At this moment, the Chihyaku Sisters both felt a rush of heat through their bodies, as the extreme deliciousness ravaged their tongues, causing both of them to emit an indistinct sound.
"That's right. We first coated the bear paw with honey, then deep-fried it until golden, and then stewed it with chicken broth and ginseng," Satou said with a smile, nodding.
There are many ways to prepare bear paw, such as Sichuan cuisine's Supreme Bear Paw and Hunan cuisine's Fire-Clamped Bear Paw.
After trying out all the recipes, Satou and Erina Nakiri ultimately chose to use honey and ginseng.
They both agreed that these two ingredients were best suited for cooking bear paw.
Bears love to eat honey and often use their paws to scoop it out and lick it clean; this ingredient complements the flavor of bear paw very well.
And the bitterness of ginseng can also effectively remove the gamey smell of bear paw.
"I see, so you used ginseng and honey to remove the gamey smell?" Eishi Tsukasa realized with a start.
The guests in the hall took turns, spoon by spoon, and in a short while, they had eaten an entire bear paw.
Even after finishing, they still felt a lingering desire for more.
At this moment, all the guests were deeply shocked.
They had all heard of the fame of this year's first seat, Eishi Tsukasa, and originally thought that he would naturally take the top prize in this exam, standing out among everyone; however, they didn't expect that someone else had made a dish that was on par with, or even surpassed, Eishi Tsukasa's.
And this student was only a first-year, and besides the Chihyaku Sisters and Kita Shuji, no one else had known him before!
"It's really delicious; this dish is actually on par with Eishi Tsukasa's bear paw dish!" Kita Shuji couldn't help but praise.
"Your taste is as bad as ever. This dish is clearly more delicious!" Natsume Chihyaku couldn't help but retort mockingly.
"That's right, I think this dish is even better." Natsume Chihyaku also nodded seriously.
"I think Eishi Tsukasa's dish was also very good; they should be equally matched, right?"
"But I still prefer this bear paw, which is sweet with a hint of bitterness and rich in flavor, full of the grandeur of ancient Chinese imperial palaces."
"Yes, although Eishi Tsukasa's dish is noble and elegant, it's not as splendid, magnificent, and grand as this one."
Other guests also joined the discussion, even starting to argue.
Kita Shuji and the Chihyaku Sisters even argued until their faces were red.
"Clearly my Satou is better, okay? You old man, do you even understand cooking?"
"He's my Satou, not yours."
"Sister, are you trying to steal a man from your sister?"
Listening to the two sisters' ambiguous words, all the guests blushed.
Erina Nakiri even gritted her teeth, utterly disgusted by these indecent and shameless sisters.
"How shameless."
Alice Nakiri exclaimed angrily.
"Exactly."
Erina Nakiri nodded in agreement.
Next, everyone tasted the dishes of the other students.
Although not as stunning as the dishes of Satou and Eishi Tsukasa, they still received high praise from the guests.
To Satou and Erina Nakiri's relief, the fried bear meat made by Yukihira Soma and his two companions finally didn't receive any negative reviews; in fact, it even garnered praise.
"It seems everyone is satisfied with these students' dishes, right?" Gin Dojima asked.
"Hmm, they are all very outstanding dishes." Kita Shuji nodded in satisfaction.
Everyone else also felt very satisfied, especially since they had tasted two exceptionally excellent dishes.
"Then, everyone's exam is considered passed." Gin Dojima said with a smile.
"That's great!" Tadokoro Megumi breathed a sigh of relief. The guests for this tasting were all gourmets from the culinary world, accustomed to the dishes of various famous chefs. To be honest, she had been very worried before.
"See? I told you my soup was fine, didn't I? If the other parts were left to me, it would definitely be even better."
Ryo Hayama, Yukihira Soma, and Tadokoro Megumi said, clearly feeling that these two had dragged him down.
"What are you talking about? The highlight of this dish is my sauce, okay?" Yukihira Soma said.
"My fried bear meat is the foundation of everything. It's because I marinated it with spices and removed the biggest difficulty, the strange smell, that we passed this time," Hayama Akira said confidently.
Watching the three of them argue again, Satou and the others felt speechless.
"Now, please vote and choose the most popular dish." Gin Dojima said with a smile, "Place a coin in the bowl of the dish you like."
Subsequently, everyone began to vote.
However, when it came to deciding which of Eishi Tsukasa's and Satou's dishes was better, everyone started arguing again.
In the end, Satou's dish received five recommendations, while Eishi Tsukasa's dish received four recommendations.
"Satou, I didn't expect to lose to you again," Eishi Tsukasa said with a somewhat helpless smile.
"It's just luck," Satou said with a smile.
"Hmm. When we have a chance, let's go all out and compete once," Eishi Tsukasa said, unusually serious.
"This student, your name is Satou, right? If there's a chance, we can get to know each other. I am..."
"Student Satou, our company has a gathering next month. Are you interested in working as a head chef part-time?"
At this moment, all the guests gathered around, speaking enthusiastically.
Such a young chef with extraordinary potential was someone everyone wanted to curry favor with.
"Nyah, nyah, Satou, what will it take for you to become my man?" At this moment, Chihyaku Orie also walked over, sucking on a finger, speaking with affectionate eyes.
"I can support you right now, you know." Natsume Chihyaku deliberately jiggled her ample bosom and said in an ambiguous tone.
They had already thought highly of Satou before, but his talent this time still exceeded their expectations, which made them even more eager to recruit him.
Erina Nakiri watched from the side, gritting her teeth.
"Let's not talk about that for now. We can discuss it later," Satou said with a helpless smile.
"Then I'll wait for you," Natsume Chihyaku winked at him, pulled a business card from her chest, and handed it to him.
The business card still carried her body temperature and scent.
As soon as they left, Erina Nakiri asked somewhat sourly, "Satou, do you want to keep this business card?"
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