Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 73 Everyone Shows Their Skills, Who Made You Do This? The Second Round Theme Was Changed at the Last Minute.
Spicy diced chicken is a very classic Sichuan dish.

By stir-frying dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and chicken together at high temperature, the aroma of the chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns is fully released.

This process ultimately creates a slightly charred crust on the surface of the chicken, while the inside remains tender, resulting in an extremely rich and complex texture.

The ingredients for this dish are not difficult to prepare, and the process is relatively simple. The difficulty lies in preparing the "spicy and charred" flavor.

Of course, given the current situation, there is still one problem with this dish: how to quickly simulate the texture of chicken with tofu.

Xia Ming had quite a bit of experience with this.

The sixteenth elder of the Blood Blade Sect, nicknamed "Blood-Faced Buddha" by the people of the Nine Provinces Continent.

By day, he is a self-disciplined monk who abstains from meat; by night, he is a bloodthirsty demon.

Xia Ming had dealt with him for a while before and was surprised to find that he was a pretty nice person during the day.

Aside from being a bit too picky about vegetarian food, they were otherwise very polite.

Of course, he would never go to the area where the Sixteenth Elder was at night; after all, nobody likes to mess with a madman.
“When I was cooking for the Sixteenth Elder, I was exposed to a lot of methods of making vegetarian dishes taste like meat, so if I want to make this spicy diced chicken, I first need to make the texture of the chicken inside.”

After saying that, he heated the oil, then quickly sliced ​​out evenly thick pieces of firm tofu, and then deep-fried them in the hot oil for about ten seconds before taking them out.

At this moment, the outer skin of the firm tofu turns golden yellow. Because it is sliced ​​very thinly, it can mimic the fibers of chicken after being cut into shreds.

Then, Xia Ming wrapped the fibers back in the crushed tofu, eventually forming something that looked like a sausage.

Next, lightly shape it with oil, and then cut it into corresponding pieces according to the size of a typical chicken.

Because a lot of old tofu slices were fried before, this sausage is a bit long. Under normal circumstances, the judges definitely wouldn't be able to eat this much.

But after thinking it over, Xia Ming finally decided to cut it all out.

"There's still enough time, so let's make a little more and put it aside later. If this endless loop tournament really drags on, we can just reheat it and eat it later."

Since it's called "training the eagle," it's naturally aimed at the two chefs. If the production team is ruthless enough, they could put on ten or eight rounds, and then the chefs would be declared the losers without even having to compete anymore.

According to the rules, failing to finish results in an immediate loss.
While Xia Ming was preparing the vegetarian chicken, the others were also working at lightning speed to make dishes.

First up was Chef Wang Qingrui, who confidently picked out a piece of tender tofu and then began to demonstrate his knife skills in front of the camera.

After watching for a while, viewers in the live stream confirmed that the dish he was making was the famous Wensi Tofu.

This well-known dish is a symbol of the ultimate knife skills in Chinese cuisine. Although it doesn't have much creativity, it is definitely the best choice to show off your skills.

As for Chef Li next to him, he took a piece of soft tofu and stirred it continuously with chopsticks, adding a little bit of liquor every now and then.

Compared to the two unpretentious chefs, Lolo's grumbling and whining dishes seemed quite complicated.

She first sliced ​​the fresh mushrooms, then added carrot chunks and cherry tomatoes, and boiled them together. Then she took the tofu, added some sesame paste, a little yogurt, and freshly made spices.

Then put it in a food processor and blend it to form a paste-like tofu sauce.

She then skewered the ingredients on the table like BBQ skewers and finally coated them with tofu sauerkraut after grilling.

After arranging the vegetables on a plate, she pressed the bell in front of her when there were 11 minutes left.

Lolo's rapid food preparation surprised even the judges, but since the food was already prepared, it was natural to taste it according to the rules.

The judges approached the stove where Luo Luo was humming and groaning. Sui Wubai picked up a skewer, smelled it, and took a bite.

