Hase Ichiro’s theme was ’rice,’ which allowed for significant creativity. If it were Xia Yu, there was an eight or nine chance he would make fried rice or shumai.
Sushi indeed suited Hase Ichiro’s area of expertise.
As the manager and head chef of the renowned Japanese restaurant ’Hasegawa Workshop,’ sushi was indeed a fitting choice for such a large festival banquet. It was simple to prepare, saving time and effort.
Dubian Yuuki frowned, genuinely lacking appetite.
Hase Ichiro handed over a small box of assorted sushi. He had a logistics team, distributing sushi in transparent plastic boxes, each containing six pieces of sushi.
Abalone, sea urchin, scallop, botan shrimp, salmon roe, and cod milt.
These were the ingredients adorning the six sushi rice balls.
Though hesitant, Dubian Yuuki felt it would be impolite to refuse with Hase already offering the box.
Dubian Yuuki bowed slightly in thanks, took the box, and instead of using chopsticks, reached out with her fair fingers, gently gripping the rice ball. Her fingertips landed precisely on the seaweed strip, avoiding direct contact with the rice.
Eating sushi required an appreciation of its entirety, needing to be swallowed in one bite to truly savor its deliciousness.
As the editor-in-chief of Taste Weekly, Dubian Yuuki knew how to eat sushi. She opened her mouth slightly and swallowed a suitably sized rice ball along with the seafood ingredients.
Her cheeks puffed up.
As her teeth bit down, the rice and seafood filled her mouth completely, leaving no gaps.
Dubian Yuuki was eating the botan shrimp sushi. As her teeth pierced the shrimp meat, she trembled slightly, "Delicious—"
It was indeed delicious.
The rice ball, mixed with sushi vinegar, had a slightly sour and sweet taste that stimulated the lost appetite. Moreover, there was a hidden surprise within the rice ball. Once her teeth fully bit through, the minced meat hidden inside exploded with a rich umami flavor!
The ultimate second dimension!
"So the secret is in the rice ball’s inner layer!" Dubian Yuuki was shocked, chewing back and forth. In the crushed minced meat, she tasted many fresh ingredients, such as crab roe and tuna.
The seemingly plain botan shrimp sushi hid an exciting seafood microcosm inside. The shrimp adorning the outside was just an introduction!
"So many kinds of seafood, yet it doesn’t feel chaotic. Moreover, each seafood’s characteristics are very distinct, existing independently while mixing to form the ’ultimate umami’ rice ball!"
Dubian Yuuki murmured, "Minced meat, minced meat, minced meat..."
She continued to chew.
Swallowing the chewed rice, minced meat, and botan shrimp into her stomach, a faint aroma of wine rose from her throat to her mouth.
Turning her head, she covered her mouth and nose, quietly burping.
Her ruined appetite had suddenly returned.
"How exactly is this minced meat made?"
She stared intensely at the back of Hase Ichiro departing, then looked at the remaining sushi in the box, "’Superior’ level sushi, so this is what it is!"
Dojima Yin smiled leisurely, "Though ’sushi’ is a popular dish, it has different characteristics in the hands of different chefs. In Mr. Hase’s sushi, what do you think is the most distinctive feature?"
Dubian Yuuki replied without hesitation, "I think the botan shrimp must have been marinated in wine, and the seafood minced meat in the rice ball’s inner layer underwent similar processing!"
Dojima Yin nodded, "Mr. Hase is skilled at incorporating ’wine’ into his dishes..."
Finished speaking, he turned to go back to Xia Yu’s side.
Dubian Yuuki followed him, "I want to try a grilled carp!"
By the lakeside altar.
The extreme temperature of the work area was beyond imagination. Xia Yu gritted his teeth as he didn’t know how many batches of crucian carp he had grilled until his arms felt almost exhausted and about to give out. He stopped to rest consciously, sitting on the ground with his head resting on a stone cooking platform warmed by grilling. He took deep breaths, the sweat soaking a large area beneath him.
From his damp pocket, he pulled out his phone.
A quick glance at the time.
This meant that from 6 PM until now, he had persisted for a full hour and a half, satisfying the appetites of at least hundreds of diners with grilled crucian carp.
However, the remaining one and a half hours, from 7:30 to 9 PM, were the real battle time.
In the second round of the major examination, the three trainees didn’t need to compete for rankings.
The diners were merely a facade.
Had the true judges, the ones who could cast votes, already arrived?
Xia Yu was puzzled. He distinctly remembered asking Dojima Yin and Liangzi Lina about the judges at noon, and the two seniors had been at a loss for words.
It seemed that even Dojima Yin and Liangzi Lina were not very clear about the so-called judges.
"Nevertheless, the ’Seven-star Breaking Army Rapid Cutting’ blade technique was really useful!" Xia Yu opened his personal information panel.
The skill book of the ’Seven-star Breaking Army Rapid Cutting’ was a reward for completing the small exam task, along with 5 unused talent points.
Xia Yu was very optimistic about this blade technique, so after just mastering it and familiarizing himself a bit in the Chef God Space, he didn’t hesitate to allocate 10 talent points to this blade technique, instantly raising it to the full level.
Therefore, of the 15 accumulated unused talent points, only 5 remained now.
But Xia Yu didn’t feel any regret. In the previous hour and a half, he efficiently processed crucian carp ingredients with cooking techniques, almost without consuming physical strength, and his efficiency even surpassed Hase Ichiro and Takai Masashi.
Even disregarding examinations or food battles, the term "efficiency," when he returned to Tokyo and his small shop resumed business as usual, was equally crucial.
The ’Seven-star Breaking Army Rapid Cutting’ was a cooking skill that greatly enhanced cooking efficiency.
Although the Breaking Army Saber could only enhance the freshness of ’aquatic’ ingredients, for efficiency’s sake, it didn’t prevent Xia Yu from using this knife, or other knives, to apply culinary techniques to non-aquatic ingredients.
Therefore, unlike ’Heavenly Hero Bursting Flame River’ and ’Heavenly Hero Fire Wheel,’ the ’Seven-star Breaking Army Rapid Cutting’ was a versatile cooking skill worth investing in.
The morning small exam task was completed.
The afternoon major exam task followed.
"[Trainee Major Examination]."
"Tip: You passed the first round of assessments with perfect cuisine. Now it’s the second round. Please obtain at least 10 judges’ votes."
"Reward: 10 talent points, [Evolution Crystal]*1 (Purple, Item)."
Xia Yu stared at the [Evolution Crystal] information, his heart ablaze.
"[Evolution Crystal] (Purple): Can upgrade blue quality culinary tools and skills to purple quality."
The value of this item didn’t need to be stated.
Thinking of the purple-grade [Bursting Flame] culinary skill, Xia Yu felt thrilled.
"Got to go all out!" Xia Yu thought to himself.
"How are you holding up?"
Liangzi Lina asked outside the ring of fire.
Supporting his body with both hands on the cooking platform to stand up, Xia Yu’s face changed slightly, shaking his head.
The back of his head felt as if it had been hit with a punch, an unshakeable feeling of drowsiness.
Was his head sending a warning signal?