Datang First Chef

The sage moved very quickly. After knowing the benefits of the oil extraction method, he built government-run oil refineries in Henan and other places with lightning speed.

Special oil sellers appeared in the Tang Dynasty, and the emergence of new types of jobs often heralds changes in the market. For example, the occupation of oil sellers was impossible in the Han Dynasty, because the living standards of residents had not yet developed. To the point where you can use more oil, even if you eat oil, you still eat the oil of your own pigs. If you kill a pig during festivals, you can eat lard for half a year.

The reason why the oil seller appeared is that people's living standards have improved, and more and more people can afford lard. Now not only can they eat lard bibimbap during the Chinese New Year, but the richer people can eat lard for ten days and a half. Yue can also eat, not to mention the restaurants in Chang'an, which often have to release oil, so the business of oil sellers is very good.

The quantity of meat oil is limited, and the price is relatively high. Although the sage does not know what a market economy is, he also understands the principle that the supply exceeds demand. In the Song Dynasty, the people were even more unhappy when they had no oil, and they fried everything they ate.

He is also very happy to see vegetable oil that costs much less than meat oil. Not only will more people be able to eat oil, restaurants will not worry about insufficient supply, and the official government will also have a new source of income.

The emergence of this method can be said to have a lot of advantages and no disadvantages.

As for why the refinery was established in Henan, it is also related to the place where sesame is grown.In modern times, there are not many farmers who grow sesame. The yield of this product is low and the price is cheap. It is not worth planting. But tens of hundreds of years forward, there are still many people who grow sesame, and their geographical distribution is also obvious. , taking into account factors such as soil and climate, Henan is one of the places with the highest yield per mu of sesame, and one-third of the country's sesame comes from Henan.

This planting pattern has already taken shape in the Tang Dynasty. You only need to ask the agricultural officials, read the records, and find out where the many cake shops in Chang'an City buy sesame seeds. You can know that Henan is a land of high yield. In order to reduce production costs, Naturally, it is necessary to build an oil factory nearby. Transportation of oil is more convenient and more valuable than transportation of sesame, so the sage directly established a production base there.

When Mo Wenyuan heard about it, he admired the sage's ability to act. Of course, it was impossible for him not to fry the oil after dedicating the prescription to the sage. There were still many steamed Hoto cakes waiting for him to fry.It is impossible for their private workshop to be larger than the government-run oil workshop. However, it is not difficult to squeeze sesame oil and soybean oil. As long as there is a place where there are staff and cattle to help fry sesame seeds, it is the sesame supplier that really makes Mo Wenyuan difficult. thing.

The sage has designated Henan as a sesame plantation area, and it is not very convenient for him to buy sesame in Henan, so he will naturally have to find other land.Mo Wenyuan traveled all over the West Market, dealt with various flax merchants, and finally figured out the distribution of other sesame producing areas. Apart from Henan Road, there are many flax fields distributed in the plains of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The sesame purchased there The grains are full and the quality is very good. The only problem is that if you want to get a purchase price that suits his wishes, you need to have some knowledge in the local area. Of course, this is the same for any businessman.

Thinking of the name of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Mo Wenyuan wanted to laugh. No matter how poor his geography is, he knew that Jiangnan and other places were classified as the middle and lower reaches of the plain area, and the current Jiangnan is a land of fish and rice. Sesame ones, where else can they be found?The products in the south of the Yangtze River are abundant.

So he said to Zhongheiyang: "Yang, let's go to Jiangnan again."

Zhong Heiyang's eyes lit up: "Baa baa baa baa baa."

Go to Jiangnan!ok ok ok ok!

Mo Wenyuan cooked a lot of delicacies in the south of the Yangtze River, and he still remembers them vividly, and there are famous chefs like Wei Wen who he doesn't like very much, but whose cooking skills cannot be underestimated...

Jiangnan is such a good place!

……

Li Sanniang was very happy to receive the letter from Mo Wenyuan. After half a year, she was finally going to see her son.With more and more industries, the family members are also scattered in various places, gathering less and leaving more. Even Zhao Erniang and Mo Xiaogou and his wife often live in two places, one in Chang'an and the other in Luoyang. Mo Xiaogou sometimes needs to go to other cities to inspect their homes Soy sauce store——

Everyone is running around.

