From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 203 A Southern Sweet and Sour Short Ribs

Seeing Feng Zhengming talking, he was about to go to the kitchen to cook.

Aunt Pei Fanglan quickly stood up to stop her.

"Xiao Feng, this is your first time at home. You are a guest. How can I let you cook?"

Luo Qing was not polite at all. She grabbed her aunt and said, "It doesn't matter, aunt, just let him do it. His cooking is delicious. Today, you and your second uncle will try his cooking."

The second uncle smiled and said, "Your aunt and I have tasted his cooking. The dishes I didn't finish last time were packed back. Your aunt heated them up and ate them, and she said they tasted very good."

Feng Zhengming said: "Second uncle and aunt like to eat it. I can prepare it and deliver it to your home."

My aunt quickly said: "Oh, that won't work. Why won't it delay your business? You don't have to be so polite to us. If your second uncle and I want to eat, we can go to your shop to eat."

Feng Zhengming quickly said: "Welcome, my second uncle and aunt are welcome to come at any time."

Luo Qing held her aunt's arm and said, "Let's have a taste of his craft tonight."

In the end, my aunt had no choice but to agree: "Okay, let Xiao Feng do it tonight."

Feng Zhengming immediately agreed and walked to the kitchen.

But as soon as Feng Zhengming entered the kitchen, his aunt quickly followed him in.

"Xiao Feng, whatever condiments you need are in the cabinet above. You can see which ones you need."

Feng Zhengming looked at it and said, "Auntie, there's no need to be busy. I actually brought some seasonings myself. I'll make sure you and your second uncle have a sumptuous dinner tonight."

I saw what Feng Zhengming brought out, including various ingredients and various seasonings.

Feng Zhengming even brought star anise leaves.

My aunt was a little surprised when she saw it: "Why did you even bring these things?"

Before Feng Zhengming could answer, his second uncle came over and said, "You don't understand. Their chefs have to prepare things before cooking. If they don't prepare things in advance, no matter how good the chef is, they won't be able to cook good food."

Luo Qing immediately agreed: "Yes, yes."

Then Luo Qing pulled her aunt out of the kitchen and told her aunt about the time Feng Zhengming went to Jubinyuan for a cooking exchange.

"Auntie, you don't know, that time he went to Jubinyuan to compete with others, a lot of things were prepared on the spot, allowing them to choose what to cook with. There really is everything..."

Listening to Luo Qing's words, Aunt Pei Fanglan listened with great interest.

Lu Zhongqi saw that his wife was having a good chat with his niece, so he stood outside the kitchen door and chatted a few more words with Feng Zhengming.

"Zhengming, please come over tonight. Is your rice shop still open?"

Feng Zhengming replied while he was busy: "My grandpa is helping to watch. Although I can't cook at night, I can still sell meat and pig's trotters. I didn't prepare a lot. I can rest early when I sell out."

Lu Zhongqi was a little embarrassed: "It's really hard for you to come here, delaying your business, and asking your grandfather to help look after it."

Feng Zhengming said: "It doesn't matter. Second uncle, grandpa has always told me to find time to go home with Luo Qing and visit her parents, and also to come with Luo Qing to visit the second uncle and aunt. But before, my shop Not long after it opened, I was too busy with business and never came to visit. It was my fault."

Lu Zhongqi waved his hand: "Don't say that. I know the situation at Qingqing's family. The problem lies with her unmotivated brother. It is really helpless for her not to take you home to meet her parents."

Feng Zhengming said: "I can understand, but I still feel that we have to face what we should face."

Lu Zhongqi also agreed after hearing this: "That's right. No matter what, those are Qingqing's parents and brother. You must face them."

The second uncle then said: "Don't worry, I went to see her brother and warned him. He didn't dare to stir up trouble in front of Qingqing's parents. Later, Aunt Qingqing and I will go and talk to Qingqing's parents first, and then you guys Let’s go home, my aunt and I will go there then, and things should go smoothly.”

Feng Zhengming said: "Thank you, uncle."

Lu Zhongqi patted Feng Zhengming and said, "Why are you so polite? We will all be a family from now on. Thank you for your hard work tonight."

Speaking of this, the second uncle also reminded in a low voice: "Your aunt is from Jiangnan, so the taste will be a little sweeter."

Feng Zhengming pointed to the marinated short ribs: "I heard from Luo Qing that I have specially prepared short ribs to make sweet and sour short ribs for my aunt."

The second uncle smiled and said, "That's good. Your aunt often talks about it. You can show off your skills tonight."

Feng Zhengming agreed and asked his second uncle to sit down for a while while he continued to be busy in the kitchen.

Knowing that he was coming to his second uncle's house tonight, Feng Zhengming asked Luo Qing to find out the tastes of his second uncle and aunt in advance.

