Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 356 - 355: The Bell Rings

Chapter 356: Chapter 355: The Bell Rings

"Last 2 hours!"

Kitchen No. 2.

Ujou Mamie scratched her messy flaxen hair, standing with dark circles under her eyes at the kitchen counter.

"Pay attention—"

Qiushan Hong guided the audience.

"It seems Chef Ujou, targeting the ’Jile Rice,’ a type of Fantasy Ingredient, has created a unique ’curry’ recipe in less than a day!" he pointed to the kitchen counter.

Among a pile of bottles and jars, curry powder was elegantly displayed on a white jade dish.

However, when the camera zoomed in on the curry powder, the audience’s expressions became subtle.

Black!

Pitch black!

"Wow!" Yoshino Yuji covered her mouth, "I only knew about red, green, yellow, and white curry before, but today I actually see black curry!"

"Could it be a curry primarily made of black pepper?"

Most chefs were deep in thought.

In the judges’ seats, Indira’s tense face slightly softened as she stared intently at the curry powder on screen, "Black curry powder... cumin, black pepper, cloves, cardamom seeds... an extremely spicy, violent-tasting curry?"

Upon hearing this, Qiushan Hong and Shinohara Shigetaro exchanged a glance and immediately understood Ujou Mamie’s approach.

Beiye’s strategy was to conquer ’Jile Rice’ with ’Wine God Onion,’ which has an intense alcoholic flavor. It was clever and took advantage of the ingredient, but he focused too much on the ingredient itself and neglected other aspects, so he couldn’t achieve further integration.

If it was Ujou Mamie’s black curry...

Suddenly, not only the three judges showed anticipation, but many chefs present did too.

The blending of curry powder requires more technique and experience.

It’s not purely reliant on the ingredients; if it could conquer ’Jile Rice,’ the dish’s degree of fusion would definitely surpass Beiye’s risotto by a large margin, easily achieving a good standard.

...

The camera switched from Kitchen No. 2 to Kitchen No. 3.

This kitchen’s head chef was Nakajima Sei.

"Huh!"

As the scene switched over, a moment that left everyone stunned unfolded.

Crack!

The down-and-out middle-aged man found an egg from somewhere. This egg was as large as a plate, yet he held it steadily in his hand, tapping it gently against the kitchen counter edge, covering the shell with cracks.

The key was when Nakajima Sei cracked the egg. As it fell into the transparent glass container, there dropped ten yolks in succession!

One egg filled the glass bowl entirely!

Seeing this, the guest seats were already in an uproar.

"Ten-Yolk Egg!"

Yuchuan Ayaka was slightly surprised, "That failure even plans to incorporate a second Fantasy Ingredient into his culinary creation?"

She then gave a slight sneer.

"Too much of a good thing!"

She declared, "Beiye’s finding of ’Wine God Onion’ is quite reasonable, but ’Ten-Yolk Egg’ lacks a strong alcoholic flavor and doesn’t have any so-called violent ultimate taste. How could it conquer ’Jile Rice’?"

In the judges’ seats.

Under Chiyoda Aichi’s guidance, Qiushan Hong and Shinohara Shigetaro were also not optimistic about Nakajima Sei’s dish.

"Although we don’t know what kind of culinary creation Chef Nakajima will present to us, the ’Ten-Yolk Egg’ has a sweet taste; it is a Fantasy Ingredient inherently mild and without a single trace of violent energy."

The judges were equally unimpressed.

...

The camera continued to switch.

Beiye in Kitchen No. 4 had already passed, and Chef Hoshino in Kitchen No. 5 had a sudden heart attack, regarded as a forfeit.

In Kitchen No. 6, the chef was a bald middle-aged man.

He was very short, extremely thin, his back slightly stooped, bent over slightly, entirely focused on a sandpot on the stove, meticulously.

"Porridge?"

Seeing through the lens what the assessor was preparing, everyone, including the three judges, was momentarily stunned.

"The same assessment, two similar dishes?"

This was the thought that crossed everyone’s minds.

Xia Yu was unaware that his culinary creation had accidentally collided with the assessor in Kitchen No. 6, yet even if he knew, he wouldn’t change his recipe.

This was the recipe he had confirmed in the Chef God Space after spending an entire night. It wasn’t just plain rice porridge; otherwise, it wouldn’t live up to his standards.

Outside the lens.

"Lotus seeds, Gorgon fruit, Coix seeds."

He found these three medicinal food materials on the kitchen counter.

Just looking at the grains, these three ingredients were extremely similar.

"Lotus seeds belong to the Spleen, Kidney, and Heart channels," Xia Yu murmured softly in his heart, "Gorgon fruit belongs to the Spleen and Kidney channels..."

"Coix seeds belong to the Spleen, Stomach, and Lung channels."

All three ingredients need to be softened by boiling in clear water.

Especially Coix seeds, which are hard to cook through. Fortunately, Xia Yu had soaked them early, then brought them along with lotus seeds and Gorgon fruit to a pot, using a rice cooker to cook them until soft.

Thus, when the camera made a full circle and returned to Kitchen No. 1, everyone saw Xia Yu holding a large plate of white grainy ingredients, dumping them all into the earthenware pot, and then taking up the dough stick to continue stirring!

The cooking process was seamless.

In Xia Yu’s confirmed recipe, only at this step, after adding hot water, did the temperature in the earthenware pot drop slightly. With ’Jile Rice’ submerged in water, he could find the opportunity to retrieve other ingredients without a single mistake.

If the rice grains were even slightly burnt, that hint of burnt flavor in the whole pot could have a negative effect, like a bad apple spoiling the barrel.

Finally, there’s the crushed ’Poria’!

This was also an essential herbal ingredient in Xia Yu’s recipe.

Time ticked away.

When the kitchen broadcast announced there was only one hour left, Xia Yu finally exhaled a long breath.

"Clang—"

His right arm felt limp and nearly useless; as his tension eased, he couldn’t muster any strength, and the metal dough stick fell to the ground. Xia Yu didn’t pick it up but looked down at the charcoal stove.

The previously fiery stove now glowed dimly.

Through the flame sense given by ’Bursting Flame’, he was able to monitor the stove’s temperature changes at all times.

The charcoal stove shifted from being fiery red for nearly three hours to now orange-yellow, with heat energy still declining.

This observation filled Xia Yu with joy.

A perfect application!

Not a single bit of charcoal fire had been wasted. The remaining one hour would be used for slow simmering over low heat.

"Just one key ingredient left!"

At this point in his envisioned dish, only the final finishing touch remained.

Fortunately, the ingredient was already chopped finely, stored in the refrigerator’s fresh-keeping section for later use.

The ingredient was very delicate and needed to be added right as the porridge was finishing, though it was still a bit early. Xia Yu monitored the gradually cooling temperature of the earthenware pot’s interior and exterior walls, ensuring the porridge wouldn’t scorch, then leaned on the kitchen counter for a short rest.

Time continued to pass.

With everyone’s anticipation, the clock in the hall ticked to 3 p.m.

"Dong!"

At the stroke of 3, the doors of Kitchens 1 through 6 opened precisely at the same moment!

Simultaneously, the excited voice of the female host, Chiyoda Aichi, carried clearly through the long corridor from outside into the venue:

"Time’s up—"

"Let’s welcome Chef Xia, Chef Ujou, Chef Nakajima, and Chef Kawase, a total of four assessors!"