From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

The first dish that Feng Zhengming made is a very famous dish of Huiquanlou.

Cabbage and prawns.

However, when making it at home, Feng Zhengming added a little bit of twist.

He fried some egg floss in a frying pan.

After squeezing out the oil from the fried egg floss, place it on a clean plate and set aside.

Then put the shrimp heads and shells that have been fried in shrimp oil into the pan and fry them slightly.

Add some boiling water to cook out the last bit of freshness in the shrimp heads and make a small bowl of delicious shrimp soup.

Seeing what Feng Zhengming was doing, Luo Qing couldn't help but say, "You're really thrifty. You'll have to use this amount of shrimp heads several times."

Feng Zhengming said with a smile: "This is called squeezing out the last bit of value."

This time, after the shrimp soup came out, just throw away the shrimp heads and shells.

Even though the shrimp heads were fried in shrimp oil before, the shrimp soup was still full of flavor.

Everything is ready. Feng Zhengming first moistens the pot and then adds shrimp oil into the pot.

Sauté the shredded cabbage leaves in shrimp oil.

The cabbage leaves in this part are mostly tender leaves located inside.

Stir-fry until the cabbage leaves become soft.

Then take the cabbage leaves out of the pot first.

Then pour some shrimp oil into the pot, and then fry the peeled shrimps in the pan.

Fry the shrimps until they change color, then move them to one side of the pan. Add chopped green onion, ginger and garlic, stir-fry until fragrant. Then stir-fry the prawns together, and then add the previously fried cabbage.

Then pour the small bowl of shrimp soup into the pot.

After seasoning, let the cabbage and shrimps cook in the pan.

The shrimp soup is almost absorbed by the cabbage leaves, and then the fried eggs are put into the pan.

Stir-fry quickly, drizzle with sesame oil and serve.

As Feng Zhengming quickly stir-fried the food, a fresh and fragrant aroma wafted out instantly.

Luo Qing, who was standing nearby, could only smell the fragrance.

Luo Qing couldn't help but swallowing several times.

After taking the food out of the pot and putting it on a plate, Feng Zhengming smiled and said to Luo Qing, "It's ready, serve."

When Luo Qing heard Feng Zhengming urging her to serve the food, she came back to her senses and quickly sucked her saliva.

“This smells so good.”

Feng Zhengming said with a smile: "Of course, otherwise how could this dish become a favorite dish in Huiquanlou?"

As he spoke, Feng Zhengming reached out and took out a pair of chopsticks from the kitchen chopstick cage.

He picked up a chopstick and handed it to Luo Qing's mouth.

"Come on, have a taste."

Luo Qing originally wanted to refuse, but when she smelled the fragrance, she couldn't help but open her mouth.

The piece of food I took with my chopsticks contained egg floss, cabbage, and a shrimp.

When chewing in the mouth, the egg floss, cabbage and shrimp are really delicious. The key is that the shrimp soup is mixed with the sweetness of the cabbage and absorbed by the egg floss. The whole taste is like shrimp with different tastes.

Luo Qing chewed for a while, and after finishing the bite, she exclaimed, "It's delicious. It tastes better than the one in Huiquanlou."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "This method is more homely, relying mainly on the fresh taste of the shrimp itself."

Luo Qing nodded: "It's really delicious. I didn't expect it to be so delicious when cooked at home."

Feng Zhengming asked: "Do you think grandma will like it?"

"I'm sure he'll like it." Luo Qing was quite sure.

Then Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing brought out a platter of sliced ​​braised food, some of Feng Zhengming's cold dishes, and the cabbage and prawns to serve the dishes.

Seeing the two people bringing out the dishes, grandma immediately asked the family to set the table.

When a few dishes were put down, the braised food platter and cold dishes in front did not impress grandma much.

But when the cabbage and prawns were served, grandma was still quite amazed.

"Zhengming, your method of making cabbage and shrimp seems a little different?"

Feng Zhengming explained with a smile: "Grandma, did you figure it out? This is called Golden Cabbage and Prawns. I added egg floss to it to make it more flavorful. Grandma, please try it."

Grandma was immediately curious: "Is it added with egg floss? Then I must try it carefully."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Grandma, you guys eat first, I'll make the remaining dishes."

But grandma said, "Oh, don't cook so many dishes."

Feng Zhengming walked towards the kitchen and said, "Not much, just a few dishes."

Next, Feng Zhengming made dry-fried fish and some stir-fried vegetables in the kitchen.

Of course, we also made some dishes such as braised beef and braised pork.

These are for the rest of the family.

Feng Zhengming even made his aunt's favorite sweet and sour pork ribs.

When the sweet and sour pork ribs were served, my aunt was instantly moved by just the smell of sweet and sour.

