The Garden Life of a Little Gardener

All the onlookers were shocked when they heard the words. At first, they thought it was a problem with the food. They stretched their necks and looked at the table in the box, but found that there was nothing wrong with it.

Since it's not a problem with the ingredients, it's something else. Could it be that the owner of the three dishes used some seasoning that shouldn't be used, and it was eaten out?

If this is the case, you will suffer. It is easy to say whether you win or lose. At most, you are not good at learning, and you are practicing at home.

But if there are really taboo things in the dishes, it is a matter of character, not to mention the strict Mingyuelou, even ordinary small households as long as they are dry cooks can't tolerate such people.

Zhouquan was crowded in the crowd, his heart was beating so hard that it was about to jump into his throat. Others might not be able to see it, but he knew Brother Baoyan well, and he could tell it at the first sight when he came over. The catfish stew on the table The eggplant must have been made by Chef Bao.

Hearing what Lao Xiao, the judge, said, he, who had been worrying about Chef Bao all this time, suddenly raised his heart.

No matter how those people reacted, Lao Xiao went on to talk about his own judgment. He tapped Zou Fox's plate of golden fried small river shrimp with his chopsticks and said: "This plate of fried small river shrimp is very ingeniously designed. The shrimp shell should be crispy and the shrimp meat is fresh and tender. I took a bite of his shrimp, which was crispy and full of mouth. When I tasted it carefully and wanted to pay attention to the taste, a sweet and sour burst suddenly appeared in the sauce of the shrimp. The sweet and sour taste pulls my taste buds to swim around in the shrimp meat and shrimp shell, making me focus all my attention on the shrimp and the sauce. By the time I realize that the shrimp meat has already been chewed I swallowed it. I didn’t notice it, and I didn’t eat it. Do you think the person who made this dish is a “liar”? He tricked my taste buds with the sweet and sour blend of sugar and vinegar. Follow it and let the smell go."

Hahaha, everyone burst into laughter when they heard the words. What Lao Xiao wanted to express was very simple. Although the person who made the fried shrimp in golden oil was serious when handling the ingredients, he didn't put too much effort into it.

The other party made the appearance and taste of this dish very novel, but the 'trap' was left in the sauce, and the absolute ratio of sweet and sour was used to make an impeccable sweet and sour taste. Xiao's picky taste buds are all attracted to it, covering the aftertaste and retreating, so that the taste buds have no time to find trouble with the smell.

These words sound simple, but what kind of tongue is Lao Xiao? If there is a slight difference in the sweet and sour ratio of the person who cooks this dish, let alone cover the retreat, the embarrassed Lao Xiao will not make a face and count that person running fast.

So this is a trick that you dare to use after you have mastered the ultimate meaning of sweet and sour taste, otherwise you will destroy the Great Wall yourself. The person who makes this dish is really skilled and bold.

After talking about frying small river prawns in golden oil, Lao Xiao turned his attention to stewed eggplant with catfish.

He turned the whole catfish in the food bowl over with chopsticks, showed the belly upside down for everyone to see, and then said: "Look, there is no knife edge on it, and I picked up that hole with chopsticks. You are surprised, why did you do it?" Catfish stewed with eggplant needs to use the technique of gutting the whole fish? I didn’t understand it before, but after I ate the fish, I found two things in the belly of the fish.”

Speaking of Lao Xiao, he pulled out the two plants he dug out and showed them to everyone. The chefs who were very close immediately recognized one of them, and Junior Brother Dou, who had the fastest mouth, said: "This long one is fragrant. Thatched grass, what is the short one? Haven’t seen it before? But why does it look familiar?”

He doesn't know other seniors who are similar to him, nor do he know the chefs, let alone the bystanders.

In the end, everyone in the old Xiaojie solved the mystery. He pointed to the things that had been cut into sections and had a sponge-like structure and said, "This kind of thing is called Tongcao. It is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine. It is colorless and odorless. processed medicinal plants."

"Everyone is a chef, and those who are not chefs are also the family members of chefs. The final part of fish is nothing more than the mucus on the body, the gills on the head, and the internal organs of the abdomen. Everyone should know this. Catfish This kind of fish lives at the bottom of the water. It is an omnivorous fish, so the dirty smell in the belly will only be heavier than other river fish. The reason why the person who cooks this dish chooses the whole fish to get the internal organs instead of breaking the fish belly, I just don’t want the dirty smell in the belly of the fish to come out, contaminate the fish stew soup and then contaminate the fish meat and side dishes.”

Everyone can understand Mr. Xiao's statement, but they are all cooks who know how to cook. They know very well that if they don't break open the fish maw, the dirty smell will be reduced, but it doesn't mean it disappears.

On the contrary, without rinsing and other treatments, the smell that is forcibly held in the belly of the catfish will only become more and more intense with heating, resulting in a fishy smell when the fish belly is broken, which is normal for normal people. It would be unbearable to eat it, not to mention Lao Xiao's thieves' tongue, which is why few people do this when stewing fish.

But Lao Xiao didn't say anything, and none of the chefs who tasted each other's dishes just now had any abnormalities. This shows that the fishy smell in the belly of the catfish was handled very well by the chef. How did he do it?

"How did he do it? When I was eating this dish, I was also thinking about this question. What method did the person who made this dish use to deceive the peculiar smell in the belly of the fish? I searched over and over again, Later, those sage grasses left in the lemongrass were finally found in the belly of the fish."

"Is it the smell of Tongcao and lemongrass suppressing the smell of fish? This is unlikely, Mr. Xiao, Tongcao has no smell. As you said just now, lemongrass does have the function of removing fishy smell and improving freshness, especially for fish. Thatched grilled fish is the proof. However, the belly of the fish must be broken open, so that the fishy smell in the belly of the fish will evaporate with the heating and the volatile substances in the lemongrass, otherwise it will only be stuffed in the meat, which will only make people feel sick. Fish is even worse."

