Courtyard House: Become Stronger Through Blind Dates

He Yuzhu lifted the white cloth on the tray in front of him, revealing two flat, wide sea fish with pale yellow spots on their silvery-gray scales.

This is... turbot?

He Yuzhu recognized this fish; its flesh was tender, delicious, and rich in collagen, making it suitable for steaming, braising, or dry-frying.

In those days, Beijing was located in the northern inland region, and sea fish were a rare commodity.

Especially this relatively uncommon turbot, many chefs in the north may never have even seen it, let alone know how to prepare it.

The judges' use of this mysterious ingredient is a test of the contestants' knowledge and adaptability.

He Yuzhu glanced around and, sure enough, saw many chefs frowning at the fish on their trays:

"What kind of fish is this?"

"Never seen it before..."

"Sea fish? How do you prepare that?"

Even Cui Jianguo, who had been speaking eloquently just moments before, stared at the fish in deep thought.

On Sun Decai's side, He Yuzhu noticed that he also looked bewildered, gesturing at the fish with a knife, seemingly unsure of what to do.

Fengzeyuan is known for its Shandong cuisine. Although Shandong cuisine also includes seafood, turbot is clearly not a common dish.

He Yuzhu felt much more at ease. In terms of knowledge about various ingredients, with his memories from the future and the system's inheritance, he could absolutely crush most chefs of this era.

Without further hesitation, he took action immediately.

Skillfully scale, remove gills, gut, and clean thoroughly.

Then make fine diamond-shaped cuts on both sides of the fish to help it absorb the flavor.

Next, he took some scallions and ginger, shredded some of them, and sliced ​​the rest.

Marinate the fish thoroughly inside and out with cooking wine, salt, white pepper powder, and ginger slices to remove fishy smell and enhance flavor.

While the fish was marinating, He Yuzhu quickly came up with a plan.

Steaming best brings out the fresh and original flavor of turbot, but it is somewhat ordinary and difficult to stand out among many other options.

Braised? Time might be a bit tight, and seafood can easily become fishy if not handled properly when braised.

Dry-frying? That's possible, but it requires extremely precise control over the seasonings and heat...

Suddenly, he thought of an innovative dish for later generations: Sichuan pepper turbot.

The fresh, numbing aroma of fresh green Sichuan peppercorns (tengao) is used to complement the tender fish meat, which not only removes the fishy smell and enhances the aroma, but also creates a unique flavor.

This is absolutely a refreshing approach in this day and age.

Although fresh Sichuan peppercorns may not be available on site, dried Sichuan peppercorns should be available upon application.

He immediately raised his hand to signal to the staff.

"What do you need?" a staff member asked as they approached.

"Do you have dried green Sichuan peppercorns? You mean the kind that's greenish in color?" He Yuzhu asked.

The staff member thought for a moment and nodded: "Yes, I'll go get it."

A short while later, a packet of dried Sichuan peppercorns was delivered to He Yuzhu.

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Forty-eight minutes later, He Yuzhu finally finished the dish.

He finished plating the dishes and looked up at the judges' table.

Master Wang kept an eye on him, and when he finished, he gave him an approving look.

The other judges couldn't help but be drawn to his dishes after the staff brought them over.

He Yuzhu let out a soft breath, thinking to himself: The second round should be fine!!!

However, some unusual things happened when the judges began to taste and score the food.

After tasting it, Master Wang decisively wrote a high score on the rating board.

The judges next to him nodded in approval after tasting the dish, clearly giving it high marks.

When it was the turn of the chief judge, Mr. Sun, this master of Shandong cuisine first examined the plating, then picked up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth.

He put down his chopsticks, frowned slightly, and wrote a number on the scoring board.

As He Yuzhu gazed into the distance, a sense of foreboding suddenly rose in his heart.

Sure enough, when the staff tallied the scores, He Yuzhu found that his total score had dropped significantly.

Although they successfully advanced to the third round of the finals, their ranking had slipped from the top of the first round to fifth place, just barely making it into the next round.

He Yuzhu cursed inwardly, "What...what's going on?"

He looked over at Sun Decai's side, and this guy had actually ranked third.

He was looking in He Yuzhu's direction at that moment, his eyes full of provocation.

"This doesn't make sense... How could Sun Decai's dish be in the top three?"

At this point, the staff announced the finalists and informed the contestants that they would have an hour's rest before the final competition.

Just as He Yuzhu reached the rest area, Master Wang came looking for him.

"Zhu Zi, come with me for a moment." Master Wang's expression was not good as he led He Yuzhu to a secluded corner.

"Uncle Wang, what was the score just now..." He Yuzhu couldn't help but ask.

Chef Wang sighed and lowered his voice, saying, "Zhu Zi, you did a very good job with that dish. The judges all appreciated it."

"But..." he paused, "the chief judge, Mr. Sun, is Sun Decai's grandfather."

He Yuzhu was taken aback, then understood and asked, "So he deliberately lowered my score?"

"It's not just about lowering your score," Master Wang said with a wry smile. "I saw that when he was evaluating Sun Decai, he gave him full marks."

"The other judges originally wanted to give Sun Decai a low score, but seeing that the chief judge gave him a full score, they felt embarrassed to give him too low a score, so Sun Decai's score was eventually raised."

"That's incredible...!" He Yuzhu laughed in exasperation. "What's the point of this competition then?"

Master Wang patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "Zhu Zi, I know you're upset, but he was the one who organized this competition. There aren't many elderly people left in Beijing... so we should all be accommodating to him in some ways!"

"So I deserve to be targeted?" He Yuzhu raised an eyebrow, dissatisfied.

"The third round is free to improvise; cook your best dish," Chef Wang said earnestly. "Do your best. As long as your dish is outstanding, the other judges will still give you a fair evaluation."

Even if Old Master Sun wanted to lower the score, he wouldn't dare to go too far.

He Yuzhu fell silent. He had originally been quite looking forward to this competition, thinking that he could compete with various masters and win a ranking to bring honor to himself and the Oriental Hotel.

But now...

"Uncle Wang, I understand."

He Yuzhu suddenly smiled, but there was a hint of coldness in his smile.

"Don't worry, I will prepare well for the third round."

Seeing his reaction, Master Wang felt uneasy and said, "Zhu Zi, don't act impulsively..."

"No, I won't." He Yuzhu waved his hand. "I'm just a cook, how impulsive could I be? You go back first, I'll just stay here and get some fresh air."

Watching Master Wang's departing figure, He Yuzhu leaned against the wall, and a food program he had watched in his previous life suddenly flashed through his mind.

In one episode, a contestant made an unforgettable dish of braised pork intestines that retained its original flavor.

"Yes, this is it." He Yuzhu's eyes flashed, and he turned and walked back to the competition area.