Soon, the first recording session of the day began.
As previously announced, the main ingredient for this debut competition was the local specialty, white cashmere goat.
This ingredient required precise heat control. As soon as the host finished the opening remarks, all the teams immediately got to work.
Following their pre-recording plan, Xu Yanxia and her teammates divided the work methodically. She was in charge of preparing the lamb, while her three teammates, Suisui, Xiaoxian, and Xiaoman, handled the winter dates and glutinous rice dough needed for the second dish.
The host, as usual, went around interviewing the teams at their workstations.
"As everyone knows, our Xijing is a millennium-old capital, so our main dish today draws inspiration from thousands of years of history."
Jin Jiexiang could be heard introducing to the camera nearby, "Today, we are going to recreate a very famous grand dish from the Tang Dynasty imperial banquets, the Red Lamb Branch Cane."
...
Hearing this from the side, Xiaoxian, Suisui, and the others in Xu Yanxia's team, who were busy pitting the winter dates, silently exchanged glances.
Well then, this "imperial chef" hadn't even figured out the palace cuisine from one or two hundred years ago, and now he was jumping to the Tang Dynasty from over a thousand years ago.
Truly, the stage is as big as your ambition.
...
"To have the privilege of tasting imperial delicacies from over a thousand years ago is truly something to look forward to!"
The host praised him enthusiastically, providing the usual emotional support, and then moved on to interview the next group of guests.
"I wonder if Brother Song's team is still going with the viral internet food route today?"
"That's right!"
Brother Song introduced to the camera, "Today we will present our exclusive secret recipe roast lamb! When you come to the Northwest, you absolutely have to have roast lamb. We've prepared half a lamb today, weighing a full twenty catties. I guarantee everyone will be stuffed!"
This was actually Brother Song's consistent style: heavy flavors, large portions, and guaranteed to fill you up.
However, Xu Yanxia, standing to the side, couldn't help but frown.
After all, roast lamb needs to be marinated in advance, otherwise it's very difficult for the flavors to penetrate.
Moreover, such a large piece of lamb is a massive undertaking. Not to mention the time needed for marinating, the roasting process alone requires at least three hours.
Yet today's total recording time was only three hours at most.
Of course, if one wanted to make a decent roast lamb in a short time, it wasn't completely impossible. One could partition the lamb, stew it until flavorful, and then roast it.
But she glanced over at Brother Song's workstation nearby and saw them simply stab the half lamb a few times, rub the marinade on it, and immediately shove it into the oven...
Well, it looked like they were definitely going to fail again today.
She silently looked away and focused on her own work.
Soon, the host arrived at their workstation for an interview.
"Compared to the other teams, the ingredients on Director Xu's workstation look much simpler. I wonder what method Director Xu and her team will use to prepare the lamb today?"
Xu Yanxia smiled and said, "Our local white cashmere goats grow up eating native plants like wild thyme and sand leeks. They have a very mild gamey flavor, tender meat, and an excellent fat-to-lean ratio. Therefore, today I am using a method that best highlights the original flavor of the ingredient: clear stewing."
"It seems this truly verifies the saying 'high-end ingredients often only require the simplest cooking methods'! Let's look forward to Director Xu's dish!"
After finishing his humorous remark, the host moved on to interview the challenger guest.
Xu Yanxia then put the cut lamb, which had been soaked in cold water, into the pot and began stewing it in cold water.
"I am very honored to participate in this show. For my debut, the dish I'm making today can be considered a fusion dish,"
The challenger guest nearby, Best Actor Yao Yi'an, was introducing his dish to the host. "Using our high-quality local lamb to replace imported lamb chops, combined with the French pan-searing technique, I hope to bring everyone a little surprise."
"Chinese ingredients with Western cooking methods, that is indeed very creative."
Perhaps because he was new and held the title of Best Actor, the host naturally chatted with Yao Yi'an a bit more. "It seems Mr. Yao is indeed an expert. Do you cook at home often?"
"Of course,"
The Best Actor immediately replied, "As the saying goes, food is the paramount necessity of the people. Eating is life's greatest pleasure. Whenever I have time off, I always cook for myself. After all, home-cooked food is much better than eating out, both in terms of nutrition and health, as well as taste. Nowadays, most restaurants out there use additives."
"..."
As his words fell, the guests and team members from the other groups in the studio all cast glances his way.
After all, aside from him being an actor, most of the other contestants on set were professionals in the catering industry.
"Why does this guy seem to have such low emotional intelligence,"
Off-stage, Ye Shu couldn't help but whisper to Xiaozhen, "Saying things like that, isn't he obviously offending people!"
"He's probably doing it on purpose,"
Xiaozhen, who had spent a few years in the entertainment industry, whispered back to Ye Shu. "His emotional intelligence isn't low at all; he's very calculating. I heard the role that won him the award wasn't originally his, but he snatched it using his connections. Saying this now is definitely to build a persona, to make himself look like someone who knows how to cook."
Ye Shu couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Then he better not mess up later, otherwise it'll be too embarrassing."
...
As steam rose from the workstations of each group, various aromas gradually grew richer and intertwined within the studio.
Nearly three hours passed, and it was time for each group to present their results.
The judges first reviewed the dishes from Xu Yanxia's team—clear stewed lamb and golden thread date paste rolls.
The lamb, stewed over low heat, gleamed with a natural, tender pink hue. Without even tasting it, the rich aroma of meat wafted into everyone's noses.
The golden thread date paste rolls presented an inviting golden yellow color. The surface was covered with small bubbles indicating crispiness, and the red date paste was embedded in the pale yellow glutinous rice cake, forming beautiful concentric circular patterns that were satisfying even to perfectionists.
After tasting these two dishes one by one, the judges all showed expressions of admiration.
"The clear stewed lamb has a fresh broth and tender meat; there really isn't a hint of gameyness,"
Judge Qiao couldn't help but ask Xu Yanxia, "Director Xu, did you add any special seasonings while stewing earlier? To be honest, I've also bought our local Xijing lamb and stewed it at home, but it wasn't this fragrant."
Xu Yanxia replied, "Perhaps you didn't add wild thyme leaves."
As she spoke, she picked up some unused wild thyme leaves from the workstation to show Judge Qiao and the camera, explaining, "Wild thyme contains an aromatic compound called thymol, which directly neutralizes the short-chain fatty acids in the lamb, which are the source of its gamey smell."
"Once neutralized, the gameyness disappears, leaving only the savory meat aroma. Furthermore, it isn't as overpowering as spices like Sichuan peppercorns or star anise; it has a natural herbal spiciness, making the broth taste fresher."
"Exactly,"
As soon as she finished speaking, the new judge for the Xijing stop, local master Chef Guo, backed up her statement. "When we stew mutton here, we always add wild thyme leaves. Moreover, our local sheep usually graze on this very plant, which essentially reduces a lot of the gamey smell right from the source."
As his words fell, everyone at the scene looked as if they had just learned something new.
The host, ever the curious soul, specifically asked Xu Yanxia for further clarification, "Then may I ask, is this local wild thyme the same as the thyme commonly used in European cuisine?"
