From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After leaving Jeju city, Feng Zhengming and his group headed southwest.

They passed through counties and towns of all sizes along the way, allowing them to experience many different customs and cultures.

Finally we arrived at Heze, an area in the southwestern corner of Qi and Lu.

This area is not yet a formal "city" and its official name is "Heze Region".

However, there is also a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Heze District, namely HZ City.

"When you mention Heze, what do you think of?" Feng Zhengming asked the three people accompanying him before stepping into Heze.

This question left the three people a little confused.

Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong couldn’t think of anything famous about Heze?

It was only after Ding Yuan was stunned for a moment that he remembered.

“Heze Peony.”

Feng Zhengming immediately laughed: "Yes, Heze Peony."

Gao Yongfu thought for a moment and asked, "Aren't Luoyang peonies famous?"

Feng Zhengming explained with a smile: "In ancient times, it should be said that during the Sui and Tang dynasties, the two most famous places for peony cultivation were Luoyang, which you mentioned, and Caozhou.

Caozhou was the ancient name of Heze area, and of course its name has been changed many times.

But the most important thing is that during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, the Heze area was called Caozhou."

After listening to Feng Zhengming's story, the three of them once again marveled in their hearts at the breadth of Feng Zhengming's knowledge.

Feng Zhengming continued to talk as they walked: "Heze peonies are indeed more famous than Luoyang peonies. People in Heze have been planting and cultivating peonies for a long time. It is said that during the Sui Dynasty, there was a very famous florist who was specially recruited by Emperor Yang of Sui to plant and cultivate peonies for him."

Listening to Feng Zhengming's words, the three people were unconsciously fascinated.

I was deeply attracted by Feng Zhengming's storytelling introduction.

In fact, along the way, Feng Zhengming would always talk about the customs and culture of each place.

Most of the knowledge about local customs and practices that Feng Zhengming acquired in his previous life came from reading materials and watching videos online.

In his previous life, Feng Zhengming was a poor 007 and had no time to travel.

So he likes to read various travel books, as well as information introducing the local characteristics of different places.

Another way is to watch various travel videos on the Internet that provide detailed introductions to various places.

In his previous life, he had always thought that when he made enough money and achieved financial freedom, he would definitely travel around the beautiful land of his motherland.

It’s a pity that in the end everything was just a dream.

But in this life, Feng Zhengming's wish has finally been realized in the first step.

This walking tour around Qi and Lu made Feng Zhengming really fall in love with this form of travel, as it allowed him to truly see the customs and cultures of different places.

Especially when walking, it is not just passing through those unnoticed counties and towns between cities.

You can go to those counties, towns, and villages to experience the customs of those small villages for yourself.

Although there are actually many dangers along the way.

If Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong were not there.

It is possible that Feng Zhengming might really have an accident on the road.

But in his heart he still felt it was worth it.

He also believes that with the development of the country, the dangers on the road will gradually disappear in the future.

Feng Zhengming hopes that one day in the future he will be able to travel around the country like this.

When the group entered Heze area, the first thing they saw was not peonies.

The first thing I saw was the delicious food of Heze area.

The first dish is the Zhuangmo from Yuncheng.

After entering Yuncheng, Feng Zhengming introduced the three people who were accompanying him.

"Yuncheng is an incredible place. Of the 108 generals in Water Margin, 72 were from Yuncheng. Yuncheng is also the hometown of martial arts. Let's go try the steamed buns here first."

In fact, Yuncheng was not unfamiliar to Hou Dong. He had actually been to Yuncheng before.

He even thought about learning martial arts in Yuncheng.

When talking about Yuncheng Zhuangmo, not only Hou Dong, but also Ding Yuan and Gao Yongfu could not help swallowing their saliva.

The Zhuang Mo of Yuncheng is made by wrapping fillings in dough, making it into an oval shape, and then half-frying and half-deep-frying it in a frying pan.

The outer shell is crispy and the filling inside is quite solid, it can be said to be quite delicious.

Feng Zhengming and his team met in the county town and found a shop selling zhuangmo.

In addition to the small Zhuangmo, there is also a rather large Zhuangmo.

Feng Zhengming and his friends found a seat next to the stall and sat down.

The four of them ordered a whole big steamed bun and a bowl of spicy soup each.

There are many kinds of fillings in Zhuangmo.

