Datang First Chef

The taste of stewed eel with garlic is completely different from shredded eel with oil. If there is any similarity, they are both delicious.At the very beginning of the eel section, Mo Wenyuan was captivated by the melt-in-your-mouth taste. The meat was stewed until it was crispy, and the meat could be scraped off the bone with a slight curl of the tongue. , very tender, in addition to the taste of rice wine and soy sauce, Mo Wenyuan also tasted a strange but almost overwhelming taste.

He immediately thought of the sauce that Wei Wen poured into the tripod just now, "How is this flavor made?" Mo Wenyuan tried hard to identify the source, "It seems to have orange peel, red dates, cinnamon, and... what else?"

Wei Wen said generously, "Dill seed."

"I also added dill seeds."

Mo Wenyuan suddenly realized that he had heard of this kind of seasoning in modern times, but he had never used it himself. Every cook has his own favorite and good at using spices. For example, he has a special liking for cornel, which can be used Cornel is mixed with other spices to create a variety of flavors, and the price of dill seeds is higher than that of cornel. If cornel is "bitter + spicy", then dill seeds are "sweet + spicy".

Dill seed is the seed of dill, also known as fennel. It has a very special aroma, both spicy and citrus, so Wei Wen put orange peel in the sauce. Its taste is similar to that of dill. The taste of the child complements each other.

In modern China, dill seeds are often used in the process of marinating sausages to enhance the flavor, while in Tang Dynasty, dill seeds were used to season fish.As far as the technique of making fish sticks is concerned, Mo Wenyuan thinks that he has not entered the room yet. Fish sticks are eaten raw. A small amount of spices can add color to raw food, but the amount is not easy to control. If you accidentally put too much, the taste will not be as good as anything else. No, unless you are a seasoned veteran, no one will bother to season with spices.

Wei Wen is a master at cooking fish, whether it is fish sticks or cooked fish, he can easily cook it. Dill seeds are his favorite spice.

"This taste is wonderful." He sighed, his tone was full of satisfaction, the exquisite taste, the inexhaustible charm and the moist things flowed into his heart silently. If the squid eel silk is a beautiful peony, Then the stewed eel with garlic is the independent white plum blossom in Aoxue. "I know it's not snow, only the dark fragrance comes."

Zhongheiyang is a spineless Zhongheiyang. He originally wanted to eat only Mo Wenyuan's dishes and eat less of other people's dishes to show his loyalty, but when he saw Mo Wenyuan's expression of satisfaction after eating delicious food , the sheep's tail began to rotate with the propeller.

Eat, don't eat, still, let's eat a little.

He stood very spineless under the low table, squatted down, and stared at the garlic stewed eel section with longing eyes.

Seeing his bright eyes, Mo Wenyuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he could only helplessly say to Wei Wen: "Wei Lang, can I give this eel part to the sheep?" He misunderstood himself, and explained the identity of Zhonghei sheep, "He is not an ordinary sheep, but a sheep entrusted to me by Guanyin Bodhisattva, who has enlightened wisdom. Sheng, he really wants to eat."

Wei Wen said in a daze, "Oh, eat as much as you want, it's okay."

Zhongheiyang finally won the eel section, and his eyes were so happy that he squinted. This taste and the oily eel shreds have their own advantages, and it is hard to say which one is better. Both are undoubtedly top-level delicacies.

Sure enough, there are many capable people and strange people in the south of the Yangtze River, hidden dragons and crouching tigers!

……

After Li Sanniang's restaurant came to Yangzhou, the chefs of the restaurant owners were a little restless, and most of them did not have good intentions towards Mo Wenyuan and others.

The reason is simple. Jiangnan restaurants are highly competitive, and Li Sanniang's restaurants are the best in the two capitals. Why divide their customer traffic?

Qin Weishan is a local celebrity, and Jiangnan is also known for its fresh fish. When wandering around, he heard a lot of gossip about Li Sanniang's restaurants.He came looking for friends with a stomach full of gossip, and when he found Wei Wen, he saw that he was cooking with soy sauce.

