Siheyuan: Pretend to be a Pig and Eat the Tiger

Chapter 35 Mapo Tofu
He Yuzhu can understand Wang Dana. At this time, the master and apprentice are like father and son. Your parents gave you life, and your master gave you survival skills.

He Yuzhu came from later times, and knew that a series of skills such as cooking in later times could be learned from technical schools, as long as you paid the money. This kind of learning was a time-bound task, and how much you learned depended on your own ability.

It's different now. At this time, as long as they agree to take you as their apprentice, they will really teach you the skills. Of course, there are many rules for becoming an apprentice.

At that time, apart from those who inherited the skill from their ancestors, most newcomers who learned to be cooks were children from poor families. Although everyone knew that being a chef was hard work and had a low social status, being a chef was considered one of the "lower nine classes", in order to make a living, being a cook was the best choice.

There is an old saying that cooks will never starve in a famine. To put it bluntly, people are afraid of starvation. In order to avoid starvation, cooks become a popular profession.

Before the start of public-private partnership, cooks were still considered "the lowest class", in other words, waiters. After the start of public-private partnership, cooks became one of the eight major members, and their status was different.

The rules for becoming an apprentice require that the apprentice's parents first find a "recommender" through their connections, and the "recommender" will find a restaurant owner. If the owner agrees, the apprentice will be employed for more than three months. During this time, there will be no salary, but of course one-third of the "tangcai" will be received. The work involves dirty and tiring work.

The name is to test your sincerity and hard-working nature, that is, whether you can endure hardship. This is the minimum standard for evaluating you. Only then will the chef of the restaurant or hotel be asked to continue the test. Only if you pass the test can you meet the conditions for becoming an apprentice.

Of course, the owner of most restaurants is the chef, and the chef who is not the chef will directly inspect the restaurant. The owner only introduces the chef and does not interfere.

When formally becoming a disciple, a table of "teaching wine" must be prepared. The apprentice pays for it, and then offers tea. This is also called "changing name tea". That is to say, after the master drinks the tea, you can change your name to master. You also have to bring a bundle of tuition fees, and there are also rules for this bundle of tuition fees.

Shuxiu is also called "Six-Rites Shuxiu": celery, lotus seeds, red beans, red dates, longan, and dried bacon!

After receiving the gift, the master will give a corresponding gift in return. This gift is a high-level souvenir, usually a token of the master's sect.

Of course, if there is a ancestor master, one must burn incense to him and perform the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows. The new disciple must also perform the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows to his master, and finally the master will give instructions on the rules of the sect.

Whether it is traditional martial arts, cooking, Chinese medicine, or carpentry, blacksmithing, bricklayers, bamboo craftsmen, stonemasons, calligraphers and painters, etc., they are very particular about the inheritance of skills and must go through the process of apprenticeship.

After the apprenticeship is completed and the master-disciple relationship is established, the apprentice must listen to the master, and the master will also teach the apprentice skills, hoping that the apprentice will carry forward the skills.

Normally, after the apprenticeship ceremony is completed and the master-disciple relationship is established, the apprentice becomes a member of the master's family. Normally, the apprentice is required to live in the master's family and help with family chores. After graduation, a thank-you banquet is held to thank the master and express his willingness to carry forward the master's legacy.

He Yuzhu went through the process of becoming an apprentice, which was equivalent to being a member of Wang Dana's family. Although He Yuzhu did not take the "recommendation" route, he still completed the process of becoming an apprentice meticulously.

The master said that they were like father and son. When He Yuzhu was bullied, Wang Dana naturally wanted to vent his anger for his disciple.

"Zhu Zi, is Mapo Tofu still okay? Your senior brother is too busy, so go and copy a dish of Mapo Tofu. This is a dish requested by the customer, go and try it!"

"Okay, Master!"

He Yuzhu was cutting vegetables, but he went over immediately after hearing his master's order. The first dish he learned to cook from Wang Dana was Mapo Tofu. He finally had a chance, and he must perform well. Only by showing his "talent" would Wang Dana pay more attention to him.

He Yuzhu signed up for the introductory Sichuan cuisine, but he has never practiced it before. Now is the time to show off his cooking skills.

Sichuan cuisine is mainly about condiments, and Fengzeyuan’s condiments are definitely complete. Although Mapo Tofu is just a simple Sichuan dish, it contains flavors such as spicy, fragrant, colorful, and numbing.

He had no confidence that he could cook this dish well, but it was definitely enough to deal with ordinary customers. The fact that Wang Dana gave him this dish showed that the customer was not a foodie, and He Yuzhu knew this.

He Yuzhu moved quickly and without any unnecessary movements. Wang Dana nodded slightly. Zhu's talent was still good. He could smell the aroma of frying.

Soon a dish of Mapo Tofu came out of the pot. Wang Dana took a clean chopstick, dipped it in a little soup, and put it in his mouth with no expression on his face.

"Serve the dish!" He Yuzhu smiled secretly in his heart. His dish was considered to have passed. His master was like this. He would not serve the dish if he was not satisfied. At least Wang Dana thought it was ok to be served.

Although the customer was not a gourmet, he was familiar with Sichuan cuisine. When the Mapo Tofu was served, he smelled and felt that it tasted different. He scooped a spoonful of it with a small spoon and put it on the rice. When he put it in his mouth, he felt all kinds of flavors exploding in his mouth. The numbness and spiciness surrounded his mouth, and the customer's eyes narrowed.

"Old Li, it's not that exaggerated, right? It's just a dish of Mapo Tofu!"

"Hey, wife, let me tell you, this Mapo Tofu is very authentic! Waiter, can you bring the chef who made this dish over so I can meet him?"

"OK, just a second!"

The kitchen was still busy and the waiter in the hall came over to find Wang Dana.

"Chef, the guest wants to see Master He!"

"What's wrong?"

"No, I heard that the customers were very satisfied with Master He's Mapo Tofu. I heard about his hometown, so I guess he is from Sichuan!"

"Zhu Zi, go and take a look. Do you know what to do?"

"Master, just cook, don't ask who the guest is!"

"Got it!"

He Yuzhu patted his clothes. Although he was in the kitchen, he couldn't be too sloppy. When he went to the front hall, he represented the kitchen. He understood this principle.

Wang Dana noticed He Yuzhu's actions and nodded with satisfaction. After He Daqing left, Zhuzi had changed a lot and became much more sensible.

"Aunt Wang?"

He Yuzhu arrived at the guest seat under the guidance of the waiter, and as luck would have it, it turned out to be Director Wang of the Military Control Commission.

"Zhu Zi? Did you make this Mapo Tofu?"

"What a coincidence! Aunt Wang, I really made this dish!"

"It turns out that Zhuzi is the cook of Fengze Garden. He is so impressive at such a young age!"

"Auntie Wang, you're too polite. I'm just an apprentice. If you want to eat Sichuan cuisine in the future, just call me and I'll cook it at home. You don't have to spend money. Of course, you have to prepare the ingredients!"

As He Yuzhu spoke, he moved closer to the table and whispered to Director Wang that if he let go of such a good opportunity, he would be a terrible person.

As for preparing the ingredients, it was also to reassure Director Wang and make him alert. He Yuzhu had a good grasp of the right measure.

Please give me a monthly ticket! Please give me a monthly ticket! Please give me a monthly ticket!

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(End of this chapter)