"Alright, let's talk about Mapo Tofu after Master Xiao has perfectly cooked the spicy stir-fried pork liver." Zhou Yan nodded.
He knew his master might genuinely be seeking his guidance, but that address of "Master Zhou" sounded somewhat sarcastic.
It's a good thing Master Zheng isn't here today, otherwise he'd be laughing his head off.
Anyway, he can explain himself now, so he's not too flustered.
Genius acts without explanation.
If asked, it's simply talent!
Zhou Yan went back to the kitchen to continue cooking, finishing the remaining dishes for them.
Xiao Lei scooped a spoonful of Mapo Tofu into a bowl. The beef topping was stir-fried until golden brown, and the sauce was just right, perfectly coating the tofu. Garlic sprout leaves were sprinkled on top, and finally, a thin layer of Sichuan peppercorn powder was sprinkled on top, releasing a fragrant aroma of numbing spiciness.
When he was young, he went to Rongleyuan in Rongcheng for training and ate at Chen Mapo Tofu several times. He always ordered Mapo Tofu, and its appearance was nine-tenths similar to this one.
With such a 90% resemblance, he rarely saw it again after leaving Chen Mapo Tofu.
The chefs know the tricks of the trade. It is said that Mapo Tofu requires three rounds of thickening, demanding the chef's utmost skill in seasoning and controlling the heat.
Even his master couldn't make Mapo Tofu well.
Now, Le Ming Restaurant also sells Mapo Tofu, using pork topping, but the chef isn't from the Kong Sect, so Xiao Lei can't really say anything.
Although the taste is just average, but the dish is very famous. It's said that quite a few people order it, so it's remained on the menu.
He blew on it, then fed the tofu directly to his mouth.
Hot is the key!
Mapo Tofu has to be eaten hot.
Numbing, spicy, fresh, fragrant, crispy, tender, and piping hot – all these qualities are perfectly showcased in this one bite.
Xiao Lei savored the food, nodding occasionally, his face revealing his amazement.
This is absolutely the best Mapo Tofu he's ever had. The seasoning and heat control are just as good as Chen Mapo Tofu. The beef is crispy, soft and refreshing, and the aroma of the beef infuses into the broth and permeates the tofu, making it incredibly flavorful.
The most crucial element is the tofu.
It's delicate and smooth, with a rich bean aroma and no trace of beany tast. It's authentic Xiba tofu.
Based on this alone, Xiao Lei felt that this Mapo Tofu was more delicious than any Mapo Tofu he had ever had before, and that it was superior in terms of ingredients.
Of course, being able to select higher quality ingredients is also a skill of the chef.
Master Zhou is indeed quite capable.
After Chen Mapo Tofu was nationalized, its recipe appeared frequently in some chef training programs and even circulated in some published books.
It's not surprising that Zhou Yan had access to the recipe, he had seen several versions of it.
However, recipes are written down and are often very concise, with some seasonings even described as "a little" or "a small amount".
Didn't the chefs at Le Ming Restaurant know that Mapo Tofu uses beef topping? It's just that pork topping is more affordable and easier to obtain in the kitchen.
To meticulously replicate a dish like Zhou Yan, achieving perfection and even surpassing it, requires immense talent and unwavering perseverance.
Xiao Wang scooped a bowl of rice and put two spoonfuls of Mapo Tofu on top of it, it was his favorite.
Qian Siyuan still prefers Yu Xiang Shredded Pork, eating it bite after bite with a joyful smile.
"Master Xiao, I saw in that magazine that Master Little Zhou recreated the 'Cross-legged Beef' from a tattered recipe. How did he do that? Is that basic skill for a chef?" Qian Siyuan asked Xiao Lei, his curiosity evident on his face.
"It's not difficult for an experienced chef to make a dish according to a recipe. The challenge lies in making it delicious, on par with the original recipe. The real challenge is to improve upon the available ingredients and spices, making the dish even more flavorful and appealing to contemporary tastes." Xiao Lei said with a smile.
