The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 403
Old Tan mentioned the fish with the modified knife, and said to everyone: "Look at it, the fish is white and tender, and it looks bloodless, but in fact it is. Fish is also meat, and it was killed right now. Can it be bloodless? So it is necessary to change the knife. Rinse with water to get rid of the smell of blood."

Rinse the fish, and then use a clean towel to dry the water, add salt and cooking wine to marinate for a while.

After 3 minutes start powdering the squirrel fish.

"Flouring must be fine, first on the skin side of the fish, and then on the fish."

Lao Tan powdered the skin side of the fish, turned it over, the fish flesh was facing down, and the fish grains were open. After powdering all the fish, he shook his hands to shake off the excess powder.

Then put the pot on the fire and boil water, add green onion, ginger, and a little salt into the water, put the marinated soft fan fish in the pot, control the water temperature to a small bubble state, and cover the pot.

"Do not boil the water for making West Lake vinegar fish. It looks like it is boiled, but it is soaked. Live fish is good for 5 minutes. If you don't master it well, look at the fish's eyes. The fish's eyes will definitely be cured when they protrude." Lao Tan said.

Leave the fish in the pot here, and then set up another pot to heat the oil. When the oil temperature is [-]% hot, pinch the two ends of the powdered squirrel fish with both hands and fry it in the pot. After the frying is done quickly, the pot is removed from the heat, and it is cooked slowly. .

Two pots, one for soaking fish and one for frying.

Lao Tan quickly prepared the sweet and sour sauce for squirrel fish.

When the West Lake vinegar fish arrived first, Lao Tan removed the pot from the fire and left it there.The squirrel fish here is also cooked, take it out, and when the oil temperature in the pan rises to [-]% hot again, fry it in the pan, then quickly take it out and put it on a plate.

Immediately after, put the base oil in the pot, pour in the adjusted sweet and sour sauce and heat until boiling, stir and rotate with the hand spoon in one direction, when golden bubbles appear at the bottom of the pot, pour in the hot oil for frying fish and rotate again.

I saw the sweet and sour sauce in the pot boiling and rustling, and the sweet and sour aroma began to waft out.

At this time, remove the pot from the heat, and quickly pour the sweet and sour sauce on the squirrel fish.

The golden yellow with the high temperature sweet and sour sauce is rustling and bubbling on the fish, and the tempting, sweet and sour taste makes people salivate.

The squirrel fish is done.

Lao Tan then put the West Lake vinegar fish in a pot, put it on a plate, then put the pot on fire, add salt, sugar, and Zhenjiang vinegar into the water.

"West Lake Vinegar Fish pays attention to sweetness first, then sourness, then saltiness, and has a strong aftertaste, so it is clear which one should be put in the sugar and the vinegar first." Lao Tan said to the local vegetable head pot master: "You just adjusted it first. The juice has the right ratio of sweet and sour, but it is cold, and when heated, part of the vinegar evaporates, and it becomes sweet when eaten, and the vinegar taste is not obvious, and it does not bring out the characteristics of West Lake vinegar fish."

The local Caitouguo master nodded sincerely.

When the soup in the pot started to boil, Lao Tan immediately turned down the heat to low, and said while pouring in the gorgon water: "You must simmer the gravy, the gorgon water is like thread, and the gorgon juice is like practice. Do you know what it is? It's like yogurt. "

While talking, I made the gorgon juice, then poured a little sesame oil off the fire, and pushed it evenly with the bottom of the spoon.

"Gorgon juice is translucent, and there is no oil when you see the juice. This is the characteristic of West Lake vinegar fish." Lao Tan said while pouring juice on the fish: "West Lake vinegar fish pays attention to tender and delicious meat. It tastes like crabs, and the vinegar taste is fragrant. Long aftertaste."

The West Lake vinegar fish has become.

"Okay, you guys have a try." Lao Tan pointed to two different ways of fish on a plate and said.

Erdun was the first to move his chopsticks, and tasted the West Lake Vinegar Fish first, and he let out a "huh".Then came the squirrel fish. After eating a piece of fish meat, I couldn't help but click my mouth twice and said "yes".

Next came the two Touguo masters and other masters, who were almost gone by the time it was the younger brother's turn.

"Well done, the boss is the boss." Erdun said first.

The two Touguo masters seemed to have not organized their language well, so they gave their thumbs up.

"Boss, tell us about these two dishes." A younger brother said.

