Chili crab and spicy crab might sound similar, but in fact, there was a big difference between them. The former was Singapore's national dish, while the latter was Sichuan's cuisine. The latter's seasoning was not as complicated as the former, and the appearance and cooking method were different.
The reason why Opello made such a judgment was that most chefs would choose Sri Lankan crab, followed by American blue crab. Every dish had the most suitable ingredient. There were many types of crabs, but these two were the best choices for Singapore's chili crab.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed that Yuan Zhou had chosen portunus crab. Subconsciously, he thought it was the spicy crab. As mentioned before, Opello had a good understanding of Chinese cuisine. The best ingredient for spicy crab in Sichuan was the portunus crab.
Yuan Zhou had entered the "business" mode from the moment he chose the ingredients. He was very focused and didn't look around at all.
With a sound of "Ka Ka Ka", the crab was put on the chopping board and struggled as if it wanted to run away. It was probably unwilling to be cooked in the pot. With his sharp eyes and quick hands, Yuan Zhou slid his right hand along the back of the crab lightly for a few times. Immediately, the originally irascible crab became much quieter and gradually lay on the chopping board without moving.
Yuan Zhou had chosen the portunus crab. This was the time when the crab meat was the most tender and the fat was the most delicious. Therefore, he needed to control the fat before he prepared it. He flipped the crab one by one and inserted a bamboo chopstick into the belly button. After that, he prepared the other ingredients needed for the chili crab, such as tomatoes, onions, ginger, chili, and other seasonings.
Originally, he needed to use ketchup, but Yuan Zhou smelled the prepared ketchup on the spot and wasn't very satisfied. Therefore, he directly took the tomatoes and intended to make ketchup on the spot.
Ketchup was too common. Even if it was made by oneself, there were various ways. After thinking for 3 seconds, Yuan Zhou chose the one that he thought was the most suitable. He didn't add lemon or white sugar, but only used a little rum and olive oil. The time to add it was also after using the juicer.
Zhang Le's arrangement was quite perfect. The juicer and oven on the kitchen table were all well-prepared.
On the other side, Opello did not disappoint the title of the number one chef in Singapore. He also had a way of handling the lively crabs. Although he was not as easy as Yuan Zhou, he was still able to calm the crabs in two or three moves. He also began to prepare the other seasonings. In terms of strategy, he had already determined that he was the number one chef in Asia, but he still had to put in 120% of his effort when it came to cooking.
Needless to say, Chu Xiao had prepared for a long time for today's exchange. Chu Xiao planned to make a new dish that he had improved for Yuan Zhou to try. He knew that there was still a long way to go, but he was still young. Chu Xiao said that the stronger his enemy was, the more he wanted to catch up. He would never admit defeat!
The other chefs had also basically chosen the ingredients. Coincidentally, they all chose the craftsmanship they were best at first. The main reason was that Yuan Zhou's breakfast was too amazing. They felt that if they didn't take out their unique skills, they would definitely not be able to show it to the public. They were all famous chefs for a long time. Who wouldn't want to save face?
"Boom"
The stove was turned on, and the flames rose all at once. "Zi Zi Zi", it was the sound of oil being cooked in the pot. This exchange meeting was the same as the meeting of the nine people last time. There was no assistant chef, so all kinds of sounds could be heard one after another.
More than 40 minutes later, Yuan Zhou finished. He was the fastest. It couldn't be helped that Yuan Zhou's cooking skills had always been fast, accurate and ruthless.
He carried a covered plate to the conspicuous big round table. When he was about to put the plate down, a few specially engraved words appeared in his eyes — — Yuan-Chu Exchange Meeting.
"This kind of table needs to be customized, right? Chu Xiao really dared to say that. But in a sense, it's not wrong. "Yuan Zhou muttered in his heart.
The initiators were Yuan Zhou and Chu Xiao. There was nothing wrong with the name. It was Yuan Zhou's idea, which perfectly missed the real use of Chu Xiao.
Not long after Yuan Zhou finished, the other ten chefs almost finished one after another.
"I wonder what Master is cooking. It doesn't feel like the fragrant and spicy crab. At least the fragrant and spicy crab doesn't require fish sauce and tomato sauce. What exactly is it? There are so many seasonings. Could it be Singapore cuisine? " Chairman Cheng had a lot of thoughts in his mind. He wore a solemn face, but his heart was already itching. As the king of Sichuan cuisine, he was naturally very familiar with it.
Chairman Cheng couldn't participate in this exchange meeting yet.
"Gulp, gulp"
This was the sound of Zhang Le swallowing his saliva. Although he had the foresight to fill his stomach to the brim, his nose didn't give him any face. Waves of rich fragrance continuously challenged the limits of people's endurance, especially from Yuan Zhou's side.
"Since everyone is done, let's open the lid and start the exchange," Chu Xiao looked around and said.
As the initiator of the exchange meeting, there was nothing wrong with announcing the start.
"Clang, clang, clang"
When the chefs heard Chu Xiao's words, they lifted the lids on their plates one after another. Then, they were all stunned.
Among the exquisite and beautiful dishes, there were two plates that attracted everyone's attention. One was in front of Yuan Zhou, and the other was in front of Opello. Both were bright red crabs placed on large plates. If it wasn't for the sizzling sound of steam coming from the crabs, one would have thought that they were alive.
"So he is also making Chili Crab. Looks like we can tell who is better now." Opello glanced at the dishes and felt that he would be able to confirm it soon. However, he was still puzzled. Why was he using swimming crabs?
Yuan Zhou didn't find it strange that Opello was doing the same as him. After all, he had already known it when Opello chose the Sri Lankan crab.
"Since that's the case, let's start with Head Chef Yuan's," Chu Xiao said and walked to Yuan Zhou's side with a pair of chopsticks. He couldn't wait any longer.
"Indeed, we should give it a try," Opello was the second to agree.
Only when he got closer did he realize that the two crabs looked the same but were actually different. This wasn't a difference in quality, but rather in plate presentation.
Ever since he obtained the second part of the Sculpting Techniques and practiced for a long time, Yuan Zhou's plate presentation had improved by leaps and bounds. In the past, it was already very good, but now, it was even more natural.
Take this plate of Chili Crab as an example. Both Opello and Yuan Zhou chose to present it as a whole crab. On the surface, they seemed similar, but if one looked carefully, one would find the difference.
Yuan Zhou's crab was lying there quietly with its legs coiled up. Contrasting with the aquatic plants that Yuan Zhou had carved out of cucumbers, it looked like a crab resting in the aquatic plants.
As for Opello's crab, he used golden breadcrumbs to represent the beach. The crab's legs were propped up, as if it was crawling. However, its posture was slightly stiff. Of course, one wouldn't be able to tell without careful observation.
This was especially so when his junior brother Qin Chuan carried his senior brother's crab to the side of Yuan Zhou. This contrast was very obvious. Both of them were experts in cooking, so their eyesight was naturally different.
Opello's crab presentation was also superb, but one could still see a trace of ingenuity. Occasionally, one could even see some cracks on the crab, which were traces of stitching.
This wasn't because Opello's culinary skills weren't good. On the contrary, his culinary skills were quite good. It was just that Yuan Zhou was too good.
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