From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 404 Innovation based on tradition
The working meal was over, and this time there was no waiting for Feng Zhengming or other chefs to give orders.

Liang Xiaocheng and two apprentices took the initiative to clean the counter, put away the dishes and wash the dishes.

For the remaining apprentices who have not taken the initiative to take on the cleaning and cleaning work.

Gu Zhicheng and the other young chefs did not wait for Feng Zhengming to speak, and immediately summoned them and led them to work in the kitchen to make final preparations for the opening of Huiquan Building at noon.

Qi Jiale said to the two apprentices who were following him: "You two, go prepare the plates and remember to be careful."

After giving the order, Qi Jiale saw the two apprentices standing still. He was about to get angry when he remembered what Feng Zhengming had said before.

Realizing that these two apprentices had just arrived today, they really didn’t know how to do many jobs.

So he simply led the two apprentices to clear the dishes.

He also taught the two apprentices how to clear the dishes.

"Did you see? You have to place these plates according to different classification plans. Every day at the end of the business day, after all the plates are cleaned, they must be collected and brought here. Before the next day's business, you must place them every day. Take out some of it and put it all on the shelf over there for easy access when serving food.”

The two apprentices were naturally curious: "Chef Qi, why don't you put these plates on the shelf over there?"

Qi Jiale said: "Put it on the shelf over there. What if it gets knocked off and smashed? Also, the cabinet here has a door, which can be closed at night so that the cleaned dishes will not be stained. ”

Then Qi Jiale carefully taught the two apprentices how to use plates of different sizes.

"This kind of flat plate is usually the most used, so we need to use more of this kind of plate. For other plates of different shapes, take some of them and bring them over first. There may be specific dishes that need to be used, such as making sugar. Vinegar carp, if you want to use this big fish plate, you have to take the initiative to get one."

After giving a rough lesson, Qi Jiale said to the two apprentices: "Being in the kitchen is different from what you are in school. In the kitchen, you have to see the work and take the initiative to work. You have to actively integrate into the kitchen and don't act like an abacus. The beads will move once you pluck them.”

Qi Jiale likes to preach, so he talks more.

For example, Guan Wei didn't talk much at ordinary times, but when he was leading two apprentices, he almost didn't talk so much nonsense.

Just tell me directly what you want to do? And showed the two apprentices what to do.

After the demonstration, Guan Wei asked the two apprentices to do it on their own without any objection.

If two apprentices did something wrong, Guan Wei wouldn't get angry, but would just point out the mistake sternly? Then let the apprentice continue to work.

Several young chefs use different teaching methods to lead their apprentices.

The kitchen became lively with the addition of ten apprentices.

Of course, it became a little chaotic because of the addition of ten apprentices.

Feng Zhengming, the chef, does some coordination.

When the chef himself is busy and has no time to guide the apprentices, Feng Zhengming will directly assign tasks to the apprentices and ask them to do what they can do as required.

Many times, Feng Zhengming even asked Chen Anbang to work with his apprentices.

As an apprentice who had never attended a vocational school and was considered a monk halfway, Chen Anbang was somewhat ostracized by other apprentices at first.

Apprentices from vocational schools feel that they have graduated from a vocational school after all.

Chen Anbang, who didn't even go to a vocational school, had what qualifications did he have to work with them?
Isn't it possible that what he learned in vocational school is not better than Chen Anbang, who learned to cook halfway?
Facts quickly proved that the practical experience of the vocational school apprentices was not even inferior to Chen Anbang's.

Although Chen Anbang has not attended a vocational school, he has not received the more systematic technical teaching of a vocational school.

But he has been in the kitchen since Feng Zhengming opened the restaurant, and he has always been with Feng Zhengming, so Chen Anbang is even more familiar with many processes in the kitchen than the young chefs.

Just like when handling the purchased prawns, Chen Anbang will know how different shrimps should be classified and processed.

Huiquanlou usually purchases many kinds of shrimps, and the second-best ones are frozen shrimps.

These shrimps are usually peeled out, and the heads and shells are left to refine the shrimp oil.

Next in line are ordinary live white shrimps. These shrimps also need to be shelled and cooked, but usually they are not shelled in advance, but have to wait until they are needed.

The next level up is the giant prawns from the Bohai Bay. These giant prawns were obtained by Feng Zhengming through the relationship between his sixth senior brother.

These shrimps are characterized by their large size, very thin shells, and plump and firm meat inside.