Li Sanniang is not idle either. It is no easy task to gain a firm foothold in the south of the Yangtze River. Not to mention she is busy opening small soy sauce shops in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Now there are Li Sanniang's soy sauce shops in the south and north In addition to being purchased by local people, Zhongzhi soy sauce also supplies soy sauce to the troops stationed by the imperial court nearby, and the income is very guaranteed.

This time Mo Wenyuan sent a letter saying that besides going to the south of the Yangtze River, he also said that he was looking for a large number of farmers who grow flax or traders who sell flax, and asked Li Sanniang to help keep an eye on her. She took care of her son's request after seeing it. Started to chat with the big local suppliers in Jiangnan.

Qin Weishan supplies an unknown amount of fresh fish to Li Sanniang's restaurant all year round, and is one of the largest suppliers in their family. However, after hearing Li Sanniang's request, he was a little dumbfounded: "I do business on the river, and I don't know much about flax."

Before Li Sanniang could speak, he came to his senses and said, "But some of my brothers are doing this. Let me inquire about it for you, maybe I can find out a thing or two."

After pondering for a while, Li Sanniang said: "Besides, can you help me find out where there are a lot of fields in the south of the Yangtze River?"

Compared with the single flax business, Qin Weishan is obviously more interested in the fact that she wants to buy land in the south of the Yangtze River. In the Tang Dynasty, no matter whether she became an official, became rich in business, or was originally sheltered by her family, she liked it. Farming wildly, seizing land with power and money, Qin Weishan is similar in this way, secretly buying many fields in the south of the Yangtze River.

Therefore, he was confident about Li Sanniang's request, and if he wanted to buy a field, he would definitely be able to recommend it.

He keenly discovered the problem from the conversation, and said to Li Sanniang: "Is Mo Dalang coming back? If it weren't for that, Sanniang, you wouldn't have made such a big move?"

Li Sanniang pursed her lips and smiled, "That's true."

Qin Weishan clapped his hands and said joyfully, "That's good, I'll talk to Wei Wen, he's going to the restaurant again." After Mo Wenyuan left, Wei Wen felt deeply lost, Mo Wenyuan was like a desert to him The forward travelers I met by chance, surrounded by yellow sand, could not see anyone, only the two of them could talk, had a common goal, and cherished each other.After Mo Wenyuan left, he really went to Li Sanniang Restaurant to eat all the dishes with the intention of tasting the dishes, but he was quite disappointed after eating, and sighed with Qin Weishan, saying that although they were made in the same way However, there is still a subtle difference between the cooking of Mo Wenyuan and the cooking of his apprentices. Mo Wenyuan's control over the heat and technology has reached the point of perfection.

Wei Wen could tell the difference.

……

When Qin Weishan went back, he said, "tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, the small speaker started broadcasting", not only saying that Wei Wen knew it, but also other people knew it.

Wei Wen was very happy after hearing this, his eyes lit up and he said: "Okay, I have been practicing cooking hard for more than half a year, and I have endless dishes to discuss with Mo Dalang. For three days and three nights, let’s learn from each other.”

Qin Weishan was sweating profusely when he heard it, and his forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat. He wiped his forehead with his big sleeve and said, "It's not good to talk about three days and three nights. Do you remember Mo Dalang's sheep? He It's not a good match."

"I'm discussing cooking skills with Mo Da, what's the matter with the sheep?"

This, maybe it really has something to do with him?Qin Weishan recalled the last time they "discussed", Zhongheiyang was very happy to eat after cooking, and then the two got together to exchange techniques, ingredients, and spices. They even stared at the top ingredients When Hei Yang saw it, he was blown away.

Chefs can't feel the frying pan of Zhongheiyang. People from all walks of life in China from ancient times to the present have one characteristic, that is, when facing their pious career, they are very focused and listen to the oil. The beautiful notes of zila splashing, watching the graceful curve of the spatula passing in mid-air like a geese on tour - for them, the exquisite performance is nothing more than this, how can they have the leisure to pay attention to other people's other things ?

