BXBX NOVEL Chapter 238: Astonishment
“Greetings esteemed judges, the dish I have prepared is Red Cooked Beef Slices.”
Looking at Qin Lang who came out later, Shen Qian smirked with a triumph, revealing cute little tiger teeth. She then quickly turned towards the judges’ seats, her expression instantly turning serious.
After a brief introduction, she quickly presented her dish to the judges. The judges exchanged a look, then started using their chopsticks.
It must be said, after witnessing the cooking process, their expectations for the dish had increased significantly.
The extraordinary red cooking technique that Shen Qian had just displayed only increased their desire to taste the dish.
Shen Qian, however, stood quietly in her place, waiting for the judges to complete their tasting.
“Aren’t you going to introduce the dish to them?” Qin Lang curiously asked. This was the first time he encountered a Spirit Chef who did not say a word during the tasting session of the judges, although he had always been like this in the past.
“In transparent mode, the judges have seen my entire cooking process.” Shen Qian’s face was filled with confidence. “So, it is now enough to win over the judges with the taste!”
Qin Lang’s perspective on Shen Qian suddenly included a few points of approval.
There weren’t many servings of the Red Cooked Beef Slices. Each judge had only several slices to taste, so it didn’t take too long.
From the intoxicated expressions of the seven judges, it was evident that Shen Qian’s culinary skills were excellent.
However, Qin Lang remained confident in his Beijing Fried Pork Fillet.
Dear judges, this is the dish I have prepared, Beijing Fried Pork Fillet.”
Qin Lang slightly bowed, and after a brief introduction he opened the kitchen cabinet car.
Assisted by the thought waves of Dan Bao, a serving of Beijing Fried Pork Fillet, accompanied with rice, flew to the judges in the middle of the venue.
The head judge, Xu Can, rinsed his mouth to remove any lingering taste of the Red Cooked Beef Slices. He then looked at the Beijing Fried Pork Fillet in front of him with interest.
The previous dish, Red Cooked Beef Slices, had left him with great admiration, thinking, “No wonder she’s Mr. Shen He’s granddaughter, the once cooking champion of Yue Hu City.”
Now, he was curious about what kind of delicious taste this Spirit Chef named Qin Lang, who had come from an unknown place, would bring him.
The deep brown sauce was evenly wrapped around the strips of meat. Under the light, its slightly sticky texture shimmered like enamel.
Accented by the white shredded green onions at the bottom, the dish’s appearance became more impactful, eliciting an appetite just by looking at it. Meanwhile, a hearty meat fragrance merged with a unique sauce aroma. It unceremoniously barged into Xu Can’s nostrils.
Xu Can swallowed his saliva.
In terms of appearance or scent, this dish of Beijing Fried Pork Fillet was in no way inferior to the Red Cooked Beef Slices he’d just tasted.
Unable to resist, he picked up a few pork tenderloin strips with his chopsticks and put them in his mouth.
At that moment, Xu Can’s pupils suddenly contracted.
Itwas…sweet?
The Red Cooked Beef Slices had a hot and spicy flavor. During the tasting process, one of the judges who couldn’t handle spices even took a couple of sips of milk to relieve the spiciness.
That only made the sweet taste of the Beijing Fried Pork Fillet stand out even more.
Unexpectedly for Xu Can, although the sweetness stood out, it did not become unbalanced in the overall presentation of the dish. It perfectly melded with the slightly salty sauce.
With each chew, the tender meat strips released a rich and delicious juice. After blending with the sauce on the outside, the sweetness played the role of the green leaf that sets off the colors of the flowers. It made the delicious and salty flavors more prominent, giving an astonishing sensation that almost made someone clap their hands in admiration.
After a mouthful, Xu Can looked at the rice on the side.
Now, he understood why Qin Lang had paired it together.
With every bite of rice, the lingering, rich sauce flavour seemed to find a support, subtly immersed within the plump grains, lifting the already sweet and delicious taste of the rice up several notches.
Amid the amazed and intoxicated expressions of the seven judges, the Beijing Fried Pork Fillet and rice on the plate were all finished. Some of them even cleanly ate all of the shredded green onions.
“Next, we will proceed with the voting decision.” After another mouth rinse, Xu Can steadied himself, and spoke out loud, “As the head judge, I will vote last.” “I vote for Qin Lang!” The first judge on the left couldn’t wait to cast his vote, looking at Qin Lang with a gaze full of admiration.
This judge was the one who had just relieved the spice with milk. He’s not good with spicy food, preferring sweet flavors, and Qin Lang’s Beijing Fried Pork Fillet perfectly matched his tastes.
So, for him, there was no need for hesitation about this vote.
I…I’m voting for Shen Qian.” The second judge was somewhat indecisive, but eventually cast his vote for Shen Qian after some hesitation.
Both the culinary skills Shen Qian exhibited during her cooking process and the unique taste of her spicy and savory dish appealed greatly to him.
“I also vote for Shen Qian.”
“I vote for Qin Lang.”
“I, too, vote for Qin Lang.”
“Shen Qian.”
The remaining four judges stated their choices one after another.
The vote count tied at three-all.
“What are you guys…” Xu Can gazed at his six colleagues, showing a helpless expression.
That really put him in a tough predicament!
As the chief judge, he was always the last to vote, and this wasn’t the first time he’d had to cast the decisive vote when the other judges’ votes were evenly split.
This was the duty of a prime judge.
But this particular vote proved to be the most difficult one Xu Can had ever faced in his career.
Whether it was the spicy Red Cooked Beef Slices or the sweet and salty Beijing Fried Pork Fillet, he loved both.
If he really had to choose between the two…
In the end, the easy-to-pair-with-rice attribute of Beijing Fried Pork Fillet became the final deciding factor that tilted Xu Can’s scales.
“I choose Qin Lang!” Taking a deep breath, Xu Can made his decision.
Four by three, Qin Lang won.
In the audience, Shen He’s face revealed a bit of surprise.
Although he knew that Qin Lang’s culinary skills were not weak, the fact that Qin Lang had bested his granddaughter at her best Red Cooked dishes, still came as a surprise to him.
“How about that?” Zhou Qing laughed heartily next to him and patted his old friend’s shoulder.
“He’s a formidable young man.” Shen He nodded in approval.
In the arena, the Food Fight entered the phase of tasting each other’s dishes.
“Red Cooked Beef Slices, please taste.” Shen Qian served her prepared dish, her eyes eagerly on the Beijing Fried Pork Fillet in Qin Lang’s hand.
She has been in many Food Fights and hasn’t always won, so even though she lost this time, Shen Qian wouldn’t be discouraged.
But she needs to know the reason why Qin Lang won!
Taking the Beijing Fried Pork Fillet, Shen Qian didn’t hesitate to pick up some with her chopsticks, pairing it with some rice and chewing it.
The succulent flavors of the meat juices and the unique savoury sauce, combined with the sweet flavor of the rice, quickly melded together in her mouth. Her expression changed from initial curiosity to final admiration.
Before long, Shen Qian set down her now empty plate.
In the face of such delicious taste, she didn’t feel aggrieved by her defeat.
(Gu Zhou Coldness, Jun Liyu, and Yue’s Belief who won the first peripheral event haven’t submitted their addresses yet, today is the deadline. The second peripheral event has been awarded, please pay attention to the reader’s circle)
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