Kong Guodong led the group through the courtyard and headed straight for the kitchen.
The original Le Ming Restaurant's kitchen was already large, and after renovations, two more rows of stoves were added, capable of accommodating over twenty chefs simultaneously for training and practice.
A group of people had gathered around a stove. The person in charge of cooking was a middle-aged man with a round face. Despite the chilly early winter weather, he was wearing a thin chef's uniform, but his forehead was covered in sweat.
On the other side of the stove stood three old men. The one in the middle was wearing a chef's uniform. His silver hair was already thinning, and he was combing the hair around his head towards the middle, stubbornly trying to cover his bald spot.
If viewed at eye level, it should be considered decent.
But Zhou Yan was half a head taller than him, and from his angle, it looked more like a smooth-bottomed bird's nest.
The one on the left is wearing a black Tang suit, is overweight, has his hands behind his back, and looks quite kind.
The one on the right is wearing a brand-new indigo Zhongshan suit, with five buttons and four pockets, perfectly ironed, and has a somewhat serious expression.
There were seven or eight middle-aged and young chefs surrounding them, who were probably all apprentices or grand-apprentices.
"The one in the middle is your Grandmaster Uncle Kong Qingfeng, the one on the left is Uncle Qin Kun, a first-class chef who also retired from Le Ming Restaurant. The one on the right is Li Liangcai, the former head chef of Feiyan Restaurant. The current head chef of Feiyan Restaurant, Li Laosan, is his apprentice." Xiao Lei slowed his pace and introduced them to Zhou Yan and Zheng Qiang in a low voice: "Those around here are all outstanding disciples and grand-disciples taught by your Master Uncles over the years. The older ones call him master uncle, and the younger ones call him senior brother. There shouldn't be any major mistakes."
Xiao Lei and Zheng Qiang nodded, first recognizing everyone.
This should be the top tier chef in Jiazhou right now, the kind who can prepare banquets.
Of course, when it comes to individual skills, there are hidden masters everywhere.
"Zhong Yong is stir-frying Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver. This is today's exchange dish, mainly to test the heat control. My Master asked me to go to the market early this morning to buy five jin of pork liver. Everyone has a chance to try it today." Kong Guodong explained with a smile, leading the three forward.
Speaking of Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver, Zhou Yan and the other two had somewhat subtle expressions.
Recently, Xiao Lei has been practicing stir-fried Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver at the restaurant everyday, cooking dozens of portions daily, which is quite strenuous.
The progress bar had been stuck at 98% for two days, just one step away from completion.
When Zhou Yan and the others reached the stove, the Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver was already cooked, a steaming plate placed on the stove.
Kong Qingfeng frowned and raised his voice a few decibels: "Zhong Yong, your skills have declined quite a bit. In the past two years, have you just been doing nothing but directing your apprentices in the kitchen everyday?
Look at how you've cut the pork liver! Some pieces are big, some are small, some are thick, some are thin. How are you supposed to cook it like that? Either the thin pieces will be overcooked, or the thick ones won't be cooked through."
"This is supposed to be a stir-fried dish, but I don't know how you managed to cook it with so much water. You didn't even dare to turn up the heat. Is this still a stir-fried dish? It's all soupy and watery, and it doesn't look appetizing at all."
"I'm too lazy to even pick up my chopsticks, It's overcooked!"
Zhong Yong blushed and lowered his head, stammering, "Master, I mainly cook braised dishes and cold dishes now. I can only stir-fry pork liver once a year. I really didn't learn properly when I was learning to cook. I'm sorry for making a fool of myself."
"Playing the erhu in a graveyard—don't talk nonsense! Don't you need knife skills and control the heat when you braised dishes?" Kong Qingfeng rolled his eyes. "There are two jin of beef brisket over there. You'll be in charge of braising it later. I want to see if your braising skills have deteriorated. If they're still this bad, I'll teach you a lesson."
The onlookers laughed. As long as the elders of the sect weren't cursing them, they could laugh without restraint.
The atmosphere suddenly became cheerful.
Zhong Yong raised his head, patted his chest confidently, and said, "Master, don't worry! Braised beef brisket with potatoes is my specialty, absolutely no problem!"
