Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 40: Big grass carp, white-skinned mackerel, and mud carp—it looks like they're going to be made into fish balls!
The aroma of the Huadiao Fire Dragon wine that Mr. Lai Chi-On exhaled not only ignited the entire venue, but also the tense situation on the field.

In the Sky Team, Xia Yuxingye saw that Ai Pin Cai Cai Ying was dealing with the pigeons too slowly, so he had to free up his hands to help. Because of this, he handed over the preparation and cutting of the cooking ingredients to Chunqing Xiaolajiao.

As for Lolo, he was still in charge of simmering the pigeon broth.

Compared to the usual boiling of soups or the use of stock as a base, Lolo took an unconventional approach and used "cicada molting" water to make the base flavor of the pigeon soup.

The practice of boiling cicada molts in water is common in the Guangzhou and Shenzhen areas. From the perspective of Chinese pharmacology, it has the effects of dispelling wind-heat, soothing the throat and improving voice, and brightening the eyes.

The taste of cicada molting water depends on the quality of the cicada molting. The one that Lolo is holding has a slightly herbal taste at first and a sweet aftertaste. Pairing it with pigeon soup can greatly enhance the "moisturizing" and "sweet" taste.

Furthermore, this method imparts a subtle herbal flavor to the pigeon soup, making its taste more unique and its characteristics more distinct.

Compared to Luo Luo's whining as she prepared the pigeon soup using pharmacological methods, Zeng Huaijun, the "Queen of Sichuan," was much more straightforward in her expression.

Eight kinds of chili peppers, namely "Guangzhou-Shenzhen Screw Pepper", "Dalu Green Point Pepper", "Yunnan Heavenly Pepper", "Changsha Horn Pepper", "Sichuan-Chongqing Erjingtiao Pepper", "Yunnan Black Chili", "Hunan Seven Star Pepper", and "Hubei Macheng Pepper", are blended in proportion and then roasted to allow their flavors to meld.

The spiciness is reduced while the aroma is highlighted, achieving a balance of spiciness and fragrance while catering to the palates of judges from all over the country, without losing the original flavor of the chili pepper.

It looks like a stew of roasted peppers, but the proportions are actually very difficult to get right. Zeng Huaijun not only recognizes the flavor just by looking at the peppers, but also adjusted the amount of peppers in the later stages based on the pigeon's natural flavor after seeing that Li Zhian used Shaoxing wine.

This technique allowed the two culinary philosophies to blend more harmoniously. The chili peppers would not overpower the flavor of the pigeon; instead, they would enhance the unique taste of the pigeon, achieving a fusion of ingredients and a synergistic effect.

On the other hand, the Sky Team was starting to panic.

First, the side dishes cut by Chunqing Xiaolajiao did not meet Xia Yuxingye's requirements and were sent back to be redone, wasting some time. Then, Aipincaicaihuiying had a sudden inspiration to add three medicinal herbs when making the sauce.

Putting aside whether the sauce was good or not, the taste of the herbs was different from the "Minnan Roasted Pigeon" that Xia Yuxingye ultimately wanted to make, so they had to start over.

I don't know if it was because Xia Ming's team's advancement had some psychological impact on him, but he made frequent mistakes in today's game, and the second batch of sauce still didn't meet Xia Yuxingye's requirements.

In the end, Xia Yuxing had no choice but to send him to marinate pigeons and make his own sauce.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong with Luo Luo's humming and chirping, otherwise Xia Yuxingye would probably be lamenting that she couldn't manage three people on her own!

On the other hand, although it was also their first time working together, the chefs' experience made their collaboration very smooth and they were neither arrogant nor impatient, showing no signs of being a hastily formed team.

And after Lai Chi On pre-processed the pigeons, they had more time.

This allows Zeng Huaijun to focus more on the balance of flavors without having to worry about other aspects.

