Factory Director Liu and the others then took a second look at the sweet and sour carp.
Fatty's old acquaintance, Director Li, jokingly said, "I've had your braised fish before, but it was still made in the Sichuan style. Fatty, could you tell us about the Shandong style?"
The fat man pointed to the sweet and sour carp: "As the saying goes, no feast is complete without chicken and no banquet is complete without fish; this sweet and sour carp is fried to the shape of jumping, and then it is poured with thick soup to thoroughly soak the fish, which is an auspicious omen of the carp leaping over the dragon gate! It can be said to be the most representative dish of Shandong cuisine."
Upon hearing this, Director Liu picked up some fish with his chopsticks, savored it slowly, nodded, and asked the fat man, "Anything else?"
"The other two dishes are stir-fried pork kidneys and candied sweet potatoes. The stir-fried pork kidneys will be stir-fried fresh later, so please eat them while they're hot. Let's talk about the candied sweet potatoes first..."
Through that dinner, the fat man discovered three secrets about Director Liu.
The first thing is that he doesn't drink alcohol! That's quite rare, considering that almost no leader in an industrial manufacturing sector like a steel rolling mill is a non-drinker;
Secondly, he doesn't like spicy food. Tonight, Fatty made a total of six dishes: sweet and sour carp, candied sweet potato, stir-fried pork kidney, salted duck, shredded pork with garlic sauce, and spicy diced chicken.
There were exactly three Shandong dishes, two Sichuan dishes, and one Huaiyang dish.
Director Liu ate quite a bit of the first five dishes, but he only touched the last dish, spicy diced chicken, once before having someone move it away from him.
Thirdly, even if Director Liu isn't from Shandong, he must have lived there for a considerable period of time. The three Shandong dishes Fatty made today are absolutely perfect for him!
Especially this stir-fried pork kidney. As soon as the dish was served, the fat man said, "The most remarkable thing about this stir-fried pork kidney is that each cut has its own unique flavor!"
Director Liu's confidant quickly chimed in, "Director, could you tell us what you mean by 'each part has a different flavor'?"
Factory Director Liu was very satisfied: "Look at these pork kidneys. They've been scored, with some parts thin and some parts thick. The most difficult part is that each piece gets heated to a different surface area in the pot. So after they come out of the pot, the two tips are especially tender, and then they become a bit slippery, as if they might slide down our throats if we're not careful. The middle part is especially crispy, leaving a lingering fragrance in every bite. It's the most essential part of this dish."
After saying that, he turned to the fat man and said, "Your knife skills are truly remarkable. The length and thickness of each piece of kidney are as if they were measured with calipers. It's amazing."
The biggest misconception about stir-fried pork kidneys is that many people can't tell whether it's a Shandong or Sichuan dish.
In Shandong cuisine, it's called "stir-fried pork kidneys," while in Sichuan cuisine it's called "fire-fried pork kidneys." Just one character difference, but the distinction is significant.
Just like the stir-fried pork kidneys that Fatty made today, the unique characteristics of this dish, made using the Shandong cuisine method, are irreplaceable.
Sichuan cuisine's signature stir-fried pork kidneys, however, emphasizes the technique of using oil and the well-known "eighteen shovels," stressing a quick stir-fry over high heat to cook the dish in one pot. It's all about controlling the heat.
Another major difference between the two is that Shandong cuisine includes broth, while Sichuan cuisine does not.
So here's the question: what's Sha Zhu's specialty? Beijing-style Sichuan cuisine. But he just happened to run into a factory manager who doesn't like spicy food; his defeat is no surprise.
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If Sha Zhu had known that Fatty had bypassed him again and gone to get special treatment from the leaders, he would definitely have held a grudge.
But after that incident on the cart, his mindset really did change to some extent.
The very next day, Sha Zhu brought a bottle of wine and deliberately took Xiao Dang to Fatty's house to confront him.
As soon as she entered the house, she complained to Yu Li, "Your fat son went to cook for the factory manager behind my back again."
Only after that did he yell at the fat man, "You bastard! You're just a bootlicker!"
Before the fat man could even retort, Xiao Dang pinched his ear: "What are you doing? What are you doing? What did you promise me in the house?"
Yu Li laughed, "Silly Zhu, now someone can handle you!"
Sha Zhu begged for mercy repeatedly: "Okay, okay, I was wrong, alright?"
After saying that, he looked at Xiao Dang with a doting expression and said, "You really are my little nemesis."
Seeing that the two men wanted to drink, Yu Li got up to go to the kitchen to make them two side dishes to go with their drinks.
But Xiao Dang took over the task: "Auntie, don't bother, let me do it."
The girl was very quick and efficient; in no time, she brought out a plate of scrambled eggs and a plate of fried peanuts.
The fat man looked at the peanuts and said, "This is Sha Zhu's handiwork; the peanuts were soaked in warm water."
Yu Li asked curiously, "Isn't it supposed to be deep-fried? Why is it soaked in water?"
The fat man popped a peanut into his mouth and explained, "Soaking it in warm water allows the peanut to absorb some moisture, making its internal structure more porous. This prevents the outside from burning while the inside remains fully cooked when frying."
After saying that, he fed Yu Li another one, ignoring Sha Zhu rolling his eyes at him, and said to her, "Try it carefully, can you still taste a little bit of white vinegar?"
Yu Li couldn't taste the difference: "Why do you need to add white vinegar when frying peanuts?"
The fat man pointed at Xiao Dang, who had a mischievous grin on his face: "Stop gloating, you explain."
Xiao Dang chuckled, "My silly dad taught me that to keep the fried peanuts from getting soggy, you have to sprinkle a little white vinegar on them while they're still hot. This helps to isolate them from the air, and they'll stay crispy for days!"
Sha Zhu also threw two peanuts into his mouth, chewing them as he tried to expose Fatty's secrets: "This scrambled egg looks like Fatty's cooking."
Yu Li took a look and sure enough! The scrambled eggs were golden brown, fluffy but not falling apart, just like a handful of chrysanthemum petals from September scattered on a plate.
"I know the secret too. After beating the eggs, add the vinegar and salt in that order; you can't add them too early! If you add them too early, they'll turn black when you fry them. The oil temperature shouldn't be too high, 60-70% is best, and soybean oil is preferable. Vegetable oil won't work, it produces too much foam. Also, the pan must be thoroughly cleaned, otherwise the frying will also turn black!"
"Alright, alright..." Yu Li quickly stopped Sha Zhu, otherwise he would reveal all of her family's secrets.
Yu Li glared at Xiao Dang with annoyance: "What's going on? Are you planning to let this girl combine the strengths of both of you chefs and become a chef in the future?"
Sha Zhu chuckled, "There's nothing wrong with being a cook. I am a cook, and as long as my daughter is willing to learn, anything is fine!"
The fat man retorted, "That's not right, isn't it? Didn't Sister Yushui say that your family's skills are passed down only to men?"
Sha Zhu got anxious: "Fatty, don't talk like that! I only have one daughter, don't make it any more complicated with boys or girls."
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