With some help coming from the academy staff, Lu Xinyi and Ye Xieren made their way in front of the judges and placed their respective bento boxes at the table.
“Well, isn’t this visually appetizing?” Qin Jiahao picked up his chopsticks and scrutinized his apprentice’s dish.
Ye Xieren held his breath, trying to figure out if he made a mistake which he failed to notice. His mentor took a piece of battered asparagus from the set of tempura on his bento box, lifted it up on eye level, and checked both sides.
“Let me try this before I taste your sushi,” Qin Jiahao bit on it and chewed it slowly. Lifting his gaze, the end of his mouth curled into a small smile.
“That tastes awesome. Finally, you learned how to put flavor on your tempura.”
Ye Xieren threw his head back and ran both of his hands on his face, sighing in relief. Since he started his tutelage under Chef Qin, the man rarely complimented him on his cooking.
“I’ll agree with you this time, Qin Jiahao. The batter is perfectly seasoned and was light as a cloud. The tempura has a great texture. That’s difficult to do, and Ye Xieren nailed each of them.”
Next, the three judges tasted the salmon sushi from his bento box. He Haotian picked it up with his bare hand, taking it whole in his mouth while Qin Jiahao and Han Zhiling took their time to taste it.
“There’s nothing special about this salmon sushi,” The Michelin chef said bluntly, catching Ye Xieren off-guard, “It’s not the best sushi rice I’ve tasted. In fact, I found it a little bit overcooked. Mr. Ye, are you aware that there is a point where rice is cooked and a point where it’s undercooked or overcooked?”
“You don’t need to be so critical of if, Chef He. Although indeed, there are several methods to cook the sushi rice perfectly.” Qin Jiahao tried to reason out.
“I can taste the basic seasonings he used for sushi rice which includes sushi vinegar, salt, and sugar to achieve the balance of sweet, salty, and sourish taste. I have to agree with Chef He. It is a bit overcooked in my opinion.” The headmistress expressed her opinion about the matter.
“You can tell if the sushi rice was perfectly cooked after it was steamed. The texture should be fluffy with a firm bite, and each rice grain should be sticky yet should be able to retain its shape. Mushy rice means it has too much water, or it’s overcooked. If the rice is fresh, you will see a nice shiny gloss on the surface of each grain.” He Haotian explained after devouring all the salmon sushi on Ye Xieren’s box in spite of his comments.
“Sushi rice is the basic building block of many sushi variations. It is the hero ingredient of any sushi dish, and it will determine the quality of any sushi you make. If you master how to make the perfect sushi rice, you can make any type of sushi successfully.”
“So how did you cook your sushi rice?” Chef Qin asked Ye Xieren curiously.
“I did it the usual way…” ye Xieren admitted.
Qin Jiahao wanted to smack his apprentice head at that moment. Didn’t Ye Xieren realize that he needed to up his game to be able to beat Lu Xinyi? At this rate, Ye Xieren wouldn’t be able to stumble out of his second place against Lu Xinyi.
“Mr. Ye, I rarely give pointers to anyone…” He Haotian took a quick glance at his apprentice who raised a brow on him. “However, I’ll make an exemption today.”
“Both of you used an electric rice cooker. Even if you use a rice cooker, it is important to use a little less water than normal to cook the rice. The rice will be combined with the vinegar mixture, and it will absorb the vinegar mixture. You need ten percent less water for sushi rice compared to your usual way of cooking white rice.”
Ye Xieren humbly lowered his head to thank the older man. He chastised himself for not paying attention to the details and had put too much water on his rice before cooking. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“Thank you, Chef He. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Next, the three judges took several bites on the wagyu beef slices and tasted the savory soba noodles beneath it.
“These wagyu beef slices are evenly cut.” Chef Qin hummed to himself, satisfied with the appearance of the beef before placing a slice in his mouth. “These taste great. The beef was speaking for itself. It has a nice sear on each side and is perfectly seasoned.”
“Thank you, Chef Qin.”
He Haotian and Headmistress Han nodded but kept their silence. What Chef Qin said was true. The marbling in grass-fed wagyu made it very forgiving. It was at its juiciest and most tender when the fat was melted throughout the meat. Usually, it was recommended cooking it medium-rare to medium which Ye Xieren did, showcasing his vast experience on cooking steak on a professional level.
They tasted the next dishes but didn’t give any further comments about it.
Beside Ye Xieren, Lu Xinyi stood impassively, waiting for her turn. She was confident that she had an edge on this round and will most likely win this cooking challenge.
After clearing the table, the three judges received the next set of bento boxes made by Lu Xinyi. While Ye Xieren’s bento box was screaming of elegance, Lu Xinyi presented the simplicity of her dish.
Just like what they did with Ye Xieren’s bento box, they started with her tempura. There was a sound of crunch as they bit the tempura, making the audience drool over it. However, unlike Ye Xieren’s tempura, Lu Xinyi’s shrimp tempura didn’t have an excess batter because she wanted the judges to enjoy the flavor that comes from the ingredient and not to be distracted by the crispy tempura skin.
If Ye Xieren’s batter was light as a cloud, hers was light as a feather. Lu Xinyi was aware that the key to achieving perfect tempura was to make a seemingly imperfect batter. That was why she used low-protein cake flour on her batter.
It helped minimize the formation of the glutens that can lead to a bready crust. Using four chopsticks with their tips pointed down, she stabbed at the flour to combine it with the liquid for about thirty seconds; until a loose, lumpy batter formed.
Lu Xinyi didn’t dare to use a whisk or a fork to combine the ingredients. She wanted the batter to be barely mixed so as not to activate the glutens. Pockets of dry flour should be visible in the liquid, which should have the consistency of heavy cream.
She also made sure to mix the batter just before cooking, so that the flour particles have limited time to absorb moisture. In the heat of the oil, that moisture would quickly dissipate, enhancing the crispiness of her tempura.
“Well done, Miss Lu. You were able to keep the oil temperature steady at the same temperature when cooking these tempura,” Headmistress Han complimented, “but there’s something else on the batter that I tasted. What is it?”
“Yes, what is it? I’m also curious to know.” Chef Qin asked excitedly.
“It’s Japanese mayonnaise. Am I correct?” Chef He broke the tension and revealed the secret ingredient on Lu Xinyi’s batter.
“Yes,” Lu Xinyi affirmed. She wasn’t surprised at all that her mentor could easily decipher her tricks.
