Chapter 196 Chen Family Affairs
Chef Chen slammed the door in anger. There was less than half an hour left before the live broadcast started, but all that was cut were the ingredients for the main dish. How could he live broadcast like this?
The local TV station staff chased him out and said, "Chef Chen, please think of another solution."
"Why do you throw all the problems to me?" Chef Chen was indignant. "You found me and persuaded me to participate in the filming. You made all kinds of requests, saying that you would serve whatever was expensive, and you also said that you wanted to eat royal cuisine. I followed the standards of royal cuisine, but what happened? They got angry and ran away, leaving the mess to me? You also forced me to change the menu temporarily. And the dragon and tiger fight yesterday was not my idea. It was you who suggested it and said it was a famous Cantonese dish. I even looked up the recipe to make sure it could be made. I have never cooked cat meat, but when I saw the recipe said that civet cats could be used, I used civet cats instead. Their boss and his wife got angry, but they blamed us. Isn't most of the responsibility not theirs? Go and explain it clearly!"
"I told you, you know they are unreasonable. But we still have to cooperate with them and can't offend them. It's not that they are unreasonable, but they have no other choice now. They will probably be scolded by their superiors when they go back. You know that the relationship between superiors and subordinates in Japan is very strict. There is only one day left for filming. Don't ask for credit but avoid mistakes, okay! Please, you are a master, there must be a way."
Chef Chen also knew the difficulties of the TV station. Not to mention that the TV station originally found him to help him promote his restaurant, even their restaurant would usually advertise on TV. Moreover, the top management of the TV station has always taken care of his business. Naturally, they could not fall out with the TV station.
After losing your temper, don’t you have to go back?
Chef Chen was persuaded by the TV station staff to go back. In addition to the two annoying Japanese, there were also his son and daughter in the office.
When his son saw him come in, he immediately asked, "Dad, how is it?"
Chef Chen told the local TV station: "Let's discuss it first."
The TV station asked the Japanese to leave, leaving only the father and his son in the office. Chef Chen said, "We have to change it."
He told his plan and then said to his daughter, "Jinying, look, given the current situation, you should go make clear soup with willow leaf bird's nest and bag chicken."
Seeing his daughter looking ahead blankly with unfocused eyes, Chef Chen called out, "Jinying."
"Dad, I'm leaving and going to the hospital first." Chen Jinying said.
Chef Chen said, "I went to see your mother this morning. She is much better."
Chen Jinying looked at her father and said, "I just called the doctor and he said my mom's organs are failing and she could die at any time. I want to stay by her side. You promised me that I would only do it for one day, but what happened? You've been doing it day after day, and now it's the third day. In the morning you said I would just help prepare everything, and now you want me to finish the dinner. I don't want to be away from my mom when she passes away." As she spoke, Chen Jinying burst into tears. This mother of hers was not her biological mother.
Her father married five wives in total. His first wife gave him two daughters. Her adoptive mother, the second concubine, was infertile, so her father married the third concubine, who gave birth to two daughters. Then her father found a widow who gave birth to three sons in a row. The widow gave birth to a daughter, who was her. Her father took her back and gave her to the second concubine who was infertile, so she became the second concubine's daughter. Her adoptive mother loved her very much.
"That's a problem, isn't it? The satellite live broadcast is not ideal, and now the Japanese are asking for a change in the menu." Chef Chen said, "Besides, it's just a dinner market, and it will be fine after the dinner market. Two or three hours won't be a problem. I had a stroke, and I can't make chicken at all."
Chef Chen immediately picked up the phone and called the hospital. In front of Chen Jinying, he instructed them to use the best medicine and to notify him immediately if anything happened.
After he hung up, he said, "Okay, I've called. It's only two hours, it'll be fine, this is the last day. Go!"
Chen Jinlong said: "Fifth sister, let's go!"
The two walked into the kitchen. There were three dishes to be changed. Chen Jinying took on the two most difficult ones. Her apprentice could help with the clear soup with willow leaf bird's nest, but she had to do the whole process by herself with the bag chicken. Fortunately, they were a restaurant that mainly served Shandong cuisine, so there was no shortage of ingredients such as water-soaked sea cucumber.
When planning the menu, I didn't choose Bubble Chicken because I didn't want to clash with the Ningyan dish. Bubble Chicken, Eight Treasure Gourd Duck and Crispy Sticky Rice Chicken are all similar in that they are all deboned and stuffed with different ingredients.
They had watched the Hong Kong and Macau Chef Competition and expected Ning Yan to serve one of the dishes, pigeon wings or crispy glutinous rice chicken, so they didn’t serve the bag chicken. After the show aired, they were somewhat glad that they didn’t serve the bag chicken. Compared with Ning Yan’s Qiankun roast goose, their bag chicken was much simpler, at least visually it couldn’t be as stunning as Qiankun roast goose.
But now she had to do it. Chen Jinying picked up a chicken and started to remove the bones. Ever since her father had a minor stroke, his hands had lost strength and were prone to shaking. Her father could no longer cook these delicate dishes. She was the only one in their restaurant and even in Taipei who could cook this dish well.
