From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming and his sixth senior brother also cooked some dishes with everyone at the restaurant.

These dishes are some of the recipes that Feng Zhengming has developed in Shanghai over the years.

Feng Zhengming also adapted to the situation. He saw some very fresh pomfret in the restaurant's kitchen, so he chose to make a dish with pomfret.

The way this dish is prepared is different from the dry-fried pomfret commonly found in Shandong cuisine.

This time, Feng Zhengming prepared the pomfret by pan-frying it with scallion oil.

First, clean the pomfret thoroughly, then marinate it with scallions, ginger, and cooking wine.

Next, wipe all the water stains off the surface.

Then Feng Zhengming used the scallion oil he had prepared in advance to start frying in a frying pan.

"First, fry one side at a time until both sides are browned. Once both sides are browned, add some cooking wine and drizzle in some scallion oil. Then cover the pot and simmer for a while."

It doesn't take long, just a few minutes, to allow the aroma of the scallions to permeate the fish.

As Feng Zhengming cooked, he explained the process to everyone in the kitchen.

While frying the pomfret, Feng Zhengming stir-fried some pickled vegetables with scallion oil on the stove next to him.

After stir-frying the pickled vegetables until fragrant, the pan-fried and braised pomfret is ready to be served.

Then put it back into the pot with the stir-fried pickled vegetables and simmer it together for a few more minutes.

In those last few minutes, Feng Zhengming quickly prepared the chopped scallions and lightly fried them in hot oil.

As the aroma of scallions filled the air, the pomfret was also served.

"When plating, place these pickled vegetables at the bottom, then arrange the pomfret on top, and finally drizzle chopped green onions over the fish. Serve it to the guests like this."

Feng Zhengming's pan-fried pomfret with scallion oil surprised everyone in the kitchen, including his sixth senior brother.

The key is that this dish is truly filled with a rich aroma of scallions.

If this dish were from Shandong province, the aroma of scallions alone would be incredibly enticing.

When everyone picked up their chopsticks to taste it, the fish meat was still quite white and tender beneath the crispy skin.

Feng Zhengming's Quancheng recipe doesn't use salt, but the saltiness from the scallion oil stir-fried vegetables means there's no need to add more.

When eaten this way, the freshness of the pomfret is really highlighted by the scallion oil.

One bite and I realized this pomfret was truly delicious.

Sixth Brother: "Delicious! I never thought pomfret could be cooked like this. Our traditional Shandong-style dry-fried pomfret is even better than this."

Lü Zhengbo: "There is absolutely no fishy smell. The combination of scallion flavor and pomfret is just too delicious."

Everyone else in the kitchen praised it and couldn't stop eating.

"And these pickles taste good too."

"Yes, yes, the flavor of this pickled vegetable blends very well with the pomfret."

"Junior Uncle is indeed Junior Uncle, his skills are truly amazing."

"It's such a simple recipe, with no fancy techniques, but it's just so delicious."

Feng Zhengming: "Good food doesn't necessarily have to show off skills. The key is to harmonize various flavors. The key to our Shandong cuisine is also the harmony of flavors."

We don't pursue the original flavor as much as Cantonese cuisine, nor do we pursue the ultimate flavor profile as much as Sichuan cuisine.

Shandong cuisine aims to create a harmonious and blended flavor.

While Shandong cuisine may not be the most outstanding in terms of flavor, its taste is certainly acceptable to most people.

Everyone in the kitchen felt they had benefited from Feng Zhengming's teachings.

Feng Zhengming then gave guidance to the chefs in charge of cooking in the kitchen.

They were taught how to cook multiple fish together, so that they could serve multiple fish at once.

"You must remember that the efficiency of food preparation in the kitchen is crucial. Therefore, some dishes that are too complicated and require too much skill may not be suitable for serving multiple dishes at once, and some trade-offs must be made."

Another important thing is to be good at adapting to local conditions. Yancheng is close to the sea and has a lot of seafood, so we should make good use of it.

We can't just process sea cucumbers for others; we also need to know how to make good use of various kinds of sea fish, shellfish, shrimp, and crabs.

The sixth senior brother asked, "Did you all understand? Can you remember it?"

The kitchen staff immediately answered in unison.

"I understand, and I will definitely remember it."

Feng Zhengming and his sixth senior brother exchanged a smile.

Next, they left from the kitchen first.

Because they had made plans with their families, they weren't planning to eat out tonight.

They're going grocery shopping together, and the two dads will cook some dishes for the kids at home.

Feng Zhengming and his sixth senior brother left the restaurant and headed straight for the larger market in Yancheng.

At this market, Feng Zhengming bought a lot of fresh seafood.

