This recipe was actually something Xu Yanxia brought with her from her previous life.
In the old days, the dietary rules in the palace were extremely strict. There were rigid etiquette requirements for what kind of banquets were held on which festivals, and what menus were used at those banquets.
However, there were always some masters who could not eat meat for various reasons. As a royal chef, she had no choice but to prepare an alternative menu using vegetarian ingredients as substitutes.
For example, using tofu skin to imitate ham and goose meat, or using wood ear mushrooms to imitate sea cucumber.
Of course, in the past, she could have said these were family recipes, but today both her grandfather and brother were present, so saying that would likely blow her cover.
So Xu Yanxia told a little white lie, This is actually an ancient imperial court recipe. I stumbled upon it while I was in school and tried to learn it. Later, I made a few improvements, which finally resulted in today's version.
I see,
The judging panel erupted in admiration once again. As the saying goes, the new waves of the Yangtze River push the old waves forward. It really comes down to the young people!
Exactly, eager to learn and willing to use her brain, a rare talent indeed!
...
However, right at this moment, someone else raised a doubt. But with just pea starch and broth, it should be impossible to replicate the gelatinous texture of shark fin. This imitation shark fin must have at least a little bit of real shark fin added to it, right?
This made everyone in the audience freeze again, and they all turned to look at Zhao Yanting, who had spoken.
Chairman Lu in the audience shook his head and said, He refuses to accept defeat when his skills are inferior. As Xiao Xia's senior from the same sect, this person really has no grace at all.
On stage, Xu Yanxia smiled and said to him, This is actually quite easy, Uncle-Master Zhao. You just need to add a little fish maw juice while simmering to imitate the viscous feel of shark fin. After all, the main component of both shark fin and fish maw is collagen. Many restaurants use this method; it is not a secret.
That is right,
The master chef of Cantonese cuisine on the judging panel also spoke up, The practice of eating imitation shark fin has actually been around for a long time. Especially where we are from, many restaurants handle it this way. You have to understand that the difficulty of this dish is not the flavor and the broth, but the texture.
Yes, ordinary vegetarian shark fin rarely achieves this bouncy texture, which is why we could not tell it was vegetarian shark fin just now.
Many judges chimed in to testify.
Someone even asked Zhao Yanting, Chef Zhao, as a professional head chef, you should not be unaware of this.
This caused Zhao Yanting to choke on his words, and he had to find another excuse, saying, I have made a fool of myself in front of the teachers. The main reason is that our restaurant has always specialized in real shark fin and has never used imitation fin, so I am indeed not very familiar with this aspect.
Tch, talking nonsense when you do not even understand it, how amusing!
Offstage, Ye Shu scoffed, barely holding back an eye roll.
Looking back at the stage, Xu Yanxia spoke up again, Since we have touched on the topic of real and imitation shark fin, please allow me to share my own views.
Actually, from the perspective of food science, shark fin does not have any special nutritional value for the human body. Although it is rich in collagen, it lacks tryptophan, making it an incomplete protein that cannot be absorbed by the human body. Its effects are not even as good as eggs or milk. On the contrary, the high cholesterol it contains may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Furthermore, because sharks are at the top of the marine food chain and prey on other marine life for a long time, it is easy for their own bodies to exceed the standard levels of heavy metals, especially mercury and lead, which are actually quite harmful to the human body.
Coupled with the destruction of marine ecology caused by hunting sharks, our country has long explicitly banned shark fin from entering government cafeterias and official banquets. The control over import trade is also very strict. It can be said that, from an official standpoint, we strongly disapprove of consuming shark fin as an ingredient.
In the past, the ruling class of feudal society highly praised ingredients like shark fin, bear paw, and even leopard fetus, not because they were more nutritious, but because they were hard to obtain. Eating these things could highlight the status and position of the ruling class. But our modern agricultural level is already so developed; ingredients rich in nutritional value like chicken, duck, fish, meat, seafood, soy products, and mushrooms are everywhere. Therefore, we can completely overturn the inappropriate old concepts of the past and re-establish a definition for luxury ingredients.
So, I also want to take advantage of this rare opportunity today to appeal to the vast audience: respect nature and eat scientifically.
Wow, our captain spoke so well!!!
Yeah, the captain's eloquence is amazing!!!
As soon as she finished speaking, her teammates behind her could not help but applaud her first.
Immediately after, the audience, the judging panel, and even the offstage staff began to applaud her. The applause was like thunder, echoing through the roof of the recording studio.
Look at our Xiao Xia's eloquence, her thoughts, her awareness,
Ms. Shen was practically in tears. How did such a wonderful child end up in our family! The heavens have truly opened their eyes!!!
Chairman Lu also nodded and sighed, This child spoke so well! If her father is watching from heaven, he must be very gratified!
Meanwhile, beside them, their eldest son Lu Jingming had already started shouting along with the young audience members—
Well said, baby!!!
Way to go, baby!!!
...
Chairman Lu and Mrs. Lu exchanged a glance.
... Forget it, their eldest was only in his twenties. They were young, let them be.
And when the applause inside and outside the venue died down, many judges also chimed in with words of agreement.
However, the host had a new question and hurriedly asked Xu Yanxia, Then I would like to ask Director Xu, since our country is already strictly controlling the import of shark fin, what is the deal with the shark fin that can still be eaten in some hotels now?
—One must know that during the Jingbei Station finals the day before yesterday, the folks from Decui Restaurant had already made braised shark fin!
Given the cautionary tale from the previous Mid-Autumn Festival food event, he had to ask clearly to avoid touching upon sensitive topics like smuggling or quarantine again!!!
Fortunately, Xu Yanxia said, First of all, our Lu's Catering's two current branches do not carry real shark fin as an ingredient. As for other peers, if they are not violating relevant laws and regulations, the source is likely mostly inventory, because real shark fin can be stored for many years under dry and sealed conditions.
Of course, there are still a few compliant channels nowadays. For example, some organizations use shark fins from shark species not listed in the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, but the quantity is very small, and the price is extremely high. Under normal circumstances, restaurants cannot afford this cost.
That is exactly right,
A professional judge on the panel immediately echoed her words, In fact, most restaurants and hotels in the country have already universally removed dishes related to real shark fin from their menus; what they have are basically imitation fins. Moreover, our industry associations and chef associations across various regions are also advocating for the promotion of sustainable ingredients and rejecting the use of real shark fin in cooking.
So that was how it was.
The staff outside the arena could be seen quietly breathing a sigh of relief—as long as it was justifiable under the laws and regulations, it was fine.
It saved them the trouble of editing the footage.
Inside the arena, the host immediately followed up, saying, "Thank you to the experts for the popular science. Now, let's ask the judges to score this round of kung fu dishes!"
As soon as the words fell, the judges began to press their buttons to score, and the audience turned their eyes back to the big screen.
Soon, the final score of this round was displayed on the big screen—100:88.
Needless to say, the high score still belonged to Xu Yanxia's team.
And because this was the first perfect score in this competition, applause erupted again from the audience to congratulate Xu Yanxia.
Xu Yanxia also led her team members to bow again in gratitude, and then they moved on to the preparation of the next round of dishes.
As their opponents, the faces of the people from Decui Restaurant could only be described as very ugly.
Falling behind in three consecutive rounds was bad enough, but just now, when shark fin was mentioned, Xu Yanxia had made such a statement.
You have to know, "Braised Shark Fin in Brown Sauce" is one of the signature dishes among their restaurant's high-end luxury menu! It contributes a lot to their revenue every year!!!
No, they had to turn the situation around no matter what in the next round!!!
