Reborn in Japan as a Chef God-Chapter 994 - 993: The Ceremony (Part 3)

"Clatter," a plate landed on the dining table.

The camera panned to the plate. A well-fried carp lay on a layer of sweet and sour sauce.

The main building was silent.

Everyone was astonished by Xia Yu’s simple and straightforward "culinary" performance.

This...

Wasn’t it too casual?

From the perspective of an ordinary chef, this ’sweet and sour carp’ had a good control of heat, and the sweet and sour sauce emitted enough tangy and sweet flavor. Generally, it appeared appetizing, fragrant, and delicious, qualifying it as a gourmet dish.

But starting from Xia Yu’s "Dragon Chef" background, this dish in response to the Kirin Child’s minor exam was too plain.

Dragon Head Zhu Ji’s face slightly darkened, clearly displeased with Xia Yu’s careless attitude!

Even Kong Chun and Wei An, influenced by Wu Tong’s earlier words, were astonished and exchanged puzzled glances. They couldn’t understand why the young Demon King, who always pursued "perfection," would present a face-losing work at such a ceremonial ritual, thus tarnishing the Demon King’s reputation.

Kong Chun and Wei An repeatedly scrutinized the dish on the plate.

"...Is it complete?"

The big shots had no choice but to glance at each other.

"It’s roughly done." Xia Yu smiled slightly.

"A very ordinary, homely sweet and sour carp."

Wu Tong averted his gaze from the plate and looked up at Xia Yu, stating expressionlessly, "Is this your submission for the ’Kirin Child’ naming... assignment? Frankly speaking, I don’t know how to evaluate it. If from the standpoint of your culinary skills and personal reputation, I would unhesitatingly give you a score of 0!"

Without needing to taste it personally, the Dragon Chefs present could perceive the "hollowness" of the dish.

From a Dragon Chef’s standpoint, this "hollowness" signified the lack of a food spirit!

A high-grade dish possessing a ’food spirit’ inherently has a certain charisma, and this charisma radiates from the inside out, much like Huang He’s "Turtle and Crane Life Extending Soup," where a spectacle unfolds when the lid is uncovered. But Xia Yu’s current sweet and sour carp was too quiet, lacking any transformation, and the aroma wafting into everyone’s nose was plain and unremarkable, not stirring any gastronomic imagery.

In this regard, Wu Tong’s judgment of "zero points" seemed rather justified.

"Are you sure it’s only at this level?"

Zhu Ji said with a slow and steady tone, "We few old men can tolerate your spontaneous works on the spot not matching the classic ’Core of the Earth’ that defeated Huang He that day, but if it’s at such an ordinary dish level where even the chopsticks do not want to stir, that would be too disappointing. I might cast a veto on your Kirin Child nomination!"

Listening to Dragon Head’s stern tone, an air of subtlety enveloped the White Jade Tower’s atmosphere.

Many couldn’t help but whisper and softly discuss.

"Hey, hey, according to the word on the street, wasn’t it just a formality for Demon King Xia to become the ’Kirin Child’? It should have been predetermined!"

"Who knows, these old guys, each one is not to be underestimated, and might change their mind at the last minute."

"I agree that Zhu Longtou is not easy to deal with, having fought and clawed his way to this high position. But this Demon King Xia, no matter what, has some blood relations with him, but his attitude seems like he’s ready to sacrifice family for righteousness?"

The rustling from the second floor to the top just echoed, people couldn’t help but curiously glance at the youth still calm despite being questioned.

How will he resolve this predicament?

The usually unobtrusive host timidly stated, "Well, Chef Xia, you left one burner on, and water in a small pot has boiled over..."

Eh!

The building momentarily turned deathly silent.

Burner, small pot, boiled water? It was only then that everyone realized with surprise that indeed a burner on the stove was left on, and placed on it was a small pot with nothing more ordinary than water in it.

Steam permeated the air.

"Has the water boiled?" Xia Yu’s smile appeared mysterious to Zhu Ji, Wu Tong, and the others.

"Yes."

The host replied.

The five big shots sitting in the hall watched as Xia Yu turned around and returned to the kitchen station, all furrowing their brows.

The camera zoomed in on a bottle of wine on the kitchen counter.

"Is that... yellow wine?" Zhu Ji expressed surprise, "Shaoxing Old Wine?"

The placement of this wine jar was rather hidden, a small jar. Xia Yu placed a clear glass cup on the table and then leisurely untied the string of the vintage wine jar, uncovering the fabric and stopper.

