| 43 |
Mao's
Strength! Magical Panda Tofu! |
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The judges sit back down at their seats as it is almost time to taste the dishes. Shouan unveils beautiful marble-like tofu and begins his preparation by slicing it with bamboo knives. Mao only sits and stares at his tofu mold until the very last second. Everyone, especially Sanche, are getting anxious. Mao then places the mold on the judges' table. They are unimpressed by the wooden box. Mao lifts the lid and there is black tofu and white tofu layered resting upon bamboo leaves. When Mao pulls the leaves out the tofu magically splits into perfect cubes, landing in spicy
Szechwan sauce. The tofu mold he used had no bottom except for a wire grid. This cut the tofu when the top was lifted. Mao used lard to separate the layers, used black sugar for the black tofu, and put it over a low fire. When the lard melted it was absorbed into the tofu. Due to an intricate line of thought, Mao ended up making his own original mapo tofu, 'Magical Panda Tofu'. The judges love it as they picture
Szechwan pandas. Shouan still seems suspiciously confident of his dish.
Cooking Secret: Lard and wire grid.
Banquet Cooking Battle (Mao vs Shouan, part 2
of 4)
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| 44 |
Shocking
Finale! Back in the Palm of Pai! |
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Shouan's dish consists of tofu, meat, and noodles, 'Three Harmony Tofu'. The judges take one taste then they all rush over and fight over the rest of it. It turns out that the meat and noodles are also made from tofu. Shouan thought of this when he was at the ocean, noticing that the ocean, sand and wind are all in perfect harmony with one another. The judges go away to discuss their decision. Mao is appointed the winner. While the judges had mixed views, they all agreed that Mao's creativity and skill would better suit the future of cooking. Plus, one of the judges had tasted Shouan's dish before. About seven years ago Pai served it to him. No matter what Shouan does he just cannot surpass his teacher. Upset and already going a bit insane, Shouan activates the self-destruct on the boat and parts of it begin to explode.
Cooking Secret: Shouan, meat and noodles also made of tofu.
Banquet Cooking Battle (Mao vs Shouan, part 3
of 4)
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| 45 |
Flames on Changjiang River! Shouan Dies in the Ocean |
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The massive ship explodes putting everyone in panic. Shan goes underwater and Leon follows her. In the mean time Mao and the others are looking for an exit. Shan emerges and gets on the boat waiting for her. She also took the map. Suddenly Leon pops up and takes the boat and map from her. From the distance a huge ship can be seen and they attempt to rescue everyone. Before Mao can jump on he is again confronted with Shouan. Shouan attacks Mao but an explosion makes Shouan fall. Mao catches Shouan's hand and refuses to let go. It was his mom's dream for Shouan to cook alongside Mao and Karin. Even her dying words were for him to return. Tears overflow as Shouan finally understands. Shouan gives something to Mao then falls to his death in the ocean he loves so. Later, the crew examine the maps they have. When put up to the sunlight, characters are revealed that tell the location of the next legendary utensil. The utensil is nearby but it is just an ugly brown pot. When Mao grabs hold of it a image of a dragon comes roaring out. The brown layer cracks open to reveal the beautiful Coiled Dragon Pot.
Cooking Secret: None.
Banquet Cooking Battle (Mao vs Shouan, part 4
of 4)
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| 46 |
Save Shell! A Storm of
Ramen! |
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The book from Shouan was the other half of Pai's journal. In it is a recipe for
Szechwan Kikka sauce which takes about a half year to ferment. Mao makes this in the Coiled Dragon Pot and it is perfectly fermented in a beam of light. They hear some new of the third utensil and leave Shanghai to Szechwan Huang Shan. Shell was drunk and lost all their money so they have no place to stay. They find an abandoned house but there are some people inside. They welcome them to stay and eat with them.
Seeing the half-done dumplings, Mao and Shell take over and make '7-Colored Dumplings' to show their appreciation. In the morning all the travelers are gone and the sheriff's men come in to arrest Shell. An eyewitness says she saw him rob their place the night before. Sheriff Lamen puts Shell in prison and says that in this town all robbers are executed. Leon decides to look for them and Mao suggests that he go to Huang Shan. The night before Mao noticed that they had a certain rock fungi which grows in Huang Shan and that needs a monkey to get it.