"Don't shout. Go wash the cutting board and the wok, and stand aside and watch how your fellow apprentices stir-fry Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver." Kong Qingfeng waved his hand.
"Master, Xiao Lei and two junior nephews have arrived." Kong Guodong finally said.
"Master Uncle, it's been a long time." Xiao Lei said with a smile, leading Zhou Yan and Zheng Qiang forward.
Kong Qingfeng smiled and shook Xiao Lei's hand, saying, "Shitou, it's been more than half a year since I last saw you. How is everything at home? Are your two kids in middle school now?"
"One is in the second year of middle school, and the other in the first year of high school in the second half of the year." Xiao Lei replied with a smile, then introduced to Kong Qingfeng, "This is Zheng Qiang, Yunliang's apprentice, and this is Zhou Yan, my apprentice."
"Grandmaster Uncle." Zhou Yan and Zheng Qiang greeted respectfully.
"Yunliang said he was too busy to come, so he sent you, young man?" Kong Qingfeng said, looking at Zheng Qiang with a smile.
"The Rongcheng restaurant is doing incredibly well, and my Master is indeed very busy and can't get away. I hope Grandmaster Uncle will forgive him." Zheng Qiang hurriedly said.
"It's good that he's busy. It means he can still cook, and his skills haven't declined." Kong Qingfeng nodded with a smile, then looked at Zhou Yan, sized him up, and laughed, "Shitou, your apprentice looks more like a celebrity than a chef."
As everyone sized up Zhou Yan and Zheng Qiang, they laughed and teased upon hearing this:
"Indeed, Senior Brother Xiao's disciple is quite handsome and sunny, like a movie star."
"He's taking this visit to the sect quite seriously, even wearing new clothes and shoes. He's thoughtful."
Kong Qingfeng looked at Zhou Yan and said, "How old are you this year? You've been learning to cook from your Master for two or three years now, haven't you? I heard him mention it before."
"I'm twenty this year, and I've been learning from my Master for more than two and a half years." Zhou Yan replied with a smile.
"Good. Looking at your forearm muscles and the calluses on your hands, it shows you practice diligently and haven't slacked off." Kong Qingfeng nodded.
"Master is too strict, I dare not slack off." Zhou Yan laughed.
"Senior Brother Xiao."
Everyone greeted Xiao Lei.
Xiao Lei smiled and responded, introducing everyone to Zhou Yan and Zheng Qiang, making sure they were familiar with each other's faces.
"Junior Brother, have you remembered who's who?" Zheng Qiang asked softly.
"More or less." Zhou Yan nodded.
Zheng Qiang scratched his head: "Damn it, I have face blindness. I was so busy nodding that I didn't remember any of the names."
Zhou Yan laughed and said, "It's alright. The older ones are called 'Master Uncle' and the younger ones are called 'Senior Brother'. You can't go wrong with that."
"That makes sense." Zheng Qiang nodded, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Come on, next Wang Mian. Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver was one of your specialties back in the day. Let's see how many of your skills you still have left." Kong Qingfeng said.
"Okay, Master." A sturdy middle-aged man stepped forward from the crowd, took out his knife from his bag, cut a piece of pork liver from a nearby basin, and placed it on the cutting board. With swift, clean strokes, he sliced the liver into evenly thin slices.
Kong Qingfeng nodded slightly and said, "See? This is the basic skill. You need to use the knife with strength, steadiness, and precision, and make clean and neat cuts. That's how you slice the pork liver so evenly. A chef's knife skills depend entirely on diligent practice. There are no shortcuts."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Zhou Yan watched from the side. As expected of a master, his knife skills are indeed excellent, far superior to the previous Master Uncle.
After slicing the pork liver, start seasoning it. Add cooking wine, salt, and other seasonings to the bowl one by one, and finally thicken it with a small handful of cornstarch.
Kong Qingfeng watched from the side, nodding repeatedly.
As expected, it was the same style of cooking, the ingredients and methods were basically the same, except that the thickening with cornstarch made Zhou Yan think it was a bit too thick.
Oil was heated in a wok. Wang Mian glanced at the stove and had his apprentice add a piece of firewood. Once the oil was hot, the pork liver was added, quickly stirred with a ladle. Then he added scallion segments and chili segments, stir-fried it quickly and removed from the wok.