So the stare of Zhongheiyang can only be left to Qin Weishan.

Qin Weishan saw that his friend was already lost in thought, so he could only let out a long sigh and said: "That's all, when the time comes, you and Mo Da will have to compete, and I don't care about the rest."

……

There are many famous chefs in the south of the Yangtze River, and they left a deep impression on Mo Wenyuan after the tasting session. The little old man Hu Weizhen was one of them. After being stimulated, he went back to retreat and practiced his cooking skills hard. But just like the young people, he burst out with amazing creativity and made progress in the kitchen.However, when he wanted to show his latest achievements in front of Mo Wenyuan, he found out in disbelief that the younger generation who encouraged and motivated himself and made him dread went back to Chang'an. How could this make him angry?

Hu Weizhen waited and waited and waited, ready to see when Mo Wenyuan would come back, and wanted him to take a good look at his new skills.

Suddenly a nephew shouted from outside the door: "Hu Bo, something is wrong!"

Hu Weizhen first reprimanded regardless of the three sevens and twenty ones: "It's unseemly to make noise!" He stroked his beard with his palm while scolding, as if he was sitting firmly on a Diaoyutai.

"No, Mo Dalang is back!"

Hearing this, he became even more furious: "Mo Dalang is back, what's the matter when you come back? Huangkou Xiaoer, even though the dishes are better, can you be fooled like this?" He became even more angry, "And what's wrong Yes, is he a treacherous and evil person, or did he stop me from starting a business and cooking? If there are no above points, what's wrong? Are you talking about it?"

The sons and nephews shrank their heads, and they seemed to have eaten nectar when they were scolded. They suddenly realized that what they did was the one that really boosted others' ambitions and destroyed their own prestige, so he shook his head and said, "No, there's nothing wrong with that." , very good, very good, Mo Dalang is coming back!" Good and bad are two opposite extremes, and he changed his mind really quickly.

Hu Weizhen's beard bristled with anger at Yumu's head, said: "Okay! What's the best!" He made a gesture to hit him on the head with a walking stick that was pretending to be next to the chair.

He has a straight waist, he can chop vegetables and stir pots without any problems, the walking stick is only for decoration, and occasionally uses it to ravage his disciples and younger generations.

The nephew who was chased and beaten was even more aggrieved: It’s okay to say yes, and it’s okay to say bad, so what should he say?

Mo Wenyuan never imagined that he had not yet arrived in the south of the Yangtze River, but he was already missed by many people. At this moment, he was on the boat, surrounded by the breeze on the river and the bright moon between the mountains, talking with the black sheep in the middle about buying and farming commonplace.

Zhongheiyang is clearly the son of the dragon and gluttony. There are not many usages that can be developed by Mo Wenyuan. The most commonly used ones are fresh food delivery and detectors for finding ingredients. From Mo Wenyuan's point of view, there are two The point is enough, but the black sheep is a self-motivated person, and always feels that he does not help Mo Xiaoyuan much, and wants to show that he is worth relying on.

At this time, Mo Wenyuan wanted to buy a field, and he finally had a place to play.

Zhong Heiyang: "Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa What's that Mai Tian is going to grow flax?"

Mo Wenyuan thought: "If you really buy it, you must plant flax first. If you find some interesting seeds later, you can also plant them."

The black sheep is full of lofty ambitions. When choosing the field, you may wish to take me together. Which land is very seed, I know at a glance that there is no old farmer to follow, you don’t have to worry about it. ground.

Land planting is not only related to fertility, but also the composition of the soil and whether the terrain is flat or not. Even old farmers who have been farming for many years, even agricultural officials who have traveled thousands of miles, dare not say that the land they choose is the best and the most fertile. , the most suitable for growing something, but Zhongheiyang can. He can hear the sound of rivers, lakes and seas, find the freshest and best seafood, but why can't he hear the call of the land?The rest of the gods would be heartbroken knowing that he used his talents and supernatural powers to pick fields. This is not a bull's knife for killing chickens, but a dragon-slaying knife for killing chickens!

