Upon hearing this, Guan Jing quickly waved her hand, causing water droplets to fly wildly in the air.
"No, no! I never had that idea. I just wanted to see how a good chef can make simple ingredients taste wonderful."
Qin Yi sidestepped to block the splashing water.
"Master, don't be impatient. I was just joking. There are many dishes that I can't teach you because they are my master's secret recipes. But my master didn't teach me how to make this mushroom and vegetable noodle dish. This is my first time making it. Let me think about how to make it delicious. You can watch me make it later, and then we can taste it together."
Guan Jing, still wet from washing the dishes, quickly clasped her hands together in a gesture of respect to Qin Yi, saying, "Amitabha! This humble monk thanks Boss Qin for your generous guidance. The food you make must taste delicious; I can't wait to try it!"
Qin Yi smiled and said, "Stay calm, stay calm, observe and calm down! Let's take it one step at a time and finish the order in front of us first."
...
After all the customers' orders were processed, Guan Jing took a pen and a small notebook and went to the kitchen.
Qin Yi: "Master Guanjing, aren't you taking this too seriously? I was just doing it casually, there's nothing to remember."
Guan Jing: "Boss Qin, you don't know, a culinary master like you makes every dish seem very simple, and you are full of ease. But in front of us novices who can't even cook vegetables well, your actions are full of knowledge points. We can't remember them at all without taking notes."
Qin Yi clasped her hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "Master Guan Jing, just based on your attitude towards learning, you will definitely become a culinary master in less than three years. Let's start making this mushroom and bok choy noodle dish."
She first took out the soaked shiitake mushrooms and cordyceps flowers from a large bowl.
Guan Jing: "I noticed that the owner not only used fresh shiitake mushrooms, but also soaked dried shiitake mushrooms, and added cordyceps flowers. Is there any explanation for this?"
Qin Yi: "I specifically soaked an extra batch of dried shiitake mushrooms to get a rich shiitake mushroom water. Don't throw away the water after soaking the dried shiitake mushrooms; it will make the soup especially fragrant. Just a little cordyceps flower can greatly enhance the flavor of the originally bland vegetarian soup, and the soup will turn into a clear and transparent golden yellow color, and it will also be more nutritious."
She then shredded the ginger, sliced the dried shiitake mushrooms, sliced the fresh shiitake mushrooms, and chopped the cilantro into sections for later use.
Add rapeseed oil to a cold pan and fry a small plate of peanuts first.
Guan Jing asked, "What does this mean?"
Qin Yi replied, "Rapeseed oil has a 'green' smell. If you fry peanuts in it first, then you can use it to stir-fry other dishes without any strange taste. In addition, peanuts fried in rapeseed oil will be crispier and tastier. They are a win-win situation and a natural pairing."
After the peanuts are cooked, sprinkle some salt and mix well. Let them cool completely before eating.
Next, leave a little oil in the pan and add shredded ginger to sauté until fragrant.
Then add the dried and fresh shiitake mushrooms and cordyceps flowers in that order and stir-fry evenly.
Once the mushrooms release their aroma, add a large spoonful of light soy sauce and stir-fry until the sauce is fragrant.
Pour in the water left over from soaking the shiitake mushrooms, then add an appropriate amount of water and salt. Cover the pot and simmer for five minutes.
After you've finished making them, prepare the broth for two bowls of noodles.
Pour the chopped cilantro, pepper, and cooked mushroom soup into a bowl.
Boil another pot of water. Once boiling, add the thin noodles and cook for three minutes. Add the greens and blanch until cooked through. Remove from the water.
Finally, place the thin noodles into a large bowl, put the greens aside, and arrange the sliced shiitake mushrooms taken from the mushroom soup next to them. Drizzle with a few drops of sesame oil, and it's done.
"The mushroom and vegetable noodles are ready, Master Guanjing. Let's take them out and enjoy them slowly."
The two ate noodles together at a table outside the car.
