From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

"Sea cucumber, take out the sea cucumber, hurry up, hurry up, don't just stand there."

Feng Zhengming's voice rang out in the kitchen, and along with his urging voice, everyone in the kitchen was busy following his instructions.

At the same time, he also led everyone to be busy.

Take the seasoned sea cucumber out of the casserole.

At this time, the size of the sea cucumber is much smaller than when it was well soaked.

This is a normal phenomenon during the seasoning process.

Usually, the sea cucumbers that have been soaked well may be very large.

However, during the subsequent seasoning process, a lot of water will be spit out from the sea cucumber's body.

Therefore, the size of sea cucumbers will naturally shrink.

Feng Zhengming took a quick look at the sizes of all the sea cucumbers.

Compare and select sea cucumbers that are basically similar in length, thickness and size.

Then he called Xia Hui and her apprentices over.

"Put the prepared shrimp paste into the bag, and then cut a hole in the corner of the bag. Then squeeze the shrimp paste in the bag into the sea cucumber. Remember not to fill it too full."

Xia Hui was quite excited when she saw Feng Zhengming's demonstration.

She knew that this was the key to Feng Zhengming's dish Oolong Xizhu.

People who have not eaten this dish may think that it is just a combination of scallion-fried sea cucumber and hydrangea scallops.

But in fact, this dish embodies Feng Zhengming's understanding of traditional Shandong cuisine techniques.

For example, the process of seasoning the sea cucumber is done completely in accordance with the way Shandong cuisine cooks sea cucumbers.

The ingredients used to flavor the sea cucumber are quite rich.

But it’s not just those ingredients.

The key is the onions, ginger and peppercorns left over from frying the onion oil.

These are the keys to the unique taste of this dish, Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions.

The key to Feng Zhengming's Oolong Xizhu dish is that he fills the seasoned sea cucumber with the prepared shrimp paste stuffing.

In this way, the sea cucumber is blended with the umami flavor of the shrimp, and the taste can be integrated with the hydrangea scallops.

The shrimp paste that Feng Zhengming stuffed into the sea cucumber was not just shrimp meat. He also added some diced fat meat and fresh scallops to give the shrimp paste a delicious flavor.

Doing this will make the taste of the sea cucumber match that of the scallops overall.

A true chef doesn’t have to come up with any fanciful innovations.

Instead, it is based on the ability to master various traditional techniques.

Extend and integrate through your own understanding.

And it can mix the flavors that everyone likes.

On this point, everyone now feels that Feng Zhengming has truly achieved it.

Feng Zhengming saw Xia Hui staring at him in a daze, and asked with a smile: "What's wrong? Do you think this is difficult?"

Xia Hui suddenly came to her senses: "It's not difficult, Uncle Master, I understand."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Okay, then you can bring your apprentices with you. Remember not to fill the tank too full, and keep an eye on them."

Xia Hui agreed immediately: "I know."

Feng Zhengming assigned the task of stuffing the sea cucumbers to Xia Hui and her apprentices.

He himself was preparing the ingredients for the scallops, and he also needed to prepare the lobsters.

For other dishes, the eldest brother Li Huidong and the fifth brother Cao Zhiguo are responsible for preparing them in the kitchen.

During the entire process of preparing ingredients in the kitchen, everyone seemed to be quite busy.

But the kitchen doesn't seem chaotic.

In the evening when the sun sets.

Those invited to the dinner by the province arrived by minibus.

He Yunqing went to the kitchen to inform Feng Zhengming.

He straightened his chef's uniform, asked everyone in the kitchen to continue preparing the ingredients, and went to the front door to greet the invited guests.

As Feng Zhengming walked out the door, he saw a group of foreigners getting off a minibus accompanied by provincial leaders.

Seeing that the guests had arrived, Feng Zhengming walked forward and greeted them.

The people coming down also looked at Feng Zhengming.

Some foreign guests were somewhat surprised after listening to the introduction translated by the provincial government.

"Wow, so young, and already the champion of the national cooking competition."

"Is he the best chef in your country?"

"He is really young. I didn't expect such a great chef to be so young."

“Is the food he cooks considered the best Shandong cuisine?”

The translator also translated some questions from foreigners to Feng Zhengming.

After hearing this, Feng Zhengming smiled and responded.

“Although I am the champion of the national cooking competition, I cannot be considered the best chef in the country. After all, the participants of the cooking competition are mostly young and middle-aged chefs. My master, for example, did not participate in the competition.

I don’t dare to say that the Shandong cuisine I cook is the best. In Quancheng and our Qilu, I believe there are many chefs who can cook Shandong cuisine very well.”

