Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

"Please enjoy the famous fish dish, Orange Segment Fish Soup, for the three judges to try."

You shouldn't meet someone too amazing when you're young, otherwise even if the people who come later are more outstanding, it will be hard to win their hearts.

With that thought in mind, Zhou Yike took the lead and served the freshly made orange-sliced ​​fish soup to the judges' table with a confident smile on her face.

Upon hearing her words, the three judges looked over as well. The fish patties, like newly peeled tangerine segments from early spring branches, lay obediently in the clear soup.

They are not perfectly round meatballs, but rather have a graceful curve, with edges as thin as cicada wings, subtly revealing the lustrous white interior.

Its surface is as smooth as a pebble polished by a stream, yet it has the delicate texture unique to fish.

Bathed in the clear broth, the fish shimmered with a warm, jade-like luster, looking incredibly tempting and making one want to taste them.

"Let me try it first."

Bai Yuan was the first to pick up his chopsticks, picked up a piece of orange-sliced ​​fish, and used some skill to successfully put it into his mouth. Then he closed his eyes and carefully savored the taste.

When his teeth broke through the smooth, satin-like outer layer, the expected soft and chewy texture did not arrive. Instead, he experienced an unexpected and wonderfully crisp texture!

This crispness is not the hardness of fried food, but a "crunch" full of elasticity and vitality, as if countless tiny taste buds are dancing happily in your mouth!

"The outer layer of the fish paste is extremely thin and has a delicate fish paste texture, so it melts instantly upon contact with the tongue. However, because it uses crispy minced fish, the first thing you feel when chewing is not the softness of the fish paste, but a firm, crisp, and elastic feeling."

The texture is similar to water chestnuts and fresh squid, but more delicate. This contrast between crispness and tenderness creates tremendous flavor tension.

"This combination of crispness and tenderness is truly irresistible!" Lancy Jon exclaimed sincerely, a look of happiness on her face.

"After the crispness comes the dense elasticity that comes from the fish meat being pounded and refined."

The addition of the ink enhances the flavor, creating a harmonious blend of smoothness, crispness, and bouncy textures that unfold in the mouth. This unprecedented experience sets it apart from other fish and meat dishes, making it stand out from the crowd.

"Unfortunately, there are still many details that could not be handled well, otherwise this dish would be perfect."

Savoring the lingering taste on his tongue, Bai Yuan's words carried a hint of regret.

The timing of adding salt, the order of adding lard, and the lack of preheating all contributed to the dish's less-than-stellar flavor.

“That’s right. Just as Bai Yuan said, when you added the lard, you should have put the lard directly into the fish paste and stirred it, right?”

Actually, this dish requires first melting the solidified lard with the warmth of your hands, and then adding the fish paste to the lard.

After the two are evenly mixed, add them to the fish paste little by little. The chef needs to control the proportions to ensure the two are completely blended.

Thinking of what Zhou Yike had just done at the kitchen counter, Mo Ben began to speak, word by word.

Although these are all minor mistakes that don't have a significant impact on the overall dish, the cumulative effect of these small errors can still greatly affect the taste of the dish.

"So that's how it's done... Sorry, I didn't know that."

Upon hearing Mo Ben's words, Zhou Yike, who had been all smiles, regained her composure, and her once calmed heart began to tense up again.

The fact that the other person pointed out so many of her shortcomings proves that they are extremely familiar with this dish; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to point out every single one of her mistakes.

"Even so, this dish is still a top-tier two-star dish, since apart from a few obvious mistakes, everything else is handled very well."

Bai Yuan's voice rang out at the same time. This dish is quite difficult to make. If Zhou Yi can refine the two major details that Mo Ben just mentioned, it will at least be a special grade three dish.

Unfortunately, no, a mistake is a mistake.

As for higher levels, that requires the chef to have a certain level of understanding of the cuisine, which Zhou Yike will find difficult to achieve in a short period of time.

"My dish is ready too. You can try it. I'm fairly confident in this dish; it's at least a top-tier three-star dish."

Just then, Lia's voice rang in Bai Yuan's ears.

As she passed by Zhou Yike, she couldn't help but give her a provocative look.

If the opponent really does produce a top-tier three-star dish, then the outcome of today's match is probably in serious doubt.

Although I hate to admit it, the orange-segment fish soup is indeed a dish that brings out the best flavor of fish, and it is hard to surpass it when it comes to the theme of fish.

Therefore, Lia chose to make Five Willow Fish not to compete on taste, but to improve her cooking level and suppress Zhou Yike in terms of cooking level, thereby defeating her opponent.

After all, assuming there are no mistakes in the cooking, a higher cooking level carries more weight in scoring than creating a dish that fits the theme better.

This is a sign of respect for high-star chefs.

"A three-star specialty dish...we'll have to wait for the judges to taste it to know for sure, your opinion doesn't count!"

Upon hearing Liya's words, Zhou Yike's heart skipped a beat, and a nervous expression appeared on her face, though she remained calm on the surface.

"That's true, but you should give up. Tian Ji's horse racing strategy was indeed good, but we don't have a single medium-sized horse here that you can beat."

Lia spoke with a cold face, clearly still unhappy that Zhou Yike looked down on him.

Since we mistakenly took her for a so-called average horse, we must bear the consequences and be trampled underfoot by her!

She, Lia, is Boss Bai's pride, not some so-called average horse!

"The fish is cooked beautifully. The skin was not damaged at all when it came out of the pot, and the fish meat was plump. You can feel how delicious it is just by looking at it."

The fish lies quietly on a plain white porcelain plate, its shape plump and full. After being bathed in hot oil, its skin has a translucent amber luster, making it very appetizing.

