From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 649 No Need for Showmanship

Hu Feng watched Feng Zhengming handle with ease the many customers who came specifically for him.

He was able to brazenly announce to everyone that he was about to open a branch of his dry rice shop in Yancheng.

At this moment, Hu Feng realized that Feng Zhengming and Zhang Minghai were completely different.

Hu Feng had met Master Yan and several of Zhang Minghai's senior brothers before.

Even in Hu Feng's eyes in the past, Feng Zhengming was not like this now.

Hu Feng and most people have always felt that.

Master Yan and his apprentices are all very good at cooking, but they don't know much about management. Their loyalty can easily be exploited.

But seeing another side of Feng Zhengming today made Hu Feng realize that this junior brother Zhang Minghai is very capable.

Not only is he an excellent cook, he was also able to become the champion of a national cooking competition at a young age.

More importantly, he obviously understands the ways of the world and business.

Will put his current fame to good use.

Hu Feng clearly spread the news in the hope of using Feng Zhengming's reputation to attract more customers to his Donglai Restaurant.

I want to take advantage of this opportunity to establish Donglai Restaurant's position in Yancheng.

The locals of Yancheng have the impression that the best restaurant in Yancheng is Donglai Restaurant.

In fact, this effect has obviously been achieved.

But Feng Zhengming also took advantage of this opportunity to successfully build momentum for himself.

Those who came here today are looking forward to the new branch of his Ganfanpu restaurant to be opened in Yancheng.

Feng Zhengming's method of taking advantage of the situation to promote himself made Hu Feng feel convinced.

The key is that his publicity will not give anyone a feeling of deliberate publicity.

Just like he said it himself.

This time he wants to walk all over the land of Qi and Lu, just to appreciate the cultural customs of different regions in Qi and Lu, and to taste the different special flavors of each place.

He opened a branch of Ganfanpu in Yancheng in order to better communicate about cooking skills and food.

Every customer in Yancheng will be a witness to this exchange of cooking skills and food.

He wants to let the people of Yancheng taste the most authentic Zhuangyuan Bazi meat.

He also wants to incorporate the local characteristics of Yancheng into his dry rice shop, so that diners in Yancheng can taste more different delicacies.

When he said this, the people in Yancheng who were present would feel that their hometown and themselves were valued by the national culinary champion.

Hu Feng's eyes lit up as he watched the TV station's female host interviewing Feng Zhengming.

It is obvious that the TV station wants to promote Feng Zhengming in a big way.

And judging from the expressions of the female host and most people.

They were all very much looking forward to and welcoming Feng Zhengming's opening of a dry rice shop branch in Yancheng, and even felt that it was an honor for Yancheng that Feng Zhengming came to open a branch.

Hu Feng thought about it himself, and he couldn't help but feel.

Feng Zhengming opened the first dry rice shop branch outside Quancheng in Yancheng.

This seems to be really an honor for their Yancheng.

Feng Zhengming always had a smile on his face, and he was able to give very detailed answers to questions from the TV station and many people at the scene.

Some people even deliberately made things difficult for him by asking him questions about cooking.

Feng Zhengming would also give some answers.

“Stir-fried pork kidney? That dish is actually very difficult to make. Not to mention making it at home, even chefs in many restaurants and hotels may not be able to make it well.

The key point is that it is already difficult to cut into the kidneys, and the cooking temperature of the dish is also very high.

So I don’t recommend making that dish at home, because if it’s not done well, it really tastes terrible. You can make some simple dishes at home.”

This was Feng Zhengming's answer to a question about whether he could make stir-fried pork kidney at home.

When Feng Zhengming said that he could make some simple dishes at home, someone immediately asked what dishes were suitable for cooking at home?
The key is to cook at home. Everyone hopes to be able to cook some simple and delicious dishes.

Feng Zhengming recommends some stewed and braised dishes.

“Stewed and braised dishes have relatively low requirements on heat and knife skills. For example, if you make braised fish, braised pork, or braised beef at home, you can just cut it into large pieces.

Then after the flavor is adjusted, you can slowly cook it in the pot. When the meat is cooked and tender, you can eat it.

If you think that eating meat alone is not good, you can add some of your favorite side dishes to it. "

The answer given by Feng Zhengming made sense to the person who asked the question and everyone present.

Of course, after a series of questions, what everyone is more concerned about is what dish Feng Zhengming will cook today?

I know everyone is looking forward to cooking at Donglai Restaurant myself.

