However, right now, other than Xu Yanxia, no one else seemed to realize the problem.
After Jason He finished speaking, his greasy partner Xu Qinghe added, "The black truffles were also just airlifted from Jason's restaurant in France. They are top-tier ingredients too."
"That's right," Jason He nodded and said, "They are from Périgord, France, the world's top black truffle producing region. The price is about fifty thousand RMB per kilogram!"
The host, providing plenty of emotional value, exclaimed, "Everyone is really in for a treat today!"
"Then what is your second dish?"
Jason He replied, "Our second dish today is pan-seared foie gras with caviar and asparagus rolls, also using ingredients airlifted from France."
Xu Qinghe bragged on the side, "Let's not even talk about the price. The main thing is how delicious it is. Coupled with Jason's top-notch cooking skills, it creates a taste that ordinary ingredients absolutely cannot replicate. Anyway, you'll all know once you taste it later."
The host cooperated perfectly with a "Wow! That sounds so high-class! It really makes people full of anticipation!"
As his voice fell, Xu Yanxia glanced at their prep station again, becoming even more certain of her judgment.
One had to know that the domestic relevant departments had extremely strict regulations on the entry of foreign fresh ingredients.
Whether carried in person or mailed, foreign ingredients like foie gras, black truffles, and caviar were absolutely not allowed to enter the country.
The only way was to go through the relevant entry quarantine approval procedures.
But the entire process would take at least twenty working days.
Yet, the executive director had just mentioned that Xu Qinghe had contacted this fake foreigner at the last minute.
Coupled with the freshness of the ingredients on their prep station right now...
They were one hundred percent domestically produced.
Therefore, Queen Xixi's earlier complaint was completely correct; these two were total posers.
However, for Xu Yanxia, who had lived two lifetimes, she had seen plenty of posers. The more glamorous the industry, the more such people there were.
Then she saw the host ask Xu Qinghe again, "I wonder how Brother Qinghe met Chef Jason?"
Xu Qinghe said, "I met Jason by chance when I was traveling in France a few years ago. We have a lot of similarities in terms of lifestyle, diet, and hobbies, so we hit it off right away. Over the past few years, whether I go abroad or he returns to the country, as long as we have the chance, we always get together."
"Oh, right, our next step is to create an account together to recommend some good foreign products to everyone. Jason will be responsible for product selection, and I will do the recommending. We hope to bring everyone some great experiences."
Xu Yanxia understood in her heart; so this was also an advertisement.
Of course, she was also here to promote. Considering that it wasn't easy for the program crew and the guests, and adhering to the principle of we won't attack unless attacked, she didn't pay much attention to them and just focused on making her own dishes.
The chicken pieces marinated earlier had already absorbed the flavors, so she took a clay pot, turned on the heat, and first used hot oil to fry the aromatics until fragrant.
Once enough aroma emanated from the pot, she added the marinated chicken pieces, pan-fried them until the surface was slightly yellow, then poured in the sauce, covered the pot, and simmered over low heat.
About twenty minutes later, the chicken in the clay pot had fully absorbed the broth. She then added the prepared abalone and continued to simmer.
She specifically explained to the camera, "After the abalone goes into the pot, simmering it for five to eight minutes is enough. Cooking it for too long will make the meat tough and affect the texture."
Queen Xixi immediately volunteered, "I'll watch the fire. Xiao Xia, you go busy yourself with something else."
"Okay."
Xu Yanxia then turned on the heat on another stove and started making her second dish, fish maw and yellow croaker soup.
The yellow croaker bones, with the meat removed, had already been marinated with cooking wine and pepper powder. At this time, she put them in the pan and fried them until golden brown.
She explained to the camera again, "If conditions permit, this dish is best stewed with broth. But today, both time and conditions are limited, so we are using boiling water instead. But remember, it must be boiling water, otherwise, you won't get that milky soup effect."
Saying this, she poured the freshly boiled water from the kettle beside her into the pot.
With a sizzling sound, a rich and fresh aroma immediately boiled up in the pot.
She then added shredded scallion and ginger to the pot to remove the fishy smell. About ten minutes later, when the soup base turned a rich milky white, she fished out the impurities like fish bones, scallions, and ginger, and added the previously deboned yellow croaker meat and fish maw pieces, along with shredded shiitake mushrooms and ham.