I bought various shellfish, fresh shrimp, swimming crabs, and a few fish.

Then, the sixth senior brother bought mostly meat and vegetables.

The two fathers, carrying large and small bags of groceries, returned home together first.

The two mothers haven't brought their children back yet.

Feng Zhengming and his sixth senior brother started preparing various dishes at home.

When he returned home to cook, Sixth Brother was clearly not used to it.

In the kitchens of restaurants and hotels, the countertops and stoves are very large, while the space in a home kitchen is too small, and the firepower of the stoves used in a home kitchen is not enough.

Feng Zhengming noticed that his sixth senior brother was not comfortable, so he smiled and comforted him.

“When cooking at home, we can’t rush it because the stove is not powerful enough, the kitchen is small, and most importantly, there are no apprentices to help you. So you have to be patient and do it step by step.”

Next, under Feng Zhengming's guidance, the sixth senior brother gradually got into the zone.

Slowing down the pace, Zhang Minghai also felt that cooking at home wasn't so difficult after all.

From cutting and preparation to marinating.

Then comes deep-frying, pan-frying, and finally various stir-frying methods.

After the two apprentices worked hard, they successfully made each dish.

Amidst the sounds of children playing, the door was opened from the outside.

The three children rushed in first.

Feng Nuanyou was the first to rush forward.

When she rushed in, her sixth uncle's daughter even helped Feng Nuanyou block her younger brother.

This made the boy very unhappy.

"Sis, how can you help her?"

The older sister smiled and said, "She's younger, the little sister, and Mom tells us to give way to our little sister."

The boy was left speechless.

As soon as Feng Nuanyou entered the room, she immediately peeked into the kitchen.

"Hehehe, Dad, Uncle Liu, we're back!"

The two fathers turned their heads and immediately smiled when they saw the little girl.

Sixth Uncle: "You're back? Did you have fun? Did your older sister and brother let you have your way?"

Dad: "You didn't bully your sister and brother, did you?"

Feng Nuanyou: "No, not at all. My older sister and brother had a lot of fun with me. We went to many places together, and we even went to the beach."

The sixth senior brother's daughter poked her head out: "Dad, why do you only ask if we bullied our sister? Are we that much worrying to you?"

The son immediately chimed in, "That's right, that's right! Why don't you ask your sister if she bullied us?"

Before the father could answer the two children, he had already done so.

The mother, who had just entered the room, came over. "What are you two doing here? Your little sister is so small, do you think she can bully you? You're so insensible. Okay, stop staring here and go wash your hands."

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, yes, go wash your hands, we'll be able to eat in a bit."

Luo Qing followed her in and pulled her daughter away as well.

"Alright, stop staring here and come wash your hands. Look at your hands, they're so dirty, how can you be so shameless?"

Forced by her mother to wash her hands, Feng Nuanyou didn't forget to turn around and make a face at her father and sixth uncle.

Sixth Senior Brother chuckled, "Your daughter is so adorable."

Feng Zhengming: "She's just mischievous. Once you get to know her, you really can't control her when she gets naughty."

Sixth Senior Brother: "That's good. It shows that your Youyou has an outgoing personality, and she won't be bullied in the future. She'll definitely be one of the top students in her class when she goes to school."

Feng Zhengming said with a hint of helplessness, "I'm worried that while she's a top student academically, she's also quite adept at causing trouble at school."

Sixth Senior Brother: "A child who doesn't cause trouble won't achieve anything great."

Feng Zhengming: "But she's a girl."

This left the sixth senior brother with no way to explain himself.

"Okay, girls should indeed be more restrained."

Feng Zhengming couldn't help but laugh at what was said.

The two apprentices finished the final touches, bringing all the dishes out of the pot.

By the time the children finished washing their hands and came out, a table full of home-cooked dishes was almost ready.

Seeing the table full of dishes, Sixth Sister-in-law spoke first.

“Look at Zhengming, he can even cook at home. Look at you, you’re clearly a great chef, but I’ve never seen you cook at home more than a few times.”

Feng Zhengming smiled and tried to exonerate his sixth senior brother.

"Sixth Brother also cooked today's dishes, but I didn't cook them all."

Upon hearing this, Sixth Sister-in-law looked at Sixth Senior Brother: "Did you really do that?"

Seeing his wife's disbelief, Zhang Minghai said, "Why don't you believe your husband? I helped with all these dishes. Zhengming and I cooked this whole meal together, okay?"

The daughter immediately asked, "Dad, what did you cook?"

Zhang Minghai pointed to the fried clams with eggs on the table: "This dish was made by my dad."

Without hesitation, the daughter immediately picked up a piece with her chopsticks.

"Hmm, Dad's cooking tastes pretty good."

