From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

While helping Feng Zhengming hollow out the middle of the bamboo shoot, Xia Hui asked curiously, "Uncle Master, why do you want to hollow out the middle?"

As Feng Zhengming worked, he said, "These bamboo shoots are a bit thin. It would be a pity to throw them away. I thought of a dish I saw in a recipe before, and decided to try making it with these thin bamboo shoots."

Xia Hui quickly asked, "What dish is it?"

Feng Zhengming did not hide it: "The legendary chicken marrow bamboo shoots."

Hearing the name of this dish, Xia Hui felt confused.

"Chicken marrow shoots? What kind of dish is that?"

Feng Zhengming replied with a smile: "Chicken marrow bamboo shoots are a dish in the book Dream of the Red Chamber."

Xia Hui was surprised: "Is it the dish from Dream of the Red Chamber?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, but it has been lost. I saw it by chance in an ancient cookbook sent to me by some friends who love gourmet food from other places."

Xia Hui was even more incredulous: "Uncle Master, you can remember something just by seeing it by chance?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Take some time to read a book. Since a classic is a classic, it must have its charm. Reading classics and accumulating some cultural literacy will help you improve your cooking skills in the future."

Hearing what Feng Zhengming said, Xia Hui nodded seriously: "Uncle Master, I will listen to you."

The two of them worked together to slowly hollow out the middle of the bamboo shoots.

Feng Zhengming did not throw away the part he took out, but chopped it into fine pieces and put it aside.

After hollowing out the bamboo shoots, Feng Zhengming put them into the pot and blanched them in clear chicken broth with cooking wine, onion, ginger, salt and sugar.

Then take out the bamboo shoots and soak them in cold water to cool.

During this time, Feng Zhengming found some chicken breast and carefully smashed it into chicken paste with the back of a knife.

Pick out all the fascia cleanly.

Add salt and sugar to the chicken paste for seasoning, add egg white and onion and ginger water and mix evenly, and mix in the chopped bamboo shoots that were previously picked out.

After preparing the chicken puree, Feng Zhengming also took the chicken bone marrow that he had asked everyone in the kitchen to knock out.

Add salt and sugar for seasoning, and also add a little onion and ginger water.

Everything was ready, and Feng Zhengming put the chicken paste and chicken bone marrow into a small plastic bag.

Cut a small slit in one corner of the bag.

First, slowly squeeze the chicken puree into the hollowed-out bamboo shoots through the small opening of the bag.

Use a thin iron skewer coated with oil and insert it into the middle.

Next, steam the thin bamboo shoots stuffed with chicken paste and inserted into iron skewers.

Allow the chicken puree to solidify.

Then carefully pull out the skewer.

Then squeeze the chicken bone marrow into the hole left by inserting the iron skewer in the middle.

After filling, put the bamboo shoots into the clear chicken soup, add rice wine, green onion and ginger and steam in a steamer.

Finally, take out the thin bamboo shoots from the clear soup.

Xia Hui followed Feng Zhengming throughout the process.

Xia Hui was also a little surprised when she saw the finished bamboo shoots.

Just by smelling it, you can smell the rich chicken aroma on the bamboo shoots, as well as the fresh fragrance of the bamboo shoots themselves.

Xia Hui asked curiously: "Uncle Master, is this how we eat it?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and shook his head: "No, this is just a small amount. I'm afraid one is not enough for each person. After it cools down, cut them all into slices and add them to the cold dishes in the evening."

Hearing Feng Zhengming's plan, Xia Hui couldn't help but exclaim.

"Wow, Master, this design of yours is great."

Xia Hui's exclamation caused many people in the kitchen to look at her in surprise.

Noticing that everyone was looking at her strangely, Xia Hui quickly stuck out her tongue at Feng Zhengming playfully, then turned around and continued to do her work.

Feng Zhengming said to everyone: "Everyone, work hard. We don't have much time. The banquet is about to start."

This has a great effect on everyone in the kitchen.

Everyone quickly continued with their work.

Feng Zhengming put the chicken marrow bamboo shoots aside and continued to work with everyone.

The soup needs to be swept out, as the clear soup is the highlight of tonight.

Not only mullet egg soup needs soup, some dishes also need soup.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming is very serious about the job of sweeping the soup.

Together with several chefs who participated in the national competition, I worked diligently to prepare for the sweeping soup.

In addition to the white dross of chicken and the red dross of pork.

In order to enhance the flavor, Feng Zhengming and his team specially prepared beef gravy.

And the most important ingredient in Shandong cuisine’s soup is pureed green onion and pepper.

