The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 172 Braised Pork and Cabbage
The cooking competition has entered the stage of optional dishes.

If the prescribed dishes are based on basic skills, then the optional dishes are based on the understanding of the dishes and personal strength.

The highlight of previous culinary competitions is the competition of self-selected dishes. At this time, several excellent dishes will often appear and spread.

If the country holds a culinary competition, the champion will be the chef, which is the dream of every chef.

Now the culinary competition in Aqiao Dumpling Restaurant has come to the fore.

The chef's optional dish is "Orchid Ruyi Prawn".

The highlight of this dish is the shape of the shrimp.

The spine of the whole shrimp is cut through, with the head and tail unbroken.Pass the prawn tails through the opening to form a wishful shape, and then cook with the red braised technique.

The orchids are cut into small garlic florets, and then put together to form a large flower in the center of the plate, and the stewed Ruyi shrimps are arranged in a circle around the orchids.

The finished orchids are emerald green, the prawns are golden in color, beautiful in shape and auspicious.

How should I put it, this dish is remarkable, and it was popular in the 90s and [-]s.At that time, being able to order prawns in a restaurant was already a high consumption, and even a status symbol.

In the new century, with the improvement of people's living standards, shrimp is no longer a high-end dish, and it is often seen on the dining table of ordinary people.And pay attention to the fresh ones, and the frozen ones are rare.

So "Ruyi Shrimp" gradually withdrew from the dining table.

But I have to admit that it is a good dish, but the technical content is a bit low, and it will be inferior when used in competitions.

Chef Xiaodongbei cooks "pickled fish".

Sauerkraut fish belongs to Sichuan cuisine, which is a bit off topic according to regulations.But now pickled fish and boiled fish are must-have dishes in every restaurant, and it makes sense.

Sauerkraut fish pays attention to hot and sour soup, delicious and appetizing, smooth and tender fish fillets, refreshing to eat.The requirements for fish are very strict and they must be slaughtered on the spot.The fish fillet is marinated to pay attention to the original taste, and it needs to achieve the effect of tenderness and easy transformation.

The second is the processing of fish sauerkraut, which should not only retain the original flavor, but also not be too salty, and should have a crisp and tender feeling.

Old Tan was a little curious to see Chef Little Northeast making fish with pickled cabbage, but he didn’t say anything. Although he felt that it was a bit deviated from Northeast cuisine, since he chose it, he must have something special, and he might be able to make a different taste.

The chef of Harbin Dumplings cooks "golden minced prawns".

This dish is somewhat similar to the Ruyi Shrimp of the chef of the Northeast, both of which are dishes that focus on styling.

Remove the heads of the prawns, peel off the skin, and keep the tails of the prawns.The back is cut into shrimp steaks. After chopping, pat the flour and drag the eggs to stick to the bread crumbs, and deep-fry them in an oil pan until golden and set.

Potatoes are cut into hair-thin shreds, fried golden and crispy, some are sprinkled on the fried prawns, and some are placed in the center of the plate.The prawns sprinkled with shredded potatoes are placed in a circle, the shape is quite grand, all golden, implying wealth.

Lao Tan couldn't help shaking his head when he saw the shredded potatoes.

He has studied this dish, to be exact, he developed it.

There are four key points in this dish.

The first is golden velvet, which is potato shreds. Only when it is cut as thin as a hair can it be fried into velvet. If it is thick, it is called potato shreds.The reason why he shook his head was that the potatoes shredded by the chef of Harbin Dumplings were too thick, and there was still a long way to go before Chengrong.

The second is the shrimp steak.Shrimp steaks made from one shrimp are thin and have no taste after frying. You must smash a large shrimp into mud and spread it on the shrimp steak.

The third is the shrimp head.Instead of throwing away the shrimp heads, make salt and pepper shrimp heads and place them on the golden mince in the center of the plate to achieve the effect of eating two dishes in one dish.

