From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 662: Two Cantonese Chefs Confronted
The Cantonese chefs at Jingcheng Hotel and Daocheng Seafood Restaurant all cook sweet and sour pork.

This is a very classic and relatively simple Cantonese dish.

And this Cantonese dish is also quite famous.

I heard Feng Zhengming and Jiang Chengzhe mention this when they were communicating.

How good is a Cantonese chef?
The most challenging part is actually the three courses.

One of the dishes is sweet and sour pork, and the other two are stir-fried beef noodles and stir-fried choy sum.

When the famous chefs from Hong Kong came to Quancheng for exchanges last time, Feng Zhengming tasted the stir-fried choy sum made by Long Kunbao.

At that time, Feng Zhengming was truly amazed. He had never thought that simple stir-fried vegetable hearts could be so delicious.

Two Cantonese chefs preparing sweet and sour pork.

From the very beginning when it came to choosing the meat, the two chefs were completely different.

The Cantonese chef at Jingcheng Hotel uses pork belly, which is a very standard three-layer pork belly.

The chef from Gangcheng at Daocheng Seafood Restaurant uses plum meat.

To put it simply, the pork belly used by Cantonese chefs in Beijing is fatter.

The Hong Kong chef of the seafood restaurant uses lean pork belly.

Next, the two of them cut the meat into small pieces without making any difference, with the thickness being less than one centimeter.

First put a little bit of salt and sugar into the bottom, and then coat the meat with starch.

When coating, first add an egg yolk.

Coat each piece of meat evenly with egg yolk.

Apply a layer of cornstarch on the surface of the meat.

There are certain differences in the techniques of the two chefs here.

The Cantonese chefs at Beijing Hotel not only carefully coat each piece of meat with a thin layer of flour, but also gently squeeze it with their hands to ensure that the flour is tightly coated on the surface of the meat.

The chef from Gangcheng Seafood Restaurant here was obviously a little casual when it came to coating the food with batter.

However, from his technique, it can be seen that he also ensures that there is not too much powder coating.

Next, there were some differences in the two chefs' approach.

The Cantonese chef from Beijing Hotel stir-fry the sauce first.

Moreover, the Cantonese chefs at Beijing Hotel use quite a lot of sauces for stir-frying.

First, add white vinegar to the pot, then add tomato sauce and tomato paste, then salt and sugar, then some jam, spicy soy sauce, and the juice of half a fresh lemon.

Also add a few slices of red pepper at the end.

Although the stir-fry sauce contains a lot of ingredients, in fact, the Cantonese chefs at Jingcheng Hotel only stir-fry a little bit in the wok.

Stir-fry slowly over low heat until all the seasonings are blended, then serve in a small bowl.

While the Cantonese chef at the Capital Hotel was frying the sauce, the chef at the Seafood Restaurant had already fried the meat.

The frying process of the two chefs is similar. They both coat the meat with flour in 40% oil.

First fry the meat in the pan until the shell becomes hard, then take out the meat, let the oil temperature rise, and then put the meat back into the high temperature oil to fry again.

It makes the shell more crispy and also allows the oil that has been eaten to be spit out.

After frying, the two chefs have different processes for scooping out the meat.

The Cantonese chef at the Beijing Hotel did not turn off the fire, but kept the oil warm before taking out the meat and draining the oil.

The chef from Gangcheng Seafood Restaurant picks up the pot and pours the food directly into the colander.

After the meat is fried, the next step is the actual frying process.

At this time, the chef from Gangcheng starts to stir-fry the sauce in the pan.

A simple tomato sauce, then add some white vinegar and salt and sugar for seasoning, put the prepared green and red pepper slices and pineapple into the pan and stir-fry, add some starch, then put the fried meat into the pan and stir-fry, let the juice evenly coat the meat and serve.

On the other hand, the Cantonese chef of the Beijing Hotel put a few slices of onion into the pot and stir-fried them until fragrant.

Then add the prepared green and red pepper slices and pineapple chunks, and return the previously fried juice to the pan.

Then pour the fried meat into the pot.

Then stir-fry quickly over high heat without thickening, so that the juice can evenly coat the meat and quickly serve.

Both Cantonese chefs have already prepared the sweet and sour pork.

Overall, there is almost no big difference between the sweet and sour pork on both sides.

But Feng Zhengming could see at a glance that the level of the Cantonese chefs at the Beijing Hotel should be higher.

The Cantonese chefs at the Capital Hotel clearly pay a lot of attention to detail.

In this regard, the chef from Hong Kong City who works at the Island City Seafood Restaurant is in comparison.

It cannot be said that his approach was bad, it was just that the details were lacking.

Especially in front of so many chefs.

Not only Feng Zhengming, but other chefs can also see it.