Zhongheiyang didn't feel it himself, but was happy and at ease, deeply feeling that he had done a good deed.

Mo Wenyuan was not too surprised when he heard this, he said: "Is it really possible? Then I will make an agreement with Auntie. If you really buy the land, you must follow me. Then we will take two more steps and see where A field is the best."

"Sheep, having you is a great help!"

Zhongheiyang is really proud!

……

Li Sanniang hasn't seen her son for more than half a year, and she still misses her son very much.She is considered a businessman, but she has never been a businessman who pays more attention to profit than parting. Profit is important, and parting is also important. Huaiyang's business is on the right track. Naturally, she has time to pick up Mo Wenyuan in person. She made an agreement with Mo Wenyuan. When you are a person, you should dress nicely and be eye-catching so that you can be recognized at a glance.

The mother and the son both recognized each other at a glance, Mo Wenyuan sighed inwardly that A Niang's appearance was the same as before, and she was very good-looking.Li Sanniang felt differently, she wondered why he had grown so tall after not seeing her son for a while?

Adolescent boys grow fast, and Mo Wenyuan is at the age of fourteen, who is thriving. He is as thin and tall as a young white poplar fluttering in the wind in half a year. The shape does not change, which shows that he is tall and attractive.

When Mo Wenyuan got off the boat, Li Sanniang hugged him first, then put her arms around the black sheep and said: "Taller, thinner."

Mo Wenyuan smiled and said: "Tall, not skinny."

Zhong Heiyang bleated and said: "Neither tall nor thin."

On the way back to the store, they discussed the issue of purchasing land and planting flax. Li Sanniang told him that he had already found recommendations from several big land buyers, including Qin Weishan, and that they would be able to shop around and see more fields.

As they talked, they began to talk about other business matters. First of all, they talked about the oil extraction method and the matter of Convenience Hoto. The domestic supply exceeds the demand, and some people who need this item cannot buy it in the store, so they can only buy more expensive ones from other merchants, which is extremely depressing.

"Is there enough Hoto this time?"

"Bring a boat, it should be enough."

"The method of pressing and refining oil is really miraculous. Can you really get [-] catties of oil once the flax fruit is produced?"

"That's natural, why would I lie to my mother." Mo Wenyuan said again, "Even if flax is not used, soybeans are also feasible. Ten catties is less, but soybeans are cheap, and the leftover soybean pancakes can also be used , Feeding pigs and cows is good food, and it is also feasible to feed fish.”

"The price of soybeans in Jiangnan is indeed cheap, but flax is not that expensive. I have a good idea about the fact that you asked me to find a local flax farmer. Even if I buy it, the price will not be too high."

"So good."

After talking about the business matters, it is natural to talk about the current situation of Mo Wenyuan's friendship in Jiangnan. Li Sanniang said: "Wei Lang knew that you were coming back, and he has been hanging around in the store every day since a few days ago. He said that he has a new meal. I want to share the practice with you, I told him yesterday that you are coming back today, and when we go back to the store, he might be waiting there."

"Very good, very good. I haven't seen Wei Lang for a while, and I want to discuss with him about some food issues. Since he's here, it's just right."

Mo Wenyuan turned his head to the black sheep and said: "Yang, you will have a good time now."

Middle black sheep:! ! !

Then, let's communicate!

……

With Li Sanniang around, Mo Wenyuan would not ride on the back of the sheep with his head held high and his chest held high. The two of them lined up, one sheep at the far left of the street, and passers-by saw the beautiful Li Sanniang first, and hadn't said hello yet. He suddenly noticed Mo Wenyuan and Zhongheiyang.

"Mo Dalang is back?"

"Isn't there going to be new dishes in the store?"

"But there will be a tasting session?"

"How are you, Mo Da?"

In the land of the south of the Yangtze River, it is difficult for northerners to gain a foothold, and it is even more difficult to take root. Mo Wenyuan has only stayed for a few months, and he has captured people's stomachs and hearts with delicious food. It's like looking at outsiders, but it's like looking at a good Miao Miao from your own family.

