From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming and his group entered Yicheng, and the road they were on began to become mostly mountainous.

Fortunately, the four of them already had some experience.

Before going to Yicheng, a batch of equipment was specially replaced in Zhaocheng.

Now I don’t feel anything wrong with the shoes I’m wearing when walking on the mountain road.

The four of them continued walking, and Feng Zhengming began to introduce Yicheng to Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong.

"Everyone in the country knows that you have to eat pancakes in Qilu. Do you know where the most famous pancakes in Qilu are made?"

Because Ding Yuan was also from Qi and Lu, he did not speak in a hurry, but looked at Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong.

This question stumped both of them, and they didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Seeing that the two people couldn't answer for a long time, Ding Yuan couldn't help but gave the answer while laughing.

"You two are too honest. We have already entered Yicheng. Brother Feng asked you where the most famous pancakes are. Isn't it definitely from Yicheng?"

After hearing this, Feng Zhengming immediately shook his head.

"No, no."

Ding Yuan was surprised: "No?"

Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong couldn't help laughing either.

Feng Zhengming then gave the answer: "In Qilu, the most famous pancake is actually from Mengyin."

Ding Yuan suddenly realized: "Oh, it's a county town under the jurisdiction of Yicheng, right?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, Mengyin is not only famous for its pancakes, but also for its fried chicken. Although Yicheng is mostly mountainous, there are many good things in Yicheng."

Listening to Feng Zhengming's words, the three people were full of expectations for Yicheng.

After a long journey, the group finally arrived in the urban area of ​​Yicheng.

After entering the city, Feng Zhengming and his friends were just about to find a hotel to stay in.

Seeing the crowds of people on the streets, it seems like everyone is rushing to do something?
This made Feng Zhengming and the other three feel very strange.

Just then, a person who was running by in a panic lost his balance and fell to the side.

Just as he was about to fall, Ding Yuan quickly caught him.

When the other party thanked him, Ding Yuan took the opportunity to ask: "What are you all going to do? It looks like something urgent?"

Hearing Ding Yuan's accent, the other party looked at Feng Zhengming and others again.

"Are you from out of town?"

Ding Yuan smiled and responded: "Yes, we are from Quancheng."

The other party immediately explained: "Oh, today two of our local old restaurants specializing in fried chicken are competing, so everyone is rushing to watch the fun."

Ding Yuan was very curious: "You two old fried chicken shops want to compete?"

Feng Zhengming stepped forward and asked, "Why do the two stores want to compete? They are both old fried chicken stores, why do they need to compete?"

The local smiled and continued to explain: "Those two are old local shops, and they have been competing with each other, both claiming that their fried chicken is the authentic way of making it in Yicheng.

This time, one of the two families was interviewed by a local TV station, and they said on TV that their fried chicken skills have been passed down for several generations.

It was said on TV that their family makes the most authentic fried chicken in Yicheng.

Of course the other family was not happy, so they came and argued with them.

The two families have been arguing so much that they are now going to cook fried chicken together in public, letting everyone judge whose is the most authentic. "

After explaining, the local thanked Ding Yuan again and then hurried forward.

After the locals left, Ding Yuan turned and looked at Feng Zhengming.

Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong also looked at Feng Zhengming.

The three of them were waiting for Feng Zhengming to make a decision.

Feng Zhengming thought for a moment and said, "Let's find a hotel first. We'll put our things in the hotel and then go take a look."

So the four of them went to find a hotel together.

What Feng Zhengming and his friends didn't expect was that when they entered the hotel, no one was there to greet them at first.

After waiting for a long time, the hotel owner finally came in from outside.

I saw the boss sticking his head out to look around, then walking into the door reluctantly.

Feng Zhengming smiled and took the initiative to talk to the boss.

"Boss, you don't even want to do business anymore?"

The hotel owner came to his senses and said, "I'm sorry, this is a competition between two old local fried chicken restaurants. It's too attractive. I also want to go and take a look, but there's no one to help watch it."

Ding Yuan then reminded the boss: "After we check in, please close the store and go take a look."

The boss was a little helpless: "How can that be possible? There must be no one in the hotel."

Hou Dong said with a smile: "Boss, let's go take a look and tell you when we come back."

While checking Feng Zhengming and his friends in, the boss reluctantly refused: "Don't say it. If you say it, I won't go. Aren't you just trying to tempt me?"

