From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Without making everyone wait for long, the banquet showdown began.

From the very beginning, most people's eyes were on the chef from Gangcheng.

Because the various ingredients used by the chefs in Hong Kong City can be said to be all from the rich or expensive.

Even many ingredients used by Hong Kong chefs are things that many people in the mainland have never seen before.

Feng Zhengming smiled at the two Hong Kong tycoons and said, "I didn't expect that Hong Kong would provide so many good things. If we had known earlier, we should have applied for it. Can we make bear paws, flying dragons, monkey brains and other things?"

Hearing Feng Zhengming's words, the two national judges were delighted.

Master Hou could only say to Feng Zhengming: "Zhengming, stop talking nonsense. You can't eat the things you mentioned now."

The two Hong Kong tycoons also knew that Feng Zhengming was joking on purpose.

So the Hong Kong City tycoon also asked jokingly.

"Can Feng Zhuangyuan make flying dragon and monkey brain?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and replied, "Flying dragons are usually used to make soup, and monkey brains. Actually, maybe I can try to make the dish of monkey brains and shark fins in the movie."

This made the two Hong Kong tycoons even more curious.

"Mr. Feng, do you think it's possible to make monkey brains taste like tofu?"

Feng Zhengming had long anticipated that the Hong Kong tycoon would definitely be curious.

"Given your wealth and status in Hong Kong, you should be able to taste the imitation monkey brain in the movie, right?"

The two Hong Kong tycoons looked at each other, then smiled and indicated that they had indeed tasted it.

“I’ve eaten it before, but the taste is not as exaggerated as in the movies.”

"Not bad, in fact, you can still tell it's tofu."

Feng Zhengming laughed and said, "That's right. That dish can only be seen in movies. It's very difficult to make it taste like that if you really cook it."

The two Hong Kong tycoons obviously have not given up. They always feel that judging from Feng Zhengming's expression, he seems to have a better way.

"Looking at Mr. Feng's expression, it seems that you have a better solution?"

"I'm looking forward to seeing Mr. Feng doing something different for us."

Feng Zhengming's words indeed successfully aroused the curiosity of the two Hong Kong tycoons.

He smiled and responded: "When I have a chance, I will study it carefully and make it. I hope you can taste it together."

The two Hong Kong tycoons immediately smiled and nodded, saying that if Feng Zhengming figured out a way to make it, he would definitely notify them, and they would definitely try it then.

Next, Feng Zhengming and his friends began to watch the cooking process.

Although the raw materials used in Hong Kong are indeed luxurious enough, they are quite eye-catching on the scene.

But soon, Shandong cuisine chefs began to show off their skills.

Many people's attention was also attracted by the Shandong cuisine chefs.

The ingredients used by Shandong cuisine chefs may not be as luxurious as those used by Hong Kong chefs.

However, the solid basic skills demonstrated by the Shandong cuisine chefs still attracted the attention of many people at the scene.

Master Hou smiled and praised: "It can be seen that the chefs from your Shandong cuisine are very skilled this time. Their basic skills are quite solid."

Feng Zhengming responded with a smile: "These are actually things that a chef must know. When everyone learns to cook, they practice step by step like this."

Master Hou then asked: "I remember that your basic skills are very good, but you are so young, how did you practice?"

"Practice secretly." Feng Zhengming answered neatly.

Hearing this answer, everyone couldn't help but feel curious.

The Hong Kong City Tycoon asked, "Practicing secretly? Do you mean practicing on your own without telling your master or fellow practitioners?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded, and explained it carefully to the two tycoons in Hong Kong.

"Practicing in secret means that when my master and senior brothers are resting, I practice secretly by myself, especially when it is late at night and everyone is asleep. When I was learning cooking, I often practiced secretly in the backyard of Yanxi Building by myself."

Master Hou understood immediately.

"So that's how it is. It looks like you suffered a lot back then."

Feng Zhengming did not boast about the hardships he had endured, but still described them with a smile.

"The basic skills of a chef are nothing more than those, knife skills, spoon skills, and fire skills. There is no shortcut to mastering these things. You can only practice them over and over again."

The two national-level judges nodded in agreement.

The two Hong Kong tycoons could imagine how hard it was.

“In any industry, if you want to be the best, you need to put in enough effort.”

"Yes, Mr. Feng can become the national number one scholar. The efforts he made are worthy of admiration."

At this time, Feng Zhengming saw that Long Kunbao, a chef from Gangcheng, was deboning a baby pigeon.

He immediately pointed out: "It looks like Master Long is going to make the Crane Needle."

