From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After the cold dishes, the first dish served to Feng Zhengming and his friends was a fried dish.

The chef who served the dish was obviously nervous and excited. After putting the dish down, he stood aside as if he wanted to speak, and even uttered a word for a moment.

Feng Zhengming observed the dish and asked first, "What kind of dish is this?"

After being asked this question, the chef who served the dish finally came to his senses.

"Master, Master, this is fried spring rolls."

Seeing his disciple so nervous, Luan Bosheng was a little amused.

"Don't you always say that you want to meet the master uncle? Why are you so nervous now that the master uncle is here and serving you a dish?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and asked again: "Don't be nervous, just treat me as an ordinary customer. Let me ask you again, what is your dish?"

Without waiting for the other party to answer, Feng Zhengming reminded: "Think it over carefully."

The chef who served the dish was stunned for a moment and looked at his dish carefully.

Then he looked at his master who was sitting there.

Luan Bosheng actually wanted to give a hint, but then he thought that his apprentice's wrong answer might be an opportunity for him to improve.

So Luan Bosheng did not give any hint, but waited quietly for his disciple to answer.

After a struggle, the chef finally answered: "It's fried spring rolls. We have fried spring rolls in Boshan."

Hearing this answer, Luan Bosheng showed a disappointed expression.

Feng Zhengming smiled slightly and picked up a piece of food with chopsticks to taste it.

When you bite it, the shell is quite crispy and the filling inside is quite filling.

Feng Zhengming also unfolded the outer skin and looked carefully at the contents.

After reading it, he began to give his comments.

"We have two kinds of Shandong cuisine: fried spring rolls and fried spring pieces. Yours should be called fried spring pieces. If it is a fried spring roll, it should be rolled up and completely wrapped, not cut like you did."

After pointing out the problem, Feng Zhengming then pointed at the fillings in the spring rolls on the plate.

"The filling is great, with chives, eggs, dried tofu, fried shredded pork, and some bean stalks, which is quite crisp and delicious."

After listening to Feng Zhengming's comments, Luan Bosheng could only give his apprentice some advice.

"Haven't I taught you this? The skin for fried spring rolls is rolled up after being hung out, and it's not cut. When it's cut like this, it's called fried spring rolls."

Feng Zhengming took over the conversation: "Fried spring rolls can also be fried with batter, which makes them even crispier. Your method without batter is also very good."

Hou Dong couldn't help but ask: "What is Doujing?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and explained: "Bean stalks? They are mung bean sprouts. Cut off the head and tail, and the stem in the middle is called bean stalks."

After Feng Zhengming's explanation, the three people present immediately understood.

Feng Zhengming gave some encouragement to the chef standing there.

"You actually cooked this dish very well. You fried the stuffing inside, but not too much, and the seasoning was not too heavy, which is very good. However, you should distinguish between fried spring rolls and fried spring rolls in the future."

The chef quickly agreed: "I'll remember this, uncle. I'll make sure to tell them apart next time."

Luan Bosheng smiled and waved his hand: "Alright, let the next one serve."

The first chef to serve the dish walked out.

When he returned to the kitchen, his fellow apprentices saw what had happened and couldn't help but come forward to ask questions.

"How is it? Are you satisfied with the first dish, Uncle Master?"

"Yeah, come on, tell me."

"Are you particularly picky? Have you been criticized?"

“It was approved, huh?”

When the chef who served the food heard what his fellow apprentices said, he quickly repeated the whole process.

"I wasn't criticized. My uncle is a very good person. He pointed out some of my problems and corrected my mistakes. My master didn't criticize me in front of my uncle either."

Hearing this, the fellow disciples all breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's OK as long as I didn't get hit by a bear."

Next came the second dish, which was a braised meat dish.

The meat was served with a coating that looked as if it had just been pulled out of the coals.

But the rich aroma of sauce and meat is quite tempting.

When Luan Bosheng saw this dish served, a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Zhengming, this dish is a unique dish here, Boshan marinated pork."

Feng Zhengming looked at the marinated meat and asked directly, "Did you use Zhengtang soy sauce?"

Luan Bosheng nodded: "Yes, Boshan dishes all use Zhengtang soy sauce, pure soybean fermented soy sauce, without other impurities. Use that kind of soy sauce to marinate the pork belly, and you will get this effect in the end."

Feng Zhengming looked at the dish and smiled as he gave Luan Bosheng some small suggestions.

"Brother Luan, it's not a good idea to serve this dish alone. My suggestion is to serve it with some unfilled fire-baked bread."

