From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

When Zhang Ruixuan came to Feng Zhengming with the sweet and sour pork.

I saw Feng Zhengming chatting with customers in the store.

The enthusiasm for chatting was as if he was very familiar with everyone, just like old neighbors who could talk about anything.

I can talk about chess with old men, talk about marriage with old ladies, talk about career with middle-aged men, and talk about children with some young wives.

Zhang Ruixuan was standing by with the sweet and sour pork in his hand, staring in a daze, finding it unbelievable.

It was Feng Zhengming who saw him first and greeted him.

"Xiao Zhang, what are you standing there looking at with the dishes in your hand? Come here."

Zhang Ruixuan suddenly came to his senses and quickly brought the dishes to Feng Zhengming.

"Boss, your order of sweet and sour pork."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "You don't have to call me boss. Just call me uncle-master, just like when you were interning at the old shop."

When Zhang Ruixuan heard this name, he immediately felt happy.

He realized that since Feng Zhengming asked him to call him "Uncle Master", it meant that he had already mastered the art.

"Okay, uncle, please try the sweet and sour pork I made. Please give me some advice."

Feng Zhengming nodded and asked Zhang Ruixuan to put the dishes down.

After taking a closer look, Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Is it Wo Juice?"

Zhang Ruixuan: "Yes, it's the sauce. My grandma made it for me when I was a child."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "It seems that your technique is fine, the thickening is also very good, and the sauce is indeed easier to master. However, my suggestion is that you should practice cooking sauce more in the future."

Zhang Ruixuan agreed: "I understand, uncle. I will definitely practice more in the future."

The old man who was chatting very happily with Feng Zhengming asked curiously.

"Feng Zhuangyuan, what is the difference between lying juice and cooking juice?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Cooking juice is more difficult than lying juice."

This made everyone happy.

Then Feng Zhengming explained in detail the difference between lying juice and cooking juice.

"The sauce is actually made by frying the sauce in a pan first, thickening it with starch, and then adding the fried meat slices to fry and coat them with the sauce. It is a bit similar to the sautéing technique in our Shandong cuisine.

It is relatively easy to master. The sauce coats the surface of the fried meat slices and some juice will remain at the bottom of the plate. If you eat too much, you will feel a little greasy. "

After a pause, Feng Zhengming went on to introduce how to cook the sauce.

"To make the sauce, prepare a bowl of sauce, put the fried meat slices back into the pan to heat it up, then pour the sauce into the pan along the edge of the pan. Use high temperature to let the meat slices quickly absorb the sauce, and there will be almost no excess sauce left during the stir-fry process.

The cooking method of the sauce has requirements on the heat and timing of the cooking, and indeed has higher requirements on the chef’s skills.”

Listening to Feng Zhengming's introduction, which was quite clear, everyone present listened attentively.

Zhang Ruixuan, who was standing nearby, admired Feng Zhengming even more.

I didn’t expect Feng Zhengming to do such research on sweet and sour pork.

After the introduction, Feng Zhengming picked up a piece and gave it to his wife first.

He also picked up a piece with chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

It has a strong sweet and sour taste.

Luo Qing also felt that it was a bit sweet.

Feng Zhengming looked at Zhang Ruixuan: "There's a little too much sugar. Put less sugar and a little bit of salt. Pay attention to the ratio of vinegar and sugar. A strong sweet and sour taste or a light sweet and sour taste will give people different tastes.

Of course, the pot-fried pork with sauce is already very good, but I still hope you can practice cooking the sauce more so that people won’t get tired of it.”

Zhang Ruixuan wrote it down carefully: "I'll remember it, uncle. I will practice well."

At this time, Feng Nuanyou saw that her parents were eating, and the little girl also babbled and wanted to eat.

Seeing his daughter's look, Feng Zhengming dipped his chopsticks in the juice on the plate.

Then he brought it to his daughter's mouth and let her taste it.

Feng Nuanyu tasted the food on the tip of the chopsticks and immediately found it very sweet.

"Hehehe, Dad, Dad."

When the customers next to her saw the little girl's expression, they all started laughing.

"Hahaha, this child is so cute, she actually knows how delicious it is."

"I like sweet food."

"Hahaha, kids all like sweet things."

Feng Zhengming did not let his daughter eat more, but made some milk for her, and Luo Qing also took out some complementary food for her.

But Feng Nuanyu was very smart. She pointed at the food on the plate with her little finger and babbled, asking for more.

Luo Qing just dipped a little bit and fed it to her daughter with complementary food.

When the little girl tasted it, she immediately showed her delight on her face.

Feng Zhengming asked his wife to take their daughter with him, and he got up and walked to the kitchen with Zhang Ruixuan.

In the kitchen, Liu Zhongwei saw Feng Zhengming coming in and quickly took the initiative to greet him.

"Mr. Feng, you are here."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, brother-in-law."

Liu Zhongwei quickly responded: "It's not hard, it's what I should do for my own business."

