Chapter 188: Stealing the Master Openly
When the interview clip of Yue Ning was broadcast, TS TV also added a picture of a chimpanzee's head. At the end of the news, it asked: "Do you want to eat this?"
Before the evening, the rival threw out another interview. The Shandong cuisine master refuted Yue Ning and said: "This is because children have little knowledge. The orangutan lips, the first of the eight delicacies, are not orangutan lips at all, but the dried upper and lower noses of the front mouth of elk. After drying, they look very much like orangutan lips, hence the name orangutan lips. From the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the rich and powerful liked to eat orangutan lips, which led to an increase in the price of elk. Hunters hunted elk one after another, and by the Qianlong period, elk was extremely rare in the wild. So now orangutan lips are no longer made from elk, but from moose, so they are also called moose nose."
Yue Ning was on the news again, challenging the old man: "Old man, you are really talking nonsense! We know what elk looks like. According to what you said, the ape lips were originally made of elk, and later moose was used as the raw material. Then Ji Xiaolan would not have said in "Notes from the Yuewei Thatched Cottage": 'Ape lips are only heard of'. After all, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, elk were still raised in the royal gardens. Although moose are not numerous in the Northeast, they have always existed. As the editor-in-chief of the "Siku Quanshu" and a cabinet scholar, how could Ji Yun not have seen them? In addition, later, the governor Min Shaoyi gave him two ape lips. He said very clearly that they were completely peeled from the forehead to the chin, with the mouth, nose, eyebrows and eyes, like a mask on the stage. Who would think that the head of a wax deer looks like a mask? Those who say that the nose of an elk is ape lips are just people who insist on saying that they are ape lips in order to raise the value of the nose of an elk."
TS TV station also released comparative images of elk, moose, reindeer and gorillas, and specially marked out this passage from "Youwei Caotang Notes".
The old man was so angry that he could only call her an ignorant child.
The old man couldn't produce any evidence and just scolded her in the tone of a senior. There was no need for Yue Ning to argue with the old man anymore.
Yue Ning smiled and said, "Grandpa! You are a master of Shandong cuisine, and Brother Lu and I are descendants of Cantonese cuisine. Imperial banquets are part of Chinese cuisine, and the cuisines from all over the world are also part of the Chinese flavor. How can China's 5,000-year-old food culture be fully displayed by just a few banquets like you and I? I'm waiting for you to start broadcasting!"
This debate before the broadcast was considered a warm-up, and the Hong Kong city’s television stations and newspapers were already very lively.
The "Hong Kong and Macau Chef Competition" failed to fully demonstrate Yue Ning's strength, but this time we should be able to see her abilities, right?
HTV's rivals were already envious of the popularity of this year's "Hong Kong and Macau Chef Contest" and wanted to host a similar program. However, when they contacted several restaurants, they all said that with a popular chef like Yue Ning, hosting such a program would probably not have any response. So the matter was left unresolved.
Now that this event has gained so much popularity, they approached NC TV and got the broadcasting rights for Hong Kong City.
The two programs started broadcasting only one day apart, and Ning Yan was already very busy. Besides, HTV and TS had already started filming, so Yue Ning naturally had no time to watch the live broadcast.
She is a person who never puts on airs. When the news interviewed her, she said frankly that she would have time only after 9 o'clock in the evening. She also asked the TV station if it could replay the banquet in the evening. The other party was a master of Shandong cuisine and she wanted to learn from him.
Since Yue Ning wanted to watch it, even though it was HTV's rival, they were happy to satisfy her. The TV station said it would replay the banquet at 9 p.m.
Yue Ning thanked the other party politely and said that he would definitely watch it on time.
Zhang Hongxing, who was busy in the kitchen of Ningyan, said: "In yesterday's footage, they really took out the nose of an elk, bear paws and camel humps, as well as the paws of a white crane and sea dog fish."
After hearing this, Yue Ning just wanted to curse. If some of these ingredients were kept in her previous life, it would have been too cruel!
"Among our dishes, except for one dish called dragon tendon, which is considered rare, the others cannot compare with theirs!" Zhang Hongxing said somewhat dejectedly.
Lu Peide was still preparing the soup for braised shark's fin. Seeing Zhang Hongxing looking dejected, he asked Yue Ning, "What happened to Hongxing?"
Yue Ning told him about the dishes served by the other family and said, "He thinks we can't compare to them."
Lu Peide laughed and said, "Do you think that unfattened crane paws are tastier than goose paws? Do you think that camel humps full of fat are tastier than Chaoshan goose liver?"
Yue Ning translated this for everyone.
Zhang Hongxing asked: "Have you eaten it?"
"The camel hump meat has a bit of milk flavor and more of a mutton smell. After careful preparation, it tastes a bit like the fat with fascia on the cow's chest." Lu Peide said with a smile, "Anyway, this dish will not appear on the state banquet menu. Basically, no guest can get used to it."
"Oh! So it's one of the Eight Delicacies?"
