Zhang Dashao was certainly happy to see everyone's enthusiastic response.
But the old man was not arrogant and became polite immediately.
He said to Miss Jiang Si, "What a famous person, you are looking up to me too much. I'm just a cook. Make good food so that everyone can be satisfied. Thumbs up, I’m satisfied.”
“Actually, the reason why this dish is so rare is not that it’s really difficult to make. It just requires patience, and most people don’t have that much time. It takes a lot of time to prepare it carefully and concentrate on it.”
“But this dish also requires a lot of effort, including the selection and combination of ingredients, the knife skills and the heat. Yu Fu Men’er and Zhai Men’er’s private dishes.”
"From this point of view, I think if you cook it, it will probably taste better than what I cook. It's just a coincidence that I serve you this dish today, and it's a bit of a trick. Don't just say yes, or You have to find fault with me..."
Miss Jiang Si did not expect that Zhang Dashao would turn around and praise her, and she immediately became humble.
"What? Me? You think too highly of me. I'm just a glutton for delicious food. I can barely be regarded as an eater who never tires of fine food and fine food. How can I compare with you? I want to be picky about you. Food is my specialty. Although I have some cooking skills, I can only cook casually at home. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to run a restaurant well..."
"No, that's it. You can't say that. You are too polite."
Zhang Dashao shook his head decisively.
He is a true diet expert, especially when it comes to the principle of diligence. One is one, and two is two. He must not be careless.
The old man said very seriously, "Most people who eat delicious food will do it. The more they love to eat, the more they know how to eat, the more demanding they are. In private, they will work harder on their diet. As the saying goes, it is better to ask for others than to ask for yourself. Well. If things go on like this, how can we not have a few unique dishes to satisfy our appetite? So, the truly exquisite dishes are often produced in the private residences of good eaters. Only a few that are cheaply made can be spread occasionally. "
"Like 'Pan Yu' and 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall', which ones are not enough to be passed down from generation to generation, even in the palace, otherwise Qianlong and Xi? The Queen Mother would not insist on setting up their own small kitchen, but would find a way to bring cooks from outside into the palace to serve them. Just talk about the hibiscus chicken slices that everyone has heard of and the duck in front of them. It’s a private dish in the palace.”
“The same goes for you. Back then, wasn’t Gishlin’s ‘Cream Chestnut Powder’ your personal creation? . This dessert is quite amazing. As far as this one thing is concerned, it has surpassed Cheeseline, which started out as a dessert. I have also tried to make it. I admire your ingenuity. It's so important. This also shows your cooking skills. How could it be possible that you are not good at cooking? "
"As for us diligent cooks, our ability on the stove lies in how we use it. It takes time to prepare a complete set of decent official banquets. Although the dishes we are best at are good-looking and delicious, the cooking requirements of the dishes are very different from those of delicate fire-cooked dishes. What we pay attention to is flavor and softness, and what we want is quick and decent, but it is often too rigid and rigid, so working as a cook in a restaurant is completely different from working as a cook in a private house. ”
"Of course, the opposite is also true. No matter how good the private kitchen is, it is only suitable for a large and meticulous family to entertain guests. Or it can be used for a dinner party with a few friends who are particular about eating and drinking, but it is not suitable for official banquets. Even if you can barely use it, there is absolutely no benefit. Even if you can do it well, you will definitely not be able to eat well."
"Because you think the official seats are only two or three tables, or ten. There are several tables and dozens of tables. This is a formal banquet and a banquet for guests. Eating is equivalent to a courtesy, and every move is restricted. It is inevitable to waste time. However, the delicate heat dishes are eaten only by the heat. One spoonful can only be fried for one plate. , stir-fry for two plates at most, and you have to eat it as soon as it comes, and it will be out of taste after a few seconds."
"So, if you use really delicate dishes. It's hard to get a good review from the guests at Yuzhuang Restaurant. Don't look at the reputation of Tan's cuisine. Now it has become so popular that it has changed. If you asked him to hold a banquet, two tables would be the limit, and he would still do it. You have to prepare for three to five days in advance. No matter how long it takes, he won’t be able to get it out even if he vomits blood. Is that true?” I got it wrong. In my opinion, the reason why your restaurant is not doing well is not because your cooking skills are not good, but it is probably because your cooking skills are too high and too elegant. Don’t forget, good chefs need to be appreciated. For diners. And your restaurant is in a foreign country. Can you expect foreigners to understand your exquisite dishes? What he said is reasonable and well-founded.
