From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 192 Winning by Taste

The young chef who took action first at Jubinyuan was named Zhu Xu.

A few years older than Feng Zhengming, he is one of Cheng Guobin's most valued apprentices. He is already cooking independently in the kitchen of Jubin Garden.

However, when the other party greeted Feng Zhengming, he still called Feng Zhengming his uncle.

This also shows that Feng Zhengming’s performance today has been recognized and respected.

Zhu Xu chose the ingredients first, and he chose pork kidney and squid.

After choosing these two dishes, almost all the chefs present already knew what they were.

Oil bursts with double flowers.

Feng Zhengming saw that the other party was going to make a double-flavored dish, so when it was his turn to choose the ingredients, he didn't hesitate much and chose pork kidneys.

Seeing that Feng Zhengming also chose pork kidneys, there was an exclamation at the scene.

The four old masters looked at each other, and then almost all laughed.

Feng Zhengming's choice of materials can be regarded as making his attitude clear. Since he wants to compete, he will have a head-on confrontation.

Do you want some waist flower?

I'm here to spend money too.

When everyone thought Feng Zhengming was going to get squid too.

He deliberately passed by the squid without reaching for it.

It can be said that the atmosphere at the scene was instantly filled.

Seeing that he didn't take the squid, there was even a sound of disappointment at the scene.

In the end, Feng Zhengming chose fresh prawns.

Kidney to kidney.

Seafood on seafood.

The opponent is a double spender.

Feng Zhengming prepared to respond with stir-fried shrimp kidneys.

After both parties choose the materials, both parties start processing.

Feng Zhengming quickly peeled the shrimps out.

Remove the shrimp threads, clean the shrimps, dry the water on the shrimps, and then cut the shrimps again. You should still cut three times on the backs of the shrimps, so that when the shrimps are greased for a while, the shrimps will be better. The dough can be formed into balls to make it more beautiful.

On the other side, Zhu Xu prepared the side dishes first, including fungus, lentils and carrots.

In addition, Zhu Xu also carved carrots. He took a small section of carrot and carved several jagged cuts on both sides. Then after cutting it into slices, the carrot looked like a small cedar tree.

He also cut off both ends of the lentils and cut them into a swallow-tail shape.

Feng Zhengming processed the shrimps, first put them into a bottom and marinated them.

Naturally, he also had to deal with the ingredients first.

Cut carrots and lettuce into auspicious cubes.

Just looking at this step of the two people, especially the shape of the side dishes they put on the plate, everyone at the scene was very surprised, and they couldn't help but sigh that the chef really made the dishes look high-end.

The two of them were busy with their own affairs, basically advancing their respective preparations at the same time.

Almost all the side dishes are ready to be carved and cut.

Zhu Xu first cracked the squid open, cut it into long slices, and then cut the squid into slices.

The first is the oblique knife, which should cut almost two-thirds of the squid slices, and it cannot be cut directly.

After cutting with the oblique knife, use the straight knife again, and still hit two-thirds of the way.

After cutting, cut the squid into small pieces.

Feng Zhengming doesn't need to cut the shrimps so carefully, so he cuts the pork kidneys directly.

Split the pork kidney in the middle, and then slice off the middle waist.

Then also cut the inside of the pork loin with a diagonal knife.

Each cut should be deep, leaving almost only a little bit connected.

After the oblique knife blowing, the straight knife blowing follows.

Feng Zhengming's fixed blade is very clean and neat, all jumps are made, and the fixed blade is finished in the blink of an eye.

On the other hand, Zhu Xu was not too slow. He and Feng Zhengming completed the flower cutting almost at the same time.

The two men then cut the pork kidneys differently.

Zhu Xu cut the pork loin into long strips to basically match the length of the squid strips.

Feng Zhengming cuts the pork loin into pieces, and each piece should be the same size as the shrimp.

Cut the waist flowers between two people.

Master Su suddenly said: "Wait a minute, can you two bring the waist flower over and let us check it first?"

Hearing what Master Su said, the other three master chefs and the people from the Culinary Association also understood the intention.

Because it is necessary to test whether the flower knife of the waist flower is played well enough.

Just turn over the knifed kidney flower and see if you can see the knife marks on the back.

If you can't see the knife marks, it means that the flower knife was not up to standard.

Feng Zhengming and Zhu Xu brought the kidney flowers to the old chef and the people from the cooking association.

Everyone circulated it and were very satisfied with their knife skills.

The kidney flowers were returned to their hands, and they began to prepare for cooking.

After getting back the waist flower, there were some deviations in the two people's approach.

Feng Zhengming used onion, pepper, cooking wine and salt to base the kidney flowers, gently mixed them evenly, then sprinkled some dry starch and applied a thin layer of slurry.