However, although the Cantonese chefs at Beijing Hotel pay more attention to details, the key is whether the food tastes good.

So next, everyone tasted the cooking skills of the two chefs respectively.

Feng Zhengming first tasted the cooking of this Hong Kong city chef from the island city.

The taste is sweet and sour, with a little bit of pineapple fruity flavor, and the sweet and sour pork tastes good, and it is well-flavored inside and out.

Then Feng Zhengming ate sweet and sour pork made by the Cantonese chef of Jingcheng Hotel.

The moment he entered the entrance, he immediately realized the gap between the two of them.

The sweet and sour pork made by the Cantonese chef of Jingcheng Hotel is so crispy that the crust is still a little crispy when you bite it.

When you bite it open, the pork belly inside is quite tender.

And because the pork belly is fat and lean, and paired with the sweet and sour sauce on the outside, it tastes unique.

Especially with the addition of jam and lemon juice, the whole dish tastes full of fruity aroma.

After eating this way, we can compare the difference in cooking skills between the two chefs.

The chef of Gangcheng was patted by Gao Fengyi and asked to try it himself.

As soon as he ate it, he immediately realized the gap between himself and the other party.

At this time, Zheng Chengsheng from the Beijing Hotel chef team spoke.

"Sweet and sour pork is not a very difficult Cantonese dish, but if you want to make it well, there is a very important requirement in Cantonese cuisine..."

Before Zheng Chengsheng could finish his words, the chef from Gangcheng took over and spoke out.

“The shell should remain crispy when you eat it.”

After hearing what the chef from Gangcheng said, Feng Zhengming immediately understood.

Is sweet and sour pork difficult?
Whether you are watching the Capital Hotel or the Island City Seafood Restaurant, you won’t feel this dish is difficult to prepare from the two chefs’ perspective.

However, if you want to cook this dish to a high enough level, it is obvious that many of the tips and details are not easy to master.

Especially when collecting the juice at the end, how can we make sure that the shell retains some crispness.

This is indeed not easy to do well.

The chef from Hong Kong City realized his own gap and put away his previous contempt for the chefs from the Beijing Hotel.

At this moment, the chef from Hong Kong City understood that it was not that there were no talented chefs in the mainland.

But he himself had never encountered it before.

In his opinion, Feng Zhengming and several chefs from the Beijing Hotel today were really good at cooking.

The chef from Gangcheng understood that he really had no right to be proud in front of them.

Gao Fengyi was not at all unhappy that the chef of their Island City Seafood Restaurant was outdone. Instead, he had a smile on his face, as if he was very happy to see this situation.

Feng Zhengming vaguely guessed that the chef from Hong Kong City who was hired by the Island City might not have been recognized by Gao Fengyi.

Therefore, Gao Fengyi should be somewhat dissatisfied with the cooking skills of this Hong Kong chef. However, this big restaurant is partly invested by Hong Kong businessmen after all.

Not to mention Gao Fengyi, the island city should not interfere too much in the arrangements of the chef.

This time, Gao Fengyi invited chefs from the Beijing Hotel.

They also specially arranged time for Feng Zhengming to meet them.

He probably wanted to use Feng Zhengming and the chefs from the Beijing Hotel to teach the chef from Hong Kong City a lesson.

It can be regarded as a way to reduce the prestige of the chef in Hong Kong City.

Now Gao Fengyi’s idea has indeed been realized.

The chef of Hong Kong City has realized that his cooking skills are not only top-notch in Hong Kong City.

After coming to the mainland, there is still a big gap in his craftsmanship.

Next, Feng Zhengming watched the chefs from the Beijing Hotel prepare a few dishes.

Even Chef Wang, the successor of Tan’s cuisine, made a dish.

The dish made by Chef Wang is considered a classic Tan family dish, the king prawns.

Lo Han Prawn, or should it be called one shrimp with two flavors.

Cut the prawns from the second section.

After slicing the lower part of the shrimp tail, spread the beaten shrimp paste on it, and put some black sesame seeds on it, then fry it in a pan.

The shrimp head part above is made in a similar way to how Shandong cuisine cooks prawns.

After the dish is cooked, one shrimp can be eaten in two different ways.

Feng Zhengming has also cooked this dish.

Today, when he saw Chef Wang, the successor of Tan family cuisine, cooking, he did not feel too much pressure.

This dish is not difficult to prepare.

The only difference may be that different chefs may have different ways of seasoning the shrimp heads.

Throughout the whole day, Feng Zhengming had a lot of exchanges with the chefs of Beijing Hotel.

In particular, I had a lot of communication with Zheng Chengsheng.

Learn some unique techniques of Huaiyang cuisine from Zheng Chengsheng.

