Chapter 160 Seafood Noodle Soup

After arriving in Tokyo, the four of them were busy with their own affairs. Cui Huiyi met up with the manager of Lide's marketing department to talk to the general distributor.

Qiao Junxian proposed to visit the PN factory, and PN welcomed it very much. They planned to make a short film of Qiao Junxian's visit and broadcast it in Hong Kong so that everyone could have a direct feeling that PN has the most advanced factory in the world.

Qiao Junshen’s real estate consultant also came to Tokyo and visited real estate in Tokyo with Qiao Junshen over the past two days.

Yue Ning was eating and shopping, eating tempura, sea urchin rice, yakitori, ramen, rice over tea, sukiyaki...

She finally stopped eating today, and TS arranged for her to go to the TV station to do a cooking show.

Yue Ning took Liang Zeti to the TV station an hour and a half later and went to Ishikawa first.

Thanks to PN's relationship, major Japanese TV stations reported on Yue Ning's situation in Japan.

Cui Huiyi was so happy that she was grinning from ear to ear, but she didn't expect that just as they arrived in Tokyo and the excitement was at its peak, a piece of news came out saying that Yuanzai noodles were imitating Qingzai noodles and that Li De was a shameless enterprise.

Originally, the instant noodle market in Hong Kong was divided between Qingzai and Yuanzai, with Qingzai accounting for 50%, Yuanzai, which was cheaper, accounting for 40%, and the remaining 10% going to other instant noodles.

Ever since Yue Ning participated in Lide's research and development, Ning Xiaochu has launched a large number of new products. She also helped Yuanzai improve the seasoning formula. Yuanzai worked from the bottom up, and Ning Xiaochu worked from the top down. As tea restaurants replaced bamboo noodles with Ning Xiaochu's soy sauce chicken noodles, sales of instant noodles increased strongly, but it had nothing to do with Qingzai noodles, which instead lost a lot of market share.

Moreover, Lide is not only in Hong Kong, but has also been growing rapidly in Southeast Asia and Taiwan markets recently, which caught Qingzai off guard. When they saw Lide's instant noodles entering the Japanese market, they used their local advantages to force major supermarkets not to expose Lide's related products. Even so, Lide's instant noodles are growing at a very fast rate.

Now that Yue Ning has arrived, the Ning Xiaochu series of instant noodles that bear her name is about to explode, so it is normal for Qingzai to be anxious.

It cannot be denied that Li De did imitate Qingzai noodles in the beginning, but fortunately Cui Huiyi studied in the United States and had the concept of intellectual property in her mind. She also always wanted to expand and had been avoiding risks in this area.

In the competition with Qingzai over the years, Qingzai has sued Lide in Hong Kong and Japan, and Lide responded to the lawsuit and won both times. It feels similar, but there is no handle, especially the seasoning of the two. Yuanzai puts soy sauce in it. Their reasoning is, who would think that soy sauce soup noodles and clear soup noodles are the same? This is a very critical point.

Ever since Cui Huiyi met Yue Ning, she had the idea of ​​entering the Japanese market and designed a new packaging as soon as possible. Yue Ning has also adjusted the recipe of Yuanzai noodles. Now the two instant noodles, Yuanzai and Qingzai, are similar in that both have chicken soup noodles as their main product.

Cui Huiyi thought she had made sufficient preparations before she ambitiously entered the Japanese market. She was not afraid of Qingzai releasing the news at this time. Qingzai had not won the case before. Could it be that the difference was so big now, could it still be said that she was imitating? Her meaning was to remain unchanged in the face of ever-changing circumstances.

Yue Ning doesn't think so. The law has standards. Now it's public opinion. In the minds of the people, whether you plagiarize or not, there is no standard. While they are in Japan, we must explain it clearly.

So, Yue Ning asked TS to help shoot a news segment.

She is now watching the news with Ishikawa.

This news said that after Yue Ning became popular in Japan, TS reporters went to Hong Kong to visit the three stores under Baohua Building.

There are now many Japanese department stores in Causeway Bay, and there are also many Japanese-owned shops nearby. It has been called "Little Tokyo" and there are many Japanese in Hong Kong.

TS reporters interview Japanese people in Hong Kong.

These Japanese people all recommended Baohualou and Ning Xiaochu. They first recommended going to Ning Xiaochu Noodle House to try the roast meat noodles there. They suggested that everyone choose the thick soup with 100% saltiness. This taste is suitable for most Japanese. If you think it is too salty, you can choose 75% saltiness.

In this way, when Japanese tourists go to Baohualou, they can directly tell the waiter whether they like 100% saltiness or 75% saltiness, and they will eat Cantonese cuisine that better suits their taste.

