Chapter 140 Equally matched

Ah Hui put the skinned young chicken and soaked shiitake mushrooms into the casserole, added water and started to make soup.

"Chef He, isn't it too late to start making soup now?" Xu Lemei asked.

Yang Yuhe said, "Didn't Chef He just say that this soup-making method is the Cantonese cooking method adopted by Yue Ning? This is the Japanese way of simmering the soup. The Japanese soup stock is called simmering soup, and the soup does not require long cooking, especially kelp, which will easily become bitter if it is cooked for a long time."

"So that's how it is? I didn't expect Yue Ning to also study Japanese cuisine."

"Didn't she cook foie gras at the exhibition before? And Wagyu foie gras and abalone rice must have become a popular dish in major restaurants in Hong Kong, right?"

"Yeah, she puts cheese in her durian pastry. She also uses balsamic vinegar to cook radishes for meetings."

The translator kept translating to a few Japanese people, who were staring at Ah Hui on the stage.

Ah Hui took the wet gauze and wiped off the white crystals on the kelp, then went to the seafood area to get a piece of dried fish, and soaked the dried fish and kelp in water. The Japanese found that this Chinese chef really wanted to make kelp soup.

A Japanese asked a question, and the translator asked Yue Ning: "What fish do you use instead of dried bonito?"

"Dried flounder, also known as flounder, is a specialty of Chaoshan, Guangdong Province. Like dried bonito, it is also a condiment for various dishes. The only difference is that dried bonito is shaved bonito flakes, while dried flounder is ground into powder." Yue Ning explained how to use dried flounder.

After Ah Hui stewed the chicken soup, he opened the casserole of roasted lamb and white eel. By this stage of stewing, the dish was already fragrant.

The most important thing is that the mutton is delicious! The aroma of the mutton from Guangxi's Mashan black goat, mixed with white eel and garlic, is so fragrant that it can be smelled from ten miles away.

The Japanese began to smell the air.

Japanese dishes, whether Kabayaki or Teriyaki, are ultimately cooked in the same way as braised dishes. This taste also suits their taste.

"Mr. Cai said that Miss Yue will cook dinner for us. I wonder if I will have the honor to eat this dish?" asked one of the Japanese.

Yue Ning nodded: "Of course."

But they found that the chef had spread something like a net in a large bowl.

The Japanese asked again, and Yue Ning explained to them what lard is and why they did this?

“Why is it so complicated?”

"Think about dried abalone. Isn't it normal to spend a lot of time to make a delicious dish?" Yue Ning asked.

"You have a point."

Ah Hui placed the whole eel in a bowl, then put the mutton and garlic seeds into the bowl, and finally covered it with lard before steaming it in a steamer.

At this time, he came back to process the skin of the young chicken. The skin had been marinated for so long that it had absorbed the flavor. The skin had also been brushed with white wine several times, and the surface of the skin had become slightly dry.

With the chicken skin facing down, he stuffed the fish paste on the chicken skin, then took a bamboo net and pinned the chicken skin stuffed with fish paste on the net with bamboo sticks.

"This is also a dish from the Republic of China, Jiangnan Baihua Chicken. It has been lost for a long time. Baihua is made of shrimp paste, and they use fish paste?" Yang Yuhe is really knowledgeable. He can't cook it but he can talk about it.

"For a hot dish, use two steamed dishes? Sebu eel is first roasted and then steamed." said the chef among the judges.

The professional judges were watching Ah Hui cooking, but Yue Ning's eyes were fixed on the young man.

The egg paste is as delicate as tofu, so you have to be extremely careful when frying it. The young man is very skilled and finally he put pieces of egg paste into the plate. The diamond-shaped egg paste was arranged into the shape of petals.

He raised his hand, and this step was completed.

He moved on to the second hot dish, a steak that he had been marinating for nearly two hours.

This is Chinese-style fried steak. When the British occupied Hong Kong Island, they brought Western food here, and the Chinese also started eating steak.

Any dish will eventually become localized after being in a place for a long time, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and the same is true for steak. Yue Ning just watched the young man use a hammer to loosen it, and then marinated it with steamed fish soy sauce, soup salt and black pepper.

The professional judges said: "This is the most flavorful Hong Kong-style steak in our city."

They can make Taigong tea-flavored chicken, chicken zha, and they are now dismantling partridge to make partridge porridge. These three dishes require a lot of skill. They also serve Hong Kong-style steak, which is a down-to-earth dish with local flavor that has been fused for hundreds of years and can be found on every street corner.

Yue Ning was confident in the hot dishes, but that soup, the dish that Yue Ning found for Ah Hui that played to his strengths and avoided his weaknesses, could not compare at all with the exquisitely prepared partridge porridge.

Li Xinrong bent down when he saw this, and said to Yue Ning over Cai Zhiyuan: "Ningning, it's a good thing you came to give us guidance, otherwise Ah Hui would have lost miserably today. This guy is also a strong rival for Ah Ming!"

Yue Ning smiled and said: "It's too early to say who will win or lose. Let's keep watching. There are so many talented people, which proves that our industry is full of vitality."

The professional judges on stage commented on Ah Hui: "It's not steamed, it's fried."

Ah Hui used hot oil to cook the squid stuffed with chicken skin, cut it into pieces and put it on a plate. His dish was ready.

