Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

　Zhuang Lei's face was full of arrogance, because he knew he could no longer go up against Liu Xiaotian, so he could talk trash without any pressure.

　"Enough with the nonsense, let's get started."

　Not wanting to waste any more time talking to the person in front of her, Erina Nakiri wanted to start the match quickly, so she looked at the host.

　In an effort to liven up the atmosphere, the host not only did not intervene in the two's argument, but also seemed to enjoy the spectacle.

　"It seems that the Nagi is ready to go. Now, let our staff bring out the fish-themed ingredients!"

　As they were talking, a commotion came from behind the staff passageways on both sides, and staff members carrying trays came out one by one.

　They wore polite smiles, and their trays were filled with various fish and related ingredients.

　Freshwater fish, saltwater fish, and even lobsters and crabs, while vegetables include onions, carrots, celery, and tomatoes.

　Seasonings include salt, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, cooking wine, MSG, and chicken bouillon. Spices such as star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves are also present.

　"Who do you think will win between the two down there?"

　"I dare not make wild guesses. Yesterday I thought Liu Xiaotian would definitely win, so I made a bet with my friend and lost a Crazy Thursday meal."

　It's unbelievable that last year's champion was eliminated in the first round. It makes you realize just how formidable the world of bizarre cooking is.

　"Indeed, if the previous ones were acceptable, but now someone has suddenly appeared who directly defeated the previous champion, that's just too outrageous!"

　As Zhuang Lei and Erina Nakiri were selecting ingredients, sporadic discussions arose from the audience. These discussions grew louder and eventually turned into a debate, with the focus being on who would win between the two on stage.

　"How many contestants from the dark cuisine world have come? It's been their people for days on end! It feels like the Fujian Youth Chef Competition is being invaded."

　"There should be quite a few of them, but the difference in strength is quite large. The powerful ones are ridiculously powerful and directly defeated the champion, while the weak ones are only at the level of a special grader."

　"How dare you say something like 'just a Special Grade'? When did Special Grade become something so insignificant...?"

　Hearing the man's somewhat boastful remarks, those around him rolled their eyes. The fact that he could still create a top-tier dish under such constraints already spoke volumes about his skill.

　"That's the gist of it. There's a clear difference in strength, so don't make a big deal out of it!"

　The man said somewhat angrily, then turned his head away and stopped talking, looking like he had been upset.

　For a moment, the scene was filled with cheerful laughter. Everyone stared at the arena in front of them, quietly watching the two contestants choose and guess what dishes they would make.

　Before long, the two contestants placed their chosen ingredients on their respective cooking tables, and the host stepped forward at that moment.

　Zhuang Lei chose mackerel, hairy crab, eggs, cornstarch, salt, and white...

　Pepper powder, scallions, ginger, MSG, and peanut oil.

　The contestant chose sea bass, black tiger prawns, salmon roe, soy sauce, black pepper powder, tapioca starch, a three-year-old hen, onions, celery, and carrots.

　Now we move on to the anchoring phase; each side will choose three ingredients.

　"Mackerel, hairy crab, peanut oil."

　Zhuang Lei's voice rang out without the slightest hesitation. In his cooking, only these three ingredients were indispensable; the others were optional.

　"Sea bass, black tiger prawns, and a three-year-old hen."

　Erina Nakiri made her decision just as quickly, having her own plans in mind.

　The ingredients chosen by the two are largely complementary, so no matter what ingredient the other takes away, she can take it back in the next round.

　Clearly, Zhuang Lei shared similar thoughts with her.

　In the next mutual selection process, Erina Nakiri took the salt, and he took the soy sauce.

　He took away Erina Nakiri's onions and celery, and Erina Nakiri took away his scallions and ginger, so neither of them gained an advantage over the other.

　"After watching yesterday's game, today's games just don't feel very interesting."

　"Come on, that tofu dish took four hours to make yesterday, just for that final shudder. Although the dish was great, it wasn't very visually appealing!"

　Hearing what the audience next to her said, a girl couldn't help but purse her lips in rebuttal.

　She prefers a quick two-hour match to one that lasts five hours, as it's not only faster-paced but also more exciting!

　Even if the food served is not quite up to par, they are the audience, not the judges. Since they can't eat the food, they should appreciate the cooking performance even more.

　"You came to watch this game, wasn't it all for that final scare?"

　After being refuted, the spectators nearby couldn't help but mutter. "Everyone came to watch the match to find out who's stronger and who's weaker, right?"

　“I do have some spiritual pursuits, not just for such low-level needs.”

　The girl shrugged, realizing she couldn't reason with him, and ignored him, focusing intently on the match. At that moment, Erina Nakiri had already taken action.

　Place the sea bass on the cutting board, knock it unconscious with the back of the knife, then scrape off the scales from tail to head, cut open the belly, and remove the internal organs.

　Remove the head and tail, slice the fish open along the spine, remove the spine with a knife, pick out the small bones with tweezers, and then make a cut on the surface with the back of a knife to check for any omissions.

　Although there were no fancy techniques, the basic skills were very solid. The whole process only took one minute, which was more concise and efficient than the most skilled fishmonger in the seafood market.

　"Speaking of the shrimp in the first round of the competition, and the fish now, they are all aquatic products, specialties of Fuzhou. As locals, we have a natural advantage."

　Zhang Zhong couldn't help but comment that for people living by the sea in Fuzhou, seafood-related dishes are undoubtedly a huge advantage.

　"It all depends on the players' performance and whether they can turn these advantages into victory. Both sides chose to pair fish with a certain seafood product."

　While this method maximizes the umami flavor of the seafood, it could also lead to an over-synergistic effect, resulting in a mixed flavor profile.