Some Japanese in Hong Kong have also shared their dining experience and recommend that everyone make reservations in advance, preferably for lunch, as it is difficult to make reservations at Po Wah Lou in the evening. They also recommended several dishes at Po Wah Lou, and some even suggested that everyone check the chef's shift schedule at Po Wah Lou.

Isn't this too complicated? Don't worry, there are travel agencies that cater to Japanese tourists that offer services such as booking for Baohualou and providing Baohualou package recommendations for Japanese tourists. These services are actually charged.

It was also the first time that Yue Ning heard of this service. It turned out that scalpers were everywhere.

The Japanese reporter asked Ning Yan again, and everyone told him that Ning Yan's schedule has been more than three months, and if it continues like this, he might have to draw lots.

Some people also told reporters that Ning Xiaochu’s instant noodles are also delicious, and there are also roast meat noodles, which can be bought in supermarkets.

The reporter bought a reservation for Baohualou from a travel agency and went to Ning Xiaochu first.

He ordered a bowl of the roast meat noodle which was recommended by everyone. It was a bowl of noodle soup with red sauce, shiny and crispy roast duck and fat and lean Hong Kong-style roast pork on top.

The reporter picked up a piece of duck meat and pointed it towards the camera to show the people in front of the camera. The duck meat had distinct layers and looked very appetizing.

He put the piece of duck meat into his mouth and ate it: "The skin of this duck is so delicious, as crispy as a cracker. The aroma of fat instantly bursts in my mouth, rich but not greasy, but with a unique sweetness. The duck meat is tender and juicy."

He took a sip of the noodle soup and immediately showed an expression of enjoyment: "This soup is very rich, with the taste of Japanese pork bone ramen and the unique charcoal aroma of Hong Kong-style barbecue."

After finishing the bowl of noodles, he said, "I'm looking forward to lunch at Baohua Building later."

When we arrived at Baohua Building, we could see Baohua Building on both sides, with guests sitting and queuing.

The reporter had an appointment, and the receptionist of Baohua Building took him to the new building of Baohua Building. He was received by a waiter who was not very fluent in Japanese but could speak it. He heard that he had eaten double-mixed noodles at Ning Xiaochu. According to Baohua Building's understanding of Japanese guests, he recommended fish soup, braised river eel and dry-fried beef noodles, plus a dish of stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and emphasized that dry-fried beef noodles was the signature dish of Niu Hebang, which is the best fried beef noodles in Hong Kong.

The reporter on the screen had a look of satisfaction on his face and was recommending the dry fried beef noodles, saying that it was the best fried noodles he had ever eaten.

After having lunch at Baohua Building, the next stop for the reporters was a hypermarket.

In the hypermarket, the most prominent position in the food section is where Ning Xiaochu series’ new Hong Kong-style barbecued pork noodles are placed. There are discounts on the new products, and people are buying them in an endless stream.

The familiar Japanese brand Qingzai nearby was having a low-price promotion, but the store was deserted.

The reporter went to the instant noodle area, where Li De’s products and Qing Zai’s products were placed together.

He picked up three types of noodles that Ning Xiaochu has currently launched. The soy sauce chicken and barbecued pork are mixed noodles, and the roast pork combination is a soup noodle.

While the reporter was introducing the products, four customers came. Three of them chose Li De's instant noodles, and one chose Qing Zai's.

The news is over.

"Is this okay? Aren't you really afraid of getting into trouble? People have a good impression of you now." Ishikawa was very worried. He didn't want anything that would hit Yue Ning's popularity to happen.

"No, if we delay and don't solve this problem, Ning Xiaochu instant noodles will be the best seller. I'm worried that Qingzai will try to hurt Ning Xiaochu's line and throw dirty water on me after we leave, saying that I helped a shameless company. At that time, all our efforts these days will be useless." Yue Ning said, "Don't worry! I will find a way to solve it."

Someone knocked on the door to inform Yue Ning to go put on makeup, and Yue Ning took Liang Ze and followed the staff member.

Ishikawa looked at her back and told himself that he should believe her.

Liang Ze walked beside Yue Ning: "Miss Yue, I have decided to go to Baohua Building."

"Okay!" Yue Ning said happily.

I have been following Yue Ning these days, acting as her translator, watching their dazzling operations, and the news is getting more and more popular.

At HTV, with his academic qualifications, he doesn't know when he will be able to stop being a translator and be responsible for practical work. If he goes to Baohua Building, he will definitely learn more and have more room for advancement.

Yue Ning entered the dressing room. Today's program was to teach housewives how to cook, so the makeup was relatively simple. Yue Ning put on an apron and walked into the studio.