Soon after soy sauce came into the market, he asked someone to bring new seasonings from Luoyang.Wei Wen likes to use soy sauce very much, but he is very conservative in the amount he uses, adding it carefully when cooking. In his words, it is just that he has not yet determined how much to add.Of course, he never denied that soy sauce is an epoch-making seasoning, just like tofu is an epoch-making ingredient. Because of their existence, before meeting Mo Wenyuan, Wei Wen had a high opinion of the legendary Mo Dalang.

"Why do you pour so much?" He looked at the fish in the pot, it was dyed reddish brown by the soy sauce, Wei Wen's previous dosage had never dyed the fish.

"This is Mo Dalang's new cooking method based on soy sauce, he called it braised in soy sauce." Wei Wen's eyes shone with joy, "In my opinion, the name is very appropriate, after adding too much soy sauce, the fish will indeed turn red "The dyeing is uniform, not only tastes good, but also gives people a sense of beauty visually.

Qin Weishan was dumbfounded: "He taught Erxin cooking skills?"

"It's just a discussion of skills, why not teach them?" He said, "I also talked about the usage of spices with Mo Da, but it's a pity that Mo Da is not familiar with fish meat, and he can't give me any inspiration on the use of dill seeds. , but after I analyzed the dill seed sauce, there is room for improvement..."

"Wait, wait, you told him the recipe of dill seed sauce?" Isn't that Wei Wen's unique secret skill?

"Why not say it?"

Qin Weishan didn't know what expression to make, and the two lunatic cooks got together.

Wei Wen finally finished expressing his feelings. Seeing that Qin Weishan's expression was wrong, he said: "I saw that you seemed to have something to say when you came, what's the matter?"

Qin Weishan sighed hard, and had a new understanding of life: "It would be great if the people in the world were like you and Mo Dalang, but it's a pity that most of the people are mediocre people who are reduced to vulgar people. , learn from each other, and seek innovation, but still gallop in the corner of the snail and fight in the anthill, the vision is too narrow."

Wei Wen knew that he never said anything that was unreasonable, so he said, "Is there a restaurant that wants to harm Mo Dalang?"

"I can't say it's unfavorable, but anyone who cooks and eats must be able to see the truth, but no matter what industry they are in, there are strong feelings of literati, especially when it comes to the gap between the north and the south." He said, "Mo Dalang's tasting meeting will be held It is booming, which has caused anxiety among the owners of many wine shops, fearing that he will steal their business."

Wei Wen snorted: "It's better to hone your skills than to worry."

"What do they want?"

"What else can I do? I heard that they had been arguing for an hour but they still couldn't find the regulations. In the end, they only said that they would go to the food tasting team first to see how attractive Mo Dalang's dishes are and how they can please the diners."

"They haven't gone to eat yet?" Mo Wenyuan's tasting session has come to an end, and Li Sanniang's restaurant will open soon, and it has been a long time since Wei Wenmo Wenyuan's first discussion.

"No one went." Qin Weishan and Wei Wen have become regular customers in the store, and they can be seen every time they try food.

After hearing this, Wei Wen dismissed it. He has good cooking skills and is straightforward. He doesn't show his face when he laughs and scolds, but he has a standard of judgment in his heart. If you are a person, you will be ashamed, and if you are an official, you will be close to flattery".

After the cooked fish was placed on a plate and tasted, Wei Wenqi washed his hands and said, "Let's go." Today is a double day, and Li Sanniang's restaurant is out to try again, and he will never miss it.

Qin Weishan stuffed the fish into his mouth desperately while hesitatingly responded, not knowing whether to say "Let me have another bite" or "Come when I finish eating".

……

Monk Zhi Le arrived as promised. He said before that he would go to Yangzhou to taste Li Sanniang's restaurant. He didn't want to come too early, and the restaurant hadn't opened yet.

It doesn’t matter if the shop hasn’t opened yet, Mo Wenyuan cooked a few exquisite dishes, and invited him to have a drink together. Monk Zhi Le, who loves tea, is also very emotional in eating, and he doesn’t follow the rules very much, as long as the dishes are not too meaty It is no wonder that Zhong Heiyang said that he is only half a monk.

When people chat with each other, they need to find a common language. Mo Wenyuan likes to cook, and Monk Zhile likes tea. The two get together to "cook and tea". Mo Wenyuan asked what kind of tea can be used in dishes and can be cooked delicious.

