Jingweilou opens for lunch at 11:00 am, and usually starts preparing at 10:00 am.
Master Yun arranged for Ye Tian to cook for him for two days, and then she would cook on her own, so she wouldn't have to help in the kitchen by washing and cutting dishes.
Although the restaurant's decor was dated, the kitchen was brand new and bright, with stoves lined up in a row and a long stainless steel counter. Ye Tian, a chef, felt a surge of comfort, her initial discomfort vanishing as a surge of eagerness to try.
"How is it? Our kitchen is pretty good, right?" Boss Yan Yuanxing walked into the kitchen and asked with a little pride.
"Hello, Mr. Yan! The kitchen is great!" Ye Tian said this absolutely sincerely.
"Hahaha... Why do you call me Mr. Yan? I'm also a chef here, and I'm under the supervision of Chef Yun. I made the dishes that you and my son ate yesterday. How was it?" Yan Yuanxing said with a hearty laugh, without any bossy airs at all.
Ye Tian had already complained about the modified Sichuan dish, Kung Pao Chicken, yesterday. She hadn't even taken two bites at the banquet, thinking it was a new chef. It turned out to be the boss himself. It seemed he really didn't have any talent as a chef.
Ye Tian wasn't very good at lying, and for a moment she didn't know how to respond. Just as she was about to speak, the boss started to laugh at himself, "Not that great, right? Well, I know myself. I just don't have a natural talent for cooking, but I just love it. Actually, I should be focusing more on promotion and management."
Master Yun patted his senior brother on the shoulder, as if to comfort him.
"But I roast duck very well!" Yan Yuanxing said confidently.
"Yesterday's roast duck was really delicious!" Ye Tian finally had something to say.
"Really? Really? You really know your stuff!" Yan Yuanxing happily gave Ye Tian a thumbs-up, looking incredibly proud. "Come on, I'll show you our oven."
The roasting oven at Jingweilou is located in a separate area, a traditional hanging oven in an old kiln, burning fruit wood. "Look at this fruit wood we use. I personally sourced it. The aroma of the roasted duck is definitely better than other roasting options," said Boss Yan, showing Ye Tian a piece of wood.
"I was wondering, as soon as I took a bite of the roast duck yesterday, I could smell the rich aroma of fruit wood, and the duck skin was crispy, crunchy and fragrant. I ate most of the plate by myself." Ye Tian talked more when discussing food and cooking.
While the two were talking, the fire over there had already started, and the chef in charge of roasting the duck brought in the processed duck and prepared to hang it in the oven.
"Look at the ducks in our family. They are all supplied by a fixed duck farm. Look at their bodies, they are so plump and rich in fat. They weigh about 4.5 kilograms." When talking about ducks, Boss Yan talked freely and knowledgeably.
"Puchi!" Ye Tian was amused by Boss Yan's description of the duck as plump.
Yan Yuanxing had no choice but to say, "Master Xiaoye, don't laugh. Who wouldn't praise me for my ability to choose a duck? I have a sharp eye. I learned nothing else from my dad, but I learned how to roast duck."
He then went on to explain, "Look at our oven. When roasting duck, the oven temperature is controlled at 220 degrees Celsius, and it's roasted slowly over an open flame. We usually roast it for 80 minutes now, and the result is amazing! Serve it hot straight from the oven, and it tastes amazing!"
"Don't look at me as a bad cook, but my skill in slicing the skin is absolutely first-rate. Traditionally, it is sliced into 108 slices, but ours is 99 slices, which means long-lasting and auspicious! In our store, we sell more than 100 ducks a day now." Yan Yuanxing became more and more excited as he spoke, his eyebrows almost flying up.
Ye Tian is also interested in the technique of sliced duck skin. When she was having dinner yesterday, she had already studied the sliced duck and decided to learn it this time.
After looking at the oven for a while, Yan Yuanxing went outside to do other things. Ye Tian returned to Master Yun and prepared to help him.
It's summer vacation, and many out-of-town tourists are visiting. Almost anyone visiting the capital must try Peking duck. Overall, while Jingweilou's business isn't as strong as the established Quanjude or the up-and-coming Dadong, it's still doing OK. During summer vacation, both lunch and dinner occupancy rates reach 80%, though it's much lower outside of holidays.
Before the guests arrived, Chef Yun used this time to introduce Ye Tian to the other chefs in the kitchen and what dishes each person was mainly responsible for.
They were also very curious about Ye Tian. After all, it was rare to see such a young girl working as a chef. Moreover, Chef Yun and the boss seemed to take her very seriously. It was said that she was Chef Yun's colleague when he worked in another city and was still a college student.
Ye Tian felt as if she was being held high by Master Yun and Boss Yan. It would be unreasonable for her not to show some strength.
As the guests began to take their seats one after another, the kitchen became busy, with the sounds of frying, stir-frying and cooking everywhere, and waiters running back and forth.
Ye Tian sat beside Master Yun, silently observing his cooking steps and occasionally helping pass things to him. She always knew exactly what Master Yun needed and handed it to him in a timely manner, and their cooperation was very tacit.
