Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 633 - 632: Volcanic Black Salt (Part 1)

Chapter 633: Chapter 632: Volcanic Black Salt (Part 1)

The monk judge reveled in his meal, the sounds of him slurping the noodles were extremely refreshing.

Such a scene would be common in a restaurant, but here, in the Sapporo competition’s second round of the top 10 to top 3, it was quite astonishing.

Even Xia Yu and Indira, who had just left the stage and retreated to the sidelines, stopped in their tracks at the entranceway, casting surprised glances at the judge who was eating so heartily.

Just 5 minutes earlier, the five judges on stage had tasted their "Sakura Water Mochi".

Logically, the ’burst of flavors’ that Indira had infused into the Water Mochi should have numbed the judges’ taste buds for a while, even though these judges were non-human, but they wouldn’t be able to escape the vortex of spices so soon.

Indeed!

Xia Yu and Indira also had a little strategy.

Their "Sakura Water Mochi" didn’t quite fit the theme, but in terms of flavor, it was bound to surpass the dishes of the other groups, and this ’flavor’ was exactly the trap Xia Yu and Indira had conspired to set for the others.

Thus, they chose to serve their dish in the second position, aiming to quickly assault the judges’ palates with the ’flavor’!

Consequently, the dishes from the other eight teams would be influenced by their dish, not to mention, the flavor would definitely suppress the others significantly, thereby passively reducing the quality of their dishes...

The competition felt like a battlefield.

In warfare, deception is key. The dishes present in the contest, likewise, are endowed by chefs with various tricks. For example, in the first stage of the finals, Xia Yu against Li Han, whether intentional or not, his "Xia’s Seven Kingdoms United Fried Noodles" had a significant impact on the finals, which directly caused changes in the second stage of the competition.

The scene of the monk judge enjoying his meal made Xia Yu and Indira exchange astonished looks.

"Didn’t my ’Honeycomb’ structure vortex work?"

Indira frowned, her face looking somewhat displeased.

Their "Sakura Water Mochi" had not scored high, but not low either, and there was a chance for advancing to the final round. If the ’Honeycomb’ flavor vortex could trip up the subsequent teams, then their hopes of advancing would be substantial.

However, they had just left the stage and the dish from the team in the third position immediately whetted the judges’ appetites, showing no signs of being affected; wasn’t this a sign their plan had failed?

"Ah!"

A satisfied sigh filled the air as the monk judge finally put down his chopsticks, fixating on the glossy, smooth noodle strands on them, his pupils reflecting his craving.

"This noodle, it’s endlessly varied!" he said, unable to resist sucking in another bite with a sizzle, "How did you create this changing texture? At times tense and authoritative, at other times gentle, and this soup..."

Speaking of which, he picked up his bowl and took a big gulp, his lips covered in soup but he didn’t bother to wipe it off.

Chief Judge Nuliang, surprised, also took a sip from his bowl.

His Adam’s apple bobbed, the soup naturally flowing down his throat.

"Gulp..."

You could faintly hear the sound of the soup reaching his stomach, Nuliang commented carefully: "This smooth and rich texture? Ah, it’s taro, no wonder it’s so creamy, delicate, and slightly sticky."

"Not only that, the sauce is based on seafood soup, but at least two other liquids have been mixed in to enhance the aroma!" murmured the monk.

Saito Chiyokuro smiled, his lips curving up, and answered in a magnetic voice: "Soy milk, smoky miso, mixed with a broth simmered from kelp and shiitake mushrooms; this is my secret broth."

"It’s not that simple!"

But the monk raised his head, his face sweaty and cheeks oddly flushed, looking tipsy.

"Chili oil, ginger paste, garlic paste make the body relaxed but not irritating... Is all this because of the soy milk? Their irritants have been neutralized!" The monk took a deep breath, "This combination... really delicate!"

"So, how about these side dishes?"

Nuliang looked down at the side dishes placed at one corner of the large bowl.

There were crispy fried burdock and lotus root slices, charcoal-grilled Worcestershire sauce, carrot slices, and a yellow piece smothered in sauce that had an unmistakably flavorful "char siu" appearance, which was actually teriyaki-grilled tempeh.

"Vegetarian ramen?" Influenced by the other, the second judge finally took a proper look at the untouched bowl of ramen in front of him, but upon smelling it, the red-haired judge’s face turned weird, and waving his hand, he completely lost interest, "Appetite killer! I’ve never been a vegetarian!"

"Big meat and big drink are what I pursue!" the red-haired judge laughed.

Nuliang only took one sip of the soup.

The monk ate less than half a bowl of noodles, didn’t touch the side dishes at all, but was about to lay down his chopsticks.

Witnessing this scene, the venue suddenly fell silent.

"Uh..."

Xia Yu slumped into his seat. He had been applauding and cheering for the heroine and Indira, but now, he was embarrassed.

Given his not inconsiderable expertise in spices, how could he not understand Indira’s "honeycomb" vortex trickery?

But he didn’t expect that right after that, his aunt and Shura would step into the trap without hesitation.

"This is bad!" There was a schadenfreude chuckle behind him, Jintan Shun gave Xia Yu a wink, his face mocking, "If the judges aren’t willing to eat more, aren’t willing to finish... it means an extremely low evaluation!"

"I guess they won’t even score 80 points!"

"If you can’t advance to the final, can you still remain calm?"

Xia Yu’s forehead bulged with veins, "Stop it, please be quiet!"

His face slightly pale, he intensely watched the judges’ panel. Jintan Shun was right, at this moment, he was nearly losing it internally.

What are these two doing!

He even felt the urge to rush down and demand an answer. He had trusted in Saito Chiyokuro and chosen to withdraw from the competition, taking a break to focus more on the golden recipes. If he had to compete, the system had plenty of remedies to suppress the epidemic. He just didn’t want to lose the hundreds of thousands of Fame Points.

Nuliang’s gaze was cold as he said, "This bowl of vegetarian ramen, the details are indeed delicate. Take the broth, for instance. The umami from kombu and shiitake mushrooms is amplified by their combination, supported by soy and vegetable side dishes, making the whole bowl of ramen have a rich flavor comparable to meat or fish soup noodles..."

"A flavorful ramen without meat or fish, kind of interesting, but... not enough! It falls short!" His tone became low.

The venue was silent.

Kogawa Shinyiro coughed, just about to let the judges score, when Saito Chiyokuro suddenly pointed to a small bottle on the tray almost forgotten by everyone, "You guys forgot this."

Hmm?

Everyone’s gaze sharpened.

The tiny bottle looked like a pepper shaker. Zhu Qing gave Shura a look, and Saito Chiyokuro stepped forward, grabbed the bottle, twisted the cap, swung his hand, and a black tiny crystalline granule sprinkled into the ramen bowl.

Nuliang’s nostrils twitched, and his eyes suddenly focused, "Is this... salt?"

Looking down at the bowl again.

The black crystals slowly dissolved into the soup and ramen, some clinging to the burdock and lotus root side dishes.

"Boom!"

A burst of smoky aroma and mineral flavor exploded, causing the judges’ vision to blur. Their eyes were tightly drawn to the large bowl, each showing a look of shock.