Monk Zhile is an enlightened person. He never thinks that tea can only be drunk and tasted. It would be wasteful to put it in the dish. He drinks all kinds of tea. Or the Yangtze River water distribution, when he has no money, when he sleeps in the wilderness, ordinary tea cakes that are not worth much are also his good companions for drinking tea.

The difference between high and low, good and bad is not a problem in his mind.

"Tea into dishes?" Master Zhi Le asked very interestedly, "I have never thought about this direction, but it sounds like an interesting thing."

Mo Wenyuan said: "Since I serve vegetables, the price of tea should not be too expensive. Loose tea is basically unusable. If I use vegetables, the price will be skyrocketing?"

"It's not impossible. There are good and bad loose teas. The best one is a waste of food, while the second one is very suitable. However, for the sake of easy storage, it is better and more trouble-free to use tea cakes."

"I just want to use tea cakes."

Monk Zhi Le fell into deep thought: "The taste of tea is light. If you want to blend the aroma of tea with the dishes, you can use less ingredients. If the smell of ingredients is too strong, it will cover the aroma of tea. Don't use heavy oil and sauce during cooking. I’m afraid it’s not okay to add too much salt.”

Hearing his words, the first thing Mo Wenyuan thought of was the Longjing shrimp in Hangzhou cuisine. This dish was said to be created by Weng Tonghe, a politician in the Qing Dynasty. Inspired by "Wine in the Years", the Longjing tea with rich color and fragrance is accompanied by the local river fresh food.

Shrimp itself has a light taste, and its color can be described as crystal clear. It is relatively easy to be stained with the taste of tea, which is in line with the point of view of monk Zhi Le that "the taste of ingredients is light".

Mo Wenyuan himself has also done some research, he said: "I think that heavy and greasy ingredients can also be accompanied by tea. Tea has its own miraculous effect of relieving greasy. If it is cooked with meat, it will make the meat more delicious. Fat but not greasy, sweet aftertaste."

"This is also possible." Zhi Le encouraged, "Why don't you try it."

There is a very important thing before trying, which is to choose tea cakes.

……

By the Tang Dynasty, the production technology of tea cakes had been significantly improved. If a piece of tea cake wanted to develop from tea leaves to the final product, it had to go through seven processes of picking, steaming, pounding, patting, roasting, wearing, and sealing. The grass flavor in the tea has been removed, but Zen Master Zhile said that the tea made from tea cakes is still very astringent. If you don’t like the astringency of tea, you can choose tea cakes that have been made with cream.

Extracting the cream refers to the special treatment method of steaming the tea leaves to squeeze the juice first, and then processing them into tea cakes according to the above.

Mo Wenyuan was not sure whether to choose the tea leaves that have been made out of paste. According to the chef's idea, astringency is also one of the original flavors of tea. If this taste is removed, the tea seems to be incomplete, but he still cannot be sure What kind of tea cakes have been processed, and what kind of tea cakes make the most delicious dishes.

In desperation, a tasting session was held with only Zhongheiyang participating. All kinds of tea leaves and shrimps were lined up in front of him. Mo Wenyuan said, "Try and see which one is the best?"

Who knew that Zhongheiyang, who had never been ambiguous about eating, was so proud!Jiao!up!

He stared at Mo Wenyuan with resentment in his eyes, and the baaaaa baaa out of his mouth also had a melancholy air, Zhong Heiyang said: "Finally think of me?"

Mo Wenyuan was horrified by him, so he could only humbly ask for advice: "Why didn't I think of you?" Three meals a day were served as usual with extra meals and suppers. If he didn't want me to be a black sheep, no one would think of it.

Zhongheiyang struggled to resist the temptation of delicious food: "Baa baa baa baa baa!"

It's nonsense that you are obviously busy visiting friends and guests.The friend is Wei Wen, and the guest is Zen Master Zhi Le. In the conversation between him and the two, Heiyang couldn't get a word in, and he was deeply frustrated.

Mo Wenyuan was thinking about the entanglements of the black sheep, and he finally realized that the other party felt that he was not valued, and it was difficult to understand, he said earnestly: "Sheep, you can't do this, there must be privacy between people. Space is for doing one’s own thing, and the same is true for people and sheep.”

"You are already a sheep that is about to mature. You can't keep following me. This is not conducive to your future development."

