Datang First Chef

Chefs who are able to act alone will always walk around the restaurant twice to see the reactions of the guests. Only when they go deep into the crowd can they really feel the level of their cooking, whether it meets the taste of the diners or not. Meet the taste of diners.

Originally, the technical content of shabu-shabu is not deeper than that of the big dishes such as Buddha Jumping Wall, even far behind, but Mo Wenyuan really wants to know how the spicy pot he carefully prepared will get a response. Many people tried it, including his apprentices, Zhong Hei Yang, He Shiliu and the shop assistants, even those who are not very good at spicy food all stuck out their tongues and nodded repeatedly, telling him the taste of this soup is very good.The spicy aroma that has never been tried lingers in the minds of the diners, and the snot rushes out of the nostrils while eating.

Mo Wenyuan walked around the restaurant twice and found that most of the diners ordered spicy pot out of curiosity. Mutton soup pots, and some such as Wang Wei, have become sausage mouths but are still sticking to their posts.

He was very happy when he heard Wang Wei's question. The ingredients of this soup are Mo Wenyuan's proud work. In the Tang Dynasty, when there was a lack of chili, he prepared a spicy soup that he was relatively satisfied with. Anyone who is a modern cook knows how much it is. It was difficult, so even though he knew that Wang Wei didn't have a deep understanding of ingredients and spices, he was willing to talk to him.

He spared no effort to praise and said: "Wang Lang has a good question, and he immediately grasped the key point of this new soup." He sighed, "This spicy soup is my favorite work. It is no exaggeration to say, Unless you have a good knowledge of spices, you will never be able to distinguish the key ingredient in the soup."

"Isn't the key ingredient cornel?"

"You gentlemen, have you ever eaten cornel soup?"

Some people nodded and some shook their heads, most of them had eaten.

"The cornel has a spicy taste, but at the same time, the astringent and sour flavors dominate the soup. Ordinary people add cornel juice to the soup, but it is not very good. Instead, they will frown because of the bitter taste."

Wang Wei suddenly realized: "There is no astringency in this soup, and there is almost no sour taste. What did Mr. Mo Xiaolang use to eliminate the two flavors?"

"It's not elimination, it should be said that I used something to cover the two flavors."

You gentlemen are fascinated by listening to it. It is always a pleasure to listen to popular science from knowledgeable people. Even if what Mo Wenyuan said has touched their blind spot of knowledge, the soothing tone of the other party is so transparent that everyone can understand it. Words that understand are loved by them.

"So, what exactly did Mr. Mo Xiaolang use?"

Mo Wenyuan smiled politely: "Can you lend me the serving chopsticks?" In the early Tang Dynasty, the meal sharing system was popular. Generally speaking, serving dishes were served with serving chopsticks. I really can't wait for the serving chopsticks to be rinsed before dividing, so I directly served the chopsticks.

As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone said, "Please! Please!"

"Use it as you like, Mo Dalang."

Using chopsticks deftly, Mo Wenyuan fished out the green, onion?

Wang Wei stretched out his hand to touch his chin, feeling that something was wrong, the green onion should be greener in color, and there are white scallions in the pot, why bother to put them?Definitely not onions.

Mo Wenyuan announced: "The key to the spicy taste is this thing."

"Is this an onion?"

"Does it look like an onion to you?"

"It's a bit like it, but it's a bit like it."

After the discussion, a group of laymen looked at Mo Wenyuan eagerly, begging the professional for an answer. He smiled slightly and said, "This thing is called citronella, also known as citronella, and it is a spice commonly used in Tianzhu."

"It has been used in China, but I haven't seen anyone use it on the esophagus. Even if they use it, doctors use it as a medicine."

Lemongrass is widely used in India and Thailand. It is the raw material of Tom Yum Kung soup. Lemongrass is often added to curry to enhance the flavor.

As a representative and popular dish in Thailand, it can even be said that Tom Yum Kung soup has entered the Chinese market for many years. Anyone who has eaten Thai food has tasted its taste.

As far as Mo Wenyuan's preferences are concerned, he actually doesn't like the taste of Tom Yum Kung soup very much. He thinks its taste is a bit pungent, but it tastes spicy and delicious, but when he smells it, there is a lingering smell of disinfectant .

He agrees that it has a wide range of applications as a seasoning, but personally dislikes the taste of it in Tom Yum Kung soup when it is paired with other spices.

However, when making imitation spicy soup, Mo Wenyuan realized it at the first time, and seasoned it with dogwood. As he thought, the pungent aroma of lemongrass could be compared with sheep soup. The taste is neutralized, and the astringency is also covered.Its aroma is similar to lemon, but it tastes very pungent. Combined with dogwood, it can numb the tongue and make diners feel spicy.

