved grilling, the criteria for judging its taste would most likely become "seasoning" + "cooking time".

They don't look down on barbecue; it's actually quite difficult to perfect barbecue.

However, in the "Hua 5 Level" competition, with a clear theme, the hope of getting a high score by making popular dishes is indeed slim.

However, even though they both cooked stir-fries, their understanding of the theme differed.

Yang Yanbin believes that "the extraordinary in the ordinary" means transforming seemingly ordinary ingredients into something high-end.

Therefore, his final idea was to use a "large chicken breast frame" and then, with exquisite knife skills, completely remove the chicken bones and make a bowl from the bones.

Then, the chicken breast is made into "Fuyun Chicken Floss" and finally served in a bowl, and then garnished with other decorations.

The original intention was that "as long as you have eyes to see beauty, all the ordinary will become extraordinary."

Unlike his understanding, Zheng Zeqian believes that the so-called "ordinary" and "extraordinary" are essentially the same thing.

"Whether a person is ordinary or not is often not up to them, and the same goes for an ingredient!"

"Even using only the simplest chicken frame, as long as the other side dishes are properly matched, it can still present an excellent taste."

So, in order to realize this idea, he chose to take the "chicken trident bone" out of the chicken carcass and prepared to use the most common method of "first braising and then stir-frying" to make it.

Unlike them, Chen Xiaodong has a different way of understanding it.

"The so-called extraordinary within the ordinary lies in compensating for a weakness in the ingredients, and the most common weakness of chicken frames is that they are 'tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away.'"

"If there's not much meat, people might think it's not worth eating. But that's precisely the problem, and it's something you have to overcome."

Chen Xiaodong deliberately didn't choose the chicken carcass with more meat, but instead chose the "small chicken breast carcass," showing his simple and down-to-earth thinking.

By simply pouring sauce over the chicken carcass, the juices from the chicken breast are kept at their optimal level. This allows the judges to enjoy the chicken carcass while also savoring the delicious meat.

Unlike him, socially awkward Hu Xing felt the problem wasn't that complicated.

"The chicken carcass is ordinary, but the dish it becomes extraordinary. In that case, a pot of medicinal cuisine would be perfect."

Just as she took away the old hen carcass, Jingran finally turned the problem to his usual way of thinking.

He has now decided to use chicken frames to make a "chicken skin roll Japanese dish," however, this may require a higher degree of precision in maintaining the integrity of the skin on the back of the chicken frame.
While all the contestants were busy, Xia Ming no longer concealed his intentions and made a swift move.

In addition to the first two "chicken carcasses", 21 other chicken carcasses were selected from the available ones.

In the end, I just cobbled together a cardboard box, carried the whole thing to my stove.
Just as everyone was wondering what he was going to do, they discovered that he turned on all six gas valves on the stove at once, then took six soup pots of different sizes, filled them with some water, and boiled them.

Then, thaw the 21 chicken frames under running water at high speed, and after basic cleaning, separate them and put them into the pot.
On the judges' panel, Yin Shengjiang narrowed his eyes upon seeing this.

"21 chickens cooked in the same pot? And two unused 'chicken shells'... What exactly is Xia Ming trying to do?"

(End of this chapter)