From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After lunch, Feng Zhengming said to Lin Bosheng, who was also cooking soup nearby, "Brother Lin, please watch the fire for me while I go find some things."

Lin Bosheng responded: "Okay, go ahead."

Feng Zhengming left his stove and came to the material selection warehouse prepared for all the chefs on site.

This warehouse is a temporary warehouse built by the hotel in the yard.

Because it is already the end of the year and the weather has turned cold, most of the food will not go bad if stored in a temporary warehouse.

Feng Zhengming entered the warehouse and saw some chefs selecting ingredients in the warehouse.

Obviously, everyone is making various preparations for the upcoming game.

Feng Zhengming did not disturb the other chefs and went to the vegetable area in the warehouse alone.

I searched carefully first and found the winter melon first.

The winter melons prepared for the chefs in the warehouse are quite large.

It should be designed so that chefs can use it when cooking various dishes.

For example, some large winter melons with dark green skin can be directly made into winter melon soup after some trimming and carving.

Feng Zhengming didn't plan to make winter melon soup, but he did need to choose a relatively complete winter melon.

While the selection was in progress, Jiang Chengzhe also came here.

Seeing him picking winter melons, Jiang Chengzhe asked with a smile: "Are you also going to use winter melons to make winter melon soup?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and shook his head: "I'm not going to make winter melon soup. I'm going to use winter melon to make other dishes."

Jiang Chengzhe was immediately curious: "What dish are you going to make with winter melon?"

Feng Zhengming smiled slightly: "Keep it secret for now."

Hearing this, Jiang Chengzhe was immediately dissatisfied: "Is it necessary to keep it a secret? The competition is tomorrow, and you told me. I can't possibly change the dish to the same one as you at the last minute, right?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "I'm not afraid that you will change the dish with me, because you can't cook the dish I want to cook well."

Jiang Chengzhe was immediately choked by these words. He wanted to argue, but after thinking about it, he found that he couldn't refute it.

At the national competition, Jiang Chengzhe indeed witnessed the exquisite skills of many mainland chefs.

Some of these dishes are indeed something Jiang Chengzhe cannot cook.

Especially after seeing the exquisite knife skills of a chef like Feng Zhengming, Jiang Chengzhe realized his own shortcomings in this area.

Jiang Chengzhe was silent for a while before speaking again: "Many of your dishes really broadened my horizons. To be honest, we used to look down on you a little bit."

Feng Zhengming said with a smile: "You look down on us, don't you? You think we are not as worldly-wise as you are."

Jiang Chengzhe was so embarrassed that he was speechless after being directly pointed out by Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming continued, "And to this day, except for you and Chef Long Kunbao, and later Chef Dai Long and Master Li Guansheng, the other four chefs in Gangcheng still look down on us."

Jiang Chengzhe quickly said, "They just have that little bit of Hong Kong pride."

Feng Zhengming kept smiling: "So in this individual competition, I will defeat you head-on and make you, the chefs of Hong Kong City, convinced."

Jiang Chengzhe was stunned by these words.

But then Jiang Chengzhe nodded to show his understanding.

"I understand. You do have that ability. It's not hard to tell from the two dishes you made in the first show that you are not bound by traditional forms at all. You should have a lot of creative things that have not yet been shown."

Jiang Chengzhe's words surprised Feng Zhengming a little.

I didn’t expect that Jiang Chengzhe had guessed it, and I still had some creative ideas that I hadn’t come up with.

Feng Zhengming asked: "What are you going to cook next? I saw that you seemed to have prepared salmon?"

Jiang Chengzhe nodded: "Yes, I can make a salmon dish that combines Western cooking techniques."

"Am looking forward to."

Jiang Chengzhe asked again: "Still can't you tell me what you are going to do with the winter melon?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "It's okay to tell you. I'm going to make a mold out of winter melon and then make an imitation bear paw."

Jiang Chengzhe suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. It seems that there is a dish that also uses winter melon to make it taste like meat."

"Yes, it's winter melon stewed in honey sauce." Feng Zhengming immediately named the dish.

Jiang Chengzhe said, "Are you also planning to use winter melon to make bear paw flavor?"

Feng Zhengming shook his head: "No, I'm going to carve the winter melon into the shape of a bear's paw..."

Before Feng Zhengming could continue speaking, Jiang Chengzhe suddenly thought of his approach.

"And then you hollow out the bottom? And stuff it with some stuffing?"

Feng Zhengming was not unhappy about being interrupted by Jiang Chengzhe.