A dish of dry, oily, and Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver is then plated.
Steam rose from the wok, and a fragrant aroma wafted through the air.
Zhou Yan glanced at it: [A pretty good Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver]
"Look, this Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver is finally doing properly! It's oily but not brothy, the surface is glossy and dry, and the aroma is irresistible." Kong Qingfeng praised. He picked up a piece of pork liver with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and nodded, "Hmm, not bad, very tender, and the heat control is just right. It's just that the seasoning is a little lacking in spiciness, and if you taste it carefully, there's a slight gamey flavor. It could have been marinated a bit more thoroughly."
"Okay, Master, I have learned a lot." Wang Mian nodded, seemingly lost in thought.
Qin Kun and Li Liangcai also picked up their chopsticks and tasted it.
"It's good. It has the wok hei (wok aroma), tender but cooked through. The heat control is quite good, but there's definitely room for improvement in the seasoning." Qin Kun nodded. "This is much better than those Sichuan restaurants outside. It's definitely at level two."
Li Liangcai put down his chopsticks and said, "I think the starch is a bit too thick, so the flavor hasn't penetrated properly and is just on the surface. That's why the gamey smell wasn't completely masked. Next time, reduce the amount of starch by one-third and try making it thinner."
"You two are right, I will go back and practice some more." Wang Mian said respectfully.
Kong Qingfeng said, "Come on, you guys try it too, share your thoughts, and let's verify what we've said. That's how you make progress faster."
Everyone picked up their chopsticks and stepped forward to taste it.
Zhou Yan tasted a piece, seemingly lost in thought. The older generation certainly had some knowledge!
That hits the nail on the head.
The Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver was indeed quite good, tender and oily, but the flavor was on the surface, resulting in a slightly gamey aftertaste.
However, this is the conclusion reached after only eating one piece and savoring it carefully from the chef's perspective.
If it was served at the table, a guest would eat a piece of pork liver with a bite of rice, or a piece of pork liver with a sip of liquor, and would only find it crisp, tender, and smooth—quite delicious.
So overall, this is a pretty good spicy stir-fried pork liver dish.
It's somewhat different from his Master's.
It's not as good as his Master's.
Wang Mian set an example, and the Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver dishes made by his Master Uncles afterwards were all acceptable.
But by the time it came to the grand-disciple's generation, the situation gradually spiraled out of control.
"What kind of style did you cut it? It's thicker than your ancestors' coffin lids!"
"Heavens! Is this boiled pork liver?"
"Stir-fried! Stir-fried! I didn't ask you to make charcoal-grilled pork liver, and you even managed to start a fire on a clay stove? I really want to slap you across the face!"
Before Kong Qingfeng could even speak, their own master was already furious and disappointed in them.
The younger generation lowered their heads and listened to the reprimand, not daring to utter a sound. After all, what they had lost today was not just their own face, but their master's face, and they could understand their master's anger.
"Thank goodness my Master didn't come today." Zheng Qiang muttered with a sigh of relief.
"It's alright, my Master is your master too. Let him come and scold you later." Zhou Yan comforted him.
Zheng Qiang glared at Xiao Lei, who was smirking, and said, "Forget it! I don't necessarily need a master."
Conversely, Kong Qingfeng and the other two elders were quite tolerant of the younger generation, offering calm and gentle guidance, while also making a few sarcastic remarks about their master.
"Shitou, why don't you give a demonstration? My Senior Brother's Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver and Spicy Stir-fried Pork Kidney were absolutely divine back in the day. They were known as the most tender in Jiazhou, and no one has surpassed them since." Kong Qingfeng looked at Xiao Lei and said with a smile, "Let me see how much of his skill you've inherited."
Everyone's gaze turned to Xiao Lei.
"There's only one serving of pork liver left, so I won't embarrass myself by showing it off." Xiao Lei said with a smile. "Let Zhou Yan cook one for everyone, and we'd like the three elders and fellow apprentices to give him some feedback. Young people like him shouldn't miss this opportunity."
Everyone looked at Zhou Yan upon hearing this.
Especially the younger generation who had been scolded earlier, who all cast pitying glances at Zhou Yan.
This is unavoidable.
He'll still get scolded if he deserves it!
Being handsome is useless to him.
A chef, after all, needs skill in hand.