CHAPTER 654: CHAPTER 653: PHOENIX EGG

The judges’ hands and mouths were covered in oil as they ate, completely absorbed, ignoring all etiquette.

In reality, Li Han and Lan Chuhai used salt to wrap the native duck and grilled it with Luzhou Old Cellar Wine. At first glance, the meat looked pale and tender, seemingly lacking in flavor. But when truly tasted—

The white meat revived on the tongue, leaving a subtle and profound flavor deeply etched into it.

Yan Qi, Karl, and Xianzuowen broke open the second giant egg, dividing the grilled duck inside.

They ate more meticulously, using plates and wooden chopsticks.

Carefully observing the duck meat that unfolded like petals on the chopsticks, each fiber of the meat was clearly visible to the keen eye. Tiqie Xianzuowen praised, "Such white meat, it feels light, but when tasted... it strikes the heart!"

Swallowing another piece, the sweat on the Far Moon Commander’s face bizarrely increased.

"No strange seasonings!"

"The most natural meat cuisine!"

Wise Man Karl’s eyes showed appreciation. "And the flames transformed the duck meat—"

He pointed to a whole duck within the shattered eggshell.

"This is a super duck beyond the duck itself. The taste is indescribable! I’ve never tasted such delicious, primal duck meat; my tongue will remember this flavor!"

Speaking, the IGO Vice President, known as the ’Scalpel’ among the three Sages, clasped his hands together in a bow toward Li Han and Lan Chuhai. "Thank you for your hospitality!"

"Do not underestimate this layer of eggshell—"

Tiqie Xianzuowen pointed to the salt-made ’eggshell’ and said in a deep voice, "You can see this shell as the key to the duck’s transformation. It accumulated tens of times more power inside the egg, and at the moment of breaking the shell, it was reborn in flames!"

"Indeed!"

Yan Qi couldn’t help but exclaim.

The chopsticks entered the mouth, and the still-warm duck meat seemed to melt in the mouth. Suddenly, in Yan Qi’s vision, appeared a flying wild duck. As it flew, its feathers and tail suddenly lengthened and were adorned with brilliant colors—

This was the phoenix!

"Wow—"

The phoenix flapped around the cooking station, its wings fanning out, flames falling. Yan Qi felt a flame descend upon him, and in the fire, he was deeply moved. This wasn’t just from the taste or ingredients, but from something higher, known as the "intention" of cuisine!

"Intention" is also a key distinction between Qilin Level Cuisine and Special Grade Cuisine.

A Special Grade Chef pursues the ultimate piling of flavors, mastering three extreme flavors into one dish, representing the pinnacle of special-grade chefs.

Reaching the peak of the Lin Chef pyramid, it’s not about dominating food but embracing the righteous path of "intention." "Intention" is akin to the ultimate flavor, something Lin Chefs strive to mold with various materials.

Here, "food intention" is a crucial material for crafting "intention" and can be seen as the foundation. Without "food intention," it’s impossible to craft a complete image.

One by one, flames descended, seeming to ignite robes, hair, and eyebrows.

That sense of the phoenix’s nirvana, waiting to be reborn, with a heart sweeping away darkness and full of positive energy!

Holding the chopsticks tightly, Yan Qi opened his eyes to find that other judges and guests, like him, showed excitement in their eyes.

"Rebirth!" Chief Judge Nuliang’s voice trembled, "This is the ’intention’ of rebirth!"

"The phoenix that lives forever in the memory of the tongue!"

A group of giants surrounding the iron pot exchanged satisfied glances.

"What’s this dish called?" The red-haired judge stared at Li Han. "I can feel the deep story behind the dish; this recipe wasn’t just created for the finals!"

Li Han grinned.

Lan Chuhai’s long eyelashes quivered slightly as she said, "It’s called... ’Phoenix Egg’!"

Phoenix Egg?

The competition venue was silent, and some Chinese chefs in the guest seats who knew the story of the "Phoenix Egg" recipe were shocked. "This, isn’t this one of the ancient recipes left by Chef God Liu to the world?"

