Ch97 – Quarter-finals – Side A
“Congratulations to everyone for advancing to the quarter-finals. Go back and make your preparations. Three days later, I hope you can show us a splendid performance. The top three performers today will also have a special privilege for the next round. The top three will also be announced then. ”
“Yes!”
After the players left, the three judges once again stayed for a discussion. There were several players who performed well today, so they needed more time to choose.
Zha Panpan’s spicy stir-fried fish with lotus root slices and Shi Mingxu’s Tom Yum Goong-like soup, both left a deep impression on them. Two of the top three places must surely belong to them. However, Cao Jun, who performed well in the previous round, only performed so-so today. It may be that Ruan Tang’s Emperor of the Seas clay pot dish caused his Shrimp and Vermicelli clay pot dish to appear pale in comparison, but the number of votes he received was barely enough to propel him into the top 50, and he was almost in danger of being eliminated.
After thinking about it, the three finally chose the Wu Anmin who made the spicy fragrant pot. It was clear to them that Wu Anmin’s spicy fragrant pot was not the result of a random mixture of ingredients made from a last ditch effort out of helplessness. He didn’t just toss in all the ingredients and fried them together. Instead, he spent a lot of time and thought into making it. The sauce he prepared was really delicious, rich and fragrant, with layers upon layers of flavor. He controlled the heat precisely, making sure that none of the ingredients would be cooked too tough or not cooked enough. Every shrimp and piece of tofu was made to absorb the spicy sauce. Though there were a lot of flavors, the overall flavor was not haphazard. Though oily, it wasn’t greasy. Each spoonful of the soup was truly a pleasure for the taste buds.
So the three judges unanimously decided to include him in the top three.
After recording the show, Ruan Tang returned home by suspended car. He was welcomed by the embrace of his dear younger brother.
“Brother! Brother! I want to eat spicy fragrant pot!” The little guy had already been discharged from the hospital and was wearing a little green dinosaur one-piece pajama. He looked small, soft and chubby. Ruan Tang could not help but to hug and kiss him. Ruan Yu also hugged his brother’s neck, accepting his kiss with a blush. He then said with a crisp and clear voice, “Although it looked delicious, Xiao Yu didn’t eat a single bite. Xiao Yu only eats brother’s dishes!”
This cutting-edge chef contest had been gaining popularity recently, and Ruan Yu, of course, also watched it. But for some unknown reason, this little guy refused to taste any of the dishes there. According to him, his brother was the best chef in the world. Therefore, the most amazing dishes were made by his most amazing brother. If he encounters something that he especially liked, he would pester his older brother to make it for him. In his eyes, older brother was almighty, and could cook anything.
Of course, he really could.
“You cheater, didn’t you eat Aunt Ran’s cooking?” Ruan Tang picked up the little guy and kissed him on his soft and tender cheek. “Okay, brother will make spicy fragrant pot for you!”
Considering that his brother’s stomach has yet to fully recovered, Ruan Tang chose ingredients that were easier to digest, and he put in less spices. The resulting flavor was spicy but not as stimulating as the original. The taste, though, was absolutely terrific.
They cooked a pot of white rice, and together with the rich flavor of the spicy fragrant pot, and an extremely delicious beef soup, the two people ate until their mouths were completely smeared in oil.
Ruan Tang also packed three portions of the spicy fragrant pot and sent them to the Military Headquarters, the Academy of Sciences and the Jinjiang Live Broadcast Headquarters. Because the Imperial Army was still fighting with the Valens, He Wei Ye was very busy these days, staying cooped up in the military department almost every day, He Yun Yi was also busy with the cultivation and breeding of the Zergs, often staying in the Academy of Sciences the whole day, and recently the new cutting-edge cooking competition has also kept Ran Jing, the president of Jinjiang Live Broadcast, busy, and naturally she no longer had any time to cook.
The He family was so busy that Ruan Tang could only use cooking to express his concern.
“Brother, when will Brother He come back?” He bit on his chopsticks and asked softly. Xiao Ruan Yu had been thinking about the big brother who would let him ride on his shoulders and play with him.
“Soon ...” Ruan Tang ruffled his brother’s soft hair, and his eyes couldn’t help but change slightly.
It’s been over half a month since they separated, and he didn’t know when this war would finish.
It seems that he missed He Yun Chen a bit.
**********
Three days later, the quarter-finals began.
As before, it was necessary to eliminate half of the contestants in this round, which also made this match more difficult.
“Today’s competition is still a themed match. Today’s theme is staple foods. Within one hour, you will need to cook a complete meal with the ingredients in the mystery box. However, simply making rice or noodle toppings won’t do. As before, the top three performers from the previous round have a privilege in this round.” Ruan Tang took over to announce the rules. “The three players are Zha Panpan, Wu Anmin and Shi Mingxu, please come with me.”
[Little swallows fly, fly, fly: Hey, it’s started! It’s started! My Tang is so handsome he could rock the heavens!]