In fact, he felt that the aroma of the soup was not as good as the chili. Hey, this is the best Mo Wenyuan can do due to the constraints of the times.

He puffed out his chest proudly at the thought.

……

Shabu-shabu has replaced various traditional winter ingredients and has become the most popular food in Luoyang this year.

The price is not expensive, suitable for the whole family to eat together, not to mention the warm nature of mutton, eating a meal of mutton hot pot in the cold late autumn can warm up the whole body.

For the girls, the service of Li Sanniang Restaurant is very considerate. When they are too cold to go out, Li Sanniang Restaurant even provides takeaway service and can deliver pot to their door.

As long as the service fee is charged according to the mileage, the wealthy women don't care about this little money at all.

On this day, Li Sanniang's restaurant received a big order, not only to deliver food, but also to send a large amount of food to Shu Wu's house.

Mo Wenyuan of Shu Wujia had heard of it, and he was even acquainted with someone in his family, and that person was Zheng Duzhi, who was well-known in Luoyang.

The Qinglou Chuguan in the Tang Dynasty was not called Yihongyuan or Cuiqinglou as in modern novels. On the contrary, the names of the brothels were very simple, and they were called "Zhang Sanjia's" and "Li Sijia's".

Both Zhang San and Li Si are the names of their false mothers, who were the names of the old bustards in the Tang Dynasty.

Looking at the order for the first time, several of Mo Wenyuan's apprentices came together to study it. Zhao Shenshan, who had seen a lot of people in the world, was startled and said: "The amount of shabu-shabu for a hundred people, this price is tsk tsk tsk tsk" and made a series of tsk sounds .

Zhou Miao knew better than Zhao Shenshan. When he was in Chang'an, he occasionally went to Pingkangfang. Pingkangfang is the red light district in modern terms. It is located in the north of Chang'an City, where almost all the brothels in the city gather.

He said in an old way: "Do you think the price of shabu-shabu and delivery is expensive? How is it possible, the most expensive thing is not this price. It is the banquet money to be paid to Shu Wu's family."

Mo Wenyuan, who hadn't spoken much all this time, became very curious and couldn't help joining the conversation. He said, "What's the point?"

Zhou Miao struggled for a while. They respected Mo Wenyuan as a master. He was also very capable, and sparks of genius often flashed in his mind, but he was only more than ten years old, far away from the brothel There is still a distance in age.

After thinking about it for a while, he came to a conclusion, that's all, it's better to know about this matter later, if you really go to Pingkangfang and don't know anything, it would be too embarrassing.

Out of good intentions, he explained to Mo Wenyuan in detail, and he would never cut corners and muddle through things.

"The rules of the brothels in Luoyang City are similar to those in Chang'an City. Once you enter the door, you have to pay two taels of money, and there will be more banquets."

"How much do you need to pay for the banquet?"

"Ordinary women will pay about three taels, and if you are looking for a famous prostitute, you will need more." It is about 300 taels.

Mo Wenyuan said: "How much does a famous prostitute cost?"

Zhou Miao flipped his palms back and forth: "Like Zheng Duzhi, the top one." He lowered his voice as if he was saying something serious, "It costs fifteen dollars just to have a banquet."

Mo Wenyuan was deeply shocked by the numbers. He didn't care much about money, but he also knew that he was half a millionaire. Li Sanniang was very good at doing business. In Chang'an City, where every inch of land was expensive, there were many Real estate, A Niang even planned to buy a whole street to expand restaurants.

Even so, he also thought that fifteen 锾 was an unimaginable number.

His eyes were wide open, and Zhou Miao couldn't help sighing at his appearance, Master still has such a childish side?

The fourth apprentice Qian Mian made a major discovery, and he added: "Master, what he's talking about is just the money for the banquet."

"What money do you need besides the banquet?"

"The band, setting up the venue, buying food, singing and dancing..." Mo Wenyuan's eyes became bigger every time he uttered a word, from big to small, and then from small to big.

"Generally speaking, the food at the banquet must be provided by Shu Wu's family. It will definitely cost more money to get the false mother to agree to bring outside food."

Mo Wenyuan sighed: "I can spend so much money, I don't know which girl it is for."

Bai Shaojun, who had been silent since just now, interjected, "I seem to know." As soon as the words came out, Zhou Miao was upstaged. Mo Wenyuan's head creaked and his eyes focused on him.

"It's Zheng Duzhi."

His answer was reasonable, and Mo Wenyuan nodded while agreeing. Indeed, apart from celebrating Zheng Duzhi's birthday, he didn't know who would have a grand occasion.

