Chapter 189: Watch the other party's full banquet
As the guests sipped their tea, the man in the long gown chanted loudly: "Twelve kinds of dried fruits, candied fruits, and pastries."
Three men in black satin gowns came forward with gold-painted trays, and three cheongsam beauties opened the lids and presented dried fruit candied fruit cakes. The men in the gowns also sang the names of the dried fruit cakes one by one.
"Serving candied pastries at this time? After eating these, will we still be able to eat the rest of the dishes?" Zhang Hongxing asked doubtfully.
"Let Brother Lu explain it!" Yue Ning turned around and explained the situation to Lu Peide.
Lu Peide explained to everyone: "Although the Manchu-Han Banquet is said to have 54 northern dishes and 54 southern dishes, there is actually no fixed number. According to the "Diao Ding Ji", there were more than 600 imperial meals during Emperor Qianlong's southern tour. In addition, when Emperor Qianlong went to the Chengde Mountain Resort to escape the summer heat, there was also an imperial meal menu. Based on these menus, and in order to get the reputation of the imperial court, later generations made a 108-course Manchu-Han Banquet, and also formed a corresponding etiquette process. Of course, at a real banquet, no one would deliberately announce the names of the dishes. These dried fruit snacks are usually placed in the rest area. Guests come at different times. When they arrive, tea and snacks are served first, and when everyone is present, the banquet officially begins."
"So that's how it is. I was wondering why it felt weird." Zhang Hongxing scratched his head and said.
On the screen, the dish serving began. When the appetizers were served, Ma Yaoxing asked, "Our appetizers are all in even numbers. Six means good luck, and eight means prosperity. But why is there nine?"
"Why are there still pickles?"
"Five cold dishes and four pickled dishes. If there are more people, then seven cold dishes and four pickled dishes." Lu Peide said, "I heard from my second uncle that in the past, people didn't care about odd or even numbers when ordering dishes."
"In ancient times, people ordered dishes in odd numbers. In the "Bishu Luhua" which records the miscellaneous events of the court and the public in the Northern Song Dynasty, it is mentioned that when Sima Guang was writing "Zizhi Tongjian" in Luoyang, he had a party with friends. "There were no more than three kinds of fruits, no more than five kinds of delicacies, and no amount of wine." Yue Ning then listed some stories from the classics, "Nowadays, people pay attention to good things coming in pairs, but traditionally, dinners are often served in odd numbers."
“So that’s how it is!”
Ah Bang smiled and said, "Ningning, look at the 'radish meeting' you made, and it's still being discussed by so many people. But other people mix cabbage and call it Qianlong cabbage, and they are very confident about it!"
"Don't talk nonsense, this is really called Qianlong cabbage, a proper traditional dish. Qianlong cabbage and coral cabbage both have very simple ingredients, but it is not easy to make delicious cold dishes. The sauce is the key. The sauce must be delicate and moist, and the cabbage must have beautiful color. Just looking at the color of this Qianlong cabbage, the taste should not be bad." After Yue Ning finished speaking, he repeated it to Lu Peide.
"Yes, it's delicious." Lu Peide responded seriously.
"Really?"
"Really? I'll make it for you after I finish my work tomorrow," said Lu Peide.
He Yunbang laughed out loud: "Ade, from now on, you and Ningning, one sells 'Carrot Meeting' for 180 yuan, and the other sells 180 yuan for cold cabbage."
"They just put on a little ceremony. The actual presentation of the dish is really not that good. It's too simple!"
On the screen, each dish was served in yellow-ground enamel porcelain that looked extremely expensive. The dishes were simply stacked on the plate, with at most a border made of vegetable cores. It was far inferior to theirs.
"That's not the case. The tradition of the Manchu-Han Banquet is to serve the dishes with yellow-ground famille rose porcelain. The famille rose porcelain itself is bright in color, and with the complicated shapes it will appear messy," Yue Ning explained to everyone.
After the cold dishes were served, the cheongsam beauties poured wine for the guests and the hot dishes began to be served.
