E20 - Like the Phoenix

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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
SIGN    Chrysanthemum Tower
[00:04] All
    What an unusually large hot plate!
[00:07] All
    And he's ready to go!
[00:10] All
    Meanwhile, Mao...
[00:13] All
    He's cooking with just one pot, huh?
[00:16] Fei
    The tasting will begin in two hours.
[00:18] Fei
    The winner of this contest
    will cook for the prince.
[00:24] Fei
    Now... Begin!
SIGN    True Cooking Master Boy
[02:01] Zhuqi
    Check this out.
[02:04] Zhuqi
    Watch as my chopsticks
    dance along this hot plate
[02:07] Zhuqi
    in a demonstration of my
    tribe's greatest cooking skills.
[02:09] Zhuqi
    First, leeks.
[02:11] Zhuqi
    Then comes the duck meat
    marinated in soy sauce, alcohol,
[02:14] Zhuqi
    ginger sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.
[02:23] Zhuqi
    I'll use every last inch
    of this piping hot plate.
[02:26] Zhuqi
    The truth worth of these long chopsticks
[02:28] Zhuqi
    is their ability to flip
    ingredients without cease!
[02:32] Zhuqi
    The scent of the fragrant pine
    firewood I carefully selected
[02:37] Zhuqi
    passes through this slatted hot plate,
    giving the meat a superior aroma.
[02:42] Zhuqi
    This traditional Mongolian recipe
    is the land's greatest grilled dish:
[02:46] Zhuqi
    Mongolian Barbecue!
[02:48] Zhuqi
    What do you think? For me,
    cooking is a performance.
[02:52] Zhuqi
    And cooking's ultimate
    performance is the aroma!
[02:57] All
    Keep it up, Zhu Qi!
[02:59] Zhuqi
    What do you think, Liu Maoxing?!
[03:04] Zhuqi
    What?!
[03:07] Zhuqi
    What's with that attitude? I don't like it.
[03:10] Zhuqi
    And what's this sweet, perfume-like smell?
[03:15] Zhuqi
    It's Szechuan's famous
    Luzhou Laojiao liquor.
[03:18] Zhuqi
    What's he planning on doing with that?
[03:23] Shirou
    Mao, he's winning over
    the hearts of the audience again.
[03:28] Shirou
    What are you gonna do about it?!
[03:31] Zhuqi
    There! This coriander's
     the finishing touch!
[03:35] Zhuqi
    Now my dish will become even more fragrant!
[03:37] All
    Looking good, Zhu Qi!
[03:39] Zhuqi
    How do you like that?
[03:41] Zhuqi
    I don't get it. What is he doing?!
[03:45] Zhuqi
    Hey, Liu Maoxing!
[03:47] Zhuqi
    What do you think you're doing?
[03:49] Zhuqi
    I'm cooking my heart out over here.
[03:51] Mao
    I'm taking this contest seriously.
[04:00] Fei
    Everyone fears what they don't know.
[04:05] Fei
    That's why Zhu Qi frightened
    and confused Mao.
[04:08] Fei
    But now that your true identity
    has been revealed...
[04:11] Fei
    Five Tiger Star Zhu Qi,
    it's your turn to fear him.
[04:16] Mao
    All right. It's done.
[04:19] All
    The flames are vanishing.
[04:22] All
    I see something.
[04:25] Shirou
    What is that?
[04:26] Keling
    An egg?
[04:28] Mao
    Zhu Qi, would you like a taste...
[04:31] Zhuqi
    What?
[04:33] Mao
    ...of the immortal flavor
    breathing inside this egg?
[04:36] Zhuqi
    What?
[04:37] Zhuqi
    Immortal flavor?
[04:41] Luan
    It's huge!
[04:43] Luan
    What kind of egg is this?
[04:47] Mao
    You'll known once you taste it.
[04:57] Shirou
    Inside the egg is...
[04:59] Keling
    A steamed duck?
[05:03] Luan
    It's finally time.
    I have to taste the dishes.
[05:06] Luan
    A steamed duck...
[05:07] Luan
    It looks white and simple.
[05:12] Luan
    Damn it! I have a terrible sense of taste.
[05:15] Luan
    There's no way I can taste subtle flavors!
[05:23] Luan
    What? No!
[05:25] Luan
    This is no duck!