Chef Hou agreed: "It looks like it should be. This dish is a very famous one."

Feng Zhengming looked at the two Hong Kong tycoons.

"You two should eat this dish often, right?"

This question stunned the two tycoons.

"Hahaha, we can't eat this every day."

"Yes, this dish is still quite difficult to prepare, and it is impossible to eat it often."

Feng Zhengming nodded with a hint of longing in his expression.

"I heard that the squab pigeons made in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao are particularly good. I really want to go and taste them if I have the chance."

The two tycoons in Hong Kong smiled at each other and immediately extended an invitation to Feng Zhengming.

"Sure. Mr. Feng, if you have time, you can come over to our place and try our crispy pigeon or our Crane Needle."

"In fact, we not only eat squab, but also chicken, duck and goose."

Feng Zhengming immediately smiled and pointed towards the Shandong cuisine chef.

"It just so happens that our Shandong cuisine chef will also cook several different chicken and duck dishes today. Please try them and see how our Shandong cuisine is different from yours."

As he was speaking, Lin Guofu, a Shandong cuisine chef, was deboning a whole duck.

Without waiting for Feng Zhengming to speak, Chef Hou guessed, "The Shandong cuisine chef is deboning the whole duck, is he preparing to make Fulu duck?"

Feng Zhengming nodded and replied, "Yes, they have Fu Lu duck on their menu."

When the two Hong Kong tycoons heard about the dish called Fu Lu Duck, they were more or less curious.

"Fu Lu duck? Is it the Eight Treasure Gourd Duck?"

Feng Zhengming replied: "Yes, it can also be called Eight Treasure Gourd Duck."

The Hong Kong Tycoon was a little surprised: "Is this dish also Shandong cuisine?"

Chef Hou took over the conversation: "This dish did not originate from Shandong cuisine. It originated in the Jiangnan region. There is a record of Eight Treasure Duck in Tiao Ding Ji, and the cooking methods are somewhat similar. Later, this dish became very popular.

Today, this dish is found in the four major cuisines of Shandong, Guangdong, Sichuan, and Huaiyang, and the cooking methods are also different in each. "

After a brief introduction, Master Hou smiled and asked Feng Zhengming to introduce the Shandong cuisine method. Feng Zhengming then explained the Shandong cuisine method of the dish as he understood it.

"In Shandong cuisine, this dish is called Fulu Duck, because the homonym of gourd is Fulu. The cooking method is similar to that of other places. The bones of the whole duck should be removed, but the skin and meat of the duck should not be broken.

Then pour the pre-seasoned and fried stuffing into the duck's abdominal cavity and tie it into a gourd shape with string.

Then it is fried, roasted, and steamed to make the duck even more tender, and finally served on a plate with the prepared roasting sauce. "

After introducing the cooking methods of Shandong cuisine, Feng Zhengming went on to point out the cooking techniques of Shandong cuisine.

"In Shandong cuisine, this dish should be considered a braised dish."

Listening to Feng Zhengming's detailed introduction, the four judges around him were fascinated.

Seeing that everyone was quite interested in listening, Feng Zhengming simply said a few more words.

"The cooking methods of this dish are similar in different places. I think the most distinctive feature is what is stuffed into the duck's stomach. For example, in our Qilu land, we must stuff it with some Qilu specialty.

For example, we would put some seafood from the seaside, such as sea cucumbers, shrimps, scallops, etc. We could also add some diced pork, some mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, and some diced ham.”

Listening to Feng Zhengming's narration, it seems as if I can see him doing it with his own hands.

A tycoon in Hong Kong couldn't help but ask: "Feng Zhuangyuan, I'm curious, if you were to do it, would you make it different?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and asked, "Do you two really want me to cook every dish today?"

The Hong Kong City tycoon smiled and waved his hands: "That's not the case, I'm just curious."

Feng Zhengming looked at Lin Guofu who had already finished deboning the whole duck.

"If I were to make it, first of all, I would have to specially select the ducks, and secondly, I certainly couldn't use ordinary glutinous rice. I think I could use the Mingshui fragrant rice that is quite famous in Qilu.

All other raw materials must be of good quality and cannot be used casually.

And I think we can integrate some special ingredients from different places.

For example, we use some Yunnan and Guizhou specialty mushrooms, some seafood from Guangdong and Hong Kong, and some river fish.”

Feng Zhengming's list made the two Hong Kong tycoons want to swallow their saliva.

Master Hou couldn't help but laugh and pointed out: "Zhengming, if you do this, the cost will be too high, and the ingredients you use alone are more expensive than the duck itself."

