From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Finally, Bao Feng, Guan Wei, Qi Jiale and Shen Rongsen also cooked dishes using the carps that were broken by the apprentices.

Among them, the dishes cooked by Shen Rongsen were a bit beyond everyone's expectations.

Shen Rongsen did not remove the fish meat and use it alone to cook like others did.

Shen Rongsen chose a carp that he didn't catch deep enough.

Then he chopped the fish meat and bones into small pieces.

After washing and marinating, the fish pieces are directly coated with flour, and then the whole piece of fish is fried in a pan.

After frying the fish until a crispy shell formed on the surface, Shen Rongsen braised the fish pieces.

This is also a very old home-cooked dish, called tile fish.

And Shen Rongsen also made some of his own attempts in seasoning.

When he was frying the food, he put two soaked dried chilies in it.

It instantly enhanced the flavor of the whole dish.

The taste is slightly different from the traditional sweet and sour tile fish.

The five judges tasted Shen Rongsen's innovative tile fish and all of them couldn't help but praise it.

Yang Bin smiled and said, "Old Shen, this tile fish you made tastes really good."

Cao Zhiguo also nodded: "Yes, this tastes really good."

He Yunqing said: "The peppers are well placed, and it tastes a little spicy but not too spicy. It tastes really good."

Grandpa Feng praised: "It seems that Xiao Shen has a hidden trick. I think Xiao Shen, this dish of yours can be made in the dry rice shop in the future."

Hearing his grandfather's words, Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Old Shen, from now on, this dish will be served in the dry rice shop. You will be the one to make it. If this dish sells well, let grandpa give you a raise."

"Hahaha, okay. This dish will definitely sell well in the dry rice shop. I must give Xiao Shen a raise then." Grandpa also agreed with Feng Zhengming's words.

Shen Rongsen felt a little embarrassed after hearing this: "Grandpa, I don't need a raise. I learned this dish from my mother."

Master Yan smiled and said: "Many times, the taste of home is often the most delicious in our memory."

Then Master Yan looked at Feng Zhengming and said, "You want to walk all over the land of Qi and Lu. This is indeed a good idea. You must go to the people and eat home-cooked meals at their homes. Only then can you get more inspiration."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "That's what I think, too."

Finally, Li Huidong did not give any comment. Feng Zhengming watched the eldest brother keep eating but did not say anything.

He couldn't help but smile and asked, "Brother, what do you think?"

Li Huidong suddenly came to his senses.

"Mmm, oh, good, it tastes really good."

Then Li Huidong looked at Shen Rongsen and said, "Your dish is indeed delicious. Although it doesn't look very good, it tastes really good. It also reminded me of my old mother."

After hearing what his senior brother said, Feng Zhengming fell into deep thought.

He suddenly said, "The taste of home. That's right. Our dry rice shop should have the taste of home. Not only should this dish be served in the dry rice shop, but the dry rice shop should also have more home-cooked dishes."

Master Yan and Grandpa Feng looked at Feng Zhengming with satisfaction.

Both old men knew that Feng Zhengming had found a new direction.

This internal competition ended successfully.

In fact, the final victory or defeat is not that important.

Because through this internal competition, all chefs have a chance to show themselves.

The experience accumulated in the kitchens of Huiquanlou and Ganfanpu over the past year can be put to use in this internal competition.

Showed in front of Feng Zhengming, his master and several senior brothers.

Received some guidance from Feng Zhengming, his master and fellow seniors.

Give every in-house chef a little boost.

Feng Zhengming believes that through this competition, the chefs and apprentices in the kitchen can learn new things.

In the coming year, as they digest what they have learned from this competition, their cooking skills will be greatly improved.

After the competition, Feng Zhengming carefully made new adjustments to the kitchen staff.

Xia Hui will be transferred back to the kitchen of Huiquanlou.

Sun Hai, who had performed very well in the competition, had to be transferred to the food court first because he wanted to follow Yang Bin.

Fortunately, after the Chinese New Year, Feng Zhengming has decided to open a branch of the dry rice shop near the brewery.

Feng Zhengming discussed it with his grandfather, master and fellow senior brothers.

It was decided that when the new store was built, the third senior brother would take Sun Hai with him and work with Yao Zhenhui to set up the new store first.

The old Ganfanpu restaurant will be managed by Zhu Xu, Xia Mingye and Shen Rongsen first.

