Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 75 Tofu Trio? A Thought That Was Seen Through and the Timing of the Third Round of the Competition
Xie Tingfeng looked at the specks of black pepper floating on the surface of the soup in the bowl, then at the four slightly larger pieces of tofu at the bottom of the bowl, and then looked up at Xia Ming.

Then he picked up a spoon, scooped up the tofu, and put it in his mouth.

The first thing you taste is the broth. The broth doesn't look very rich, but you can clearly taste the duck flavor, and there's even a hint of duck blood in it.

However, the aroma was overwhelmed by the refreshing taste of the tofu in the next second. It was unclear how Xia Ming had prepared the tofu, but he managed to preserve its original tenderness while also infusing the tofu with the flavor of the broth.

This is actually a very difficult thing to do in half an hour.

Just when he thought that was all, the tofu burst open like a popping boba, and he suddenly felt a slightly sour taste enter his mouth, followed by the unique flavor of blood tofu.

The sourness blended with the soup, elevating its umami flavor to another level. The textures of the duck blood and tofu combined, prompting the judges to nod in approval.

Tan Zhifeng chewed the tofu in his mouth and nodded silently.

"That makes sense, so it's tofu and duck blood soup, not duck blood and tofu soup."

"Putting tofu first isn't just about the name; it also represents the hierarchy. Although it's still a fusion of duck blood and tofu, presenting the tofu's flavor first makes it easier to get to the point."

"It is truly commendable that you can come up with this idea in just half an hour and bring something new to an ordinary dish."

Sui Wubai nodded as well.

Actually, the hardest thing to change in Chinese cuisine is classic home-style dishes, because everyone is so familiar with them that it's hard to come up with anything new, let alone add a sour flavor to tofu.

He understood that this step was specially designed to allow the dish to have multiple flavors.

Whether in terms of culinary creativity, public acceptance, or taste, "Tofu and Duck Blood Soup" is undoubtedly the best in this round.

Even Zhang Yong, who played the clown in Sichuan opera, didn't say anything. He just silently took out the pass card. At least so far, his performance has been normal.

Without a doubt, Xia Ming's cooking passed the test.

By this time, more than an hour had passed in the competition, and the judges had eaten a total of eight dishes made with tofu.
Despite some disagreements, everyone passed the test smoothly, meaning that everyone is now on the same starting line.

"In the control room"

Luo Shurong seemed to have anticipated this outcome.

After all, he knew both chefs, and he could even say he watched Wang Qingrui grow up.

Luo Shurong was aware of their skill level.

Luo Jinran goes without saying, but this Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef brought him a little surprise.

Although he had already learned from Luo Yumin that this was a promising talent, his ability to remain calm and composed under such circumstances showed that, in addition to his culinary skills, he also possessed a high level of resilience and adaptability.

This is crucial for novice chefs.
No one is born at the peak. Everyone will face various hardships along the way. Without an extremely good mindset, even the best cooking skills will lead to mistakes under extreme conditions.

Of course, he also noticed Xia Ming's earlier subtle actions, and at this moment, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"The third round, the theme is still tofu! But the time limit has been changed to 25 minutes."

Upon hearing Luo Shurong's words, the chief director behind him was taken aback.

25 minutes? Are you kidding me? 30 minutes is already enough to keep the contestants busy, if you change it to 25 minutes, the spatulas will be smoking from all the waving!

However, he only thought it to himself, without saying a word, and simply agreed, then notified the assistant director. "Inside the competition venue..."

After preparing the two dishes, all four contestants were in good condition.

At this moment, they turned their attention back to the center of the stage, waiting for the next ingredient to appear.

The live stream audience was also debating this evenly matched contest.

Some viewers felt that Luo Luo's cooking in the second round, which was similar to Chef Li's, should not have been passed.

It's obvious that these netizens were influenced by yesterday's withdrawal from the competition and the blind box revival competition. They are now firmly convinced that Luo Luo Heng Heng Ji is the princess and are targeting her.

There's another group of people who are the crystallization of Luo Luo's whining and whining, expressing their mindless support for her!
After all, Luo Luo's appearance is indeed quite good; she can pull off both cute and mature styles, so it's understandable that she has some fans.

Of course, most netizens' judgments followed those of the judges.

Judging from the current situation, the professionalism of the three star judges is indeed slightly inferior to that of the four specially invited judges.

Of the four special guests, Sui Wubai, Li Shanghu, and Tan Zhifeng are often able to pinpoint the essence of cooking with a single insight, so most viewers use these three as benchmarks for their viewing experience.
Some people who are chefs themselves even categorize all the recipes while watching the live stream, and then extract the parts that are useful to them, which can be considered a different kind of exchange.

Just as the live stream was still unfolding with various reactions, the food display table finally rose up again.

Everyone looked up and saw the same familiar recipe and taste.

The third round was still "tofu".

Xia Ming even saw Chef Li standing to the side burst out laughing, but he gradually found himself unable to laugh anymore.
Although I had suspected this situation from the beginning, it was still quite tricky to actually face it.

"If the third round is still full of tofu, then if all the subsequent rounds are full of tofu, the judges' threshold will keep being raised like a snowball."

"Eight, twelve, sixteen, and so on, until there are more than 20 dishes, which basically covers most of the techniques for preparing tofu dishes."

Looking at the tofu bricks in front of him, Xia Ming knew that the biggest problem with this question was the word "repetition".

If a raw material is used repeatedly in a short period of time without any pretreatment, even the judges themselves will get tired of it without the judges having to do anything about it.

And this feeling becomes more and more pronounced as you go on.
"Although we don't know what happened, as things stand, we should use our cooking techniques as soon as possible to secure a spot. If we run into other people later, at least we'll have a head start."

Just as he made up his mind, the time was displayed on the stage.

But this time, it lasted 25 minutes.

Seeing the time, Xia Ming didn't hesitate, rushed over, grabbed the tofu, and ran off.

Like him, Luo Luo was also humming and groaning, but this time she was obviously more flustered than the last time. When she returned to the stove, she even slipped a little.

She had no idea how things had turned out this way; not only were the ingredients wrong, but the timing was also off.

But years of training have allowed her to maintain her basic skills. Since some methods are no longer effective, she will rely entirely on her own abilities!
However, she was still careful. As soon as she returned to the stove, she took some of the firm tofu from her hands, squeezed out as much water as possible, and put it in the freezer.

After returning to the stove, Xia Ming glanced at the two small pots keeping warm beside him. Just like before, these were his lunches.
But at this moment, his eyes seemed to reveal some other thoughts.

A glint of light flashed in Xia Ming's eyes, and he quickly boiled water before rushing to the "kitchen." This time, the dish he was going to make was...
"Imitation Crab Roe Tofu!"

(End of this chapter)