gourmet food

Chapter 424 A dish with a long history
Speaking of this Emei Restaurant, we have to talk about a legendary figure, that is Master Wu Yusheng.

He is a national treasure-level cooking master and a dean of Sichuan cuisine.

In 1950, the capital was lined with specialty restaurants, large and small, including large restaurants such as Dongxing Tower, Tongheju, and Fengzeyuan. They were famous for their secret palace dishes, suitable for wine table banquets.

Moreover, there are small shops such as Fushunzhai, Duyichu, and Tianchengju, which sell snacks such as sauced beef, fried triangles, and pimple soup, which are perfect for a few people to have a drink.

However, in the capital city, if you look around, you can see hundreds of restaurants and restaurants, almost all of which are Shandong cuisine.

Upon receiving the invitation from Premier Zhou, Master Wu rushed to Beijing from Hong Kong to prepare for the first Sichuan restaurant in Beijing - Emei Restaurant.

It is the first time that Sichuan cuisine has entered the territory of Shandong cuisine, and it is impossible without some real skills.

As the saying goes, as an opera singer, the emphasis is on being the first to hit the mark. To be famous, you must have a masterpiece, and the same goes for opening a restaurant.

In order to carve out a niche for Sichuan cuisine in the grand culinary world of Beijing, there must be a blockbuster top dish that can shock and capture all living beings at the first bite.

And this dish was finally decided to be Kung Pao Chicken.

In order to make this dish a hit, Master Wu made two improvements based on tradition.

The first one is "Ji Hua Knife Ciao Zi Tiao", which changes the square chicken into a spindle shape, so that the chicken has a wider contact area and is easier to taste.

The second is the "spreading oil and spitting out the seeds method", that is, before frying the diced chicken, stir-fry the diced chicken thoroughly and evenly, and then stir-fry (small-scale high-frequency stir-fry) after thickening, so that the juice is evenly fried. The grains of rice and peanuts are distinct, with only red oil but no juice.

The person who made this dish an instant hit was Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang.

It is very strange that Master Mei Lanfang has always liked light meals, but he was obsessed with this Kung Pao Chicken. It is really a strange thing.

Whenever Mei Lanfang performed near the hotel, he would ask for the Kung Pao Chicken made by Master Wu.

Not only did you have a great time after eating, but you also had to pack another portion in a box to take away.

Now the signboard of Emei Restaurant is the words mentioned by Master Mei Lanfang.

What people didn’t expect is that Kung Pao Chicken became famous, which is a good thing in itself, but it has since embarked on a path of “demonization”.

This dish left Emei Restaurant and Sichuan cuisine. In the capital, Kung Pao Chicken can be found in Sichuan, Shandong, BJ, and even dumpling restaurants. You can find traces of Kung Pao Chicken in almost every home-cooked restaurant.

But if you see "Kung Pao Chicken" written on the menu, don't order it.

This shows that this restaurant does not understand the connotation of this dish at all.

In fact, "Kung Pao" comes from the inventor of Kung Pao Chicken - Prince Shaobao Ding Baozhen during the Guangxu period. The name "Gong Bao" is his official title.

These "demonization" practices are most prominent in two places.

One is to use chicken breast instead of chicken leg.

Most of these chefs are afraid that chicken thighs have fascia and require high knife skills, so they use chicken breasts instead to achieve a neat color and beautiful surface.

They don't know that the Kung Pao Chicken made in this way has residue in the mouth and is difficult to taste.

Although chicken breasts can also be used as kung pao in some high-end banquets that have strict color requirements, most of the current Sichuan-style kung pao chicken is dominated by chicken drumsticks.

Second, as for the ingredients, the chefs did not use peanuts, but diced cucumbers and carrots.

What the hell are these cucumbers and carrots?

Some even add green peppers, colored peppers and lemons!
There are also some self-proclaimed reformers who add tomato sauce and sprinkle green onions to enhance the color, making it look like a bowl of colorful salad.

It's just ridiculous!
In the heart of the traditional Sichuan style Kung Pao Chicken, except for the peanuts which are a little cinnabar mole in the heart, everything else is just a cloud.

Peel and oil the peanuts, put them together with diced chicken, one square and one oval in shape, one fresh and one rich in aroma, one crispy and one soft and glutinous in taste, this is the best CP.

Moreover, this Emei Restaurant not only has the ordinary version of Kung Pao Chicken, but also a premium version. Chu Yunfeng came here today for this premium version.

Under the guidance of the waiter, the two walked into a private room.

"You can just eat in the lobby, why do you need a private room?"

Chu Yunfeng felt that it was not necessary for two people to eat together in the hall, which seemed more lively.

"The private room is so nice. It's rare for you to come here once, so I have to show you around no matter what."

Peng Yue blinked his glasses at Chu Yunfeng, and immediately understood that he probably had something to talk to him.

Then let him go, a private room is indeed conducive to talking about some important things.

"Hello sir, who is going to take the order?" the waiter asked holding the menu.

"You come first and order whatever you want to eat. I'll go to the kitchen and tell them later and let the master chef cook it for us."

Chu Yunfeng nodded, and after taking the menu, he began to flip through it to see what other signature dishes were worth trying besides the "must order" dish.

The waiter was a little puzzled. He looked at Peng Yue and thought that this man was really a big talker. How could it be so easy to ask a master to cook for you?

And it’s the busiest time at night, so the masters can’t be summoned so easily.

But seeing as he can book a private room, he might be able to meet the master.

"Kung Pao Chicken, premium version of Kung Pao Chicken!" Chu Yunfeng said while browsing.

"Ah~? Is it a premium version or one of each?"

The waiter was in a daze and asked uncertainly.

“Have one of the regular version and the premium version, and two more of shredded chicken cold noodles.

I’ll just order these, and you can take care of the rest! "

Chu Yunfeng only ordered three dishes, and the rest depended on Peng Yue's recommendations.

"Just order one piece of chicken shredded cold noodles, you just have to try it, and then order another piece of camphor tea roast duck, which is also their signature dish, how about you try it!
That's it, you wait for me here for a while, I'll go to the kitchen and be back in a while. "

After Peng Yue finished speaking, he ran out of the private room, leaving Chu Yunfeng alone to drink tea slowly!
The waiter still didn't believe it. After going out, he went to the back and took a look and found that he had actually gone to the kitchen.

Not only went, but also entered
The waiter's eyes lit up. The chef was not letting people in casually. It seemed that the people who came to this private room today were not ordinary!

"It's done. Today's dishes are all made by the master chef. You can try out the difference between the knife skills and the taste."

Peng Yue came back soon, picked up the water glass on the table and drank it in one gulp, saying with some pride.

"Are you familiar with restaurants in the capital?" Chu Yunfeng asked curiously when he saw Peng Yue looking so comfortable.

"Hey~! That's not because I'm taking advantage of my master. Let's give him some face.

Otherwise, you would think that with my face, who would recognize me? "

Peng Yue said with a smile, it seemed that he still knew it very well.

The two of them chatted, and within 10 minutes, the food was served.

So fast?
Chu Yunfeng was a little surprised. It seemed that Master Peng Yue had quite a reputation!
(End of this chapter)