Siheyuan: Traveling through Sizhu, the scumbag father ran away at the beginning

He Yuzhu puts the wok on high heat, adds pork fat and heats it to 2% hot, then frys the half-cooked fish once, drains the frying oil and keeps the remaining oil, adds ginger and stir-frys until fragrant, mixes in clear soup, adds Shaoxing rice wine, and puts in ham, chicken, bamboo shoots, winter bamboo shoots, mushrooms, Sichuan salt and pepper powder and cooks for more than 2 minutes. Turn the fish over and cook for another minutes. Use chopsticks to pick up the fish and put it on a plate, place it on the fish-shaped radish, and arrange it in a posture of a whole grass carp swimming. Thicken the ingredients in the casserole with two-volume starch, add MSG, and pour it on the fish. Finally, sprinkle shredded green onion and pickled chili on the surface.

The dish is served with fish heads and bodies carved out of white radish, which is an improvement made by later generations to make it easier for diners to pick up the fish meat and avoid picking out fish bones.

From the 1950s to the 21st century, countless Sichuan cuisine masters have improved and passed on Wuliu fish countless times!

This bet between He Yuzhu and Liu Wenlong is not just a bet on traditional Sichuan cuisine techniques, but a reflection of modern improved Sichuan cuisine skills.

In fact, the full name of this dish is "White Sauce Five-Liu Fish", which is a traditional Sichuan dish. This dish has beautiful and generous appearance, the fish meat is crispy and tender, and the taste is salty, fresh and fragrant.

Faced with the innovative, jade-white Wuliu fish with the meat and body separated from the fish in front of them, the onlookers smelled the fragrance of the fish meat, but none of them picked up their chopsticks to taste it. The Wuliu fish looked like a work of art.

At this time, the bear friend Fredno stepped forward decisively. When he tasted the food that looked like a fine work of art, he couldn't help but eat it.

It was not until he saw He Yuzhu smiling at him and making a "please" gesture that he decided not to hesitate any longer. He clumsily picked up a piece of fish with chopsticks and put it into his mouth, savoring it slowly and carefully.

But his body, which was tasting the five-willow fish, seemed to be frozen, completely immersed in the deliciousness of this unique five-willow fish.

Seeing this scene, Director Yang of the steel rolling mill couldn't wait for his friend Fredno to comment, so he grabbed the chopsticks and put a piece of fish into his mouth to taste it.

However, his behavior was no different from that of his bear friend Fredno, who also paused.

Isn’t this too incredible?

Zhang Jianguo was a little bit unconvinced by their behavior, thinking that they were deliberately causing trouble, and he hurriedly ate a piece of fish.

However...his posture was the same as the two previous people, standing still without moving.

After a long time, Fredno came back to his senses and burst into tears. He sobbed in unclear Chinese: "It's really... so delicious."

The taste was just like his childhood memory - the wonderful caviar that his grandfather took him to taste in the small town on his bicycle when he was young.

It’s a pity that my grandfather passed away later. Although he tried many other delicacies, he could never find the same delicious taste of caviar as that time.

He never thought that today, he would taste the purest delicacy here.

Director Yang of the steel rolling mill wiped away tears from his eyes and said with deep emotion: "I remember when I was in private school, I saw the chicken legs in the hands of the neighbor's children..."

"I want to eat it too. I'll tell my mom when I get home."

“But she didn’t have the money to buy it for me because our family was so poor at that time.”

"After that, my mother used the only egg in the house to make egg fried rice for me..."

"At that time, I thought my mother's egg fried rice was better than all the meat!"

“I’ll never forget that smell.”

"This time I ate He Yuzhu's five-flavor fish, although it was not the original egg fried rice."

“But the taste brings me back to when I was a kid and ate my mom’s egg fried rice.”

“It’s not just a taste, it’s more like a feeling, a memory.”

“This dish is like a bond, guiding those who have tasted it to recall the most precious moment in their memory.”

"He Yuzhu, thank you for letting me recall the delicious taste of that bowl of egg fried rice."

Director Yang's praise was so high that He Yuzhu was slightly embarrassed: "Director Yang, I am honored to receive your praise. As a chef, it is my duty to make food that the guests like."

At this moment, Zhang Jianguo also recovered. He stepped forward and patted Sha Zhu on the shoulder, saying with emotion: "Zhu Zi, your cooking method of this five-liu fish is really amazing."

For him, the feeling that He Yuzhu's dish brought him was completely different from that of everyone else.

He tasted the warm emotions that he and his wife had shared for many years.

From being poor and despised by his parents-in-law when he first got married, to climbing up the career ladder step by step to becoming the head chef now.

He tasted all the ups and downs of the first half of his life in the unique flavor of the five-willow fish.

This dish has already broken the boundaries of traditional cooking.

Simple words like "so delicious" or "so tasty" are not enough to describe its taste.

So he used the adjective "stunning"!