As he spoke, Feng Zhengming also made some gestures.

"Don't make it too big, maybe a little smaller than your palm. When you serve it, put it in a circle around the plate. It's best to make a hole on one side so that it's easier for customers to pick up the meat and eat it."

When Luan Bosheng heard this, he immediately thought this was a great idea.

"Okay, okay, Zhengming, this is a good idea. Pairing it with some roasted meat can help relieve the greasiness."

Feng Zhengming reminded with a smile: "In addition to fire cakes, you can also pair them with lotus leaf cakes. The small lotus leaf cakes made from leavened dough must be steamed fresh. This way, they can be placed in a circle and look just as beautiful."

After this demonstration, Luan Bosheng and the apprentice who served the dishes understood.

After making the suggestion, Feng Zhengming also picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and tasted it.

The whole meat is so tender when you put it in your mouth.

There will be absolutely no problem of getting food stuck in your teeth.

The lean meat and fat meat are almost crispy when eaten.

The rich aroma of meat and sauce lingers between your lips and teeth.

Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong all liked this dish very much.

Everyone couldn't help but eat one more piece.

After this dish, the next one is considered a representative of Boshan cuisine, tofu box.

Seeing the tofu box on the table, Feng Zhengming introduced it to his three companions with a smile.

"This is a representative of Boshan cuisine. Come and try it."

Feng Zhengming also picked up one with chopsticks.

No one said anything, and first they tasted the tofu box.

Tofu is cut into rectangular blocks.

Then fry it in a pan with oil to create a hard shell on the outside.

After it has cooled, cut one side, but do not cut completely through, leave it connected.

Then take out the tofu inside.

Prepare the filling, stir-fry the minced meat, chopped scallops and chopped black fungus together.

Simply season with soy sauce, salt and sugar.

Fill the fried fillings into the tofu box.

Then place it on a plate and steam it in a pot.

When serving, pour the prepared sauce over it.

When you take a bite, the tofu has absorbed enough soup, and inside is the filling with a very rich flavor.

The whole dish tasted salty and fresh, and it was indeed quite delicious. After tasting it, Feng Zhengming smiled and looked at the chef who prepared this dish.

"Brother Luan, since he can cook this dish, this must be a disciple you are very proud of, right?"

Luan Bosheng did not hide anything and immediately nodded with a smile.

"His name is Wu Tao. He started to be my apprentice when he was sixteen. I think he is thirty this year?"

Wu Tao nodded quickly when he heard that his master remembered him so clearly: "Yes, Master. I am just thirty this year and have been following you for fourteen years."

Luan Bosheng was very satisfied with his apprentice.

"After fourteen years, I have mastered the skills."

Feng Zhengming agreed with Luan Bosheng's evaluation.

"Indeed, the cooking skills are excellent. This tofu box may seem simple, but the key is the ingredients. I ate one and it tasted really good."

Wu Tao quickly expressed his gratitude to Feng Zhengming: "Thank you for the compliment, I will continue to work hard."

Feng Zhengming also gave some suggestions.

“For this dish, I think when steaming it, you can put it in a soup bowl and add some soup, so that the tofu box can absorb some of the soup during the steaming process.

In addition, you can tie a layer of green onions on each tofu box, tie it up like this, and then decorate it with the bean sprouts, pinching off a little bit, leaving a little bit of bean sprout stems, and decorate it like this.

It's like a small treasure chest, and the bean sprouts are like the small key to open the treasure chest."

After hearing such suggestions, not only Wu Tao, but even Luan Bosheng was stunned.

Neither the master nor the apprentice had thought that tofu boxes could be made in this way.

Feng Zhengming saw that both the master and the disciple were stunned.

He quickly smiled and waved his hands to explain: "I'm sorry, Senior Brother Luan, I'm used to it. I'm used to making some small changes on the plating. If I broke your traditional way of doing things, I apologize to you."

Feng Zhengming's apology drew Luan Bosheng's attention back.

He quickly looked at Feng Zhengming: "No, no, Zhengming, you don't have to apologize. Your idea is really good. You really deserve to be the champion of the national cooking competition. Your plating design is very good in both shape and meaning."

In fact, Luan Bosheng himself has been conducting research in this area.

Thinking about how to make some Boshan dishes more refined.

It allows people in Zibo City to not only eat authentic Boshan cuisine, but also enjoy the pleasing food.

Feng Zhengming's plating design really gave Luan Bosheng a lot of inspiration.