"Thank you, Zhengming, for thinking of making sweet and sour spare ribs for me."

Feng Zhengming smiled and responded: "Aunt and I are all family, why should we be polite?"

Luo Qing followed up by saying, "Yes, aunt, if you want to eat it in the future, you can call me and tell me, and I will ask Zhengming to make it for you."

My aunt was very happy and said, "Okay, thank you."

Grandma looked at Feng Zhengming and said, "Are the dishes ready?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, grandma, do you think you are satisfied with it?"

"Satisfied, please sit down quickly, otherwise our Qingqing will blame me, an old lady, for not letting you sit down."

After hearing this, Feng Zhengming smiled, quickly took off his apron, and sat down next to Luo Qing.

As soon as he sat down, his uncle personally poured Feng Zhengming a glass of wine.

Seeing this, Feng Zhengming quickly stood up again and blocked it slightly with his hand.

"Thank you uncle."

Lu Zhongqi smiled and patted Feng Zhengming on the shoulder and asked him to sit down.

"You are the hero of our family today. Without you, how could we have such a sumptuous meal? You even specially made sweet and sour pork ribs for your aunt. As your uncle, I should toast you."

Feng Zhengming felt even more embarrassed: "You're welcome."

Grandma waited for Feng Zhengming to pour the wine, raised the glass in front of her and said, "Okay, come on, let's get together as a family, and have a happy new year."

Feng Zhengming raised his glass with everyone and said, "Happy New Year."

After clinking glasses, everyone drank the first glass of wine together.

After drinking, grandma picked up the golden cabbage and prawns with her chopsticks to taste them.

After grandma started eating, naturally the whole family started eating as well.

Luo Wenhan picked up his chopsticks and went straight to the sweet and sour pork ribs.

Luo Qing couldn't help but say, "You really can't eat other dishes? This is what Zhengming made specially for his aunt."

My aunt smiled and said, "It's okay, let's eat together." Luo Wenhan took back a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs and said, "I just want to try what it tastes like."

Naturally, grandma would come forward to protect her eldest grandson.

"Eat a piece of pork chop. Look at it. You are so petty. You should take care of this girl in the future. Don't always be so petty."

As soon as grandma spoke, Luo Qing couldn't help but want to say a few words to the old lady.

However, thinking that it was New Year's Day and Feng Zhengming was also present, she held back.

The next moment, Luo Wenhan took a bite of the sweet and sour pork ribs and couldn't help but exclaimed.

"Wow, these ribs are so delicious."

Luo Wenhan originally wanted to pinch one end of the ribs and bite them, but he didn't expect that when he pinched one end of the bone and bit it, he gently pulled the middle ribs, and the whole piece of meat fell off.

Then you can taste the very different sweet and sour taste in your mouth, as well as the aroma of the meat pulled off the bones.

After quickly eating the meat in his mouth, Luo Wenhan picked up another piece of ribs without thinking.

After eating two or three pieces, he continued, "It's delicious. I didn't expect that ribs could be cooked this deliciously."

After eating a piece, my aunt also said, "Zhengming's cooking skills are really good. The taste of this sweet and sour pork ribs is almost exactly the same as the ones in my hometown, and even better than the ones in my hometown."

Luo Wenhan asked curiously: "Aunt, is this sweet and sour pork ribs the taste of your hometown?"

My aunt nodded: "Yes, it tastes like what Shanghai makes."

As he spoke, Luo Wenhan couldn't help but pick up another piece.

"People say Shanghai dishes are very sweet, but this sweet and sour pork ribs are not that sweet at all. I think they taste really good."

My aunt said, "Yes, Shanghai cuisine may be sweeter than northern cuisine, but it's not as sweet as people say.

This dish made by Zhengming is very much in line with the traditional Shanghai style, with a rich and rich sauce flavor. "

Luo Qing smiled and said, "Aunt, let me tell you, Zhengming's sweet and sour spare ribs are definitely better than those made by some chefs in Shanghai now."

On this point, Luo Qing does have more say.

She had gone to Shanghai to support Feng Zhengming in participating in the national cooking competition.

In the hotel where I stayed, I ate sweet and sour pork ribs made by the hotel’s local cuisine chef.

At that time, Luo Qing felt that the chef of the hotel restaurant was not as good as Feng Zhengming.

After listening to Luo Qing’s narration.

My aunt smiled and said, "Nowadays, many old chefs in Shanghai probably don't cook themselves, and many young chefs may not be locals, so they can't control the taste of local dishes."

Feng Zhengming nodded and said, "It is indeed difficult for a chef from a place to grasp the local taste if he is not a local."

Luo Wenhan immediately asked: "Brother-in-law, how can you master this sweet and sour spareribs?"