My second uncle is a local, and his taste is basically local.

But my aunt is from the south, to be precise, from the metropolis at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

So my aunt's taste is a little sweeter.

Feng Zhengming learned this and prepared dishes specially for his aunt.

Something special among them is the sweet and sour short ribs.

The cooking method of Feng Zhengming's sweet and sour short ribs is different from many restaurants and home cooking methods.

First of all, Feng Zhengming washed the small rows with clean water several times and soaked them for a while to wash away the blood as much as possible.

Then, the short ribs are not soaked in the flying water first, but soaked in blood water. After wiping away the water stains on the surface, they are directly put into the pot for frying.

For frying, you need to heat the oil to a relatively hot temperature, basically about 80% of the oil temperature.

Fry the ribs directly into the pan at high oil temperature.

Feng Zhengming also covered the pot with a pot lid in the kitchen.

Until the crackling noise in the pot subsides.

At this time, open the lid of the pot and you will see that the meat on the ribs has shrunk due to frying, and there will be a burnt ring where the meat and bones are connected. This means that the ribs have been fried and can be poured out of the pot directly.

Next, Feng Zhengming stir-fried the sugar color first, and the sugar color turned maroon red. Then he put the ribs, onion and ginger into the pot together.

The aroma of onion and ginger is stir-fried, and the surface of the ribs is evenly coated with sugar color.

Cook in the soy sauce and stir-fry until the aroma of the soy sauce develops, then add the rice wine, followed by the vinegar and sugar in a one to one ratio.

Fill a large bowl with vinegar and the same amount of sugar.

Bring the water in the pot to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover the pot.

For the rest of the time, the pot was simmered with the lid on.

Feng Zhengming ignored it and continued cooking other dishes on the stove nearby.

In addition to the sweet and sour short ribs in the pot, Feng Zhengming also specially prepared three stir-fried dishes so that he and his uncle could have two drinks.

Other dishes include sweet-scented osmanthus meat, shredded potatoes in vinegar, and stir-fried cabbage.

Feng Zhengming even made a family version of milk soup family portrait.

Several stir-fried dishes were prepared, and the family portrait in milk soup was also simmered.

At this time, Feng Zhengming felt that it was almost time, so he opened the lid of the sweet and sour short ribs.

The moment you open the lid of the pot, the rich sweet and sour aroma wafts out of the kitchen.

Her aunt, who was chatting with Luo Qing in the living room, smelled the sweet and sour aroma wafting from the kitchen, and she was suddenly surprised.

"This scent, the sweet and sour scent, is very special. It's not like the sweet and sour scent here in Quancheng. It seems to be the sweet and sour scent from my aunt's hometown." Luo Qing smiled and said, "I told my aunt, My aunt is from the south, so I asked him to take care of my aunt's taste when cooking."

The second uncle was also a little surprised: "This fragrance is really special. It is different from our local sweet and sour fragrance."

Auntie sniffed it carefully again: "That's right, this scent is the sweet and sour scent from our place."

The sweet and sour fragrance not only drifts into the family's living room, but also drifts out from the kitchen window.

Some other homes in the family building also smelled this tempting sweet and sour fragrance.

"Whose cooking is this? Is it so delicious?"

"This smell is so special, like a sweet and sour dish, right?"

"It smells really good, I really want to eat it."

"I wonder whose family it is?"

"It seems that the smell is coming from Teacher Pei's house upstairs."

"Teacher Pei's house? Is Teacher Pei's craftsmanship so good?"

Perhaps what Feng Zhengming didn't expect was that the trick he showed at his second uncle Luo Qing's house would still be talked about by many people in the family building long after.

And in the next few days, everyone would always ask Pei Fanglan when they met her.

Feng Zhengming took out the sweet and sour pork ribs and said to the outside: "Okay, it's time to serve. Get ready to eat."

Luo Qing quickly got up and rushed into the kitchen.

"What kind of food do you cook? Why is it so delicious?"

Feng Zhengming pointed to the sweet and sour short ribs: "Look at the sweet and sour short ribs. Isn't my aunt from the south? So I specially made a southern flavor."

Luo Qing said: "My aunt also said just now that this tastes like the taste of her hometown."

Feng Zhengming saw Luo Qing getting closer to smell it, and reminded him with a smile: "Stop smelling it, take it out first, and take a good look and smell it after it's served."

Luo Qing said immediately: "Okay."

Then Luo Qing and Feng Zhengming brought out the dishes one by one from the kitchen and placed them on the dining table.

When her aunt saw the sweet and sour pork ribs in Luo Qing's hands, she stared at them carefully for a long time.

"It's really well done. The appearance and smell of this sweet and sour pork ribs are very similar to those made in my hometown."

