CHAPTER 711: CHAPTER 710: ONE’S OWN MARK

"Tofu paste?"

Everyone looked in astonishment as more and more of the white slurry piled up on the countertop.

Since it was crushed from soft tofu, the tofu paste appeared sticky, but if one observed carefully, it wasn’t hard to see that, incredibly, not a single drop of water seeped out from the finely crushed tofu!

"Ah, so the water is already removed?"

Behind them, Yuchuan Meisha covered her mouth in disbelief.

Hozoi Midori was equally stunned, utterly puzzled by the secret behind the chopping and slapping of the tofu.

Dojima Yin, Shinohara Shigetaro, and Liangzi Lina, some of the top-specialty chefs heading for the Qilin Gate, all showed a uniformly grave expression.

"This... this familiarity...!"

Dojima Yin spoke slowly, "It reminds me of when he’d use ’spirit’ to cook high-end dishes."

"The point isn’t there, though!"

Andrea took a deep breath. Seeing Xia Yu move the finely crushed tofu paste into a mixing bowl that previously held flour, she was utterly befuddled.

"Earlier it was a mixture of tofu residue and yam paste."

"Now it’s a mix of flour and tofu paste... Is this really a tofu dish?!"

Her expression was thick with skepticism.

Lei Zhe was about to unleash his sarcasm, when suddenly, a deep voice cut into the conversation:

"Keep watching!"

And so, everyone turned around in unison.

Tiqie Xianzuowen stood there with his arms crossed, exuding an awe-inspiring presence like that of a lion or tiger. A few steps behind him was a dense crowd, a mix of media journalists and diners, bustling with activity.

Looking up from the Skywell, the enclosing ring of buildings gave a tense moment to the viewer. The balconies, too, were crammed with people. It was truly a nerve-wracking sight. If not for the careful maintenance by craftsmen before the opening of the store, Xia Yu would probably have been too concerned about a possible collapse to focus on cooking.

"Hey!"

"Excuse me... excuse me!"

At that moment, a woman holding a camera pole squeezed through the crowd.

Her attire was rather fresh and different from the winter clothing of the nearby female guests.

Her appearance caused a small commotion in the crowd. Many diners recognized her as a celebrity chef. They greeted her, but Tang Yuqiong, intent on her path, pressed forward until she finally caught her breath near the kitchen countertop.

Tang Yuqiong arrived just in time.

Bang, bang, bang!

The dull sounds echoed.

She widened her eyes in curiosity, and was immediately taken aback.

In the night-lit kitchen, a large lump of white dough changed shape freely in mid-air. Xia Yu’s hands were incredibly agile, as he kneaded and struck, then caressed the dough.

The style of dough kneading, at times fierce and rough, at others was as gentle as caressing a lover’s skin, tender to the utmost.

This time he didn’t use a rolling pin.

His hands were the most primitive tools Xia Yu had for kneading dough.

"This dough’s elasticity... is a bit terrifying!" Tang Yuqiong detected the core secret. Her beautiful eyes didn’t focus on how cool Xia Yu’s movements were, but stayed intently on the cloud-like white dough beneath his hands, which had a high degree of plasticity.

As for the live broadcast and the barrage of comments, Tang Yuqiong, deep in concentration, had long forgotten them. Even as the stunned live audience begged for commentary in various positions, she continued to mutter to herself.

Bang!

The dough, repeatedly pounded, finally settled firmly on the countertop.

"Is it ready?"

The crowd perked up.

Xia Yu was already immersed in the culinary world, enjoying the process of reconstructing ancient recipes.

He thought, ’the taste of the Shell Fairy’ could be interpreted from so many angles—it could be the longing for one’s homeland, or the embrace of a mother, as warm as a harbor.

Thinking of the feats of his senior, Shao An, Liu Maoxing, it was not difficult to imagine the ’taste of the Shell Fairy’.

The dough was ready, and unlike regular noodles, the dough mixed with tofu paste was highly elastic. Everyone watched as Xia Yu swiftly separated the lump of white dough into bunches of noodles using a noodle-pulling method.