Zhongheiyang and Zhongheiyang were so angry that he decided to turn his grief and anger into appetite and finish eating different versions of tea leaves and shrimps. Only delicious food can heal his trauma.

After eating, he pushed the empty plate he had chosen in front of Mo Wenyuan, and then turned around arrogantly and pointed his butt at Mo Wenyuan, but the lunatic chef was muttering to himself, and he didn't care whether he hit himself with his head or his butt to myself.

"Is it really green tea?" There are many kinds of tea leaves. Mengshan tea is considered green tea, but this kind of green tea has a small yield and strong fragrance, which is very high-grade.

In addition to Mengshang and other varieties of tea, there is also ordinary green tea with high yield and not very strong fragrance on the market. The price is not expensive, and it has already entered thousands of households along with tea cakes. green tea.

Adding tea to the dishes, with the dishes as the main and tea as the supplement, using particularly good tea is a waste of money.

Mo Wenyuan said: "Thank you sheep." He put away all the empty plates, and then went to research new dishes. Zhonghei sheep watched it leave, so angry that its wool exploded. At this moment, he didn't think he was like a sheep , but like a cat blown into a ball of hair.

He suddenly felt that he who was sulking with Mo Wenyuan was simply a big idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!

……

Compared with Chang'an and Luoyang, Yangzhou is not a big city, but there are many people in the small city, literati, businessmen, farmers... In a small but rich city, rumors and gossip spread very quickly. It is easy to be known, such as Li Sanniang restaurant. After more than a month of tasting activities, most people in Yangzhou City have heard of this restaurant.

The taste of eating has been constantly exaggerated. At the beginning, it was just "delicious", and then it became "eight treasures and jade food" and "full of five flavors". The dishes are cooked and the poems are turned out from the corners to make exaggerations.

After coming and going, more and more people want to try Li Sanniang's restaurant.

With nothing else to do, Li Sanniang counted the money spent on food tasting during this period: "All the ingredients are high-quality ingredients, and they cost a lot of money when piled together."

The shopkeeper was an old man he had brought back from Luoyang City. After hearing this, he laughed and said, "It costs less than the small orders in Luoyang City back then." It refers to their small advertisements, which are also very effective and cost more.

Li Sanniang said leisurely: "In different places, the methods used are also different. The method of tasting has two advantages. One is that it can help us order the Jiangnan menu, which is an important matter. In addition, it is used for publicity. It is used by others." She pondered, "Even sending a small order here may not be of great effect. I have read "Zuo Zhuan", and there is an article "Cao Gui Controversy", in which there are words It is the same principle to advertise with a small order as "one big effort, then decline, and three times to exhaustion."

"I waited in Luoyang for outstanding results, and then other merchants followed suit. For a while, merchants rushed to use printing to print orders. Not to mention that Luoyang paper is expensive, Chang'an paper is also expensive. Some people in Jiangnan and other places have followed suit. Passers-by have already seen it. Strange, at this time, the method of tasting food is introduced, but it will attract more visitors."

"Southern people are not necessarily friendly to the Beidi store that has taken the initiative to settle in. This is the country of masters of swords and pens. There are many people who are good at scrutinizing words. Especially in the south of the Yangtze River, there are many people who are good at reading. Even when issuing bills, someone will grasp the details Repeatedly checking for loopholes and language mistakes, rather than asking for trouble, it is better to show actual results and let others see."

There are many benefits, no wonder she is willing to let Mo Wenyuan hold a food tasting event.

The shopkeeper deeply felt that the proprietress thought a lot and understood righteousness, which ordinary people couldn't compare to, and said: "I see that Dalang has bought a lot of tea cakes, but do you want to use tea cakes for food?" All of them are ordinary tea cakes, how can it be possible to make money by opening a tea shop.

"Probably so."

Li Sanniang looked at the sun and said, "It's getting late, it's time to get ready."

There are more and more people trying to eat, and the store has to send people to maintain order. What makes Li Sanniang dumbfounded is that there are people queuing up to resell the place. It is true that where there are business opportunities, there are small businessmen.

When they went out, there were already some people queuing up, and when they saw the waiter coming out, they asked, "What does Mo Dalang eat today?"

"Is it fish or shrimp or meat?"

"Cakes are fine too."

"It's not pastry, Mo Dalang himself said that it's called dim sum."