"Indeed!"

Yu Hong, the Lin Giant of the Yangquan Restaurant team, let out a long breath, "No wonder they felt so familiar making it."

He watched Lan Chuhai.

This Female Qilin Chef was the pillar of the Lan Family in modern times. The reason why the Lan Family had the "Phoenix Egg" recipe was simple: because the Lan Family ancestor Lan Feihong saved Liu Maoxing from despair and witnessed Liu Maoxing use the "Phoenix Egg" recipe to personally defeat Zhu Qi the "Flying Saint."

"Crack!"

At this moment, there was a sound of clenching fists.

Xia Yu turned his head and saw Zhu Qing, who had turned black.

Zhu Qing was fuming, grinding her teeth as she stared at Lan Chuhai. "Is she humiliating my entire Zhu Family by bringing out the ’Phoenix Egg’ now?!"

No wonder Zhu Qing was furious.

Because Zhu Qing was the descendant of the "Flying Saint" Zhu Qi. Lan Chuhai revealing this ancient recipe that defeated Zhu Family’s ancestor in the finals posed a significant problem.

"What are you upset about?" Xia Yu patted her shoulder, as if smoothing the fur of a bristling cat. "By the way, Zhu Qi took Liu Maoxing’s sister, didn’t he? That move was ruthless!"

He immediately regretted saying it, slipping his tongue!

"What did you say? Took?"

Zhu Qing turned and glared at him, directly raising her hand to flick his forehead as she angrily said, "You’re insulting your ancestor! Now apologize! Slap yourself!"

During their exchange, the tasting at the number 2 cooking station continued.

Tiqie Xianzuowen said, "The shell and flames are the points that magnify the flavor of this dish dozens of times!"

Wise Man Karl picked up a piece of the broken "eggshell" and sniffed it:

"This salt, it’s rock salt. Using so much rock salt to wrap the native duck, no wonder it doesn’t need other seasonings!"

Lan Chuhai responded, "This is a small alteration I made to the ’Phoenix Egg’ recipe. The inspiration for the rock salt came from Chef Saito’s use of volcanic rock salt in the last competition, and I want to give him special thanks for that!"

The camera immediately panned to the Far Moon Seat, where "Shura" Saito Chiyokuro sat scratching his head in confusion.

Crack!

Zhu Qing clutched her fist again, angrily saying, "She got inspiration for modification from Saito’s and my ramen?!"

"Mixing rock salt with egg whites to form the shell, then using Luzhou Old Cellar Wine as fuel, as the flames roast the giant egg, the flavors of aged wine, taro, and rock salt gradually penetrate the duck’s body, even into the marrow, making the bones fragrant..."

Chief Judge Nuliang added, "The shell completely sealed the essence of the flavor with none of it escaping, no wonder it’s indescribably delicious!"

Yan Qi squinted, "Salt is the commander of dishes, the ancestor of all flavors. If used correctly, a single basic ingredient like salt can match the complexity and diversity of a concoction of spices!"

"And wine, the chief of all medicines. There has been an ancient saying of wine for medicine, and the traditional Chinese character for ’medicine’ has a part that means ’wine.’ Chinese medicine has long used wine to treat illnesses, one of the oldest medicines in the world."

As he spoke, Yan Qi touched the back of his hand.

"Now, my body feels warm, like soaking in warm water!"

The red-haired judge stretched, "Yes, completely revived! No, it’s rebirth!"

Wise Man Karl applauded.

"Since this is an ancient recipe left by Chef God Liu, there’s no need for extra judgment from me. Your division of labor and coordination perfectly recreated the ’Phoenix Egg’s’ meaning of rebirth through fire, performing excellently without tarnishing this ancient recipe!"

Tiqie Xianzuowen and the Dark World leader, along with five mysterious judges, joined in the applause.

Clap, clap, clap.

Instantly, the competition venue was filled with thunderous applause.

"A beautiful battle!"

Li Han shouted, clenching his fist, looking at cooking station number 1. Just as he was about to give Xia Yu a provocative look, what he saw with his eyes startled him greatly.