Feng Zhengming called Zhang Ruixuan to his side.

"Xiao Zhang, learn more from your uncle in the future, okay?"

Zhang Ruixuan agreed immediately; "I know, uncle, I will definitely learn more from my uncle in the future."

Liu Zhongwei looked puzzled: "Why did he become my uncle?"

Feng Zhengming: "Of course it's uncle. This kid calls me uncle-in-law, so he must call brother-in-law your uncle."

Zhang Ruixuan nodded: "Yes, it's closer to call me uncle."

Liu Zhongwei could only agree with a smile.

Then Feng Zhengming specifically found potato starch.

"Since you made the sweet and sour pork, and you call me Master Uncle, I have to teach you a lesson. What is the key to the sweet and sour pork? It's the paste.

Add water to the potato starch and leave it there to soak until the starch is completely soaked.

Just leave it there and wait for the starch to settle, then pour out the water on top and use the soaked potato starch underneath to grab the meat slices.

If it feels dry, you can add a little starch water. Remember not to add too much, just a little.

Make sure the potato starch is completely applied to the surface of the meat slices, then add some soybean oil and mix evenly.

In the end, each piece of meat has a layer of paste on the surface, and then it is fried.”

Feng Zhengming explained in great detail, teaching Zhang Ruixuan almost all the details of applying the paste.

Zhang Ruixuan listened carefully and wrote down every detail.

Feng Zhengming: "The thickness of the meat slices should be about the thickness of a chopstick. It can't be too thin. If it's too thin, it won't taste good. Follow this standard in the future."

When Liu Zhongwei saw Zhang Ruixuan standing there and nodding, he couldn't help but remind him with a smile.

"Don't just stand there, kid. Go get your notebook and write all this down."

Zhang Ruixuan suddenly came to his senses and ran to the locker room to get his notebook.

I saw Zhang Ruixuan running hurriedly to get a notebook to take notes.

Feng Zhengming smiled, turned his head and asked, "Brother-in-law, what do you think of Zhang Ruixuan?"

Liu Zhongwei: "He is a good young man who is willing to learn and work hard. He has a solid foundation. If he has the opportunity to get more guidance from you in the future, he should make rapid progress."

Feng Zhengming: "My fifth senior brother has taken a liking to him. If he performs well in the Quancheng Competition at the end of the year, my fifth senior brother will probably accept him as his disciple."

Liu Zhongwei was also very happy for Zhang Ruixuan: "That's great, he will definitely have a bright future if he can become your fifth senior brother's apprentice."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "The future is at your feet, and you still have to rely on yourself to walk it."

Liu Zhongwei also agreed with Feng Zhengming's statement. "Yes, you have also relied on yourself to get to where you are today."

Feng Zhengming smiled: "I still have a lot of people helping me."

Following his example: "Just like without you, my brother-in-law and my eldest sister, I wouldn't be able to run the Thai City branch so well."

Liu Zhongwei laughed and said, "What you said should be us thanking you for giving us this opportunity."

While chatting, Zhang Ruixuan ran back with his notebook and pen.

Feng Zhengming told him again the details of making sweet and sour pork and asked him to write them down carefully in his notebook.

Since he came to the branch, Feng Zhengming also showed off his skills in the store.

I thought of Zhang Ruixuan making a dish of sweet and sour pork.

Feng Zhengming: "I'll teach you how to make a Shandong dish called pork slices, Chinese cabbage and vinegar pork slices."

Zhang Ruixuan immediately perked up, and even Liu Zhongwei's face was full of anticipation.

To make this dish, Feng Zhengming chose not tenderloin, but leg meat with a little bit of fat.

In addition to pork, the main side dish is naturally cabbage.

Feng Zhengming specifically reminded: "For this dish, we only use the cabbage stalks. The cabbage leaves can be reserved to make cabbage rolls."

Other auxiliary ingredients include green garlic, black fungus and Chinese cabbage.

Feng Zhengming prepared it step by step in great detail for everyone in the kitchen to see.

When slicing the pork, he carefully reminded: "The meat slices should be thinner than the sweet and sour pork, cut into diamond-shaped slices like this."

"The cabbage stalk can be split in the middle like this. Otherwise, it is too thick. It can also be cut into prismatic slices like this, also known as elephant eye slices."

After all the main ingredients, auxiliary ingredients and side ingredients were prepared, Feng Zhengming began to cook the dish.

"The meat slices also have a base. When applying the batter, don't apply it as thickly as the pot-fried pork. Just a thin layer of batter will do."

After the meat slices are coated with batter, you also need to evenly coat the surface of the meat slices with batter.

Then blanch the fungus and bok choy.

Then fry the meat slices with oil and stir-fry the cabbage slices with a little oil.

"You can also use oil to stir-fry, but remember to do it quickly."

Then put a little oil in the pot, add chopped onion, ginger and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant.

Add vinegar, broth, soy sauce, salt and MSG to taste.

