Mingyue placed the dishes she prepared in front of the judges.
"This is my dish: mapo tofu noodles with fried pumpkin flowers."
The judges first looked at the presentation of the dish.
If Li Mingzhu's cuisine is a colorful combination of vegetables, it makes people feel like they are standing in a vegetable field, surrounded by thriving vegetables.
Mingyue's cooking is like a forest.
The green noodles serve as the base, like lush green grass, and the white sauce poured on it looks like a layer of velvet, like the white fluff spread on the ground by poplar or willow trees in early summer; on the other side, the brown mushroom sauce exudes the fresh aroma of mushrooms, and just by smelling it you can seem to see mushrooms hiding in the grass; on top are three freshly fried pumpkin flowers, still steaming, recreating the buds of flowers in the forest.
The four judges almost simultaneously stretched out their chopsticks and picked up the freshly baked pumpkin flowers.
The pumpkin flowers are wrapped in a thin layer of batter. Through the white batter, you can see the tender yellow color of the flowers, which makes people want to bite them.
Of course, the judges did the same.
The first bite, the tip of the petals has been fried to crispy.
The second bite revealed the juicy filling wrapped inside.
It feels like eating a flower petal soup dumpling.
The wild rice stems and chestnuts are wrapped in a gelatinous substance that has absorbed the soup, and taste like jelly.
The mushroom sauce added in it provides a good umami flavor, the water bamboo and chestnuts are chewy, and the receptacle of the pumpkin flower has a hint of sweetness. The combination of salty and sweet makes the judges feel like they have turned into elves in the forest for a moment. The pumpkin flowers in spring, the water bamboo in summer, and the chestnuts in autumn, they seem to have witnessed the changing seasons in the forest.
If elves existed in this world, this dish would definitely be on their menu!
“Is this gelatin made from seaweed powder?”
"Is it cold in winter?"
The judges started discussing.
Li Baiying tasted it carefully, then raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Could this be peach gum?"
As soon as Mr. Li said this, there was an uproar on and off the stage.
"What? Peach gum? This thing can be used to make dishes?"
"Is peach gum the stuff used to make Tremella soup?"
"So the pumpkin blossoms are filled with chestnuts, wild rice stems, and peach gum? Oh my god, how did they come up with that?"
Wushuang's eyes were fixed on Mingyue, with a glint of eagerness in them, "As expected of Mingyue, this guy is really extraordinary."
Xiao Jin also nodded, "Really, I really want to compete with her."
Tian Kui waved his hand and suggested, "Why don't we just take her back to school and enroll her? Then she'll be a member of our school!"
Wushuang shook her head. "Based on my intuition as a level 10 Taekwondo player, I don't think we can beat her even if we combine our strengths."
"What?!" Tian Kui screamed, "She's proficient in everything!"
......
Mingyue nodded, "Yes, the filling is made with peach gum."
Judge Qingzhu couldn't wait to ask, "How did you come up with the idea of using peach gum? Generally, few people would think of using it in cooking, especially in savory dishes."
"Because I was thinking about how to make a variety of fillings with thick texture, like beef tendon and pig's trotter, which are rich in gelatin. After stewing, the soup will also turn into gelatin. Considering that we are making a vegetarian dish, I thought of Tremella soup. At first, I wanted to use Tremella, but considering that Tremella needs to be stewed for a long time before the gelatin is released, I thought of peach gum. Once it is cleaned, it has a gelatinous texture and can also absorb the soup. I used the water used to soak shiitake mushrooms to soak the peach gum and added it to the dish." Mingyue explained her creative ideas and smiled. "The filling made in this way, when put into pumpkin flowers, is like a flower soup dumpling."
"Flower soup dumplings? That description is quite fitting," judge Qingfeng commented. "The pumpkin blossoms are fried to perfection. The flowers are tender, the outer coating is crispy, and the filling is juicy. These fried pumpkin blossoms alone are worthy of being a standalone dish in a restaurant. I hope your noodles can bring us the same pleasant surprise."
Several judges simply stirred the noodles on the plate and put them into their mouths.
This time, none of the four judges spoke.
Their reaction was to pick up another chopstick and put it in their mouth, then take another bite.
How can this noodle blend so well?
Silky smooth curd tofu, paired with fragrant mushroom sauce and chewy spinach noodles.
The aroma and spiciness of green peppercorns, combined with tofu and chopped mushrooms, tells your brain that this is Mapo Tofu!
Chef Li put a fried pumpkin flower into the sauce of the noodles, soaked it in the sauce, and took a bite.
The fried pumpkin flowers covered with tofu and mushroom sauce have another flavor when you put them in your mouth.
The silky smooth fat tofu brings softness, and the crispy fried pumpkin flowers elevate the taste to another level.
Judge Qingzhu had a creative idea. She used chopsticks to cut open the pumpkin flowers, then stuffed the noodles covered with sauce into the pumpkin flowers and put them into her mouth.
This creates a new feeling when the pumpkin flower filling collides with the spinach noodles covered in sauce.
Referee Qingfeng tore the remaining two fried pumpkin flowers into pieces and mixed them with noodles to eat.
While eating noodles, you can occasionally bite into the crispy and tender pumpkin flowers, which is quite interesting.
Li Baiying slowly put down her chopsticks, and her plate was actually empty.
"It's interesting. I saw other judges use different ways to mix pumpkin blossoms and noodles. When you made this dish, did you consider the suggested ways of eating it?"
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