Feng Zhengming suddenly asked, "Boss, which of these two fried chickens do you think is more authentic?"

The boss was stunned by the question and seemed to have no idea how to answer for a moment.

Feng Zhengming didn’t know how to answer when he saw his boss?

He changed the question: "Are their practices different?"

The boss immediately knew how to answer this.

"It's different. The fried chicken of the two restaurants is really different."

Feng Zhengming continued to ask: "Can you tell me what is different?"

The boss then described it to Feng Zhengming and others.

The most obvious difference is that one is dry-fried and there is no soup in the fried chicken.

The other one is a stew and stir-fry. The fried chicken will have some soup and some other things will be added to the soup.

Gao Yongfu was curious: "It seems that one has soup and the other doesn't? Is your fried chicken just like this? It seems to be no different from other places."

The boss was unhappy when he heard this.

"You young man must have never eaten our fried chicken. Let me tell you, our Yicheng fried chicken is definitely different from other places."

Feng Zhengming saw that his boss was a little excited, so he smiled and helped to explain.

"Yicheng fried chicken uses large roosters from the mountains, so the chickens used are different from those in other places."

The boss nodded: "Yes, your leader is the one who understands."

The boss went on to explain: "The ingredients used in our local fried chicken are also different. It's hard to say, but you will know when you try it. The taste is definitely different from other places."

After hearing what the boss said, he asked Feng Zhengming and the others to go upstairs to the room and put their things down.

Several people walked out of the hotel together and followed the people who were joining in the fun on the street.

Walking on the street, chatting with some locals.

Only then did Feng Zhengming gain a better understanding of the situation of the two families.

In fact, the two companies do have different approaches.

Moreover, the two stores are not in the same location.

Therefore, there is no direct competition between the two companies.

But the so-called competitors are enemies.

I don’t know which family started it first, but the two families suddenly began to argue over which one was “authentic”.

At first, the two families were just arguing verbally. Later, the argument became more and more fierce, and no one was willing to give in, so the competition gradually evolved from being secret to being open.

Many locals know that the two families would often criticize the other in front of their guests.

Anyway, they just keep finding faults with others and promoting how authentic their own products are.

In fact, gradually, the materials used by both families have become better and better.

When purchasing big roosters, some scramble began to occur.

In this case, the guests can eat better and better, but the fight between the two families will only make themselves suffer.

However, the two companies were already in a dominant position, and neither was willing to admit defeat, so they kept competing.

Feng Zhengming and his colleagues learned this through chatting with many local people on the street.

In the eyes of locals, the fried chicken made by both restaurants is very delicious.

And it's obviously very much in line with local tastes.

So when you ask people you meet on the street, you still can’t tell which one is more authentic?
Feng Zhengming and his friends followed the crowd and soon arrived at the place where the two families were competing.

This is an open-air square in the urban area of ​​Yicheng.

It seems that both companies have prepared for this contest.

A temporary cooking stove and table were built here.

Even both families selected several pretty good big roosters.

Just by looking at the big roosters used by the two families, Ding Yuan couldn't help but exclaim to Feng Zhengming in a low voice.

"The big roosters they selected look particularly good."

Feng Zhengming nodded. "Yes, it should be a specially purchased rooster that has grown for more than a year and a half. Look at the chicken's claws. The back of the heel is quite thick, which shows that this rooster is indeed raised in the mountains and digs for food."

Seeing that there were so many people watching, the owners of the two fried chicken restaurants were the first to stand up and shout.

"Fu Guanggun, you used to be called Guanggun Fried Chicken, so why do you say that yours is the most authentic fried chicken in Yicheng?"

The other party was not to be outdone and responded immediately.

"Who doesn't know, Fatty Xu, that Qilu fried chicken is best found in Yicheng, and Yicheng fried chicken is best found in Mengyin?

You learned your cooking skills from our Mengyin family, so of course our fried chicken is more authentic than yours."

Without waiting for the other party to respond, Fu Guanggun continued to introduce himself to everyone.

"Our family's Bachelor Fried Chicken has been in Mengyin for a hundred years. We use chickens that are raised in the mountains of Mengyin and are made with the most traditional ingredients."

Then he pointed at the other party and accused him unceremoniously: "Fatty Xu's family adds so many strange seasonings when making fried chicken. That is not the authentic way to make it. Don't be fooled by him."