Feng Zhengming's answer was flawless, which made many people look at him with admiration.

Afterwards, at the invitation of provincial leaders, the guests entered Huiquan Tower one after another.

Feng Zhengming also accompanied them upstairs and looked at some of the layouts in the different private rooms.

The invited foreigners were quite amazed by the photos of different landscapes from all over Shandong Province in the private room of Huiquan Building.

Especially when I heard that the name of each private room is the name of a city in Qi and Lu.

The photos displayed inside are also representative landscape photos of each city.

These arrangements seem quite romantic to foreigners.

"Wow, I love this setup."

“This arrangement is really great.”

“I didn’t expect there would be such an interesting arrangement.”

“The chef you recommended is more like an artist.”

Hearing the foreigners' praise, the accompanying provincial leaders asked the translator to tell them that in their eyes, Feng Zhengming is an artist, a Shandong cuisine artist.

After looking at the private rooms on the second floor one by one, Feng Zhengming also led people to take a look at the kitchen.

Of course, we didn't let them infiltrate the kitchen, they just took a look at the area where the food was served.

Seeing that the kitchen was busy, the guests did not ask to go in and disturb them.

After the provincial leaders accompanied the guests away, Feng Zhengming returned to the kitchen and asked everyone to make final preparations.

When the final preparations were completed, Feng Zhengming and his two senior brothers led the kitchen to start formal cooking.

If you prepare enough ingredients in advance, it will be much easier to actually start cooking.

Of course, Feng Zhengming and his team still need to be very careful with some of the more important dishes.

As each dish was completed, Feng Zhengming asked the waiters to start serving the guests.

Start with the cold appetizer platter.

Feng Zhengming's dishes once again amazed the foreign guests and also conquered them with his seasoning yield.

After the cold dishes, Feng Zhengming served an appetizer soup.

This soup is also one of the classic dishes created by Feng Zhengming himself.

Fried snail slices in vinegar and pepper fish soup.

The fresh and tender conch slices, paired with the vinegar and pepper fish soup, were so delicious that the foreign guests were full of praise.

Feng Zhengming made some adjustments to the seasoning of this dish to make it less sour.

It really makes your mouth water after drinking it, and is quite appetizing.

After this dish, Feng Zhengming first had a bite of cabbage and prawns.

The reason why he only took one bite was that Feng Zhengming wanted the foreign guests to taste the deliciousness of the dish, and he didn't want to take away the excitement of the following dishes.

But the foreign guests were shocked again by the sight of eating the cabbage and prawns in one bite.

"Wow, just one bite? That's not enough."

“It tastes really good.”

"This taste, with a light sweetness and a unique fragrance, makes me feel like I can't get enough of the shrimp meat."

Not to mention foreigners, many people who accompanied us from the province, as well as some invited business owners, also felt very satisfied with the cabbage and prawns.

Among the local entrepreneurs invited this time is Feng Zhengming’s third uncle Feng Jiandong.

Feng Jiandong took a bite of the cabbage and prawns.

He couldn't help but sigh: "Zhengming's cooking skills have really improved again."

This small bite of cabbage and prawns.

Feng Zhengming selected the tenderest cabbage leaves, cooked them with shrimp oil and shrimp soup to fully absorb the freshness of the shrimp, and finally put them together with the shrimp.

When you take a bite, the cabbage leaves, which have absorbed the flavor of shrimp oil and shrimp soup, are soft and tender with a hint of crispness.

It is paired with chewy shrimps and a very light seasoning.

It was quite a stunning opening.

The next dish was a small piece of braised pork with abalone.

When seeing such a dish being served, everyone would think at first glance, is this dish a bit too strong in taste?

But when you actually eat it, you’ll find that the taste of this dish is not as strong as everyone thinks.

The braised pork is very tender and melts in your mouth almost instantly.

The abalone was cooked to perfection, even with a little bit of sweetness.

Of course, what foreigners would not expect is the small flower carved from vegetable roots that goes with it.

It tastes very refreshing and can instantly remove the greasiness of the braised pork and abalone.

After this dish, the next dish served was the seared fish fillet.

Feng Zhengming also paired the seared fish with some blanched asparagus segments.

After eating this dish, some guests who were invited to accompany the meal and who knew how to eat tasted the dishes that Feng Zhengming had arranged today.

The taste is progressive, the flavor is gradually getting stronger, and the fish and vegetables are interspersed with each other.

It doesn't have that greasy smell that appears all of a sudden.

Moreover, the taste of these dishes is obviously very popular with foreign guests.

