National Tide 1980

Yes, "Zhang Dashao" is not a chef from a well-known restaurant.

From this perspective, he is just a cook in the "Polar Bear" cafeteria.

With this status, it seems that he is far away from being a famous chef.

Don't forget, this old man is not an ordinary canteen master.

That was when I had my own small canteen in "Polar Bear" and only cooked for the factory leaders.

Not only did he get his first salary, he was already past the retirement age, but "Polar Bear" didn't even say he was quitting, but instead coaxed him even more.

Apart from anything else, this "Zhang Dashao" is different from others when it comes to giving out welfare during the holidays.

He is actually on the same level as the factory leaders.

Zhang Shihui is the most powerful witness to this matter.

Don't forget, "Zhang Dashao" is a lonely old man. He can't eat anything given out by the factory.

So after the old man got acquainted with Ning Weimin and Zhang Shihui, he often asked Zhang Shihui to go to the factory to collect them on his behalf, saying that it was worth the money he spent on cigarettes and alcohol from the store on weekdays.

As a result, when Zhang Shihui arrived at the "Polar Bear", she found that Chef Zhang was treated completely differently from ordinary employees.

It was the factory leader who handed out whatever he wanted to "Zhang Dashao". Not only did he get a lot of stuff back, but it was also good.

There are even many things that are mutual adjustments within the Light Industry Bureau, and there are not even friendship stores.

Even the people in charge of welfare were extremely polite to him.

Obviously I thought he was a relative of "Zhang Dashao" and I didn't dare to offend him.

It was as if "Zhang Dashao" was not a cook, but a deputy factory director or deputy secretary.

Is this score big?

Then why did the old man get into this position?

There is only one answer, and that is excellent cooking skills!

Don't believe it yet.

If this kind of thing is still a bit false, then the most tangible evidence is probably the human tongue.

Because the human tongue will never lie.

Whether it tastes good or not, you will know it once you taste it.

To be honest, it started when I tasted the food cooked by "Zhang Dashao" for the first time.

Ning Weimin didn't think much of those "village dishes".

Because although those famous restaurants and time-honored stores have some unique skills, the quality of their dishes is too unstable.

Often the only things that people appreciate from the bottom of their hearts are those expensive signature dishes.

Most of the rest of the cookbook is mediocre and sloppy.

Even sometimes, if these catering companies are too popular and busy, even the signature dishes will have to be lucky.

If you don't do it right, you'll be eating a meal that's not worth it.

But "Zhang Dashao"'s craftsmanship is not like this.

What impressed Ning Weimin the most was every dish he had ever tasted was made by "Zhang Dashao".

There has never been any delicacies from the mountains and seas. Strictly speaking, it is just the common home-cooked dishes.

But there is nothing that is not tasty or delicious.

They say that skill can be found in the ordinary.

Being able to cook an ordinary plate of stir-fried cabbage to the point where people can't stop mouthing and eat every bit of it. This is much better than cooking several high-sounding dishes.

Because delicacies from the mountains and seas should be made delicious, otherwise it would be a pure waste of materials.

But on the other hand, if something that is commonplace to everyone can be transformed into something magical.

It is absolutely impossible to do it without transcendent skills.

In the past, Ning Weimin was really a bit addicted to eating and stuffing. He was just for fun and didn't know much about the knowledge involved.

But after I heard about Kang Shude's talk about the differences in the grades of Jingcheng villas, I started to understand a little bit about it.

If nothing else, he could discover it through recall.

I dare "Zhang Dashao" to cook them for him, they are all delicate dishes that require the most heat and skill.

Not to mention the pot-stuffed tofu with shrimp paste and Qiankun's poached crucian carp inside, it is a whimsical dish made with special cooking methods.

You can never see or eat from the restaurants outside.

Just like cabbage with vinegar and fish midsection with sauce, they are available in almost every restaurant and are home-cooked dishes that everyone can cook.

