Chapter 65: Simple Sliced Sashimi

After rinsing the wound with water, disinfecting it with alcohol, and applying a waterproof band-aid, Xu Le continued to focus on the competition.

There were many fish bones. He first dealt with the bones on the spine before picking out the fish bones that were as thick as a needle tip. The process was complicated and tedious, and it tested his patience.

The close-up shot landed beside his hand. The bright and tender pale pink fish meat was sliced into thin slices and placed into a glass basin filled with ice cubes to keep it fresh.

The comment section was filled with discussions.

“What does he want to do? Sliced sashimi?”

“Could the little Master Chef have gone off topic?”

“Look at the ones beside, he’s steaming the fish in red sauce. Just looking at it makes me hungry!”

“And there’s even Spicy Boiled Fish!”

“Why did he remove the fish meat. Is it to make fish tofu?”

“This dish is best tasted when steamed to maintain its original taste. They are simply wasting the fish.”

During their free choice of cooking this dish, the chefs beside Xu Le were all busy starting the steaming pot, boiling oil, and seasoning sauce. Meanwhile, Xu Le kept his head lowered as he sliced the fish. His face was expressionless, and his concentration was evident.

On the comments screen, crazy fans started praising him again.

“God, if only my son could be as focused as him.”

“Compared to the little Master Chef, my child is practically like a hyperactive kid.”

“Is this the difference between human babies?”

“So cute, so cute, so cute!!!”

“Xu Le, Mommy loves you!”

Xu Le, who was cooking with his head lowered, did not know that he had suddenly gained so many “mothers” out of nowhere. He also did not know that because he was too popular, many people were already criticizing him for being too good at media publicity.

When the 90-minute countdown reached the last 10 minutes, Xu Le put down his knife. He finished slicing two whole fish and started to lay the plates.

The sashimi was so thin that it looked like it could be crushed with a chopstick. It was faintly translucent and was placed on the plate one by one with mint leaves and rosemary as decorations.

Then, he squeezed wasabi on the edge of the plate, put a small portion of special soy sauce on it, and cracked an egg in the middle.

There were no shortcuts to cutting skills. Xu Le had also practiced it thousands of times in the system space before he had reached his current standard.

When the judges saw his cutting skills, many of them were flabbergasted. They exclaimed in admiration, “He’s so young and has such good cutting skills. Could he have started learning from his mother’s womb?”

“Xu Le is a talented contestant. Others might not be able to catch up to him even if they learn for a few decades.”

“Is there anything this child doesn’t know?”

Even Song Deyue couldn’t help but nod his head. “His cutting skills are indeed amazing. The fish slices he cut out are completely identical to each other and are even more accurate than machines.”

When Xu Le had previously eaten salmon and tuna, he saw that the head chef would cut them into thick slices. This way, he could taste the fatty texture of the meat. Together with the chopped green onions, soy sauce and wasabi, it would conceal the fishy smell of the raw fish. Coupled with the unique freshness of the fish meat, it left a lasting aftertaste.

He had deliberately cut it into thin slices of five millimeters that day so that he could achieve a texture of separating the fish once in the mouth.

This time, there were only five groups of contestants and Xu Le was the fourth. He looked at the contestants before him who prepared the fish in styles of spicy boiled slices, mala stir-fried, thick and heavy pepper, dried chili, and splashed with oil. All their dishes made people salivate.

There were also those who steamed the fish and with sauce, producing a fragrant smell.

The judges tasted and commented.

“The Spicy Boiled Fish Slices are a little tough. There are bean sprouts and tofu skin at the bottom, so you should take advantage of the moment when the fish meat is cooked to start the pot and let the heat from the base simmer it.”

“There was even a layer of oil poured over it at the end. It would make the already cooked fish taste a little duller. You should listen to him and grasp the timing of the cooking.”

“The steamed fish is considered to be mediocre. It’s fresh and delicious, but it can be made at home. There’s nothing special about it.”

“Actually, that’s not the case. I think there’s something very good about this dish. The scales haven’t been completely scraped off. The fish scales are one of the few edible ones, and it has a unique flavor to it.”

“After the steamed fish meat enters your mouth, there’s some sweetness. I think your sauce has some honey added in it. Not bad, it’s very creative.”

“The fish skin has been deep-fried into the shape of a tiger’s skin and then steamed in the pot. The ratio of the sauce was very good. The outside was filled with the flavor while the inside was tender to the point of juice flowing out. It’s really not bad.”

After the judges gave their scores, only the fish steamed with red sauce was far ahead. The rest of the dishes were slightly lacking. The sashimi that had garnered enough attention was finally brought up.

The thin and translucent fish slices were neatly arranged on the plate. With a flick of the chopsticks, they were lifted up. First, they dipped the sashimi into wasabi and tasted it. The burning sensation immediately filled the mouth, followed by the smoothness of the fish meat. The texture was excellent, and they could swallow it without chewing much.

“Beautiful!”

One of the judges gave a simple thumbs up in praise. He couldn’t wait to pick up the chopstick a second time to dip the fish slices in soy sauce and raw egg. The egg didn’t have a stench, and it tasted slightly sweet. When he took a bite, the fat, freshness, and tender fragrance of the fish meat rushed to stimulate his taste buds, making his fingers move so much that he couldn’t stop.

One of the judges quickly finished all ten slices of sashimi on the plate. He said with an unsatisfied tone, “Compared to having to pick out the bones earlier on, this sashimi tastes really good. It’s just that it’s too little and too thin. It’s easy to lose it into your mouth.”

This witty remark made the others laugh. However, it was difficult for them to say anything. Some found it delicious, while others frowned and almost vomited.

The judge sitting next to Lin Shuwei waved his hand and said, “I feel that the taste is average. The fishy smell is heavy, and the sauce tastes even worse. Also, this raw egg is really not something I can enjoy. I can’t eat it.”

Lin Shuwei smiled amiably and said, “It’s probably because people have different tastes. You can’t eat raw meat, but the fish slice today is indeed fresh and delicious. It’s very good.”

Old Master Song nodded as well. He looked at his empty plate and knew the result even without the judges’ comment.

In the end, a judge who was not used to eating raw meat gave him four points. This was the lowest score Xu Le had ever gotten since he joined the competition. He was already mentally prepared that the judges would not be able to accept this dish before he made it, so he was not surprised and nodded indifferently.

But when it came to Song Deyue, he only managed to score 6 points, which was just the passing standard, while the judges beside him scored 7 to 8 points.

“It’s tender, soft, and fragrant. To a large extent, it ensures the original flavor of the food. It’s very good, but compared to other cooking methods, it’s a little too simple. For the fairness of the competition, I can only give you this score.”

After Old Master Song explained, Xu Le didn’t say anything. However, the audience was not satisfied.

“They already said to cook it according to your own method. Why can’t he just slice it raw?”

“The rules didn’t say that it was not allowed!”

“You guys are practically bullying a child!”