Chapter 191 Qiankun Roast Goose
The audience watching in front of the TV saw the live broadcast from the kitchen. The chopping board was clean, the ingredients were neatly arranged by color, and the staff were busy in an orderly manner.
When the camera was pointed at Lu Peide, he stretched and pulled with both hands, and pulled out dragon beard noodles as thin as hair. The amazing thing was that the noodles could even pass through the eye of a needle, which was truly breathtaking.
After visiting the kitchen, Yue Ning escorted everyone upstairs, where Mr. Zhou was sitting in the box sipping tea.
Yue Ning invited the old man to attend the banquet as a guest of HTV, but the old man refused at first, saying that having a meal with the Japanese would easily bring back memories of the past.
Yue Ning advised: "At this time of Sino-Japanese exchanges, the country is vigorously introducing Japanese capital and technology. On a small scale, if this banquet is successful, it can promote the tourism industry in Hong Kong; on a large scale, it can also promote Chinese food culture and attract more people to invest and travel to China."
Only then did the old man agree to attend the banquet.
Cai Zhiyuan took the lead and introduced Mr. Zhou to the guests: "He is a gourmet in the field of Cantonese cuisine. Of course, we invited Mr. Zhou here today not to ask him to comment on the dishes, but to ask him to introduce the origins and stories of these dishes."
After everyone had introduced themselves to each other, Yue Ning greeted everyone and went to the kitchen to cook. The guests then took their seats one after another.
At this time, six cold dishes were already on the table. Yue Ning incorporated painting techniques into the cold dish platter, a skill that was unique in Hong Kong, not to mention the addition of Lu Peide.
Yue Ning is casual while Lu Peide is orderly. Their collaboration is like a meeting between a Jiangnan painter and a court painter, complementing each other.
Take one of the plates of sashimi for example. On a white plate that is two feet long and one foot wide, there are tender green scallions, bright red chili peppers, golden ginger, and thinly sliced lemon leaves... The numerous side dishes on the left side of the plate form a spring mountain, a thatched cottage, a wooden door, a peach tree, and short reeds and weeds. On the lower right side are fish fillets that are sliced as thin as a cicada's wing, crystal clear, and neatly arranged. The fish fillets are transparent, and after being arranged, they look like rippling waves. With a few scallion shreds bent into a stream, they create the artistic conception of a pool of spring water. On the fish fillets are two mallards, one swimming quietly, and the other standing upright with its wings spread. Above the large blank space is a poem written by Yue Ning in sauce: "Outside the bamboo are three or two branches of peach blossoms, and the ducks know first when the spring river water warms. The ground is covered with mugwort and the reed buds are short, which is when the pufferfish is about to come up."
Cai Zhiyuan looked at Mr. Zhou and said, "Mr. Zhou, please introduce him to everyone."
"This is the sashimi that we Guangdong people love. Puffer fish happens to be on the market this season, so we use puffer fish to make sashimi." The old man introduced it simply.
The waiter in a light grey uniform brought chopsticks, mixed the ingredients, and poured the sauce over them.
The painter Xiao Ye, who was admiring the menu, felt a little sad when he saw such a "painting" being destroyed. Fortunately, there is still this menu. I heard that this menu was written by Chef Yue himself? Just based on this handwriting, this chef should have a place in the calligraphy world!
When Ishikawa told him it was puffer fish, Lucas was quite surprised: "Chinese people also eat puffer fish?"
"All East Asians eat fugu. Japan, China, and Korea all have fugu dishes," Ishikawa explained to Lucas.
"Mr. Miyamoto, you are a master of puffer fish cuisine. Please taste it first." Yanxi said.
Miyamoto has always adhered to the concept that pufferfish sashimi should be tasted for its own freshness and sweetness. The seasoning should be simple, and the chef's knife skills are the key. I just saw the chef's ramen skills. If ramen can be threaded through a needle, then these ingredients can also be threaded through a needle. When he makes pufferfish sashimi, he usually cuts the fish slices very thinly, and the plating is exquisite and simple. He often uses plain and elegant porcelain plates to serve it, focusing on showing the natural color and texture of the fish. I don't think I have the ability to combine calligraphy and painting with plating.