In Zhang Dashao's hands, the ingredients, knife edge, cooking, time, stove, etc. are also very particular.

Taking the heat alone as an example, if someone else does it, the cabbage will become soft and the aroma of vinegar will disappear if the cabbage is cooked for a while.

The sauce on the fish also spreads and can easily become unpalatable.

But if it comes from Zhang Dashao, this situation will never happen.

The old man is amazing at being able to master these subtle seconds of heat.

In the blazing flames, stir-fry the vinegar to thicken the sauce.

Easily make these dishes otherworldly and indescribably delicious.

And probably no one would believe it.

Once, Ning Weimin and Qiao Wanlin actually saw with their own eyes that Zhang Dashao used a large iron pot in the kitchen to make a stir-fry and a stir-fry at the same time, two dishes with completely different tastes, different materials, and different heat requirements.

Thinking about it this way, this is simply a unique skill like a magic trick.

At least Ning Weimin doesn't know how to achieve it, and who else can do this.

From this, it can be seen that he forgot to stuff those dishes into his mouth.

Not knowing how to appreciate or praise, just eating blindly, how ignorant and ignorant you are, how ignorant you are of blessings.

That really ruined Zhang Dashao's cooking skills, and he was ashamed of those delicacies that seemed ordinary but were really rare!

If these are enough for Ning Weimin to conclude that Zhang Dashao is a truly famous chef.

Then there are some extraordinary things that Zhang Dashao showed in his daily life, which made Ning Weimin admire him. He can be regarded as a master chef who is hiding in the city.

What does a true culinary master look like?

In fact, Ning Weimin couldn't give a very accurate definition or answer.

However, he understands the principle that "big things in the world must be done in detail".

He knows that the ultimate in any industry is to strive for precision, attitude, and make the "fine" even finer.

So in his opinion, if there is someone in the kitchen who can be called a master.

Then you have to be like Zhang Dashao, who is fully devoted to cooking and has a patient approach.

In everything related to cooking, we must be meticulous and never make do with anything.

If nothing else, let’s talk about the raw materials.

The average chef can make do with whatever ingredients are given to him, even if he doesn't have good ones.

But Zhang Dashao is not the same. He is very particular about the selection of ingredients.

In addition to identifying whether it is fresh or tender, he also knows very well what dishes a certain raw material is suitable for.

Or what are the best ingredients to use to make certain dishes.

When is the best quality of this raw material throughout the year and where should it be produced.

What are the specifications, how to buy them in the market, and what ingredients, seasonings, and condiments are needed.

Its ingredients, condiments, and condiments also have a series of quality and location problems.

When cooking certain dishes, do you buy them now and prepare them now, or do you need to buy them in advance?

He knew all of these by heart and was confident.

So when Zhang Dashao cooks in his own courtyard in Huanghuamen, he has to go to the vegetable market to pick out even a few heads of garlic or a scallion.

Should I use white garlic, single-headed garlic, or purple-skinned garlic? Or should I use chives, Beijing scallions, croissant scallions, or Shandong scallions?

He has his own requirements.

There are even some vegetables, such as wild mushrooms, that cannot be found in the market, so he just picks them himself.

Ning Weimin probably knew that Zhang Dashao would often go to You'anmen and Yongdingmen areas, trying every possible means to find wild mushrooms.

Although it is difficult for novices to discover, the old man seems to have his own secret routes and tricks.

If you patrol every few days, you will definitely find something.

Ning Weimin was very lucky to have eaten a kind of mushroom stewed by the old man with shredded chicken and peas.

He has never seen this kind of mushroom, but it has been the old man's long-term personal hobby for twenty years.

The taste was truly delicious and unmatched by any mushroom Ning Weimin had ever tasted.

Obviously, there is no point in being envious. No one can master such a skill easily. It must be accumulated over many years of experience.

And this kind of persistence and dedication to raw materials is not something that ordinary chefs can achieve.