In the studio, a host who looked like a housewife bowed to Yue Ning, and Masako Nakajima served as the translator between the two.

There was also a group of Japanese housewives in the audience.

The housewives all knew who Yue Ning was without the host introducing her.

"Excuse me, what kind of dish is Miss Yue going to teach us to make?"

"Does everyone like to eat ramen?" Yue Ning asked.

The answer is yes, ramen is Japan's national delicacy.

"Clear soup ramen is easier to make, and thick soup ramen is not that difficult to make either, but it's too troublesome, right? You have to select chicken bones, pork bones, and pig's feet, and boil them over and over again, and add water from time to time in the middle, and boil it for more than ten hours. So, do you think it's better to eat in a restaurant?" Yue Ning asked.

"right."

Yue Ning got a positive answer again, and she said, "Then I will teach you how to make a thick soup ramen dish that can be made in 40 minutes. Okay?"

After hearing Masako Nakajima's translation, the host asked, "Forty minutes?"

“Maybe not yet.”

Yue Ning showed the cooking table, on which there was a plate of small sea fish. The host said to her, "Chef Yue, the sea fish has been gutted."

"Thank you!" Yue Ning showed everyone, "We can buy any species of small sea fish in any season. When I was in northwest China, I also used river fish."

She then showed the next ingredients and seasonings: pork belly, shrimp, squid, oyster meat, eggs...

After the presentation, she picked up the timer: "The forty-minute countdown begins."

Yue Ning cut the pork belly into thin slices and cut off eight shrimp heads.

Pour a little cooking oil into the pot, add onion and ginger, put the pork belly slices in and stir-fry until the oil is drained, then remove the pork belly slices and onion and ginger together.

She fried the sea fish and shrimp heads together, and she cut half an onion, some cabbage, half a carrot, shredded ginger and sliced ​​garlic.

Onions, carrots and cabbage are essential vegetables for Japanese soup, and are the source of the sweet flavor of Japanese soup.

Yue Ning cut the seasonings, picked up the spatula, and scooped out the sea fish and shrimp heads. She mashed the small fish and fried them for a minute or two. Then she added shredded onions, ginger and garlic slices to the pan.

When the sake was poured on, steam rose up and the host said, "What a nice smell!"

Yue Ning added hot water to the pot and covered it with a lid. She said, "Cook for ten minutes."

While the fish soup was cooking, she lighted another pan and fried a poached egg, which she then crushed with a spatula.

The host asked her why she wanted to crush the fried egg?

"For the thick soup." Yue Ning told her.

This whetted everyone's appetite even more. After the fried egg pieces were served, Yue Ning put the pork belly in and added seasonings. She said, "This is the recipe for teriyaki sauce."

After adding the kelp, turn off the heat, add a handful of bonito flakes, and let the pork belly soak in the teriyaki sauce which is not thick.

“I used pork belly instead of barbecued pork.”

She turned around and opened the lid of the fish soup pot. For a moment, the studio was filled with the aroma of fish soup. The soup in the pot was thick, and because of the addition of shrimp heads, the soup had a red hue.

The host exclaimed: "It's a very rich soup base."

Yue Ning filtered out the thick soup: "The traditional tonkotsu ramen soup base relies on the fat in the ingredients, which is emulsified after cooking for many hours. Today we took a shortcut and fried small fish with the fat from the pork belly to get the thick soup."

After filtering, she put the soup back into the pot, added the chopped poached eggs and shredded onions, carrots, and cabbage, and continued to cook over high heat.

While doing this, she took out the pork belly from the other pot piece by piece, placed it on a wire rack, drained the soup, and filtered out the soup from that pot.

"This soup can be used to soak soft-boiled eggs or braised bamboo shoots." Yue Ning told everyone.

She washed the pot, put clean water in it, and began to peel the shrimps and cut the squid into pieces.

After finishing all these preparations, she opened the lid of the pot again and found that the soup was indeed thicker and had the sweetness of vegetables.

Yue Ning seasoned the thick soup and adjusted the flavor. The water in another pot was already boiling, so he put the noodles in. After boiling, he immediately took out the noodles and put them back into the thick soup, adding the seafood ingredients while cooking.

"Thirty-five minutes," the host reminded her.

The seafood was cooked immediately. Yue Ning turned off the fire, scooped up the noodles and put them in two bowls. He placed shrimps, oysters and squid on the noodles, and then neatly placed the pork belly cooked with teriyaki sauce on top. Finally, like Japanese ramen, he put a piece of seaweed on it and sprinkled it with chopped green onions.

She held out her hand: "The thick seafood ramen is ready!"

"Thirty-eight minutes," the host clapped his hands.

Yue Ning bent down: "Please enjoy it."