[05:27] All
    What?
[05:28] Luan
    It's a super duck that has far
    surpassed the standard duck.
[05:32] Luan
    This intense flavor was amplified
    a hundred times over within the egg
[05:37] Luan
    and was reincarnated as...
[05:41] Luan
    A phoenix!
[05:42] Luan
    It's truly an immortal flavor that lives
    eternally in my tongue's memory!
[05:48] Mao
    Liu Maoxing's special
    Phoenix Bowl is complete!
SIGN    Phoenix Bowl
[05:55] Luan
    How did you produce this flavor?!
[05:58] Luan
    You hardly did anything
    that looked like cooking.
[06:02] Mao
    Look carefully at the egg shell.
[06:10] Luan
    Is this salt?
[06:12] Mao
    I encased the whole
    seasoned duck inside salt
[06:15] Mao
    hardened using egg whites to form the egg.
[06:19] Mao
    I laid down a nest made
    from thin strips of taro,
[06:22] Mao
    placed the egg in a pot
    full of Luzhou Laojiao,
[06:26] Mao
    burned off the alcohol,
[06:28] Mao
    and heated the egg while adding flavor.
[06:32] Mao
    All I had to do was wait
    for the alcohol to burn off.
[06:36] Mao
    It's not that I wasn't cooking.
[06:39] Mao
    Waiting is part of cooking, too.
[06:42] Zhuqi
    This brat...
[06:44] Mao
    The salt functioned as a steamer
    for evenly cooking the egg.
[06:48] Mao
    It prevents the flavor
    of the duck from escaping,
[06:51] Mao
    condensing and amplifying it instead.
[06:54] Mao
    It not only adds the aroma
    of grilled salt to the meat,
[06:56] Mao
    but also draws out
    the sweetness of the duck.
[06:59] Mao
    It's the ultimate steamer.
[07:03] Mao
    Additionally, the remaining
    fragrant grilled salt serves
[07:05] Mao
    as the perfect seasoning just
    before you bite into the duck.
[07:10] Luan
    Simple and strong flavors and preparation!
[07:13] Luan
    Mild flavor and dignity!
[07:16] Luan
    From the idea to the presentation,
    it is a dish fit to serve the prince!
[07:23] Shirou
    All right! Mao's as good as won!
[07:26] Shirou
    He's made a comeback!
[07:28] Zhuqi
    I see.
[07:31] Zhuqi
    Then let me show you my power.
[07:36] Luan
    I believe you prepared
    Mongolian Barbecue, correct?
[07:40] Zhuqi
    Give me one second.
[07:43] Zhuqi
    My dish...
[07:47] Zhuqi
    is not yet complete.
[07:50] Zhuqi
    All right. The time is ripe.
[07:57] Shirou
    He dug something up.
[07:59] Keling
    It's a muddy pot.
[08:05] All
    Is that a soup?
[08:07] Zhuqi
    Duck, Jinhua ham,
    dried sea cucumbers, dried squid,
[08:10] Zhuqi
    dried prawns, bamboo shoots,
    and shiitake mushrooms.
[08:13] Zhuqi
    I sealed the delicacies of land
    and sea inside this pot
[08:16] Zhuqi
    and boiled it low and slow
    to create the ultimate luxurious soup.
[08:21] All
    Its aroma is more complex
    and mellow than the grilled meat.
[08:27] Zhuqi
    I actually had this soup
    cooking from the start.
[08:31] Zhuqi
    The flame I used to heat the hot
    plate also heated the buried pot.
[08:38] Zhuqi
    Like Mao said, waiting is part of cooking.
[08:42] All
    Impressive, Zhu Qi!
[08:43] All
    So clever!
[08:47] Zhuqi
    This bottled barbecue that combines grilled
    meat and soup is my completed dish.
[08:55] Shirou
    Either way, that's odd.
[08:58] Shirou
    He dug up the pot like he knew
    when the soup would be done.
[09:02] Shirou
    How did he know when it would be ready?
[09:06] Mao
    That's his ability.
[09:08] Shirou
    What?
[09:09] Mao
    He guessed the flavors of my
    dishes without tasting them
[09:13] Mao
    and determined the doneness
    of the soup sealed inside the pot
[09:16] Mao
    without digging it up or opening it.
[09:18] Mao
    There's only one sense that can do that.
