From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 261: First grade tofu, an opponent

Feng Zhengming's "one fish, two meals" is really a bit of a dimensionality reduction attack at the competition site.

This is a dish that even some old and master chefs may be able to make.

It may not lose to Feng Zhengming in terms of seasoning and presentation. Even if prepared carefully, the master chefs and master chefs will surpass Feng Zhengming's one-fish, two-for-one dish.

But if the master chefs and master chefs are like Feng Zhengming, they will cook this dish step by step on site.

I'm afraid it may not be better than the dish Feng Zhengming made at the scene.

Because when Feng Zhengming cooks such a dish, he first comes to the stadium to cook the soup.

This includes slaughtering and cleaning fish and conches, and peeling fresh shrimps to make shrimp paste.

And do the carvings on the plates with your own hands.

Then fry half of it and stir-fry half of it.

This dish also amazed the judges on the spot.

Chef Yan saw and tasted Xia Mingye's first-grade tofu.

Especially in the eyes of several invited foreigners, this plate of first-grade tofu is as good as Feng Zhengming’s one-fish-two-eat dish.

This meticulousness and meticulousness completely overwhelmed all the young chefs on site.

Almost all the young chefs at the scene served dishes before Feng Zhengming.

On the contrary, including Xia Mingye's plate of first-grade tofu.

After setting it up, go to the steamer to steam the first-grade tofu.

The judges really want to directly select Feng Zhengming as the top pick.

When the steamed tofu comes out of the pot, pour the gravy from the pot evenly on the surface of the tofu.

In addition to Feng Zhengming’s dish, there were several other dishes that also amazed the judges present.

It's actually not difficult to make. The key to making it fancy is to season the filling between the two layers of tofu, and to adjust the tofu.

Feng Zhengming slowly perfected the dish at the end, and also completed the final plating before serving it in front of everyone.

At this time, the plate looks like a complete piece of tofu.

Therefore, in such a comparison, Feng Zhengming once again appears to be somewhat outstanding.

When Master Xia heard the praise from Master Yan, he still said modestly: "Xiao Ye's dish is relatively simple, more of a pile of ingredients. There is still a gap between it and Zheng Ming's one-fish-two-eat dish."

Then find a deeper plate and spread an even layer of tofu puree on the bottom of the plate.

While steaming, Xia Mingye seasoned the stock in the pot and put a thin glass gravy on it.

Xia Mingye cut the mushrooms into small pieces, placed a branch of plum blossom on the surface of the tofu, carefully cut off the tomato skin with a knife, cut it into the shape of petals, and decorated it on the branches of the mushrooms.

After preparing the soup, Xia Mingye then prepared eight ingredients including sea cucumber, abalone, scallops, tendon, shrimp, diced pork, diced bamboo shoots, and diced mushrooms to form an eight-treasure filling.

After simmering the filling.

The old man smiled and said to Master Xia: "Lao Xia, your family is also very secretive. Xiao Xia's first-grade tofu is a specialty of your family, right? Moreover, Xiao Xia's seasoning is very unique, and the eight-treasure filling is quite delicious. It’s delicious and the tofu is well seasoned.”

Because the chefs participating in the competition are all young chefs around 30 years old.

Among them is the first-grade tofu made by Xia Hui's younger brother Xia Mingye.

After cutting them all into small dices, the eight fillings are stewed in stock.

The senior chefs and master chefs who were the judges on the scene still knew very well that in terms of cooking techniques, Feng Zhengming was the only one on the scene, and other young chefs could not compare with him.

Maybe if it weren't for the fact that every chef in the back would have had the opportunity to have two dishes.

Then spread the filling on top, spread the filling completely, then cover the remaining tofu paste on top, and smooth the surface very carefully.

Yipin tofu is a very famous Confucius dish.

The dishes of some other young chefs are also very excellent in the eyes of the senior chefs and master chefs among the judges.

Perhaps the preparation of Yipin Tofu is not as showy as Feng Zhengming’s One Fish, Two Eats.

Of course this does not mean that other young chefs are not good.

Xia Mingye also followed the method passed down from his family, and first simmered the broth on site like Feng Zhengming.

Xia Mingye sifted the soft tofu several times to make the tofu delicate enough, then seasoned the tofu, and then added egg white and a little starch to the tofu.

After tasting it, several foreigners were full of praise for the eight-treasure filling in the tofu.

But Xia Mingye carefully prepared the soup stock, stewed the delicious fillings, and finally presented the plum blossoms in season.

The competition still continues, and the judges give scores to other contestants' dishes.