The fourth is juice.The fried shrimp steak needs to be sprinkled with fried golden velvet. Both the shrimp steak and the golden velvet are fried and it is difficult to stick together. This requires a refreshing and sticky sauce to stick them together. It only works when you eat it.

Lao Tan uses Kraft wonder sauce, condensed milk, salad dressing and chili pepper sauce, which is refreshing and exciting, and was once popular.Later, because this dish was troublesome to prepare, it was canceled.

Now seeing someone making it, I can't help but think about it again, and I can't help shaking my head as it looks out of shape.Xin said that if learning something is not rigorous, it is just a demonstration.

The head chef of Northeast Taste cooks "Dry Collapsing Lamb".

This is a dish evolved from Mongolian roast whole lamb and hand-handled lamb. To be precise, it should be a local dish.

The main ingredient is sheep foreleg, chopped into large pieces.The accessory is potatoes, cut into large pieces.The main and auxiliary ingredients are stewed in a pressure cooker. It is slightly spicy and fragrant, and slightly sweet.

The potatoes inside are delicious, all sandy, oily and shiny, with a tangy aroma and a strong meaty aroma.

Lao Tan has heard of this dish, but has never eaten it. He thought he must try it today and see how it tastes.

Chefs from Northeast China make "squirrel fish".

Everyone knows that squirrel fish is a modeling dish.Shaped like a squirrel, golden in color, sweet and sour, children and women like it very much.

The focus of this dish is on knife skills and frying.

Remove the head of the fish and remove two pieces of fish meat, the tail cannot be broken off.Beat the two pieces of fish evenly with a wheat spike knife, and then pat the flour.The powder should be uniform, and every wheat ear particle should be patted.

The oil temperature is [-]% hot and fried.Arrange two pieces of fish that have been modified with knives into a squirrel shape, hold them with chopsticks and slowly put them into the pot, release the chopsticks after frying to set shape, continue frying until crispy and mature, remove and place on a plate.

The fish head is battered and fried, placed on a plate, and connected with the fried "squirrel", it looks like a cute and lively squirrel.

Then boil sweet and sour sauce, add green beans and diced carrots.The boiled sweet and sour sauce is poured over the fried fish, and then the fried pine nuts are sprinkled, and a squirrel fish is finished.

The finished product is beautiful in shape, festive and lovely.Although it is complicated to make, it is very popular among the common people, and many restaurants are in operation.

Compared with the dishes of these five head chefs, Yang Zhijun's "Braised Pork and Grilled Cabbage" is very ordinary.

This is the intuitive feeling of laymen.

Experts look at the doorway, and they all know that this dish is not easy to cook, and its difficulty is no less than "Grilled Three Whites". Old cooks are afraid of this dish, and many young chefs don't know this dish at all.

Half an hour later, the first batch of dishes prepared by the three head chefs was completed, and the "Orchid Ruyi Prawns", "Dry Collapsing Lamb" and "Golden Velvet Prawns" were taken away by Chuan Caisheng.

The three head chefs came down from the stove, wiped the sweat off their brows, and led the younger brothers out.

The second batch of three chefs began to work on the stove.

With the serving of three dishes ahead, it started to get lively.

The judges did not taste and score right away, but first asked the guests and those who came to watch to take pictures, and then began to taste and score after they finished taking pictures.

"Orchid Ruyi Prawns" by the chef of Dadongbei 68 points;
Northeast Taste Chef's "Dry Collapsing Sheep" for [-] cents;

Harbin Dumpling Chef's "Golden Shrimp" 72 points.

The competition of these three head chefs has ended, the total points are 38, 41, [-], and the chef of Harbin Dumpling is temporarily number one.

The scores here have just come out, and Chef Xiaodongbei's "pickled fish" has been made.The reason why he did it so quickly was because the fish fillets and sauerkraut were prepared before coming here, and it only needs to be processed and the soup adjusted, so he was the first to finish.

The taste of the dishes can only be tasted by eating them while they are hot. After everyone took pictures, the judges came up to taste them directly.