[09:21] Mao
    It's smell.
[09:23] Mao
    His keen nose allows him to determine
    the qualities of an ingredient
[09:26] Mao
    without touching it and accurately
    identify them without tasting them.
[09:35] Fei
    You noticed, Mao.
[09:37] Fei
    Then you must already know
    what his other secret is.
[09:42] Zhuqi
    Go ahead, Governor.
[09:46] Luan
    This combination of grilled meat and soup
    are playing a marvelously fragrant duet.
[09:53] Fei
    Zhu Qi's other secret will be
    revealed in this tasting.
[10:07] Luan
    Th-This flavor...
[10:10] Zhuqi
    Well, Governor?!
[10:12] Zhuqi
    I've combined China's most fragrant
    Mongolian barbecue with a bottled soup
[10:15] Zhuqi
    bursting with flavors derived
    from luxurious ingredients!
[10:20] Zhuqi
    The aromas of both dishes are mixed
    together in one miraculous dish!
SIGN    Bottled Barbecue
[10:25] Zhuqi
    There's no way it doesn't taste good!
[10:30] Luan
    It's disgusting.
[10:33] Zhuqi
    What?!
[10:35] Zhuqi
    What did you just say, you pig?
[10:41] Luan
    You're not qualified to be a chef.
[10:43] Zhuqi
    What?
[10:44] Zhuqi
    Who do you think I am?
[10:46] Zhuqi
    You shouldn't casually make
    such shocking remarks!
[10:50] Fei
    Zhu Qi.
[10:52] Fei
    We have the results
    of the governor's judgment.
[10:55] Zhuqi
    Hold on, Mr. Dragon Chef.
[10:57] Zhuqi
    I know this old man has
    an incredibly poor sense of taste.
[11:02] Zhuqi
    Why doesn't he tell us what fault
    he found in my flawless dish?
[11:06] Zhuqi
    Or are you working with them, too?
[11:09] Luan
    Silence, monkey.
[11:12] Luan
    I may have a poor sense of taste,
    but it's obvious even to me.
[11:15] Luan
    The exceptionally fragrant and richly
    flavored Mongolian Barbecue.
[11:19] Luan
    The Bottled Soup flavored with luxurious
    ingredients of the land and sea.
[11:24] Luan
    Each one is luxurious and well-made.
[11:28] Luan
    But when combined, they feel incomplete.
[11:33] Luan
    The crispy grilled meat becomes slimy,
    emphasizing its strong flavor.
[11:38] Luan
    The powerful smell of the grilled
    meat erases the flavors of the soup,
[11:42] Luan
    emphasizing only the unpleasant
    stench of the land and sea.
[11:46] Luan
    When tasted using only the nose,
    they still appear to play a duet of aromas.
[11:50] Luan
    But the contrasting strong flavors fight
    and erase one another.
[11:56] Luan
    It's a diffuse reflection of flavors!
[11:59] Zhuqi
    That's impossible!
[12:02] Fei
    Zhu Qi.
[12:04] Fei
    Let me ask you something.
[12:05] Fei
    After mixing the grilled meat and soup,
[12:07] Fei
    if you'd boiled your dish again,
    the flavors would've come together.
[12:12] Fei
    Why didn't you do that?
[12:15] Zhuqi
    B-Because if I had, the grilled meat
     would've lost its aroma.
[12:22] Zhuqi
    That's all. Are we done here?
[12:28] Fei
    Governor, could you please
    tell us your judgment?
[12:33] Luan
    It's hardly necessary for me
    to repeat my judgment, Lord Fei.
[12:39] Fei
    Very well.
[12:41] Fei
    The winner of the Chrysanthemum Tower
    Duck Contest is Super Chef Liu Maoxing.
[12:49] Mao
    All right! I did it!
[12:52] Shirou
    Yes!
[12:54] Keling
    Now Mao will have the honor
    of cooking for the prince.
[12:59] Shirou
    You're the phoenix, Mao!
[13:04] Mao
    I did it, Shirou!
[13:06] Meili
    Mao!
[13:10] Mao
    M-Mei Li...
[13:18] Meili
    Mao, I... I...
[13:24] Mao
    I'm glad you're all right.
[13:28] Meili
    Mao?
[13:32] Meili
    This pendant...
