Siheyuan: The Qing Dynasty is back

Waiting for the Level 6 exam.

Sha Zhu went up with great interest.

He has just looked at the Level 8 and Level 7 exams, and now he is confident that he can take the Level 6 exam.

If it weren't for his father's instructions, he now felt that he would have no problem passing the Level 5 exam. Or if he tried hard, he might even pass the Level 4 exam.

When we got to the stove, the examiner gave the test dish: braised pork!

This is also a popular dish, but the main test of this dish is the "color". It is not easy to fry good sugar color.

After hearing this, Sha Zhu directly selected the best pork belly, put a large piece of it into the pot, added onions, ginger, and cooking wine, and blanched it. After blanching, he took it out and cut it into cubes of two centimeters square.

This is the time to test your knife skills. Sha Zhu's basic skills are no problem. The meat pieces are evenly sized, with some fat and some lean meat on each piece. This will make the meat taste better later.

Then comes the important step of frying sugar color, which is the key step of this dish. Sha Zhu keeps boiling the sugar until it bubbles before adding the meat and frying. He stirs quickly until each piece of meat is evenly colored. Sha Zhu then adds water and various seasonings.

After waiting for more than half an hour, I smelled the strong aroma inside. When the fragrance was diffused, Sha Zhu opened the lid of the pot and quickly stir-fried the sauce.

After a while, a dish of bright color and fragrant braised pork was ready.

He Daqing couldn't see clearly from a distance, but from Sha Zhu's confident look, he could tell that he performed well this time.

By the time Sha Zhu's braised pork was served, there were still many people behind him who had not finished.

The five examiners in front looked at the plate, took a piece and put it in the bowl in front of them, and gave the rest to the people behind them, each of whom took a piece.

Everyone first looked at the color and the craftsmanship of the cut, then smelled the fragrance, and finally put it in their mouths and tasted it carefully.

Finally, I gave Shazhu 90 points for this dish. It is pretty good.

Next, Sha Zhu listened to He Daqing and made a boiled fish.

I saw this dish once and made it myself once. This time I made it for the third time.

Although I have made it less often, cooking is a skill you can master in many ways. As long as you master the details, it will be fine.

The last time I made it at home, it was pretty good, and He Daqing thought it was okay. So this time it was also very easy to make.

When he finally poured the hot oil onto the fish, the "sizzling, sizzling" sound suddenly rang out.

Then the aroma of hot oil and the spicy taste of chili peppers were also stimulated. The whole scene was filled with this aroma.

The examiners at the examination desk all nodded in satisfaction. If nothing else, the taste was acceptable.

When Sha Zhu's boiled fish was served, everyone took a bite and couldn't help but praise Sha Zhu's excellent cooking skills.

As a master of cooking and a top authority on Sichuan cuisine, Master Luo took a bite and said, "Your dish is very good. It should be an improvement on the boiled pork slices in Sichuan and Chongqing. The fish is tender, spicy and fragrant. It melts in your mouth. This dish can be considered a classic."

"Young man, who is your teacher? Where do you work?"

Facing the master's question, Sha Zhu was not afraid. He proudly said: "My master is Chef Hu Sihai of Emei Hotel. This dish was taught to me by my father. I now work in the canteen of Red Star Steel Rolling Mill."

When they heard that he was Hu Sihai's apprentice, everyone looked at him. Hu Sihai was a pure person who only knew how to study cooking. He was very popular in the cooking world.

Seeing that Sha Zhu was so popular, he was also very happy. He stood up, bowed to everyone and said with a smile: "It is indeed a naughty boy. I am sorry to have made a fool of myself."

Master Luo said, "I didn't expect that Master Hu, you have such an outstanding apprentice. Yes, this is a good seedling. In the future, we will have a successor in Sichuan cuisine."

After a few compliments to each other, they started grading.

Because the dish is a self-created dish, and it tastes good, it got 98 points directly. It can be said to be very good.

Just like that, Sha Zhu got his Level 6 chef certificate. When he returned to the steel mill, his monthly salary increased from 35.5 yuan to 48.5 yuan. Add to that his 2 yuan team leader allowance, and it went straight to 50 yuan. In today's society, it is still a very good high salary.

Sha Zhu ran over cheerfully and said to He Daqing, "Dad, how is it? I passed it in one try. If you hadn't stopped me, I would have wanted to take the Level 5 exam."

He Daqing glared at him and said, "Why don't you take the first level exam? We asked you to take the sixth level exam because the highest level chef in the factory can only reach the sixth level. Wait until you are no longer in the steel mill before taking the higher exam."

Sha Zhu was not angry after hearing this, as he was used to being scolded by his father. If He Daqing stopped scolding him one day, he would probably suspect that He Daqing had been possessed by someone else.

The Level 6 exam is over, but the exams have to continue.

Everyone took a short break at noon and then continued the exam after lunch.

It was not until two or three in the afternoon that it was He Daqing's turn to take the second-level assessment.

The second and first level assessments are the highlights of this assessment.

There are a total of six people taking the second-level assessment, including He Daqing.

Several people stood in front of the stove, and He Daqing put the set of knives he brought with him on the chopping board. Someone came over to check.

There were three people who brought knives like He Daqing, but most of them had only one knife, and only one person brought three knives. Compared with He Daqing's set of seven knives, they were inferior in equipment.

He Daqing's act was also very successful. The examiner and the examinees were all looking down to find out who this awesome and handsome chef was. When they heard that it was Hu Sihai's junior brother and Sha Zhu's father, they all became interested in He Daqing.

