The Rise and Fall of the Last Imperial Cook

12. Another Two Delicacies

Translator: Qiu Yi

Proofread by Peter Gong

Xu Zhiwei and Boss Zhao Hudong realize that these two specialties are just small dishes that can be easily imitated and copied, and they can’t be served as main courses. So for those diners who are eager for new dishes, once their curiosity is gone, they still will select other classy restaurants to entertain their guests rather than consider these two specialties as their first choice. In order to maintain the prosperity of Huiquan Hall, there should be another one or two main courses of specialty, which can’t be imitated or copied without knowing the formula.

After a careful consideration, Xu Zhiwei selects two dishes from specialties he developed in the past. One is “Chinese Lute-shaped Duck of Twelve Tastes”, and the other is a kind of soup named “Green Rain in Silver Lake”. These two dishes are different from Golden Lotus within Wine Drop and Three Fresh Stewed in Thick Juice that were invented temporarily to compete for the position of the head chef.  Despite their delicacy, there are some preconditions for the full display of tastes. But the latter two special dishes were developed in his early life. Based on Wuxi cuisine, they are designed to the taste of people in the south and can be catered for a wider range of diners and occasions, therefore, they are very suitable to serve as specialties of Huiquan Hall.

Though named as Chinese Lute-shaped Duck of Twelve Tastes, the most profound and strongest taste is the taste of duck itself. Choose hens and drakes when cooking chickens and ducks. This dish needs not just the drake but Loumen Duck in particular. It should be an adult drake with yellow webs, which is neither too old nor too young. There is a procedure where the duck is poured with oil, so the duck fat will be fried out and the duck will become tight and tough. For this reason, old drakes mustn’t be used in this dish, or the meat will be too hard and can’t be flavored.

The first step of cooking Chinese Lute-shaped Duck is to put the duck prepared into sauces and then bundle it tight with flax threads. As the shape is like a Chinese lute, it got its name as Chinese Lute-shaped Duck.

Fry the bundled duck in the oil to retain the taste of assorted sauces quickly. Then stew it with red dates, fungus, mushrooms, and dried bamboo shoots. During this process, more tastes penetrate into the duck and, in the meanwhile, the duck becomes crisper.

The control of heat, timing and formula of this dish are crucial and complex, which makes it difficult for others to copy. Besides, with his secret recipe, Xu Zhiwei adds a special taste to this dish, which is adding peppermint water during stewing. Peppermint water can partly reduce the odor of the meat and supplement the dish with freshness. But the addition of peppermint water should be made in a proper manner. Not too much. It’s merely added to bring out other tastes instead of putting them in the shade.

As for the soup, it has another kind of ingenuity. At that time, soup is only served as an appetizer together with tea and dessert. So there are few kinds of soup, most of which are sweets, such as red bean soup and lotus root starch soup. Generally, soup doesn’t appear in the feast unless the host has some special requirement, in which fruit, preserves, snacks and soup will be provided before the feast begins.

But Xu Zhiwei’s soup is an improved version, or to be exact, half-thick soup. Not too many ingredients are used, just double-boiled soup, egg white, and lotus leafs. Other ingredients, usually whitebaits, clams and yellow croakers, can also be chosen to enhance the flavor. However, no matter whether it’s for the need of seasonal ingredients or for the consideration of cost, only one of them can be used, or the soup will taste messily smelly.

The most crucial parts of this dish are heating, the amount of water and thickening with starch. In the end, the soup should be free of unpleasant odor and only left with delicate flavor. It should be neither thin nor thick, and taste soft and fresh in the mouth. And the final result depends on the control of three procedures mentioned above, which is all about experience and skills. Any minor mistake will render a different taste. So it’s more difficult to be modeled on.

After the promotion of these two dishes and constant adjustment of menu with seasonal dishes, Huiquan Hall manages to free itself again from the encirclement of numerous imitations of Steamed Pumpkins and Fried Three Fresh and to hitch to itself the most of the regular customers on Clay Street.

After a few vain attempts to break the deadlock, several owners of restaurants in the neighborhood of Huiquan Hall gather together and come for Zhao Hudong.

These restaurants on Clay Street suffer the most from the impact of Huiquan Hall. With a location near Huiquan Hall, all of them don’t have a good market. As for restaurants located on the ends of the street, though affected by the blow, they can attract guests who hold feasts temporarily and newcomers. So it’s not a problem for them to maintain their business. But as to those in bad position, the share of regular customers they used to have is grabbed away by Huiquan Hall, which throws them into a difficult situation.

As a man of cleverness, Zhao Hudong realizes the purpose of their visit immediately after they arrive. He finds a solution soon, “Bosses, this is my first try in catering business. I had no other choice, since the salt market was not that optimistic. For the livelihood of my family, I had to find another job. I’m very grateful to the help and care you offered, and feel fortunate that I haven’t screwed it up.”

“Boss Zhao,you don’t need to show off with these sarcastic remarks. Now the person who screws up our job is you. You are from a merchant family of good morality and must know the rules of doing business. But your first step into this industry is so killing and aggressive. It goes against the rule of doing good deeds quickly and making money slowly.” Boss Wang, the owner of “House under Plum Trees” which sits in front of Huiquan Hall, doesn’t mince his word. That’s the aim of his visit. If the matter can’t be discussed directly and fully, he might as well not come here.