The onion and pepper paste is made by soaking the Sichuan peppercorns in fine rice wine in advance and then chopping them into paste together with the finest onions.

When sweeping the soup, mix the green onion and pepper paste into the three kinds of mud and mix well.

Add each ingredient into the soup and heat slowly over very low heat.

The soup must not be allowed to boil, it must be cooked over low heat to slowly solidify the meat residue in the soup.

As the meat residue solidifies, it absorbs impurities in the soup.

Carefully scoop out the floating meat with a colander.

The remaining soup naturally becomes clearer.

First the chicken white gravy, then the pork red gravy, and finally the beef gravy.

After three times of sweeping the soup.

The impurities in the soup are completely cleared away, leaving behind a light tea-colored clear soup.

Wait until the soup is ready.

Feng Zhengming went to check the mullet eggs again.

They were all cleaned up and torn apart piece by piece.

Use scallion, ginger and cooking wine to blanch the mullet eggs to remove the unpleasant smell.

Almost all the dishes in the kitchen are ready.

Finally it was seven o'clock in the evening.

The invited guests have entered the banquet hall and the waiters have come to inform them that the food can be served.

Feng Zhengming immediately asked everyone to start final preparations.

He personally prepared every dish carefully.

First up was the cold dish, which was made with marinade and vegetables, and a few slices of chicken marrow bamboo shoots that Feng Zhengming had prepared earlier.

Feng Zhengming made a sample and asked other chefs to arrange the dishes one by one according to his example.

In order to make it easier to eat, Feng Zhengming designed a separate plate for each guest.

Therefore, the presentation of each small plate must be almost the same.

At the same time, ensure that the quantity of each plate is consistent.

Feng Zhengming made a sample, and the chefs in the kitchen quickly arranged the dishes according to it.

Prepare each dish and place them on the serving cart.

The food will then be taken to the banquet hall by the service staff.

At this time, in the banquet hall, invited foreign guests, overseas Chinese, model workers and representatives from all walks of life gathered together.

After the provincial leader's speech, accompanied by warm applause from everyone, the service staff pushed the food cart in and served food to the guests at each table.

As soon as the first cold dish was served, there was an exclamation of surprise in the banquet hall almost instantly.

As a representative of overseas Chinese, Mr. Situ was naturally invited to attend the banquet.

When Mr. Situ saw the cold dishes on the table, he knew that the chef was Feng Zhengming.

We know that Feng Zhengming will definitely bring surprises to everyone.

But seeing the first cold dish still surprised Mr. Situ. He smiled to the overseas Chinese at the same table and said, "This cold dish has the personal characteristics of our national cooking competition champion."

Another overseas Chinese representative said: "This national cooking competition champion is really good at cooking."

Mr. Situ nodded: "Of course, otherwise how could he be the national champion? There are also famous chefs from Hong Kong participating in this competition. The fact that he can outshine the famous chefs from Hong Kong shows how good he is."

Everyone started to taste this cold dish.

Although the portion is not large, it tastes just right because each person gets one plate.

Eating the same dishes.

Most of the dishes are pretty much edible.

For example, there are crisp cucumber slices, chewy and delicious shrimps, and some braised dishes that are very characteristic of Shandong cuisine.

However, there are a few slices that have a white outer circle and a little dark substance in the middle, which makes many people unable to tell what it is after eating it?
The outermost circle is crispy, and the inside tastes a bit like meat. The middle part has no flavor, but has a unique taste.

It’s hard to tell what this dish is, but it’s delicious when paired with other cold dishes.

Mr. Situ found that many people were guessing what it was.
But there is no time to guess, and the next dish is a classic one.

Mullet egg soup.

When small white cups were placed in front of everyone.

You can see white mullet eggs floating in the clear tea-colored soup.

Once again, everyone attending the banquet was shocked.

Mr. Situ looked at it with some surprise.

"Zhengming actually uses clear soup to make mullet egg soup. It's really strange."

When I scooped up the soup with a spoon and drank it into my mouth.

It has a very delicious taste, with a just right sour taste and a little bit of spiciness.

It seems to explode on the tip of the tongue in an instant, awakening the taste buds.

The unique taste made Mr. Situ feel it was quite delicious.

Pair it with mullet eggs and eat while drinking.

It really has a unique appetizing effect.

The other overseas Chinese representatives at the table kept praising the soup for being delicious.

The invited foreign guests at the table next to us also thought the soup was delicious.

In the past, thickened mullet egg soup might be difficult for foreigners to get used to.

But this clear soup with mullet eggs is considered quite delicious by foreigners.