"So Zheng Du knew his birthday?" Mo Wenyuan and Du Zhi, who are extremely talented, have a little relationship. When they first met last year, they helped him open the sale of jelly gift boxes. Come to dinner.

Mo Wenyuan has met many girls, but in terms of talent and personal temperament, only Zheng Duzhi and Li Sanniang stand out.

"Since it's Zheng Du's birthday, I can't wait to do nothing. In addition to delivering shabu-shabu, I'll deliver a big birthday cake." Mo Wenyuan rubbed his chin and said, "The bento is I'll give Duzhi a birthday gift."

After Mo Wenyuan finished speaking, all the apprentices looked at him with strange eyes. Some of their faces were written with "You can't be judged by appearances, and the sea can't be measured", while others wrote "You really deserve to be a master".

He couldn't laugh or cry and said, "Look at what I'm doing."

"No, no, no." Qian Mian muttered, and the other disciples were even more embarrassed, muttering and wanting to speak, Mo Wenyuan waited for them for a long time but no one really spoke.

In the end, it was the big apprentice Zhao Shenshan who said: "How did Master know Zheng Duzhi?"

He went generously, with an upright attitude: "I had a few conversations with Peony after the banquet."

After talking a few words, it's time to send a birthday present?They looked at each other, there were only two possibilities, or Zheng Duzhi had a good relationship with his master, to the point where he could give a gift, but the other party made a big deal small and didn't talk about it.Another possibility is that the master has also enlightened, and wants to curry favor with Zheng Duzhi by giving gifts.

Seeing Mo Wenyuan's open expression, clear eyes, and no youthful admiration, the former is more likely than the latter.

Hey, I don't know whether to say "I really deserve to be the master" or "The master is indeed a young man who is not yet old".

……

Zhong Heiyang was a little unhappy that Mo Wenyuan was going to make a birthday cake for Zheng Duzhi.

Mo Xiaoyuan didn't even give him a birthday present, so why did he give it to Zheng Duzhi?

It's a joy to eat vinegar indiscriminately.

Zhongheiyang is a person who can't hide things, he is upset, even the sound of bleating seems to be complaining, Mo Wenyuan talked with him after finding out: "Yang, why are you upset?

Zhong Heiyang turned his head Tsundere: No, no unhappy!

In less than a second, Tsundere said "baa baa baa baa baa baa baa" awkwardly: Do you want to give Zheng Duzhi a birthday present?You haven't delivered it to me yet!

Mo Wenyuan laughed and said: "I asked when your birthday was. You said that you were born too long ago to remember the age. You asked me to help you celebrate your birthday, but you forgot."

The black sheep in the middle stood there dumbfounded as if struck by lightning: he he he he he he he he he he he he said?

Recalling carefully that he did say this, the reason is that when he was young and ignorant and didn't know his birthday, Mo Wenyuan would love to present a big birthday meal, and if he knew it, he would make up a random date.

Hey, he really doesn't know when he was born, no matter when the first generation of Taotie was born, or when he was born, he doesn't know.

Seeing his pitiful appearance as if struck by lightning, Mo Wenyuan rarely sighed and said: "If you don't mind, it would be better to celebrate my birthday on the same day as me, and you and I will celebrate together."

Middle Heiyang: "Baa baa baa baa baa!"

Can, is it possible?

"Of course you can. In terms of our relationship, even brothers are not as close as we are." The relationship between ingredients and chefs is closer than brotherhood.

Middle Heiyang: "Baa baa baa baa baa!"

He is so touched!

……

Mo Wenyuan put a lot of thought into preparing the cake, not to mention that the cake he wanted to make was similar in size to the current wedding cake, just how to build the shelf for the multi-layered cake had already taken a lot of thought.

He didn't change much in the filling, the recipe was the same as the one sold in Li Sanniang's restaurant, but what he really paid attention to was the carving on the top layer of the cake.

He made a simple version of Zheng Duzhi with dough figurines!

Dough sculpture is a traditional skill that has been handed down from ancient China to the present. Its legend can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms period. According to legend, when Zhuge Kongming conquered the Southern Man, he wanted to cross the Lujiang River. .

In order to appease the wrath of the river god, Zhuge Liang ordered flour to be made into the shapes of humans and animals and poured into the river. After that, the river calmed down and everyone crossed the river smoothly.

Since then, the art of dough sculpture has continued to develop, running through the history of Chinese art and pastry technology. However, in modern times, this technology is facing the dilemma of being lost. In order to protect the art of dough sculpture, it was selected as an intangible cultural heritage in 08.

