Chapter 888: Chapter 887: The Counterfeit Comeback (Part 1)
Though they’re all rice cakes, when it comes to the dishes’ appearance, to put it simply, it’s a completely different style!
In the Ye Feizhou Group’s Su-style rice cakes, they are rectangular blocks, with colors of mint green, the texture is warm and fine, several pieces stacked on a white plate, exuding their own cool aura. Just like his persona, gentle and refined, as gentle as jade.
In the Wei Zhong Group’s Fuzhou radish cake, because it is mainly made by mixing rice paste, potato flour, and other small ingredients, at first glance, the appearance looks like fried tofu blocks.
In fact, these pastries are indeed pan-fried before serving, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with an aroma that fills the air.
Including the female director, the five judges were stimulated by the taste, and the color of appetite in their eyes suddenly became rich.
The judges’ eyes stopped on Wei Zhong Group’s work.
“It’s radish cake!”
A judge with glasses and a gentle temperament, his throat rolling as he tries hard to endure in front of the camera, “… smelling the aroma, shrimp, mushrooms, sausage bits, and other ingredients, have completely fused together, this doesn’t look like student-level culinary skills, the standard is too high, just looking at it makes my appetite break free!”
Lu Qinghong just stared at Wei Zhong’s hands, saying, “Just one intervention made the dish reborn! It’s indeed that miraculous cooking skill, probably only found in the White Cloud Pavilion lineage…”
She was interrupted by Wei Zhong waving his hand.
“Taste it!”
Wei Zhong said calmly, “Though this is not my work, it contains part of my effort.”.
Beside him, the number 1 high school student clenched his fists, standing with uncontrollable nervousness and sweating in front of the five famous judges.
Wei Zhong patted his shoulder and gave him an appreciative look, “You’ve done very well!”
“Thank you!”
The high school student, recognized by his idol and senior, felt even more joyful and excited.
Lu Qinghong nodded to those on her left and right, and so, the five judges simultaneously picked up their chopsticks, each taking a block of “radish cake,” biting into it and chewing.
An unexpected texture!
With shrimp, mushrooms, sausage bits, and other ingredients, it should have been a complex and diverse taste, but the cake entered the mouth, a burst of fresh fragrance enveloped the senses!
Continuing into deep chewing, the flavors of celery bits, and green garlic aggressively invaded, suddenly, Lu Qinghong stopped chewing, her expression strange, “Why is there a taste of the sea…”
“Haha, it’s seaweed!”
An elderly judge laughed, “Radish cake is not exclusive to Fuzhou, Chaoshan, Zhangzhou, and other regions have their own unique radish cakes. In that case, where is the distinction of Fuzhou radish cake? It’s precisely this flavor of seaweed, it adds the perfect finishing touch!”
The elderly judge was clearly an authority in folk culture research, garnering respectful looks from the audience.
Seaweed!
The other judges understood.
“No wonder, they say relying on the mountains to eat the mountains and relying on the sea to eat the sea, the reason seaweed is regarded as a special ingredient by Fuzhou people and included in radish cake is related to the coastal geographic location, and also represents the local people’s gratitude for the nurturing ocean mother!”
Lu Qinghong swallowed the cake, her mouth still overflowing with saliva, this time she tore off a larger piece of radish cake, chewing vigorously.
Clearly devouring ravenously, yet her face was a portrait of bright joy.
The freshness of the sea still spread deep inside, the touch of elegance hidden in the cake made the female director indulge, as if she went to Fuzhou’s docks, on a sunny and breezy day, stretching her arms, with the fisher boats faintly visible on the distant horizon, as if embracing them.
Pictorial poetry.
From the intense local flavor of the food, to hometown.
Through tasting, Lu Qinghong saw Fuzhou behind the young man’s culinary skills, this is the higher level of cuisine, beyond the importance of appearance, aroma, and taste, the cultural sentiment!
What is called the “meaning” of cuisine, also includes these narratives and feelings.
Undoubtedly.
The Wei Zhong Group presented quite a powerful work in this round of rice cake competition!
Soon, the plate of rice cakes was all devoured by the judges.
“Whew—” Lu Qinghong wiped her mouth, seriously looking at Wei Zhong and the high school student, commenting emotionally, “Honestly, it’s almost Lantern Festival, those who should go to school are going, those who should work are working, the festive flavor is fading quickly, but your group’s work makes me miss home once again, wanting to go back!”
She raised her scoring sign—
19 points!
The other judges, seeing this, quickly wrote on their signs and raised them.
“19 points, 19 points, 20 points, 19 points…” the female host intently read, “Oh, oh, oh, four 19 points, one perfect score, Wei Group achieved a final total score of 96 in this round, congratulations!”
The high school student was ecstatic, “96 points, it’s been a long time since the show had such a high score!”
Wei Zhong frowned, quite dissatisfied with the result where he couldn’t achieve a perfect score even with the assistance of his “Divine Hand” culinary skill.
“Make way, make way—”
A voice said, “It’s our turn!”
Wei Zhong was pushed aside, casting a fierce glare at the rude young chef, “Humph, are you rushing to enter Yama Palace? Okay then, 96 points is 96 points, how can these two surpass?”
He thought, the disdainful expression in his eyes seemed to be vividly apparent.
In the strong field of pastries, with a powerful student inheriting traditional rice cake cooking skills, how could he lose?
“Huh!”
Xia Yu stole the spotlight, the five judges then realized the Demon King Group’s dish had been overlooked.
They fixed their gaze, stunned.
A plate of pure white delicacy came into view!
On the white plate was “rice cake” as pure white as frost, the plate and rice cake appeared seamless, mesmerizing!
Without the green coolness of the Ye Feizhou Group’s ‘Su-style mint rice cake’.
Nor the sentiment of Wei Zhong’s ‘Fuzhou radish cake’.
Xia Yu and the No. 9 migrant worker uncle’s rice cake dish, was simply a straightforward creamy white, the aroma was the original rice fragrance of rice cakes, with no other impurities, pure and natural.
“Ge Yang Rice Cake?” The elderly gentleman with authority in folk culture quickly recognized it.
“No way!”
The jury exploded.
“Ge Yang Rice Cake, also known as Dahe Rice Cake, renowned in the Chinese Realm, can be said to be the king among rice cake dishes!” a buzz of voices erupted, “This rice cake requires two indispensable ingredients—”
“One is Dahe Rice!”
“The other is high-quality spring water!”
“These are the secrets of Ge Yang Rice Cake!”
Upon hearing this, Xia Yu just shrugged, “I know these!”
The female director Lu Qinghong coughed.
“Uh, actually when deciding the theme for the bottle label, in regards to the ‘rice cake’ ingredients preparation, our program considered that the three mentors or students might be familiar with Ge Yang Rice Cake and plan to present such a dish, so we specifically supplied Dahe Rice and high-quality spring water…”
“Just now Chef Xia requested ingredients from our program group!”
Lu Qinghong explained to everyone.
“Really?” The judges looked at the female director, then at the composed Demon King Xia, opening their mouths, more skeptical words stuck in their throats, unable to speak.
Who else but the Demon King Xia, if it were other newly appointed Lin Chefs, the judges likely wouldn’t let it go, wouldn’t let the matter rest.
“Ha—”
A mocking voice interrupted.