"You're right. I am indeed planning to carve the winter melon into a bear paw, then hollow out the inside and stuff it with some fillings. It will look like a bear paw, but it has a lot of secrets inside."

Jiang Chengzhe smiled and said, "After participating in the national competition and seeing your cooking skills, I finally understood that Chinese cuisine is the most abundant.

In the past, many people felt that Chinese food was inferior to Western food in many aspects. For example, in the processing of ingredients, it did not preserve the original flavor of many ingredients like Western food did.

Some people also criticize that Chinese food is not as nutritionally balanced as Western food.

In particular, some people feel that Chinese food is cooked with heavy oil and high heat, unlike Western food, which is cooked in a way that better preserves the nutrients of the ingredients.”

"Bullshit." Feng Zhengming couldn't help but interrupt him when he heard this.

“Is Chinese food just about stir-frying over high heat and deep-frying with lots of oil?

Speaking of deep-frying, aren't fried chicken and other foods in Western cuisine deep-fried? Don't they have more junk food than we do?

We Chinese food includes frying, cooking, stir-frying, stewing, braising and stewing. When it comes to maintaining the nutrition of ingredients, Chinese cuisine has always paid great attention to nutritional combinations since ancient times.

When they see dishes cooked with a lot of oil, they say they have no nutrition and that Chinese food is high in oil and salt.

It's just the prejudice of a bunch of self-righteous people."

Jiang Chengzhe didn't expect Feng Zhengming to be so excited.

He was also left speechless by Feng Zhengming's words, and looked at the excited Feng Zhengming with surprise.

In fact, the reason why Feng Zhengming was so excited was that such judgments have always existed in later generations.

There are always some people who think that the moon abroad is rounder than the moon at home.

People always say that Chinese food is not nutritious and Chinese medicine is unscientific.

But actually?
Those who always like to say this kind of argument are just a bunch of frogs in the well who have never seen real Chinese food and Chinese medicine.

Chinese cuisine is not just about dishes that are heavy in oil, salt, and spicy flavors.

Just like in Shandong cuisine, there is a very light dish of stir-fried shredded pork tenderloin.

The whole dish is cooked, the shredded pork tenderloin looks like white and tender noodles, the soup in the plate is very light, and the taste is also quite light.

Feng Zhengming carefully explained to Jiang Chengzhe the method of stir-fried shredded pork tenderloin, a Shandong dish.

Then he asked, "Do you dare to say that dish is unhealthy? I'm afraid even the so-called top chefs in Western cuisine may not think of making shredded pork tenderloin like that, right?"

This statement really left Jiang Chengzhe with no way to refute it. Because according to Feng Zhengming's method, it is obvious that the shredded pork tenderloin can be made very tender and smooth.

Moreover, the whole dish uses very little oil, and the final dish is quite light.

For a dish like this, people still insist on saying that it is high in oil and salt. They are simply unwilling to face the facts.

Jiang Chengzhe said with a smile: "I just said the views of some foreign chefs. I don't agree with their views now. Through this national competition, I saw classic dishes from many places and found that our dishes also pay attention to the combination of meat and vegetables, and are not all heavy in oil and salt.

Even Sichuan cuisine is not all spicy. It is true that people had too many prejudices against Chinese food before.”

After hearing what Jiang Chengzhe said, Feng Zhengming finally calmed down.

"In fact, many foreign chefs who communicate with us will not directly say that our food is not nutritious or healthy. Instead, some chefs who do not know how to cook and have not tried many Chinese dishes, after having eaten a few Western meals abroad, will start to promote other people's food as better and healthier than ours."

After Feng Zhengming said this, Jiang Chengzhe nodded in agreement.

"That's right. Some people do have some prejudices."

Feng Zhengming directly named them again: "Just like the four chefs in your Gangcheng."

Jiang Chengzhe immediately couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Yes, they are indeed biased. When we chatted privately, the four of them were obviously biased, but Master, Uncle Dai, and Brother Bao all warned them."

Feng Zhengming curled his lips: "Will warnings be useful?"

Jiang Chengzhe could only smile bitterly after being asked this question again.

Once some people's ideas are formed, it is indeed not easy to change them.

Among the chefs who came to Hong Kong this time, four of them have been in Hong Kong for many years and have participated in many international competitions.

Therefore, they always look at mainland chefs with pride and prejudice.

Even Feng Zhengming and his friends showed off their amazing cooking skills.

In the eyes of the four Hong Kong chefs, they are still unwilling to admit that Feng Zhengming and his team are stronger.

Li Guansheng, Dai Long and Long Kunbao had all warned them not to always put on such an arrogant attitude.

They should communicate more and learn some things from mainland chefs.