Mo Wenyuan is a person with a wide range of hobbies. Except for his favorite cooking, he has only learned the superficial level of each of his other hobbies, and there is no deeper research.

Dough sculpture art is one of his hobbies. A small bamboo knife, soft dough of various colors, and simple two-flavored raw materials can produce lifelike small figures and animals. It is really amazing.

His technique is not proficient enough. Like a folk artist, it seems impossible to knead a delicate figure in half an hour, but given enough time, it is no problem to knead a villain who looks a little bit like him.

Zheng Duzhi's appearance has long been imprinted in his mind, and Mo Wenyuan quickly extracted Zheng Duzhi's image characteristics from his memory, pondered, deliberated, constructed, and refined her image.

Needless to say, the posture is definitely the one holding the scroll, the eyes are neither big nor small, the hair, Zheng Du knows is a fashionable person, and the bun is the most popular style in Luoyang. In the eyes.

After determining the appearance of the portrait he wanted to pinch, he began to prepare.The dough used for dough modeling can not be made of any material. The dough with flour and glutinous rice flour as the main raw materials is also added with edible natural pigments and stone honey to ensure that the works can be preserved for a long time after molding. Will get damp or crack due to temperature changes.

There are high demands on the stability of the dough.

Scissors, bamboo knives, combs and other tools were lined up in front of him, and the prepared dough was placed on the right hand side. Zhongheiyang used to like to stay by Mo Wenyuan's side, so he just half-lyed beside him at this time, with his chin on the On the low table.

Middle Heiyang: "Baa baa baa baa baa!"

what are you doing?

"I'm trying to make a small portrait of Zheng Duzhi."

His hands are not as dexterous as skilled dough sculptors, and he has to think carefully about every step he makes. Like hair, small wooden sticks like toothpicks shuttle between the dyed black dough, and even the strands of cloud around his ears are carved. Out.

Zhongheiyang: Ah!

The faces of traditional Chinese clay sculptures all have the taste of traditional paintings, very similar to the faces of people in the paintings of ladies in the Tang Dynasty. Mo Wenyuan's aesthetics has been influenced by modern works, and he is not very accepting of soybean-sized eyes. He thinks it is too abstract , so I used the eyes in the clay. To put it bluntly, the eyes are more Two-dimensional.

After sitting at the low table for several hours, Mo Wenyuan finally announced that he was done. Zheng Duzhi, the noodle man, stood on the plate. The sheep said: "How?"

Middle Heiyang: "Baa baa baa baa baa!"

It's so exquisite!His ears stood up, amazed at Mo Wenyuan's delicate dough making.

Mo Wenyuan's vanity was greatly satisfied. Looking at the extra dough on the table, he used a large piece of black dough to knead a miniature medium-sized black sheep. Animals are much easier to knead than humans, especially Zhongheiyang is simple in appearance, and he didn't spend too much effort.

Zhong Heiyang was ecstatic: "Baa baa baa baa baa baa!"

Oh my god, Mo Xiaoyuan is so nice!

……

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, Zheng Duzhi's birthday is coming. In order to make the banquet more decent, Mo Wenyuan and the staff of Li Sanniang's restaurant first went to Shu Wu's to check out how the dishes should be arranged to make it more elegant.

Like Chang'an City, the red-light district in Luoyang City is also connected together. Shu Wu's family and Zhang Liu's family are all in the same workshop. Mo Wenyuan and his fellows arrived here at noon, and there are slightly fewer people in the workshop than in other workshops. , only small businesses and small business shops are open, and the door of the false mother's house is quiet, and occasionally people come in and out, and they are all little girls who do odd jobs and serve their wives. Mo Wenyuan nodded secretly after seeing it, thinking that no matter which dynasty Well, the famous prostitutes are open at night, and most of the ladies are still sleeping in the morning and noon, or they are just dressing up and reading some poems.

The arrival of the guys and the convoy injected vitality into the crowd. After entering the gate, many people looked towards the convoy, trying to see what was in the convoy. Mo Wenyuan was young and handsome, very conspicuous, and there were many people in Luoyang city. Few people recognized him, so they talked around: "It belongs to Sanniang Restaurant."

"Do you see the one at the beginning? He is Mr. Mo Xiaolang."

"What is Mo Xiaolang doing here?"

"I don't know."

Mo Wenyuan saw a seven or eight-year-old girl looking at him with a wicker basket, so he smiled and waved to her, and the little girl jumped over like a rabbit, very courageous: "Little girl, from Shu Wu's family!" Where are you going?" He said and took out a handful of candy from his pocket.

He made this candy specially for the children and fed it to the black sheep. He had a pocket with him.

