gourmet food

Chapter 1240 The Super Secret of Sichuan Cuisine

Seeing the shocked looks on the faces of Chu Yunfeng and Zhao Tianhao, Wan Lao felt sincerely grateful. After all, only people like himself who have lived to this age know the truth of these history.

At this time, Wan Lao began to put on airs, shaking his head slightly, and stroking his beard with his hands, as if enjoying the process very much.

After being shocked, Chu Yunfeng began to become suspicious. Is what Wan Lao said true or false?
If it is true, then why have I never heard of the Chengdu version of the Manchu-Han banquet in so many years? And more importantly, how could Mr. Li do it?
But if it's fake, I just thought of the dish that Mr. Li still remembers at the "last moment", so is it really related to this Manchu Banquet?
So the question is, since Mr. Li is so obsessed with this matter, why didn't he pass on these dishes to others earlier?
There were so many doubts here that Chu Yunfeng couldn't figure it out for a while, so the only way he could solve his doubts or confirm many of his guesses was to listen to Wan Lao continue talking.

But before Chu Yunfeng could ask the question, Wan Lao calmed down and began to ask: "Xiao Chu, has your master never revealed this information about the Man-Han banquet to you?"

"Wan Lao, that's all. You can continue talking. But I can definitely answer you that my master has not mentioned this matter in front of me.

And according to my recollection, no one seems to have said that there will be a Chengdu version of the Manchu-Han Banquet. Do you think this is possible? "

After looking at Chu Yunfeng's expression carefully and earnestly, Wan Lao thought that Chu Yunfeng did not lie, and there was no need for it. Is this old man Li really stable?
I don't know what he is thinking in his heart, he even wants to hide it from his apprentice, and it is said that he almost did something in Thailand last time.

Are you still unwilling to inherit it like this?
What the hell is going on here?
Did you guess wrong?

But it's impossible?

He has verified this matter in every possible way. Old Man Li must know it, but the question is, why would he deny it?
While Wan Lao was still deep in thought, Zhao Tianhao also became anxious: "That's right, Master, how could Brother Chu lie?

Please tell me quickly, what is going on? "

yo?

The boy Tianhao also became anxious, but seeing that he trusted Chu Yunfeng so much, Wan Lao didn't know what he felt in his heart.

After a pause, Wan Lao picked up the tea cup on the table and started drinking. After finishing the tea in one breath, he seemed to take a sigh of relief, and then began to sigh silently.

"Okay, since I'm here this time just to show my sincerity, I'll be honest, but Xiao Chu, after I say this, the rest depends on you.

Master Ni, you have to persuade him carefully, don't bring your skills into it or something. "

There was a look of helplessness on his face, and he seemed to feel the same way. Wan Lao's last words sounded a bit sad.

Chu Yunfeng nodded, and Zhao Tianhao nodded quickly, as if it had something to do with him. Wan Lao wanted to hit him twice on the head.

After coughing, Wan Lao said slowly: "Just now I have told you about the origin of the Man-Han Banquet, and the Man-Han Banquet reached its peak in the late Qing Dynasty.

However, with the decline of imperial power, by the end of the Qing Dynasty, the capital was already very unstable, so many people began to move from the capital to various parts of the country.

The same is true for chefs. This famous Manchu chef named Guan Zhengxing also followed the "army" southward and came to Rongcheng.

It is said that Guan Zhengxing was a well-known chef in the capital in the past, and he also prepared Manchu and Han banquets, but it is no longer possible to verify this.

However, he can be regarded as the founder of Rongyuan Garden. No one denies this. It was he who inspected the local catering in Chengdu and thought that it was too simple.

So many dignitaries came to Chengdu, but they didn't even have a decent restaurant to eat in, so they came up with the idea of ​​opening their own restaurant.

After the restaurant opened, relying on his craftsmanship, he quickly took root in Rongcheng, and gradually became the leader of the restaurants in Rongcheng!
When he was in the capital, Guan Zhengxing had witnessed many scenes of banquets held by palaces and officials. Therefore, as the business became more prosperous and stronger, he also began to upgrade the specifications and grades of the banquets.

And according to the object of the banquet, the type of banquet, the time and season of the banquet, the scale and preference of the banquet, different banquet specifications are arranged, and in addition, drawing on what the capital has seen and heard in the past, the service form of the palace and the government is adopted.

Over time, Zhengxingyuan's unique banquet style was gradually formed, which was quite official and was highly praised by guests.

