Chapter 2474: He’s So Fast!
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The stir-fried pig’s kidney was the dish that Mag had prepared for the final.
However, he had changed the pig’s kidney to the snake’s kidney. He was going to do a stir-fried snake’s kidney dish to show the Underground City’s people.
Mag intended to do it fast and furious today. This Medusa snake’s kidney was fat, tender and had a unique fragrance, so he didn’t have to process it to get rid of any smell.
This was also the characteristic of a top tier ingredient. It only needed to be cooked simply and its hidden scrumptiousness could be released.
How to slice the fat and tender snake’s kidney was a technical skill.
!!
This snake’s kidney was fatter and larger than the pig’s kidney, so Mag sliced it into pieces with equal thickness first. He sliced the snake’s kidney diagonally before slicing horizontally from the opposite direction. His cutting speed was slow. He looked like he was teaching the audience.
Cutting the snake’s kidney with superficial cuts in a pattern of squares was to marinate the snake’s kidney faster and to make the final product look prettier.
After slicing a few pieces slowly, Mag began to increase his speed. His cleaver sliced through the snake’s kidney gently. The cuts were visible but the snake’s kidney remained as one piece. He was so fast that the audience’s eyes couldn’t catch up.
“I thought he needed to do it slowly. Actually, he was trying to teach me…”
“Have you learnt it? Eyes: Yes. Hands: No!”
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“It’s fine. I can see it clearly as long as I slow the video down 10 times!”
The audience began to express their admiration for Mag’s cutting skills.
The tender snake’s kidney was so obedient in his hands. The heavy-looking cleaver had displayed very delicate cutting skills. It was a pleasure to watch it.
Julian nodded and said, “Contestant Hades’ cutting skills are definitely the best among this year’s contestants. Be it his technique in dismembering the goat 2 days ago, or his exquisite cutting skills at slicing the snake’s kidney, they are all astonis.h.i.+ng.”
As more and more technological products entered the kitchen and the meticulous division of labor got even finer, fewer and fewer young chefs bothered to practise their cutting skills.
Although Iman was eliminated at the semifinal, Julian still very much approved of Hades after he had gotten over that.
If the younger generation of chefs could all work hard like him, there would definitely be talents emerging in the culinary world.
Mag was working hard and so was Angelina. She carved an ice crystal snow lotus fruit into an ice phoenix. Her exquisite carving skills were equally astonis.h.i.+ng.
However, the ingredients that Angelina chose were messy, so they still couldn’t guess what dish she was going to make.
After slicing the kidney and leaving it aside to marinate, Mag cut the side ingredients before heating up the wok and adding in the oil.
The most important aspect of stir-frying was the control of heat. It could easily be overcooked or undercooked when one cooked with a big fire. It was a big test on the chef’s skills.
This snake’s kidney was so precious and there was only one piece in Tucker City. There was no room for mistakes.
The kidney was put into the wok after the oil was hot. It glided in the wok for 30 seconds before it was removed and extra oil was drained.
Mag reheated the wok again. He added the spices and stir-fired them first before adding in the side ingredients like green and red peppers. He stir-fried them till they were no longer raw.
Then, Mag added the kidney back into the wok and stir-fried it with a big fire. He tossed the wok with one hand as he stir-fried the kidney with a ladle, combining the kidney together with the red and green side ingredients. They were tossing and bouncing around in the wok.
The flames crept into the wok from below and danced over the ingredients, like a special effect.
“Darn it! The wok caught fire!”
“Is this a special effect? Is it a little too much to add special effects to a culinary show?”
“It’s not a special effect! It’s a special way of cooking! It’s full of smoke and fire!”
“This image is amazing! Please accept my knee1!”
The bullet chat refreshed crazily. The audience expressed their amazement. This cooking method that manipulated fire like magic was indeed astonis.h.i.+ng.
“For the common chefs, it’s considered a malfunction if the wok caught fire, but Contestant Hades isn’t alarmed at all, as though everything is under his control. Perhaps, this is the special cooking method that he wants to display today?” David said with shock.
“Using flames to elevate a dish is a technique that is commonly seen in the Colasi Tribe’s traditional cooking. However, it is usually used in the ending process to pan-fry or grill meat.
This is the first time I’ve seen someone use such a big fire to cook a dish and let the flames get into the wok. I wonder if it’s for the show’s effect or if it does have a special use,” Old Hunter caressed his chin and said judgingly.
“From the charcoal-grilled mutton ribs, to the handmade beef b.a.l.l.s, to today’s stir-fried kidney, the cooking techniques that Contestant Hades possess are varied and flexible. I wonder if his performance today would be equally astonis.h.i.+ng too. I’m really looking forward to it,” a female judge said smilingly, showing her admiration for Mag.
The colorful ingredients tossed around in the wok and danced in the flames. The ample heat allowed the dish’s color and condition to reach its best rapidly.
Mag switched off the fire and plated it in one smooth action.
When the camera panned closer and focused on that fresh and gleaming stir-fried kidney among the red and green peppers, only 15 minutes had pa.s.sed.
“It’s done.” Mag put down the metal ladle and took half a step back.
“It’s actually done!”
Everyone was shocked.
One had to know that Mag was the last to finish for the previous two dishes. He almost used up the whole two hour time period.
And the Internet began to have a popular catchphrase: ‘Those who finished first, would lose.’
However, they didn’t expect Mag to do it so ridiculously quickly today.
In order to display their tactics, or to gain longer exposure, the contestants’ cooking time frame was usually above one hour.
“That’s all? I’m just getting started.”
“I feel like I have seen something, but not too much at the same time.”
“I didn’t expect Hades to be so astonis.h.i.+ngly fast when he decided to be fast.”
“I have only just started watching the live-stream. What happened?”
The bullet chat refreshed rapidly. The home audience was equally shocked by Mag’s operation.
“I-isn’t this simply too fast?” Johnny couldn’t help but jump up from his seat.
This was the Top Chef Compet.i.tion’s final, the most important battle in this season and also the battle that would give the season a perfect ending. Just the income from the commercials alone reached 2,000,000,000.
They had to hit the target after they accepted the money!
If Mag had completed the compet.i.tion in 15 minutes, what was he going to do for the next one hour plus?
Although Angelina was the most popular contestant before, everyone knew that Hades was the one that the audience wanted to see.
“Erm… Contestant Hades is indeed shockingly fast today.” David looked over at the director’s seat, thinking on how to extend the programme’s time.
Old Hunter said to Mag with appreciation, “Speed is never a criterion to judge a dish. Contestant Hades has shown us a special way to cook the Medusa snake’s kidney earlier. The end product looks good. I’m looking forward to tasting it.”
“I have already smelled the aroma. It looks like a dish that should be eaten with rice,” Nancy said with a smile too. Although it was a little unexpected, there was also a hint of appreciation in her gaze.
The staff members came over and carried that stir-fried snake’s kidney to the judges’ table.