Seeing that it was Gu Yi's son, Lao Tan smiled and said, "Okay, let me tell you about it."

Gu Yi's son immediately handed over a bottle of water, which made everyone laugh.

"West Lake Vinegar Fish is a traditional dish of Hangbang cuisine, which was created in the Northern Song Dynasty. There is also an allusion to this dish, which is about the relationship between uncle and sister-in-law. I think you all know it, so I won't talk about it." Lao Tan said.

"Tell me, tell me boss, we don't know." Someone said.

Old Tan said: "It is said that a little uncle was sick and could not eat anything in bed, and he was getting thinner day by day. My sister-in-law is in a hurry, why are you so anxious? My brother-in-law beat the little one's parents and both died, and my sister-in-law brought them up. The old sister-in-law is better than the mother. Not in a hurry?

Seeing that my brother-in-law couldn't eat anything, my sister-in-law went to the West Lake to buy a live fish that had just been caught. When I got it home, there was no braised or stewed fish.

Unexpectedly, the fish made with this vinegar was extremely delicious and rich in aroma. The dying brother-in-law whetted his appetite and ate a whole fish.The sister-in-law saw that it was good, and she was saved if she could eat. After that, she took one a day. After a month, the uncle's illness was cured.

Since then, this practice has been handed down. The fish is from the West Lake, so it is called West Lake Vinegar Fish. "

"Oh, what's going on--" Those who heard this allusion for the first time couldn't help but nodded, and suddenly realized.

"West lake vinegar fish must be live fish. Live fish is delicious. When making it, it is soaked, not boiled. Soaking and boiling are different. If the temperature of the body is enough when soaking, you can turn off the fire in 3 minutes.

In addition, West Lake vinegar fish is divided into soft and hard scallops. The soft scallops do not change the knife, and the hard scallops need to be cut on the inside of the spine, so that the two fish can be matured at the same time.In addition, when making the juice, you must add sugar first and then vinegar. Zhenjiang vinegar is the best, with a strong fragrance and a reddish color.

Sprinkle ginger rice on the fish in Gorgon sauce. Remember that it is ginger rice, not minced ginger. The ginger rice is chopped, and the minced ginger is chopped. The taste is different. "

Lao Tan finished talking about West Lake Vinegar Fish and then talked about squirrel fish. When talking about squirrel fish, he focused on knife skills and frying. These two steps are the key points.

He concluded: "The squirrel fish, which looks like a squirrel, is vivid and beautiful. It catches people's attention before eating, and it is indeed better than the West Lake vinegar fish in terms of appearance.

But when it comes to the freshness and tenderness of the fish, the delicious West Lake Vinegar Fish is the best.

One fish, two recipes, two tastes, represent two different cuisines, two different food cultures in different places, each has its own merits, and each has its own advantages. It is impossible to simply say which is good and which is not. The dishes that can be passed down must have their own characteristics. The uniqueness is not something we can comment on.

A cook should not stick to cooking.

Nowadays, the society emphasizes harmony, and the dishes emphasize integration, which is not a trend but an inevitability.

Southern dishes are made in the north, and northern dishes are cooked in the south. Only in this way can we develop and progress. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother to open a dumpling restaurant to Suzhou, right? "

Everyone nodded and said yes.

"Remember, West Lake Vinegar Fish is a practice, not a single-finger fish, and the same is true for squirrel fish.

Whether a dish sells well or not depends not on the shape, but on the taste in the end.Cooking does not ask for anything else, only for delicious food.

To make dishes delicious is simple, study hard, practice hard, add [-]% to nature and [-]% to kung fu, seek the inside rather than the appearance, seek the taste rather than the shape.When the skill is reached, the form will naturally exist, and it can be done arbitrarily. "

Lao Tan finally said to Erdun: "As for whether to sell West Lake vinegar fish or squirrel fish, this is up to Chef Gao, and I will not participate. But there is one thing. No matter which one you sell, you must first practice your basic skills. I will also sell fish." It’s done, and you all tasted it, so let’s follow this standard.”

Erdun nodded solemnly and said, "Yes, I understand."

The other masters also nodded.

"Boss, let's make a perfect match." Gu Yi's son said loudly, holding an empty plate with only juice left, when Lao Tan turned around and was about to leave.

Old Tan looked back at him approvingly, and said, "Okay, I think it's okay to discuss it with your boss."

"Yeah!" The young man shook his fist excitedly, almost throwing the plate in his hand.

(End of this chapter)