I saw Feng Zhengming bringing out the last soup dish.

My aunt couldn't help but ask: "Zhengming, did you learn this sweet and sour pork ribs from the master in my hometown?"

Feng Zhengming didn't hide it at all: "Auntie, have you noticed? This recipe for sweet and sour short ribs was indeed learned from a southern chef when my master and I went out for a cooking exchange."

My aunt sighed: "Thank you so much for letting my aunt smell this smell again."

Feng Zhengming quickly said: "Auntie, you're welcome. If aunt likes to eat it, I will cook it for you in the future. How about you and your second uncle go to my shop to eat it together."

But my aunt said: "If possible, can you teach my aunt how to do it?"

Before Feng Zhengming could speak, his second uncle took out the prepared wine and said, "Okay, let's sit down and try Xiao Feng's cooking first, and then we'll talk about teaching cooking."

My aunt also came to her senses and said quickly: "Yes, yes, sit down. Sit down and eat first."

Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing sat together, and his second uncle and aunt sat together.

Seeing that his second uncle had taken out a bottle of good wine, Feng Zhengming reached out to take the wine, opened the bottle cap and poured it for his second uncle first, and then for himself.

After pouring the wine, the second uncle raised his glass and said, "Okay, welcome Xiao Feng to our house as a guest. Xiao Feng has also worked hard tonight. He is obviously a guest but he has cooked such a large table of sumptuous dishes for us."

Feng Zhengming raised his glass and said: "Second uncle, you're welcome. Qingqing and I would like to express our respect to our second uncle and aunt."

Everyone raised their glasses together, and the four glasses clinked together.

After drinking his first glass of wine, Feng Zhengming quickly pointed to the sweet and sour short ribs and said, "Second uncle and aunt, you guys try it first."

My aunt used her chopsticks first and picked up a piece of ribs.

Put it to your mouth and bite it lightly, and the meat falls right off the bones.

The unique sweet and sour taste in the mouth instantly reminded my aunt of her hometown.

Although Feng Zhengming put a lot of vinegar and sugar when making it, after a long period of stewing, the flavors of vinegar and sugar have been integrated, and neither the sourness nor the sweetness are so strong.

Even the unique combination of sourness and sweetness on the pork ribs not only does not make you feel greasy when you eat it, but it actually leaves you with a long aftertaste.

After eating the first piece of ribs, my aunt was really excited.

"It's so delicious. I haven't had this real pork ribs with this taste in a long time. It tastes so good. It's even better than the taste in my hometown in my memory. Xiao Feng, your craftsmanship is really good."

After listening to what my aunt said, I saw tears in her eyes.

Feng Zhengming said: "Auntie, you're welcome. I heard from Qingqing that my aunt came to Quancheng from the south. She came here with skills and knowledge to support the school's teaching, and then she never went back to the south again. I really I really admire my aunt in my heart, so I want to cook a dish from my aunt’s hometown.”

Auntie nodded and said, "Good boy, thank you, auntie."

Feng Zhengming added: "Actually, the dishes I cook may not be very authentic. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will seriously learn a few dishes from my aunt's hometown and cook them for her."

Auntie waved her hand: "No, your craftsmanship is so good, Auntie believes that the food you cook will be delicious."

The second uncle echoed: "That's right, Xiao Feng, your skills are really good. These dishes of yours are delicious to me. They taste just like the ones you fry in the shop."

Luo Qing was naturally very happy when her second uncle and aunt praised Feng Zhengming.

"Of course, Zhengming is the best at cooking."

Luo Qing then tasted the pork ribs and found that the sweet and sour pork ribs were really delicious.

"Wow, it's so delicious. So this is what my aunt's hometown tastes like? It's really delicious."

My aunt smiled and said: "The taste in my hometown is still sweet, maybe some are sweeter than Xiao Feng's. Xiao Feng's dish is really good. It's not that sweet, but it's more delicious."

During this dinner at Luo Qing's second uncle's house, it can be said that Feng Zhengming's craftsmanship immediately conquered his second uncle and aunt.

Whether it's the sweet and sour short ribs specially made for my aunt, or the classic stir-fried three dishes.

My second uncle and aunt were really full of praise.

In one meal, he almost ate all the food prepared by Feng Zhengming.

Finally, Feng Zhengming and his second uncle sat together, drinking wine and continuing to chat over the peanuts his second uncle brought out.

Auntie took Luo Qing into the house and was chatting with Luo Qing.

The second uncle was a little happy, so he drank a little too much. He put his arms around Feng Zhengming and said, "Remember, you must be nice to Qingqing no matter what, or I won't be able to spare you."

Hearing what his loud-tongued second uncle said, Feng Zhengming seriously agreed: "Of course, I will definitely do it."

(End of this chapter)