It needs to be simmered slowly over medium-low heat to gradually thicken the soup and simmer the deliciousness of the soup into the ingredients.

In the end, Feng Zhengming collected the soup separately for seasoning and thickening the two halves of the fish.

After all this, it took five or six hours to eat one fish and two meals.

For a young chef to be able to specialize in one or two techniques and make one or two very good dishes, this is already very worthy of recognition.

Stir the tofu evenly until it becomes very smooth and tender.

It was the first time for Chang Zongfu to eat first-grade tofu, and it was cooked by a descendant of Confucius cuisine.

Whether it is the presentation or the taste, Chang Zongfu has some new understanding of Confucius cuisine.

After tasting a piece of tofu, Chang Zongfu went to Xia Mingye specifically.

Xia Mingye was a little surprised when he saw Chang Zongfu coming to the stove and handing his business card to him.

After taking Chang Zongfu's business card, Xia Mingye became even more curious when he saw the other company's company.

Chang Zongfu introduced it: "My company is a catering culture company. I hope to integrate our Shandong cuisine and then push Shandong cuisine to the outside world, especially to foreign countries, so that foreigners can learn about Shandong cuisine." , better understand our food culture, so that you can have more communication with us.”

When Xia Mingye heard what the other party said, he was a little fooled by the other party's words and thought that the other party was very powerful.

"You are so awesome, do you want to promote our Shandong cuisine to the whole world?"

Chang Zongfu heard Xia Mingye's words and saw the shocked look on his face.

Suddenly I realized that Xia Mingye's craftsmanship was not bad, but he was not very old, so he might not have had much contact with the outside world, and his speech and behavior were obviously very immature.

Seeing this, Chang Zongfu couldn't help but feel that if he couldn't hire Feng Zhengming, he might be able to hire the younger chef in front of him.

Moreover, Chang Zongfu feels that Xia Mingye is younger, his skills are not bad, and he has the inheritance of Confucius cuisine.

If Xia Mingye can be invited to work as a chef in his restaurant, it will be easier for the young Xia Mingye to receive training from foreign chefs. If he can use his inheritance of Confucian cuisine to make a fuss, he can greatly enhance the reputation of his restaurant. But just when Chang Zongfu was about to start lobbying Xia Mingye.

Suddenly Xia Hui appeared next to him. After finishing the game, she searched all the way to find her brother.

Xia Hui didn't notice Chang Zongfu at first, but asked his brother first.

"How's it going bro? What did you cook?"

When Xia Mingye saw his sister, he immediately replied with a smile: "Sister, I have heard that the crispy fried hairtail with tomato sauce you made has received good reviews, and those foreigners especially like it."

Xia Hui waved her hand: "Stop flattering me, what did you cook?"

Xia Mingye replied obediently: "I made traditional first-grade tofu."

Xia Hui nodded: "Yes, first-grade tofu is not difficult, but if you want to make it with good texture and taste, it also requires some skills. It seems that you have learned cooking skills well."

When the two siblings started chatting like this, they completely ignored Chang Zongfu and didn't even have the intention of talking to him.

The siblings talked about the dishes they each cooked, the competition, and finally Feng Zhengming.

"Sister, I heard from people that Uncle Feng's cooking is very beautiful and won unanimous praise from the judges."

Xia Hui said, "I've heard that too. When I came to see you, I heard someone talking about how Uncle Master's one-fish-two-for-one dish has been designated as a gold medal dish in this competition."

Xia Mingye immediately said: "Sister, we are done competing. Let's go find Uncle Feng."

Xia Hui smiled and nodded: "Let's go find him."

Chang Zongfu saw the siblings talking about Feng Zhengming, and they were already going to find Feng Zhengming together. He felt that he could not wait any longer and needed to talk to the siblings quickly.

"Ahem, sorry, I didn't expect you to be siblings."

Hearing the sound, Xia Hui realized that Chang Zongfu was beside him.

Xia Mingye quickly said to his sister: "Sister, Boss Chang is so awesome. He said he would promote our Shandong cuisine to the whole world."

Chang Zongfu felt a little embarrassed when Xia Mingye spoke so loudly.

Xia Hui looked at Chang Zongfu and asked: "Boss Chang, don't you want to ask my uncle to be the master chef to open a restaurant? Why do you want to promote Shandong cuisine to the world? Are you planning to open a Shandong cuisine restaurant abroad?"

This question made Chang Zongfu a little confused about how to respond, and he choked on the words that came to his lips.

After adjusting, Chang Zongfu said: "I'm not going to open the restaurant abroad. I'm planning to open a higher-end restaurant in Quancheng that can bring together the essence of our Shandong cuisine. So I hope to invite a group of capable people." A master of Shandong cuisine, a young master like your uncle Feng Zhengming is even better."