But these are not the key. The most important thing is that the dignitaries who come to dine here come from all over the world, and there are local famous chefs at home.

And these noble people all pay attention to an unspoken rule of the upper class, which is to show off.

Therefore, sometimes when going to a banquet, I will bring dishes prepared by my own private kitchen and home kitchen and put them on the banquet for everyone to taste to show that I have good taste.

What's more, they directly bring their own private chefs and home cooks to cook in Zhengxingyuan's kitchen, and the dishes prepared by these chefs will compete with each other.

Whichever chef cooks a good dish will naturally be praised by others, which naturally makes the owner more proud and satisfies his desire to show off.

In this way, Guan Zhengxing of Zhengxingyuan will have the opportunity to communicate with these famous chefs from all over the world, and he also respects these chefs very much.

Therefore, he would have a good communication with these chefs every time, and repeatedly ponder and learn about the dishes they cooked, and he would not hesitate to ask questions if he did not understand anything.

Over time, Guan Zhengxing began to master a large number of top dishes, and then he began to improve, fuse and innovate these dishes.

This is a change in the dishes, and making the dishes more upscale has a lot to do with one of Guan Zhengxing's hobbies.

Guan Zhengxing likes to collect ancient utensils. His collection of dining utensils, such as colorful ancient porcelain plates and bowls, exquisite ivory and ebony silver-coated chopsticks, etc., are all on display in the Banquet Pavilion.

This naturally formed a unique scene, which fascinated many high-society diners in Chengdu at that time.

Therefore, Guan Zhengxing put a lot of effort into the selection of tableware. All the tableware are very exquisite, and the tableware used for each dish is different.

Guan Zhengxing was fond of collecting ancient utensils. The dining utensils he collected, such as colorful porcelain plates and bowls, exquisite ivory and ebony silver-coated chopsticks, were all displayed in the banquet hall, forming a unique scene, which attracted many high-class people in Chengdu at that time. Society diners were ecstatic.

The second is the dishes. Most of Zhengxingyuan’s dishes are famous for their exquisiteness, especially seafood dishes, from bird’s nests and sea cucumbers to shark’s fins and fish maws. The cooking methods and varieties vary with the seasons.

These are the goals pursued by dignitaries, so whenever there is a banquet, these dishes are indispensable, and they are necessary to make the host of the banquet look respectable.

However, mountain delicacies and game dishes also have very unique cooking methods and flavor characteristics. Even for dishes made of ordinary ingredients, the knife skills are very delicate and exquisite.

For example, the usual meat with the word "Fu", meat with the word "Wan", meat with the word "Shou", checkerboard meat, tiger skin meat, etc., are all unique and unique in terms of knife skills and plate presentation.

What is even more exquisite is Zhengxingyuan's soup dishes, which are particularly exquisite in making the soup, integrating color, aroma, taste, utensils and nourishment, and enjoy a high reputation among diners.

Next I want to talk about a very important thing, that is, when Guan Zhengxing opened Zhengxing Garden in Rongcheng, he organized Manchu and Han banquets three times.

This Man-Han Banquet is very different from the Beijing version, and it is said that the dishes are even more delicate than many Beijing versions.

so"

"Wait, isn't that right?"

Just when Wan Laocai said this, Chu Yunfeng immediately interrupted him, which made Zhao Tianhao, who was listening with gusto, speechless. Can't you just listen to it carefully?
And my master didn't say anything wrong, why did he say something wrong?

In fact, Chu Yunfeng probably knew more about Guan Zhengxing than Wan Lao. He knew all the things he said. He first learned about them from President Hou.

Later, I got to know more about it from Mr. Che. When I learned about Mapo Tofu, I learned more about it from his walking dictionary.

Finally, I learned some more about the kimchi experience at the Gugu Banquet, but these have nothing to do with this Chengdu version of the Manchu-Han banquet, but these are not important.

The important thing is that this is the wrong time!
Because Guan Zhengxing opened Zhengxing Garden in 1861, and Zhengxing Garden was burned down by fire in 1911. From that time on, Guan Zhengxing no longer opened a store, nor did he cook.

As for Rongyuan Garden, the cradle of Sichuan cuisine, after Guan Zhengxing’s Zhengxing Garden was burned down by fire, he persuaded the Manchu businessman Qi Lezhai to invest 300 yuan to fund the opening of Blue Light Restaurant.

This Rong Paradise opened at the end of 1911. It was Guan Zhengxing’s proud disciple and his most valued disciple Lan Guangjian.