There are many people who can improve dishes by themselves, but not many who can improve them so successfully. He Daqing is one of them. Of course, everyone does not know that this is just an ordinary dish that became popular in later generations.

Now several examiners are discussing the dishes. The test for the second-level chef is also very strict.

After discussing for a while, they decided to make "Wensi Tofu", a dish that requires the most skill in cutting. It all depends on the skills of the second-level chefs.

When they heard about Wensi Tofu, the faces of the two people changed. This dish is not difficult to make at all. To really make it well, you have to cut the tofu into thin strands that can be threaded through a needle, and each strand must be clearly separated without any broken strands.

Moreover, it needs to be cooked in a stock, which has very high requirements. Such a complex dish is simply not easy for ordinary people to make.

Others may find it difficult, but for He Daqing it is just a normal challenge. He has a strong mental ability and can observe every strand. Even if he cuts to the level of a hair, he can still keep every strand distinct without breaking any.

Not to mention the hanging broth, the Tan family cuisine is best known for its hanging broth.

He Daqing did it right away. He selected a piece of tender tofu and took out a mulberry knife from the leather case. This knife was thin and light, with a long blade and a flat blade, making it most suitable for cutting into strips.

Rinse the knife in cold water several times and it will generally stop sticking.

He held the tofu lightly with one hand and cut it quickly with the mulberry knife in the other. Unlike the potato shreds he had cut in the previous level 8 assessment, He Daqing cut the tofu as if he had never cut it before, without any sound.

If you look closely, you can see that every time the knife blade goes down, it just cuts the tofu, but it doesn't make any sound on the chopping board.

This way, no vibration will be generated, and the tofu can be kept intact and prevented from breaking.

Soon, He Daqing finished cutting the tofu in one go. But now the tofu on the chopping board still looked like a whole piece, without any cut marks. It was as if it had not been moved at all.

He Daqing moved his wrist and rinsed the blade with water several times. He swung the blade and scooped up the tofu on the chopping board, then put it into a basin of clear water.

Suddenly, the whole tofu slowly separated like flowers scattered by fairies, and then slowly swam in the water like countless tiny nematodes. People with trypophobia would probably faint after seeing this.

These tofu shreds are not even as thin as a hair, let alone being able to thread a needle.

He Daqing continued to make the soup. He picked an old hen, added dried abalone and other things, and boiled the soup over high heat.

This process was slow, so He Daqing found carrots, green onions, and kelp and cut them into thin strips like the tofu.

After the soup is cooked and filtered, add the tofu and the side dishes, and then season. In a short while, a fragrant and crystal clear Wensi tofu is ready.

He Daqing served the dish he made. Several examiners looked at the bowl of Wensi tofu with distinct strands and bright colors. Even before tasting it, just looking at it could arouse one's appetite.

Everyone couldn't wait to get a small bowl and taste it. It had the aroma of tofu, the freshness of chicken soup and abalone, and the delicious combination of various ingredients. It was really good. Even many of the examiners present couldn't match the taste and knife skills.

In the end, He Daqing's Wensi Tofu passed with 97 points.

By the time everyone has finished the first dish, it’s time for the second dish.

He Daqing originally planned to make pickled fish, but everyone's taste buds were tired at this time. So he decided to start with the shape and meaning. He made the familiar "Flying Swallow Whole Fish". However, he had to improve the Feiyan Whole Fish today, which was more complicated than the one made at home.

I chose a carp weighing four or five pounds, cut it into pieces, and fried it in oil to set the shape. When it came out, the carp was already shaped like a swallow with its mouth open.

He boiled a dozen quail eggs and some green vegetables. Then he took a handful of dried noodles and made them into a bird's nest in the oil pan. He put the boiled quail eggs into the nest, spread the green vegetables underneath, and put the carp on the green vegetables. He poured sweet and sour sauce on it. He also carved a few butterflies and flowers on the side with a carving knife.

Suddenly, a beautiful scene of a flying swallow entering a nest appeared.

Such knife skills and shape immediately attracted the attention of the whole audience.

Life was hard in this era, and most people paid attention to taste and color. Of course, there were also those who cared about shape, but they were relatively rare.

But He Daqing's dish is simply a painting. It's like a real swallow flying into a nest. And inside the nest are its eggs. Coupled with the colorful flowers, plants and butterflies, it's really a scene full of spring.

When the dish was served, the dozen or so examiners, without any regard for importance, gathered around to watch.

I was reluctant to pick up my chopsticks to destroy this beautiful view.

In the end, it was Master Liang who took the first bite of the fish and tasted it.

After finishing the meal in one bite, he kept nodding.

Seeing this, the others also took a bite and tasted it. They all praised it highly after eating it.

As the only female examiner, Master Wang said: "This Feiyan whole fish is the best Shandong cuisine I have ever eaten. It turns a simple sweet and sour carp into a landscape painting. It is very creative."

Master Luo also said: "From the perspective of color, aroma, taste, meaning and shape, I can give this dish full marks. This is another classic. The cooking skills of our Dragon Country are truly hidden dragons and crouching tigers. You can't deny it."

Everyone praised him highly.

The last dish got full marks, and it was the only dish that got full marks today.

He Daqing was very happy to pass the test easily. He started to communicate with some masters on the spot. Some people also invited him to be a chef in a restaurant, but He Daqing had not yet decided, so he could only decline and wait until he thought about it.

Seeing his father being so popular, Sha Zhu was very proud. These dishes would be passed down to him in the future. After all, he was his father's only son.

In the afternoon, the assessment was finally over. He Daqing and Sha Zhu both received their certificates. They would be nationally certified chefs. The value of this certificate was very high.