109. Grand Chef Korea - Progress

1.

"This time... I'm not sure."

"What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exactly do you mean by 'not sure'?"

Chef Kang Tae-yeon asked, tilting his head slightly. I shrugged and replied.

"Exactly what I said. Honestly, until I tasted Chaeyoon-ssi's cooking, I was certain of my victory. Personally, I thought I had made it really well."

"So, you're saying your opinion changed after eating contestant Han Chae-yoon's dish?"

"Yes."

I answered without hesitation. Then, I turned my gaze to the side. Naturally, I made eye contact with Chaeyoon.

"It was an excellent taste. Both the completeness and the details were impressive. Of course, it was a pity that the truffle scent was a bit detached, but even considering that, it's a sufficiently good dish."

Her eyes widened little by little, and her lips parted as well. Chaeyoon tightly covered her mouth with her slightly trembling hands.

"I didn't know Kang Ye-rin-ssi would praise another contestant. I thought you were stingy with praise?"

Chef Kang Tae-yeon chuckled and cracked a joke. Normally, the question should have gone to Chaeyoon as well, but that was impossible in her current state.

"It's not that I don't praise on purpose. It's just that the situation hasn't arisen. And aren't you the same, Chef, when it comes to being stingy with praise?"

"I'd like to return those words right back to you."

We looked at each other and chuckled. Seeing his reaction, maybe he has caught on to the fact that I am 'Carrier'.

"Han Chae-yoon-ssi. Have you calmed down a bit now?"

"...Yes. I'm sorry."

Chaeyoon bowed her head. She knew she had delayed the proceedings because of herself.

"Knowing that is enough."

Chef Kang Tae-yeon paused for a moment. Confirming that the camera was on him, he opened his mouth again.

"Then, I will ask Han Chae-yoon-ssi. Do you think you won?"

"......Yes!"

After a moment of hesitation, she answered with a powerful voice. The other judges were startled by the unexpected answer.

"You're bold. What is the reason you think so?"

"To begin with, this was my dish. So I think I had no choice but to make it better."

"That sounds like you're saying contestant Han Chae-yoon is bound to lose in the second round that will take place next."

At his point, Chaeyoon shook her head vigorously.

"No. I'm going to win there, too."

Chef Kang Tae-yeon looked at her with an expression that suggested he found it absurd. Because it contradicted her statement from just a moment ago.

"...Is there a reason for that, too?"

"I believe in the effort I've put in. So I will win."

He looked at Han Chae-yoon for a moment and then slowly nodded.

"Good. I hope that contestant Han Chae-yoon's effort leads to a good result."

Chef Kang Tae-yeon left a short word of encouragement and returned to the judges' table.

"Both of you, please return to your prepared waiting rooms and take a short break. The next dish will begin in 30 minutes."

*

Following the staff's guidance, I entered the set again. I bowed to the judges and went to stand in my designated spot.

"...Where is Han Chae-yoon-ssi?"

I kept waiting, but there was no sign of Chaeyoon appearing. Just when I was wondering if she had run away.

"I'm sorry...!"

She came running into the set, panting for breath. Her face was slightly puffy, and her eyes were bloodshot. One side of her hair was also matted and tangled.

Anyone could tell she had just woken up.

"Han Chae-yoon-ssi, you are 3 minutes late."

"...I'm sorry. I lay down on the sofa for a moment and fell asleep... I did set an alarm, but I heard it too late...."

"Please refrain from making excuses. As a penalty, I will deduct 3 minutes from your time limit for the second dish. Do you have any objections?"

"...None."

"Good. Then, let's start the second dish right away."

Chef Kang Tae-yeon raised his voice.

"Are you both ready?"

"Yes!"

"Then, we will begin the second cooking battle from now. The time limit is exactly 1 hour. Start!"

With his shout, I ran toward the pantry again.

I grabbed apples and white wine. Celery and onions, plus bay leaves and lemon. I also brought heavy cream and shallots, and grabbed a few potatoes.

'The fish is...'

Last time I used sea bream, but this time I planned to switch to sea bass. I had tried using various fish, and I concluded that sea bass was more appropriate.

First, I rubbed the fish with a knife from the tail toward the head to remove the scales. At this time, I had to use the back of the knife, not the blade, to protect the flesh.

I washed the fish under running water. I patted it lightly with a paper towel to remove ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moisture. I checked carefully to see if any scales remained.

Next, I pierced the lower part of the belly, near the tail, with the tip of the knife and split it open toward the head. I had to be careful because if I went too deep, it could burst.

