"It also looks delicious. The original taste is already so good. I wonder how the spicy one tastes." Wang Xiang stuffed the chopsticks into his mouth expectantly.
That's right. Wang Xiang was right. Yuan Zhou's crab balls actually had two flavors. One was fragrant and spicy when it was soaked in the red broth, while the other was the original taste without any seasoning. It was the sea crab meat that was cooked with the craftsmanship.
Most importantly, the two flavors didn't affect each other but didn't interfere with each other.
As soon as the spicy crab entered his mouth, the spiciness wrapped around the outer layer swept through his mouth. Only when the outer layer melted in his mouth and revealed the tender crab meat inside did the delicious taste slowly spread out.
"Ba Ji Ba Ji", Wang Xiang began to chew.
As soon as he started chewing, the crab meat got a second fusion in his mouth. There was an undeniable fragrance in the spiciness and a fresh and sweet feeling in the crab meat. For a moment, Zhang Dai's words about crab meat not needing salt and vinegar proved that the crab meat could have all five flavors. Wave after wave, Wang Xiang's mouth couldn't stop moving.
The spicy crab meat was very domineering. It directly occupied all the taste buds in his mouth and was too much for his eyes to take in.
"Hiss. Amazing. Delicious." Wang Xiang couldn't help sighing.
"I didn't know that the treasure crab could be so delicious." Bai Xiaoxiao also nodded at the side.
Bai Xiaoxiao was the king of seafood. He had eaten all kinds of seafood, but the treasure crab cooked by Yuan Zhou made him feel that the treasure crab he had eaten before was probably fake.
"It has both the freshness and tenderness of the lake crab and the flexibility of the sea crab. The meat of the treasure crab is smooth and thick with the aroma of crab roe. It's really not bad," Zhang Yan also said, "I wonder how he processed the ingredients."
"It's just too little," Zhang Yan added.
"Don't blame me. You guys have seen the size of my crab," Bai Xiaoxiao still wanted to continue, but he still clarified for himself.
Only then did they look at the crab shell on the plate. The crab shell was bigger than an adult man's fist. It was indeed not small.
The meat of such a big crab was at least half a kilogram.
In just a short while, there was only the crab shell left on the plate.
"We ate so much crab meat?" The few of them couldn't help but ask the same question.
Then, they came up with an explanation for themselves, "It must be because Head Chef Yuan didn't cook enough. How could such a small amount be enough for four grown men? After all, we are still in our prime. It's normal for us to eat a lot."
Yes, the four of them had completely forgotten that they had already eaten six dishes.
"Ahem, next, Rolling Crab Ball." Zhou Shijie clenched his fist and coughed lightly.
"Yes. It's time for the last dish." Zhang Yan nodded his head. He didn't want to dwell on the matter of not having enough to eat anymore. Proper business was more important.
"Um." Wang Xiang, on the other hand, was thinking of going to the Yuanzhou shop to make up for his empty stomach after the competition.
"Luckily, I heard that Head Chef Yuan is still opening his restaurant after the competition. How dedicated he is," Wang Xiang felt lucky and sighed with emotion at the same time.
He couldn't remember that when he heard that Yuan Zhou was still opening his restaurant after the competition. He thought that Yuan Zhou was trying to show off and disrespecting the competition. After all, cooking was not an easy job, let alone a cooking competition that required a lot of effort.
"I wonder when I can get my hands on the Crab King. It should be enough for me," Bai Xiaoxiao savored the sweet taste in his mouth and started thinking about the Crab King that was auctioned every year.
As a seafood king, Bai Xiaoxiao knew that the Crab King would be auctioned every year when the Treasure Crab was on the market. Last year's Crab King weighed 2.5 kilograms.
"It's your turn, Head Chef Zuo," Chef Li reminded.
"Um." Head Chef Zuo stared at the judges with a solemn expression.
"There won't be any problem. We used chicken and goose broth to neutralize the fishy smell and roughness of the crab," said Ao Pi.
