From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 41 Understand “taste” first and then season it

After his senior brother and brother-in-law left, Feng Zhengming, Zhang Lei and Yang Peng heated up hot water and took a shower in the backyard of the cafeteria.

After Feng Zhengming took a shower, he also washed all the clothes he had changed out of.

After washing the clothes and hanging them to dry in the backyard, Feng Zhengming returned to the dormitory where he now lives with Zhang Lei and Yang Peng.

I took out the prepared paper and pen again and wrote a letter to Master.

I briefly told Master some things that happened during this period.

He also told Master in the letter that he didn’t have to worry about himself. His senior brother and his brother-in-law took good care of him. He also used the skills he learned from his master to help his senior brother prepare the dishes. He even went to the train station to sell box lunches.

Zhang Lei saw Feng Zhengming's letter and asked curiously: "Uncle Junior, are you writing a letter to Master?"

Feng Zhengming responded: "Yes, Master should have arrived home. I will write a letter to Master to let Master know that I am very good with Senior Brother, so that he can rest assured."

Yang Peng came closer and asked: "Uncle Master, are you considered Master's disciple? Did Master teach you some secrets that are not passed on to others?"

Feng Zhengming raised his head when he heard this and saw Zhang Lei and Yang Peng staring at him with curious expressions.

He couldn't help but smile and asked: "Do you think we are the martial arts sect in martial arts novels? Is there a secret book that has not yet been passed on to the public? Is there a trick to defeat the enemy?"

Zhang Lei said: "Yes, it's like the seasonings of some dishes. There must be particularities in what ingredients should be added and how much should be added. Isn't this a unique trick?"

Yang Peng said: "There are also some skills in sword skills, which can also be regarded as a unique skill."

Feng Zhengming said: "I'm afraid you two are disappointed. Master didn't teach me any special skills alone. What Master taught me is no different from what my senior brothers taught me. They are all the basic skills of cooking."

Zhang Lei and Yang Peng were a little hesitant.

"Is there really no trick?"

"I think the seasoning of some of the dishes when you and your master were cooking a banquet in the countryside, little uncle, were very unique."

After hearing this, Feng Zhengming put down his pen and turned around to look at the two people.

"As for the seasoning, I have already told you that seasoning cannot be adjusted based on experience. You have to taste it with your own mouth and adjust the seasoning according to the taste, because experience always fails, and only your own tongue cannot. You will deceive yourself."

Zhang Lei said: "But everyone's taste will be different."

Yang Peng said: "Yes, some people have strong tastes, and some people have light tastes. According to our own tastes, I am afraid that we may not be able to season accurately, and there will still be deviations."

Feng Zhengming said: "So you first need to know whether your own taste is heavy or light. You must first understand your own taste, and then you can more accurately adjust the appropriate taste."

Feng Zhengming went on to say: “We also need to season different ingredients according to the saying: if there is flavor, it will come out, and if there is no flavor, it will come in.

It is necessary to accurately judge the characteristics of the ingredients, and then season them accordingly according to the characteristics of different ingredients, so that the ingredients can be more delicious when cooked. "

Speaking of this, Feng Zhengming simply gave a few examples to the two of them.

"For example, when we were making the "Sweet and Sour Carp" dish in the countryside, everyone knew that carp was very fishy, ​​so before we cooked it, we had to remove the fishy smell of carp as much as possible. This requires knowing that carp has the most fishy smell. Something fishy.

The abdominal cavity must be cleaned, the fish teeth in the throat must be removed, the gills must also be removed, and the black membrane on the back of the fish must be cleaned as much as possible.

After that, we put a knife on the fish and then soaked the fish. On the one hand, it is to add flavor to the fish meat, and on the other hand, it is also to remove the fishy smell of the carp itself. ” ˆ ˆ ˆ Zhang Lei and Yang Peng sat nearby and listened very carefully.

Feng Zhengming used a dish as an example to explain theoretical knowledge so that the two of them could understand it more clearly.

"Another example is sea cucumber. Sea cucumber itself has no taste at all, so it needs to be flavored with a strong flavor. As the saying goes, it must be able to hold it.

So the dish my brother-in-law talked about to my senior brother that night was sea cucumber steak.

Using the taste of elbow can better hold the sea cucumber, so that the sea cucumber can have the meaty flavor of elbow. "

Hearing this, Yang Peng suddenly asked: "Uncle Master, I heard that my master has a dish of sea cucumbers roasted with green onions, which is a very classic dish. Master said that my master's sea cucumbers roasted with green onions were auctioned for 6000 yuan back then. "

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, Master's roasted sea cucumber with green onions is indeed his classic dish."

Zhang Lei asked: "Uncle Master, you just said that sea cucumbers should be held with a strong flavor. The green onions used to roast sea cucumbers with green onions don't seem to have such a strong taste, right?"

Feng Zhengming laughed when he heard this: "You don't think that sea cucumbers are cooked with green onions, right? In fact, before sea cucumbers are roasted, they need to be seasoned first, with some pork bones, ham, old chicken, and Stew some spices together, let the sea cucumber absorb the flavor first, and then cook it with green onions."

Zhang Lei and Yang Peng were a little surprised: "Is that so?"

Feng Zhengming said: "Yes, don't just look at the surface. It seems that sea cucumbers are cooked with broth and sea cucumbers are cooked with green onions. In fact, stewing the sea cucumbers before roasting them is more important."

Zhang Lei and Yang Peng felt that they would gain something every time they chatted with their junior uncle, especially when talking about cooking and dishes.

Feng Zhengming's few words tonight also gave Zhang Lei and Yang Peng a new understanding of seasoning.

The two of them did not continue to disturb Feng Zhengming's letter, but went aside to digest some of what they heard tonight.

Feng Zhengming continued to write to Master, introducing himself and his senior brother. Finally, he did not forget to ask Master to take good care of himself. He also wrote at the back of the letter that he would visit Master when he was not busy.

After writing the letter, and seeing that it was getting late, Feng Zhengming went out again with a flashlight and inspected the inside and outside of the canteen.

He also locked the door in front of the cafeteria and the door in the backyard before returning to the dormitory to sleep.

In the early morning of the next day, Feng Zhengming and the others still got up early together and went to the farmers' wholesale market to purchase.

After returning from shopping, Feng Zhengming and his senior brother led Zhang Lei and Yang Peng to clean up some ingredients.

It was around ten o'clock in the morning when Feng Zhengming spoke to his senior brother.

I took the letter I wanted to send to Master, got on Senior Brother's bicycle and rushed to the post office to send the letter.

While sending the letter, Feng Zhengming divided the money he earned from selling lunch boxes with the money given to him by his brother-in-law who worked as a host in the countryside. He only kept some change, opened an account at Postal Bank, and deposited 1000 yuan.

Holding the passbook, Feng Zhengming knew that the money in the passbook was his future start-up capital.

After putting away his bankbook, Feng Zhengming rode his bicycle to the city again and bought some candies and snacks in the store to feed his elder brother and his brother-in-law's children when they came over in the afternoon.

After buying the things, Feng Zhengming immediately rode back to the canteen without stopping.

In the cafeteria, Li Huidong and his two apprentices had basically completed the preparation of materials for the noon reception.

(End of this chapter)