These words left Zhang Minghai speechless.

"Your father is a master chef, after all. So many people in Yancheng love his cooking. How can you say such a thing? Don't you trust your father's skills?"

The son didn't mince words: "But at home, it's always Mom who cooks for us."

These words were undoubtedly very damaging to Zhang Minghai.

Feng Zhengming tried to smooth things over again: "Alright, alright, let's eat. Dad really put in a lot of effort today. Eat more vegetables. Dad helped with every dish."

Feng Nuanyou asked with a grin, "Dad, is this the chicken wings you made? And this stir-fried squid?"

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, I made these dishes. Don't say anything, just eat."

Feng Nuanyou could immediately point out which dish her father made.

Zhang Minghai's two children were quite envious.

However, the delicious food on the table quickly made the two children forget their envy.

They just felt that every dish was delicious, and that their father's cooking at home was also delicious.

After eating a few bites, Sixth Sister-in-law praised Sixth Brother.

"You did a good job. These dishes are really well made. You should cook them at home more often in the future, or you can teach me so I can cook better at home too."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Haha, Sixth Sister-in-law is right. Sixth Brother, you can teach Sixth Sister-in-law at home when you have some free time."

The sixth senior brother nodded seriously; "Okay, I'll definitely make time to teach you a few dishes at home in the future."

Both families enjoyed the family dinner at Sixth Brother's house very much.

During the meal, the three children took turns recounting what they had done that day.

Listening to the children's descriptions and watching them eat so heartily...

Zhang Minghai also suddenly felt a sense of warmth and home.

At this moment, Zhang Minghai realized that since his family moved to Yancheng, he seemed to have spent much less time with them.

It's not that he can't spare any time.

Because his family is right beside him, Zhang Minghai always felt that he could focus on his career first, since he could see his family every day and didn't really need to make time to be with them.

Today's meal made Zhang Minghai realize that his thinking was wrong.

Even if his family members are nearby, he should make time to spend with them.

Then he thought about how he would be going to Yanxilou in the capital later.

He might be separated from his family for six months at a time.

Zhang Minghai felt that he should indeed spend more time with his family before going to Beijing.

He also decided that once he went to Beijing, during the children's winter and summer vacations, he would make sure his wife brought the children to Beijing to meet him, and he would also take the children to have a good time in Beijing.

After the meal, Feng Zhengming and Zhang Minghai played with the three children together.

The two mothers tidied up and then washed the dishes in the kitchen.

This was the first time in years that Zhang Minghai had played games with his child at home.

His initial clumsiness amused all three children.

When playing those paper chess games with the children, Zhang Minghai had absolutely no idea how to play, which led to many funny situations, and he was completely defeated by the children.

Even Feng Zhengming, who was standing to the side, couldn't bear to watch any longer.

"Sixth Brother, have you never played with children before?"

Zhang Minghai's forehead was covered in sweat.

"I've never played with this thing before. We didn't play with this thing when we were kids."

Feng Zhengming: "It seems that you really need to spend more time with the kids, Sixth Brother."

Feng Nuanyou was quite kind. Seeing that her sixth uncle didn't know how to play and had already lost all the money he had been given, she simply taught him how to play.

After being carefully taught by Feng Nuanyou, Zhang Minghai found it quite interesting.

Especially when a little girl like Feng Nuanyou is really serious about teaching you, her earnestness is very cute.

Zhang Minghai glanced at his daughter and son, who were still happily waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

This immediately left Zhang Minghai feeling helpless again.

After receiving guidance from Feng Nuanyou, Zhang Minghai finally got the hang of it.

Instead of losing more money, they were able to win some back from the children.

When the two mothers came out after washing the dishes, they saw the two fathers playing and laughing with their children.

Sixth Sister-in-law couldn't help but whisper to Luo Qing, "Their father has almost never played with them like this before. I really want to thank your family tonight."

Luo Qing: "Sister-in-law, please don't blame Sixth Brother. Zhengming often can't spend time with the children either; they're all too busy."

Sixth Sister-in-law: "I know. They use their skills to bring delicious food to other people's homes, but they can't take good care of their own families. I don't blame them. After all, they all need to earn money to support their families."

Luo Qing: "When Sixth Brother goes to the capital, if you can, Sister-in-law, take the children with you and let Zhengming help you arrange it."

Sixth Sister-in-law: "No need, we'll stay at home and wait for the children to have their holidays. We hope that in the future, both of these children can go to university in Beijing or Shanghai, or even a good university in the province."

Luo Qing: "Don't put too much pressure on the child, just do your best."

The two mothers chatted for a few minutes, then were quickly pulled over by their children to join them, and the two families played together until very late. (End of Chapter)