"I'm too lazy to argue with you. You're a Sichuan chef who can't handle spicy food, but you eat the food I cook all day long, and you still have the nerve to argue with me!" Chef Yu ended the fight with just one sentence.
"You, you! Xiao Ye is here today, and I'm too lazy to talk to you." Chef Luo stretched out his hand and then put it down.
He turned around and said to Ye Tian behind him, "Come with me. Let's go check out today's cabbage and chicken soup. Boiled cabbage is a must-have dish here every day, and it's also my specialty."
Chef Yu looked at him with amusement and winked at Ye Tian. Ye Tian also smiled and nodded to Chef Yu, then followed Chef Luo.
Everyone knows that the two chefs bicker daily for fun. They're responsible for different cuisines, so there's no competition. Furthermore, they're partners; the restaurant owner gave them each a 10% stake, so they share the profits.
Chef Luo carried a batch of cabbage and took Ye Tian to the stove he usually used.
Sichuan cuisine is known for its spicy flavors, but Boiled Cabbage Soup is a completely non-spicy soup. The main ingredients are chicken broth and cabbage. The chicken broth is already prepared by one of the other chefs, and Chef Luo personally handles the subsequent cooking.
"Xiao Liu, help me mince the chicken tenderloin." Chef Luo instructed a kitchen helper.
Chef Luo poured a can of chicken broth into the pot, then picked up a bowl of cold chicken broth from the side and mixed it with the minced meat Xiao Liu had brought. "Look, let's pour the prepared meat paste into the chicken broth pot and stir it. Don't overcook the heat. As the minced meat cooks, it will absorb all the oil and impurities from the chicken broth. Then, we'll remove the meat smell and stir again. Repeat this process at least three times, then filter it again. Only then will the chicken broth become as clear as boiled water. Boiled water, as the name suggests, is transparent, not the milky white base you usually find in soups." He demonstrated the process to Ye Tian.
Ye Tian was a little surprised: Chef Luo didn't play by the rules and started teaching her directly. It would be unreasonable if she didn't become his apprentice!
"In fact, there are some things to pay attention to when making chicken soup. It needs to be cooked for a whole day and night. I will tell you in detail when the soup is ready. But if you can make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, chicken soup will not be difficult for you." Chef Luo added.
"As for the cabbage, we use the heart of Chinese cabbage, and we also use baby cabbage, but Chinese cabbage tastes better. You see, we break off the excess stalks, leaving only the heart part. Then cut off the leaf half, leaving the stalks about this high. Boil water and put them in the pot to blanch slowly for five minutes, then rinse with cold water and squeeze out the water. You can use scissors to cut the cabbage stalks into lotus shapes. How well it is cut depends on the aesthetic taste of our chefs." He explained in detail.
Ye Tian listened attentively, not wasting a single moment. She really didn't know how to make this dish, and with Chef Luo's detailed explanation, she felt increasingly guilty. This was only their second meeting.
Chef Luo seemed to understand her thoughts and said, "Don't overthink it. This is the standard method for this dish. You'll find the same recipe if you search for it in any recipe. But just following it doesn't guarantee success. Many details depend on our own experience and understanding."
"Yeah." Ye Tian nodded seriously.
She felt that Chef Luo was a man of ideas and vision. Although she had not yet tasted his food, she felt that he deserved the title of top chef.
Chef Luo cut a cabbage heart and handed the scissors to Ye Tian: "Would you like to try cutting one too?"
"Okay." Ye Tian washed her hands and took the scissors. Instead of cutting directly, she observed the leaves first. Based on the number and width of the leaves, she mentally designed the general shape of the lotus before she began to cut.
"You have a good taste! This lotus is beautifully cut!" Chef Luo looked at the lotus petals in Ye Tian's hands, stretched out, white, and translucent, and the shape was very beautiful. He couldn't help but sigh at his own good taste, having chosen such a talented apprentice at first sight. Although she hadn't yet accepted him as her master, it was only a matter of time.
Ye Tian also felt that she had cut it well. She held it in her palm and looked at it for a while, then followed Chef Luo's example to fold the petals and put them in the bowl.
Chef Luo took the pot of boiling, filtered broth and slowly poured it over the cabbage lotus in the bowl. Stimulated by the hot broth, the lotus petals slowly unfolded one by one. When the broth just covered the lotus, it fully blossomed. It truly resembled a pure, holy white lotus, quietly blooming in the porcelain bowl.
