Chapter 465: Tai Feng Chapter (Part 1)
‘If we want to trace its history, Tai Feng Tower can be traced back to the middle of the Qing Dynasty. The founder was an imperial chef named Jiang. He first lived outside the customs and moved to Peking during the Republic of China. Because it has not been open for many years and has been hit by wars, this restaurant has never been famous. Maybe only a few older people have an impression of it. Tai Fung Restaurant was closed for more than 70 years, so I never had the opportunity to witness its former glory. The news about this restaurant was told to me a few years ago when I was chatting with Master Peng Changping on the other side of the ocean.
Master Peng admires and even praises Jiang Chengde, the former chef of Tai Feng House, saying that he is the only Chinese food master who combines the strengths of hundreds of schools. Even Master Peng's father received the guidance of Master Jiang Chengde in the early years. The two chief chefs of Tai Feng House are Mr. Jiang Weiming and Mr. Jiang Weiguo, the third and seventh sons of Master Jiang Chengde.
At first I never saw the faces of these two chefs, but only tasted a few of their dishes. I was honored to be invited to attend the opening of Tai Feng House because of my friend Han Guishan. There were several dishes at the banquet that surprised me, all of which were created by Mr. Jiang Weiming and Mr. Jiang Weiguo.
Before talking about the dishes, I have to make a few digressions. Mr. Jiang Weiming is 99 years old this year, and Mr. Jiang Weiguo is also 84 years old this year. Because of their age, these two head chefs generally do not cook on weekdays. Most of the time they stay in the back kitchen and guide other young chefs in overall planning. It is precisely because of this that even though I had some selfish motives when interviewing the other three young chefs and wanted to ask the two old gentlemen to cook a few dishes for me, I finally resisted.
Through a simple chat with two old gentlemen, I learned that although their father, Master Jiang Chengde, was a rare master of cooking who combined the strengths of hundreds of schools of thought and almost founded a sect, they did not do so due to the turbulence of the times. To learn all the dishes and techniques of Jiangjia cuisine, Shandong cuisine is basically the main one.
Mr. Jiang Weiming moved around several times after the fall of Peiping, and finally settled in Shu. He was engaged in the chef industry until his retirement. It is precisely because of this that he is actually a master who is proficient in both Sichuan cuisine and Shandong cuisine. It is reported that the Sichuan dish that Mr. Jiang Weiming is best at is actually the bean curd with chicken sauce, but since I didn’t have the opportunity to try it, I can only briefly talk about a few dishes I have tasted.
The first dish is the cold dish Golden Pheasant Cingshun. I rarely recommend cold dishes because in my opinion cold dishes do not fully reflect the true level of a chef in most cases. This is a colorful platter with rich ingredients including meat and vegetables. The golden pheasant made from shredded radish, shrimp, cucumber and sashimi is semi-three-dimensional, with its head held high and its feathers and tail slightly raised. When it is first served on the table I almost thought it was a piece of art for viewing. Among them, the Golden Pheasant, which is the largest and most conspicuous, has the most complex techniques and requires the highest knife skills, is so lifelike that it occupies 80% of the entire platter. The composition of the entire platter is very complete. Some of the cucumber and radish shreds on the golden pheasant tail are as thin as hair. I know only a handful of chefs who have such superb knife skills.
I rarely feel luxurious when eating a dish, even if it is made with the most expensive ingredients. But when I was eating such a colorful platter that I usually didn't pay much attention to, I actually felt that every time I stretched out my chopsticks, it was a luxury and waste, because this dish is not only excellent in knife skills, but also has impeccable taste. Every ingredient in Golden Pheasant Cingchun is carefully cooked and then shaped into platters. The combination of different ingredients is also carefully considered. This is not only a dish that will give people a strong visual impact, but also A dish that will give people a taste sensation.
If you want to give this dish a score of 95 or above, there is no doubt that as a colorful platter, I don’t think there is any problem with a full score. As a diner, I highly recommend this dish, even though the price may make many people who come here to flee because this colorful platter not only costs up to 4 figures, but also cannot be sold a la carte as a banquet dish. Considering the old age of Mr. Jiang Weiming, I believe that even if it is sold as a banquet dish, the sales volume will not be large. If you have a happy event at home and want to spend some money to host it, you might as well consider Tai Fung House. This colorful platter will definitely not let you down.
Another dish is also made by Mr. Jiang Weiming - Cannonball. This is definitely a table-crushing dish. Before describing this dish, I still have to remind all diners that this dish is also expensive and requires reservation at least three days in advance. The price may be several times more expensive than the most expensive roasted suckling pig you have eaten in the past, but as I say, it is worth every penny.
Most of the roasted suckling pigs or cannonballs on the market now have abandoned the ancient method, no longer filling the pig's belly with dates, but adding more exciting and precious ingredients. There is nothing wrong with this approach. After all, the ancient method of stuffing dates was due to the scarcity of ingredients. Today, when ingredients are becoming more abundant, chefs will naturally not stick to the old ways. It is precisely because of this that the cannonball made by Mr. Jiang Weiming gave me a bigger surprise.
Although I have never seen how this dish was created, Mr. Jiang Weiming did not hide his secrets and generously told me the general method of making this dish, and also answered some of my questions at the time. Mr. Jiang Weiming's cannonball is very interesting after being cut open. Inside the pig's belly are fresh bamboo shoots, mushrooms, duck meat, pigeon meat, glutinous rice, pigeon eggs and other ingredients. The pigeon is stuffed in the duck's belly. In addition to pigeons, the duck belly is stuffed with fresh bamboo shoots and mushrooms, and the pigeon meat belly is stuffed with glutinous rice and pigeon eggs. This preparation method is somewhat similar to the famous Huaiyang dish Three Sets of Duck.
This dish has a layered texture when you taste it. The suckling pig is crispy and the meat is tender. The stuffing inside does not look like it is roasted, but it looks like it has been carefully cooked in the stock. It is stuffed in every corner of the three animals. In addition to the fresh and meaty aroma, the glutinous rice also has the sweetness of jujube. It's a wonderful feeling, eating food prepared in many clever ways in one dish, which is undoubtedly a very wonderful dining experience.
If we were to give this dish a score, it would undoubtedly be above 95 points. The only drawback is that the portion is too large to be enjoyed by one person. Maybe it’s a selfish idea to have it all to yourself, but diners, please believe me, when such a delicacy is placed in front of you, as long as you can eat it, you will definitely want to have such a dish to yourself. Dolphin.
Readers who are familiar with me may know that I like to make some comments about chefs from my personal perspective in the middle or at the end of an article that may not be called professional. Mr. Jiang Weiming is undoubtedly a very good chef. I can even boldly guess that he may be ranked in the top 5 in this year's celebrity chef list. After tasting these dishes, I regretted more than once why I didn’t know him decades earlier. After all, even a eater like me who is passionate about food would find it hard to be shameless enough to ask a 99-year-old man to make a special trip to cook. Cooking for me is just to satisfy my appetite. Of course, what makes me happy is that although Mr. Jiang Weiming cooks less, he is still trying his best to teach his cooking skills to his younger generations. After all, the inheritance of cooking skills is the most important thing.
…’
Why was it not written in one go? Because I confessed to my boyfriend today and was declined???? (mentality exploded) (eating a hundred servings of fish heads with chopped peppers can’t save me)
In the next few days, you may see the word "broken love" between the lines. (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
(End of chapter)