Everyone thought his arrangement was reasonable.

After all, a new store must have good enough craftsmanship to hold up the scene.

Senior brother Li Huidong also agreed that he would come to the kitchen of Huiquanlou after the Chinese New Year.

Feng Zhengming also said with a smile: "Brother, you can bring Zhang Lei and Yang Peng with you when you arrive."

As a result, Li Huidong immediately refused: "They are not suitable to come here for the time being, so let them gain some experience at the dry rice shop first. It just so happens that the third brother will go to the brewery to take charge of the new store, so let them follow him first."

After hearing what the eldest senior brother said, Feng Zhengming naturally understood what the eldest senior brother meant.

It should be said that the eldest senior brother did not want his two apprentices to go directly into the kitchen of Huiquanlou without being screened.

The eldest brother doesn't want to break Feng Zhengming's rules.

If Feng Zhengming took the lead in breaking the rules he set in order to take care of himself, his prestige would be ruined in the future, and he might not be able to manage others in the kitchen.

But in fact, Feng Zhengming doesn't care about these at all.

His strength was there, and no one dared to say anything, even to his senior brother who was taking care of him.

But Feng Zhengming still respected the choice of his senior brother.

Everything was arranged, and Feng Zhengming and his three senior brothers prepared a working lunch for everyone.

"Well, our brothers and sisters have prepared home-cooked dishes, so let's eat them. After dinner, we can work hard in the evening."

Seeing the dishes made by Feng Zhengming and his fellow apprentices, although they are home-cooked dishes, they are all delicious and fragrant.

He Yunqing couldn't help but smile and said, "The dishes you brothers made can't really be considered home cooking. They are really great."

Feng Zhengming said, "Hahaha, they are indeed home-cooked dishes, and they were mainly made by my senior brothers. I just re-fry the stir-fried shrimp waists that everyone made before, and make fish strips from the fish that was not cut well."

When eating the fish strips fried by Feng Zhengming, everyone found that the crust of his fish strips was crispy and the seasoning was somewhat special.

Master Yan asked as he ate: "Zhengming, this sweet and spicy fish stick of yours should be considered Sichuan cuisine, right?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, the seasoning of this fish strip is based on the Kung Pao flavor of Sichuan cuisine. I made some adjustments to the seasoning. I reduced the amount of chili peppers, and the sour and sweet taste is also lighter, so that the taste is not too strong."

Xia Hui said as she ate: "Master, your seasoning is really delicious. I think it should also be made in dry rice shops."

Yang Bin laughed after hearing this: "Hahaha, this tune should be popular in Huiquanlou."

"Yes, yes, it can be served in Huiquanlou." Xia Hui nodded in agreement while eating. Feng Zhengming said, "How about this, I will teach you the recipe later, and you will be responsible for making this dish in the kitchen of Huiquanlou in the future, how about it?"

These words made Xia Hui stunned.

"Let me cook this dish?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, you can make dishes with this flavor, spicy and sour fish strips, spicy and sour shrimp balls, spicy and sour chicken cubes or diced meat. I think they can all be made. You can give it a try.

Didn’t you cook fried fish sticks very well before? I think you should be able to learn this dish right away.”

Seeing that Xia Hui was still in a daze, Cao Zhiguo reminded her with a smile.

"Don't just stand there, your junior master wants to train you, why don't you thank him quickly?"

Xia Hui came back to her senses and suddenly became a little excited.

"Thank you, uncle. I will definitely study hard."

Zhu Xu and Xia Mingye, who did not participate in this competition, also gained a lot today.

By observing the dishes cooked by other chefs, the two also imitated in their minds what dishes they could make.

Can you do better than other chefs in the kitchen?
After simulating it in their minds, the two felt that they might not be able to do better than others.

For example, stir-fried shrimp waist, this dish seems not difficult to make.

But from the early preparation of ingredients, to marinating and starching, to the final cooking, many details require careful attention.

The key point is that the shrimp can be stir-fried for a longer time.

But the heat of the kidney must be controlled well.

Therefore, when cooking, kidney and shrimp require different temperatures, which is something you really need to pay attention to.

Otherwise, the kidney may be overcooked.

That will definitely affect the taste of the dish.

The key to cooking often lies in some small details.

Chinese cooking is difficult to learn, and even some chefs who have been in the cooking industry for many years may fail.