Five-colored silk fabrics fluttered down like willow catkins, with emerald green, tender yellow, bright red, light gold, and brown interwoven to form a magnificent crown, while exuding a rich, salty, fresh, sweet and sour aroma.

With a light touch of chopsticks to the fish's belly, one can clearly feel the elasticity of the skin and flesh.

Bai Yuan picked up a piece of fish soaked in gravy with his chopsticks, his voice filled with praise. The fish's flesh was as white as garlic cloves, firm yet moist.

Without much hesitation, she used her chopsticks to put the food in her mouth.

The moment it enters your mouth, the first thing your tongue touches is the slightly sour and sweet sauce on top of the Five Willow Fish, like a spring breeze rippling across a lake.

As you bite down, the fish skin is supple and chewy, while the flesh melts instantly, like snow melting in your mouth, leaving only a pure sweetness lingering on your lips and teeth.

The crispness of the five-willow shreds is interspersed throughout, while the rich flavor of shiitake mushrooms, the refreshing taste of bamboo shoots, and the bright red peppers unfold in turn, finally ending with the freshness of cilantro.

"Great, your cooking skills have improved again."

As Bai Yuan savored the amazing flavor of the stir-fried five-spice rolls with fish, coated in a thick sauce, a look of appreciation appeared on his face.

"Of course, after all, I'm not completely idle in the world of dark cuisine. I have to challenge three equally strong opponents every day, otherwise I can't sleep soundly at night."

Hearing Bai Yuan's heartfelt praise, Liya couldn't help but raise her head.

Although her chef level is only two-star special chef, that's mainly because she didn't take the grading exam. In reality, her skill level is already between two-star and three-star.

Under normal circumstances, she has a 50% chance of making a top-tier three-star dish, and when she takes cooking seriously, that probability can reach an astonishing 80%.

Now is the time for her to rise!

If the other party thinks she's just an ordinary two-star chef, then she'll serve up a three-star special-grade dish and completely overwhelm her in terms of culinary level!

"I see. A lot of matches can indeed make a chef's skills improve by leaps and bounds. No wonder you can make a special three-star dish so easily."

Upon hearing Liya's explanation, Bai Yuan nodded slightly to indicate that he understood. He then picked up another piece of fish and began to savor its shortcomings.

"That's right, this grass carp doesn't have the slightest muddy taste."

Having undergone the triple process of scraping, ice marinating, and scalding, the fish now offers only the pure, refreshing freshness of the river, allowing one to savor it without restraint.

Beside him, Mo Ben also picked up his chopsticks to taste the food, and then his eyes lit up as he spoke.

"What amazed me most upon first taste was its exquisite smoothness."

Furthermore, this tenderness is not mushy or boneless, but rather has a slightly firm elasticity.

You can feel a slight resistance when your teeth cut into it, but with a little force, the fish meat melts in your mouth like a cloud, truly achieving a tenderness that's deep inside!

Lancy Jon picked up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth, feeling the wonderful taste explode on his tongue. A look of extreme enjoyment appeared on his face.

This is absolutely a dish that brings out the best in the texture of the fish!

The key point is that this dish has reached the top three grade.

It has no major flaws, except that the heat control during cooking is just average. Even so, it is still a dish that is absolutely perfect!

"This match..."

There should be absolutely no need to hesitate between a three-star and a two-star premium dish.

However, in terms of fitting the theme, Zhou Yike's orange-segment fish soup is clearly superior, but in terms of the quality of the dish and the final taste, Liya's is even better.

Across from the judges, Zhou Yike had a few beads of cold sweat on her forehead and a nervous expression on her face.

She never expected that this match, which should have been a sure thing, would now have such a twist, with her being suppressed by her opponent in terms of culinary skill.

It's just that Lia doesn't cook often enough. Each time she cooks, she only makes one mid-range two-star dish, which makes people mistakenly think that she only has the skills of a two-star chef.

If she had known earlier that Lia's strength had reached the level of a weak three-star chef, she would never have thought of winning the second match, but would have teamed up with Mu Bai to challenge Nakiri Erina later.

Ultimately, however, it was because she made too many mistakes with this dish. If it were an ordinary fish dish, with her current experience, she might not have been unable to make a top-tier three-star dish if she put in all her effort. In that case, it would be hard to say who would win!

Unfortunately, there's no going back in this world.

"drop."

After a brief silence, Mo Ben was the first to press the scoring button in front of him, and the score for this round appeared on the large screen in the sky the next moment.

1:0

Leah is currently in the lead.

"call..."

Looking at the score on the big screen, Bai Yuan closed his eyes and savored the taste of the two dishes, then mentally reconstructed the cooking process.

Once he determined that Leah was superior, he pressed her button without hesitation.

Seeing this, Lancy Jon also pressed the button.

When the score of 3-0 appeared on the big screen in the sky, Zhou Yike's face first turned flushed, and then visibly paled.

My body was also somewhat unsteady.

"Be careful."

Liya, who was standing next to Zhou Yike, noticed this and immediately reached out to pull her back, preventing her from falling to the ground.

The girl's expression remained unchanged, her eyes clouded with a grayish-white hue, clearly unwilling to accept this outcome.

"That works too!"

Suddenly, an urgent male voice rang out in the Chaoyang Academy's competition arena. Immediately, a person rushed up quickly, carefully took Zhou Yike from Liya's arms, nodded politely to her, and then headed towards Chaoyang Academy.

"This is not a delicate beauty at all, but a demon that shatters dreams!"

The two chosen as cannon fodder in the third match were the same people who said at the entrance of the Eight Treasures Pagoda that they would show their strength to make Erina Nakiri fall in love with them.