Feng Zhengming responded seriously: "This dish is not just about eating duck. Otherwise, if we debone the whole duck, wouldn't it be a waste of the process?"

After hearing this, Master Hou thought about it and felt that this was indeed the truth.

The full name of this dish is: Eight Treasure Gourd Duck.

If the filling is not so exquisite, the dish will indeed lose the meaning of the process of deboning the whole duck.

Master Hou smiled and agreed with Feng Zhengming's opinion.

"Zhengming, you're right. The whole duck has been deboned for this dish, so it really should be stuffed with good ingredients to reflect the characteristics of Babao."

When Lin Guofu was frying the stuffing, Feng Zhengming also noticed that the ingredients he used were relatively conventional.

The glutinous rice is mixed with sea cucumbers, shrimps, diced pork, diced ham, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and scallops.

Finally, Lin Guofu mixed some pine nuts into it.

The addition of pine nuts is obviously to add a nutty flavor to the filling, and the pre-roasted pine nuts also add a crispy texture when mixed into the filling.

Seeing Lin Guofu's addition, Feng Zhengming couldn't help but feel happy for Lin Guofu.

He also made some creative attempts of his own.

In fact, Lin Guofu's idea of ​​adding pine nuts came from a little inspiration he got from a national cooking competition.

They once had pine nut siomai at a national cooking competition.

I thought it tasted quite good at that time.

The addition of pine nuts adds a unique nutty flavor, and the crunchy texture of pine nuts is also delicious.

This time he was in charge of making the Fu Lu duck, so he thought of adding pine nuts.

Feng Zhengming was caught staring at Lin Guofu and smiling.

The Hong Kong tycoon next to him was curious: "What is Feng Zhuangyuan laughing at?"

Feng Zhengming explained after hearing this.

"Oh, I saw the chef who made Fulu duck. He is one of my senior brothers. He also participated in the national cooking competition with me. This time he made some innovative improvements to Fulu duck. I think his little ideas are great."

Master Hou immediately asked, "Did he add the pine nuts?"

Feng Zhengming nodded and replied: "Yes, he added pine nuts to add fragrance to the filling and enhance the taste."

Master Hou then pointed out: "His method is a bit similar to the pine nut siu mai in the south."

"Perhaps Senior Brother Lin got the inspiration from the pine nut steamed buns he ate at the national competition." Feng Zhengming guessed.

Master Hou agreed: "It is indeed a good idea."

Although the ingredients used by the Shandong cuisine chefs on site may not be as expensive as those used by chefs in Hong Kong.

But they still showed all kinds of preparation.

Besides some classic Shandong dishes, they also prepare some less common dishes.

For example, Kong Xingli prepared a dish of lamb chops with sea cucumber.

This dish is a modified version of a halal dish.

Originally in halal cuisine, this dish is grilled lamb chops.

Later, the master chefs of Shandong cuisine improved the dish by adding sliced ​​sea cucumbers.

This combination adds some flavor to both the sea cucumber and the lamb.

It's just like the dish of braised sea cucumber elbow.

Because sea cucumber itself has no taste, the purpose of braising sea cucumber elbow is to borrow the flavor of the elbow, thus adding a stronger flavor to the sea cucumber.

The same meaning applies to lamb chops with sea cucumber.

Feng Zhengming made a big move on Kong Xingli's scene.

When the two Hong Kong tycoons praised him repeatedly.

He also introduced the two Hong Kong tycoons.

“In Shandong cuisine, sea cucumbers are not usually braised with scallions, because sea cucumbers are difficult to absorb into the flavor, and they are relatively light in flavor, so they are usually paired with some heavy-flavored ingredients.

For example, pork elbows, beef, and now Master Kong’s grilled lamb chops.”

The two Hong Kong tycoons suddenly understood what was going on.

Chef Hou smiled and said, "The Shandong cuisine chefs are really good at what they do. In fact, many of their dishes use sea cucumbers. I think maybe you can serve a sea cucumber banquet for Shandong cuisine."

When Feng Zhengming heard this idea, he also thought it was a great one.

If sea cucumber is cooked alone, the flavor may not be very strong. If other ingredients are added, the flavor of sea cucumber can be made stronger and more varied.

Seeing Feng Zhengming lost in thought, Master Hou also had expectations for him.

"I'm looking forward to you launching a sea cucumber banquet."

Feng Zhengming came back to his senses and looked at Master Hou's expectant face. He smiled and promised: "I will try my best." (End of this chapter)