Yipin Chef

Ting Shuang said: "Maybe other imperial chefs will do the same with these things, and it won't show the uniqueness of Jiale. Why don't I go to Thomson and find some British, French, and Russian dishes. I'm sure the Queen Mother has never eaten them." .”

Ye Chengyun said: "To be on the safe side, it's better to stew these delicacies into one pot. Abalone, sea cucumber, hump, tendon, shark's fin, and fish maw are stewed together with various delicacies from mountains and seas. Wouldn't it be more precious and delicious?"

A group of people talked about it for a long time, but Jia Le disagreed, saying: "You have talked about so many rare and strange flavors, but you have forgotten one of the most important things."

"What is it?"

"The queen mother is over [-] years old, her spleen and stomach are weak, her teeth are loose, and she has been ill for a few years, and she has just recovered. Can she bear the abalone wing belly? If she eats too fatty food and causes Getting old illnesses is even more serious. People who cook food can’t ignore the physical condition of people who eat food in order to show off.” Jia Le put forward his own opinions, and also put forward the principles of cooking.

The think tanks thought for a while, and came up with ideas in a hurry.

"Old people have bad teeth, so of course they should eat soft ones."

"Dongpo pork, or braised elbow with ham, is so fragrant and soft that you hardly need to chew it with your teeth."

"You know how to eat meat. The Empress Dowager is at this age, and she has been ill for a few years before getting better. Naturally, her spleen and stomach are weak. What should I do if she eats big fish and meat? You want to kill someone."

"Well, it needs to be soft and easy to digest, so I have to use tofu."

Jia Le agreed: "Okay, I happen to be good at making tofu."

Ye Chengfeng had an idea: "Last time in Pingyin, the lotus leaf Bibo tofu you made for Zhang Boping was very good. It was light and delicious without hurting the spleen and stomach. Even that pervert didn't think it was easy."

Jia Le thought about it carefully and thought it was not very good, and said: "Although this is good, it is not completely suitable. People who cook food should pay attention to the physical characteristics of the eater. Zhang Boping has a sensitive sense of taste when he is in his prime, while the Queen Mother is in her [-]s, and her sense of taste is a bit weak." I'm afraid that such bland tofu won't taste any good. Besides, I can't guarantee that my dish will be served first. After they taste other people's fat and sweet delicacies, their tongues are numb. How can they taste it? What are the benefits of Bibo Tofu?"

"Then you mean to make spicy tofu?"

"Well, this is a way." Jia Le finally finalized the dishes.

Someone raised an objection: "Would it be too shabby? This is a banquet in the heavenly family, and the dishes served by others are delicacies from mountains and seas."

Knorr has its own point of view: "Really good food is bland and magical in ordinary food. As long as you work hard, it will not look shabby."

Therefore, Knorr decided to serve spicy tofu at the birthday banquet.

From then on, I practiced in the kitchen every day, and Ye Chengfeng made an appraisal and tried it a few times. Either I felt that the tofu was not tender enough, or the tofu was too tender and fried, and it didn’t shape well, or I felt that the spiciness was not enough, or it was too spicy. , is dissatisfied.

Jia Le was so angry that he wanted to hit him with a frying spoon, but when he thought about it, even Ye Chengfeng's tongue couldn't pass the test. How could his dishes be outstanding if there were eight delicacies in the royal banquet?

You just have to rack your brains and try to be perfect.

At this time, Master Sun Liang came to Beijing to visit and suggested to Jiale: "Tofu is soft and tender, and it will rot when you turn it over with a frying spoon. Bump the fire a few times, move quickly..."

"Ah, I understand." Jia Le raised a new problem, "But how to make the tofu tender?"

Ye Chengfeng also frowned to help him find a way.

Soon, the Empress Dowager's birthday came. Based on the principle of frugality, there were not many guests attending the banquet, and the furnishings were not particularly luxurious. To show the emperor's respect for the elderly.

Both the Compassion Palace and the Compassion Garden had banquets, and the maids also changed into new bright clothes to shuttle back and forth, serving tea and wine, and all the old people who received the banquet were all smiling, after all, they were invited by the royal family. It may be a once in a lifetime honor.

Although the Empress Dowager meant that frugality was the top priority and that the ministers would not disturb the people by presenting gifts, but the ministers still offered precious gifts like flowing water in order to invite grace.One of them was a few pots of exotic flowers and plants presented by the governor of Yunnan. The strange shapes of the flowers and plants resembled flying cranes. The Queen Mother liked it very much and asked, "What's the name of this flower?"

The governor of Yunnan reported: "This flower is called Agrimony, and it only blooms at dawn when the sun just comes out, and it only blooms for an hour. When it blooms, it is full of wonderful fragrance, smelling it refreshes the mind and makes the body comfortable."

"Okay." The queen mother was very happy, and ordered the eunuch to move these pots of Agrimony to the Linxi Pavilion in the southwest corner of the Cining Garden, and watch them slowly when they bloom in the early morning.

The governor of Yunnan also said: "Remember, Queen Mother, don't get close to this agrimony when it blooms, and don't touch it with your hands, because the pollen of this flower is slightly poisonous, and it will cause a rash if you touch it. It doesn't matter if you accidentally touch it. It will fade off by itself before dark, so it’s not safe.”

