National Tide 1980.

Chapter 490 Palace Luxury
right?
"Zhang Dashao" stared when he heard these three characters.

Ning Weimin didn't expect that "Zhang Dashao" didn't go on talking, but blamed him instead.

"What's the matter? Are you in a hurry? You can't eat hot tofu if you are in a hurry. Don't follow me with this fake trick. You are urging me in the dark. Who are you talking about? Am I talking nonsense? I hate me Long-winded? If you want to make the business so serious, and want the dishes to taste better than other restaurants, of course you have to figure out what palace food is. You need to figure out where mistakes are easy to make. I won’t talk about this with others... "

Hey, indeed.

After listening to it for a long time, Ning Weimin really felt a little impatient.

I just wanted to get straight to the point and get the truth on how to improve the quality of the dishes, so I used flattery as a whip, and secretly urged me like a sheep.

It turned out that Jiang was old and spicy. The old man really didn't rub the sand in his eyes, and his small thoughts were all seen through.

Okay, this is embarrassing.

Needless to say, you have to hurry up and beat the sloppy eye, and correct your attitude.

Otherwise, if the old man is unhappy and stops here, won't he have to regret it?
"Oh, Master Zhang, of course I understand that you are doing it for my own good. How can I think that your words are useless? I am just a kid. I always want to learn to be calm, but I can't do it. In fact, I am impatient, and I also I saw Lie Xinxi because your words made me see the light. I was wrong, and I will definitely change this. Don’t be as knowledgeable as me..."

While talking, Ning Weimin handed over a "Great China" and rushed to light the old man's fire.

Seeing that he was so knowledgeable, "Zhang Dashao" didn't think much of it, so he let him go.

"Hmph, as long as you know what's good or bad, let's move on..."

"From the beginning of the Republic of China, since the fall of the Qing government, imperial cuisine has always been an attractive food content in the capital. The gate of the mansion and the big restaurant have all competed to hire an imperial chef to cook. The restaurant with the palace signboard has become more famous in recent years. Favored by official banquets and foreign guests."

"But it's a pity that even though the royal cuisine has been introduced to the people for so long, the world still doesn't know what palace cooking is, and no one knows about the palace's inside story. So much so that it spreads falsehoods. Most of the world's rumors are not based on imagination. Yes, it’s just a wild guess. And because it’s easy to rely on this gimmick to make a living, chefs who use the sign of imperial cuisine are more and more pretentious, taking things for granted.”

"Actually, there are two things that people criticize the most about imperial cuisine, and it is also the most confusing place. It is nothing more than two points. That is how luxurious and luxurious the imperial cuisine is, and whether it is delicious or not."

"Some people say that the emperor has 96 dishes for a meal, the queen has 64 dishes, and the imperial concubine has [-] dishes. Every meal is full of delicacies from mountains and seas. There are eight treasures from mountains, eight treasures from water, and eight treasures from land. Famous chefs from all over the world are gathered to serve. The so-called' Tianchu Zhenshan, ten thousand tastes'. Even if it is poorly prepared, it is much better than ordinary people's diet."

"There are also people who say that the emperor never stays in the palace, and eats warm meals made half a day in advance every day. An egg is worth two taels of silver. In fact, he was taken advantage of. It doesn’t taste good. Some people even say that imperial chefs are not good at cooking, so they can make fake food. Just like what your master described, when you ate Fangshan before liberation, the dishes almost all tasted the same.”

"In this regard, I can only say that these diametrically opposed opinions, even though they have been experienced by many people, are not true. Because they are all taken for granted, personal one-sided opinions, and all of them are subjective inferences based on partial generalization. Therefore It is very meaningful for me to explain to you what is going on with these faces."

"Think about it, at least you have to figure out why there is such a big controversy in the imperial court and how these problems are caused, so that you can know how to manage your business and avoid some avoidable problems. Only then can you possibly Let your palace dishes be authentic and delicious, and truly overwhelm others. Is this the truth?"

These words are too true.

Aren't these two questions the core of court cuisine?It was Ning Weimin who was puzzled and really focused on it.