The first dish was toad in clear soup, which was a must for everyone. The soup was crystal clear, the toad oil was white as snow, and there were pink ham cubes scattered on it.
The person who announced the dish introduced it in detail: This is the fat from the belly of a kind of frog in Northeast China. Yue Ning saw that the Japanese guests on TV looked hesitant, but the Taiwanese guests ate it very happily.
Seeing that the Japanese guests did not want to eat it, the gourmet introduced that this thing was especially good for women, and Empress Dowager Cixi liked to eat it. After hearing what he said, the wife of the president of NC TV and another Japanese actress tried to drink a mouthful of the toad soup, but they stopped immediately after taking a mouthful.
"I remember that the Japanese eat white fish, right? Isn't that almost the same?" A-Ming was confused. "And they eat white fish raw, and the lantern in Yakitori. They eat all of these, so why don't they eat toads?"
"If bird's nest is not so well-known, people may hesitate when they hear that it is the saliva of swallows." Yue Ning explained to him, "This is a matter of eating habits. Last time I brought back a piece of cheese, you all said it was stinky, but don't we usually enjoy eating stinky tofu? I have said many times that we must respect the eating habits of customers. When foreigners come to our restaurant for the first time, try not to recommend dishes made with very special ingredients to them. This is the situation now. Top-quality ingredients may not be popular."
Yue Ning turned his head and said to Lu Peide, "Brother Lu, it would be great if Master Chen could replace this clear soup with the Confucius Mansion Yipin Pot as the first soup dish of the first day."
Lu Peide thought for a moment: "On the one hand, he may think that Hasi Toad is a specialty of Northeast China and this dish is a representative of Manchu cuisine; on the other hand, today is just the opening, and it is a bit too early to serve Yipin Hot Pot directly. Maybe he wants to arrange it tomorrow."
Ah Zhong suddenly shouted in surprise: "Hey, hey, hey! They caught carp too."
"Sweet and Sour Yellow River Carp is a famous Shandong cuisine. There's nothing to be surprised about them serving this dish." Yue Ning looked at A Zhong and said.
"That's not...that's not us..." Ah Zhong said hesitantly.
Yue Ning smiled and said, "We do ours and they do theirs. Brother Lu has also learned from the Shandong cuisine master and can cook Yellow River carp. I have lived in the Northwest for so many years and can also cook Yellow River carp. Besides, aren't there differences between the two families' methods?"
On a large plate with yellow ground and pink peony and lotus patterns, the Yellow River carp is tilted up head and tail, deep-fried and shaped, showing the posture of a fish leaping over the dragon gate. The beautiful woman holding the pot evenly pours the amber sweet and sour sauce on the fish, which looks like clear glass under the light.
"It's beautifully done." Yue Ning looked at Lu Peide, "Brother Lu, tomorrow we will see your craftsmanship."
Lu Peide smiled and responded: "Didn't we agree to cooperate?"
This dish was obviously very popular, and the guests all looked very happy. The gourmet praised: "Chef Chen is still as skilled as ever!"
The man in the long gown bowed slightly and said, "This dish was made by Mr. Chen Jinlong, the son of Chef Chen."
The old gourmet looked surprised: "I remember that Chef Chen had this son when he was fifty years old. He had just arrived in Taiwan at that time. Now the child is less than thirty years old, right?"
"Twenty-eight."
At this time, the young chef in chef's uniform came over and said, "Hello, Mr. Lin!"
When Yue Ning saw this young man coming out, she suddenly understood why Master Chen, who had such a high reputation, wanted to compete with a junior like her. It was really the love of a parent. He was paving the way for his son!
The sweet and sour carp received a lot of praise, and the next dish was the crane's feet stewed with mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots.
Ah Zhong looked at the dish and asked, "Isn't this the double mushroom and duck feet stew that we eat every day in Baohua Building? Is there any difference between crane feet and duck feet?"
This question stumped everyone, including Yue Ning, who had lived two lives.