The professional judges had just eaten the chicken nuggets, which were as soft and tender as tofu but full of freshness and fragrance. Now they are ready for the chicken nuggets with crispy and oily skin and smooth and juicy nuggets.

Both are fried, but the taste is very different between the lips and teeth. The professional judges have big disagreements, and the audience judges are the same, each has their own camps. Now it seems that the two dishes are comparable.

The young man put French fries and pasta on the sizzling iron plate, put the fried steak on top, scooped a large amount of minced garlic, and finally poured black pepper sauce on it.

The aroma of meat, minced garlic, and black pepper sauce drew everyone to the streets of the port city and the entrances of those old Chinese and Western restaurants.

The professional judges commented: "The street life is like the taste we have been eating since childhood. Whether it is the cooking time or the seasoning, it is very appealing."

Ah Hui had just opened the steamer, poured the steamed juice into the pot, and then placed the eel upside down on the plate.

Ah Hui thickened the sauce in the pot and poured it over the white eel. His second dish of fresh fish and mutton eel was also ready.

Each judge had a piece of eel and a piece of mutton. The mutton was first fried and then stewed. The mutton skin was so soft and sticky that it seemed to melt in the mouth, and the gelatin seemed to stick to the lips. The lean meat was threadlike, and the eel meat itself was plump. It absorbed the oiliness of the lard and the aroma of the mutton, making it more flavorful. With a sip and a lick, the meat fell off the bones, and it was a wonderful enjoyment when it entered the mouth.

When the judges wanted to close their eyes and savor the food, the host asked the other guy, "You guys won the cold dish contest, who do you think will win the hot dish contest?"

The young man glanced at the professional judges and the audience judges, and smiled at the audience: "Today's opponent is too strong, I can only show my own skills and compete well. Winning or losing is not important. My dad said that he will not beat me even if I lose."

Yue Ning looked over and saw the young man's father in the audience smiling at him.

The host asked the young man's father to come up, and the young man's father took the microphone and said, "I am proud to have such a son. Zhang Hongxing, you are the best."

"Dad, don't do this, I'm so embarrassed!" said Zhang Hongxing.

The host extended the microphone to Ah Hui and asked, "What does Chef He think?"

"Chef Zhang is very good. I participated in the competition with my master in the last session. I found that the young people in this session are very strong. Are the young chefs in Hong Kong city already so good?" Ah Hui asked.

Zhang Hongxing said, "That Lu Peide is representing your Macau City. The strongest young chef from Hong Kong City didn't participate in the competition. It seems that we in Hong Kong City are at a disadvantage!"

Amid laughter from the audience, the results of the second round came out. The dish of fresh fish, mutton and eel won the highest score. Although the opponent's chicken and Hong Kong-style steak ranked second and third respectively, Yongjin was ahead in the total score, and by a considerable margin.

The family made the traditional famous dish partridge porridge. This dish is not only famous but also precious. The partridge bones are removed and the meat is pureed, then added with mashed potatoes and bird's nests and stewed into a soup.

Ah Hui poured the soaked kelp and dried fish, along with the soaking soup, into the chicken soup in the casserole. After it boiled again, he immediately took out the kelp, cooked it for a few more minutes, and then turned off the heat.

He filtered the broth, brought it to a boil again, added the lobster heads that had been split in half, boiled them and turned off the heat. He then put the thinly sliced ​​geoduck and lobster meat into a colander and blanched them in the broth.

Put a piece of geoduck and a piece of lobster meat in a soup bowl, pour a spoonful of broth on it, and it's done.

Their food is simple, but the other side has been preparing for a long time, so the dishes are almost served at the same time.

"We have eaten Lu Peide's chicken soup with clams. Can today's dish be considered a simple version of chicken soup with clams?" asked the chef judge.

Ah Hui nodded: "Yes, that's the idea of ​​boiling clams in chicken soup."

"The taste is surprisingly good." The judges said, "The chicken soup is fresh, the dried fish is fresh, and the kelp is fresh. The person who can come up with this idea is a genius."

Yang Yuhe smiled and said, "This is widely recognized in Hong Kong."

“It’s been a great job.”

The professional judges praised Ah Hui.

Commenting on Zhang Hongxing's partridge porridge, the judge asked: "How many years have you been making this partridge porridge?"

"My dad's signature dish. I've watched him make it since I entered the kitchen. But he uses mashed yam, and I like to use mashed potatoes. I think mashed potatoes have a more porridge-like feel."

"You can't do this well without seven or eight years of practice. You can't do this well without settling down and learning. Your partridge porridge is amazing!"

Both were praised, but there were differences in the praises. In the end, it was indeed the partridge porridge that took the lead, but his partridge porridge did not completely equalize the scores of the hot dishes. The scores of the two companies were already very close.

Like in the first episode, Ah Ming won the victory with his signature clay pot rice. This time, this staple dish became the key to determining the outcome.

Both families chose ordinary dishes that required particular cooking time. Yongjin had dry-fried beef noodles, while Ah Hui had Niu Hebang personally teach him how to fry beef noodles a few times. The other family had dry-fried rice noodles.

Judging from the cooking skills, both of them are good. The aroma is strong and the finished products, whether it is beef noodles or e-noodles, are dry and not greasy...