Leon captured at hideout. Mao buy some time by making official's favorite food. various ramen chameleon bowl tower. Official figures it out then heads to execution site. he swing the sword at Shell's head but his sword is stopped.
By who? Shell! The man kneeled before the official is the head of the robbers.
He dressed up like Shell and even used a steel stick when he robbed the house. The deputy sheriff also arrested the sheriff as he was really the leader of such robberies, using his position to pardon the criminals and execute innocent people.
Cooking Secret: Endless variety of ramen.
(Mao vs Huang Shan Gang, part 1 of 1)
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| 47 |
Descent of a
God! The Magical Copperware |
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Shilou found a map in the robbers' loot for the third utensil. Off to Mount Jiuhua. While they are eating at a restaurant, there is a small fat guy exaggerating about how good the food was and then he runs off. As they leave, the owner says that the small guy said they were paying for him. Mao says that the people in Jiuhua are respected in his home of Szechwan because they are known as being
hard workers. When they arrive in the town though, everyone is just sitting along the street like zombies. The minute they hear a bell ring they all gather in a gaudy-looking temple each with a bowl and some jewelry or money. They present their gift offering in exchange for a special abalone soup. Finally the much anticipated
deity appears. It is the small fat guy from the restaurant, Wong Seiyo. Shilou and Mei Li shout at him to pay back the money for his meal but he says he will give them a preview of his holy power to prove their disbelief. Dried abalone usually takes 3 days and nights to soften but after it is put in the Holy Copperware it is done in an instant. The taste is proof that this must be a legendary utensil. Seiyo takes advantage of the people and is extremely mean them. He is only interested in tricking out of their money. Shilou thinks he may be using a double-bottomed pot but finds out it the real thing. Seiyo has the people chase them out. Mao is so upset at this con artist using cooking to mislead people but doesn't know how to expose him. An old man is nearby and telling them about the history of the people and what motivated them to work hard. He relates the legend of the Comet God and its relation to fertile land. This gives Mao the perfect idea. Seiyo is rolling in his gold but finally stops to get ready for his act. Suddenly a voice fills the area and Mao, Mei Li, and Shilou
appear dressed up like the Comet God.
Cooking Secret: Holy Copperware.
Deity Battle (Mao vs Seiyo, part 1
of 2)
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| 48 |
Shooting
Star From Heaven, Special Comet Fried Rice |
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The old man tells the people that the Comet God has descended to remind the people to work their land. Seiyo is really mad and says that they need to perform a miracle better than his. He finds this a perfect chance to get the people to believe in him even more. At the city tower the showdown of
deities begins. Seiyo uses a gigantic abalone and amazingly makes soup for everyone present. Mei Li and Shilou bring out a huge empty plate. Mao shouts to the sky as it begins to get cloudy with lightening. A bright light fills the sky and takes the form of the comet that was rumored to have landed years ago.
'Special Comet Fried Rice' falls from the sky and lands on the large plate. Mao used greens from the land to replenish the missing vitamins of eating abalone everyday. The
malnourished people are rejuvenated and anxiously return to their fields. Seiyo is exposed and has a tantrum. In the distance Seiyo sees smoke so promptly returns to his castle only to find it is destroyed. Shell and Leon also took all his money so they can return it to the people. When Mao touches the copperware it begins to shake and a dragon appears. They finally found the third utensil, the Holy Copperware. They wonder why the copperware allowed someone like Seiyo to borrow its power. The old man tells them that Seiyo saved it from being melted down so maybe that was how the copperware showed its gratitude to him. Again in the Underground Shan is pleading with the leader for another chance. She says she has a plan to use Mei Li and Shilou as bait.
Cooking Secret: Local herbs, catapult for comet-effect.
Deity Battle (Mao vs Seiyo, part 2 of 2)
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[1-6] [7-12] [13-18]
[19-24] [25-30]
[31-36] [37-42]
[43-48] [49-52] TOP
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