Not only did he explain clearly the difference between private kitchen food and restaurant food, he also immediately solved some of Miss Jiang Si’s long-standing doubts about restaurant management.
And he also specifically mentioned the proud things of Miss Jiang Si back then, and praised Miss Jiang Si.
Can Miss Jiang Si still be unhappy?
"Oh, thank you for your advice, and thank you for thinking so highly of me. Otherwise, an expert is still an expert. As expected, the insights are unique and brilliant. After listening to your words today, I It finally dawned on me. It seems that this is the case. Let’s not talk about who is advising the other and who is the master of the art. Since we all love eating and cooking. People make friends with food. Today I will eat your food first. At noon on the fifth day of the first lunar month, I will also prepare a banquet for you. What do you think? If you don’t mind, you can also taste my private food. ..."
These words also reached Zhang Dashao's heart.
Since Miss Jiang Si's family environment is very unusual, he really wants to know something about her.
Gain's wealthy family's private dishes are rarely spread, and they are all good and have special cooking methods.
There are even often unique and refreshing feelings.
The old man also hopes to have some surprises in his ordinary life. It is very likely that Miss Jiang Si is the person who surprises him.
But despite this, Zhang Dashao, who was looking forward to this meal, refused to take advantage of others.
Although he accepted the invitation, he did not forget to make arrangements for Ning Weimin.
"Hey, if you want to treat me, I'm happy to ask for it. When the day comes, I will never be absent. As for my little knowledge, if you find it helpful, that's my honor. But ah , I would be ashamed if you all credited it to me."
The old man pointed at Ning Weimin, "Because to be honest, these insights and opinions are also due to me. I didn’t think so clearly. Speaking of which, it was thanks to this guy that he opened a restaurant that specializes in palace cuisine, and he also wanted to open a branch abroad. When we saw that Tianer had nothing to do, we thought about which dishes to use. What is the right thing to do? After going back and forth, we have such experience and consensus."
The old man followed and pointed to several dishes on the table for Miss Jiang Si.
"Hey, by the way, this kid is also a good eater who knows how to eat and drink. The dishes he has come up with are quite interesting. Look at the pine nuts, corn and oyster sauce lettuce on the table today. These two dishes are his inventions and have now become one of the best-selling dishes in his restaurant. By the way, the salt and pepper mushrooms and duck egg yolk baked pumpkin are also very popular in Japan. To say that this old Kang really has a good apprentice, I am very envious..."
Indeed, it was different from the content that was similar to most families in the capital at that time.
The size of the meal at Majia Garden at noon today is absolutely top-notch.
Because in addition to some traditional dishes that people in Beijing have to have during the New Year, such as "pork skin jelly", "mustard dumpling", "tempeh tofu", "hawthorn mixed with cabbage heart", "rice vermicelli meat", "Steamed fish", "braised chicken", "fried meatballs", "stir-fried mutton with green onion", "braised pork ribs", "home-made hairtail fish", "minced pork with mustard with snow" and "eight-treasure rice" are also on the table today. Several dishes are unique and fresh.
Not to mention the Chai Bang Duck and Braised Sea Cucumber with Tendons cooked by Zhang Dashao himself, they are both extremely delicious dishes and occupy the most conspicuous position on the table.
But there are two other extremely bright vegetarian dishes that are also eye-catching and refreshing.
That is, Ning Weimin copied the work of the future catering industry and "invented" pine nut corn and oyster sauce lettuce in advance.
If nothing else, let’s just say that in Beijing these days, vegetable production has not completely broken through the shackles of seasons.
Although the capital has vigorously developed greenhouse vegetables since 1984, "special vegetable bases" for introducing foreign vegetables have been established in Taiyang Palace and Xiaotangshan. Even vegetables from other places have been vigorously supplied to the capital since last year.
But for the vast market demand, these are still a drop in the bucket. As ordinary people, we still have to mainly store Chinese cabbage in winter.
Being able to spend a lot of money to buy a few fresh products in winter, namely tomatoes, cucumbers and bean sprouts, is better than nothing.
So from the perspective of material supply, it is not easy to see such a thing in the cold winter of the twelfth lunar month.
This is entirely due to the good cooperative relationship between Ning Weimin and the Temple of Heaven Park, so that these things can be obtained from the supply chain of the greenhouse.
In addition, don’t forget that pine nut corn and oyster sauce lettuce are also popular dishes that have been tested by public tastes.
Looking at the whole country in the future, whether it is a northern city or a southern city, as long as it is a public restaurant, these two dishes will basically be available, and they will be retained for a long time, and the ordering rate is not low.