Children these days are stupid and bold, and they dare to take candy when given. This move may be related to the severe punishment for human traffickers in the Tang Dynasty. Children under the age of ten cannot sell themselves, let alone human traffickers. Even if it is not enough, no one dares to be unruly in this regard over time.

The little girl laughed out the scars of missing teeth, and said to Mo Wenyuan: "The fourth house with a white wall on the east side is it."

The houses of the brothel are not very different from the houses of ordinary people. At best, the yards are larger, with black roofs and red pillars. Most of the walls are yellow. The Shu Wu family is more particular and uses white walls.

After entering the door, Shu Wu, the fake mother, came to greet him. Seeing Mo Wenyuan and Zhongheiyang next to him, he was shocked and said, "Oh, why is Mo Dalang here?" Mo Wenyuan is a celebrity in Luoyang City, but anyone who has heard Everyone in the world had heard of him, and Shu Wu thought it was strange to see him coming. He was rumored to be a born son of the Buddha, but he entered the courtyard of a famous prostitute. It wasn't blasphemy, but it was a bit strange.

Mo Wenyuan said: "Zheng Duzhi and I are friends, and I don't think it's justifiable not to give her a present on her birthday." He said empathetically, "Don't worry, I've already told Zhao Lang what to give, he I also agreed." Zhao Lang is the son of the son who opened the banquet, and Mo Wenyuan stayed in Luoyang City for more than half a year. Because of his unparalleled cooking skills, his friendship with Wang Wei and others, and his ability to subdue demons The ability to subdue demons, young and prominent figures have all been known.

After hearing this, Shu Wu felt more comfortable, thinking that Mo Dalang is a caring person, with his handsome appearance and gentle personality, coupled with his excellent skills, after two years of growing up, I don't know how many girls' hearts he will steal.

It's a pity that he is a future monk.

Mo Wenyuan:? ? ?I'm not I don't know I don't.

After exchanging greetings, they went into the courtyard. The staff were skilled workers, and they unloaded the copper pot and charcoal fire dishes without messing around. Mo Wenyuan carefully took the three-layer cake to the back kitchen, and Zhongheiyang carefully guarded by his side. I'm afraid the cake will fall.

The cake is placed on an exquisite wooden shelf. The exquisite craftsmanship of the ancient working people is worth admiring. After Mo Wenyuan described it carefully, the local carpenter made a shelf that was [-]% similar to his description. There are three cakes in one layer from big to small. The layers are laid on wooden boards, each layer has a different taste, and on the top there is a lifelike dough figurine.

Middle Heiyang: "Baa baa baa baa baa!"

When it's our birthday, there will be a big cake with ten layers.

Mo Wenyuan said first, "Yes, yes, yes", and then added, "Isn't that ten and a half years later?" He was born in November of the lunar calendar.

Zhongheiyang, Zhongheiyang's saliva is about to drip!

……

The season has entered the early winter, and the city of Luoyang is getting colder every day, and the sky is getting dark quickly. When the banquet venue is ready, it is half dark. Mo Wenyuan pushed the cake into the hall with a trolley, amazed everyone.

Zheng Duzhi showed his little daughter's temper, and he couldn't stop looking at the big cake: "Is it me?"

Mo Wenyuan smiled and said: "Everyone knows that talent and appearance are unparalleled in the world. I am so good-looking, it's not who you are."

Zheng Duzhi looked at him reproachfully, but didn't speak.

On the branch of the moon, Zhao Lang, who was setting up a banquet, took the lead to enter the door, followed by a group of young gentlemen. Most of them were dressed in fashion, some were dressed as students, and some were familiar. Mo Wenyuan recognized Wang Wei in the crowd. They were not very surprised when they met their eyes, and nodded their heads as a greeting.

Zhongheiyang hid in front of the hall and ate happily. Mo Wenyuan made him a few side dishes with the extra ingredients from the dinner, ahhhhhhhh eating, very refreshing.

Prostitutes wearing bright flowers on their heads entered the arena one after another. Some of them had peachy faces, some of them were gentle and elegant, and they all sat next to the young man, pouring wine and chatting.

The music starts and the party begins.

However, in a dark place unknown to everyone, a pair of dark eyes suddenly opened. He looked around the plates in front of everyone at the banquet with inexplicable greed, and finally locked his eyes on Mo Wenyuan.

Mo Wenyuan suddenly felt chilly, and quietly smeared the subduing magic pestle tightly wrapped in cloth, and Zhongheiyang, who was buried in the kitchen and eating happily, swallowed all the food in one gulp, Scattered towards the courtyard, ready to meet Mo Xiaoyuan.

Hey hey hey hey hey hey hey, there are ingredients delivered to your door.