In less than ten minutes, the rich, milky-white fish maw and yellow croaker soup was ready to be served.
Seeing that both of their dishes were already done, but the others' dishes still needed some time, Xu Yanxia and Lu Jingxi made a classic Cantonese dessert, Mango Pomelo Sago.
They also used the locally produced mangoes bought at the market this morning. After cutting them open and extracting the flesh, half was mixed with coconut milk and regular milk and blended into a smooth puree, while the other half was diced.
Then they peeled the grapefruit and took out the pulp.
Finally, after mixing the several ingredients together, they just added the cooked sago.
This was Queen Xixi's favorite. After it was done, she immediately and openly tasted it in front of the camera, her eyes lighting up with joy.
"Wow! So sweet! We didn't put any sugar in it at all, and it's actually this delicious!!!"
"Because the mango itself has a high enough sweetness."
Xu Yanxia smiled and took the opportunity to promote the local tourism and culture. "Hainan is one of the core production areas for tropical fruits in our country. The quality of every kind of fruit is excellent. Everyone is welcome to come and taste them when you have the chance."
"That's right!"
Lu Jingxi also immediately gave a thumbs-up to the camera and cracked a joke, "We welcome the relevant departments to find our Xiao Xia to be their spokesperson!"
...
With the completion of the Mango Pomelo Sago, the dishes of the other groups of guests were finally finished as well.
The dish-tasting segment that everyone was looking forward to the most had finally arrived.
The staff had already set up a round table in the center of the venue. Each group of guests placed their dishes on the table and began to taste each other's food.
To facilitate filming and editing, everyone needed to taste in order.
The first was the dish made by Mr. Zhao and his wife.
The Spanish mackerel dumplings were plump and shaped like small silver ingots. Through the white dumpling skins, one could faintly see the green of the chopped chives inside.
The braised mixed fish in soy sauce presented a glossy sauce color. Although it consisted of several different types of fish, after cooking, they were still lined up neatly in the clay pot in complete shapes, without even the skin breaking, which clearly showed their culinary proficiency.
It is worth mentioning that, in order to present the best texture, Mrs. Zhao deliberately cooked the dumplings last. At this moment, the chubby white dumplings were all steaming hot, looking incredibly tempting.
As someone who grew up in a northern coastal province, this was also one of Xu Yanxia's favorite dumplings. As the host announced the start of the tasting, she immediately joined everyone in eating a dumpling first.
Mmm, thin skin and generous filling, fresh and juicy, with a slight scalding sensation in the mouth—it was simply incredibly comforting!
She generously gave a thumbs-up to Mr. Zhao and his wife, "Delicious! It tastes like home in one bite!"
The others all nodded in agreement, "Delicious, so delicious!"
"This is my first time having dumplings with this filling, it's so savory!!!"
"Dumplings really are best when you make them yourself, they taste amazing!"
"I'm glad everyone likes them," Mr. Zhao chuckled as he invited the group. "Try the other dish and see how it is."
"Will do!"
Everyone then reached their chopsticks toward the pot of mixed fish braised in soy sauce.
"So flavorful! Salty, savory, and delicious!"
"This dish goes so well with rice, I could eat three bowls of rice just mixed with this sauce!"
For one thing, the food was genuinely good; for another, everyone was more than happy to offer praise and keep the mood high. In short, it made Mr. Zhao and his wife very happy.
Mrs. Zhao even modestly remarked, "These are all fish we bought at the pier this morning, so they are quite fresh. When it comes to eating fish, freshness is key."
"Ah, that's so true!"
Just as Mrs. Zhao finished speaking, Jason He, who had not said a word until now, suddenly spoke up.
"As long as the ingredients are of high enough quality, you generally can't go wrong no matter how you cook them. However, it should be noted that a heavy sauce will mask the natural flavor of the fish. Frankly speaking, you two didn't need to braise the fish in soy sauce at all; steaming it would have better highlighted the quality of the fish."
Uh...
Everyone looked at each other, a bit stunned.
You have to understand, although this segment was nominally called an evaluation, it was actually meant for interaction, to increase the fun for the guests and the viewing experience for the audience.
After all, the theme was the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion. Everyone was just looking for warmth and happiness; they did not need the guidance of a so-called expert.
Especially not this kind of nitpicking guidance.
Everyone thought this guy might have a screw loose.