Feng Zhengming replied: "It's very simple. You have to taste it yourself and explore it yourself."

No one quite understood what Feng Zhengming said.

Feng Zhengming then explained: “First, you have to taste the flavor of the local chefs, remember the flavor, and then keep trying to mix that flavor yourself.

Many times you need to try again and again, for example, sometimes the taste will be different after the soup thickens.

So when seasoning, you need to know the amount in advance.”

Feng Zhengming gave a long speech and talked about a lot of details about seasoning.

All the family members of Luo Qing present were stunned by what he said.

After listening to this, grandma couldn't help but say: "Cooking is really a very profound knowledge."

Luo Qing said with a smile: "Grandma, now you know how difficult it is to cook a good dish, right? Do you suddenly understand how amazing my boyfriend is?"

"Hey, little girl, are you waiting for grandma here, right?" The old lady didn't get angry but laughed instead.

The family members all laughed as well.

Feng Zhengming also thought that Luo Qing was very cute when she quarreled with her grandma.

After Luo Qing had an argument with her grandma, she still did not forget to pick up some food for her.

"Grandma, try the fish. This dry-fried fish is made by Zhengming specifically for you. I adjusted the taste a little bit. It's not the traditional salty taste, and there's no chili in it."

Grandma was not polite to her granddaughter.

He raised the bowl in his hand and took the best piece of meat from the fish's belly that his granddaughter gave him.

You can see carrot cubes on the surface of the fish.

Grandma was a little surprised: "Zhengming, what are you doing? Why are you adding carrots?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and replied: "Grandma, my method is a bit similar to the curry method in foreign countries."

"Curry?" No one in my family quite understands what it is?
Feng Zhengming thought for a moment and explained, "It's actually a kind of sauce made from a mixture of various spices, a bit like the eight-treasure chili sauce in Shanghai, or our soybeans fried with some potatoes and carrot cubes."

This explanation helped my family members understand.

Feng Zhengming pointed at the dry-fried fish and said, "I asked Qingqing, what does grandma like to eat?
Qingqing told me that grandma likes to eat fish, shrimp and carrots, so I used a similar curry method to make this dry-fried fish. Grandma, please try it first and see if you like it?"

Grandma didn't hesitate to pick up the fish meat with chopsticks and put it into her mouth together with the carrot cubes on top.

When you put it in your mouth, the fish meat is very tender and smooth, and the layer of diced carrots covering the surface of the fish skin has a very unique taste.

The diced carrots have been cooked until they are very soft, and paired with the diced meat and some different spices.

It looks like it should be salty, but it doesn't taste that salty.

On the contrary, the sweetness of the carrots can still be tasted.

It is paired with the aroma of diced meat, oil, and the flavor of the spices and sauces.

The combination of various flavors creates a unique and delicious taste.

After eating it, grandma smiled and said, "It's delicious. I didn't expect you to make fish taste so good. The carrots and fish are really different."

Feng Zhengming smiled: "As long as grandma likes it."

Grandma then picked up a few more pieces with her chopsticks and asked everyone to taste them.

Luo Qing's parents, uncle and aunt ate it and thought it tasted great.

My uncle said: "This taste is very unique. It looks like it will have a strong taste, but it doesn't taste strong at all. The taste has been burned into the fish meat, which shows that the cooking skills are really different."

"Uncle, you don't have to praise me so much. What I made today are all home-cooked dishes. I just used some skills that are usually used in restaurants and hotels. But in fact, the taste of dishes made at home is not worse than those in restaurants and hotels." Feng Zhengming is still quite humble.

Father Luo nodded: "Really, this taste can be made at home, it feels like it's not inferior to any restaurant."

Feng Zhengming went on to say: "As long as you master some small techniques, everyone can make the taste of restaurants and hotels at home."

Luo Wenhan immediately said, "No way? You are the one who made this dish today. If I make it, it will definitely not work."

When Luo's mother heard her son say this, she didn't give him any face at all.

"You do it? If we let you do it, we won't be able to eat today's meal."

When these words were spoken, the whole family laughed.

Grandma couldn't help but laugh and said, "Hanhan, you'd better stop thinking about cooking. You should learn how to repair things. When my appliances break down in the future, you'll be there to fix them for me."

Encouraged by his grandma, Luo Wenhan said seriously: "Don't worry, grandma, I will take care of the electrical appliances in your house from now on."

The father was still worried and reminded him: "You must study hard."

Luo Wenhan once again promised very seriously: "I will definitely study hard."

After having dinner at Luo Qing’s grandmother’s house, the old lady insisted that Feng Zhengming stay and play mahjong with her.

Unable to refuse, Feng Zhengming played mahjong at his grandmother's house for an entire afternoon, which allowed him to see how thrifty the old lady was. (End of this chapter)