"Mishima Sayuri".
Liu Xu'an quickly began to comment on the next dish:
"I saw your amazing performance in the qualifiers. You were able to perfectly combine seasonal vegetables and maximize the strengths of each ingredient, which was really fantastic, but—"
Sayuri Mishima looked completely blank.
The audience members were filled with anticipation.
Everyone had figured out his tricks, so everything before "but" was irrelevant.
Sure enough, Liu Xu'an changed the subject:
"But I was really disappointed. This dish, 'Bake Tuna with Creamy Sea Urchin Head and Yam Puree,' should have been perfect in terms of both ingredients and pairing. However, you chose to bake the tuna with a blowtorch, which not only left an alcoholic taste on the surface of the tuna, but also resulted in the fish being loose on top and greasy on the bottom due to your lack of skill in controlling the heat."
The sea urchin heads are sweet and fresh this season, naturally possessing a sweet flavor. However, instead of using eggs to neutralize the sweetness, you chose to add cream, thus wasting the natural flavor of the sea urchin.
The only thing that satisfied me about this dish was the mashed yam. I guess it's because the preparation process is relatively simple; you just need to boil it and then mash it. You could say this dish is better than the worst, but it's seriously lacking compared to the best.
As the inheritor of a renowned culinary tradition, I feel your skill level falls far short of what I'm looking for.
Therefore, our score for you is 8.1.
"Thank you so much."
After listening attentively to the comments, Sayuri Mishima immediately bowed at a 90-degree angle, her expression revealing neither joy nor anger.
Next, everyone's attention was focused on Xu Milu and Guan Wenyan. More than a dozen cameras were pointed at the two of them, afraid of missing even the slightest micro-expression.
Liu Xu'an did not comment on the dishes in the order they were served, but instead revealed them according to their scores. This means that tonight's champion will inevitably be one of these two people.
Will the young prodigy have a sure win, or will the rising star prevail?
At that moment, everyone in front of the television held their breath, waiting for Liu Xu'an's answer.
Unexpectedly, Liu Xu'an's gaze swept between Xu Milu and Guan Wenyan before he stood up abruptly:
"Let me first comment on Guan Wenyan."
Guan Wenyan's smile froze instantly.
"First of all, I was very surprised. Your handling of giant delicious mushrooms, giant bitter melons and celery is really amazing. The method of blanching them first, then rinsing them in cold water and then stir-frying them is also very special. It removes some of the fishy smell of the vegetables while preserving the texture and flavor completely."
The method of continuously pouring hot oil over the duck skin to make it puff up and separate from the meat is brilliant. The combination of plum sauce and caviar is also ingenious. The bursting caviar combined with the crispy skin provides diners with an excellent experience. The plum sauce also helps to cut through the richness. It can be said that this dish is almost perfect.
But only 'almost'.
Liu Xu'an had no intention of letting Guan Wenyan off the hook, meticulously pointing out his mistakes:
"But you made a mistake in choosing the ingredients today. Crispy roast duck is a time-consuming and labor-intensive dish. It not only requires the chef to expend a lot of physical strength, but also requires attention to the control of the heat."
You've prepared three ducks in a row, and the quality of the dishes has become increasingly inconsistent with each one. The third duck turned out to be a fatal mistake.
—The duck skin had a burnt taste, like chewing charcoal, and tasted like fried pork cracklings. Not to mention the texture, which made the side dish the main attraction.
If that's the case, I would still suggest you continue to delve into the areas you are better at.
Therefore, we give it a score of 8.5.
—This is practically telling Guan Wenyan that he should just keep studying his family's vegetarian dishes.
Xu Milu watched as Guan Wenyan's face turned from green to blue, like a color changer.
She was actually a little unsure of herself. According to the competition records of the past ten years, the highest score in "The Chef Showdown" was no more than 8.8 points. Although Liu Xu'an was sharp-tongued and pointed out a lot of Guan Wenyan's shortcomings, the score could not be faked.
8.5 points.
This is the highest score on the field so far.
...
...
"Xu Milu, the contestant."
Xu Milu was still in a daze when she suddenly heard Liu Xu'an call her name:
"I was really surprised."
Liu Xu'an nodded to her, signaling the camera to turn towards her:
"Although you are an amateur contestant selected through online live voting, and your profile states that you have been learning to cook for less than three years, I can see that your basic skills are quite solid, definitely no less than some chefs who have been learning to cook for ten years."
A commotion broke out on the field, and many people looked at Xu Milu with surprise.
Less than three years of cooking training?
Who would believe that if I told them that?
Ignoring the discussions among the audience, Liu Xu'an continued his commentary:
"Your choice of Shaoxing wine, pork belly, and abalone are all very common ingredients, which is surprising but also risky, because the simpler the dish, the more it tests a person's culinary skills."
First of all, you have chosen excellent ingredients. The characteristic of pork belly is that it doesn't fall apart even after long stewing and it's easy to absorb flavor. An hour and a half is more than enough to make this dish.
The finest Shaoxing wine is used without a drop of water. The dish is simmered in pure Shaoxing wine over low heat for an hour and a half until the skin and meat separate from each other, melting in your mouth. The chestnuts are soft and mushy, and the addition of abalone naturally adds a touch of saltiness to the dish, just right…”
Xu Milu held her breath, and everyone in the room waited for Liu Xu'an's "but".
"You very cleverly chose small abalone instead of large one because you valued the tender texture of small abalone. It won't fall apart after an hour and a half of stewing, and it will bring out the flavor better."
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