Large prawns are usually used to make dishes such as braised prawns in oil, cooked prawns in vinegar, dry-fried prawns, and prawns. The final dish is made because the shrimp shells are very thin and are very translucent and beautiful.

And these large prawns must be ensured to be fresh. They must not be processed in advance. They must be processed after customers order.

The most troublesome part of these giant prawns is the process of grinding them.

The heads, whiskers, legs and tails of the shrimps need to be trimmed very neatly. The backs of the shrimps also need to be cut and the shrimp lines must be cleaned.

Just the step of grinding the shrimps would make most of the ten new apprentices unable to do it.

One-third of the shrimp head needs to be cut off, and then a black sandbag needs to be removed from the shrimp head.

The key is to cut off the shrimp head, which is also a technical job.

If the shrimp head is not cut enough, it will be difficult to pick out the sandbags.

If you cut off too much, the brains in the shrimp heads will fall out.

In this regard, Chen Anbang also practiced with Feng Zhengming for a long time before he was able to master the trick.

Chen Anbang can now only grind shrimps to ensure that the shrimps are of the same size. After he cuts them, each shrimp is still almost exactly the same.

This is Feng Zhengming's request, because only in this way can we ensure that when the dish is served, all the shrimps will be almost the same size and neatly arranged on the plate.

This is also the characteristic of Shandong cuisine. What Shandong cuisine pays attention to is not gorgeousness and taste stimulation.

What Shandong cuisine wants is a unique beauty that is neat and gentle.

The giant prawns are not the best among the shrimps purchased by Huiquanlou.

The last type of shrimp that is better in quality than giant prawns is peach blossom shrimp.

This kind of shrimp is also produced in Bohai Bay and looks like a larger river shrimp.

But the shrimp shell is thinner and the shrimp meat is firm and plump.

Especially in early spring, the peach blossom shrimp with seeds is quite delicious.

When it comes to the processing of peach blossom shrimp, the chef at Huiquanlou will be more meticulous.

The first is not to damage the shrimp itself, but to preserve the integrity of the shrimp.

But before cooking, you still need to trim the shrimp whiskers and feet slightly to make them neat when presented on the plate.

In Huiquan Restaurant, the braised peach blossom shrimp designed by Feng Zhengming is a must-order dish for almost every table owner who orders a private room.

Chen Anbang explained the processing of various shrimps to the new apprentices while doing it himself.

Such a detailed explanation made the new apprentices look at Chen Anbang with admiration.

They had looked down upon Chen Anbang to some extent before.

After seeing Chen Anbang handling shrimps very neatly, I also understood that although they graduated from vocational schools, their practical experience in the kitchen was really far behind Chen Anbang.

Seeing the gap, the new apprentice began to get close to Chen Anbang.

Liang Xiaocheng learned from Chen Anbang and asked with a smile: "Brother, you must have been doing this shrimp processing skill for a long time. How long have you been following the chef?" Chen Anbang is a relatively honest person, and is called " Senior brother", which made him feel a little embarrassed.

"No, there's no need to call me Senior Brother. I'm not like you guys. I didn't go to a vocational school. I've been with the chef since he started opening a restaurant."

Another new apprentice next to him immediately said: "Wow, senior brother, you are a very experienced senior. Have you already become a chef?"

Chen Anbang became even more nervous after being praised so much: "No, no, I'm not a senior, and I didn't become a disciple. Chefs are very strict in recruiting apprentices. Sun Hai and Xia Hui, who are so powerful, didn't even become apprentices." If it succeeds, it will definitely be even more impossible for me to become a disciple, and I still can’t do it.”

Chen Anbang's sincerity made the new apprentices immediately feel that he was easier to get along with.

Liang Xiaocheng said with a smile: "Brother, don't be modest. You are more experienced than us in the kitchen. We need to learn more from you in the future."

Other new apprentices all expressed that they would like to learn more from Chen Anbang in the future.

Feng Zhengming noticed all these activities in the kitchen.

Just because there were several tables of guests at noon, Feng Zhengming was busy cooking and was too lazy to take care of it for the time being.

However, seeing a bunch of new apprentices surrounding Chen Anbang, the flattery surrounding him was getting a little too much.

Feng Zhengming still shouted: "Are the peach blossom shrimps ready?"

After hearing Feng Zhengming's words, Chen Anbang quickly responded: "Okay."

Then Chen Anbang brought the trimmed and rinsed peach blossom shrimp to Feng Zhengming.

When Feng Zhengming took the shrimp, he reminded Chen Anbang: "Be careful of sugar-coated bullets, don't be too sincere, there are some things that should be hidden."