Luan Bosheng couldn't help but feel that he could really try Feng Zhengming's method.

Especially after he took over the restaurant.

A whole set of improvements can be made.

By then, not only will our own dishes be authentic, but more importantly, each dish will look beautiful when served on the table.

It would be hard for the business of our own restaurant to be bad.

At this moment, Luan Bosheng was very grateful to Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming's arrival indeed greatly broadened his horizons.

The fourth dish is a soup.

It is pork intestines stewed with pig blood.

This soup is also a very famous dish in Boshan cuisine.

After the soup was served, when the lid of the soup bowl was opened, the aroma immediately whetted the appetites of Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong.

The three of them had almost finished the previous dishes, but when this soup was served, they suddenly became hungry again.

Feng Zhengming still tasted the soup first.

After tasting it, he looked at the chef who was serving the dish with a smile: "Are you nervous? There is no salt in the soup."

As soon as these words came out, the chef who was serving the dish was stunned.

Then he scooped it up with a clean spoon and tasted it himself.

Luan Bosheng also tasted it.

The chef who served the dish turned pale instantly.

Luan Bosheng almost lost his temper on the spot.

But he was held down by Feng Zhengming.

"Brother, don't be angry. This must be because you are nervous. Although you forgot to add salt, this dish is still well cooked. The soup should be a good soup."

Feng Zhengming then asked the chef: "Do you know what technique this dish is?"

This time the chef answered more directly: "Stew."

Seeing the other party's answer, Feng Zhengming nodded, but continued to ask: "What stew?"

The chef was stunned.

What stew?

For a moment, the chef didn't know how to answer.
Seeing the chef stunned, Luan Bosheng was so angry that he laughed.

"Are you so nervous? Uncle Master has already told you the answer, why are you still thinking about it?"

The chef who served the dish was stunned by what the master said, but after thinking for a moment, he came up with the answer.

"Oh, it's stew."

Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded: "Yes, it's a stew."

Next, Feng Zhengming introduced himself to the three people accompanying him.

"Stew is usually made when the ingredients have been processed in advance and cooked. There are many types of stews, such as white stew and red stew. This dish is clear stew."

Speaking of this, Feng Zhengming also took the opportunity to introduce foreign cuisine to everyone present.

"In Western cuisine, there are actually many stews, and they often use red stews. For example, they have a famous dish, red wine stewed beef brisket."

Listening to Feng Zhengming's explanation really taught everyone present a lot.

Then the chef took the dish back, seasoned it again and sent it back.

Feng Zhengming quickly reminded Luan Bosheng: "Brother, you can't serve any more dishes. This is already rich enough. If you serve more dishes, we won't be able to eat it."

Luan Bosheng nodded and asked the chef who served the food to go back and tell the kitchen staff not to serve any more food.

"Yes, yes, we can't waste it. Tell the kitchen staff to stop cooking."

After the chef left, Luan Bosheng also said with a smile: "Junior brother, in fact, I only have these four apprentices who can cook here. The following dishes may also be handed over to these four people."

Feng Zhengming immediately praised: "Brother Luan, these four disciples are all good at cooking. Although they were a little nervous today, they performed very well overall. Brother Luan, when you take over this place in the future, you may have to rely on them."

Luan Bosheng is also very confident in his apprentices: "They should follow me."

Seeing that Luan Bosheng was so confident, Feng Zhengming kindly reminded him.

"Brother, you still have to be careful. You have to prepare for some things in advance and leave yourself some room. Running a restaurant by yourself is not as easy as it is now."

After hearing Feng Zhengming's reminder, Luan Bosheng also became alert.

"Thank you for coming this time, Junior Brother. Your visit has given me enough confidence. Junior Brother, rest assured that I will be well prepared and will take over this restaurant."

Feng Zhengming knew that Luan Bosheng was a cautious person, so he naturally felt very relieved.

During the rest of the meal, Feng Zhengming and Luan Bosheng chatted while eating, and Feng Zhengming continued to give Luan Bosheng advice on how to replicate the 44th Seat.

Through this simple dinner, Luan Bosheng also received a lot of useful advice from Feng Zhengming.

After dinner, Feng Zhengming and his friends were arranged to go back to their rooms to rest.

Luan Bosheng waited until the restaurant closed and took care of all the kitchen affairs before returning home.

During this period, Luan Bosheng was reminded by Feng Zhengming.

He did not tell anyone that he was planning to take over the restaurant. (End of this chapter)