Speaking of this, thinking that Feng Zhengming had clearly rejected him, Chang Zongfu quickly changed his mind and extended an invitation to the siblings.

"In today's competition, I saw the skills of you two siblings. Your future should be limitless. If you are willing, I very much hope that you can join my restaurant."

Xia Hui and Xia Mingye were both a little surprised.

"You want to invite us to your restaurant?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to invite Master Feng? Why did you invite us?"

Chang Zongfu felt choked again when he heard Xia Mingye's question.

Xia Hui didn't wait for Chang Zongfu to explain, but helped in advance and said: "Uncle Shi refused him before. Uncle Shi was unwilling to work as a master chef in his restaurant because he wanted foreigners to teach him."

When Xia Mingye heard what her sister said, she looked at Chang Zongfu with some surprise and asked, "Why should foreigners teach Uncle Feng?"

Chang Zongfu said with a bit of laughter and laughter: "It's not that foreigners teach Master Feng, but because my restaurant may attract some foreigners, so I will definitely introduce some foreign things to cook. Maybe Master Feng may not know how to do it? So? I said we would arrange for a foreign chef to come and teach Master Feng."

Xia Mingye asked a little strangely: "Use foreign ingredients to cook? Do you have to ask foreign chefs to teach you how to cook? Is that still Shandong cuisine?"

This question stopped Chang Zongfu, and he didn't know how to answer for a moment?

Seeing that Chang Zongfu was speechless, Xia Hui smiled and said, "So, Boss Chang should just hire foreign chefs instead of hiring us as chefs."

After saying that, Xia Hui and her brother said goodbye to Chang Zongfu politely, and the two siblings went to find Feng Zhengming together.

Chang Zongfu waited until the siblings left before he slowly recovered.

After recalling Xia Hui's words, Chang Zongfu was also a little shaken by his restaurant concept.

"Should we listen to that girl just now and directly invite foreign chefs to take charge?"

But after thinking about it this way, Chang Zongfu felt that it still couldn't be done.

"No, we still have to focus on Shandong cuisine chefs. It seems that it is not easy to persuade Feng Zhengming and the others. Maybe we should start with young and middle-aged chefs from other big restaurants."

Chang Zongfu had already seen through chatting with Xia Hui and his brother that it would be difficult to invite Feng Zhengming and the others.

Although after this competition, Chang Zongfu had an even more amazing understanding of Feng Zhengming's cooking skills after witnessing Feng Zhengming's one-fish, two-eating dish.

But knowing clearly that Feng Zhengming would not accept his invitation, Chang Zongfu naturally would not force it.

Of course, Chang Zongfu is not a person willing to admit defeat easily.

"Since you are not willing to join my restaurant, then I must make the best restaurant in Quan City. I want you to know that the traditional things you stick to are outdated in today's era, and fresh and fashionable things are now. Mainstream, I will show you what good food is.”

Chang Zongfu already regarded Feng Zhengming as his opponent in his heart.

And it is an opponent he must defeat head-on.

He wanted Feng Zhengming to know that the tradition he adhered to was outdated.

He wants to use more gorgeous foreign catering to defeat the tradition that Feng Zhengming adheres to.

Feng Zhengming didn't know that he was already regarded as an opponent by others.

After the game, he was packing his things and was going to meet Sixth Senior Brother Zhang Minghai, Xia Hui, Sun Hai, Zhang Lei and Yang Peng first.

At this moment, I saw Xia Hui leading her brother over.

Xia Hui ran to Feng Zhengming's stove: "Uncle, I heard that your dish has received high praise and has been designated as a gold medal dish. It's amazing."

When Feng Zhengming saw the Xia Hui siblings, he also smiled and said, "Didn't your crispy fried hairtail with tomato sauce also get good reviews?"

Then he asked Xia Mingye: "How is your food? What did you cook?"

Xia Mingye answered very seriously in front of Feng Zhengming: "I made first-grade tofu."

Feng Zhengming nodded and said: "That is a famous dish in Kong's cuisine. It seems that you should be able to get a good rating."

Xia Mingye said: "It shouldn't be as high as Uncle Feng's one fish, two meals."

Feng Zhengming said with a smile: "This time it is mainly about communication. It does not necessarily have to be a good dish. If you can make traditional and classic dishes, it is considered a success."

Xia Hui also encouraged her younger brother: "Yes, if you make Yipin Tofu well, it will be great."

A smile appeared on Xia Mingye's face after receiving encouragement.

(End of this chapter)