Bring the soup in the pot to a boil and then add the meat slices.

"You can thicken the sauce first, or you can add the meat slices first, then add the fungus and cook them together, then thicken the sauce. Remember not to make the sauce too thick, it should be slightly thinner than the sauce for sweet and sour pork, so that some of the sauce remains.

Finally, add the Chinese cabbage, green garlic and baby bok choy. Stir evenly over high heat, add vinegar again, and then drizzle with a little Sichuan pepper oil. Now you can serve it on a plate.”

After watching Feng Zhengming's entire cooking process, Liu Zhongwei and Zhang Ruixuan also learned a lot.

"This dish is a relatively homely one. If it is put on the menu in the restaurant, I believe customers will order it."

After saying that, Feng Zhengming asked everyone in the kitchen to taste the food.

Everyone took their chopsticks and tasted it together.

This dish has a completely different taste from sweet and sour pork.

It doesn’t have the slightest sweetness, but has the traditional salty and fresh taste of Shandong cuisine, with a little bit of sourness from vinegar.

But the sour taste is not irritating. On the contrary, it makes the dish more appetizing and delicious.

Liu Zhongwei couldn't help but sigh: "It's delicious. I feel like this dish can at least give me two bowls of rice."

The kitchen apprentice couldn't help but interrupt.

"Two bowls are not enough, I can eat three bowls."

"Soup with rice, and another bowl is available."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Hahaha, eat according to your ability and don't eat too much."

After laughing, Feng Zhengming looked at Zhang Ruixuan: "How is it? Did you learn it?"

Zhang Ruixuan thought carefully for a while, took out his notebook and pen again, and wrote down some details.

"Thank you, uncle. I know the general approach. I will practice well."

Feng Zhengming nodded with satisfaction: "Don't be too rigid when cooking, you need to learn how to apply knowledge flexibly and make the dishes delicious.

Remember, customers who come to our restaurant want to eat well and be full, so the dishes can be a little heavier in flavor, and they must be good enough to go with rice.”

After hearing Feng Zhengming's instructions, everyone in the kitchen nodded seriously and took notes.

Feng Zhengming then said goodbye to everyone in the kitchen and walked out.

Just then, my wife Luo Qing had almost finished her meal, and even our daughter seemed very satisfied with the meal.

Seeing her father coming back, Feng Nuanyou immediately raised her little hand and asked her father to hug her.

Feng Zhengming walked forward and took his daughter from his wife's arms.

"Is our Yoyo full?"

Feng Nuanyou smiled and touched her father's cheek with her little hand: "Dad, eat, eat, burst."

My daughter doesn’t quite know how to say “full” yet, so she ended up uttering the word “explode”.

Feng Zhengming was very patient and corrected his daughter carefully.

The little girl was very obedient and learned from her father for a while.

In the end, he really uttered the three words "eat until you are full".

Luo Qing beside him also smiled.

The family of three said goodbye to Liang Fen and left the Taicheng branch together, walking slowly and returning to the hotel.

When they returned to the hotel, they happened to meet the masters who were being invited by Li Taifeng to go downstairs for dinner.

Seeing them coming back, Master Yan smiled and said, "You three are so good at entertaining yourselves that you left us behind."

Feng Nuanyou saw so many people, including her great-grandfather and the others.

The little girl smiled and shouted, "Eat until you are full."

The little girl's words really made everyone laugh.

Feng Zonggu: "Did you come back after eating?"

Feng Nuanyou: "Eat until you are full, Grandpa, Grandpa."

Feng Zonghe nodded and agreed: "Oh, great grandfather knows, I came back after eating my fill."

Feng Zhengming asked: "Grandpa, Grandpa Situ, Master, all the uncles and uncles, do you want to go to my restaurant in Taicheng to eat?"

Master Cui waved his hand and said, "Let's not go tonight. We can just eat in the hotel restaurant."

Li Taifeng also quickly explained: "The restaurant here is ready."

Feng Zhengming: "Thank you for your hard work, Senior Brother Li."

Li Taifeng smiled: "It's not hard, do you want to eat some more together?"

Feng Zhengming looked at his wife Luo Qing.

Luo Qing took her daughter from her husband's arms and said, "You go with her. I'll take Youyou up first. She might get sleepy in a while."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Okay, then you go upstairs first, I'll accompany you to the restaurant."

Luo Qing raised her daughter's hand and said, "Bye, everyone."

Feng Nuanyou waved her hands, following her mother's lead: "Bye, bye."

Everyone was amused by the cute appearance of the little girl and waved goodbye to her together.

Luo Qing carried her daughter upstairs, and Feng Zhengming accompanied everyone to the hotel restaurant.

On the way to the restaurant, the two grandfathers and the masters asked Feng Zhengming about the branch in Taicheng.

Li Taifeng followed beside him and listened attentively.

Feng Zhengming did not hide anything and gave a straightforward introduction to the situation of the branch. (End of this chapter)