Chen Anbang looked at Feng Zhengming with some confusion after hearing this. Didn't he understand what Feng Zhengming meant?
Seeing Chen Anbang's confused look, Feng Zhengming said helplessly: "Okay, you go to Sun Hai's place, and the newcomers can just ask the chef they follow to take them."

Pushing Chen Anbang away, Feng Zhengming also started preparing the peach blossom shrimp.

The first step is to blanch the peach blossom shrimp until it is ripe.

During the blanching process, you must pay great attention to the heat and remove the shrimp shells as soon as they change color.

Next, after draining the water, add some minced garlic and seasonings, mix well, and place on a plate.

Heat the sesame oil in a pot, then add the Sichuan peppercorns and fry them until fragrant.

After the aroma is fried, pour hot oil into the peach blossom shrimps sprinkled with minced green onions, and then put a bowl on the plate.

In such a depressed state, Feng Zhengming asked someone to serve food to the customers.

This way of serving food surprised the new apprentices in the kitchen.

They couldn't imagine that there was such a way to serve food?

At this moment, they suddenly realized that there were many things in the back kitchen of Huiquan Building that they would never have seen in vocational school.

The waiter followed the waiter and brought the bowl of peach blossom shrimp into the private room.

The waiter held the tray and asked the private room service staff to bring the plates to the customers.

After placing it, uncover the bowl on top.

When the bowl is opened, the first thing the customers in the private room smell is the tempting aroma.

The aroma of sesame oil, onions, garlic, and pepper mixed with shrimp fills the air.

Looking at the plate, there are crystal clear peach blossom shrimps with thin shells, dotted with a little chopped green onion.

It really looks very beautiful.

The waiter introduced: "Stir-fried peach blossom shrimp, please enjoy it slowly."

Wait for the waiter and waiter to exit.

The boss of this table who was treating guests immediately pointed to the dish and said, "Come on, everyone, hurry up and try it. This dish is a famous dish of Huiquan Restaurant."

The invited guests were also very curious.

“Can peach blossom shrimps still be eaten like this?”

"Yeah, I always thought that peach blossom shrimps are fried and eaten."

"The peach blossom shrimp is really delicious. I ate it in Yancheng. I can't forget the deliciousness."

"The way Huiquanlou cooks it, it smells really good."

The boss who was treating the guests smiled and said, "I used to think that peach blossom shrimps were fried and crispy. But after eating the braised peach blossom shrimps from Huiquanlou, I realized what real delicacy is. Please give it a try." "

Under the strong recommendation of the restaurant owner, everyone who was invited started using their chopsticks.

Picking it up with chopsticks, you can see that each peach blossom shrimp is not small, unlike some of the very small ones on the market.

The key point is that the shrimp shell of peach blossom shrimp is very thin, and after blanching it is almost completely transparent.

No need to peel the shells, just put the whole shrimp into your mouth.

The moment you bite into it, you will see the crispy shrimp shell, delicious juice and firm and elastic shrimp meat inside.

You can clearly taste the flavor of the stewed peach blossom shrimp, especially the aroma of the simmered Sichuan peppercorn oil.

Several guests in the private room could not help but cover their mouths.

I don't want the aroma to escape from my mouth.

After finishing the shrimp in their mouths, the guests all said that this dish was indeed delicious.

"Fresh, really fresh."

"The light salty taste does not affect the sweetness of the peach blossom shrimp, and the peppercorn aroma is very good."

"It's delicious. It turns out this is the correct way to eat peach blossom shrimp."

The boss who treated the guests was a little proud: "Isn't it very different? When I ate it for the first time, I was also surprised. Chef Xiao Feng of Huiquan Building is really good at it. He is worthy of being the number one young chef."

Everyone in the private room nodded one after another, recognizing Feng Zhengming and Huiquanlou.

Start with this dish of braised peach blossom shrimp.

The guests invited in the private room then saw the power of Feng Zhengming and Huiquanlou.

Almost every dish has the unique characteristics of Huiquanlou.

But if you really try to identify them, you will find that every dish is Shandong cuisine.

The cooking techniques of all dishes are consistent with the traditional techniques of Shandong cuisine.

However, on the basis of traditional techniques, Feng Zhengming also made some new designs to give the dishes a different taste, and the overall dishes themselves are quite a fusion of various flavors.

Customers taste something different.

The new chef apprentices also saw many new applications of traditional techniques that they had never seen in vocational schools.

(End of this chapter)