There are beef fillings, mutton fillings, and the more traditional leek and egg fillings.

Feng Zhengming and his friends simply went to the boss and asked him to give them a quarter of each item.

This way four people can share it and try the steamed buns with different fillings.

Watching the boss half-frying and half-deep-frying a steamed bun that was almost as big as the pan.

Even Feng Zhengming couldn't help swallowing his saliva.

It is the aroma of the pastry that can easily stimulate people's appetite.

What's more, Feng Zhengming and his companions had been walking all the way and were already hungry.

The boss probably saw that Feng Zhengming and the other three looked exhausted and must be hungry, so he simply served them some small steamed buns first.

"I'll give you the small ones first. The big ones may take some time."

Feng Zhengming and his colleagues quickly expressed their gratitude to the boss.

Then the four of them didn't hesitate to grab the food and eat it.

Feng Zhengming bit into the steamed bun and found leeks and eggs.

The skin of Zhuangmo is only a thin layer, and it is filled with leeks and eggs.

Ding Yuan was eating beef, and when he bit into it, gravy oozed out.

Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong next to them had mutton and pork respectively, both of which were also oozing with gravy.

The three people who were eating had their hands almost covered in gravy.

But the three of them were reluctant to waste it and even licked the gravy on their hands without caring about their image.

Feng Zhengming couldn't help but laugh at the three people.

"Look at you guys, is it that serious? It's as if I didn't let you eat enough during the whole journey."

The three people were amused by this joke.

Thinking about the experiences of the four of us along the way.

The four of them really have a kind of friendship like comrades who have shared weal and woe.

Finally, the boss gave Feng Zhengming and his friends a quarter of the big steamed bun.

This big steamed bun was filled with beef. Feng Zhengming took some to taste and shared the rest with the other three people.

After eating the beef steamed bun, Feng Zhengming had to admit that it tasted really good. He realized that the boss must be very skilled in mixing the stuffing.

The beef filling is moderately salty, and it contains not only green onions but also some onions.

Onions and beef are a perfect match.

So when you eat this beef steamed bun, the filling will have a slight sweet onion flavor.

Combined with the aroma of the fried beef and the seasoning of some of the seasonings.

After tasting it, Feng Zhengming could almost analyze the boss's seasoning ratio.

In addition to green onions and onions, the boss also added some pepper water, cumin and black pepper to the beef filling.

The combination of these flavors makes this steamed bun taste like a Western-style fried beef patty.

After eating, Feng Zhengming walked to the boss’s stall with a smile.

"Boss, did you mix the fillings of this steamed bun yourself?"

The boss nodded while busying himself, smiling: "Yes, I made it myself. Many people here like my flavor. Although it is not the traditional flavor of Zhuangmo, everyone says it tastes good.

I think as long as it tastes good, it doesn’t matter if it’s not seasoned the way it’s traditionally prepared, right?”

The boss looks middle-aged, but his smile exudes a youthful vibe.

Feng Zhengming had a very good impression of his boss.

"I just tasted your beef filling. It tasted really good. I guess you added onions, scallions, pepper water, and maybe some cumin powder and black pepper, right?"

When the boss heard what Feng Zhengming said, he immediately raised his head and looked at Feng Zhengming seriously with wide eyes.

The owner of the Zhuangmo stall never expected that this person would guess his secret recipe after taking a few bites.

The key is that his guesses were all correct.

Facing the boss's gaze, Feng Zhengming smiled and reminded him, "In fact, you can use less black pepper and cumin, but they should not take away the flavor of the beef. Spices only enhance the flavor, but they should not take away the flavor of the beef."

After reminding the boss, Feng Zhengming gave him some more advice.

"Boss, for your beef, pork and mutton fillings, you can soak them in water with scallions and ginger in advance. Then when you mix the fillings, add the scallion and ginger water little by little to the meat fillings, and stir clockwise so that the meat fillings can absorb the scallion and ginger water."

When the boss heard this, he was surprised again.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Boss, when you fetched water, you shouldn't have used scallion and ginger water, right? You can try it when you go back. Cut the scallion and ginger into large pieces, break them up with a knife, and soak them in water. You can also add some peppercorns to soak them together.