He tossed the slick noodles aside, not minding them for the moment.

He cleaned his hands again.

"Bring over the other half of the tofu!"

As Xia Yu gave the order, he turned on the stove, and with a whoosh, fierce flames immediately spread beneath the Chinese Iron Pot.

Hozoi Midori brought over a plate of tender tofu.

Hot pan, add oil!

Seeing this, Tang Yuqiong was startled. She had hurried over and naturally heard the news about the three tofu dishes, "After adding oil and heating the pan, shouldn’t you stir-fry chili peppers to get the red oil? Is he not going to continue making Mapo Tofu... But if so, why would he place a dish like the blanched Mapo Tofu at the front?"

"It’s not Mapo Tofu!"

Just from the details of Xia Yu’s cooking techniques, the high-level chefs nearby had an idea of what was happening.

"Hisss, what is he thinking!" Aoki Motota very much agreed with Tang Yuqiong’s words and kept nodding, "Right, if the third tofu dish isn’t the spicy Sichuan Mapo Tofu, why place it last? This is a serious mistake in the order of serving dishes at a banquet!"

"Serving the extremely spicy Mapo Tofu first and then a milder tofu dish, is this a mistake or just arrogance from blind confidence in his own dishes?"

Andrea also pursed her lips and frowned, "It’s a very simple concept; how can a bland taste revive a tongue already conquered by spicy heat?"

"Hehe!"

Lei Zhe just laughed.

"I told you, that dish just now was the ultimate rendition of a tofu dish! That’s what I think!" he snorted, "If the previous two dishes were repeat performances of ’Great Magic Panda Tofu,’ there might still be a possibility of satisfying my Food Tyrant’s Stomach, but now... hehe!"

The Lin Giant shamelessly used two chuckles to express his disdain and mockery.

"Shut up!"

A cold voice countered.

Lei Zhe met the gaze of the woman in charge with cold eyes and immediately became infuriated.

"Whoosh—"

A sudden disturbance broke the rather unfriendly atmosphere.

The official cooking started!

But as Xia Yu flipped the tender tofu in the Chinese Iron Pot, his left hand was not idle; he had Hozoi Midori help by adding the previously prepped round noodles.

Skilled with both hands!

For Xia Yu, who had mastered the "Dojima’s Silver Chopsticks Toss," cooking with two pots was a piece of cake.

The "Tofu Noodle" and "Thickening Tofu" components of the "Xia’s Tofu Trio" recipe were being prepared simultaneously in this step.

Stir-frying the noodles wasn’t difficult.

That mainly relied on basic cooking skills.

As for "Thickening Tofu," there was too much to say.

The key point was the sauce!

Xia Yu had heard the discussions happening around the cooking area.

Mapo Tofu?

Sorry, the "Xia’s Tofu Trio" has never been about Mapo Tofu, nor chasing after a tyrannical dish that seeks to captivate diners’ tastebuds with spicy flavors. It was a soul-touching dish, in Xia Yu’s own words—

Straight to the heart, my friends.

Why straight to the heart? While the tofu had its own heartfelt approach, it’s another story when customers taste the dish and it evokes their emotions.

To sum it up, the real "Xia’s Tofu Trio" was about inner and outer refinement!

Internally it was about the essence of taste, the flavor of the Shell Fairy that Xia Yu was trying to recreate.

On the outside, it could reach perfection through culinary skills.

In the aspect of the sauce, Xia Yu strove for perfection, and in fact, the recipe was vague on this, not stating clearly what ingredients the chef should match or what kind of sauce to make, leaving much room for learners to innovate.

"In addition to the usual ingredients like oil, salt, sugar, ginger, cooking wine, and so on, there’s also..."

Xia Yu’s gaze flickered as he began to leave his own mark on the blank spaces of the sauce recipe.

This was the Xia Family’s Tofu Trio, not Shao An’s Tofu Trio, nor a mere copy strictly following the original recipe.

Click!

The sound of the stove being turned off.