[Weak hearted Idiot: Those three made a good impression. Their dishes were delicious. As expected, the judges have good eyes ~]
[Lin Jingan: Wow, the difficulty has really upped a notch. Their staple food needs to novel, and it has to be delicious. Looks like it will be super difficult!]
Hearing their names, the three couldn’t help but reveal happy expressions and they followed Ruan Tang into the ingredients room.
Zha Panpan and Shi Mingxu had already won the honor of being in the top three before, so they were more composed. But Wu Anmin, who was selected for the first time, was flushed with excitement.
“The three of you performed very well in the last match, so you have won a privilege in today’s round. You already know the theme for today’s match. Now, you are no longer limited to just the ingredients in the mystery box, each of you can choose any two ingredients, that you are confident with to use in your dish. ”
In fact, today’s theme could not be considered difficult, nor could it be considered simple. When it comes to staple food, the first thing that comes to mind would be rice or noodles, these ingredients that were an essential part of everyday life. However, they were expressly prohibited from using rice or noodle toppings, this meant that they would need to perfectly combine their chosen ingredients and the staple food. This meant dishes such as fried rice, chow mien, clay pot rice, etc. Dimsum and steamed buns made with flour should also be counted, however, he didn’t know how many people would think of this.
Ruan Tang, had actually broadcasted quite a few staple foods. But based on the first two matches, if the players were to simply imitate Ruan Tang’s dishes, they definitely wouldn’t be able to get a lot of votes. So they must find a way bring something new to the audience.
The ingredients room had a lot more ingredients than the last time. In order not to delay the match, all three quickly picked up their ingredients. Finally, Zha Panpan chose winter bamboo shoots and pork, Wu Anmin chose tomatoes and beef, and Shi Mingxu unexpectedly chose pineapple and shrimp.
After seeing their choices, Ruan Tang could almost guess what they were going to do, so he nodded and took them back to the venue.
The audience watching the live broadcast were confused, and they didn’t know just what the three people planned to do.
[Purple Fantasy: Wah, I have absolutely no idea what they’re going to make.]
[30602195: Whatever they make is fine, as long as it’s delicious!]
The three returned to the field, and the smart robots quickly brought out the mystery boxes.
“Now, everyone, please open the mystery box and prepare to start making today’s dishes.” President Gu reminded them again, “Please remember that today’s theme is a staple food that is perfectly combined with the ingredients. Rice and noodle toppings are not allowed. ”
Today’s mystery box was not small, and everyone anxiously opened the mystery box. The mystery box contained rice, flour, eggs, ham sausage, pork, tomato, beef, sweet potatoes, shrimp, three different colored peppers, peas, onions, and carrots. It could be said that it perfectly encapsulated the most commonly used ingredients. The players were surely given ample chance to give a good display.
“Ready, start!”
At Ge Lao’s signal, the players immediately began to get busy.
Most people choose to cook fried rice. After all, this was theme-relevant and the fastest to make.
Wu Anmin also made fried rice — tomato and shredded beef fried rice. The sweet and sour tomato sauce was used to accentuate the umami flavor of beef. He also seasoned it with ground pepper and tomato sauce. The resulting dish had a one of a kind taste and could begrudgingly be considered as a novel dish.
Someone also made green pepper and beef fried rice. He julienned the peppers and carrots into fine threads and then stir-fried it together with the beef. He then added a bit of chopped green onions and scrambled eggs. Whether in terms of appearance or taste, it was a good dish. However, it wasn’t very creative.
With more and more people making fried rice, the audience will inevitably feel tired of tasting it, so it would be difficult to obtain a lot of votes.
However, Shi Mingxu’s Thai-style pineapple fried rice, which directly used the hollowed out pineapple as a plate, stood out from the rest and attracted a lot of attention. He diced the pineapple and cooked it with the shredded chicken and shrimps. He then added eggs, minced garlic, pepper, and other seasonings. Finally, he topped it off with crushed peanuts. The savory yet sweet and sour taste was rich and very well-matched. Coupled with the supple rice grains, it was an excellent work in terms of color balance, plating and taste.
[Zhen Yan: Hey, this is delicious. Sweet and sour, with a particularly rich taste. The more I eat, the hungrier I fell. QAQ]
[Inexplicably following you: Yes, that’s right! The plating is really beautiful. Just looking at it is already so appetizing!]
The audience obviously liked Shi Mingxu’s fried rice. His votes were constantly rising, and he quickly left the other players behind.
Ruan Tang, after tasting the dish with President Gu and Ge Lao, couldn’t help but have a good impression of this contestant. He has definitely secured his place in the top three of this round.
Ruan Tang, though, had higher expectations of Zha Panpan. When he saw that she had started to knead the dough and beat the eggs, Ruan Tang gave a nod of approval in his heart. She should be planning to make a dimsum-type dish, proving her divergent way of thinking. That she had not limited herself to rice and noodles, showed that she could think outside the box.
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