After soaking the water, when you are preparing the stuffing, add the water to the meat stuffing, and it will taste better. "

The boss finally couldn't help asking: "Are you a chef?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded: "Yes, I'm a chef."

The boss then laughed and said, "Then I know who you are."

Feng Zhengming quickly stopped his boss from speaking.

"It's better not to say it. We just met by chance. I hope to come again next time and see you expand your business and open your own store."

Finally, Feng Zhengming reminded the boss: "When making Hu La Tang, you still have to stick to the old craftsmanship. It tastes better after washing the gluten. You can't drink it like this."

That was all he said to the boss. Feng Zhengming saw that Ding Yuan and the other two had finished eating, so he asked them to leave.

When the boss saw the money Feng Zhengming paid, he wanted to stop them from returning the money.

But a customer happened to come and stopped the boss.

When the boss wanted to look for Feng Zhengming and the others again, he found that the four people were gone.

After eating Yuncheng Zhuangmo, Feng Zhengming and his friends went to Yuncheng for a while and took a look at some of the sights there.

Afterwards, the group left Yuncheng and headed south.

The next stop is Shanxian.

The famous dish here is mutton soup.

The mutton soup in Shanxian is a milky white soup.

It tastes quite mellow, and there are various mutton offal to eat with it.

When we arrived in Shan County, just like in Yuncheng, there were many mutton soup shops in every street and alley.

Feng Zhengming and his friends didn't pick and choose. They just randomly found a restaurant and ordered a bowl of food.

The mutton soup served on the table smelled really delicious.

Feng Zhengming also began to tell the three of them some of the details of Dan County mutton soup.

"The mutton soup in Shan County uses green goats from here. The white soup is actually made by stewing a lot of goat bones for a long time over a high fire until the soup turns into a milky white color."

Ding Yuan took a sip of the soup and was quite surprised: "It tastes really good, without any smell of mutton."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, that means the mutton is well cleaned, so there is no smell of mutton at all."

Hou Dong asked: "Brother Feng, I heard that when you were running a food stall at the station, you were also famous for your casserole lamb chops. Is your casserole the same as this lamb soup?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and shook his head: "It's still different. My soup is not as thick and white as this one."

Gao Yongfu couldn't help but wonder: "Brother Feng, does your lamb chop casserole taste any worse than this?"

When Feng Zhengming faced this question, he didn't know how to answer for a moment.

"It should be considered a different flavor. I add some white radish and other side dishes. Many people who eat my casserole prefer to eat the side dishes. It's great to eat a hot pot in winter."

Ding Yuan smiled and said to Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong: "When we get back, it should be cold. Why don't you go to the dry rice shop to eat?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded: "Yes, if you want to try it, you can go to the shop and order one to try."

Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong agreed immediately and shouted that they wanted to go back and try it.

Ding Yuan thought for a moment and asked again: "Brother Feng, if your dry rice shop opens in Heze, can you add this Shan County mutton soup?"

Feng Zhengming laughed when he heard this: "Hahaha, this is a good idea. Do you want me to add Yuncheng's Zhuangmo?"

Ding Yuan responded with a smile: "Of course it will be added."

Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong also echoed: "Yes, yes, add them all."

Feng Zhengming also agreed with the three people's suggestions.

"It is indeed necessary to add some ingredients. We need to make some changes based on the eating habits of people in different regions. If we just simply make braised pork belly, like our store in Quancheng, it would be too monotonous."

The other three laughed when they heard it.

They know that Feng Zhengming, the national top scholar, has been recording the customs and cultures of different places and some special foods in different regions along the way.

These will be what he will add to different branches when he opens them in different places.

The four people drank mutton soup and traveled around Shan County.

Feng Zhengming and his team even went to a farmer's house in the countryside to watch the process of cooking mutton soup.

In exchange, Feng Zhengming also taught the other party how to cook some side dishes.

After leaving Shan County, the next county town Feng Zhengming and his team arrived at was Chengwu.

The most famous thing here is the pickles, especially the pickled radish.

Feng Zhengming also revealed his identity and visited a well-known local pickle company.

I saw jars of pickles and witnessed the pickle-making process.

Feng Zhengming also ordered a batch of soybean paste from the manufacturer and asked them to deliver it directly to Huiquanlou.

After leaving Chengwu, Feng Zhengming and his team's next stop is Cao County, the future universe. (End of this chapter)