Now, I used the knife to remove all the internal organs inside. In particular, it was important to remove the blood clot along the spine. That was because it could cause a fishy smell when cooking.

'Using the tip of the knife...'

Now I washed the outside and inside of the sea bass clean with cold water. Hygiene is always important. Even more so with fish.

I separated the skin from the back of the fish and placed it with the tail facing me. I pushed the knife between the spine and the flesh. I kept the blade close to the spine and sliced it, pushing it out as much as possible.

Unlike other fish, sea bass has protruding rib bones, so it was a bit difficult. So it was a fish that required focusing on my fingertips.

'Done.'

Of course, that was a story that didn't apply to me.

One perfect sea bass fillet came out. I did the same for the other side to make one more fillet, and set the head and bones aside.

I used tweezers to meticulously remove the remaining bones from the fillet.

Now, after washing this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠under running water, I wiped off the moisture with a paper towel. Then, I put it in the refrigerator for a while. It was to completely dry the moisture on the surface.

I put a pot on the gas stove and poured water into it. I placed a bowl on top of it. I put in butter and immediately took out the apples. I peeled them and sliced them to a uniform thickness with a chef's knife.

Last time I used a mandoline, but this time I cut them by hand on purpose. It was because I had a specific thickness I wanted.

'Good.'

I pressed the apple with a metal mold to shape it. I put this into the melted butter and mixed in potato starch to coat it.

Next, I peeled the potatoes. I sliced the potatoes thinly with the chef's knife in the same way, and used the same metal mold to shape them. They were much thinner than the apples.

I placed the sea bass on parchment paper, then layered the thinly sliced apple pieces on top, overlapping them. Fish scales were naturally created.

I covered it with parchment paper again and placed a flat, heavy tool on top, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pressing down firmly. It was to hold the shape.

I put it in the refrigerator in this state. I also put the potato slices in. They were absolutely necessary for the next process.

I cut off the head and spine of the sea bass and put them in a pot. I added various spices to it. The only new addition was dried shiitake mushrooms. This would add umami.

I peeled the shallots and minced them finely. I put them in a pan drizzled with olive oil and sautéed them slowly. Until they became translucent.

Before long, I poured in white wine and turned up the heat to let the alcohol evaporate. When the pan became quiet, I scooped up the fish stock boiling next to me with a ladle and poured it in slowly.

For a refreshing acidity, I added a drop of apple cider vinegar, a little sugar, and grated lemon zest. When the sauce reduced by half, I added heavy cream and turned the heat down to low.

I stared at the sauce, then scooped up a spoonful and tasted it.

'Good.'

Compared to the previous version, the acidity stood out. It wasn't strong, but it was clearly felt. This was the kick of this dish.

I took the sea bass out of the refrigerator and removed the parchment paper. After checking the thinly arranged apple pieces, I pressed them firmly against the bottom of the pan and flipped it. I removed the parchment paper on the other side and drizzled olive oil around it.

I turned up the heat and sprinkled salt to season it. Then, I added minced garlic and butter.

Now was the time to focus entirely on the sea bass. I sharpened my senses to the sound and aroma of it cooking.

'Now.'

I slid the knife underneath slightly and flipped it in one go. The golden-brown seared apple and sea bass flesh were revealed.

'As expected.'

I added a piece of butter to the pan to melt it, and constantly basted it over the top with a spoon. The butter flowed down over the crispy seared sea bass.

When the color was perfect, I carefully took it out of the pan.

I put the potatoes in the same pan and pressed down on them to fry one side until crispy. After confirming the surface where gold and brown coexisted, I moved them onto a paper towel.

I added just a little bit of butter to the sauce that was still boiling, and finished seasoning with salt and white pepper. After boiling it briefly, I turned off the heat.

'Let's finish it.'

I spread the sauce on the plate like a soup. I carefully placed the seared sea bass on top. And I layered the potato pieces on top of the apple scales.

'This is it.'

Although the apples and potatoes were overlapping, they were mixed so naturally that it was difficult to distinguish them by appearance. When I lightly placed thyme leaves on top, it became even more perfect.

Finally, I diced the green apple into small pieces and scattered them like points. If I also dotted the sauce on...

"Done."

With that one word, the strength drained from my body. The effort and concentration I had poured in until now were contained in this one plate.

Of course, I don't know yet how the judges will receive it.

'Is this the end once this is evaluated?'

After eating this dish, one of the two will be eliminated from here.

Finally, it was the time of judgment.