"This really tests a chef's basic skills, seasoning, heat control, and knife skills are all essential. Zhou Yan's talent is also top notch among chefs.
As a diner, you only find his food delicious. But if you were a chef, seeing him would be like a mayfly seeing the vast sky."
"I see." Qian Siyuan looked at Xiao Lei, who had a proud expression, and nodded thoughtfully.
Zhou Yan must be a genius in the culinary industry. No wonder that at only twenty years old, one of his dishes made it onto the cover of a professional food magazine.
Xiao Lei looked at the Yu Xiang Shredded Pork on the side. It was tender and distinct meat shreds with glossy red oil, and a thin line of oil circling the plate. Its bright red color was very appealing. This was also a new dish that had just been added to the menu.
Yu Xiang Shredded Pork is a common home-style dish, and Xiao Lei makes it quite well.
Among the three generations of chefs in the Kong Sect, he should be considered one of the best in terms of the fish-fragrant seasoning. He is skilled at making Yu Xiang Shredded Pork, Yu Xiang Eggplant, and Yu Xiang Tofu.
When Zhou Yan was learning to cook, he learned this dish from him, but he made a terrible mess of it, either making it too sour or too sweet.
Although it's described as a home-style dish, but the difficulty of seasoning this dish is definitely among the top tier in Sichuan cuisine.
The proportions and amounts of ginger, garlic, and seasonings are very important. Too little and it's tasteless, too much and it overpowers the fish-fragrant flavor. Too sour and too sweet won't work either.
Many Sichuan restaurants serve this dish, but few chefs can make it well.
They all taste pretty much the same, but an expert can tell the difference with just one bite.
Zhou Yan's Yu Xiang Shredded Pork uses winter bamboo shoots and wood ear mushrooms.
Green bamboo shoots are out of season, and using winter bamboo shoots would cost significantly more, at least 50 cents per jin.
However, meat prices have dropped now, so he sells them for two yuan a serving. As long as he can sell them in large quantities, the profit is still quite considerable.
He picked up some Yu Xiang Shredded Pork and put it in his mouth. The flavor was salty, fragrant, sour, spicy, and sweet, with a very rich taste. The fish-fragrant flavor was perfectly balanced, with a smooth texture, highlighting the aroma of pickled Erjingtiao peppers, ginger, garlic, and scallions, which ultimately blended together to create the so-called fish-fragrant flavor.
Impeccable!
The shredded pork is oily and smooth, with a slightly chewy texture. It is made from second cut pork with a 3:7 fat to lean ratio.
The shredded winter bamboo shoots are fresh, sweet, and crisp. These are the first batch of winter bamboo shoots to hit the market, and many people may not even know that they are available for sale, but Zhou Yan has already put them on the dining table.
Paired with slightly crunchy wood ear mushrooms, the taste and flavor are both excellent.
After finishing his bite, Xiao Lei stared at the plate of Yu Xiang Shredded Pork in silence for a long time.
This is Yu Xiang Shredded Pork? Then what is his?
Oh no!
Does he even need to ask Master Zhou for advice on Yu Xiang Shredded Pork?
But this fish-fragrant sauce is so incredibly authentic!
It tastes even better than what his master made back then.
Incredible! The Kong Sect has truly produced a genius this time!
Xiao Lei's heart wasn't as calm as his expression suggested, his joy was tinged with a faint sadness that his disciple was good than master.
Moreover, he had a deep-seated suspicion: Was this bastard acting all along to fool me?
However, this method of adding winter bamboo shoots tastes even better than adding green bamboo shoots, with a better texture, and it doesn't ruin the flavor of the fish-fragrant.
They were indeed the last table of customers, by the time they finished eating, the restaurant was empty.
Zhou Yan went upstairs to change out of his chef's uniform, and when he came down, his master and the others had just finished eating.
