Everyday Life Starting with Food Wars

He walked to the food and props area looking for something, and finally took out a fresh bamboo shoot from the corner.

"What is he planning to do with the bamboo? Wait, why is there bamboo in this competition?" The audience below the stage was a little confused.

Chen Yuxing quickly returned to the cooking station with the bamboo. He took a cleaver from the knife rack and chopped it down directly into the bamboo.

The bamboo was quickly split in two. Then Chen Yuxing took out a small knife and began to carve the bamboo. He first flattened the inside of the bamboo and then quickly carved arcs resembling the bow and stern of a boat at both ends.

However, due to time constraints, he didn't have time to do it in great detail and could only do it roughly.

In less than fifteen minutes, Chen Yuxing had made a small bamboo boat that looked somewhat rough but had a strong visual impact. Finally, he laid a layer of clean lotus leaves inside the boat and sprinkled some goji berries and mint as garnish.

"Wow, this guy not only knows how to cook, but his skills are also amazing!" The diners below exclaimed in amazement.

Just then, noises came from the other cooking stations nearby.

"Dear diners, our Guangzhou Restaurant's braised pork liver congee is ready! Those who want to try it can come and line up!" Master Zhou's apprentice shouted at the top of his lungs.

The clay pot over there was opened, and the aroma of fresh meat mixed with the fragrance of porridge attracted many people, and diners from the surrounding area quickly lined up.

Meanwhile, Master Zhang's crystal shrimp dumplings from Tao Tao Ju and the braised beef brisket Chencun rice noodles from the Black Horse Combination were also ready to serve.

Whether it's the translucent shrimp dumplings or the Chencun rice noodles with rich beef brisket broth, the aroma attracts many diners.

The other three groups have already started serving the food to diners, but Chen Yuxing's casserole is still tightly covered.

"The steamed buns are ready." Hojo Miyoko called out to Chen Yuxing anxiously.

Chen Yuxing quickly put down the bamboo boat in his hand, walked to the casserole, and opened it. A rich aroma of old wheat and the fresh scent of eight kinds of seafood wafted out.

As the steam gradually dissipated, the contents of the casserole dish became visible.

The steamed buns, in four colors—green, black, red, and white—looked translucent under the steam, and even trembled slightly in the residual heat of the clay pot, as if they were alive.

"Hojo-kun!" Chen Yuxing quickly picked up his chopsticks, picked up a few buns, and arranged them on the bamboo boat according to their positions. "I'll trouble you to distribute the remaining buns to the diners. I'll take this up to the judges."

"Understood!" Hojo Miyoko scooped out the buns from the casserole one by one, placed them on plates, and handed them to the waiting diners.

Chen Yuxing carried the bamboo boat filled with four kinds of steamed buns toward the judges' table.

The three judges on the judging panel were whispering to each other when they saw Chen Yuxing carrying the bamboo boat over. They all stopped talking and stared at the bamboo boat in Chen Yuxing's hand.

They have already tried the dishes from the other three groups.

Chef Chen's braised pork liver congee has a silky smooth congee base, and the pork liver is sliced ​​very thinly. It is cooked to perfection, and the liver is tender and smooth with no fishy taste.

Zhang Dana's shrimp dumplings are also delicious; the translucent skin allows you to clearly see the tender pink shrimp meat inside, and the bamboo shoots paired with the shrimp meat make for a very tasty meal.

The beef brisket noodles from Shunde Aqiang Group are also excellent. The soup base is made by simmering beef bones and several spices for more than half an hour. The beef brisket is stewed until tender, and the combination with the smooth texture and secret sauce is very satisfying.

But what Chen Yuxing brought out surprised them even more, both in terms of the bamboo boat shape and the aroma of the four-colored buns inside.

"What kind of steamed bun is this?" Chairman Lin Shaoxiong pushed up his glasses and looked closely.

Twelve steamed buns were neatly arranged in the bamboo boat, their four colors contrasting sharply.

Emerald green, jet black, vermilion, snow white—each bun has its top pleats slightly open, revealing glimpses of the plump filling inside.

"This is a Four Gods Seafood Eight Treasure Bun."

Chen Yuxing placed the bamboo boat in the center of the judging panel. "The four colors correspond to the four gods, namely the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, and also to the four flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy."

"Four Gods Seafood Eight Treasure Buns?" Xie Guohua stroked his chin, his eyes revealing surprise. "Are these four-colored doughs made with vegetable juice? That's quite novel. And this rich seafood flavor... what seafood did you put in the filling?"

"Shark fin, abalone, sea cucumber, scallops, crab, shrimp, squid, and flounder—that's eight kinds of seafood in total," Chen Yuxing replied.

Upon hearing this, not only were the judges on stage surprised, but the audience below also became agitated.

"Four colors of buns! And they're filled with eight kinds of seafood! What a generous gesture!"

"They look so good, such unique buns."

"But won't the flavors mix if you put all eight kinds of seafood in one bun?"