"Try a sip of the soup." Chef Luo handed Ye Tian a spoon.
Ye Tian took it and scooped a spoonful of soup.
The taste is delicious and refreshing, a rare taste indeed. "It's so delicious!" Ye Tian exclaimed.
"Needless to say, I personally prepared the ingredients for this chicken soup." Chef Luo was quite complacent.
Ye Tian thought his arrogant look was very funny, and thought it would be a good idea to have a second master.
Customers for lunch started arriving, and the kitchen was already bustling with activity. Chef Luo asked Ye Tian to join him in slowly cutting the cabbage hearts, leaving the other dishes to be prepared by a dedicated chef.
"Yours is cut better than mine!" Chef Luo looked at the lotus in Ye Tian's hand and said with pretended grievance.
"Yours is more dignified, mine is more delicate, but yours is more suitable to be a signature dish." Ye Tian had to comfort him.
"You are the only one who can speak. By the way, have you ever practiced carving?" Chef Luo continued to ask.
Ye Tian replied modestly, "I've practiced for a while, and I'm pretty good at carving."
"Hahaha, I understand what you mean. It means the carving is very good!" Chef Luo understood it very well.
Ye Tian didn't know whether to nod or shake her head. It seems that modesty is actually a kind of hypocrisy.
"It's past 12 o'clock. You must be hungry. What do you want to eat for lunch?" Chef Luo asked Ye Tian again.
Ye Tian: "I'll just eat the staff meal, no need to bother."
"That won't do. How about this? I'll make pickled fish and twice-cooked pork. Our pickled cabbage and fermented black beans are very authentic. You can follow along while I make them," Chef Luo insisted. He actually wanted to show Ye Tian how to make these two classic Sichuan dishes.
Ye Tian also learned to make these signature dishes herself, but the details were definitely different from those of Sichuan chefs. She watched with great concentration, not missing a single step. She also memorized the timing of each step, the degree of color change of the meat during stir-frying, and other details, striving to master them the first time.
"Old Yu, cut me a boiled chicken and some Chinese kale in soup, and then have some to eat with us." Chef Luo shouted to Yu Hai rudely.
"You're ordering dishes!" Although Yu Hai muttered, the sound of the knife chopping the boiled chicken was still very pleasant.
"We're not busy at noon today, let's find a small private room to eat!" Chef Luo brought a big bowl of pickled fish, and Ye Tian brought twice-cooked pork.
Chef Luo didn't forget to greet the other chefs: "Everyone, please bear with me for a while. I will treat my future apprentice to a meal first!"
"You'd better go quickly!" Everyone laughed.
Chef Yu’s apprentice Xiaozheng brought two Cantonese dishes to the private room, helped prepare the bowls and chopsticks, and served the rice before returning to the kitchen.
"Your apprentice has good taste, very good!" Chef Luo rarely praised Chef Yu's vision in front of him.
"That's for sure! I don't think Xiaozheng's talent is as good as Xiaoye's, but as long as he's willing to work hard, I'm content!" Chef Yu was quite pleased. "Eat, eat, Xiaoye, try my cooking."
Ye Tian looked at the boiled chicken on the plate. The skin was tender yellow and the meat was white and tender. If you looked closely, you could see red blood in the chicken bones, which was exactly the most standard requirement for boiled chicken.
Before she could make a move, Chef Luo picked up a piece of chicken leg with a serving chopstick, dipped it in the sauce and put it in her bowl.
"The chicken is very tender, with a hint of toughness. The dipping sauce has just the right flavor and is very delicious." Ye Tian said the truth after tasting it carefully.
"Old Yu can master the cooking temperature of white-cut chicken with his eyes closed," Chef Luo boasted to Yu Hai. "His vegetable soup is also refreshing and flavorful. I really like it."
"Lao Luo is not only amazing at making boiled cabbage, but he's also absolutely amazing at making pickled fish and twice-cooked pork," Chef Yu said with a thumbs-up. "Xiao Ye, even though he doesn't dare to try a bite, that doesn't stop him from making delicious dishes!"
The two chefs ate each other's dishes, sometimes bickering, sometimes praising each other. They were such an interesting pair of old partners.
Ye Tian smiled and began to taste the other dishes. She took a bite of the twice-cooked pork and her eyes widened instantly: "This twice-cooked pork..."
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