After seeing Chef Zhang Jianguo's high praise for the dish, the onlookers came forward to taste the five-willow fish.

After tasting He Yuzhu's five-willow fish, the guests from outside and the brothers in the kitchen of Fengze Garden started to discuss:

“Is this the true level of the second chef at Fengzeyuan? The dishes he makes are so delicious!”

“After eating it, I felt like I found my original intention when I was young.”

"This five-liu fish is so delicious!"

"..."

Especially the brothers in the kitchen, after a brief silence, voices of praise burst out from their mouths like a spring!

Liu Wenlong looked at He Yuzhu who was being praised, and then turned to see that everyone had almost finished eating He Yuzhu's five-liu fish.

In an instant, he realized that he was bound to lose this bet. Although he was unwilling to give up, he still decided to try He Yuzhu's five-willow fish himself.

He came to the five-willow fish, with a serious expression, took out a small piece of fish meat, and carefully put it into his mouth to taste it.

Suddenly, his taste buds were filled with the delicious aroma of fish.

……

After a long time, he weakly put down his chopsticks and announced to He Yuzhu: "Zhuzi, I have admitted defeat in this bet. I will treat everyone to a meal tonight!"

Seeing his beloved disciple suffer a blow, Master Zhang Jianguo felt the same way. He knew that he had to support Liu Wenlong at this moment, otherwise his cooking skills might stagnate.

Therefore, he quickly approached Liu Wenlong, gently put his arm around his shoulders, and whispered comfortingly: "Don't be like this, Wenlong."

Zhang Jianguo continued quietly, "You may not know that I also can't make Zhuzi's five-liu fish dish. I don't know where he learned it from."

Hearing this, Liu Wenlong was shocked. His disappointment at his master Zhang Jianguo's favoritism towards He Yuzhu disappeared. He thought that his master was hiding his skills and taught the cooking technique of this dish to He Yuzhu instead of him.

Master Zhang Jianguo smiled and said to him: "I am also telling the truth, you don't have to take it too seriously."

For Master Zhang Jianguo, Liu Wenlong and He Yuzhu each have their own strengths and are both his favorite disciples.

Now the winner of the bet between He Yuzhu and Liu Wenlong is clear, the result of the competition has also appeared, and Fredno's wish to watch the cooking skills of the Dragon Country chef has been satisfied.

So, at the signal of Director Yang of the steel rolling mill, the owner of Fengzeyuan brought his bear friend Fredno and Director Yang back to the VIP box.

As soon as he entered the private room, Director Yang suddenly asked the owner of Fengzeyuan to change the chef: "Can the chef serving our private room today be replaced by He Yuzhu?"

He went on to explain: “Although Chef Zhang Jianguo’s cooking skills are at the top level, we also need to change our taste occasionally.”

Director Yang was silent for a moment, then he gestured to Fredno.

Although Fredno had good Chinese listening skills but was not good at speaking, when he saw Director Yang's eyes signaling him, he smiled and nodded: "He... OK."

He was deeply impressed by the five-willow fish he had tasted before, and he was looking forward to other dishes made by He Yuzhu.

"Okay, don't worry, I will inform the kitchen later and today's dishes will be prepared by He Yuzhu." The owner of Fengzeyuan promised and left, because there was obviously something secret that needed to be discussed in the private room.

They chose their own boxes, no doubt for private conversation.

The guest's request has ended, and the owner of Fengzeyuan no longer needs to stay in the box. After arranging for the waiter to make tea for the box, the owner of Fengzeyuan went straight back to the kitchen.

At the same time, in the kitchen...

"Zhuzi, tell me honestly, how did you learn this technique to cook Wuliu fish? Your master clearly didn't teach you." Liu Wenlong cracked his knuckles and glared at He Yuzhu with an angry expression.

After being encouraged by his master, Liu Wenlong regained his confidence in his cooking skills, and his mind turned to asking He Yuzhu who he learned the "Wuliu Fish" from.

"Zhu Zi, speak quickly! Your senior brother is famous for his hot temper." Zhang Jianguo next to him also teased.

"Master and senior brother always team up to bully me." He Yuzhu made a joke, not to be outdone, "Okay, no more jokes, I'll tell you the truth, the way to cook Wuliu fish is my own creation."

As soon as these words came out, the people in the kitchen watching the show, including Zhang Jianguo and Liu Wenlong, immediately showed their faces as if they were lying. He Yuzhu smiled nonchalantly, but when he saw everyone's more suspicious expressions, he was like a ball that had lost its air. He confessed, "I learned this from my father He Daqing. Do you believe it now?"

At this moment, He Daqing and Bai Guafu have gone to Baoding, and He Daqing will become an excuse for He Yuzhu to use in daily life.

Zhang Jianguo and Liu Wenlong believed what he said. After all, they knew that He Daqing once enjoyed a very high status in the kitchen of Hongbinlou. Even if he was not as good as Zhang Jianguo, he was not much different. He must have his own unique cooking skills.