Siheyuan: Tathagata's Palm suppresses the entire courtyard!

However, Xu Mingjie did not get complacent. He knew that improving cooking skills was never achieved overnight. Behind every success, there were countless failures and improvements. He kept this experience in mind as a motivation for his continued pursuit of perfection.

With the introduction of the improved version of "Spicy Pork Intestine" in the restaurant, Xu Mingjie found that more and more customers began to order this dish, and some even came specifically for it. This made him feel extremely proud, but he also knew that he had to continue to maintain this spirit of pursuing perfection in order to go further on the road of cooking.

When it's late at night, Xu Mingjie often sits in the corner of the kitchen, thinking back on his day's work. He recalls every breakthrough in his cooking skills, and feels a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. However, he is also clearly aware that the road ahead is still long and difficult, but he is ready, no matter how many problems there are ahead, he will solve them one by one.

At this moment, Xu Mingjie suddenly thought of He Yuzhu. Perhaps, he should visit this chef again and ask him for some deeper cooking skills. After all, in the world of cooking, everyone needs to keep learning and making progress. Thinking of this, Xu Mingjie's heart surged with new motivation, and he decided to go to He Yuzhu on the next day off to continue asking and learning.

Xu Mingjie's reputation in the restaurant is getting higher and higher, but his heart has not stopped moving forward. On the contrary, he feels that he has a greater responsibility on his shoulders, because he realizes that customers' expectations are getting higher and higher, and he needs to keep breaking through to maintain this recognition. Whenever it's late at night, he always falls into deep thought, thinking about how to create more distinctive dishes while maintaining the flavor of traditional dishes.

That evening, after finishing a busy day, Xu Mingjie was about to clean up the kitchen and go home. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. It was a call from his friend Li Xiaoqiang, who grew up with him. Although Li Xiaoqiang was not a chef, his love for food was no less than Xu Mingjie's. The two often discussed various foods together, especially when it came to the innovation of a certain dish, Li Xiaoqiang always came up with some unique ideas.

"Mingjie, what are you busy with? Do you have any new dishes recently?" Li Xiaoqiang's voice was full of enthusiasm. He responded: "Qiangzi, I'm thinking about it, thinking about making some new things. What do you think?"

Li Xiaoqiang chuckled and said, "I actually have an idea. I've read some books about smoking and pickling these days, and I think we might as well try to make a unique smoked dish, incorporating some novel elements into it, it will definitely be eye-catching."

"Smoked dishes?" Xu Mingjie frowned slightly, but his curiosity was instantly aroused. Although smoked dishes are not new, making them well requires extremely high skills and precise control of heat and time. And integrating new elements is an even bolder attempt.

"Yes, I think we can be innovative and combine traditional smoked flavors with other flavors, such as combining Chinese and Western flavors. We can even try some unusual combinations of ingredients to create a completely different taste experience." Li Xiaoqiang said enthusiastically.

Xu Mingjie listened and immediately had an idea in his mind. He knew that Li Xiaoqiang was very sensitive to taste, and he must have thought a lot before coming up with such an idea. "Qiangzi, this is a good idea. Let's find a time to try it. How about tomorrow night?"

Li Xiaoqiang readily agreed, and the two made an appointment to conduct the experiment in Xu Mingjie's kitchen. After Xu Mingjie hung up the phone, he was full of expectations. He felt that this attempt might bring unexpected results, and it might be a real "special dish".

The next evening, Li Xiaoqiang arrived at Xu Mingjie's house on time with a large bag of ingredients. After a brief greeting, the two immediately began to prepare. Li Xiaoqiang took out several different smoking materials and herbs and said to Xu Mingjie, "I have some smoking materials here, which I specially bought from several places. See if you can use them."

Xu Mingjie carefully examined the smoking materials, which included pine sawdust, tea leaves, grapefruit peels, and some herbal spices he had never seen before. Some possible combinations quickly flashed through his mind, and he began to have preliminary ideas in his mind. "Qiangzi, let's first try to smoke pork chops with a mixture of pine sawdust and tea leaves, and with grapefruit peels. Then try to marinate chicken breasts with those herbs, and then lightly smoke them to see how it works."

Li Xiaoqiang nodded in approval, and the two immediately divided the work and got busy. Xu Mingjie concentrated on processing the pork chops, marinated them with seasonings, and put them into the smoker, carefully controlling the temperature. Li Xiaoqiang coated the chicken breast with a special vanilla sauce and prepared to lightly smoke it. The kitchen was filled with a faint smell of smoke, which gradually transformed into a mouth-watering aroma. Xu Mingjie and Li Xiaoqiang became more and more excited. While observing the changes in the smoker, the two kept exchanging their thoughts and feelings. They did not dare to be careless with every detail, and strived to find the most suitable ratio and temperature in the experiment.

When the first smoked pork chop was finished, Xu Mingjie carefully took it out and cut it on the chopping board. A unique aroma instantly filled the whole kitchen, with a faint woody and tea aroma, and a hint of the freshness of grapefruit peel. The cut pork chop was ruddy in color and the meat looked very firm. Xu Mingjie couldn't wait to pick up a piece and put it in his mouth.

At that moment, the taste of the pork chop burst out in his mouth. The smoky aroma of pine wood mixed with the fragrance of tea, the slight bitterness of grapefruit peel neutralized the greasy feeling, and the meat was tender and juicy with distinct layers. Xu Mingjie's eyes lit up, and he knew that this smoked pork chop was definitely a successful innovation.

"Qiangzi, this pork chop tastes amazing!" Xu Mingjie said excitedly.

Li Xiaoqiang also tasted it and couldn't help nodding: "Mingjie, we really got it right this time! This taste is amazing!"

Next, the two tasted the smoked chicken breast. The chicken breast had a very delicate texture, with the aroma of vanilla blended into it. The smoking process gave it a unique flavor, which not only retained the tenderness of the chicken but also brought a strong smoky flavor. Xu Mingjie secretly admired that this experiment not only enriched their taste experience, but also allowed them to find new creative inspiration.

"Both of these dishes are good. If we optimize them a little bit, they will definitely become the specialties of our restaurant." Xu Mingjie said excitedly.