Before liberation, all famous restaurants across the country had the ability to provide more than fifty kinds of general dishes at any time.
Looking at it this way, these two dishes of pine nuts, corn and oyster sauce lettuce have entered the general menu of the new society.
This is enough to prove that these two dishes have a wide audience and are definitely popular tastes.
Needless to say, on Zhang Dashao’s recommendation, Miss Jiang Si also went to try Ning Weimin’s “inventions”.
Don’t mention it, although the taste of these two dishes is more straightforward, there is no blending or subtle changes of the five flavors.
But it is really delicious, with a sweet taste, and it is also very satisfying. After one bite, I want to eat another.
No wonder those young people like eating meat so much, and they also flock to these two vegetarian dishes.
For this reason, Miss Jiang Si could not help but look at Ning Weimin with admiration.
While she asked her son to have a taste, she thought about talking to Ning Weimin.
But Ning Weimin didn't care about anything else at this time.
He was taking care of Matsumoto Keiko with all his attention.
While serving her dishes, he explained to her many issues that she did not understand.
For no other reason, Matsumoto Keiko is Japanese after all. Even if she has learned Chinese, she can speak a lot, and there will be no problem in daily communication.
But it is impossible to fully understand the ancient Chinese philosophy of life.
To be honest, from the moment she stepped into the gate of Ma's garden, she felt like she had fallen into a profound hole. She had no support, no scratching, and the soft bottom made her sink deeper and deeper. This feeling had never been felt before anywhere.
So even though she was sitting at the banquet, there were too many things that she didn't understand.
Just like when Zhang Dashao mentioned the word "washing dust" just now, she asked Ning Weimin in confusion what it meant. Do you want to take a bath?
This made Ning Weimin almost spit out a mouthful of wine.
After coughing for a while, he could tell Qingzi that cleaning up the dust meant drinking and eating.
But Matsumoto Keiko was still confused and asked why she had to talk about washing the dust when it was clearly time to eat. Can she talk about eating when it was time to wash the dust?
Ning Weimin had no choice but to accompany him slowly, giving him euphemistic expressions that popularized Chinese customs little by little.
Later, when I saw that she was just saying that she would not eat, he put another chopstick of vegetables on her small plate.
Matsumoto Keiko asked what kind of dish it was.
Unexpectedly, Mi Xiaohui, a naughty girl who deliberately teased Menzi, actually interrupted and said, "This is called an ant climbing a tree and not growing old."
As a result, Keiko Matsumoto was frightened and her eyes widened.
Ning Weimin noticed the change in her expression, and quickly explained that it was just minced meat and stir-fried porridge, and there were no ants in it. It was just called that, so feel free to eat it.
It can be imagined that it was not easy for Ning Weimin to eat even half of this meal. He basically had no time to take care of Qingzi.
So when Miss Jiang Si saw him looking like a "model loving wife", she was too embarrassed to disturb him, so she went to congratulate Kang Shude instead.
"You are a really good apprentice. No wonder you make Master Zhang envious. You do have some skills. Well, both of these dishes are good. Especially the pine nut corn, the color is beautiful and the preparation is easy. If this is At that time, if this dish was introduced in Guishin, it would have become a signature dish that would attract people to imitate. It seems that we are all getting older, which means that each generation is getting better and better. Are you, my apprentice, willing to teach me these two dishes and let me try them in the United States..."
It stands to reason that when a master appreciates his apprentice so much, especially If Miss Jiang Si is from a well-known family and has seen the world, she will not be unhappy.
But he didn't know whether it was because Kang Shude was still angry with Ning Weimin or because he couldn't see him being so attentive to Matsumoto Keiko in front of her.
When the old man heard other people praising his apprentice, he was full of disgust and disdain. He simply followed the saying "the fragrance is far away and the smell is close".
"Huh, that's not bad. The biggest problem with this kid is that he has no future. Can't you see it? He is greedy for pleasure and weak-willed, so he is not a person who can do big things. If you want me to see that, it is better than yours. My son is far behind. Your son has a doctorate in Western architecture overseas. He is truly a talented person, and he is worthy of being a descendant of your Jiang family. How can he really know how to fall in love? , eat, drink and have fun, just know how to be opportunistic."
The old man even frowned and couldn't help but knock his index finger on the table, and shouted at Ning Weimin from a distance.
"Hey, you kid, those ears are just for decoration. Your fourth aunt is talking to you, can you be polite?"
At this moment, Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko were shocked.
The lovebirds immediately broke off their conversation. (End of this chapter)