Feng Zhengming also smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Okay, since we are in Yancheng, and everyone in Yancheng is so welcoming, I will cook for you in person at Donglai Restaurant today and make a more traditional vinegar and pepper fish, and also a dish of braised shrimp and cabbage for you."

After announcing the preparation of these two dishes, Feng Zhengming also looked at Hu Feng.

"Boss Hu should support me in making these two dishes, right?"

Hu Feng nodded quickly: "Of course, of course. We will definitely ensure the supply of raw materials for these two dishes today, so that the champion chef can prepare these two dishes well for our diners in Yancheng."

Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded, then said goodbye to everyone in the lobby and turned back to the kitchen.

When Feng Zhengming returned to the kitchen, the people who were watching him in the lobby immediately found a seat to sit down.

At this point, many people realized that they had not reserved seats in advance and now there were no seats left.

Some people come with family or friends.

They have already taken up their seats.

After meeting Feng Zhengming, they immediately prepared to order food.

Seeing this situation, Hu Feng quickly arranged for people who did not have seats yet to sit down on the chairs waiting in line outside.

Feng Zhengming doesn't care about the people queuing in the restaurant today. He knows that Hu Feng will definitely treat them well.

He quickly returned to the kitchen and first found his sixth senior brother to tell him about the two dishes he was going to make today.

I heard that the junior brother was going to make two dishes by himself.

Zhang Minghai thought for a moment and nodded: "There are a lot of ingredients for these two dishes in the kitchen. We may need to prepare fish soup, prawns and cabbage. Oh, fish, Zhengming, what kind of fish do you want to use?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and replied, "Use sea bass."

Zhang Minghai quickly looked at the prepared ingredients and felt that they might not be enough, so he asked his apprentice to notify Hu Feng and ask him to call and have more sea bass sent over.

Hu Feng naturally did not dare to delay after receiving the news. He quickly called the supplier to inform them to deliver the goods, and emphasized that the goods must be fresh and not too small.

Feng Zhengming took a look at the sea bass in the kitchen and made a decision immediately.

"After slaughtering all the sea bass, cut off the two slices of meat and use all the fish bones to make soup. Remember to stir-fry some pork belly before making the soup. Make sure to stir-fry until the oil comes out, then fry the green onion and ginger.

Add the fish bones and fry until they are browned, then pour all into a large pot and fill with water to make soup. Remember not to add salt and keep the soup boiling over high heat.

After hearing Feng Zhengming's order, someone in the kitchen immediately did what he said.

All the sea bass in the kitchen were slaughtered and two pieces of fish were filleted.

Chop the fish bones into small pieces and put them all into the pot to cook soup as Feng Zhengming requested.

In fact, most people in the kitchen understand this process.

A large pot of milky white fish soup was stewed.

As for the fish, Feng Zhengming asked them to put it all in ice water first.

"Don't touch the fish meat yet. Wait until a customer orders it before preparing it." According to Feng Zhengming's request, the fish soup was quickly stewed in the kitchen.

Then Feng Zhengming took the people in the kitchen to teach them how to mince shrimps, and how to keep the various parts of the shrimp head after mincing, and even how to deal with the shrimp shells?

After seeing how Feng Zhengming handled the food, everyone in the kitchen of Donglai Restaurant realized for the first time that although they were on the coast of Yancheng, they were not as good as Feng Zhengming in handling shrimps.

When grinding shrimps, Feng Zhengming did not cut off the front end of the shrimp head. He just cut a hole in the shrimp head and picked out the sandbag inside.

This way the shrimp head is still almost intact.

Then the shrimp whiskers and claws will be minced off.

For the shrimp tail part, just peel off most of the shrimp shell, but leave the shrimp tail and trim it with scissors.

I have to admit that the shrimp tails trimmed by Feng Zhengming are indeed very beautiful.

Afterwards, Feng Zhengming fried the shrimp heads and shrimp shells together to produce shrimp oil.

Then pour the fried shrimp heads and shells into a large pot, add water and cook out shrimp soup.

After stewing the shrimp soup, filter it and take out the shrimp heads separately.

Everyone in the kitchen watched the whole process and felt that the prawn was being fully utilized in Feng Zhengming's hands.

Feng Zhengming was almost ready, and the order list had already been sent to the kitchen.

Almost every table has two dishes: vinegar and pepper fish and braised cabbage with prawns.

Feng Zhengming then asked the people in the kitchen to slice the fish into slightly thicker slices.

After seasoning and coating the fish fillets with batter, blanch them in water.