"Stir-fried vegetables, fruits, melons and eggplants are also excellent."

Everyone has different tastes, and the dishes they order are all kinds of strange. When the shopkeeper heard about the tea cakes, the waiter laughed and said: "I don't know whether to eat meat or fish. It seems that Mo Dalang will use tea cakes this time. .”

"Tea cake?"

"Can tea cakes be eaten?"

"I've never heard of it."

Many diners talked about it, almost all of them were laymen, and Mo Wenyuan ate whatever he wanted, and some of them had come here more than once to try the food, and they had a lot of trust in Mo Dalang's craftsmanship.

However, among the people in the queue, there were still some comments that were not praises, but even sarcasm. An old man snorted coldly after hearing the word tea cake: "You are a sensationalist." He was surrounded by well-dressed apprentices, Or colleagues in the same industry, not only did no one refute after hearing his words, on the contrary, many people showed their approval, and their opinions were not different from those of the old man.

The people who gathered together had a special temperament, and Li Sanniang recognized them immediately after going out for a walk. They were all famous chefs from the owners of old restaurants in the south of the Yangtze River, and their faces were quite arrogant.

When Wei Wen came, she was vigilant at first, but when she found out that he was a culinary lunatic just like her own son, she didn't have any vigilance at all, and she didn't interfere with the friendly exchanges between the two, and even became friends.But Li Sanniang has no intention of greeting the group of arrogant old men, middle-aged people, and young people in front of her. She can guess what they are thinking with her little finger. She didn't come because she felt that Li Sanniang's restaurant could not stand in the south of the Yangtze River. Heel didn't take Mo Wenyuan seriously. Now that Li Sanniang's restaurant was popular before it opened, he panicked and hurried to see the level of competitors.

Li Sanniang curled her lips, thinking that this group of people are very arrogant. His Dalang knows the truth of "know yourself and the enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles". It is unlikely to be friendly, but she dares to say that she may be the one who knows her competitors best, and her eyes are higher than the top, which is not the act of a wise man.

The competition in food is especially based on the taste. Whether it is Wei Wen or Mo Wenyuan, they have eaten all the famous and meritorious restaurants. It can be seen that while looking down on Mo Dalang's food, he does not want to taste it to the end The people who just came here are not broad-minded.

Wei Wen has become Mo Wenyuan's friend, Qin Weishan can eat together at the restaurant, without queuing up, passing the long line, they saw old acquaintances crowded in the middle of the line, Wei Wen didn't look sideways, pretended not to see, Qin Weishan He nodded slightly to say hello.

……

Mo Wenyuan didn't know anything about what happened outside the door. He was devoting himself to the combination of tea cakes and dishes, adding tea to the dishes.Even if Mo Wenyuan is well-informed and knowledgeable, it is impossible for him to be familiar with any kind of cuisine, such as Hangbang cuisine.

After chatting with Zhi Le, he also escaped into the God of Cooking system to learn about Hangbang cuisine. Unfortunately, modern Hangbang cuisine was not suitable for the Tang Dynasty. First of all, Longjing shrimp was used in Longjing, and Longjing has not yet appeared in the Tang Dynasty. Shadow, and the ingredients of tea cakes and fried loose tea are also different, so he has to think about how to make tea leaves and shrimps.

Zhongheiyang squeezed to Mo Wenyuan's side to look at the ingredients on the table. There were two kinds of tea cakes he had chosen, as well as fresh shrimp and meat. He knew what Mo Wenyuan was going to do with fresh shrimp, but the meat...

"Baa baa baa baa baa!"

What kind of food is Mo Xiaoyuan going to cook?

"You have eaten shrimp with tea leaves before. Besides, I want to make a dish with tea leaves and pork meat."

Tea and pork?Zhong Hei Yang's eyes were originally black dots, but now there was a suspicious light shining in the black dots. Even he couldn't think of how the two ingredients were matched together.

The pork belly he chose is fatter than the pork belly made from Dongpo pork. If you eat it empty-handed, even if it is more than two pieces, it will be greasy. There is an advantage in doing this. The sour taste of hawthorn is added to the dish, which is very appetizing. Even ladies with small appetites will have a big appetite. In the Changan Luoyang store, the braised pork stir-fried with hawthorn antler is the treasure of the shop.