"You are right, but Tongcao has another function besides being colorless and odorless. It absorbs oil and also has the function of absorbing peculiar smell. Therefore, in the medicine box of the pharmacy, Tongcao is always stored separately and not mixed with other medicines. The reason is to prevent them from smelling. The person who made this catfish stewed eggplant took advantage of the habit of Tongcao, and stuffed a large amount of hollow and soft Tongcao into the belly of the fish at the place of stewing. Use them to absorb all the odors in the belly of the fish. Take out the grass and stuff the lemongrass in, so that it looks like nothing has been done, but the belly of the catfish has been deodorized twice process."

"If you don't break the belly of the catfish, at least [-]% of the peculiar smell on the catfish will not come out. Use the grass to absorb the smell, and then use the lemongrass for the second time to remove the fishy smell and improve the freshness. A small amount of tongcao was wrapped in it for the final deodorization. This time, even I will be tricked by him. I still can’t guess how the peculiar smell in the belly of the fish disappeared. Do you think this is a cunning guy? ? Am I wrong in calling him a 'liar'?"

Everyone booed after hearing the words, but they were also surprised at the same time as they were joking. They were surprised at the superb skills and unconstrained ideas of the chef who came up with this method to deal with catfish.

The key to daring to think and do is to have the ability to make it. Superb technology combined with unlimited brains, this is the difference between top and first-class.

Now everyone understands that the three dishes arranged side by side should be the dishes that broke through in the second round of Doucai this time. After hearing the wonderful comments on the first two dishes, everyone is now eager to know what makes the last dish stand out Where.

Lao Xiao also lived up to everyone's expectations. He looked at the steamed sea bass and said with a slight sigh: "It is understandable to say that the first two dishes are 'deceitful', but this dish is even more extreme. It is not deceptive. It tricked the fish."

"Cheat fish? Can fish also cheat?"

"Isn't it funny? How can a fish cheat? Can it be possible that the fish that can be cheated has no peculiar smell? Isn't this a fairy tale?"

"Discuss with the fish and let it not emit a strange smell when it goes into the pot, can't it be enough?"

"Don't be ridiculous, if you have that ability, who will be a chef, and go directly to the East China Sea to become the Dragon King."

Facing the people's teasing or ridiculing words, Lao Xiao said calmly: "Yes, everyone is right, but the fact is right in front of our eyes, this fish was indeed cheated by the chef who made it. That’s it, let’s go comfortably with all the enjoyment and sweet dreams.”

"Oh, the more you talk about it, the more bizarre it gets. I don't want to be watching Doucai, but rather listening to a storytelling session."

"Everyone didn't go into the kitchen, so we don't know how the fish disappeared. We and those who were in the kitchen at the time saw that the fish enjoyed at least one and a half hours of private 'massage' before leaving. "

Everyone on the third floor immediately started talking after hearing the words, everyone was asking if there was such a thing, and later it was confirmed from the mouth of their relatives that it was indeed the case.

"Hey, someone actually massaged the fish. This time, it opened my eyes."

"It's not just a massage, but I also pressed it for an hour and a half. I heard that the fish that was pressed was so comfortable that it refused to leave the person's hand."

"So capable? Who is it?"

Hearing someone ask this sentence, the person next to him who was talking to him suddenly shut up, and just glanced at the Lord a few times.

Seeing the questioning, he looked over with his gaze, but saw that it was actually that foreigner, and immediately didn't know what to say.

Gradually, the originally noisy crowd of onlookers quieted down. Everyone looked curiously, boldly or covertly at the tall and burly foreigner who was particularly conspicuous among the group of orientals.

George, who was scrutinized by everyone, did not panic in the slightest, and stood in the crowd with a calm and steady demeanor.

Lao Xiao looked at the steamed sea bass on the plate and said with a sigh: "Since 30 or [-] years ago, there has been a rumor in foreign food circles that various substances and toxins will be secreted from the body of animals when they die. Substances and toxins are not only not beneficial to the human body, but will bring many harms, and will also affect the quality of meat and the taste of fish. Therefore, since then, many gourmets abroad have advocated leaving ingredients to make them happy and enjoyable. It is said that these The meat quality of the ingredients is not only more delicate and delicious, but also the smell is much less."

"I don't know if this statement is true or not, because I have never seen or eaten such a processed ingredient in China so far. I didn't expect to see this legendary chef at this Doucai Conference. Art. In this steamed sea bass, the fish has no peculiar smell, and even the freshness is controlled within my acceptable range by the spices used by the chef later. The fish is smooth and delicate, and the soy sauce is rich and delicious. From the processing of the fish, the sauce The preparation and the mastery of the fire, this steamed sea bass is perfect. I am very pleased and proud to be able to eat such an authentic Guangzhou famous dish from a foreigner, thank you, Mr. George."

George, who was highly praised by the judges, was still very indifferent. Facing Lao Xiao's evaluation, he slightly bowed his head and replied: "Thank you for the compliment." There is nothing else.

Lao Xiao looked at the three dishes closest to him on the table, and lamented how quickly time passed, and the two little kids who fought on the upper and lower bunks were now flying high.

He announced with the heart of an old father who helped him on his horse and sent him off for a ride: "The winners of the second round of Doucai are Zou Kai, who is in charge of frying small river prawns in oil, and Bao Yan, who is in charge of stewed eggplant with lemongrass catfish. And George, who is in charge of the Western-style steamed sea bass, congratulations."

Pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa papa applause immediately. There were relatives and friends who were watching and some former opponents who had competed with them.

But no matter who it is, the applause is sincere, because they deserve it, and they are convinced.