"Master, Mr. Qian, now that you've finished eating, let's go." Zhou Yan went to push his bicycle.
Qian Siyuan said with a smile, "Master Little Zhou, come with us in the car. If you're in a hurry to come back later, I'll have the driver take you."
"Okay." Zhou Yan immediately propped his bicycle against the wall and followed them out.
"Why didn't I see Zhou Momo today?" Qian Siyuan, sitting in the front seat, asked as he got on the car.
"She went back to village to visit her grandma this morning. There are more playmates in the countryside than at school, and there are also cats and geese." Zhou Yan said with a smile.
In the morning, Brother Fei was delivering beef to a banquet. He stopped at the restaurant to drink some water, and Zhou Momo started fussing about going back to the countryside with him to play with her grandma and the neighbor's little girl. In the evening, Brother Fei will come to the restaurant to pick up his sister in law and then bring Zhou Momo back.
"I see." Qian Siyuan nodded, slightly disappointed.
The little one was so adorable, reminding him of his granddaughter, whom he hadn't seen for months.
Xiao Lei, Xiao Wang, and Zhou Yan sat in the back row.
"Master Zhou, your Mapo Tofu is really good! It's just as good as Chen's Mapo Tofu, and the taste is even better. Which cookbook did you learn this recipe from?" Xiao Lei asked with a smile.
"I found this at a bookstall last time I went to Jiazhou. It seems to be a training course textbook from some restaurant. The cover was all peeling off. I tried making it a few times, and then asked some people who had eaten Chen Mapo Tofu before I finally figured it out." Zhou Yan grinned. "Master, do you want to learn?"
Qian Siyuan and Xiao Wang both turned their heads in surprise. Good heavens, this is against reason and against heaven.
"I'll learn! I'll learn as long as I live!" Xiao Lei nodded without hesitation, and then said, "And this Yu Xiang Shredded Pork you made, did you adjust the ratio of the fish-fragrant sauce? It tastes a little different from what I taught you."
"Which flavor do you think is better?" Zhou Yan asked.
Xiao Lei replied earnestly, "Yours is better. The flavor is milder, with a rich fish-fragrant aroma. Using second cut pork eliminates the need to separately cut the fatty part for stir-frying the tenderloin, resulting in a more oily and tender texture. Adding winter bamboo shoots is also excellent, adding a fresh, sweet, and refreshing touch."
Zhou Yan's smile faded. His master truly understood, he had hit the nail on the head.
No wonder he was a seasoned chef who had been cooking Yu Xiang Shredded Pork for over twenty years. He could tell his own shortcomings and strengths after just one taste.
He was just a lucky guy who had stuffed perfect recipes and experience into his head.
Besides feeling good, all that was left was feeling good.
There was never a chance to experience the pain of gradual accumulation and constant trial and error.
It was enjoyable, and he had indeed fully mastered all the experience and skills.
Whatever his master wants to learn, he will certainly teach him everything he knows.
He also wants to learn some good things from his master.
For example, Linjiang Eel Shreds, Braised Yellow Catfish, Yu Xiang Eggplant, Yu Xiang Tofu...
He might not be able to open the system's blind boxes, but his master won't run away.
Master Xiao was not the most talented chef in the Kong Sect, but he was the disciple who followed Master Kong Huaifeng the longest and learned the most comprehensively.
His arsenal is quite extensive.
"Then, once you've mastered the spicy stir-fried pork liver, shall we first research how to make Yu Xiang Shredded Pork? I'm afraid you won't be able to handle Mapo Tofu for the time being." Zhou Yan suggested.
The task of perfectly cooking the spicy stir-fried pork liver has been stuck at 99% for almost two weeks.
Zhou Yan is still waiting for his master to give him a blind box.
Haste makes waste, and the same principle applies to cooking.
He was afraid that his master would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of things he learned, wanting to learn one thing and then another, unable to master anything properly.
He, as an apprentice, is acting like a master.
