"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,