It is precisely because if we don't pay attention to small details, we will easily make mistakes.

Later, when I saw Feng Zhengming and his fellow brothers cooking, they were walking leisurely and it really seemed like they were doing it effortlessly.

This is also a reflection of their excellent cooking skills.

What Zhu Xu and Xia Mingye admired even more was Feng Zhengming.

After all, his senior brothers, even his fifth senior brother Cao Zhiguo, are almost forty years old.

They have all been in the cooking industry for many years, so it is understandable that they have excellent cooking skills.

Feng Zhengming is only in his 20s, but his cooking skills are so amazing.

It only proves one thing, that he has put in greater effort than anyone else.

Zhu Xu and Xia Mingye also heard that when Grandpa Feng was talking to Master Yan, he mentioned that Feng Zhengming still practiced flipping the pot in the yard at home every morning.

This was something Zhu Xu and Xia Mingye had not expected.

Not to mention that they can cook now, even when they were apprentices, they would not practice flipping the pot early in the morning.

The two realized that on this point, the gap between them and Feng Zhengming was really huge.

Master Yan knew that his young apprentice had not given up on honing his basic skills.

He also sighed like Grandpa Feng: "Zhengming is really a hardworking child. His current achievements at such a young age are really inseparable from his hard work."

Grandpa Feng smiled and said, "This is because your master taught me well."

After hearing this, Master Yan immediately recalled the scene when Feng Zhengming first entered Yan Xilou.

For a boy who is a bit green and naive, it was his persistence when he was learning cooking that led to his current success.

Master Yan looked at his young apprentice, his eyes full of satisfaction.

Over the years, Master Yan was still somewhat dissatisfied with his apprentices.

In Master Yan's opinion, the other apprentices each have their own strengths.

But there was no apprentice who could take on the responsibility.

Not to mention the development of Shandong cuisine.

Now that Feng Zhengming has appeared, Master Yan sees hope for promoting Shandong cuisine.

“I hope he can always keep this original intention.”

After the working lunch, Yang Bin led everyone back to the restaurant to prepare for business.

Huiquanlou has also begun preparing for business.

Li Huidong took the initiative to send his master back.

On the way back with his eldest disciple, Master Yan asked with a smile: "Dongzi, you are the eldest disciple, are you feeling a little disappointed now?"

Li Huidong looked at his master: "Why do you say that? Why am I so disappointed?"

Master Yan said: "Your fellow apprentices have all achieved better things, especially the younger apprentice you had to take care of back then. His achievements are much higher than yours now. Are you really not disappointed?"

Li Huidong smiled after hearing this.

"Hahaha, Master, I think this is a good thing. The younger disciples have achieved higher levels, which shows that you are good at teaching your disciples."

Master Yan looked at his eldest disciple and saw that the smile on his face was genuine.

"You're not bad, but your luck is a little bad. The canteen of the brewery really can't show your ability, so you were transferred to the kitchen of Huiquan Building by Zhengming, which is a good destination for you."

After hearing what his master said, Li Huidong sighed.

"I actually don't want to cause trouble for Zhengming."

Master Yan nodded: "I understand. You feel that you are the eldest brother and it is your responsibility to take care of your junior brothers. But now you have to ask your junior brothers to take care of you. You must feel a little uncomfortable."

Without waiting for the eldest disciple to speak, Master Yan said, "But you are brothers, and you are the eldest brother. You should help your fellow disciples when they need you."

Li Huidong was stunned when he heard his master say this.

"He needs my help, right?"

Master Yan nodded: "Yes, he does. He actually doesn't want to spend too much time and energy on training chefs for the province, but the province has arranged it for him, and he can't refuse. At this time, he needs you brothers to help him."

Li Huidong suddenly understood.

"So that's how it is. Zhengming really shouldn't waste his energy on teaching now. He is still so young. He should create and develop our Shandong cuisine."

Master Yan nodded: "Yes, that is his next path."

Li Huidong said seriously, "Master, don't worry. I will help him take charge of the training site and won't let him be too distracted."

After hearing his eldest disciple's promise, Master Yan smiled and said, "Master believes in your ability."

After a short pause, Master Yan looked towards the sunset and said with emotion: "I hope that one day in the future, I can see you brothers working together to make our Shandong cuisine better and better." (End of this chapter)