From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

In fact, once the score for the first dish is released, the winner has already been decided.

According to the principles Feng Zhengming had stated in advance, the last two would be transferred to the canteen.

The first dish was over, and the last two were: Yao Zhenhui and Shen Rongsen.

The two of them will be working in the restaurant kitchen for the next year.

Although they only competed on one dish, the gap between the nine chefs had already widened.

Yao Zhenhui’s cooking skills might not have been bad before, but while others had improved, he obviously did not make much progress, so he was naturally at a disadvantage in the competition.

Shen Rongsen still has the same old problem: he has the skills, but he is a little old, and he has never really learned the basic skills from a master before.

He learned most of his techniques through his own exploration, so it's inevitable that he would have some bad habits.

Although I have learned a lot during the two years working in Feng’s restaurant.

He is also working hard to correct his previous bad habits.

But once some things become habits, it is not so easy to change them completely.

The nine chefs participating in the competition are all very clear that their current rankings reflect the differences in their abilities.

However, Feng Zhengming did not end the competition like this.

He still wants to give all the chefs another chance.

"For the second dish, I wanted to let you guys come up with your own ideas, but you all said before that you couldn't think of any good ideas. In that case, I'll give you another question."

When they heard that Feng Zhengming was going to give some questions to the chefs in the competition, everyone immediately perked up.

Third brother Yang Bin said with a smile: "Hahaha, not bad, the top scholar gave you a question, you must prepare well."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "The question I'm giving you is very simple. Before you, when the apprentices were making the final cuts on the carp, a few of them made the cuts very badly.

Then you can fix the carps that were not cut properly and each of you can make a dish."

When the chefs in the competition heard Feng Zhengming give such a question, they were all stunned.

The judges present and the apprentices watching from the sidelines were also somewhat surprised.

Master Yan quickly understood his apprentice's intention.

"This is a good topic. It can test everyone's temporary creativity in the kitchen and the methods of repairing some ingredients to see if they can repair the damaged ingredients."

After Master Yan’s explanation, all the chefs in the competition immediately understood.

Li Huidong echoed, "Master is right. There are always some ingredients that are used incorrectly in the kitchen. For example, those carps that were cut into pieces just now were thrown away just because they were not cut into pieces properly. It is indeed a bit of a waste."

Yang Bin nodded: "This question is obviously well-chosen. It depends on your abilities."

Cao Zhiguo smiled and said, "This is really quite difficult."

He Yunqing thought this was difficult: "It's not easy."

"Difficulties are a test of a chef's adaptability." Grandpa Feng agreed with the question raised by Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming saw the chefs lost in thought and said to them, "I'll give you half an hour to think about it. I won't time you or divide you into groups this time. Whoever has the idea can start cooking."

I have to say that it is really not easy for Feng Zhengming to set questions.

The nine chefs were also lost in thought.

After a while of thinking, Lu Chongshan seemed to be the first to think of a solution.

He walked to the fish that had been cut but not yet killed, looked at them carefully, and picked out a carp that had been almost broken into pieces by the cuts.

After choosing the fish, Lu Chongshan carried the iron plate with the fish and walked to the table.

Then, Lu Chongshan removed all the broken fish meat from the fish bones.

Then chop all the fish bones into large pieces.

Placed on the iron plate containing fish.

Then marinate the fish bones slightly with scallion, ginger and cooking wine.

Next, put the pot on the stove, heat it and add some lard.

Wait until the lard melts, then put the fish bones into the pan and fry them.

When you see the fish bones turn brown, pour boiling water into the pot.

While waiting for the water to boil, Lu Chongshan carefully skimmed off the foam on the surface of the fish soup.

Then let the fish soup in the pot slowly boil.

Lu Chongshan turned around and continued to process the fish.

Although the fish meat was cut a bit badly, it was still intact after being cut.

Lu Chongshan then sliced ​​all the fish into thin slices.

Then Lu Chongshan rinsed the fish slices with clean water.

After rinsing, wipe off the water on the surface of the fish fillets carefully.

Next, give the fish fillet a bottom feed.

Then add egg white, onion and ginger water, mix well, and finally apply a thin layer of dry starch.

At this time, the fish soup over there had been completely cooked into a milky white color.

Lu Chongshan coated the fish fillets with oil and set them aside.

Then use a metal strainer to remove the fish bones from the soup.

Season the fish soup again.

Salt, vinegar and pepper.

Everyone thinks this flavor is similar to Feng Zhengming's vinegar and pepper fish.

When the fish soup was done to his taste, Lu Chongshan put the fish slices one by one into the soup and blanched them until cooked.

Blanch the fish fillets until cooked, then remove them all and place them on a plate.

Thicken the fish soup a little and pour it into the fish fillets.