Sichuan chefs do better in this regard.

During the competition, Sichuan chefs are the group of chefs who like to communicate with chefs from other places the most.

It can be said that Sichuan chefs have absorbed many techniques from other cuisines.

Then combine it with some local characteristics of Sichuan cuisine.

Create some dishes that utilize cooking techniques from other places but also have the unique flavor characteristics of Sichuan cuisine.

Feng Zhengming said to Jiang Chengzhe: "Those four chefs from Hong Kong who are unwilling to communicate with us will regret it sooner or later. The mainland economy is developing better and better, and we can also get in touch with many things from abroad.

We will gradually surpass them and use our own way to make food with more Chinese characteristics.”

Jiang Chengzhe said seriously: "I believe that from you, Zhengming, I really see a fusion of creativity and tradition."

Feng Zhengming laughed and said, "Then let's make a deal. If I am the top scholar this year, I will come to Shanghai to open a restaurant in the future, and you must come and be my chef."

Hearing Feng Zhengming mention this again, Jiang Chengzhe couldn't help but ask, "Why do you insist on letting me be a chef in your restaurant?"

Feng Zhengming said seriously: "Because it is impossible for a chef to be proficient in all cuisines at the same time, I want to open a restaurant in Shanghai that integrates cuisines from all over the world, so I need chefs from different places."

Jiang Chengzhe was shocked this time: "You want to open a restaurant with local cuisine?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, there must be local specialties, at least dishes from Shandong, Guangdong, Sichuan, and Huaiyang."

Jiang Chengzhe was even more surprised: "There are going to be different cuisines?"

Feng Zhengming smiled: "Otherwise, how can we represent Chinese cuisine?"

After thinking about it carefully, Jiang Chengzhe felt that he was really looking forward to such a restaurant.

Being able to include specialties from all over the country, this restaurant can truly represent Chinese cuisine and showcase it to the world.

Thinking of this, Jiang Chengzhe couldn't help but ask: "How much money do you want to invest in the early stage?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "The initial investment is not important. I believe that as long as we work hard to make the dishes well, we can earn back the initial investment later."

Jiang Chengzhe agreed with this statement.

As long as the restaurant has a good reputation, its subsequent profitability will definitely not be bad.

Especially since it encompasses the essence of Chinese cuisine, it will definitely become a must-eat restaurant for many people.

Feng Zhengming asked again: "Azhe? Do you want to come with me?"

Jiang Chengzhe looked at Feng Zhengming and finally nodded: "Okay, if you can really run a restaurant like that, I will definitely join you."

Seeing that Jiang Chengzhe was persuaded, Feng Zhengming laughed: "Hahaha, okay, that's still just a dream for now, let's prepare for the competition first."

After saying that, Feng Zhengming held the selected winter melon and continued to look for other ingredients.

In addition to winter melon, Feng Zhengming also picked out a few very beautiful white radishes.

Look at Feng Zhengming, he's eating both winter melon and white radish.

Jiang Chengzhe always felt that he still couldn't figure out what dish he was going to cook?

Donggua said he wanted to carve it into a bear paw.

So what should we do with white radish?

Is he going to have an imitation bear paw stewed with white radish?

Jiang Chengzhe remembered that Feng Zhengming had asked him about the making of abalone sauce before.

In addition to asking Jiang Chengzhe, he also seemed to have asked the Cantonese chef about the recipe for abalone sauce.

Jiang Chengzhe thought about it and said, "Does he want to use abalone and imitation bear paw together? But what's the use of white radish? Stewed white radish with abalone sauce?"

Jiang Chengzhe had heard that an old chef had indeed stewed white radish in abalone sauce.

The white radish that was stewed at the end was indeed very delicious.

Through this connection, Jiang Chengzhe felt that in addition to the well-known Oolong Xizhu, Feng Zhengming might make another dish that would amaze everyone.

Jiang Chengzhe was really looking forward to it.

I want to see what other unique dishes Feng Zhengming can make?
At this point, Jiang Chengzhe felt that Feng Zhengming might really be able to get the top spot this year.

Thinking of this, he remembered the four chefs in Hong Kong who looked down on the mainland chefs.

Yesterday, the four of them said that they felt that mainland chefs like Feng Zhengming and Zhang Quande were indeed very good.

But in the end, the champion of this national cooking competition will definitely be a chef from Gangcheng.

Of course, none of the four of them thought they could get the top spot.

They thought it would be Dai Long.

Jiang Chengzhe now felt that they were too arrogant and underestimated the strength of Feng Zhengming and other mainland chefs. (End of this chapter)