[13:35] Mao
    Mei Li.
[13:38] Mao
    Let's visit the Leshan
    Giant Buddha together.
[13:43] Meili
    Okay.
[13:45] All
    Good for you, Mao!
[13:47] All
    Ladykiller!
[13:49] All
    This contest is adjourned.
[13:51] All
    See you later, Mao.
[14:00] Zhuqi
    What do you want? The contest is over.
[14:04] Zhuqi
    Because I skipped tasting
    my dish at the end, I—
[14:06] Fei
    You're wrong.
[14:08] Fei
    It's not that you didn't taste it.
[14:11] Fei
    It's that you couldn't.
[14:14] Fei
    Zhu Qi.
[14:16] Fei
    You don't have a sense of taste, do you?
[14:23] Keling
    Zhu Qi has no sense of taste?!
[14:25] Shirou
    You mean he can't taste anything?
[14:28] Fei
    That's your secret.
[14:31] Fei
    It's the reason you hate cooking
[14:32] Fei
    and acquired your exceptional sense of smell.
[14:37] Fei
    Despite your skill as a chef,
[14:41] Fei
    your fixation on smell and
    last minute failure prove it.
[14:44] Fei
    Isn't that right, Five Tiger Star Zhu Qi?
[14:48] Zhuqi
    I'm impressed, Dragon Chef Lan Feihong.
[14:52] Zhuqi
    That's right. I'm Sky Soaring
    Great Sage Zhu Qi.
[14:57] Zhuqi
    Top-ranking chef of the Cooking
    Underworld, Five Tiger Star Zhu Qi.
[15:03] Keling
    No way. Zhu Qi.
[15:05] Keling
    Why did you join the Cooking Underworld?
[15:10] Zhuqi
    When I was a little kid,
    I lost my parents, who were chefs.
[15:16] Zhuqi
    I was all alone in the world.
[15:19] Zhuqi
    That day, standing alone in
    the middle of the Mongolian plains,
[15:23] Zhuqi
    I was just waiting for the wolves to eat me.
[15:26] (Flashback) Zhuqi
    Dad, Mom. I can't do it.
[15:30] (Flashback) Zhuqi
    I can't live alone out here.
[15:37] (Flashback) Kaiyou
    Don't rush to your death, boy.
[15:41] (Flashback) Kaiyou
    I shall grant you the power to live.
[15:44] Zhuqi
    The man who found me was
    Cooking Underworld leader,
[15:48] Zhuqi
    Dragon in the Clouds Kai You.
[15:52] Zhuqi
    I just happened to be gifted,
    so I trained my skills under Kai You
[15:57] Zhuqi
    and rushed up the Underworld's ladder.
[16:00] Zhuqi
    But one day, I fell ill.
[16:02] Zhuqi
    For ten days, I suffered from a high fever.
[16:07] Zhuqi
    And when it was over...
[16:12] (Flashback) Zhuqi
    My tongue!
[16:14] (Flashback) Zhuqi
    I can't taste anything!
[16:17] Zhuqi
    A chef without a sense of taste? Impossible.
[16:20] Zhuqi
    This means my death in
    the Cooking Underworld.
[16:24] Zhuqi
    What am I supposed to do?!
    What can I do from here?!
[16:29] Zhuqi
    That's when the blood of my
    equestrian people was awakened.
[16:34] Zhuqi
    The ability to detect both distant enemies
[16:36] Zhuqi
    and prey on the wind
    blowing across the plains.
[16:39] Zhuqi
    The sense honed by my tribe.
[16:42] Zhuqi
    My sense of smell.
[16:45] Zhuqi
    Instead of my sense of taste,
    I'd hone my sense of smell
[16:49] Zhuqi
    and rise up in the Cooking Underworld.
[16:52] Zhuqi
    I got on my hands and knees like a dog
[16:55] Zhuqi
    and trained my sense of smell
    like my life depended on it.
[16:58] Zhuqi
    And then, finally, I was
    promoted to Five Star Tiger.
[17:07] Zhuqi
    But I paid dearly for it.
[17:11] Zhuqi
    People were delighted by
    the flashy performances I put on
[17:14] Zhuqi
    using my long chopsticks and aromas.
[17:16] Zhuqi
    They happily ate my food.
[17:20] Zhuqi
    But I didn't know the joy of my own flavors.