Guan Jing first fanned the steam from the noodles with her hand, then brought her nose close to smell them.
"It has a very rich mushroom flavor, mixed with some sesame oil and the fresh aroma of vegetables."
Qin Yi: "Try it and see how it tastes. This is my first time making this noodle dish, but I've used all these ingredients before and I know their properties quite well. I hope you won't be disappointed."
Guan Jing took a sip of the noodle soup, and after tasting it, her eyes widened: "It's so delicious! You can't taste any of the strange flavor of rapeseed oil at all. It's so fragrant that it's like a bowl of specially stewed soup. Who would have thought that it's just a bowl of noodle soup? Boss, did you not add a single drop of water? It's all the essence that's been boiled down!"
Qin Yi shook her head: "If you use stewed mushroom soup to make noodles, it's too extravagant and a bit greasy, especially since you're making large batches of food. You still need to add clear broth to make large-volume production. But you'll have to experiment with the proportions yourself to figure out how to make it delicious without losing money."
Guan Jing took out her notebook and made a note of it.
Qin Yi said, "Stop writing, eat first, or the noodles will get soggy and won't taste good."
Guan Jing placed the notebook on the table, picked up some vegetables and noodles, put them in her mouth, savored them carefully, and then ate a few slices of shiitake mushroom.
"I really didn't expect this." Guan Jing sighed after finishing chewing.
Qin Yi: "What's wrong? Is it not to your liking?"
She tried a bite herself and thought it was pretty good. Although it was slightly inferior to other noodles with rich ingredients, it had a delicate and refreshing quality.
In the early morning or midday hours, you can have a bowl of mushroom-flavored vegetable noodles in about ten minutes. What more could you ask for?
Guan Jing shook her head: "I'm just amazed. How many mushrooms, vegetables, and noodles have I ruined? Why does the food taste completely different after passing through Boss Qin's hands?"
"This mushroom and vegetable noodle soup is very comforting to eat. The umami of the mushrooms and the freshness of the vegetables are perfectly combined. There is no strange smell. Instead, the aroma is refreshing. The thin noodles slide smoothly into your mouth with a soft and chewy texture. The addition of cordyceps flowers to the noodles even gives them a faint sweetness."
"As expected, a master chef can cook up wonderful and delicious flavors with simple ingredients. I feel that this is something I can only look up to but never achieve."
Qin Yi: "Masters don't need to feel anxious. The same ingredients and the same dish will taste different to everyone. As long as you fully understand the characteristics of each food and do it with your heart, you will definitely get positive feedback from the food."
Guan Jing: "Amitabha, what Boss Qin said makes sense. My master always told me that 'all three thousand Buddhas come from the kitchen.' I didn't understand before what it meant for all things to be Tathagata, but now it seems like I've grasped a little bit of the basics."
“I used to work in the kitchen with a mindset of gain and loss, always hoping to win the favor of my fellow monks and diners in the temple. I complained that I was working hard to prepare vegetarian meals, but I was disliked in all sorts of ways.”
"I lack the heart to appreciate food; food is not just something we experience through taste."
"It requires sight, hearing, smell, and taste, plus careful preparation. Each step complements the other, and a perfectly good bowl of noodles can be made naturally."
"Speaking of which, this cooking method seems to incorporate the 'Five Aggregates' that we often talk about in Buddhism: form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness."
"Color refers to the outward appearance; feeling is similar to sensation and experience; thought is the activity of the mind; action refers to a person's will and actions; consciousness is self-awareness and cognitive ability."
"Food and spiritual practice are closely related, which can be seen in cooking techniques, ingredient pairings, and even plating. If you are willing to do it, you will definitely understand it thoroughly."
"By preparing food with a joyful heart, regardless of gain or loss, one can surely create dishes that embody the Dharma of enlightenment. Amitabha..."
After speaking, Master Guanjing lowered his head slightly, seemingly lost in meditation.
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