Fatty Xu didn't refute immediately, obviously because Fu Guanggun was right.

He did learn the skill of frying chicken from Mengyin.

But now Fu Guanggun says that his fried chicken is not authentic, saying that he has added a lot of other ingredients and it is no longer Yicheng fried chicken. He definitely cannot tolerate this.

"Fu Guanggun, stop talking nonsense here, how come my method is not authentic?

I admit that I learned this skill from Mengyin, but I studied it seriously from my master. I add some other seasonings now to make the fried chicken taste better. "

Having said that, Fatty Xu continued to explain his actions with a serious face.

"Now times have changed, and many seasonings from other places have entered our Yicheng. We should also make the taste of fried chicken more popular, so I will add some other spices, just to make the fried chicken taste better."

After hearing what Fatty Xu said, Feng Zhengming couldn't help but nodded.

Of course, tradition should be upheld.

But we need to promote a dish.

In order to make more people like it, we must make some improvements to the taste.

Qilu fried chicken is very famous in several places throughout Qilu.

One is the Yicheng version, and the others are the Laiwu version and the Zaocheng version.

The practices vary from place to place.

But fundamentally, the method is definitely closer to local tastes.

If you just stick to local tastes, it will be difficult to go beyond the local area.

So in Feng Zhengming's opinion, Chef Xu did nothing wrong.

By adding some spices and ingredients from other places and making slight improvements to the cooking method, the fried chicken will become more delicious.

Especially the taste can satisfy the locals and be accepted by outsiders.

Feng Zhengming feels that this is a very good way to inherit and promote.

Of course, Chef Fu insisted on his traditional methods, and Feng Zhengming couldn't say there was anything wrong with it.

Finally, it became clear that neither side could convince the other.

So we can only start to see the real results with our own hands.

Both chefs got to work themselves, starting with killing the chicken.

Hou Dong looked a little strange: "Brother Feng, why do they have to start by killing the chicken? Isn't this very time-consuming?"

Feng Zhengming responded in a low voice: "They want to prove to everyone that the roosters they use are definitely the best pheasants. This is an honest approach."

Feng Zhengming looked at the two chefs and felt quite impressed.

From killing the chickens to cleaning, they did everything themselves and didn't even let the apprentices around them help.

This down-to-earth attitude towards cooking deserves recognition.

When the chicken was cleaned, the two men chopped it into pieces on the chopping board.

Among them, the chicken pieces chopped by Chef Fu are slightly smaller.

Chef Xu cuts the chicken into relatively large pieces.

After the chicken is chopped, the two people just rinse it briefly.

After draining the water, Chef Fu directly put the chicken pieces into the pan and stir-fry them.

Chef Xu first adds scallions, ginger and star anise into the cold oil. When the oil temperature rises and the aroma of scallions, ginger and star anise comes out, he then adds the chicken pieces and stir-frys.

Seeing the two chefs stir-frying the chicken nuggets directly, Ding Yuan couldn't help but ask Feng Zhengming.

"Why don't you blanch it? Just stir-fry it like this?"

Feng Zhengming explained in a low voice: "The big roosters they use are fresh enough, so they don't need to be blanched. Blanching will make the chicken lose its freshness and become tough."

While watching, Feng Zhengming gave some explanations.

"When they stir-fry the chicken, they make sure it's thoroughly fried and all the moisture is removed."

Both sides used large iron pans, and both chefs showed their strength when stir-frying.

Stir-fry until the surface of the chicken pieces turns brown and the moisture in the chicken pieces in the pan has almost been dried out.

At this time, Chef Fu pushed the chicken pieces aside, threw the scallions and ginger into the pot and stir-fried them, then added the sauce and stir-fried the chicken pieces and the sauce in the pot together.

Then add the prepared soup into the pot, basically to the level of the chicken pieces, and then adjust the taste and color.

Without adding any extra seasoning, I just adjusted the taste and started stewing with the lid on.

On the other side, Chef Xu fried the chicken pieces dry. He added soup into the pot and then added spices such as angelica, cinnamon, bay leaves, and fennel.

Chef Xu also added some oyster sauce and some southern sauces into the pot.

Then cover the pot and start stewing.

Seeing this, anyone can see the difference between the two approaches. (End of this chapter)