“Do not say so. I was just a regular eater in your restaurants. I started to learn from you how to manage a restaurant, which is quite unfamiliar to me. By sheer luck, I found a capable head chef and his good cooking spares me from the burden of making apologies.” Zhao Hudong replies modestly yet with a hint of mockery. Novice as he is in managing restaurant, he does learn some practices and rules in business from his family which has run salt business for a long time. Besides, salt merchants in old days associated with officials, businessmen and the market so as to deal with every issue. So for Zhao Hudong, these ironic puns used in a roundabout way are just basic skills.

“Bro Zhao, today we come here and ask for your mercy. We know that you can make it in any industry. Though it has been just three month since the opening of Huiquan Hall, you’ve run it well and made a big fortune. But it also brings us to bay. So we come here and beg for your mercy to take a step back and allow us to make a living. Since you’ve been stuffed with meat, why not spill some soup for us in charity? ” Maple Tower is two clay figurine shops away from Huiquan Hall in the west and its owner Qian is a steady old man whose manner of talking is more sophisticated.

“Bro, you should say it early. You don’t have to beat about the bush with a red beard and green eyes. It baffles me. Go ahead. I’m all ears. What should I do to take a step back?” Zhao Hudong seems to be enlightened.

“Haha, very simple. Could you change those specialties in your restaurant and provide some common dishes?” Boss Qian still speaks in a roundabout way. He doesn’t ask Zhao Hudong to cancel his specialties, which would be too inconsiderate. Instead, he advises him to replace them with some common specialties.

“Hahaha, bro, you’re a man of humor. Common specialties? If they are common, how can they be called as specialties? Without any merit, my restaurant is supported by these two dishes. If they’re replaced, the restaurant will lose money. Bosses, I ask for your mercy. My restaurant is established with painstaking efforts. You can’t ask me to ruin it myself.”

Boss Wu, the boss of “Breeze in Pines” next to Huuiquan Hall in the east, comes to realize that Zhao Hudong’s evasive remark is just a fudge at the very start. Actually, Zhao Hudong knows their intention clearly but he doesn’t plan to give in at all. So Boss Wu attempts to persuade him by stake, “Boss Zhao, a fire on the city gate brings disaster to the fish in the moat. It’s us who have shaped the business environment on Clay Street today. We settled our families here and formed this particular business circle. If you push us too hard, we will close restaurants for bankruptcy and move out from this street. Then only some restaurants like yours can do business here. At that time, the street will be desolate with only cold wind blowing. I’m afraid that no one will travel a long way here to feast their guests. ”

Zhao Hudong smiles slightly, “Wangshan restaurant closed for money loss, but your business didn’t languish but prospered. Hey hey! Boss Wu, although this is my first try in catering industry, I have run business for half of my life. No business can always gain without any loss. But fortunately, your Breeze in Pines is next to Huiquan Hall. How about selling it to me? I promise that you can leave Clay Street without any loss.”

As he speaks of this, it’s clear to all that Zhao Hudong doesn’t want to make any concession. It’s quite understandable because he used to be in salt business where the title of No.1 is highly worshiped. Different from catering business, salt trade is a battle, a life-or-death struggle. One never gives his enemies a single chance to breathe once he gains the upper hand. But in the case of catering industry, practitioners should gather in groups and develop cuisines in complementation. This knowledge is unknown to him and can’t be absorbed in a short time.

Failing to negotiate with Zhao Hudong with reason, the bosses leave Huiquan Hall with grumble. But instead of leaving directly, they gather under a camphor tree in front of the restaurant, discussing how to deal with Huiquan Hall.

Boss Wang curls up his lips, hands on his thick hip, cursing, “Since Zhao is heartless, we don’t need to be polite to him. Teach him a lesson! Find some men to mess up his business.” Boss Qian is still calm, “He was a salt merchant and knows more insiders than you. If you foul up his restaurant, neither side will gain in the end. It does us more harm than good.” “Boss Qian, tell us your idea. We can share the cost as long as it’s feasible.” Boss Wu reckons Qian’s words reasonable.

“I’m thinking that Huiquan Hall steals away the business by its specialties. They are not cooked by Zhao Hudong himself but by the head chef. Now that Zhao Huong refuses to change the menu, we can do nothing. But can we do something with his head chef?” Boss Qian speaks, stroking his beard.

“Right! His head chef! I will find someone to threaten him not to enter Huiquan Hall anymore.” As if enlightened, Boss Wang slaps his hip heavily in excitement.

Boss Wu shoots a glance at Lord Wang, “Bro, don’t always resort to finding someone. Do you think that you can do something with the head chef as you like? He is protected by Chef Clique. Once you hurt him, your restaurant will be forced to close. You’d better hear it out. Boss Qian, you may just tell us what we should do now.”

“You’re right! Resort to Chef Clique.” Lord Qian blurts out, not sure whether it is his beforehand thought or from Boss Wu’s reminding, “Find out who in Chef Clique recommended the head chef Xu to Huiquan Hall. And then give some money to him to talk with Xu. As thus, even though the specialties of Huiquan Hall are not replaced, their tastes are not as good as expected.” “Yes! It’s better to begin with the head chef.” “If Chef Clique is engaged in this, the head chef Xu can’t reject.” “Great! That’s great! The issues will be solved without making a big noise.” As they all arrive at an agreement, they soon send some men on this errand.