The sour sauce made from tofu is very flavorful and doesn't seem out of place when paired with the vegetables underneath. Most importantly, it preserves the flavor of the tofu very well, making it a perfect match for this challenge.

Sui Wubai looked at Luo Luo and nodded while humming.

"Hmm, not bad. The ratio of tofu to yogurt is just right, and the sesame paste doesn't overpower the flavor of the sauce."

"The vegetables also serve as a carrier for the sauce, further highlighting the sourness of the tofu sauce!"

After eating, Tan Zhifeng glanced at Luo Luo, who was humming.

Do you often combine tofu with yogurt?

Lolo hummed and shook her head.

"No, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision."

"That's really well done."

Tan Zhifeng nodded, then looked at Luo Yumin beside him.

Surprisingly, Luo Yumin didn't nitpick Luo Luo's whining this time. She simply took out the pass card and placed it on the table. However, as she left, she gave the camera a meaningful look, her thoughts unknown.

Seeing this, the other judges also gave their evaluations. Surprisingly, all seven judges were in unison in this round, giving Luo Luo a passing grade.

As the judging concluded, the results of her cooking session were displayed on the large screen.

[Four-Stage Tournament: Infinite Reincarnation Culinary Showdown - Round 1]

[Lolo grunts and hums, "Passed!"]

As the announcements came over the loudspeaker, the live stream chat began to buzz with discussion.

[It passed unanimously, doesn't that seem a bit fake!]

I think so too. Theoretically, tofu yogurt sauce shouldn't be selling this well.

Can't you guys be a little more understanding of Luo Bao? What did she do to you?!

[Stop with the crystallization! That leftover food blind box she gave me yesterday was clearly suspicious, you're practically rigging this!]

The live stream chat was buzzing with discussion, but the judges on set didn't seem to have any objections.

Because in this round, Lolo's performance was indeed quite good. She was the first to finish cooking and brought out the characteristics of the ingredients very well, which certainly deserved a pass card.

Just then, Chef Li's mixed tofu was ready.

The judges were slightly taken aback as they looked at the tofu that had been churned into a paste. This time, it was Li Shanghu who picked up the spoon first.

As the tofu entered his mouth, Li Shanghu's eyes lit up slightly.

The seemingly ordinary tofu salad had an incredibly smooth texture in his mouth; if you didn't know, you would definitely think you were tasting a slightly alcoholic ice cream.

"It's hard to imagine that this dish was made using such a simple method. It seems that Chef Li has gained new insights into techniques over the past few years!"

Li Shanghu gave it such a review, so there's no doubt that the dish has no problem in terms of taste. Although the creativity is a bit lacking, the technique makes up for it.

In the end, everyone except Zhang Yong typed "reject," so Chef Li passed the test smoothly. As for Chef Wang Qingrui, who was standing to the side, it goes without saying that as long as Wen Si Tofu didn't make any mistakes, passing was a sure thing.

Xia Ming was the last to ring the bell. His spicy tofu chicken surprised the judges, especially the enhanced imitation chicken texture, which won their favor.

Without a doubt, Xia Ming also passed this round.
"Control Room"

Luo Fangjin looked at the camera and smiled coldly.

"Tofu is just an appetizer in this round of dishes, something that's just going through the motions."

"The next round of materials is Bodhi seed, and in this aspect, Jinran, born into the Luo family, is invincible!"

Luo Fangjin knew that the Luo family had a unique treatment method that could completely avoid the toxins of Bodhi seed, while others could not completely remove them under normal circumstances.

If even one judge finds a "villain" in their food during this round, that contestant is basically eliminated.

But just as she was about to ask her assistant to arrange the next round of dishes, she discovered that the assistant who had been standing behind her had disappeared.

Startled, she turned around to check the situation, only to find several figures walking towards her from the shadows behind her.

As the sound of the wheelchair drew closer, her eyes widened instantly.

"Dad, what brings you here!"

