In the blink of an eye, early summer has arrived.
The month is up, and it's time for Old Master Lu to set off back to Jinan Prefecture.
Today, as usual, he arrived at Qili Pavilion around 2 p.m.
The fat man made him some tea and said with a mix of reluctance and guilt, "Master, I'm leaving tomorrow, why are you still coming to the kitchen?"
Grandpa Lu smiled and said, "When doing things, you have to see them through to the end. If you say one month, then one month is it."
The fat man sighed deeply, "How about we skip cooking today and I'll accompany you for a stroll around Wangfujing?"
Grandpa Lu waved his hand: "What's there to see? Today I'm going to give you a test, which will be your graduation exam and a summary of this month's progress."
Upon hearing that there would be a test, Fatty Lima became serious as well: "Take the test as you like, I will never let Master down!"
Grandpa Lu was amused by the fat man and said, "What's shameful about it? As the saying goes, the master leads you through the door, but the practice is up to you. As long as you put your heart into it, you're all doing a great job."
After the old man rested for a while, the fat man stood calmly in front of the chopping board: "Please give me a question, Master."
"Well, regarding the technique of braising, I've taught you a red braising dish. Today, make me a white braising dish, braised three kinds of diced vegetables."
"Stewed Three Delicacies," the fat man carefully reviewed the characteristics and preparation method of this dish in his mind, and soon he had an idea.
After Grandpa Lu finished posing the question, he calmly sipped his tea, waiting to see what Fatty would do first.
The fat man thought for a moment, then took five or six shrimp, then a piece of pork belly, leaving only the lean part, and finally cut off a third of the pig's stomach.
At this moment, Grandpa Lu spoke up: "Why choose these three materials?"
The fat man replied, "Master, your manuscript says that there is no fixed combination for braised three ingredients, and you can choose any ingredients. But after thinking about it carefully, I found that there are certain rules."
"Oh, tell me, what's the pattern?"
"First, the colors must be well-matched, for example, the three ingredients you used: sea cucumber, shrimp, and pork belly; second, they must be compatible, the ingredients must blend together to form a complex flavor, rather than each overpowering the other."
Grandpa Lu nodded in satisfaction: "And the third thing is that sea cucumbers are too expensive, and you can't afford them!"
The fat man laughed heartily: "Yes, I have to consider the costs."
The old man smiled and shook his head, then stopped talking and watched how the fat man would handle the ingredients.
As the name suggests, braised three kinds of ingredients must be diced.
The term "丁" refers to something square and of equal size.
When it comes to the dish "Stewed Three Delicacies," the chef's knife skills are the first thing to consider.
The first requirement for this dish is uniform size. The key is whether all the ingredients can be cut into cubes of about one and a half centimeters, including the bamboo shoots and carrots used as side dishes.
The pieces shouldn't be cut too large or too small, otherwise they will affect the appearance of the finished dish.
Secondly, there's the technique of blanching. This part wasn't written in the old man's manuscript, nor is it necessary to write it. If the fat man can't even figure out how to blanch, then he shouldn't be running this restaurant.
After the water boiled, the fat man added some Shaoxing wine and salt to the pot. Then he put the shrimp in first, and after the shrimp had been blanched for a while, he added the remaining pork belly and pork belly.
The old man nodded, agreeing that this step was correct; just a quick scald was enough, but it shouldn't be scalded for too long.
After blanching the ingredients and side dishes, it's time to cook them.
Shandong cuisine primarily uses scallion oil, Sichuan peppercorn oil, and peanut oil; after all, the whole country later became familiar with 4S pressed peanut oil...
To make this dish, you need to heat the pan with scallion oil, which is made by refining peanut oil and scallions. Then, sauté the aromatics until fragrant. Once the oil is hot, remove it from the heat to avoid overcooking. Finally, add chicken broth to the pan.
The opera singer's voice, the chef's broth. After so many years, Fatty's skill in making stock has been perfected. Old Master Lu also taught him some of his own secrets for making stock. It can be said that the high-quality clear broth that Fatty makes now is unparalleled in the entire capital!
The third requirement for this dish is cleanliness. What does that mean? It means that the ingredients must be clean, the broth must be clean, and even the side dishes on the plate must be clean.
Therefore, all the ingredients that were just sautéed must be thoroughly cleaned before you start seasoning.
The seasoning was also very simple: salt and a little Shaoxing wine. When Grandpa Lu saw that Fatty had a good grasp of the amount of Shaoxing wine when making this dish, he was quite satisfied.
It seems he carefully studied his manuscript, rather than just flipping through it casually; otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have noticed these details.
The key to this dish is adding Shaoxing wine twice. The evaporation of the alcohol helps remove any unpleasant odors from the ingredients and allows the aroma of the Shaoxing wine to infuse the flavor.
There is also a type of cooking wine on the market now, which is made by using Shaoxing wine as a base and then blending it with some spices and seasonings. It is a wine specifically used for cooking.
However, it is not yet widely used, but compared to rice wine, cooking wine has great advantages in cooking, both in terms of price and taste. It is only a matter of time before it replaces rice wine.
The last requirement for this dish, Braised Three Delicacies, is: speed!
This dish needs to be cooked quickly; according to kitchen standards, the time from preparing the ingredients to taking it off the heat should not exceed 5 minutes. It is a dish that is particularly suitable for making in densely populated places such as near universities, residential areas, and hospitals.
Finally, after the fat man finished thickening the sauce, he scooped up some broth with a spoon and saw that it had become runny, so it was ready to be served.
Just before taking it off the heat, drizzle a little scallion oil on top to ensure a bright color, and it's done. Next, we'll ask Mr. Lu to rate the dish.
Just like last time when he tested Fatty's sweet and sour carp, the old man looked at it first, commenting as he looked: "This meat is just right, coated with a layer of starch, white with a hint of pink, very beautiful; and this shrimp, unlike the grayish white after a serious illness, is bright in color and very plump; as for the belly strips, needless to say, curved with slight layers, the black and white color scheme makes the whole dish more colorful. Very good, very good, full marks for appearance."
Overjoyed at the teacher's praise, the chubby boy quickly grabbed a spoon and chopsticks and offered them to the teacher.
The old man tasted the soup first: "Very good. The characteristic of this dish is that the soup is fresh and fragrant, which is a very characteristic of Shandong cuisine, namely, freshness, crispness and tenderness. After this dish, I'd like to see who dares to say that Shandong cuisine is all dark and murky."
After saying that, the master and apprentice laughed together.
In the common people's minds, Shandong cuisine is all dark and murky. This is true for dishes like braised sea cucumber with scallions, sweet and sour carp, braised pork belly, braised pork intestines, and four-happiness meatballs... They are all dark in color because soy sauce is added!
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