Following the mullet egg soup is a sweet and sour fried fish dish prepared by Feng Zhengming.

To give this dish a sweet and sour flavor, Feng Zhengming added tomato sauce and some fresh tomatoes.

The taste is slightly sweet and sour, and is also quite delicious.

It can be said that the foreign guests at the scene liked it very much.

After the stir-fried fish fillet, the next dish served is the stir-fried cabbage and prawns, which is more popular among the local people of Qilu.

Each person is served a separate plate.

All the cabbage is selected from the tenderest part of the cabbage heart.

The prawns are also authentic prawns.

After Feng Zhengming's meticulous seasoning, the dish was so delicious that the invited model workers and representatives from all walks of life were full of praise.

“This is the first time I’ve eaten such delicious stir-fried cabbage and prawns.”

“I didn’t expect cabbage and prawns could be cooked so deliciously.”

"As expected of the champion of the national cooking competition, you can make such an ordinary dish so delicious."

"It's just that the amount per person is a little small, and I feel like I haven't eaten enough."

"Hahaha, there are more big dishes to come, so don't eat too much at once."

After the stir-fried cabbage and prawns, the highlight came, the dish for which Feng Zhengming won the gold medal.

Oolong playing with pearl.

This time, they were not placed on a large plate, but on each small plate, a sea cucumber, a scallop and a lobster ball were placed separately.

The stuffed sea cucumber is cut into segments, served with green onion segments and drizzled with scallion sauce.

The most important thing is that when this dish is served, the waiter specifically asks the guests.

Do you want to pair it with rice? Or other staple foods?
If you ask for rice, the waiter will give you a small ball of rice.

If you don’t want to eat rice, you can also have side dishes like silver thread rolls, buns, steamed buns, or even hand-rolled noodles.

Even pasta was specially prepared for the foreign guests on site.

Feng Zhengming's thoughtful designs.

Once again, we received rave reviews from all our guests.

Naturally, all the provincial leaders had smiles on their faces.

After hearing everyone's praise, the leaders felt that Feng Zhengming's banquet really brought glory to Shandong cuisine.

In order to ensure that the guests were well fed, Feng Zhengming also thoughtfully prepared the step of adding staple food and some scallion sauce to the rice.

Of course, Feng Zhengming also prepared stir-fried noodles with green onions for some model workers who like to eat noodles.

These preparations made the model workers on site quite satisfied.

At the end of the banquet, Feng Zhengming served a small bowl of chicken porridge to the audience.

He also learned how to make chicken porridge from a chef in Jinling at a national cooking competition.

It looks like a bowl of ordinary white porridge.

In fact, it is not white porridge cooked with white rice.

Instead, it is chicken puree porridge made by diluting the chicken puree and then cooking it in chicken soup thickened with rice soup.

This small bowl, as the last course, is a perfect ending.

The banquet finally ended.

The provincial leader asked someone to go to the kitchen to invite Feng Zhengming and others to the scene.

Feng Zhengming and the chefs put on their uniforms together.

Under his leadership, they entered the banquet hall together.

The moment they stepped into the banquet hall, there was a burst of warm applause.

Everyone invited to the dinner tonight applauded them from the bottom of their hearts.

Because of the food tonight, everyone was amazed.

The provincial leader smiled and said, "We can enjoy such a delicious dinner tonight, thanks to our top chef and his team of chefs."

The audience applauded again to express their gratitude to Feng Zhengming and others.

Feng Zhengming bowed to everyone and then said, "It is our honor to present such a grand banquet to you all, especially since the person who eats my dishes tonight is a representative of our Qilu model workers.

You are role models for the working people and for us. Serving you such a delicious meal expresses our respect for each of you."

After expressing his respect for the model workers on the scene, Feng Zhengming then expressed his welcome to foreign guests and overseas Chinese.

"Dear foreign guests and overseas Chinese, I believe that you will be able to see the characteristics of our Shandong cuisine and Qilu culture through this dinner tonight. I hope that in the future, you can come to our Qilu more often and we will have more cooperation."

Feng Zhengming's speech on the spot was appreciated by the provincial leaders.

He expressed everything that should be expressed.

It also helped promote Qilu in front of foreign guests and overseas Chinese.

Of course, what impressed people the most must be the banquet tonight.

He perfectly combines traditional Shandong cuisine with the new things he learned from the national cooking competition.

Let foreign guests and overseas Chinese experience the uniqueness of Shandong cuisine.

Provincial leaders also hope to achieve this.

Let others see the cultural heritage of Qilu, so as to attract more foreign guests and overseas Chinese to invest in Qilu. (End of this chapter)