The old man, in a wheelchair, held a vine cane and had a gloomy expression.

"You still know I'm your father. If I hadn't come, Jinran would have been ruined by you!"

"No, Dad, I didn't."

"Not yet? Yumin already called me and told me, Chef Dong, it was you who did it!"

Hearing Luo Fangjin's words, Luo Shurong snorted coldly.

"When you first asked Jinran to participate in the competition, what did you say to me? You said that since it was a competition that our family invested in, we should bring her out to broaden her horizons and prepare her for the upcoming 'New Chef Competition'."

"I did agree. But when did I ever say I wanted you to protect Jinran and help her win the championship!"

Luo Fangjin tried to explain but was knocked to the ground by Luo Shurong's cane.

"I know you've always doted on Jinran, but do you know what you're doing?"

Luo Fangjin was knocked to the ground. In a daze, she raised her head and looked at the old man in front of her. She covered her arm and gritted her teeth.

"Dad, of course I know what I'm doing."

"Jinran has been training at home for so long, she's now a fully capable chef. Is it really too much for her to want to win a match?"

"Which young person doesn't have a bit of pride? If you keep suppressing her like this, she'll develop psychological problems!"

Hearing Luo Fangjin's words, Luo Shurong closed his eyes and then snorted.

"shallow!"

“Back when you gave up cooking to go into business, I told you that there is no end to the culinary profession.”

"Your so-called ability to stand on your own is just wishful thinking. Do you think I don't know Jinran's true level? Let alone comparing her to her cousin Yumin, even among my old friends' juniors, she can't be considered outstanding."

"The most important thing for a person is to know their own limitations in order to make efforts in the right direction."

“When Wang Qingrui was just a kid, his father told me that this kid wouldn’t be able to take over his job!”

"And then what? Aren't they still doing just fine now?"

"Not working hard enough and falling into self-doubt are obstacles that Jinran herself needs to overcome. You think that helping her win the championship means you love her!"

At this point, Luo Shurong was furious and swung his cane at Luo Fangjin twice more.

You're ruining her!

"The world is vast. She may win you over temporarily, but can you guarantee her a lifetime?"

"Putting aside the distant future, do you think she can win the [New Chef Competition] in her current state? Will you be able to pull strings then?"

"Naive and innocent! My Luo family has been chefs for generations. Every outstanding member of our family has been a person of unwavering character, and we have never favored boys over girls!"

"You not only don't know how to be grateful, but you also single-handedly destroyed the future of my Luo family. You deserve to die!"

As he spoke, Luo Shurong's chest heaved, and he was about to strike again with his cane when a boy beside him stopped him.

"Grandpa, please stop hitting her! Auntie knows she was wrong!"

Luo Shurong glanced at the boy sideways.

"Are you going to plead for your aunt?"

Upon seeing this, the boy waved his hands repeatedly.

"No, Grandpa, let's put Aunt's matter aside for now. The competition is still being broadcast live, and the judges have already given their evaluations to the last contestant. Everyone is now waiting for the next round of questions."

"If it takes too long, people will think there might be something fishy about the competition, and it won't sound good if word gets out later."

Luo Shurong gave a cold laugh.

"So, what do you mean by 'it doesn't sound good when it gets out'? Now that things are like this, it sounds much better?"

"Alright, I know what you're thinking. Fine, we'll deal with your aunt's matter later. Let's continue the competition!"

Upon hearing his words, the director behind him also stepped forward.

"Then should I arrange for someone to continue now?"

Luo Shurong stared at Luo Jinran's face on the screen for a moment, then pondered.

"I will replace all the ingredients I prepared before, and I will decide on all the themes and times again."

The director didn't seem surprised by this situation.

"So, what kind of questions do you think would be suitable for our second round of exams?"

Luo Shurong placed his cane horizontally back in front of him.

"Raise the platform back up. The theme and time for the second round remain the same: half an hour, and it's still tofu!"

(End of this chapter)