Finally, sprinkle some chopped green onions.

In this way, Lu Chongshan completed a dish of vinegar and pepper fish fillet.

Everyone present was a little surprised to see Lu Chongshan finish the dish.

On the contrary, Feng Zhengming was very happy with Lu Chongshan's performance.

Vinegar and pepper fish, Feng Zhengming did not specifically teach Lu Chongshan how to make this dish.

But he obviously observed it very carefully.

I also learned how to process fish fillets carefully.

So he used what he had learned and observed, as well as his own understanding, to make this vinegar and pepper fish fillet.

Master Yan watched as a bowl of white soup, vinegar and pepper fish fillet was served on the table.

He immediately smiled and said, "Not bad, it seems that Xiao Lu has really learned a lot from Zhengming."

The judges also tasted the dish separately.

Even Feng Zhengming and Master Yan tasted Lu Chongshan's dish.

Master Yan tasted it and nodded again: "Well, Xiao Lu's skills are good, the fish fillet is handled very well, there is no fishy smell and it is very smooth and tender.

However, you are still lacking some seasoning. You should add a little more vinegar when serving the dish to make up for the sour taste that has evaporated.

You also put too little pepper, and you were a little too cautious when adding the ingredients. "

After the master gave his evaluation, naturally the three apprentice judges didn't say anything more.

Everyone was quite satisfied with Lv Chongshan's dish. And he was the first to come forward and cook it, which gave him an advantage.

With Lu Chongshan being the first to do it, Sun Hai, Xia Hui, Gu Zhicheng and Yao Zhenhui also thought of what to do. The four of them immediately walked over, picked out a fish that had been bruised with a knife and began to prepare.

Xia Hui also sliced ​​the fish meat from the fish bones, but he cut it into fish strips.

After cutting the fish into strips, Xia Hui cleans, marinates, coats the strips with batter and fries them.

Fry the fish strips one by one with crispy shells.

Then Xia Hui cooked a sweet and sour sauce in a pot over high heat.

Finally, add the fish strips into the pan, stir-fry and quickly remove from the pan.

Master Yan smiled and said, "Xia Hui's dish is a stir-fried fish strips, or it can be called sweet and sour fish strips."

Gu Zhicheng cut the fish meat into slightly thicker slices, cleaned and marinated them, and then coated them with batter and fried them.

Finally, I made a sweet and sour sauce and put the fish fillets into the pan and stir-fried them in the sweet and sour sauce.

Gu Zhicheng’s method of stir-frying fish fillets is considered to be more authentic.

Xia Hui and Gu Zhicheng both have sweet and sour fried fish.

The difference is that Xia Hui made fish strips and Gu Zhicheng made fish fillets.

When tasting it, you can clearly feel the difference in seasoning between the two.

Xia Hui's sweet and sour taste is more gentle, and the sour and sweet taste is well balanced. It is neither too prominent, but the sour and sweet taste can be tasted well.

Gu Zhicheng’s flavor is relatively old-fashioned, with a sweet and sour taste similar to sweet and sour carp.

The sour and sweet tastes are both quite strong, but they combine very well.

Another area where Xia Hui has an advantage is the crispy batter she uses to coat her fish strips, which is obviously better seasoned. Even when coated with sweet and sour sauce, the crust is still very crispy.

The outer shell is crispy and the fish strips inside are quite tender, and it tastes slightly better than Gu Zhicheng's.

The judges finished tasting Xia Hui and Gu Zhicheng's fried fish.

Sun Hai and Yao Zhenhui’s dishes were also prepared.

Sun Hai also cut the fish meat into slices and made a dish of fish fillets in pickled wine.

This dish of fish fillet in wine sauce is really loved by Grandpa Feng and He Yunqing.

Grandpa Feng even praised it, saying, "It tastes good. It really tastes like fish slices in Lao Zao. Xiao Sun is a very good cook."

He Yunqing also nodded: "Yes, when I first started working at Huiquanlou, the chef at that time made dishes that tasted like this."

From a professional perspective, Li Huidong, Yang Bin and Cao Zhiguo also felt that there was nothing wrong with Sun Hai's dish, fish fillet in fermented wine.

Yang Bin said with a smile: "Good job, Sun Hai, you have mastered the dish of fish fillet in wine sauce. It looks like you have practiced a lot."

When Sun Hai heard Yang Bin say this, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

"Master Yang and Uncle Feng, you guys taught me well."

Feng Zhengming took the opportunity to say, "Third brother, Sun Hai's skills have improved so quickly, shouldn't you accept him as your apprentice?"

After hearing this, Yang Bin was stunned for a moment, then became a little hesitant.

"I am accepting Sun Hai as my apprentice now? Am I a little unqualified?"