Then scoop out the milky white fish soup that has been stewed in advance.

Feng Zhengming seasoned the fish soup.

First add a little salt to give the fish soup a base, then add vinegar and pepper to the fish soup.

When adding pepper, first scoop up a spoonful of soup, pour the pepper into the large spoonful of soup to dissolve it, and then add it to the soup in the pot.

Bring the soup to a boil, then taste it to make sure it's delicious. Pour the fish soup into bowls and place them in bowls filled with the blanched and tender fish fillets.

With this operation, Feng Zhengming can serve about four or five servings of vinegar and pepper fish at a time.

This efficiency in serving dishes even surprised Senior Brother Zhang Minghai who was standing nearby.

He had never expected that his junior fellow apprentice would serve the food in this way.

He felt that his junior brother should already be very familiar with this process.

That’s why it is prepared very precisely.

After serving the vinegar and pepper fish, Feng Zhengming began to prepare the braised prawns and cabbage.

To cook shrimp and cabbage, you need to stir-fry the cabbage first.

Feng Zhengming uses shrimp oil to stir-fry cabbage.

Stir-fry the cabbage until it collapses, then add shrimp soup to the cabbage and adjust the taste at the same time.

Finally, add the shrimps and stew with the cabbage.

When the cabbage is stewed until it is soft and well-seasoned, take it out and put it on a plate, put the cabbage underneath, place the shrimps one by one on top, and finally drizzle some shrimp oil on it.

Also place a shrimp head on the top of the plate.

The presentation of the dish alone was enough to make everyone in the kitchen exclaim in amazement.

Zhang Minghai had gone to Quancheng before and had seen Feng Zhengming cook shrimp and cabbage in Huiquanlou.

At that time, Zhang Minghai kept wondering whether it was very troublesome to make this dish into such a beautiful shape?

Today I saw Feng Zhengming doing a whole set of preparation and cooking.

Zhang Minghai realized that this was not a very difficult dish to make.

Just need to prepare in advance, this dish can be quickly prepared in large quantities.

The key point is that after Feng Zhengming arranged the dish in this way, the dish immediately looked quite high-end.

After the first plate was prepared, Feng Zhengming then handed the plating over to Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong.

He quickly finished cooking one dish after another.

When all the ingredients are prepared in advance.

Even though all the tables ordered these two dishes today, Feng Zhengming's efficiency in serving the dishes was still quite high.

This made everyone in the kitchen of Donglai Restaurant feel for the first time that Feng Zhengming, the top scholar, was different from others.

The chef in the kitchen was shocked, and the customers in the restaurant were even more shocked when they saw the dishes served.

Many customers felt annoyed and thought that they should borrow a camera to take pictures of such beautiful dishes.

Naturally, the people from the TV station quickly took pictures of the dishes.

Among the customers who came today, there were naturally some chefs from Yancheng.

There are even some famous chefs from other restaurants in Yancheng.

But when the chefs in Yancheng saw the two dishes prepared by Feng Zhengming, they were also surprised.

Who would have thought that vinegar and pepper fish and braised cabbage with prawns could be made like this?

The key is not only the beautiful presentation, but also the fact that when you taste it, you will be impressed by the flavor.

Especially the seasoning of vinegar and pepper fish.

The unique sour and spicy taste, coupled with the delicious fish soup, makes you unable to stop drinking it.

There was a table where several master chefs from Yancheng sat together.

When they tasted the vinegar and pepper fish, the chefs looked at each other in surprise.

After a long while, one of them sighed: "I am convinced. This vinegar and pepper fish really impressed me. The fish meat is tender and smooth, and the key is the base flavor. The vinegar and pepper flavor of this soup is so delicious."

Another person followed up and said, "What if he is the top scholar?"

The oldest chef among them tasted the vinegar and pepper fish carefully.

Then take a closer look at the braised cabbage with shrimps and shrimp heads.

Finally, I couldn't help but mutter, "Why didn't I think of this? This is how the shrimp and cabbage dish can be presented."

This remark attracted the attention of the other people at the table, and they all agreed with it.

A plating design like this may not change the taste of the dish.

But this makes the whole dish look more beautiful.

Another chef tasted the cabbage on his plate.

"How is this shrimp and cabbage stew made? It tastes really delicious."

These two dishes by Feng Zhengming really demonstrate his strength.

There are no fancy techniques, let alone deliberate display of knife skills.

This was completely different from what the Yancheng chefs had expected before they came.