At this moment, he picked up a piece of puffer fish mixed with various ingredients and put it into his mouth. The taste of puffer fish itself is pure and sweet, and after adding so many ingredients and seasonings... Hmm... These flavors are intertwined and rich, which is very different from Japanese sashimi that relies solely on soy sauce and mustard to enhance the flavor. This is not just a dish, it is more like a carnival of taste.
Miyamoto savored the food carefully, then put down his chopsticks and expressed his feelings: "I really can't judge which method is more delicious. I can only say that Japanese puffer fish sashimi focuses more on the original taste, while Chinese puffer fish sashimi focuses more on the blending of flavors."
Yanxi nodded heavily: "Mr. Miyamoto said what was in my heart."
After listening to the two Japanese chefs, Lucas agreed: "Ms. Yue is very good at seasoning."
Ishikawa breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he listened to Yue Ning's advice. The guests they originally selected were also the same as NC TV station, people with great fame and influence. It was Yue Ning who told him that it was okay to invite a few celebrities, but it would be better to invite a few chefs with good character. At that time, he even asked the reason, after all, chefs are not as charismatic as celebrities.
Yue Ning asked back: "If you had brought me along when you filmed the episode about bladder chicken, would the ratings have been that high? Celebrities are popular, but chefs are more professional and authoritative."
Of course, Yue Ning also considered again and again when choosing ingredients and chose puffer fish as the first choice, precisely because early spring is the season when puffer fish is on the market.
Yesterday he watched the live broadcast of NC TV. The guests refused to eat toad soup, a traditional Chinese tonic. He had to say that Yue Ning's prediction was very accurate.
After Lucas tasted the sashimi, Ishikawa asked Lucas to try Chinese foie gras.
Lucas looked at the juicy foie gras, which was dark in color and had an oily sheen on the surface.
He happily picked up a piece of foie gras and first smelled an alluring aroma, with a strong flavor of various spices. If it was French foie gras, it should smell a light aroma of fat at this time.
The moment he put the foie gras into his mouth, his eyes widened slightly. They both have a dense and soft texture, but they are different, completely different. French foie gras melts in your mouth, and your mouth is filled with a rich aroma of fat. This piece of foie gras is also very tender, and you can even say it also melts in your mouth, but it exudes the original flavor of foie gras. It can't be simply said to be the original flavor of foie gras. The seasoning of this piece of foie gras is very complex. French foie gras is less seasoned, but it doesn't have the rich "liver flavor" of this piece of foie gras.
Lucas didn't know how to describe it for a moment. He said, "To me, this taste is a bit strange, but it's delicious."
He thought for a moment and then said, "It is indeed delicious, just like using luxurious inlay techniques to set off large-grained jewels. My bladder chicken is the same, using good ingredients and complex craftsmanship to highlight its value."
He was still very concerned about his specialty, bladder chicken, which the Japanese audience did not appreciate, and he couldn't help but mention it at this opportunity.
After the wine was poured, the first soup was served. Each person had a sky-blue soup bowl. When the lid was opened, there was a milky white soup base with emerald green onions floating on top.
"This is Chef Qiu's Chaoshan blowfish and radish soup. Please enjoy." The waiter introduced.
Yanxi looked at the soup and thought to himself: Pufferfish is a traditional Japanese dish. The fish skin can be served cold or made into jelly, the fish meat can be made into sashimi or tempura, and the fish bones can be used to make pufferfish sukiyaki. This soup should also be made with fish bones, right? Sashimi and sashimi are similar but different. I wonder how this soup tastes?
Yanxi scooped up a spoonful of soup and saw that there were not only shredded radish in the soup, but also a piece of puffer fish liver, which looked fried. He knew that the oil in the puffer fish liver had a special aroma and could add a more wonderful flavor to the soup.
"This soup has a special flavor," Miyamoto said.
"It's the taste of fried puffer fish liver." Yanxi said confidently.
Miyamoto shook his head. "When I make puffer fish liver soup, I also fry it first. But this soup doesn't just taste like puffer fish liver. There's something else in it, but I can't guess what it is."
