Seeing everyone's enthusiastic appearance, the host hurriedly asked, "It seems that the team members of Director Xu's group are very motivated. I wonder what dishes you are going to show everyone today?"
Xu Yanxia said, "What we are going to make today are Nine-Turn Large Intestine, Hibiscus Double Fresh, Fried Three Whites with Sauce, and Oil-Exploded Double Crisp, as well as Three-Fresh Potstickers. In the Jingbei competition, of course, the main style is still Shandong cuisine."
As her voice fell, she deliberately smiled easily at the camera.
However, the other people at the scene, especially the people from Decui Restaurant who were busy making big dishes, couldn't help but pause—
Weren't these the exact dishes that were commented on in the trending video about Decui Restaurant yesterday?
Well, it seemed that although she didn't make the same dishes as them today, she was obviously still targeting them.
At this moment, the host wow-ed in support and said, "These are all famous star dishes in Shandong cuisine."
"That's right,"
Xu Yanxia followed up and said, "These dishes can be considered the signature dishes of many Shandong cuisine restaurants in Jingbei, and they are often the first step for many friends from other places to get to know Shandong cuisine."
"But it's a bit regrettable that when we ate at a relatively famous local restaurant a few days ago, we found that these dishes were not made very ideally. So we also want to take this great opportunity today to show the authentic cooking methods to the audience nationwide and even worldwide, which can also be considered as justifying our Shandong cuisine."
"!!!"
As her voice fell, Ye Shu outside the venue almost shouted out that "Good" loudly—
"Damn, our Baby Xia is awesome!!! Directly confronting them head-on!!!"
"That's right, let's see if they still dare to bully customers."
Xiaozhen also nodded.
Lu Jingming smiled, but went to the director and producer and found a seat to sit down.
A bunch of staff immediately served him tea and water, with a very respectful attitude.
—His little silly baby was certainly fine, he just needed to supervise the scene for her today.
...
Seeing nearly four hours pass, with various aromas steaming up in the studio, it was finally time to hand in the papers for this recording.
Xu Yanxia's dishes were the first to come out of the pot, and relying on their first-place score in the last round, they were naturally the first to be inspected—
The pieces of Nine-Turn Large Intestine were red and bright like amber; the Fried Three Whites with Sauce were evenly thick, clear and not turbid.
The Hibiscus Chicken Slices were white as jade, with a warm texture; the kung fu dish Oil-Exploded Double Crisp was translucent and full, with an excellent shape.
In addition, the golden and crispy Three-Fresh Potstickers that had just come out of the pot were still steaming with fresh heat.
In this scene, let alone the judges inside the venue, even the peripheral staff couldn't help their stomachs growling.
When they tasted the flavor again, whether the professional judges or the public judges inside the venue, all nodded repeatedly.
"The large intestine is soft and rotten but not mushy, without any organ smell at all. In addition to being salty and fresh, it has a slight sweet aftertaste, and a little bit of slight sour aroma just right to relieve greasiness. The seasoning is amazing!"
Senior foodie Teacher Qiao was the first to give a thumbs up and exclaim, "This is the real Nine-Turn Large Intestine, with all five flavors and distinct layers!"
Master Chef Chen next to him also nodded, "The large intestine is indeed roasted well. The Fried Three Whites with Sauce also has no flaws at all. Whether it's chicken slices, fish slices, or winter bamboo shoot slices, they are all very tender, with an excellent taste, and this sauce aroma is particularly mellow, completely penetrating every slice of ingredients."
"That's right,"
President Wang also nodded, and specially asked Xu Yanxia, "This dish Hibiscus Double Fresh should be improved on the basis of Hibiscus Chicken Slices, right?"
"Yes,"
Xu Yanxia immediately replied, "Traditional Hibiscus Chicken Slices are made of chicken breast meat. Today, in addition to chicken breast meat, we also used eel, and made them into chicken slices and fish slices using the same method, so this dish is called Double Fresh."
"Very good creativity,"
President Wang smiled again and said, "By comparison, such a combination is fresh upon fresh, and the taste is very tender and smooth, which is very suitable for us old people. I like it very much!"
Saying that, he asked again, "I wonder if Young Director Xu has any plans to open a restaurant in Jingbei? If you can open a restaurant in Jingbei, I will definitely bring my wife and little granddaughter to patronize! This dish is definitely suitable for all ages."
"Yes,"
Teacher Qiao also hurriedly followed up and said, "Strongly request your company to open a restaurant in Jingbei! Let alone anything else, just these dishes tonight can absolutely rank among the top in Jingbei at present! Especially this Oil-Exploded Double Crisp, both the taste and heat are amazing! The ultimate crispness and tenderness, particularly refreshing! Eating it makes me want to have a cup!"
"The potstickers are also particularly good!"