"I don't know, just go try it and you'll find out. Don't push me, let me join the queue!"

The three judges on stage also had related questions. Different seafoods have their own unique flavors, some strong and some mild. Wouldn't putting them all in one bun cause the flavors to clash and mix?

But looking at the confident Chen Yuxing in front of them, they didn't ask the question and instead looked at Baozi.

Aunt Mai made the first move. She picked up a jet-black bun with her chopsticks. The bun's skin was very fluffy, and you could clearly feel the elasticity of the dough when you picked it up with your chopsticks. She turned the bun over and looked at the bottom, where there was a light layer of browning.

"The black one is sesame." Aunt Mai first brought the bun closer to smell it, then took a bite.

The moment the bun skin was bitten open, a slightly bitter juice entered my mouth.

The bitter taste of dried tangerine peel and bitter melon juice does not mask the other flavors; on the contrary, it enhances the freshness of the seafood and the sweetness of the sesame noodles. The three different flavors blend together in the mouth, and the combination of bitterness, freshness, and sweetness with the chewy texture of the old-fashioned noodles makes it more and more addictive.

Xie Guohua, who was standing next to him, also picked up a vermilion Zhuque bun and took a bite.

"Ouch—this bun is so spicy!"

The red one is carrot juice. The moment you bite into it, you get a slightly sweet taste. Then, the spiciness of the chili peppers and red bean paste explodes on your taste buds. Just when Xie Guohua is about to lose control of the spiciness, the crab and shrimp, along with the sweet and fresh flavors of other seafood, appear. The spiciness is like a fire that completely ignites the taste of the seafood. Xie Guohua quickly finishes eating, sweating profusely and exclaiming how satisfying it is.

Lin Shaoxiong, standing to the side, looked at his two colleagues with some skepticism and picked up a green dragon bun.

The noodles seasoned with spinach juice have a mild flavor. After biting into them, the slight sourness of the vinegar and lemon juice spreads across the tongue, making the fresh flavors of the halibut and squid stand out even more against this sourness. After eating, there is a faint sweet feeling in the throat.

Finally, there were the snow-white white tiger buns, and the three judges each picked one up to taste.

The white one is the original flavor. The first taste is the sweetness of rock sugar and the salty freshness of scallops, followed by the delicate and delicious flavor of dried scallops and abalone, combined with the wheat aroma of the old dough. The warm and smooth taste made the three judges enjoy it very much.

They swallowed the last bite of the bun, stopped what they were doing, and closed their eyes.

Suddenly they found themselves on a bamboo boat drifting with the current, surrounded by a stormy sea.

Just then, a huge wave crashed over them. Just when they thought the small boat would be capsized, the sea exploded!

A giant dragon radiating azure light flew out of the sea, followed by the Vermilion Bird, its body wreathed in flames, tearing through the clouds above. The Black Tortoise, its feet treading on black waves, also emerged from the water. Accompanied by a deafening roar from afar, a white tiger with piercing eyes and a white forehead charged wildly from the horizon.

Four divine beasts circled and flew on the sea. The sea, which had been raging, suddenly calmed down. Countless shrimp, crabs, abalone, and many other kinds of seafood shot up from the sea, turning into a rain of shimmering, fresh light that swirled around the four divine beasts. The three people were stunned by the scene before them.

The eight kinds of seafood were perfectly blended in the four flavors of sour, sweet, bitter and spicy, making the three judges unable to help but tilt their heads back and let out a long sigh of comfort.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Hojo Miyoko was also surrounded by diners.

"Hey beautiful! Give me another one of those red buns! They're so delicious!"

"Me too! I want the white one!"

"Give me one more of each of the four colors! The bun skin is so chewy! And the seafood is incredibly fresh!"

The customers, their faces flushed with excitement after eating the steamed buns, crowded around the counter. Compared to the usual breakfast items like congee, shrimp dumplings, and Chencun rice noodles, the four colorful steamed buns filled with seafood were much more appealing to them.

The three judges on stage also came to their senses.

Xie Guohua looked at Chen Yuxing with some surprise, "Your dish is very creative."

"The dough is fermented very well, and the seafood is also perfectly prepared without any fishy smell. In addition, there are four flavors: sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy... It's great in both its creativity and taste."

Lin Shaoxiong nodded and looked at Chen Yuxing.

"But Master Chen, I must point out one thing."

"The four seasonings were not quite right. Perhaps it was because of the time constraints. The filling didn't have enough time to absorb the flavors. If we had paid more attention, it would have been better."

Aunt Mai picked up a bun, turned it over, and pointed to the burnt bottom. "There's still room for improvement in the cooking temperature of the clay pot. The uneven burnt bottom indicates that the heat distribution at the bottom of the pot is somewhat uneven."

Chen Yuxing nodded and sighed inwardly.