"Are the shredded potatoes for table number 37 ready? The customer is asking for them!" a male waiter ran in and asked.
"Oh, all the potato shreds I used before are used up, and I don't have time to cut more." A kitchen helper was very anxious.
Master Yun glanced at Ye Tian and winked at her. Ye Tian understood and said to the kitchen helper, "I'm free, let me cut the potatoes!"
Ye Tian picked up a peeled potato, picked up the kitchen knife in her right hand, and gently made a beautiful knife flower. Then she raised her hand and the knife moved quickly, first slicing the potato, then shredding it. In an instant, a plate of evenly thick potato shreds was ready.
The kitchen helper next to her was stunned and hadn't reacted yet. Seeing that there was no time to soak the shredded potatoes, Ye Tian directly picked up the plate and poured it into the vegetable washing basket. She took it to the sink to rinse the starch off the shredded potatoes several times, and then brought it back to the stove.
"Too fast!" The kitchen helper finally reacted, then remembered that he still had a lot of side dishes to prepare, so he hurried to work.
Ye Tian also shredded some green and red peppers and brought them back to the stove next to Master Yun. "Master Yun, can I stir-fry the potatoes?"
"You do the cooking!" Master Yun smiled while busying himself, knowing that Ye Tian and he had the same idea.
When they met again this time, Ye Tian found that Master Yun smiled more and his big teapot was still there, but she didn't see him playing with his bracelets. She guessed that he was too busy to have time, and it was not convenient to carry big wooden beads while cooking.
Ye Tian habitually brushed the pot first, blanched the shredded potatoes quickly, took them out and drained them for later use.
She waited for the water in the pot to dry before adding oil and adding about 10 dried Sichuan peppercorns. She sautéed them until fragrant, then removed them. Over low heat, using the oil's warmth, she added shredded ginger and dried chilies and fried them until they changed color. She then added shredded potatoes and quickly stir-fried them over high heat. She then added shredded green and red bell peppers, salt, a little sugar, two tablespoons of light soy sauce, and two tablespoons of vinegar from the side of the pot. She added minced garlic, stir-fried quickly, and served.
Just a few minutes later, when the waiter came in again, a plate of spicy and sour potato shreds that was delicious and tasty had been prepared.
The waiter who served the food muttered, "It's ready so soon?" and hurried out after taking the dish.
Several chefs did not forget to pay attention to Ye Tian while they were busy. Seeing her excellent knife skills and smooth cooking movements, their resentment faded a lot.
Master Yun had already made more than ten plates of Beijing-style shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce in the afternoon. Ye Tian had also made it when she was in school, the only difference was whether she used a big pot or a small pot.
"Are you coming this time?" Master Yun asked her tentatively when he saw two more orders coming in.
"Okay!" Ye Tian is always confident in herself when it comes to cooking.
Master Yun simply gave the stove to her and watched from the side.
The shredded pork is already cut by the kitchen helpers. The key to making Beijing-style shredded pork lies in the proper preparation of the shredded pork. Choose good tenderloin and cut it along the grain of the meat.
Ye Tian grabs two handfuls of shredded meat and puts them into a bowl, adds pepper powder and a little cooking wine, and mixes it with the onion, ginger, pepper and salt water that have been soaked in advance. Then add egg white and cornstarch and stir evenly to coat it with starch. Put it into the oil pan and fry it lightly, then remove it and set aside.
She then heats the oil in a wok again, adds a spoonful of sugar and stir-fries until melted, then adds the sweet bean paste and stir-fries until fragrant. She then adds rice wine and continues to stir-fry over medium heat until beautiful bubbles form and the aroma of the sauce is strong. Then she adds the shredded pork and continues to stir-fry over medium heat until evenly combined. Before serving, she adds a little more sesame oil to make the pork even more fragrant. Then, she can serve the pork on a plate.
Jingweilou uses a traditional combination: shredded pork in Beijing sauce with scallions, cucumbers, and bean curd sheets, which are rolled up and eaten by yourself. Ye Tian had just made a portion of shredded pork, which was enough to fill two plates. After carefully filling the plates, she left a few pieces in the pot.
Master Yun scooped up two pieces of shredded pork from the pot with a spatula, put them in his mouth, tasted them, and said only one sentence: "The disciple is better than the master!"
The waiter who had brought the shredded potatoes earlier went back into the kitchen to look for Chef Yun. "Chef Yun, there's an old man in the lobby who only ordered one shredded potato. After he finished eating, he asked if we had a guestbook. He wanted to write something, but we don't have one."
"Guestbook? Go to the front desk and ask for a new diary for the old man. Whether people are giving us suggestions or praising us, we can't refuse." Master Yun replied.
"Wait, is this the person who ordered the spicy and sour potato shreds more than 10 minutes ago?" Master Yun called out to the waiter who was about to leave.
"That's the guy." the waiter replied.
"Oh, then go ahead! I have an idea!"
When the waiter saw Master Yun laughing at him, he became nervous and hurried to ask the front desk for the notebook.
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