The Rolling Crab Dumpling's presentation was made by cutting the crab meat into small pearl-like balls and surrounding the golden-red crab shell. Red gravy was poured on top of the balls, and peach-petal-like duck tongues were decorating the balls for seasoning.
There was also a carrot-carved crab beside the balls, one big and one small, echoing each other, like peach-petal-like petals falling on a pearl. The two crabs were frolicking in such a beautiful scene.
Judging from its appearance, it was a very good dish. Yuan Zhou's plate presentation was simple and clear with artistic conception while this dish was magnificent and beautiful. Judging from the plate presentation, the two main dishes were almost the same.
After all, it was a dish cooked by two experienced chefs. They still had this level of skill.
"One for each of us," said Zhou Shijie.
As soon as he said that, they started to pick up the crab with their chopsticks.
The crab meat was cooked with chicken and goose broth and the numbing and spicy gravy was poured on top of it, giving it a distinct and novel texture.
Besides, the chicken and goose broth suppressed the greasy feeling brought by the excessive crab meat, while the numbing and spicy texture made the taste richer.
When the duck tongues were eaten together with the crab meat, there was a little more chewiness, which was an interesting experience.
Provided that this dish wasn't compared with the big crab meat cooked by Yuan Zhou.
Once the two dishes were compared, the following conversation occurred among the judges.
"Um, it's not bad," Wang Xiang said.
"Not bad," Bai Xiaoxiao was a little absent-minded. He was probably still thinking about the Crab King.
After they all tasted the dishes, Zhou Shijie said, "Since the dishes are all finished, let's go back to our seats and prepare to show our scores."
"Ok," Zhang Yan nodded and then returned to the judges' seats one step behind Zhou Shijie.
"The judges have returned to their seats. It seems they have their scores," said the host with a loud voice.
"Then let's take a five-minute break. Five minutes later, the scores of both sides will be revealed," the host said and then retreated, preparing to take a break and drink some water.
After all, it was very tiring to be a host without a sense of presence.
"Phew, we can finally take a break." Someone from the seafood alliance heaved a sigh of relief.
"Yeah, I'm still quite nervous," said the sous-chefs from the seafood alliance.
"I'm afraid the exemplary restaurant will change owners in five minutes," Chef Li looked at the judges' seats confidently, especially at Bai Xiaoxiao and Wang Xiang, who had their eyes closed.
"It seems we have reached an agreement," Ao Pi was excited at the thought of Yuan Zhou apologizing to him.
It was as if he was holding a girl's hand for the first time, excited and impulsive.
"What do you think?" Head Chef Zuo asked Liu Jie when he saw Chef Li and Ao Pi immersed in the beautiful future.
"I don't know, but I don't know what the score for my squid is," Liu Jie was still brooding about not finishing his squid.
Head Chef Zuo didn't ask anymore. He just raised his head and looked at Yuan Zhou.
"Can he win?" Head Chef Zuo couldn't help asking himself.
Both sides were waiting for the result. Zhou Shijie and the others were still whispering to each other from time to time. In the latter half of the five minutes, the discussion between the four of them became slightly more intense.
Chef Li thought that Yuan Zhou was quite capable. The judges had been discussing for so long, which proved that the gap between them wasn't that big. If the gap was big, the result would have been decided in a few minutes. There would be no need for this.
Think about it, Yuan Zhou was able to do well in seafood, which he wasn't good at, let alone dishes that he was good at.
"Luckily, I chose seafood. If it was any other cuisine, it would be too dangerous," Chef Li said proudly.
Just as Chef Li's mind was spinning, five minutes had passed and the judges had stopped their discussion.
"Alright, five minutes have passed. I believe the judges have come to a conclusion. Now, let's reveal the score," the host said to liven up the atmosphere.
"Can we reveal the score now?" the host asked the main judges, Zhou Shijie and Zhang Yan.
"Yes," Zhou Shijie answered this time.
"Alright, let's start with the first dish, Spicy Mantis Shrimp. Please give your score to Chef Li's dish from the seafood alliance," the host said.
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