"Many dishes are so precious that ordinary people imagine them to be. As a result of rumors, they become so-called treasures. If you really read the palace menu, you will know that the emperor ate only chicken, duck, fish and at most venison. Even seafood was rare. Yongzheng liked Jiangnan pickles the most, so he asked the Jiangning Weaving Factory to pay tribute to pickles. He also liked sweet and sour cherry meat and Jiangnan fermented rice dumplings."
"What about bear paws? I've always heard that bear paws are delicious."
Lu Peide smiled and said, "I haven't eaten it either. I was once taught by Mr. Huang Binggang, the master of Shandong cuisine. Grandpa Huang is the junior brother of Master Chen. Grandpa Huang has always been against eating bear paws. He said that bear paws are indeed delicious, but they must be bear paws without fishy smell. That is the ultimate delicacy. Chicken is buttery and fragrant, and bear paws are white and oily, with a strong buttery taste. Among ten black bears, it is lucky to have two or three that do not have a strong fishy smell. Only bear paws that do not have a strong fishy smell can be made into dishes that match the status of bear paws. Hunting a dozen or even dozens of bears to make a braised bear paw is too cruel. So he uses camel paws and cow hooves to replace bear paws in cooking. Didn't I prepare yak hooves this time? I just followed Grandpa Huang's method."
"That's right! Killing so many people just to eat a bear paw is too..."
"If you eat camel meat like on the grassland, it's not bad, you can just treat camels as cattle and sheep. But for black bears, you only want the gallbladder and paws. What's the point?" Lu Peide said, "Fortunately, even when I was an apprentice and a cook in the State Guesthouse, I never saw bear paws. Not to mention other places. Few people eat this thing at all."
Yue Ning took over Lu Peide's words: "That's right! When it comes to cooking, you have to practice more to master the heat and make the dish well. Ingredients are so rare that you can only cook them a few times in your lifetime. When faced with these ingredients, the master chef is just like a novice and will inevitably make mistakes."
"Oh! Then I'll wait and see him fail." said Zhang Hongxing.
Yue Ning knocked on his head and said, "Don't talk nonsense. The old man is a master of Shandong cuisine. This is a rare opportunity. You must watch the show carefully. Others may not understand it, but we are all insiders and can still learn something."
Ma Yaoxing pointed at the camera and said, "Can you guys be more careful when you talk? If you want to steal my skills, don't say it so blatantly."
Ma Yaoxing can speak Mandarin, and he told Lu Peide the same thing.
Lu Peide disagreed: "In our line of work, we have to learn from others. My family brought me into the industry. Those apprentices all started out by 'scrambling'. After the master chef finished cooking or mixing the soup, the apprentices would rush to wash the pots and clean the stove. Do you know why he did that?"
Yue Ning translated Lu Peide's words for everyone.
Everyone loved to listen to Lu Peide telling stories about their family, and everyone listened attentively.
"Teaching an apprentice will starve the master to death. At this time, the apprentice would scrape the bottom of the pot with a spoon, taste the flavor, and learn the skills secretly. From scratching the spoon to being able to work on the stove, most people need more than ten years! How can we have family traditions like us? In addition, after the founding of New China, the state carried out ideological education for those master chefs. The master chefs were willing to teach. But everyone has selfish desires. Who doesn't hide their selfish desires? The only one who doesn't hide his selfish desires and forces everyone to learn," Lu Peide looked at Yue Ning, "is Ningning. So, if you have the chance, you should steal the skills."
"No one is allowed to leave at nine o'clock. Let's go and watch together and learn from them together." Yue Ning said with a smile.
HTV's Shen Wenqi was at the scene, and all these conversations were recorded. This was just a behind-the-scenes video, not the live broadcast content. She came over and asked Yue Ning: "Ningning, do you want to edit these out?"
Yue Ning smiled and said, "No need."
The Japanese staff came over and asked, "Can we film what you are watching on TV later?"
"Go ahead and shoot!" Yue Ning said confidently, "It's already live streaming, are you afraid that someone will copy it?"
At nine o'clock, several chefs who were involved in the preparation of dishes in the kitchen walked into a large private room of Ningyan and began to watch the first live broadcast of Master Chen.
The TV station was very thoughtful and started the show directly from the moment the dishes were served.
This restaurant is more magnificent than Ningyan, with palace lanterns hanging from the gilded and carved beams, making people feel as if they are in a Chinese palace. Master Chen is wearing a long gown and a jacket, and a row of disciples stand beside him, each wearing a chef's uniform with a ribbon, welcoming the guests together.
The guests included the president and wife of NC TV station, a well-known Japanese sinologist, a gourmet, and currently popular male and female artists. From Taiwan, there were well-known painters, gourmets, and popular singers.
When the guests were seated, a man in a long gown shouted, "Beauty, serve tea!"
Graceful girls in red floor-length cheongsams came in one after another. A beauty was arranged next to each guest, and the beauties poured tea for the guests.
Yue Ning exclaimed: This style is perfect!
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