Even Dr. Hui, a nice guy who rarely expressed professional opinions, followed up and said, "I am a southerner, and to be honest, I rarely ate Shandong cuisine before. These dishes tonight completely changed my impression of Shandong cuisine. Refreshing, salty and fresh, beautiful appearance, and long aftertaste. It's definitely not what they say on the internet, black, mushy, and salty."
As his voice fell, Xu Yanxia laughed along with the whole audience.
Then she hurriedly led her teammates to bow to the judges and said, "Thank you teachers for your comments. When a person who can cook meets a person who can eat, it is a kind of two-way happiness in itself. Especially if through my efforts, I can change the public's stereotypical impression of a cuisine, that can be said to be a very honored thing."
"As for the suggestion of opening a restaurant, I will definitely consider it seriously. After all, as a chef from the Shandong cuisine department, it is also one of my dreams to open a restaurant in an authoritative place like Jingbei."
"Once it is realized, I will definitely invite all teachers to guide."
"Good!"
"It's settled then!"
Teacher Qiao and President Wang led everyone to applaud her, and then gave scores.
Whether professional judges or public judges, they all gave full marks, which also made her perfectly end the city station competition with a full score of 100 again.
Next, since the dishes of Decui Restaurant took too much heat and one dish had not yet come out of the pot, the dishes of Best Actor Yao's group replaced them and accepted comments second.
Probably knowing that it was the final round of the competition, Best Actor Yao and his teammates were very relaxed this time. The four dishes combined Chinese and Western elements, including apple salad, pan-fried chicken breast, French lamb chops, shredded pork with Beijing sauce, and finally paired with a local specialty, seasoned flour mush.
It is worth mentioning that the taste was actually not bad.
However, due to the slightly strange matching and relatively simple techniques, they finally got a score of 87.
When Best Actor Yao also brought his teammates to bow and thank, it was finally the turn of Decui Restaurant's dishes to take the stage.
Just from the appearance, Xu Yanxia could tell at a glance that their dishes were not made well.
The color of the deer tendon was dark, and the soup was not thick enough, which was a sign of insufficient heat.
The shark's fin was braised for a bit too long, and broken pieces could already be seen.
Their signature dish, sea cucumber braised with scallions, looked okay in appearance, but Xu Yanxia smelled a faint fishy smell, obviously the preparation work was not sufficient.
The only qualified one was the abalone, which looked relatively refreshing.
And after the judges tasted it, they indeed gave the same evaluation as her—
"The deer tendon isn't cooked long enough; it's still a bit hard to chew, and the flavor hasn't fully penetrated."
Mr. Qiao shook his head and said, "The shark fin is a bit over-braised; it feels a little sticky when eating. What a pity for such good ingredients."
"The sea cucumber has a fishy smell; it's not at the same level as the ones in your restaurant."
President Wang also added, "The ingredients used must be different from what you usually use in your restaurant, right?"
"Yes,"
Zhao Yanting, the head chef of Decui Restaurant, could only make an excuse for himself, "The restaurant usually uses dried sea cucumbers soaked in water, which we prepare in advance every day. But due to the limited time of the competition, we used fresh sea cucumbers today."
—Actually, it wasn't that they didn't want to use dried sea cucumbers. It was just that according to the rules of this round, they were supposed to buy fresh ingredients to cook. The program crew, considering their investment from Yayan, only allowed them to use the deer tendon and shark fin prepared in their restaurant.
Therefore, for the sea cucumber and abalone, they had to use fresh ones.
After Zhao Yanting finished speaking, Mr. Qiao asked Master Chef Chen beside him, "Master Chen, I remember fresh sea cucumbers can also be used to make scallion-braised sea cucumber. I once had it at your restaurant. The price is cheaper than dried ones, and except for the thickness of the meat being a bit lacking, the taste is still quite good."
"Yes,"
Master Chef Chen explained, "Both fresh and dried sea cucumbers can be used for this dish, but dried ones are more suitable in terms of texture and flavor. If fresh ones are used, the first step of removing the fishy smell must be done well, and the stewing time needs to be longer than that for water-soaked ones."
At this point, Master Chef Chen still tried to save face for his fellow apprentice, Zhao Yanting, saying, "Overall, you chose the wrong dishes today. It's very difficult to make so many major dishes in such a limited time. If you could be like little Xu, the final product would be much better."
As his words fell, Xu Yanxia beside him couldn't help but chuckle silently—
Actually, with the experience of her Uncle-Master Zhao, it was impossible for him not to know the risks they faced today. But even if he didn't want to make these dishes, the shareholder behind them, Yayan, probably forced them to.
There was no other reason; even their stock price had been affected, so they desperately wanted to win a competition against the Lu Corporation to save face.
It was just a pity that, as her husband had just said, the decision-makers on the other side had problems with their brains.
Thinking of this, she quietly cast her gaze toward Lu Jingming outside the arena.
She saw him glance at his wristwatch while Zhao Yanting was desperately explaining, a hint of impatience showing between his brows.
Immediately after, the producer beside him quickly reminded the host through his headset, "It's getting late; hurry up and remind the judges to score."