But there is a problem. Hawthorn is really a test of whether diners like it or not. People who like to eat can eat a lot, and those who don’t like it are unwilling to touch it. For example, hawthorn, perilla, plum, etc., if you don’t like it Its sweet and sour taste will keep it at a respectful distance.

Finding and solving problems is Mo Wenyuan's way of doing things. He has been looking for a cooking method that relieves boredom and is acceptable to people. Zhi Le's words inspired him. It is not a bad idea to mix tea cakes with meat.

In order to extract a more intense tea flavor from tea cakes, he also specially learned how to fry tea. In Mo Wenyuan's view, adding dried tangerine peel, ginger, green onion and garlic to the way of frying tea is not very advisable. is what he wants.

Before brewing with boiling water, there are several delicate steps.

The most important thing is to dry the tea leaves, the drier the better. Lu Yu wrote in "The Classic of Tea" that this method can increase the aroma of the tea leaves. After drying and cooling, the tea cakes are finely crushed and ready to brew.

The water is the water from Daming Temple, even in the ranking of Lu Yu's Tea Classic, it is the top choice water, the first poured water is not for drinking, Mo Wenyuan uses it to drain the blood, so that the meat can not be processed In the early days, it was infected with the lingering tea fragrance,

The second watering is the water used to cook the meat. The way he cooks the meat is to wait until it is half-cooked and stir-fry it in a pan. The soaked tea foam is thrown into a large iron pan and stir-fried with soy sauce, sugar oil, etc. Sniffing his nose, his keen senses told him that the smell was very different from the usual braised pork.

He was used to eating braised pork, and he was only interested in the aroma of tea in it, but he didn't know that there were a group of people outside the door who were already stunned by the aroma of braised pork.

"Isn't the smell too strong?"

"How?"

"The oil must have been put in, but if only the oil was put in, it wouldn't be so fragrant."

"What else did you let go?"

"Soy sauce, it must be soy sauce."

The name of the braised method has spread all the way from Chang'an, Luoyang and other places to the south of the Yangtze River. The two capitals and the south of the Yangtze River are rich places, and the merchants are very mobile. When they move, they also take away the news about the new food.

Hu Weizhen is the oldest and the best among the visitors. His family's restaurant has been passed down for a long time. If you count the short Sui Dynasty, it has spanned three dynasties.

Some of the people present looked down on the food in Li Sanniang's restaurant, but they bought soy sauce in private and studied it secretly. At this time, they thought in their hearts, why didn't they have the same taste when they added soy sauce?

"Huber, do you see?"

Facing the mean old man, he said, "Mo Dalang does have some skills."

Dishes that were full of color, fragrance and flavor were served on the table during the time of discussion. The tea leaves and shrimps were light in color, and the shrimps were white with a little powder.

Literati have always loved this style of dishes, not to mention the strong and long-lasting tea aroma, the umami taste of shrimp permeates the mouth, the tea fragrance removes the fishy smell of freshwater fish, and further amplifies the fragrant part——

Hu Weizhen's expression was already very serious, he turned the chopsticks to the other side, tea leaves were buried under the braised pork, and chopped green onion was sprinkled on top.

The meat was trembling, especially the fat part. The thick soup was sticking to the skin, almost dripping. Hu Weizhen looked at it carefully and thought to himself: This meat is too fat.However, Mo Wenyuan's performance just now made him not dare to take it lightly. The choice of this meat may be the other party's originality, so I don't know how he can solve the fatness of the meat.

Thinking of him stuffing the piece of meat into his mouth, Hu Weizhen's eyes suddenly widened.

The tough skin, the fat that melts in your mouth, the lean meat that is chewy, and the lingering aroma of wine in the viscous sauce, but these are not a problem.

The appetite of the elderly is not as good as that of the young. Hu Weizhen usually eats vegetarian food, and rarely touches fish and shrimp, let alone fatty pork.

But now he is taking one piece after another, without stopping his hands, the meat is not greasy at all, and even exudes a familiar fragrance, which makes him feel relaxed and happy after eating, and can fully enjoy the soft and smooth taste of the fat part, the salty taste, The soup filled his mouth so that he couldn't stop it——

The agitation in my heart was like magma rolling in a crater, almost about to spew out.

also!too!beautiful!taste!up!Bar!