The attitudes of the people around were all eager, and it was impossible for Mo Wenyuan not to respond. He nodded and smiled in return, and said: "There must be tasting sessions, not only I have made new dishes, but other chefs in the store have also made them." There are definitely new dishes.”

The management method should be adapted to local conditions. Seeing that the southerners have accepted the existence of the food tasting meeting and highly respected it, Mo Wenyuan wanted to go all out and make it a special local culture, which can be regarded as something that diners can remember in Li Sanniang’s restaurant. special point.

Wei Wen stayed in the store for a long time, and couldn't sit still any longer, so he took the initiative to look for Mo Wenyuan on the street. Seeing him walking slowly, he couldn't help speeding up his pace, shouting "Mo Dalang".

As soon as Mo Wenyuan waved, he saw his friend walking over in three steps, holding his hand and rushing into the store. Wei Wen said mutteringly: "I made a new dish, and I hope you can taste it for me. " Seeing the other party walking slowly, he really couldn't wait.

……

Letting Wei Wen take out his hands directly for Mo Wenyuan to taste, naturally it is not an inconspicuous dish, but a self-confident one.

"Do you make shrimp stuffing for Tang Zhonglao Wan?" Mo Wenyuan was quite surprised.

Wei Wendao: "We don't call it Tangzhonglao Wan here, but the southerners call it Jiaozi."

Needless to say, the homophonic dumplings are a traditional delicacy in modern times, but unlike dumplings filled with Chinese cabbage and meat, which are not unpalatable, even chefs on the coastline seldom use shrimp as the main ingredient. dumplings.The shrimp dumplings boiled in Malatang are different from ordinary dumplings. They have gone through hundreds of processing procedures such as seasoning and antisepsis before they get the final taste.The taste of shrimp wrapped in plain white flour can be described as disaster.

The taste of the shrimp itself is delicious, but after boiling the shrimp, there is still a lingering fishy smell, especially after the hot shrimp is cooled, the fishy smell is even stronger, and the umami taste is not worth mentioning. Food by-products also have such characteristics, such as shrimp paste, which may be delicious to those who love to eat it, but most people will only find it very fishy when they smell the smell of shrimp paste, making them doubt how it is made made.

Mo Wenyuan also wanted to know how Wei Wen made dumplings filled with shrimp meat, and they were still boiled in water. After the two met, they couldn't wait to plunge into the kitchen to make shrimp dumplings.

White noodles and other items were already prepared. As for the fresh shrimp and fish, Qin Weishan sent them to the back kitchen of Li Sanniang's restaurant at the command of Qin Weishan.Shrimp and fish are very good, especially the shrimp, which are alive and kicking. Look at their abdomen, they are round and full, and they are very big. They are top-grade shrimp.Wei Wen's movements were very neat. He cut open the belly and removed the shrimp's thread. The small sharp knife flexibly rotated between his fingers, and the shrimp's shell at the head, tail and abdomen peeled off.

The most important thing about boiled shrimp dumplings is to remove the fishy smell. Wei Wen does not plan to use the pickling method to let the taste of wine or salt water cover the umami taste of the shrimp. He only plans to remove the fishy smell.So he used a method that surprised Mo Wenyuan, which was to cook the shrimp and cinnamon together.

"Good way!" he exclaimed.

Cinnamon bark also has a slightly more common name in modern times, called cinnamon sticks. Most of them are deliberately rolled into rolls when drying cinnamon bark.Cinnamon sticks are rarely used in home cooking, but hotel chefs don't let the spice go unnoticed, and it does wonders for removing earthy odors.

Shrimp meat is minced into fine minced meat, mixed with boiled fish meat until soft, and small pieces of jelly that condense the essence of fish soup are stuffed into the stuffing. As the temperature rises, the jelly will melt, making the delicious fish soup more delicious. Integrating into the limbs and bones of the dumplings, the finely chopped wombat leaves are the finishing touch, which makes the taste of the dumplings rich and not monotonous.

This dumpling is not made with ordinary white water, but with fish soup. The delicacy of the fish soup has become the last layer of cover. No matter how skilled the tongue is, no one has time to care about the last trace of fishy smell left on the shrimp meat. .