Zhou Yan sometimes couldn't help but wonder if his master, as the last disciple, was only a level two chef because he wanted to learn all the dishes of the Kong Sect too much, resulting in a jack of all trades and master of none.
"Okay, it's settled then." Xiao Lei nodded, then added, "I'll teach you how to make braised yellow catfish later."
"Great! If I learn it, I'll have another signature dish for the Chinese New Year." Zhou Yan said with a smile.
In the rearview mirror, Qian Siyuan's lips curled into a slight smile.
The traditional Chinese master-apprentice relationship was embodied in this moment.
Even chefs are so humble and eager to learn, the China market must have enormous potential in the future and is worth paying attention to.
The car first went to Kong Qingfeng's house, but found it empty. His family said he had gone to the training base for classes, so the car turned around and stopped at the entrance of the training base.
Qian Siyuan got out of the car, first tidied his hair in front of the car window, then buttoned up his suit jacket, straightened his back, and his aura changed instantly.
His return today represents his mother, for him, this journey to find his relatives is more like bringing his mother back to her parents' home.
He couldn't afford to lose face, because on this land, the only person they knew was his mother.
"Come with me. I don't know if Second Master Kong is teaching. If he is, we'll have to wait for him to finish." Xiao Lei greeted the gatekeeper and then led the three of them into the base.
"What kind of person is this Second Master Kong?" Qian Siyuan asked.
Zhou Yan introduced him, saying, "Second Master Kong is the current head of the Kong Sect, a renowned chef in Jiazhou, a national-level master chef, and his culinary skills are superb. For the past ten years or so, he has been teaching at the base, imparting all his knowledge and skills to hundreds of chefs in the Jiazhou area. He has many disciples and is highly respected. Our grandmaster, Kong Huaifeng..."
Qian Siyuan nodded repeatedly as he listened, gaining a general understanding of the Kong family.
"You listened quite attentively last time, you remembered everything your grandmaster uncle said." Xiao Lei said with a smile after Zhou Yan finished speaking.
"Of course I have to listen carefully to the tradition passed down through generations." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.
He not only listened attentively, but also witnessed firsthand the entire process of the Kong Sect's inheritance and development from the second generation to the third generation.
Shitou, who was stubborn and inflexible, was scolded a lot when he was learning to cook.
Xiao Lei paused, looking somewhat dazed at the bamboo recliner placed in the corner of the yard.
An old man with white hair and beard was reclining on a chair. Next to him, on a stool, was a tape recorder with the volume turned down, from which came the voice of Shan Tianfang telling stories.
"Master Uncle!" Xiao Lei called out as he stepped forward.
Kong Qingfeng slowly opened his eyes, looked at Xiao Lei standing in front him, then glanced at Zhou Yan, and said with a smile, "Shitou, Little Zhou, what brings you here? Aren't you having a banquet or opening your restaurant today?"
"There's no special occasion these two days, no need for a banquet." Xiao Lei said with a smile.
"Grandmaster Uncle." Zhou Yan also called out, smiling as he added, "I'm quite busy, I still need to go back and cook later."
"Who are these two?" Kong Qingfeng had already noticed Qian Siyuan and Xiao Wang standing to the side. The two were dressed in neat suits and their hair was combed neatly, so they didn't look like locals.
"Master Uncle, let me introduce you. His name is Qian Siyuan. He is an overseas Chinese who returned from the United States to search for his relatives." Xiao Lei introduced.
"Hello, Second Master Kong, I am Qian Siyuan." Qian Siyuan stepped forward and extended his right hand.
"Oh, you're back from America?" Kong Qingfeng sat down and shook hands with him, smiling as he said, "Your surname is Qian? Which wealthy family from Jiazhou did you come from? I might even recognize them."
Qian Siyuan said, "My mother's name is Kong Simin. This morning, Master Xiao took me to Linjiang. Two elderly people there said that my mother has a younger brother named Kong Huaifeng."