Similarly, Dong Jiaqi, who had been busy assisting others, also demonstrated the qualities of a "Level 6" chef when stir-frying the pigeon for the first time. Her movements were smooth and her timing was just right. She even predicted Zeng Huaijun's spiciness by smell and then deliberately shortened the time for the first pigeon preparation.

On the advancement stage, Xia Ming kept nodding as he looked at the Sky Chef team.

The sight of three chefs, each specializing in different areas, working together is truly a delight to behold.

"The situation is more complicated for the players. Xia Yuxingye is probably too confident in the teammates she has chosen. She has been very strict with the time, and now problems are popping up everywhere. She looks really pathetic as she tries so hard to catch up."

Xia Ming never liked the idea that "you have to fight to win" from the start, after all, who wants to be friends with a die?

Compared to Yang Yanbin, Xia Yuxingye is still too inexperienced. He probably really thinks that you have to fight to win, and that's his usual level when he throws a 6.

Xia Yuxingye was so angry at Luo Luo for throwing away a 1 in this round that she wanted to kick "Love to Fight, Win" out of the team on the spot. But now that they were on the pirate ship, it wasn't so easy to get off. Xia Yuxingye could only hope that Luo Luo would perform exceptionally well, otherwise the outcome of this round was basically predetermined.

Xia Ming started paying attention to Luo Luo's whimpering.

The girl looks adorable, but the soup is absolutely perfect. Dozens of spices combined with cicada molting water bring out the characteristics of the pigeon, and just smelling it makes you feel relaxed and comfortable.

"This girl really likes using spices, and she's very precise with the proportions, rarely making mistakes, and she pays attention to how they blend with the ingredients. But, why does it always feel like she's not using her full strength?"

Xia Ming was just guessing. After all, some of Luo Luo's whining and grumbling sometimes seemed unnecessary. Logically speaking, with her team in such a state of collapse, she had no reason to hold back.

"It's hard to say, it might just be a matter of personal habit."

Xia Ming doesn't have a complete concept of levels yet. On the surface, No one dares to fight, Luo Luo is humming, and the bald cook are all at West Level 3, but the gap between these three is huge.

"I don't even know what the exam was about, how did I end up like this!"

Upon smelling the burnt smell emanating from the oven at "Only by Fighting Will You Win" again, Xia Ming had already sentenced the team to death in his mind.

The final result was exactly as he had predicted.

The chefs' team's "Roasted Pigeon with Chili Sauce" vs. the contestants' team's "Minnan Roasted Pigeon with Pigeon Soup"

The final score was 76:24, and the chef team undoubtedly won.

Xia Ming even felt that half of the team's 24 points were thanks to that bowl of soup.

The contestant's defeat has brought the competition to a balanced point. Now, three contestants and three chefs have advanced. The outcome of the final round for Team Sea will directly determine which side the scales tip in next round.

Xiao Hua, who came last, learned from everyone's experience and, after fully understanding the team's strengths and preferences, made reasonable divisions of labor, even specifying the time for certain segments down to the minute.

There weren't any players on her team who were willing to take risks and win, so the atmosphere on the field was quite harmonious.

Some viewers in the live stream also praised Xiaohua for this.

[Sister Hua is amazing! No wonder she's the head chef of Embroidered Red Flower; her management skills are top-notch.]

[Yes, Xia Yuxingye is far inferior in this respect.]

【Give me back Luo Bao! Luo Bao, you were dragged down by your teammates!】

[To the person upstairs praising Xiaohua, I just don't understand. The Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef team fought three against four, a 91-9 score, and you didn't praise their management then, but now you're praising them? What's wrong with you, are you being a snob too?]

【.】

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A casual comment from a viewer in the live stream was accompanied by a series of ellipses. Xia Ming, the main character in the comment, was actually focused on Shuai Xiaojian's gameplay in the audience.

"Big grass carp, white-skinned Spanish mackerel, mud carp. Judging by this, we're making fish balls!"

(End of this chapter)