Mo Wenyuan and Zhong Heiyang sat at the table, drinking soup and eating shrimp dumplings. The delicacy of river fresh food had been deeply rooted in their minds. When they closed their eyes, they seemed to be able to see themselves as fish in the water and fish and shrimp wandering in the river.

"How?" Wei Wen said quite complacently, thinking about it, it must have taken a lot of time to develop shrimp dumplings and find a way to make them delicious and not at all fishy.

It's right to be proud.

"It's delicious." Mo Wenyuan sighed, "I haven't seen such a genius work for a long time."

Wei Wendao: "What would happen if shrimp were used to make dumplings?"

Mo Wenyuan pondered: "My method is different from Wei Lang's. To be honest, I have a kind of flour called Chengfen, which is slightly different from ordinary flour. After the meat noodles are steamed in a bamboo basket, the steamed skin Slightly sticky, crystal clear, very suitable for making pastries, I will definitely use Chengfen when I make shrimp dumplings."

Hearing what he said, it was impossible for Wei Wen not to be curious, and he muttered to himself again: "Steaming is indeed a good method. Compared with boiling, the fishy smell of shrimp produced by steaming is inherently better than other methods. It is mild, and unlike the hydrothermal method, which makes the fishy smell worse when it is cold and then hot, the fishy smell of steamed shrimp will not be aggravated even if it is steamed and steamed again."

That is, he thought about steaming the shrimp at the beginning, but in the end he gave up because of other factors such as the taste.

"Can you do it?" There was a star in his eyes.

Mo Wenyuan thought for a while and said, "Yes." He said, "But before I did it, I suddenly had an idea. I wanted to try it out, and I might fail."

"If there is any problem, if it is not as good as expected, just do it again." To be a chef is to have the consciousness of trying thousands of times before you can succeed.

……

Mo Wenyuan said that the new method he wanted to try did not come from the traditional Cantonese-style shrimp dumplings, but from the animation "China Little Master" that most people are familiar with in his previous life.

It is no exaggeration to say that this animation has influenced Mo Wenyuan's future. It is precisely because "The Little Master of China" left a deep impression on him when he was young that he was able to appreciate the mysteries of food and embark on the road of a chef .

The dumpling he wants to try has appeared in the Chinese Xiaodang's house, it is called Shenglong dumpling!

Of course, Mo Wenyuan didn't expect the dumplings to really stand up by relying on steam. If his experience is correct, compared to letting the dumplings stand up, the airflow rushing around the "belly" of the dumplings will only make the skin thinner and leak air , It is absolutely impossible and unscientific to stand up.

Use a small carving knife to cut lightly on the head of the shrimp a few times, and the lifelike dragon head will appear before your eyes. The tail of the shrimp will be left for decoration when it is steamed.

The dragon body does use two types of skin, ordinary dough for the base, and Cheng skin for the body. The dough he kneaded out by himself is different from the ordinary skin, full of chewy texture, and it feels slightly thick in the mouth, unlike Bo Cheng. The sticky texture of the skin is different, and the taste of the two can be perfectly complemented, and the texture of the two different skins can capture every diner in one bite.

Shrimp meat is cut into small pieces and mixed with the fatty part of the pork.The fatty meat is fluffy and creamy, and its color is similar to that of shrimp. The delicious shrimp juice is absorbed by the meat while steaming, and the oil in the meat gives the shrimp another layer of aroma.

Set off each other and promote each other!

The lying dragon lies in life, and the heat rises from the top of the bamboo cage, like rolling clouds, like the mist covering the five mountains, like the sky with dragons soaring.

It adds a touch of mystery to Thang Long Dumplings.

After the fire was extinguished, Mo Wenyuan put two dumplings on a plate and put them on Wei Wen and Zhong Heiyang and said, "Please." As a chef, he knew that his creation was a success.

This is... a dragon?

Taotie, who is the ninth son of a dragon, was a little unimpressed by its shape, he looked at it carefully and then swallowed it in one gulp——

"!!!"

The long chant of the dragon suddenly exploded in his head!

this!yes!what!taste!