All the judges rated the fish with pickled cabbage very highly.

"The final score of pickled fish is [-] points!" Mulan announced the score loudly.

As soon as she finished speaking, the head chef of Dadongbei who was sitting in the auditorium whispered, "Sauerkraut fish is not a Northeastern dish either."

Although the voice was small, many people heard it, including the judges on the jury table.

Among the eleven judges, apart from Kang Min, Gu Yi, and Minister Zhao, the other eight are members of the Food and Beverage Association. Well-known people in the catering industry in Hohhot, how could they fail to understand the meaning of this statement?
One of the judges, who is familiar with Dadongbei, said: "It is true that pickled cabbage fish is not a Northeastern dish, but now every restaurant sells it, including Northeastern restaurants. Master Hu, does yours also sell it?"

Master Hu's face was flushed, and he didn't know what to say for a while.

"Nowadays, the society pays attention to harmony, and the dishes pay attention to the fusion. The south is transferred to the north, and the north's dishes are cooked in the south. It is the development trend. Standing still and blindly emphasizing authenticity can only be washed away by big waves and eventually fail." Chairman Lang said.

In the kitchen, the production of "Squirrel Fish" by the chef from the Northeast and Yang Zhijun's "Braised Pork and Grilled Cabbage" are in the final stage of production.

The squirrel fish has been fried, and the head of the fish has been arranged, and the head chef is making sweet and sour sauce.

I saw the golden sweet and sour juice in the pot spitting fine bubbles, like a pond with fine raindrops, but this pond is golden and very dazzling.

After a while, the head chef poured a third of a spoonful of hot oil into the golden pond, and the whole pond boiled with a swishing sound.

Remove the pot from the fire, pour the fish with the juice, and it's all done in one go.

The boiling sweet and sour sauce was still swishing when it was poured on the squirrel fish, and the fine and small bubbles continued to swell, and the rich aroma was scattered and wafted.

Old Tan secretly shouted "Hello", the mastery of the fire is perfect.

Yang Zhijun's "Braised Pork and Grilled Cabbage" has also reached the stage of harvesting juice.

I saw him pinch the ear of the stir-frying pot with his left hand and shake it gently, and the Chinese cabbage arranged in the pot was slowly turning with the shaking.He raised the spoon in his right hand, and the juice in the spoon fell down like a thin line, and landed on the exact position where the bubbles were bubbling in the pot.The bubbles then annihilated, and with the rapid gelatinization of the starch in the juice, the cabbage was hugged tightly.

Soon, there were no air bubbles around the cabbage.

The pot was still shaking regularly. At this time, the cooking oil fell from the hand spoon, which was still like a thread.

If the wire is broken, the shaking of the pot will increase.

One lap, two laps.

Immediately after a beautiful "phoenix spreading its wings", the cabbage in the pot and the braised pork under the cabbage flew into the air, flipped over completely, and then fell into the pot accurately and steadily without splashing a little soup , the whole shape is intact.

This beautiful and almost perfect flip spoon was completely recorded by the camera, which attracted the attention of many people when it was broadcast later, and was praised by the narrator as "a textbook-style phoenix spreading its wings".

Many people in Qingcheng Catering remember the handsome Yang Zhijun because of this beautiful spoon.

Undoubtedly, when the "Braised Pork and Grilled Cabbage" was served, it immediately attracted the attention of the judges.

Except for Gu Yi and Kang Min, everyone else was very excited, especially President Lang and Minister Zhao, who even stood up from their seats.

The whole dish is simple and generous.

The cabbage is as white as jade, and the braised pork is ruddy and plump.

There is not much decoration, only an orchid is placed on the side of the plate.

The simplicity underlines the harmony and perfection of its dishes, which are almost impeccable.

Of course, I don’t know what happened to this dish, and I even wondered—how to make a plate of braised pork with Chinese cabbage, can it be delicious?

(End of this chapter)