Zhu Xu only uses salt and cooking wine to prepare the kidney flower, stir it evenly without sizing it.

Both of them blanch the side dishes and take them out for later use.

Feng Zhengming slides the shrimps into the pot first, and the shrimps will take a little longer to slide.

The oil temperature on Zhu Xu's side is 40%, and the kidneys and squid are put into the pan together with grease.

So Zhu Xu should be faster here, grease the oil quickly, and pour the kidneys and squid out of the pot as soon as they are rolled.

Leave the base oil in the pot, add the chopped green onion and ginger and sauté until fragrant, then add the oily kidney strips, squid and ingredients to the pot, then pour the bowl of juice into the pot, stir-fry a few times over high heat, pour in the oil and serve plate.

Zhu Xu’s side comes out of the pot, and Feng Zhengming’s side has the shrimps greased.

Feng Zhengming poured out the shrimps and put the side dishes on the shrimp colander.

Then pour oil into the pot again and smooth the kidneys.

The process also takes a very short time. When the kidney flowers are poured out, rinse the shrimps and side dishes with hot oil.

Leave the base oil in the pot, sauté the onions, ginger and rice until fragrant. Return the shrimps, kidneys and side dishes in the colander to the pot, then pour the bowl of juice into the pot, and continue stir-frying over high heat.

As Feng Zhengming stir-fried, he became more confident in using fire, and even let the pot light up.

Almost as soon as the fire was lit by the pot, Feng Zhengming turned off the heat and took out a ladle to put on the plate.

Both sides are completed one after the other.

Zhu Xu's oil bursting with double flowers was one step ahead, so he naturally served the dish first.

Feng Zhengming has to wait a while.

In fact, at this time, serving food later will be slightly disadvantageous.

Because the fried dishes are served hot, with the heat of freshly coming out of the pan, it is definitely the best time to taste them.

Because Feng Zhengming took out the spoon a little late, he had to wait for a while for Zhu Xu's dish to be tasted before his dish could be served.

This waiting time may also miss the best opportunity to taste the dish. However, Feng Zhengming is not in a hurry, he is still confident in his own food.

At the same time, the photographers on site also rushed to take pictures.

When the photographer was taking pictures, he also sighed that the dishes of the two people were really beautiful.

The oil-fried double flowers were tasted first.

Four master chefs have tasted it, and several members of the culinary association have also tasted it separately.

After one round of tasting, no one expressed any opinions.

Probably the old chef also knew that the food for both of them needed to be served hot, so Feng Zhengming's food was served immediately.

Feng Zhengming's dishes can be said to form an interesting contrast with Zhu Xu.

Zhu Xu's oil-fried double flowers, the squid and kidney flowers are both rolled, showing a long roll shape.

Feng Zhengming's stir-fried shrimp kidneys are all rolled into balls, the shrimps are in the shape of shrimp balls, and the small pieces of kidney flowers are also rolled up to look like kidney balls.

I have to say that the appearance of their dishes is really impeccable.

After tasting both dishes, the four master chefs discussed it for a while.

The members of the Culinary Association have been discussing for a long time.

After the Culinary Association discussed a result, they gathered together with four senior chefs to discuss it.

President Li spoke first: "Both dishes are great. It's really hard to tell them apart. It seems that Jubinyuan has a successor."

This is recognized by several members of the Culinary Association.

The four old masters looked at each other.

It was Master Wang who said, "There is nothing wrong with Zhu Xu's oily double flower. It is made according to traditional methods, but in some small details, he is not as good as Feng Zhengming."

Several members of the Culinary Association were a little surprised.

They didn't expect these words to come from Master Wang's mouth.

A vice president asked: "Master Wang, I wonder what details you are talking about?"

Master Wang sighed: "In pursuit of speed, he did not feed the kidney flower enough. The kidney flower is indeed tender enough, but the taste only remains on the surface, and it will taste very bland."

After Master Wang said this, several people from the Culinary Association tasted the two dishes again.

This time, they tasted it more carefully, even rinsing their mouths with tea between tastings.

After tasting it carefully, several people from the culinary association could tell the difference between the two dishes.

In fact, President Li had already tasted the difference when he ate it.

There is no technical gap between the two players.

The only slight difference is in the seasoning.

Feng Zhengming gave the shrimps and kidneys a little more flavor when feeding them, and he also had to be more meticulous in the mixing process.

Moreover, Feng Zhengming processed the shrimps in the same way as when he made it for his uncle Huang Tao. He squeezed out the shrimp brains and mixed them with the shrimps, which enhanced the taste of the shrimps.