I made a lot of mistakes myself. The three judges were right. I rushed the seasoning of the filling a little, and the same goes for steaming the buns in the clay pot. There were still too many flaws. This was the first time I had used this recipe, so I wasn't very familiar with it. I should try out the dishes before learning new recipes in the future.

Having tasted the dishes from all four groups of contestants, the judging process soon began.

The three judges scored the scores on their respective score sheets, which were then collected by staff for totaling.

Chen Yuxing returned to his work station to wait for the results. By this time, Hojo Miyoko had almost finished proofing the buns, and the casserole was empty.

After a short while, the host returned to the stage with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Dear contestants and diners! The judges' scores for this year's 'King of Mahjong' competition are in!"

"First of all, the top scorer in this competition is the Zhou duo from Guangzhou Restaurant! They scored 98 points!"

"The second place in the ratings is the tourist duo, Chen Yuxing and Hojo Miyoko! They scored 97.5 points!"

"Third place – the A-Qiang duo from Shunde! 95 points!"

"Fourth place – the Zhang family from Tao Tao Ju! 94 points!"

When the scores were announced, applause broke out from the audience. Master Zhou's congee has always been his signature dish, so no one was surprised that he got this ranking.

The head chef then continued, "Please don't worry, everyone. The judges' scores are only one part; the second part is the public voting!"

"Please cast your vote for the dish you like best."

Staff pushed over four ballot boxes.

The diners rushed to the ballot box with their votes in hand.

Soon all the diners' votes were tallied.

The host picked up the microphone.

"In the diners' vote, the one who received the most votes is—" the host teased the audience for a moment before announcing loudly, "Chen Yuxing and Hojo Miyoko!"

The noise in the square instantly increased several times over.

The host explained on stage: "The Four Gods Seafood Eight Treasure Buns are leading by a large margin in the diners' vote! Many diners feel that these buns are not only visually appealing with their four colors, but also have a unique combination of eight kinds of seafood and the four flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy, making them want to have another one after finishing one. The fluffy bun skin is also a big draw for them!"

Chapter 51 Glowing Buns

The host looked at the result with some surprise.

"The judges' scores were given to Chef Zhou from Guangzhou Restaurant, while the diners' scores were given to Chen Yuxing and Miyoko Hojo."

"This is actually the first time this has happened in the 'King of Mahjong' competition!"

"Let's see what the judges will ultimately decide!"

The three judges showed some surprise upon hearing the result.

The three of them had hesitated for a long time on the rating sheet before deciding to put Chef Zhou in first place, but now that the diners have voted, it would be inappropriate to announce Chef Zhou as number one.

Master Xie, Chairman Lin, and Aunt Mai huddled together and discussed for a while. Finally, Chairman Lin Shaoxiong stood up and took the microphone from the host.

"Contestants and audience members, after a unanimous discussion by the three of us judges," Chairman Lin said, his gaze sweeping across the entire audience before finally settling on Chen Yuxing and Master Zhou.

"Chef Zhou's congee with pork liver and pork ribs represents the culinary culture of our traditional Cantonese cuisine."

"Master Chen's Four Gods Seafood Eight Treasure Buns represent the infinite possibilities and innovation of Chinese cuisine."

"Therefore, we tend to believe that both masters are the winners of this 'King of Mahjong' competition."

"However, the title of Mahjong King requires not only the judgment of us judges, but also the judgment of all the diners present."

"Since our choices have diverged from yours today, both masters have reached their respective peaks in different places."

"So, diners, do you agree with our choice of the Double Sparrow King?"

The square fell silent for a moment.

"The Two Kings of Mahjong!"

It's unclear who shouted that first, but soon all the diners in the square joined in.

"The Two Kings of Mahjong!"

I don't know who shouted that first, but then the whole square started shouting it out.

This is probably the first time in the decades-long history of the Mahjong King Competition that two Mahjong Kings have emerged, but since the judges have said so, the diners are happy to accept it.

After all, both the Four Gods Seafood Eight Treasure Buns and Master Zhou's Congee are very popular.

"Alright! Then I announce! The champions of the 19th Mahjong King Competition are—Master Zhou and his apprentice, and the Chen duo!" Chairman Lin announced loudly.

At that moment, thunderous cheers and applause erupted from Liwan Square.

Hojo Miyoko jumped up excitedly, grabbed Chen Yuxing's arm, and cheered, "We won! Chen Yuxing, we won!"

Chen Yuxing looked at Hojo Miyoko and the cheering diners below the stage and smiled happily.

The award ceremony was quick, and Chairman Lin and the other two presented Chen Yuxing and Master Zhou with a pure bronze sparrow statue and a badge engraved with the words "Sparrow King".

The statue was a bit too big to carry back easily, so it was handed over to Master Zhou, while the Mahjong King's badge was given to Chen Yuxing.

"You're a promising young man." Master Zhou tossed the statue to his apprentice, then walked up to Chen Yuxing, smiling and extending his hand. "Seeing a young man like you in this old body makes this competition all worthwhile."