　Jinshan squinted, his hands tucked into his sleeves, calmly scrutinizing the two contestants before him.

　"If that's the case, then fish aren't fish, shrimp aren't shrimp, and crabs aren't crabs. Isn't that how that little guy in the first round lost his match?"

　Chu Qiu shook his head, thinking of Zhong Yi, who lost the first match. It was precisely because he was too obsessed with seafood that his own cooking became ordinary.

　"Let's wait and see, maybe they can bring us some unexpected surprises."

　Watching the two contestants neck and neck on the field, the three judges on the panel began to discuss.

　There was a cup of hot tea on their table. When they felt thirsty while talking, they would pick up the teacup and take a sip, looking extremely relaxed and content.

Chapter 248 How did this guy even make it into the main competition?!

　On the playing field.

　After processing the fish, Erina Nakiri quickly slaughtered the old hen, removing its internal organs and chopping it into pieces. She then added the fish bones and simmered them together to make fish bone and chicken soup.

　After processing the chicken and fish, all that's left are the shrimp in the net basket. The black tiger shrimp are relatively large and easier to handle.

　Erina Nakiri prepared the shrimp in less than five minutes, separating the shells and brains.

　Although this dish most likely doesn't require shrimp shells and shrimp brains, as a professional chef, Erina Nakiri will still prepare them properly.

　Just in case a brilliant idea strikes later, it might come in handy.

　After preparing all the ingredients, place the sea bass and shrimp meat together on the cutting board, mince two-thirds of it, and cut the remaining one-third into small cubes.

　This method ensures the best possible texture for the filling; if both are processed too finely, the filling will have no texture whatsoever.

　Mix the prepared fish paste and shrimp paste together, add water, cornstarch, salt, black pepper, chopped green onion and ginger, and stir clockwise until it becomes a paste.

　Next, add salmon roe to the surface to further enhance the texture and flavor. After that, set it aside to rest.

　After cleaning the sea bass belly, blanch it in boiling water with scallions and ginger to remove any fishy smell. This will serve as the container for stuffing the shrimp paste later.

　"It would be nice to have eggs, what a pity."

　Looking at Zhuang Lei with eggs on the table not far away, Nakiri E...

　Rina felt a pang of regret.

　If the egg on Zhuang Lei's table is hers, then her cooking skills can be improved even further.

　For a perfectionist like her, the lack of raw materials was truly agonizing, but she had no choice but to do her best.

　With the fish maw and fillings prepared, Erina Nakiri looked at the fish bone and chicken soup simmering not far away. It was just bubbling slightly and would be difficult to finish in a short time.

　So she decided to rest and looked at Zhuang Lei at the kitchen counter across from her.

　At that moment, Zhuang Lei had just finished killing the mackerel and was using a kitchen knife to scrape the fish meat off the bones.

　It is worth mentioning that mackerel has firm and delicate flesh, moderate fat content, and a tender taste after cooking, making it suitable for various cooking methods.

　Its unique seafood flavor and tender, rich texture make it the best choice for making dishes such as fish balls, fish dumplings, and fish cakes.

　What Zhuang Lei is about to do is to make fish balls, a Fuzhou specialty dish that is best suited to be made with mackerel.

　"Hahaha, let's take it apart!"

　Once he got into cooking mode, Zhuang Lei's eyes went wild, his hands became extremely violent, and the noise from the cooking counter was deafening.

　"Are you preparing to make fish balls?"

　"It certainly looks like that. I remember that guy just took a hairy crab. If I'm not mistaken, he probably wanted to make stuffed fish balls, and the 'heart' would most likely be crab roe."

　"Crab roe fish balls? Not many people know how to make this dish. It was once served at state banquets, and it requires a high level of skill from the chef. The taste is delicious."

　Now it all depends on Zhuang Lei's culinary skills; can he bring out the deliciousness of this dish?

　"The other Nagi contestant's dish seems to be of the same type, using fish maw as an outer layer and a mixture of shrimp paste and fish paste as a filling, similar to a sausage? A very creative idea!"

　Watching the two preparing the food, the judges on the judging panel started discussing it again, and Bai Yuan, watching from the audience, also found it very interesting.

　Crab roe fish balls are a classic dish, considered top-quality even in Fuzhou, a place where fish ball dishes are plentiful, making them perfect for a competition.

　On the other hand, Erina Nakiri's dish using fish maw is a less common method.

　Fish maw, as a type of fish offal, was discarded hundreds of years ago. Later, a starving person, having nothing else to eat, went to collect discarded fish offal and was surprised to find that the fish maw tasted even more delicious than the fish meat.

　So he made up his mind that he must open a restaurant that sells fish maw in the future. After five years of hard work, he finally launched the fish maw hot pot.

　Fish maw has thus become a well-known and popular dish. Due to its unique taste, many people have developed dishes specifically for it, and now its price is even higher than that of fish meat.

　Because it not only contains high-quality collagen, but also has a tender and bouncy texture, it has won the hearts of many people, and some people even can't eat without it.

　Using such ingredients to make the outer skin can perfectly inherit all its advantages, which is also Erina Nakiri's plan!

　A qualified chef should be able to quickly assess the properties of the ingredients they have and react swiftly.

　"Erina's progress in the past six months has been really remarkable."

　Beside her, Alice Nakiri sighed in agreement.

　She remembered that when she first came back, she had a match with Erina Nakiri. At that time, Erina's skill level was very low. She could easily beat her with any dish she made. She was not serious at all.

　But now, if she wants to defeat Erina Nakiri, she needs to be a little more serious.

　"Judging from the opponent's cooking techniques, their skill level is roughly between a first-class chef and a master chef. They are capable of making master-level dishes, but at most they are only at the beginner level of master chef."