And Feng Zhengming always used onion and pepper cooking wine whether he was feeding the bottom of the mouth or mixing the juice in the bowl.

But Zhu Xu just used cooking wine, so naturally the flavor was slightly lacking.

Master Su said: “Our dishes are all about color, flavor and aroma. Today’s dishes from Feng Zhengming and Zhu Xu were impeccable in both color and aroma. We also saw the attention to detail that the two young chefs put into cooking.

But the key to the dish is the taste, and Zhu Xu still lacks a little bit in terms of taste. "

Master Wang said to Zhu Xu: "You can't cook just to be quick, and you can't cook just to show off your skills. The ultimate meaning of every dish is that it is delicious. Do you understand?"

Zhu Xu nodded seriously: "I understand."

In this first competition, Feng Zhengming won with taste.

Everyone at the scene applauded Feng Zhengming.

But in fact, everyone at the scene was not surprised at all by Feng Zhengming's victory.

Because I have seen Feng Zhengming’s big turn over the vegetarian food in the morning.

For most people present, it should be a matter of course that Feng Zhengming wins the competition among the younger generation of chefs at Jubinyuan.

On the contrary, everyone is looking forward to it. What dish will Feng Zhengming cook in the second competition?

And in the final competition with Cheng Guosheng, what unique skills will the two show off?

Before the competition started in the afternoon, the four master chefs confirmed that the Culinary Association announced that during the competition, both Feng Zhengming and the chefs from Jubinyuan must cook fried vegetables.

As for the first hot dish, Feng Zhengming and Zhu Xu from Jubinyuan both showed off their unique dishes.

Although Zhu Xu's oil-fried double flower is lacking in taste, it is very beautiful and delicate from preparation to cooking to final presentation.

Feng Zhengming did not lose at all. In terms of color matching, meticulous preparation of ingredients, exquisite and beautiful presentation, he was not inferior to Zhu Xu at all, and the final taste was even better than Zhu Xu.

This makes everyone look forward to what Feng Zhengming will cook next.

Let Feng Zhengming take a short rest, and at the same time, let Jubinyuan discuss the next candidate.

Zhu Xu's defeat did not affect the Jubinyuan side.

After all, Zhu Xu’s cooking process was still amazing.

There is room for improvement in the details of seasoning.

At least in Cheng Guosheng's view, Zhu Xu's performance was on par with Feng Zhengming's.

"Don't be discouraged. The difference in seasoning is often due to experience. You are still young and need to gain more experience. When you accumulate enough experience, you will naturally be able to handle seasoning easily."

Cheng Guosheng said this, and Zhu Xu felt that the master was right at first.

But when I thought about it again, I felt something was wrong.

After thinking about it carefully, Zhu Xu couldn't help but said with a sad face: "But Master, Feng Zhengming is a few years younger than me."

Cheng Guosheng was also stunned by these words, and then he smiled helplessly and bitterly.

Yes, Zhu Xu is indeed still young, but Feng Zhengming is even younger than him.

After such a comparison, Cheng Guosheng looked at the younger generation present at Jubin Park. He felt that it would be difficult for the younger generation to win the second competition.

After much thought, Cheng Guosheng decided to just take the final decision himself.

But when Cheng Guosheng was about to go directly to the second sparring match.

One of Cheng Guosheng's junior brothers stepped forward.

"Senior brother, just let me take part in the second sparring match. I think I'm still a little bit sure. I'll give them a snowflake jellyfish."

Cheng Guosheng looked at his junior brother and thought carefully about the dish he mentioned, and couldn't help but feel that it seemed feasible.

So Cheng Guosheng agreed to let his junior brother play the second game first.

When watching the second competition, Jubinyuan was replaced by junior brother Cheng Guosheng.

Master Sun immediately said to Master Wang: "Old Wang, it seems that disciple Sun is still not good."

Master Wang could only say: "Zhu Xu was already the most proud disciple of Cheng Guosheng just now. It is indeed difficult for him to find another one to compete with Zhengming."

Master Yan said: "This is good. Zhengming shouldn't bully the small with the big."

After Master Su saw the other party's choice of ingredients, he smiled and said, "I want to make jellyfish. It seems that I am ready to show my skills."

A burst of exclamations erupted from the scene.

Everyone looked at Feng Zhengming. He took out the fresh conch that his third uncle had brought from his sixth brother.

Master Sun looked at it and asked: "Lao Yan, are you making fried conch slices?"

Master Yan smiled slightly and replied: "Conches don't have to be fried in oil."

These words made the other three masters stunned.

Junior brothers Feng Zhengming and Cheng Guosheng stood respectively, and the scene suddenly became quiet. Everyone was looking forward to their next cooking.

(End of this chapter)