She looked up at Chen Jinlong. Her father was fifty years old, but he still felt bad about not having a son. When he first arrived in Taiwan, he found his fourth wife and finally had a son. With this son, her father seemed to have become younger. He had been looking forward to him growing up, hoping that he could inherit his legacy. This son was indeed very hardworking, but his talent was limited.
At this time, her father thought of her talent. He also taught her a skill, hoping that she would never marry and help his son to keep the family business. She looked at the experiences of her father's wives and sisters, and thought that this arrangement was good. She worked in the kitchen while her younger brother went out to support the family. However, her mother was worried about her and always felt that her life was delayed like this, and hoped that she could find a good man to marry.
Chen Jinying put the three-yellow chicken on the chopping board, cut the chicken from the base of the wing, and gently rotated the blade along the chicken neck bone. The chicken skin was gradually peeled off. When the tip of the knife touched the sternum, the bone was cut off, and the fingers moved between the chicken bones, turning the chicken over, and began to peel off the skin on the chicken's back.
"Master, do you think this is okay?" the apprentice asked her.
Chen Jinying looked up but did not stop working. She saw that her young apprentice had already helped her cut the chicken breast, shrimp, Jinhua ham, sea cucumber, scallops and abalone into even-sized dices.
She said, "Okay. You season it this time."
When she said this, Chen Jinlong raised his head and said, "Fifth sister, this dish is the finale of today's meal."
"I know." Chen Jinying looked at him, "Azhi can do it well."
She had already removed the chicken bones and cut off the chicken feet, and the job was done. The apprentice also completed the task, and she said, "Azhi, Qingtang, please help me hang it too."
"Okay." The apprentice nodded.
"Sister..." Chen Jinlong called out again. The clear soup of the willow leaf bird's nest made by their family was praised as "clear soup like a gentleman, clear on the outside, and hidden in the inside". It was the clear soup obtained after the thick soup was filtered several times. It was considered a secret of their family. Chen Jinlong looked at his sister's apprentice Wu Zhihai, who was using their family's secret to make soup, and couldn't help but look at his fifth sister with some frustration.
"Do you really think this is a secret? This is a secret for small restaurants, but which big restaurant doesn't know how to make it? How many times has this clear soup appeared in the Hong Kong and Macau Chef Competition?" Chen Jinying said, "If I don't teach you, will I tire myself to death? Besides, we have changed so many dishes. If Ah Zhi doesn't know how to make them, do you think we can serve them smoothly?"
Although Chen Jinying knew that no matter how good her cooking skills were, the restaurant would eventually belong to Chen Jinlong, as someone who was better at cooking than him, she couldn't stand Chen Jinlong's little tricks.
She will be here for the rest of her life, and Ah Zhi might even open a restaurant in the future, so why can't she teach him? In the past few days, she watched the Hong Kong and Macau Chef Competition, and what she admired most was not the contestants in it, but Yue Ning. In the clips where she appeared, she was always seen teaching this and that. Chen Jinying felt that this was more like teaching an apprentice.
Chen Jinlong knew his fifth sister. She said she didn't want to get married and would work in the restaurant for the rest of her life. She had no children, so she certainly didn't consider what would happen if her skills were passed on. Chen Jinlong didn't want to argue with her and planned to tell his father later.
Chen Jinying was frying the stuffing that would be stuffed into the chicken's stomach. Wu Zhihai had already clarified the soup. He came over and said to Chen Jinying, "Master, it's ready."
Chen Jinying wanted him to do something else. Seeing Chen Jinlong looking at them from time to time, she whispered, "Azhi, please help me go to the hospital to see how my mother is doing. I... How should I put it? Although my dad said to tell me if there is anything..."
How could Wu Zhihai not know what the master was worried about? The master was kind to her, and he nodded: "I'll go and guard until you come over."
"Okay." Chen Jinying nodded.
Seeing her apprentice walk out, Chen Jinying's heart finally settled down a little, and she started to make clear soup with willow leaf bird's nest.
Everything was ready. Chen Jinying took out the yellow-ground pastel porcelain soup bowl and placed the cut willow-leaf-shaped bird's nest, emerald green bamboo shoots, and bright red ham in it. These ingredients were neatly arranged in the porcelain bowl, and the color combination complemented each other. After arranging them, she scooped up a spoonful of clear soup and slowly poured it into the porcelain bowl. The clear soup flowed down the wall of the bowl, gently covering the bird's nest and other ingredients. Each porcelain bowl was filled to 80%.
She carefully placed the porcelain cup into the steamer, covered it with a lid, adjusted the heat, and started steaming.
Twenty minutes later, Chen Jinying opened the steamer. Instantly, a fragrant hot air rushed towards her. She reached out and took out the porcelain bowl: "Serve."
This opening soup was served. The president and his wife of NC left, so there was a lot more room today. The two of them left in anger yesterday, which shocked the guests. Except for a few dishes that tasted a little worse and used strange ingredients, the other dishes were delicious to the guests.
At this moment, the first soup was served, and the man in the long gown sang: "Chef Chen Jinlong's specialty, clear soup with willow leaf bird's nest, with..."
The lid of the soup bowl was opened, and a Japanese male star said, "What a nice smell!" The aroma was not strong, but very refreshing. He scooped up a small mouthful of the clear soup with a small spoon and put it into his mouth to taste it carefully. The clear soup was as clear as water, but the taste was mellow.
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