The foreign guests loved the grilled fish slices.

One foreign guest said it reminded him of fried fish in his hometown.

But it is obvious that the seared fish slices served by Feng Zhengming taste better than the fried fish in his hometown.

The dishes were served one by one, and Feng Zhengming served some noodles to the guests in between.

These are some of Lu Chongshan’s specialty noodles.

It is a flower cake made from leavened dough into shapes.

This unique pastry is also very popular among foreign guests.

After tasting the noodles, it was finally time for Feng Zhengming’s now famous dish, Oolong Xizhu.

Feng Zhengming still served one dish per person.

A sea cucumber, two green onions, a scallop and a lobster ball.

In order to make it easier for people in China to eat this dish with chopsticks, Feng Zhengming asked the waiter to cut the sea cucumber into small pieces before serving it.

Because of the shrimp paste filling in the middle, the cut sea cucumber will not fall apart.

The serving of this dish brought the dinner to a climax.

Let everyone present experience the so-called essence of Shandong cuisine.

Feng Jiandong savored the dish carefully, and the more he ate, the more he felt that Feng Zhengming's cooking skills were extraordinary.

After the Oolong Xizhu dish is served, the kitchen officially enters its busiest time.

Li Huidong, Cao Zhiguo, Gu Zhicheng and Xia Hui were cooking lotus crabs respectively.

The key to this dish is that it must be freshly made and served while hot.

So when four people cook multiple portions, there is almost no room for error.

Feng Zhengming was responsible for the final mullet egg soup.

Thanks to the efforts of Li Huidong, Cao Zhiguo, Gu Zhicheng and Xia Hui.

Finally, the dish of lotus crab is completed.

Then the waiter quickly brought the dish to the table.

After the heavy taste of Oolong Xizhu.

Here is a dish that is fresh and elegant.

It’s a pretty good ending indeed.

When eaten hot, it has a rich crab flavor and a special delicious taste.

It can clean off some of the greasiness from the previous Oolong Xizhu.

When the mullet egg soup is finally served.

Drinking the mullet egg soup flavored with pickles, everyone had a look of happiness on their face.

While drinking the soup, Feng Jiandong couldn't help but mutter again: "This meal is so worth it."

It can be said that Feng Zhengming's arrangement of the meal amazed everyone.

In particular, it allowed several provincial leaders and some entrepreneurs from Qi and Lu to taste the completely different Shandong cuisine for the first time, which somewhat overturned their previous impressions of Shandong cuisine.

Of course, the most important thing is that the dishes prepared by Huiquanlou under the leadership of Feng Zhengming today made the foreign guests quite satisfied.

This leaves foreign guests with a very good impression of Shandong cuisine.

Several foreign guests were full of praise.

Several provincial leaders were quite satisfied with Feng Zhengming's arrangements.

After the dinner, the foreign guests again asked to meet Feng Zhengming and his chef team.

Feng Zhengming naturally asked everyone in the kitchen to come out and meet him.

When foreign guests asked Feng Zhengming if Shandong cuisine was like this.

Feng Zhengming answered very frankly: "We make some changes to the traditional Shandong cuisine so that it can be more suitable for your taste. You may not be able to eat such Shandong cuisine in other places."

After listening to the translation, the leader of the foreign delegation asked again.

"You mean, we can only eat this kind of food in your Huiquan Restaurant?"

After listening to the translation, Feng Zhengming smiled and replied, "For now, it can only be eaten in Huiquanlou, but I believe that in the future, some other restaurants and hotels will also change and may have dishes that taste the same as ours."

Finally, Feng Zhengming added: "Welcome everyone to Huiquanlou again."

After hearing the translator's translation, the foreign guests also laughed.

Everyone has already understood that Feng Zhengming is worthy of being the top winner of the national cooking competition.

His cooking skills are indeed different from the Shandong cuisine served in other restaurants and hotels.

It cannot be said that the dishes cooked by Feng Zhengming are authentic Shandong cuisine.

But he made some changes to make the dishes more suitable for foreign guests' tastes.

Moreover, he innovates based on traditional classic Shandong cuisine.

His greatest reliance is his mastery of every Shandong cuisine technique.

Finally, before leaving, the foreign guests once again praised Feng Zhengming's cooking skills and expressed their hope that one day they could taste Feng Zhengming's cooking again.

After the dinner, the provincial leaders were quite satisfied with the results.

Originally, they wanted to use this dinner to exchange some food culture with foreign countries.

The performance of Feng Zhengming and the people in Huiquanlou was far beyond their original expectations. (End of this chapter)