The treasures and rare birds and plants presented by others are displayed in the back hall, waiting for the Queen Mother to enjoy them slowly when she is free.

The crowd was divided into several groups to celebrate the birthday. First, the emperor led the royal officials to celebrate the birthday, then the empress led the concubines and wives to celebrate the birthday of the queen mother, and finally the common people who were invited to the banquet saluted, and then gave tea and banquets.

The chefs in the imperial dining room presented their unique skills in turn. There are too many imperial chefs, and it is impossible for the queen mother and the emperor to taste everyone's dishes one by one, so the focus is on the dishes of ten people, that is, four deputy managers and six class The head was able to be served in the first round.

He Qingdong was the first to serve the dish. His dish is the auspiciousness of the dragon and the phoenix. A dragon and a phoenix soar around the sun, hovering lifelike on a large silver plate. The heart of the Phoenix-tailed flower is honey-soaked cherries, and what's more, the feathers of the phoenix are made by pinching the head and tail with silver buds, hollowing out the middle with silver needles, and stuffing it with minced chicken. People are speechless, the whole dish is gorgeous, magnificent, and full of royal style.

The queen mother and the emperor were very satisfied.

As the empress dowager's nephew, Baoqi was able to manage the birthday banquet, so she took the opportunity to call Ye Chengfeng to help greet her, and prepared for Jiale to ask for help.Ye Chengfeng watched He Qingdong's dish come up, no matter what the taste was, it was impeccable, and he couldn't help but sweat for Jiale, wondering how his tofu was better than other people's "Dragon and Phoenix".

If he loses, He Qingdong will be in charge of the job, and Jiale's life will be even more difficult.

56. Full of gold and jade

He Qingdong's first dish, Dragon and Phoenix Presents Xiangxiang, is gorgeous in appearance, full of heavenly style, and rich in taste, and immediately wins the favor of all the guests.

Ye Chengfeng on the side thought of Jia Le who was the last to appear on stage, and secretly sweated for him.

Then, the other imperial chefs served the dishes one by one.

The second course is Phoenix Nine Fins. The top-quality shark fins are made with the best chicken soup, with ham, fresh bamboo shoots and chicken wings.

The third dish is gold and silver bird's nest, which is golden in white and magnificent.

The fourth dish is Bazhen Phalaenopsis Chicken, which is filled with pine nuts, fish maw, duck gizzard, abalone, mushroom, lotus seeds and other delicacies, and then sprayed with ginseng, astragalus, poria cocos, cinnamon, angelica, etc. Eight kinds of health-preserving tonics soaked in wine, then slowly grilled, shaped like a gourd, because the sound of gourd is like Fulu, so it is named Fulu Chicken, which is not only delicious, but also auspicious.

The fifth dish is the famous Fujian dish Supreme Buddha Jumping Over the Wall. It uses ten kinds of delicacies such as shark's fin, fish skin, sea cucumber, abalone, scallop, duck gizzard, tendon, red date, chestnut, shiitake mushroom, fish maw, etc. Combine the original flavors into one flavor, open the altar cover, open the altar cover, and uncover the lotus leaf sealed inside, a delicious taste with a light wine aroma comes out, mellow and sweet, with endless aftertaste.

The queen mother took a sip and smiled with satisfaction.

The imperial chef who made this dish proudly introduced: "This dish is a collection of delicacies from mountains and seas. There are as many as [-] kinds of ingredients. The placement in the altar is very particular. The lower layer is filled with chicken, duck tendon, pork belly, duck gizzard, and the middle layer is shark's fin, ham, and scallops. Abalone, the top layer is mushrooms and bamboo shoots, the top layer is sea cucumber, fish maw and fish lip, with Shaoxing wine and chicken sauce, and it is steamed and boiled for three days and three nights."

"It's really good." The eaters all praised.

The sixth dish is the famous Guangdong dish Longhudou. Use the most poisonous rice shovel to peel and tear the meat, add shredded chicken breast, ham, tenderloin, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, fungus, and water chestnuts, cut into thin shreds, and Some civet cats are also boiled and shredded, and stewed together, the taste is extraordinary.

The queen mother looked at the colorful dishes, nodded, and frowned when she heard the name of the dishes, sighed softly, and said: "Oh, it's better not to fight."

The emperor frowned, then smiled again: "That's right."

The seventh dish is braised live fish, and there is nothing to see when it is served.

The eunuch Zhang De'an asked the question on behalf of the master: "You said that this dish is called live fish, but the fish is clearly cooked, how can you prove that it is alive?"

The chef couldn't hide his complacency, and said, "You'll know it when you see it."

As he said that, the chef took a spoonful of boiling oil and poured it down, and the carp covered with various sauces really raised its tail and moved.

Everyone was amazed and couldn't help asking: "What's going on?"

The chef proudly introduced: "The fish is cooked, and there is a live loach in it. The loach suddenly jumped up due to the heat, so the whole fish also moved, as if it was alive."

"What a fantastic idea." Everyone was amazed, Zhang De'an took a small plate and prepared to put a piece of meat to the master, but unexpectedly, the loach in the fish belly jumped again, and when the fish moved, oil splashed out and splashed on his face On, there was a blister.

"Ouch." Zhang De'an covered his face