At the end of the day, Feng Zhengming still gained a lot.

However, when we returned to the hotel at night.

When Feng Zhengming parted with Gao Fengyi, he spoke to him privately.

"Brother Gao, I will not participate in your discussion tomorrow. I will probably walk around the city tomorrow. I will leave the city the day after tomorrow. There are still some places I haven't visited yet. I can't stay in the city any longer."

Gao Fengyi was a little surprised: "Are you leaving now?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded: "Yes, it's time to go. There are still a few cities to visit next. I have gained a lot from this trip, but I still have to finish traveling through the land of Qilu before the end of the year."

Gao Fengyi knew that this was the key thing Feng Zhengming had to do on this trip.

Moreover, he still felt somewhat guilty for deliberately arranging a meeting between Feng Zhengming and the chef of Beijing Hotel and letting him represent the Shandong cuisine chefs to compete with the other party.

So Gao Fengyi saw that Feng Zhengming didn't want to continue to participate in the subsequent exchanges and was about to leave the island city.

It’s not good to keep Feng Zhengming here any longer.

Gao Fengyi could only nod: "Then I can only wish the champion a smooth journey ahead."

Feng Zhengming smiled and responded: "Thank you."

After saying goodbye to Gao Fengyi, Feng Zhengming returned to his hotel room.

Luo Qing was already waiting for him in the room.

When he saw Luo Qing, Feng Zhengming suddenly felt relaxed.

I told Luo Qing about some of my experiences today.

Luo Qing didn't interrupt too much. She stayed beside Feng Zhengming and listened to him talk about his experiences today.

Some appropriate echoes will also be given.

Wait until Feng Zhengming finishes speaking.

Luo Qing asked: "Don't you like this arrangement today?"

Feng Zhengming looked at Luo Qing, but he didn't expect that Luo Qing could see that he didn't like being arranged.

"I don't like it a little bit. I came out this time because I wanted to walk around freely and see the different scenery in various parts of Qilu according to my own ideas.

But today, I feel very uncomfortable with the arrangements made by Daocheng.

The key point is that there are obviously good chefs in the island city who can outshine the chef invited from the port city.

They don’t want to offend each other, so they made these arrangements today.”

Luo Qing's expression suddenly changed: "Isn't it a bit too much for them to do this?"

Feng Zhengming let out a breath of foul air.

"As the saying goes, don't hit a smiling person. They have always been smiling and accompanying us. They have also arranged things very well for us. Today, I have exchanged a lot of things with several chefs from the Jingcheng Hotel."

At this point, Feng Zhengming looked at Luo Qing and sighed helplessly: "I can't be angry."

Luo Qing hesitated for a moment and asked, "Are you planning to leave early?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "I just told Gao Fengyi that I will not attend the exchange they arranged tomorrow. Tomorrow I want you to accompany me to take a walk around the city."

Luo Qing smiled and agreed: "Okay, I don't have anything to do tomorrow."

Feng Zhengming also smiled and pulled Luo Qing into his arms.

"Luckily you are here with me. How about you ask Uncle San for a leave and travel with me through the next few cities?"

Luo Qing thought about it and was really tempted.

The two have been in a relationship for such a long time, but it seems like they haven't been together for a long time.

Although Feng Zhengming will definitely have to walk around the rest of the city.

Luo Qing felt that she should be able to keep up.

Just when Luo Qing was about to agree.

Feng Zhengming suddenly changed his words.

"I forgot that we are walking. You should not come with us. Walking may be too hard for you, and Uncle San also needs you here."

Luo Qing couldn't help but pout subconsciously when she heard that.

"I almost agreed, but you didn't let me go."

Feng Zhengming saw Luo Qing's expression and heard his words, and burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, don't be angry. We may speed up our pace next time. Besides, there may be a lot of mountainous areas to walk through. It will be too tiring for you to follow us."

Luo Qing smiled after hearing this: "Okay, I'm not angry. You have your own business, and I have mine. I won't argue with you, but you must be careful."

Feng Zhengming nodded and agreed: "Don't worry, there will be no problem."

The next day, Feng Zhengming borrowed two bicycles and went out with Luo Qing, riding their bicycles around the city.

I have to say that some of the construction in the island city is indeed better than in other cities Feng Zhengming has visited.

Moreover, Feng Zhengming also saw the economic strength of the island city.

After confirming that he would open a branch in Yancheng, the next stop should be to open a branch in Daocheng.

After spending a day playing in the island city with Luo Qing.

Feng Zhengming only said goodbye to his third uncle and Luo Qing, and did not even inform Gao Fengyi. He left the island city together with Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong.

Continue walking along the coast to Zhaocheng. After visiting Zhaocheng, start walking west and leave the coastal city.

(End of this chapter)