After hearing what Yang Bin said, Sun Hai looked at Yang Bin and opened his mouth to say something, but for a moment he was too embarrassed to speak it out loud.

Feng Zhengming saw everything and reminded Sun Hai with a smile: "Don't just stand there, do you want to become Master Yang's disciple? If so, this is a good opportunity."

After being reminded by Feng Zhengming, Sun Hai finally couldn't help but take a serious step forward.

"Master Yang, I really want to be your disciple. I am willing to learn cooking from you. I hope you can accept me, a rather dull apprentice."

Sun Hai's words can be said to be sincere and heartfelt.

Yang Bin did not expect that under such circumstances, Sun Hai would suddenly become his disciple.

For a moment, Yang Bin was obviously at a loss.

It was the eldest brother Li Huidong who reminded him: "Okay, don't be so arrogant. I think Sun Hai is a good disciple. Third brother, you should accept him as your disciple and teach him well."

Yang Bin is 41 years old this year. In terms of age and cooking skills, he is qualified to accept apprentices.

It’s just that Yang Bin originally planned to return to his hometown to open a small restaurant and recruit apprentices to work with him there.

But in the end Yang Bin lost the business of running the small restaurant in his hometown.

Since coming to Quancheng, he has always been taken care of by his junior fellow apprentice Feng Zhengming.

Yang Bin's only thought was to help his junior fellow apprentice to finish the restaurant's kitchen work.

Let my junior brother have no worries.

Yang Bin has always been optimistic about his apprentice Sun Hai.

However, Yang Bin always felt that his skills were not very good yet, and was worried that if he took Sun Hai as his apprentice, he would delay him.

Seeing Sun Hai’s progress today made Yang Bin feel even more that he might not be able to teach him.

Now, under the instigation of his junior fellow apprentice, Sun Hai has taken the initiative to become his disciple.

The eldest senior brother also encouraged himself to accept this apprentice.

Yang Bin also wanted to agree, but was a little embarrassed to speak for a moment.

Finally, Master Yan said, "Yang Bin, Sun Hai is a good apprentice. Although he doesn't like to talk like you, he is a down-to-earth kid who is willing to learn. You should accept him as your first apprentice and teach him the skills well.

As the saying goes, a master can only lead you to the door, but the practice is up to you. Remember the key to your master’s ‘leading’.”

As soon as the master spoke, Yang Bin finally stopped hesitating.

He stood up, walked over to look at Sun Hai and said, "Okay, starting today, I will accept you as my apprentice. You, Sun Hai, will be my eldest disciple."

Feng Zhengming quickly moved a chair for the third brother to sit on, then patted Sun Hai and said, "Kneel down quickly and kowtow to Master."

Sun Hai did not hesitate and immediately knelt down to formally become Yang Bin's disciple.

Everyone in the kitchen witnessed this scene of apprenticeship.

Not only the apprentices, but even several young chefs were somewhat envious of Sun Hai.

Although Yang Bin is not Feng Zhengming, when Feng Zhengming is away, everyone in the kitchen of Huiquanlou has seen that the cooking skills displayed by Yang Bin are actually not much worse than Feng Zhengming's.

In particular, Yang Bin’s experience in traditional Shandong cuisine may be something that young chefs will need to catch up with for a long time.

Sun Hai became Yang Bin's apprentice, and by following Yang Bin in the future, he could naturally learn from Yang Bin's experience.

This may be an opportunity for Sun Hai to widen the gap with other young chefs.

After Sun Hai became the apprentice, Feng Zhengming took the lead and everyone applauded the master and apprentice.

Yang Bin helped Sun Hai up and bent down to brush the dust off his apron.

"Okay, you've become my disciple. I'm afraid you can't stay in the kitchen of Huiquanlou. You have to go to the kitchen of Ganfanpu with me. Don't be disappointed, don't you?"

Sun Hai smiled and said, "Don't feel lost. Only by following you, Master, can you learn cooking better."

Feng Zhengming followed up by saying, "Third brother, after the Chinese New Year, you may want to come to the kitchen of Huiquanlou. The kitchen of Fengjia Ganfanpu will be handed over to Zhu Xu, Lao Shen, Lao Yao and Xia Mingye."

Hearing this, Yang Bin looked at his junior brother in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

Feng Zhengming didn't let the third brother continue. "Did you forget? I said that I would go out for a walk next year and travel around our Qilu land on foot. I am not at ease leaving Huiquan Tower to others. Only if you, the fifth brother, and the eldest brother come, can I go out with peace of mind."

Li Huidong was a little surprised when he heard this: "Why am I included?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Of course, you are included. I have already applied to the provincial government. After the Chinese New Year, you will be transferred to the kitchen of Huiquanlou because the kitchen of Huiquanlou will be used as a training center. You must come here to be the master chef." (End of this chapter)