So he truly realized the good intentions of "Zhang Dashao", and he no longer murmured in his heart.

I couldn't help but thank you respectfully.

"Master Zhang, it is my good fortune to be able to get your guidance today. It is my blessing to know you. Thank you for your teaching, I am all ears."

It is not surprising that there are many people who are polite, not to mention whether the thanks are genuine or fake, "Zhang Dashao" naturally has a clear heart.

The old man was relieved in his heart, so he also stopped putting on airs and making jokes, and frankly explained his doubts.

"First of all, I have to say that although the royal family's food life has been extravagant since ancient times. There is a saying that 'one meal for the emperor, food for hundreds of years'. But it is by no means what ordinary people imagine. It is not allowed to eat unless it is delicacies from mountains and seas. We eat whatever is expensive. As I said before, the emperor also eats rice, noodles, meat and vegetables. The difference from the common people is that they come from various places as tribute, and the quality is the best. And every meal is hot and cold, sweet and salty, meat and vegetables, dry and fresh. This achieves a reasonable mix of nutrition and a balanced diet.”

"Of course there are delicacies from mountains and seas, but the emperor doesn't even eat ordinary tributes alone. All tributes have to be distributed to the harem, rewarding princes, ministers, and guards. And since they are precious ingredients, they cannot be eaten every day. You have to Save it for important banquets in special seasons."

"In terms of remuneration, there are eight grade differences in the harem, which are the same in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Controlled by the "Palace Regulations", living expenses have a certain budget, and the Qing Dynasty was provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Professionals Technically speaking, this is called 'space'. The concubine is a very important boundary, above the concubine, life is relatively independent. Below the concubine, life must be arranged according to the regulations."

"In terms of real life, there are only the emperor, the empress dowager, and the empress who are relatively free and affluent. Their living expenses are not fixed, but they must be arranged according to the emperor's most, the empress dowager second, and the empress again."

"The food portion is part of the empty portion. The regular meal expenses in the harem range from 50 taels to more than ten taels. The lower the portion, the smaller the dining room, the fewer dishes, and the utensils used also range from gold and silver. It is different from tin and porcelain."

"The emperor must have the most. I still remember that every day it is about 22 catties of meat, five catties of soup meat, one catty of lard, two sheep, five chickens, three ducks, cabbage, spinach, parsley, celery, leeks, etc. Nineteen catties, sixty big radishes, water radishes, and carrots, one each of Baogua and wax gourd, six catties of green onions, four taels of Yuquan wine, three catties each of sauce and clear sauce, and two catties of vinegar. There are eight dishes, thirty pieces in each dish."

"In addition, the imperial tea room also had to respectfully prepare tea and milk for the emperor's daily use. The emperor routinely used fifty cows, and each cow delivered two catties of milk per day, a total of one hundred catties. He also used twelve cans of Yuquan water and emulsifiable cream every day. One catty, 75 bags of tea, two taels per bag."

"As for the eating habits of the emperors in the Qing Dynasty, they did not eat three meals a day, but twice a day. Breakfast was mostly after Maozheng, that is, six or seven o'clock in the morning. Dinner was at noon and two hours, almost From twelve o'clock to two o'clock in the afternoon. In addition, every night at You time, around six o'clock in the evening, we have to eat some snacks or refreshments."

"The imperial dining room does not ask the emperor for every meal. The meal list is drawn up by the imperial cooks, and it is submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs every day. Not only the name of the dish, but also the list of all the people involved in the cooking. The signature of the minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs can only be operated after a later date. Sometimes the emperor does not like to eat the meals on the meal list. Yuqian Tatan' is not fixed, but a rotation."

"To be honest, cooking for the emperor is quite troublesome. The main reason is that the rules are strict and the procedures are trivial. Like a dish, as soon as the ingredients are prepared, it has to be inspected by the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and then a written-style meal list will be submitted. The food is stored on the bottom shelf. Then it is covered with a dragon burden before it can be sent to the stove. When the chef is cooking, there is also a stove monitor stationed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to supervise. When the dishes are cooked, the stove monitor is responsible for inserting the silver medal for drug testing. Passed the test of the cleaning chef. The cleaning chefs are all experienced royal chefs, and the dishes are sent over for inspection, and the taste is not the right one to be sent back for redoing."