Coincidentally, a line of text on the front of the small wine jar reflected in the view of the camera and everyone present.

Vintage Brew.

Champion Red.

It turned out to be a jar of ’Champion Red,’ a very ancient yellow wine.

It’s worth knowing that yellow wine, alongside beer and wine, is one of the world’s three ancient wines, famous globally since the Shang and Zhou Dynasties 3000 years ago through ’Jimo Old Wine.’

In today’s field of yellow wine, Shaoxing wine leads, including ’Daughter Red’, ’Champion Red’, and ’Floral Carving Wine’, all of which are Shaoxing Old Wines.

Yet the combination of carp and yellow wine, an odd pairing, was shocking.

"Guoxi?" Kong Chun was shocked upon seeing the brand imprint on the front of the wine jar, "This wine..."

"Ah!"

A shocked voice came from somewhere on the third floor, and the outside camera immediately swiveled in that direction. A middle-aged man dressed in a chef’s outfit in the White Jade Tower’s special chef team couldn’t help but exclaim, "This is my brewed Champion Red, and this kind of Champion Red breaks tradition, utilizing high-tech techniques and separation equipment, without adding a drop of water or alcohol, a new-style yellow wine in the new era, with an alcohol degree approaching that of baijiu, reaching up to 60 degrees!"

Wu Tong knitted his brows and waved his hand: "Then why not use baijiu directly, and insist on using yellow wine?"

"Because..." The middle-aged man began to answer, but Xia Yu chuckled lightly, "Because this yellow wine, during brewing, is supplemented with longan, goji berries, Ganoderma, and more than a dozen nourishing Chinese medicinal herbs. It surpasses traditional yellow wine, not just in alcohol content but also in nutritional and health benefits."

The middle-aged brewer was momentarily stunned and then blushed, moved by the excitement of finding a kindred spirit and gaining recognition.

As Xia Yu spoke, he acted.

The entire jar of ’yellow wine’ was transferred into a transparent glass cup.

After that, he placed the whole glass cup into the small boiling pot, scalded it for about 15 seconds, and then turned off the stove with a "click."

Returning with a tray holding a big cup of hot wine, he placed it down with a clatter and withdrew a step, looking at the puzzled expressions of the five big shots in front of him, calmly explaining, "Please pour this cup of wine over the carp."

"How you pour, how much you pour, and how long you pour is up to you."

The five, brimming with intense curiosity.

"Is this ’Fire Dragon Fish’?" Zhu Ji immediately revealed the true name of Xia Yu’s dish.

"Fire Dragon Fish? You could put it that way. A recipe isn’t just conjured from thin air, my method, the procedural flow, is basically born from the Fire Dragon Fish dish." Xia Yu smiled and said, "I didn’t expect Dragon Head to recognize the Fire Dragon Fish dish, compared to other traditional famous dishes, the vast majority of chefs would not have the experience in cooking it." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Fire Dragon Fish!" Yan Qi immediately looked toward Xia Qing on the second floor.

At this moment, Xia Qing stared at his grandson in astonishment.

In fact, this dish originated from his manuscripts and was a specialty dish Xia Qing took great pride in during his youth.

"Pouring yellow wine over the carp?"

Wu Tong looked with sparkling eyes at the glass wine cup on the tray.

The ’yellow wine,’ a translucent yellowish-red color, filled the cup entirely, resembling amber, radiant and brilliant.

His hand tentatively resting on the wine cup, Wu Tong’s eyebrows rose, indicating the wine was very hot, at least over fifty degrees.

Fizzle.

The entire cup of wine was poured over the carp’s body, from head to tail, the whole fried fish momentarily drenched.

Put down the empty cup, Wu Tong asked with a frown, "And then?"

"Snap!"

A sound of snapping fingers.

It was as if the sound of a lighter switch, and at that moment, with a "whoosh," the highly raised, "jumping" fish tail suddenly ignited with a bright flame, and in an instant, the flame spread across the entire carp.

"Boom!"

The flames covered the plate.

"It’s on fire—"

From the bottom floor to the top floor, at this moment, the food hall revered as sacred ground in the Chinese Realm was filled with overlapping exclamations.

"The flames... are very intense!" Wu Tong was startled, having just put down the wine cup, his sleeve was next to the plate, and the flames on the plate showed signs of spreading. Startled, he hastily withdrew his hand, continuously saying, "Traditional yellow wine couldn’t possibly burn like this, no matter how much you ignite, it’s impossible to catch fire..."