CHAPTER 821: CHAPTER 820: XIA YU’S KITCHEN (PART 1)

"Songjiang Sea Bass!"

Hearing Xia Yu’s whisper, Granny Tang, full of energy, nodded to him with satisfaction, "At least you haven’t forgotten your roots and still recognize these ingredients that have been praised by sages and scholars throughout history."

"Songjiang Sea Bass is only found under the Xiuyie Bridge at the west gate of Shanghai Songjiang County. It is a local specialty of Shanghai Songjiang County, renowned nationwide since the Wei and Jin dynasties. Its meat is fat and tender, fresh without a fishy taste, and without fine bones. It is exceptionally delicious, making it one of the finest wild freshwater fish, naturally acclaimed as one of China’s four great freshwater famous fish."

The old lady stood firmly in front of Chef’s Table No. 1, speaking to Xia Yu while also looking at the camera as if she were speaking to all the people watching the auditions.

Suddenly, she changed her tone, an unexpected shift in expression that caught everyone off guard.

"Recently, I’ve heard Aqiong mention you quite often. She says you are very impressive, so impressive that she has to look up to you and can’t catch up..." Granny Tang’s eyes flashed with a hint of inscrutable expression. "The theme for this round of auditions was announced three days ago—fish!"

"Fish cuisine!"

"Isn’t it quite ordinary?"

The old lady smiled benignly, but the talented individuals on stage broke into cold sweat discretely.

Other freshwater fish were manageable, but Songjiang Sea Bass?!

Due to its fame, this freshwater fish has long seen its recipes thoroughly developed by chefs from all walks of life—steaming, frying, stir-frying, boiling—all cooking masters from past to present have showcased their skills with the Songjiang Sea Bass. It should be noted that "innovation" is also a point for evaluation. The young chefs on stage find it extremely challenging to score in this area, and without high scores, how can one compete for the top ten ranks?

Today’s three audition rounds follow the same three-hundred-point ranking system, with only ten candidates taken per round, totaling 30 candidates advancing.

"Ordinary?" Xia Yu shook his head, "The more famous the ingredient, the greater the pressure on the chef’s shoulders. After all, as you said, the Songjiang Sea Bass, praised by sages and scholars, has borne so much praise that if its acclaimed qualities aren’t highlighted, it’s considered a failure."

Granny Tang was quite surprised by Xia Yu’s cautious response, clearly not expecting the young man nicknamed ’Demon King’ to act in complete contrast to his nickname—not the least bit arrogant.

"Cook one more Sea Bass dish, consider it special care for this old lady,"

Granny Tang laughed pleasantly as her cane tapped crisply on the floor.

Xia Yu met her eyes, full of stories, and pondered whether this old lady was the hidden ancient entity of the Tang Family?

Before turning around with her cane, Granny Tang paused in her steps, "By the way, my appetite hasn’t been great lately, so if a dish is too mediocre, I might not have the appetite for it."

An implicit warning.

"Hey, is that considered an order?" Xia Yu called out to Granny Tang on camera, smiling.

"Order?"

Granny Tang paused, catching Xia Yu’s underlying meaning. She was merely a guest spectator, not a judge, and according to the rules, she wouldn’t have the right to demand special care from the young talents on stage.

"Consider it an order; if your dish is approved by me, this old lady wouldn’t dine and dash."

Her cane tapped the floor, its sound retreating.

Xia Yu looked up and raised his hand to apply to the stunned emcee on stage, "There’s one more mouth to feed; the ingredients might not be enough. Can I request additional ingredients?"

The emcee, finally snapping back to reality, nodded quickly, "No problem! Absolutely no problem!"

Within the next ten minutes, trucks loaded with seafood pulled up and left the stage, and all the kitchen stations received a sufficient number of live fish ingredients.

Worth mentioning is the arrangement at Xia Yu’s Kitchen Station No. 1, where there were two clear water basins, each with three live Songjiang Sea Basses swimming around.

During those ten minutes, Xia Yu had also decided on his recipe.

Sea Bass?

Actually, the simplest and most convenient method of cooking Sea Bass is sashimi, or raw fish slices.

However, considering his lack of cooking tools like carving knives and Ice Soul Blade, the quality of the sashimi might fall short of his culinary standards and be susceptible to criticism by Granny Tang and Wei Qinglian.

Therefore, not just for Xia Yu, but for all the young talents on stage, "sashimi" remains one of the most challenging cooking forms to present.

"Among the eight major cuisines, like Shandong cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, and Hunan cuisine, all have steamed Sea Bass and braised Sea Bass recipes,"

Recipes of Sea Bass from various major cuisines roll off Xia Yu’s tongue, his mind instantly recalling a sea of text.

Sizzle sizzle!

The sound of hot oil from the pans began to rise from the stage, other kitchen stations had started bustling.

Casting a scrutinizing glance at a busy peer not far away, Xia Yu observed scallions, sesame oil bottles, and Sichuan peppercorns on his station, nodding to himself, "Hey, when considering from the Sichuan cuisine angle, a dish like that can be classified by flavor; there’s spicy, sour-spicy, numbing, etc., like numb and spicy soaked Sea Bass. The preparation involves slaughtering the Sea Bass, slicing the meat into small pieces, first steaming it over high heat and then stir-frying it with scallions, followed by soaking it in broth and Sichuan peppercorn oil with added seasonings, completing a large bowl of delicious fish stew..."

Just then, staff arrived at Kitchen Station No. 1 with a basket of ingredients.

"Chef Xia, these are the ingredients you requested."

"Thank you!"

Casually taking the basket and placing it on the countertop, Xia Yu didn’t mind the cameras zooming in around him.

Since basic condiments like salt, soy sauce, and cooking wine were already available at the kitchen station, contestants needn’t request them from the event staff. Thus, Xia Yu’s basket lacked many bottles and jars.

Aside from a few pieces of ginger and two segments of scallions, Xia Yu continually took out packages of herbs from the basket.

Each herb was wrapped in yellow paper, and as the cameras zoomed in, Xia Yu opened a package casually, revealing some small dried particles, grayish-white in color.

He sniffed at the faintly bitter aroma, his eyes lighting up, "This white cardamom is of quite good quality!"

"Huh, cardamom?"

The camera gave the herb he held a close-up, sparking discussions across Dragon Gate Hall as many spectators recognized this ingredient. Though referred to as an ingredient, it is actually both a traditional medicine and spice.

In the elegant private room, Li Han and Tang Yuqiong looked down from above, observing the stage. They saw Xia Yu take out at least seven or eight packages of herbs from his basket, exchanging surprised glances.

Medicinal cuisine?

Suddenly, the venue buzzed with commotion due to Xia Yu’s next moves.

Opening the second yellow paper package, this large package contained over 20 pieces of black bean-shaped ingredients. Tang Yuqiong leaned half her body out the window, her eyes wide as she exclaimed, "Fermented black beans?"

"Whoa—"

The venue buzzed with discussions, naturally focusing on the young man known as the "Demon King," "Is he planning to make fermented black bean Sea Bass?"

In another private room at Dragon Gate Hall, Fan Jiaorou, Yuan Lanzi, and Mu Xiaoyue were present.

Having faced the closed door of Xia Yu’s place a few days ago, Fan Jiaorou’s mouth was agape, "Fermented black beans?"

"Is this a coincidence?"

It’s no wonder Fan Jiaorou thought too much, deeply shocked; three days ago, she had sent the notification letter about the theme and wanted Xia Yu to help her perfect a spice recipe involving fermented black beans, never expecting that during today’s auditions, Xia Yu would plan to cook a dish using "fermented black beans!"