"So the actual situation is that it is pure nonsense to say that the emperor eats one hundred and eight dishes every meal. The emperor has no fixed number of dishes when he eats, ranging from a dozen to as many as twenty. Count it in. If you really want to cook so many dishes, don’t look at just two meals a day, even if you double the number of people in the kitchen, it’s not enough.”

"The extravagance mainly lies in the waste of manpower and materials. Not to mention the large number of waiters, because the emperor's daily ration must be used up and cannot be kept until the next time. The waste is also quite serious. Fish heads, fish The tail, chicken head, chicken neck, chicken feet, chicken buttocks, pork crispy bones, pork stick bones, and pork coel bones are all thrown away."

"It's the same with vegetables. For example, bean sprouts are used. Unlike removing the roots outside the palace, you have to pinch both ends. Remove the head and roots and pinch them into strips of the same thickness and length, so as to ensure a neat appearance and evenly heat the roots. The root is crispy. Fry a plate and throw it away to have a pot. The same is true when choosing leeks, use the first half, not only the mud and old roots, but also the short leaves and thin leeks. Also throw away more than half. Only use the second half of the onion Duan scallions and sauerkraut only use cabbage heart, and throw away the rest.”

"To put it bluntly, from the perspective of ordinary people, it is especially wasteful. And almost all of these leftovers were sold to restaurants outside by the imperial chefs and eunuchs. It is an additional income subsidy. But those who can enjoy this kind of light must He is a person who gains power and power, and ordinary cooks, eunuchs and handyman Sura can only pretend to be deaf and dumb."

"But having said that, it is really good for cooking. That is to ensure the freshness and high quality of the raw materials to the greatest extent. For example, even the golden hooks are selected one by one, and all of them are not allowed to have bran. Such materials make dishes naturally tasty.

"If you take stir-fried dishes as an example, the difference between palace cuisine and folk cuisine is the biggest. The thickening and oiling techniques of Zhuangguan cuisine are all cosmetics, making a hypocritical appearance. Even if the meat is not fresh and the oil is used less, it will be overcooked. It can cover the past. But the Qing Palace is different, because the ingredients are not sticky even when they are fresh. First, put the main ingredients in the boiling oil pan and fry until they are half or six mature. Then add the ingredients, then add seasoning, and quickly turn it upside down a few times. It is good to cut raw. This kind of stir-frying method has very little soup, no oil on the surface, and the stir-fried vegetables do not change color. It is called "raw stir-fry". It goes without saying whether it tastes good or not."

"The most important thing is that the broth used in the Qing palace is genuine and there are many kinds. The most distinctive feature of Qing palace cooking is the soup used for any dish. No matter whether the imperial meal is boiled, boiled, boiled, or stewed, no water is used. Use broth. For example, you can use lamb liver soup for boiled lamb liver, elbow soup for pork knuckles, and kidney soup for stewed kidney flowers. Moreover, these soups are made with how many catties of things, and the cost is quite high. .After boiled out, it is necessary to use the method of purifying to remove the oil from the thick broth, making it like clear well water. This is the key to ensure the original taste of the dishes.”

"So in the real palace cuisine, luxury is embodied in a rather euphemistic and practical way. It can be said to be dignified and dignified. In terms of the advantages of reflecting the true nature of the ingredients, it is far from comparable to folk dishes. In terms of taste, the palace The characteristics of the dishes are also the ultimate pursuit of purity and richness.”

"We might as well use a practical example to illustrate. For example, a plate of mutton fried with cabbage presented to the imperial court looks ordinary, right? But the cabbage is tender heart, and the mutton is fresh tenderloin. If it is cooked with raw stir-fry, I am afraid it will only After eating this kind of fried cabbage, all other fried cabbage tastes like wax."

(End of this chapter)