"Kong Simin... Sister Simin!" Kong Qingfeng's eyes widened suddenly, and he abruptly stood up from his chair. He looked at Qian Siyuan, his breathing becoming rapid, and his voice trembling slightly: "You say you are Sister Simin's son? Is that true? Do you have any proof?"
Qian Siyuan took out a handkerchief from his breast pocket and unfolded it to reveal a gourd-shaped jade pendant inside. It was missing a corner, and the four words "才思敏捷" (Quick-witted and talented) were engraved on the back.
Kong Qingfeng reached out and took it, examining it closely. His hands were already trembling uncontrollably: "That's right! Absolutely right! This is Sister Simin's gourd jade pendant! It was given to her by my master's wife on her sixteenth birthday. The words "才思敏捷" (Quick-witted and talented) were engraved on the back, and it's exactly the same as this one!"
Qian Siyuan, who had been restraining his emotions since entering the door, finally couldn't hold back anymore and cried out with red eyes, "Uncle!"
Kong Qingfeng looked at him, his eyes also reddening, and nodded heavily: "Sigh!"
Qian Siyuan smiled with some relief. After more than 20 years, he finally found his mother's hometown and his mother's brothers.
On the land that gave her birth and nurtured her, he found her blood relatives.
His hopes and expectations have been fulfilled today.
This feeling is incredibly important to him.
Kong Qingfeng sighed and patted Qian Siyuan's hand, saying, "Bring a chair over and sit down. Let's sit down and have a good chat. Sister Simin disappeared in 1917. My master and master's wife searched for her for decades but never heard from her. They died with regrets. Where did she go? How did she get to America? How did she live after that? Tell me all about it."
"Okay." Qian Siyuan nodded.
Xiao Wang was observant, he had already brought over two chairs, one for Qian Siyuan and one for Xiao Lei.
Zhou Yan moved two stools over, sat on one himself, and handed the other to Xiao Wang.
"Thank you." Xiao Wang said quietly, taking the stool and moving it to a spot further away to sit down.
As a secretary, he was quite conscious of boundaries and preferred to avoid listening to his boss's personal affairs.
Zhou Yan didn't care about any of that. He went to the side, brewed two cups of tea, and placed them next to Qian Siyuan and Xiao Lei. He then moved a stool and sat down behind Xiao Lei, his eyes full of determination to watch the drama unfold.
He had seen Kong Qingfeng's fragmented memories, but he hadn't noticed his grandmaster's older sister.
According to Kong Qingfeng, Kong Simin disappeared in 1917, while the memory fragments began in Jiazhou in 1918, a year later, so it is reasonable that she did not appear.
So, his grandmaster wasn't an only child, he had an older sister.
Qian Siyuan looked at Kong Qingfeng and slowly said, "My mother told me that she went on a boat with her friends, and was drugged and taken to another boat by human traffickers. They were in a daze all the way down the Yangtze River, and they said they were going to sell her to Guangzhou.
When she arrived in Wuhan, she took advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention and jumped off the boat to escape. She was a good swimmer, but she was too weak from being hungry for so long. She was also being chased by villains and almost drowned, but my father, who happened to be strolling along the riverbank, saved her.
My father came to Wuhan from Hangzhou to do silk business. After my mother was rescued, she was already weak from being soaked in the cold river water, and she was also terrified, so she fell seriously ill.
Seeing that she was so ill that she couldn't get out of bed, my father took meticulous care of her for over a month. After her condition improved, he brought her back to Hangzhou and hired a famous doctor to recuperate her for more than a year before she finally recovered.
My mother said that she felt like she was going to die several times, but my father pulled her back from the brink of death.
To save her, my father spent all the money he had made in his business, becoming known as a spendthrift. People made many sarcastic remarks, but he never argued back, only saying it was worth it.
My mother was convinced he was the right person, so she married him. There was no parental consent, no matchmaker, and not even a wedding banquet.