However, after it was opened, Guan Zhengxing did not come out again. His other disciples also established their own businesses and opened large and small restaurants in Chengdu.

So what Wan Lao said just now that Guan Zhengxing made a Manchu-Han Banquet in Chengdu may be true, but the question is, Lao Li was not even born at that time?
He, the old man, couldn't predict the future, or go back in time to watch Guan Zhengxing make a Manchu-Han banquet, right?

So when he saw that Chu Yunfeng had questions, Wan Lao frowned: "What's wrong?"

Chu Yunfeng shook his head and said: "The timing is wrong. Guan Zhengxing stopped cooking in 1911, and Mr. Li was born more than 20 years later. Do you think there is nothing wrong with this?"

hiss~!

Zhao Tianhao suddenly came to his senses and took a deep breath. When he looked at his master again, he felt a little suspicious that he was a little old and confused?

What Chu Yunfeng said is absolutely correct. If Mr. Li saw Guan Zhengxing cooking in 1911, then he is now over 100 years old. Is this possible?
"Humph~!"

Wan Lao seemed a little unhappy that he was interrupted by Chu Yunfeng, and after snorting softly he said: "Young people should be a little patient and listen to what I have to say.

When did I say that Mr. Li met Guan Zhengxing and had a Manchu-Han banquet? "

I thought Chu Yunfeng would approve it, but he immediately denied it: "This is still wrong, Guan Zhengxing must be the only person who holds the Manchu-Han Banquet.

If his favorite disciple Lan Guangjian can cook it, then Rongyuan Garden will definitely pass down the Manchu-Han banquet dishes.

The problem is that in the current Sichuan cuisine inheritance, there is no trace of the Manchu-Han banquet at all. Doesn’t this mean something? "

"Yes, yes, Brother Chu is right. If Lan Guangjian had learned the Manchu-Han banquet, he would have lived until the founding of our new China. It is impossible not to pass it on."

Zhao Tianhao also felt that something was wrong at this moment, and immediately began to support Chu Yunfeng. When he looked at his master, he was even more worried. Isn't this really a bit old and confused?
"Humph~!"

This time Wan Lao's voice became much louder, and then he said very dissatisfied: "Are you still listening? If you don't listen, then I won't say anything!"

Uh~!

Zhao Tianhao immediately raised his hand and was the first to express his position: "Listen, Master, please hurry up and speak!"

Chu Yunfeng noticed Wan Lao's confidence and seemed to have some inside information, so he nodded and waited for Wan Lao's explanation.

"You guys are still too young!" Wan Lao sighed with a trace of experience, and then continued: "Xiao Chu, what you just said is absolutely right.

After Guan Zhengxing, it is true that no one can make this Chengdu version of the Manchu-Han Banquet.

Because when Guan Zhengxing made the Manchu-Han banquet, he only brought his most popular disciple Lan Guangjian as his assistant, and the rest were not allowed to enter the kitchen at all.

The most important thing is that Lan Guangjian was just an apprentice at the time. He had not learned cooking for a long time and could only help the master. He could not learn these dishes at all.

But what a pity, Guan Zhengxing produced the Chengdu version of the Manchu-Han banquet three times in total, and Blu-ray Jian was present during the whole process. "

"That"

Zhao Tianhao immediately thought of a question, and when he was about to post a message, he was immediately interrupted by Wan Lao: "Listen to me!"

“These three Manchu and Han banquets were made to the highest standards, so the host of the banquet had a very high status, and the guests invited were all rich or noble.

The news that came out later was also different. However, these things were not understood by the public, but they were widely circulated among the officials.

And other restaurants have only heard about it a little bit, and out of jealousy, many restaurants will not help them promote it, so gradually not many people know about it.

After this Blu-ray Mirror opened Rong Paradise, I gradually recalled Guan Zhengxing’s experience of making these dishes, but I was still young at that time and could not remember much.

Moreover, I only saw the cooking methods of many dishes a few times at that time. Most of the time I was helping the chef, and I didn’t have much time to see them clearly.

So there were a lot of dishes that he couldn't recall, but everything he could recall was recorded, but he didn't know if it was lost later.

Listen carefully to what I say next
Based on a "secret report" from an old friend, Lan Guangjian, who used to be the chef at Rongyuan Garden, wanted to recreate these dishes.

And who is the person who saw this scene? You should know by now, right? "

As soon as Wan Lao said this, Chu Yunfeng and Zhao Tianhao immediately stood up from their chairs in shock and said in unison: "Mr. Li?"

(End of this chapter)