Chapter 492: Chapter 492: Too Bold (Two Chapters Combined)

“The first challenge of this dish is to remove the fish bones completely without compromising the integrity of the fish.” Michael Greene inspected it and nodded in satisfaction, “The fish is well preserved, and the incision made for deboning is small and barely visible.”

The other four judges nodded in satisfaction as well.

“Next is the tenderness of the fish. It can’t be overcooked, and of course, it can’t be undercooked either,” said Michael Greene.

He tapped the fish’s body gently with a clean, new pair of chopsticks, “The fish is plump and elastic, which means the soup filling inside must be rich. The best tenderness is when the fish breaks by itself with just a poke from the tip of the chopsticks, and the breakage is almost indistinguishable from a knife cut.”

“Only tender and delicate fish can achieve this,” Michael Greene said, “Let’s give it a try.”

Although Cindy Clarke had practiced many times at home and was confident in her control of the heat,

she still couldn’t help but hold her breath at this moment.

Not until she saw the chopsticks separating the fish’s belly from the Middle.

As Michael Greene said, because the fish was tender enough, even using the tip of chopsticks could make a clean cut, with smooth and delicate lines.

As soon as the fish belly was opened, the rich tea-colored Soup inside gushed out, like a dam breaking.

It mixed with the soup in the plate, turning into a light, translucent tea color.

The Five Judges were instantly drawn to the delicious and sweet taste.

There were white and red balls mixed in the soup.

The red and white colors were strikingly beautiful.

The red ones were semi-transparent and looked like they would burst open with juice.

Michael Greene took a spoonful of the Soup first.

The Soup was delicious and had no fishy taste.

After drinking it, there was even a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste.

For the second spoonful, he took Soup with a white ball in it.

“The ball is just a common glutinous rice ball, I didn’t add any seasoning, it simply absorbs the flavor of the soup,” explained Cindy Clarke.

Wesley Gordon tasted it carefully: “The ball is soft, elastic, and not sticky, with the sweetness of the soup. It’s as if the soup has solidified.”

Charles Dean then scooped up a semi-transparent red ball, about the same size as the white one.

“Is this fish roe?” Charles Dean asked before tasting it.

Cindy shook her head: “No, while fish roe can pop with juice, its slightly fishy taste needs some accompaniment, and not everyone can accept that flavor.”

“I was worried that the taste of the fish roe would ruin the sweetness of the soup,” said Cindy Clarke, “So, even though it looks like fish roe, I made these red balls as an imitation. Why don’t you try it and I’ll reveal the answer afterward?”

Not only Charles Dean but also the other four judges were intrigued by what Cindy Clarke said.

They all thought that Cindy had added fish roe to the dish.

Rosaline Parker had been thinking that Cindy’s decision to use fish roe was a misstep.

It seemed to be a good match, both being seafood.

But in reality, the sweet taste of the Yellow Croaker in soup and the slightly fishy taste of fish roe were not compatible.

Rather, the soup’s original balance would be destroyed by the fish roe.

But now that Cindy said so, Rosaline Parker became curious.

Charles Dean took a small spoonful of soup along with one of the red balls.

When he bit into the red ball, he could feel the pressure release.

The juice inside then burst out and blended with the original sweet soup.

The delicious soup suddenly had an added tangy sweetness that blended seamlessly with the original flavor, and even enhanced the existing taste.

Charles Dean closed his eyes as if he were on a sunny beach.

“What is this?” Hunter Clarke asked in amazement.

“Do you like the taste?” Cindy Clarke asked.

This girl was really bold.

Instead of revealing the secret immediately, she joked with the judges.

Hunter Clarke didn’t get angry but was amused instead: “It’s delicious, but I’m just too embarrassed that I couldn’t figure out what it is.”

“These are popping bubbles made from Passion Fruit and Grapefruit juice, using Calcium Carbonate,” Cindy Clarke finally explained.

The judges suddenly realized: “Ah! So it’s based on the principle of popping bubbles!”

Of course, they knew about popping bubbles, which are a fun and interesting food item.

Those who don’t know about them would find it quite intriguing, but as insiders, they all knew how it was made.

It’s just that all five of them were experts in high-end cuisine, so they didn’t think of popping bubbles at first.

“When I was designing the recipe at home, I hesitated whether to do it this way. I didn’t know if the tart sweetness of the fruit juice could blend well with the soup. Also, I needed to choose which fruit to use to achieve a good result,”

“I bought all the fruits I could find and squeezed their juice. Then I tasted a mouthful of fish soup followed by a mouthful of fruit juice to see which combinations were the best. However, I knew that the taste of drinking it like this would be different from making popping bubbles,”

“So, after deciding on the fruits to use, I made popping bubbles for a taste test to make sure the flavors matched,” Cindy Clarke explained.

Rosaline Parker laughed: “Didn’t you get sick after tasting so many times?”

Cindy couldn’t help laughing: “To be honest, I don’t even feel like it now just by sniffing at it.”

“The glutinous rice balls served with fish soup are soft, sweet and delicious. The popping bubbles added to the soup are tangy and refreshing. And the red and white balls that come out of the fish belly look like fish roe as well,” said Wesley Gordon.

Michael Greene tasted the fish again: “The fish is tender and fully infused with the flavor of the soup, melting in the mouth.”

Wesley Gordon laughed: “We were worried that even if you did it very well, you still wouldn’t be able to surpass Michael Greene. But now it seems that Michael’s signboard dish is about to change hands.”

“Hahaha!” Michael Greene didn’t mind at all, “This also spurs me on. It reminds me to constantly think about how to improve my dishes, or I’ll be surpassed eventually.”

“Alright, no more talking. I’ll go back and research new dishes immediately. I’ve already lost in one aspect, now the rest can’t be beaten. Otherwise, I’m the one who’s going to be fired,” Michael Greene said jokingly.

However, he really felt a sense of crisis in his heart.

He couldn’t afford to stagnate.

He not only needed to improve the dishes but also develop new ones.

Cindy Clarke said with a smile: “Actually, when I first tried making this dish at home, I always felt that the taste was a little off. So, I specifically went to ‘Quire’ to taste Chef Greene’s Yellow Croaker in Soup. After identifying the difference, I went back and tried it again.”

“But, I couldn’t make it exactly the same as the Chef,” Cindy Clarke said.