[17:25] Zhuqi
    Of eating my own food.
[17:29] Zhuqi
    Gradually, I lost my love for cooking.
[17:34] Zhuqi
    All that's left now is hate.
[17:38] Zhuqi
    Mao, you're lucky.
[17:41] Zhuqi
    The more you cook, the more
    your love for cooking grows.
[17:48] Mao
    I understand now that you went
    through a lot of pain.
[17:51] Mao
    But no matter the reason,
[17:54] Mao
    I can't forgive you for poisoning Mei Li.
[18:03] Zhuqi
    That was a miscalculation.
[18:07] Zhuqi
    That's right. My plans were already starting
    to go off track from that moment.
[18:12] Zhuqi
    My plan to crush your spirit, Mao.
[18:17] Zhuqi
    I wasn't expecting Mei Li to do that.
[18:22] (Flashback) Meili
    I request that I be allowed
    to judge their contest.
[18:28] Zhuqi
    Do you know how I felt when
    I poisoned Mei Li's chopsticks?
[18:39] Zhuqi
    It really was love at first sight, Mei Li.
[18:42] Zhuqi
    From the moment I met you in the mountains,
[18:45] Zhuqi
    not realizing you were Mao's friend.
[18:49] Mao
    Zhu Qi...
[18:52] Zhuqi
    Mao, I wish I could've met you sooner.
[18:57] Zhuqi
    But it's too late, now.
[19:06] Shirou
    His precious cooking utensils!
[19:08] Mao
    What do you think you're doing, Zhu Qi?
[19:11] Zhuqi
    I don't need these anymore.
[19:17] Fei
    Zhu Qi, where are you going?
[19:19] Zhuqi
    Who knows? I can't go back
    to the Cooking Underworld now.
[19:24] Zhuqi
    I'll go wherever the wind takes me.
[19:27] Fei
    You know the Underworld
    won't allow a loser to escape.
[19:34] Zhuqi
    What a beautiful sunrise.
[19:37] Zhuqi
    Things would be so much easier
    if it would melt my body away.
[19:46] Meili
    Zhu Qi, I'll never forget.
[19:52] Meili
    The taste of those mooncakes.
[19:55] Meili
    I'll never forget!
[20:02] Zhuqi
    Thanks.
[20:06] Mao
    That smile that seemed to melt
    into the deep red morning sun
[20:11] Mao
    was forever burned into the back of my mind.
[20:15] Mao
    I'll probably never forget the proud name
[20:18] Mao
    of Five Star Tiger Sky
    Soaring Great Sage Zhu Qi.
SIGN    Chrysanthemum Tower
[20:31] Prince
    This Phoenix Bowl is a marvelous dish.
[20:36] Prince
    Fei, who cooked this dish?
[20:41] Fei
    Guangdong Super Chef Liu Maoxing.
[20:45] Fei
    The only man in this world
    who I consider my rival.
[20:50] Prince
    I want him.
[20:52] Prince
    I want him to cook in the court kitchen!
[20:55] Prince
    Do you think you could recruit him?
[20:59] Fei
    Recruit Mao?
[21:01] Fei
    I'm not sure I can.
[21:06] Fei
    He may seem docile, but he's quite stubborn.
[21:13] Shirou
    You did it, Mao!
[21:15] Shirou
    Now that we know this is a map of
    Chengdu, this'll take no time at all.
[21:19] Mao
    Yeah. The legendary utensil is in Chengdu.
[21:22] Mao
    Thanks for your help, Sis.
[21:24] Keling
    I'm glad I was able to be useful.
[21:26] Keling
    You're finally leaving, huh?
[21:29] Keling
    Huh?
[21:30] Keling
    Mei Li, what's wrong?
[21:33] Meili
    Um, Mao. Here...
[21:40] Mao
    Thanks, Mei Li!
[21:41] Mao
    You mended it for me.
[21:43] Meili
    I caused a lot of trouble this time.
[21:50] Keling
    See you later!
[21:52] Shirou
    All right! Fresh start!
[21:54] Mao
    The fourth utensil is right
    before our eyes in Chengdu!
[21:57] All
    Let's go!
SIGN    Next Time
SIGN    "Dazzling Dunhuang"
[23:57] Narration
    Next time, "Dazzling Dunhuang."