She made two sets of coarse cloth clothes and tore off a piece of red silk. The two of them then held a wedding ceremony in a mud house in the countryside.
My father's family fell into poverty, and they went to Southeast Asia on ships with others. My mother was pregnant with my older sister, so the idea of returning to Sichuan was abandoned.
She said she had sent several letters to her family in Rongcheng, but never received a reply, so she lost contact with them. She had planned to go home in a few years when my older sister was older.
My father made some money in Southeast Asia. Hearing that there were more opportunities to make money in America, he took my mother and my older sister, who had just turned two, across the ocean to America.
My mother said she never imagined that this departure would last a lifetime, and that she would never be able to go back.
My father settled down in New York with my mother and older sister. They were unfamiliar with the place and the silk business was not very successful, but they were still quite well-off.
A few years later, I was born. My family business became increasingly busy, so my mother stayed home to take care of the children, and the idea of returning home was repeatedly postponed.
Then, war broke out.
My mother reads the newspaper everyday, keeping a close eye on all news related to Sichuan.
On August 20, 1939, I was six years old. It was my younger sister's third birthday. My mother made a cake for her, and my whole family was preparing to celebrate her birthday. My mother saw the news of the August 19th bombing in Jiazhou, which killed and injured more than 5,000 people. She went back to her room and cried for a long time. In the end, my father even cooked dinner, which was particularly unpalatable.
When I was a teenager, I remembered this incident and specifically looked up the news from that day to learn about it. It left a deep impression on me and became an important piece of information in my search for my mother's hometown.
Later, my father and mother donated a lot of money to China, almost half of the factory's annual profits. My mother also raised funds in the community and raised a lot of money, some of which was used to buy medicines and transport them back to China on merchant ships.
My mother said she would definitely go home to visit after the war ended.
But she fell ill before the war was over and was unable to return.
She died at home in New York in 1956 from acute pneumonia at the age of 56. Her passing was quite sudden. I was doing business out of town and only managed to see her one last time, we didn't even get to say a few words.
I was very sad, but after burying her, I rushed to the factory to move on to the next project.
It wasn't until my father passed away from illness five years later that I suddenly realized that despite my increasingly successful business and fluent American English, I was still like a rootless duckweed.
In the more than twenty years that followed, I began to try to understand China, learn Chinese language and characters, and found this jade pendant among my mother's belongings. The thought of finding my relatives popped into my mind and wouldn't go away.
With China's reform and opening up, I came into contact with some domestic factories and gradually established cooperation. Through the Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce, I was able to find my father's hometown and some relatives relatively easily.
During my trip to China, I first went to Hangzhou to pay respects to my ancestors, and then came to Sichuan. After several twists and turns, and with the great help of Master Little Zhou and Master Xiao, I finally found Linjiang.
I brought her jade pendant back to her hometown, in a way, she's come back."
"Yes! Of course it counts!" Kong Qingfeng nodded solemnly as he looked at Qian Siyuan with tears in his eyes. "Tomorrow I will gather the Kong family together and hold a welcoming banquet for you. Brother Huaifeng has a son and a daughter, both in Jiazhou. One is a teacher and the other is a doctor. You cousins should meet and get to know each other."
Qian Siyuan exclaimed excitedly, "That's wonderful! I want to meet them too!"
After listening to Qian Siyuan's recounting of the past, Zhou Yan felt a lump in his throat.
This long journey to find relatives has finally come to a good end.
Ms. Kong Simin, whom they had never met, was thousands of kilometers away, but she always kept her hometown and motherland in her heart, which is worthy of our respect.
Qian Siyuan returned to Jiazhou with her jade pendant. If she knew this in the afterlife, she would probably be very happy.
Just then, a message popped up in the corner of Zhou Yan's eye:
[Ding! Side quest: Qian Siyuan's Journey of Taste and Roots Completed!]
[Reward: Snowflake Chicken!]
Zhou Yan: Huh?!
...