In everyone's silence, the next dish was served. It was the most common and famous Shandong cuisine, the fried and crispy Kung Fu dish.
Looking at the plate of fried chicken gizzards and pork belly with transparent glass sauce hanging on it, Yue Ning looked at Lu Peide, who shook his head repeatedly: "Stir-frying is what our family is worst at. If I make this dish, I will definitely make it into fried rubber bands."
"What I mean is, when we have time, Uncle Abang and I will teach you how to stir-fry these dishes. If you can make this dish well, you can get rid of the reputation of not being able to cook." Yue Ning said.
Lu Peide nodded: "Okay, thank you in advance."
"Isn't this just a stir-fry? What's so difficult about it?" Everyone present were Cantonese chefs. Except for Lu Peide, the others were all good at cooking with a stir-fry.
On TV, the Japanese only know that this dish is delicious. The gourmet praised it, saying, "This dish has very high requirements for the cooking temperature. If it's one degree less, it won't be cooked, and if it's one degree more, it won't be crispy. Could it be that Chef Chen also made it?"
The man in the long gown paused for a moment and said, "Yes."
The gourmet said with great enjoyment: "The new generation is pushing the old generation forward! This dish is even better than the original."
Chen Jinlong's cooking skills are indeed good, as he can make this gourmet show such an expression.
After several dishes were served in succession, it was finally time for today’s finale, braised bear paw.
In a gorgeous and exquisite porcelain dish, a bear paw with nails was served in a honey-colored soup.
Yue Ning watched the guests on TV reaching for the bear's paw with their chopsticks.
Yue Ning noticed that several guests stopped after taking one bite, while the president of NC TV station continued to take a second bite.
The gourmet who commented on every dish did not take a second bite, but rinsed his mouth with tea.
"Mr. Lin, is the bear paw not cooked well?" the man in the long gown asked him.
The gourmet said, "After coming to Taiwan, I have eaten bear paws several times, but I have never tasted the taste of the bear paws in Beijing Yu Fu Restaurant. The bear paws you have prepared are not well prepared and still have a strange smell. Maybe it is because you did not cook enough? Compared with the previous dishes, this dish is inferior."
Ma Yaoxing immediately responded: "Ade, it should be the problem with the bear paw itself, right?"
"It should be. But doesn't Master Chen know? My Grandpa Huang knows, so he doesn't do it!" Lu Peide said.
"How much is a pound of bear paws in the market? A bear paw with hair on must weigh several pounds, right? You can't buy dozens of bear paws and then pick out one, right?" Yue Ning asked.
Yue Ning remembered that in her previous life, when she went to Hokkaido with the kaiseki cuisine master, he took her to a Chinese restaurant to eat braised bear paws.
In Hokkaido, bears have no natural enemies and are numerous. The Japanese government allows a certain number of bears to be hunted. After the hunt, the bears must be reported to the government with their numbers and photographed. The paws of these bears flow into the market and are made into dishes. This is the only place in the world where you can legally eat bear paw dishes.
The chef who cooked the bear paw in that Chinese restaurant was from Beijing. It was said that he learned his skills from the chef who cooked for high-ranking officials of the Beiyang government. The bear paw he cooked was probably the best in the world.
The braised bear paw was served. As a cook, Yue Ning was particularly sensitive to the taste of meat. Even though she used so many seasonings to remove the fishy smell, it couldn't cover up the strong odor of the bear paw, so she didn't even taste it.
The chef must have known that bear paws come in two flavors: fishy and non-fishy. However, this ingredient was so rare that he had to cook it regardless of whether it was suitable or not, so he could only use spices to cover up the smell.
Today, the Chen family father and son must be in the same situation.
Bear paw was the finale, and after a dish of yam porridge, the beauties served farewell tea to the guests.
Today's banquet ends here. In general, Master Chen is worthy of being a master of Shandong cuisine. As a professional, this banquet has a lot to watch and can also broaden everyone's horizons.
Yue Ning said goodbye to everyone and asked them to have a good sleep and prepare for tomorrow's banquet.
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