Yanxi drank the soup and felt that it was rich but refreshing. The salty and fresh taste was just right. It was pure and fresh, and the salty taste was mellow. There seemed to be another taste in the soup, a bit like the taste of bonito flakes, but not as obvious as the taste of bonito flakes. He couldn't help but wonder: "Is it dried fish?"
"No. It tastes closer to the puffer fish itself than the dried fish, but it definitely has some kind of dried fish added to it," Miyamoto said.
After hearing the translation, Mr. Zhou didn't expect that the two Japanese chefs could taste the secret. He said, "It's the taste of dried puffer fish. We call it dried puffer fish here. Dried puffer fish is boiled with pork bones and radish into dried puffer fish soup. Today's soup is made with fresh fish bones and fish meat left over from making sashimi, and dried fish is added to it."
"Dried pufferfish?" Miyamoto repeated. "So that's how it is!"
As they were talking, a strong fragrance wafted over, drawing everyone's attention to the door.
The waiter came in with a cart. On a large lotus leaf-shaped porcelain plate lay a roast goose, its crisp amber skin glistening with oil.
The waiter said, "This is Chef Ning Yanyue and Chef Ma's signature dish, Qiankun Roast Goose. Shall I serve the food to everyone?"
After listening to the translation, Yan Xi had a question in his mind: "Why is Miss Yue called Yue Xiaochu? Her skills should be among the best in Hong Kong, right?"
Grandpa Zhou smiled and explained, "The title of Chef Yue comes from her grandfather, Mr. Yue Baohua, the chef of Baohua Building. She calls herself 'Little Chef'. When it comes to skills, she often says that there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. Cooking is like writing an article. Different people have different tastes. Everyone has their favorite dishes in their hearts. She is definitely not the best in Hong Kong. At most, she is the best in Mong Kok."
The translator explained to everyone that Mong Kok is a neighborhood and Po Wah Building is located there. Miyamoto laughed: "She is too modest."
As he was talking, the waiter's knife had already cut open the belly of the Qiankun roast goose. In an instant, the whole box was filled with gasps. As they inhaled, they took in the extremely strong smell. They had just eaten, but now they felt hungry again.
Their eyes were fixed on the roast goose, whose belly was filled with Ning Yan's famous dish "Kunlun Abalone", while abalone and grouper skin were flowing along the curve of the lotus leaf porcelain plate into the large soup bowl below.
After the "dirt" in the roast goose's stomach was drained out, the waiter cut off a piece of meat from the roast goose's belly.
Yanxi asked in surprise: "How come there are no bones?"
"The bones have been pulled out." Miyamoto had watched the "Hong Kong and Macau Chef Competition" and knew this technique.
"How did you smoke it? The goose is still so intact." Yan Xi was still puzzled.
At this time, Yanxi's Qiankun roast duck was already on the table, and the rectangular plate was divided into two compartments. In one compartment, grouper skin and Jipin abalone lay in a thick soup; in the other compartment, there was a piece of amber roast goose.
"Not only geese, they also have chickens and ducks stuffed with eight treasures, and pigeons stuffed with shark fins. They all require the bones to be removed, and the skin cannot be damaged at all. There are also yellow croakers, which can also be deboned without breaking." Miyamoto introduced to Yanxi, "Mr. Yanxi, try it."
Yan Xi picked up the knife and fork to cut the skin of the grouper. The skin trembled instantly and slid into his mouth with rich juice, but there was not even a trace of fishy smell.
Miyamoto, who was sitting next to him, cut open the abalone, and the runny meat in the middle was clearly visible. When he put it into his mouth, the dense taste was accompanied by a faint aroma of goose meat. He ate half of the abalone and then picked up the roast goose. The roast goose had been deboned in advance, and the meat layer under the skin was very thin.
The roast goose skin seemed to melt immediately when it entered his mouth. As for the taste of roast goose meat? No, no, no, he had no time to carefully distinguish what the aroma was. He just felt that his stomach wanted more.
At the same time, he also heard the translator relay the words of the Chinese gourmet: "This is called 'dragon scales in the dish, abalone as a supplement'."
Lucas, who finished first, looked at the half roast goose left and asked, "Can I have another one?"
He expressed the common thoughts of everyone.
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