my boyfriend is a chef

When Xi Chuan discussed the menu with Shao Kuan's mother and son, he knew that this meal was not easy to cook. Among them, there were four cold dishes, nine hot dishes, two soups, two sweets, and one staple food. There were eighteen dishes in total. Figure auspicious.This is a family banquet. The four generations of the Shao family live together. There are ten people in total. Mr. Shao has a godson. A family of three came to celebrate his birthday. The number thirteen made up is not pleasant, so Huang Xing accompanied her grandfather over here. There were exactly fifteen people, and a big table was a bit crowded, but it had nothing to do with Xi Chuan, anyway, it wasn't him who crowded together to eat, and he didn't open two tables, so he was the only one who relaxed.

Generally speaking, for such a banquet, each dish is very particular, and one person is really too busy, but Shao Kuan said that he will arrange someone to help him.In order to make this meal, Xi Chuan got up at four o'clock in the morning. There was no way, some dishes would take several hours to prepare. If he didn't prepare earlier, he would miss the birthday banquet at noon.

Shao Kuan worked tirelessly, and brought Xi Chuan into his grandfather's house early in the morning.When Xi Chuan started working in the kitchen, the Shao family hadn't woken up yet.Shao Kuan called the chef and nanny at home to help, because chickens, ducks, fish, etc. are all fresh and must be killed on the spot, no matter how nimble Xi Chuan is, there is not enough time.

The chef looked at Xi Chuan, the shock in his heart was shown on his face, he was too young.He was worried, fearing that Xi Chuan could not do well, and it would ruin everyone's interest, so he said: "Young man, let me do it, and you help me."

Shao Kuan stood at the door of the kitchen and said, "Uncle Zhang, help Xi Chuan today and let him do it."

The chef Lao Zhang looked back at Shao Kuan: "Is this okay?"

Shao Kuan said with a smile: "Don't worry, it will definitely work, you will know in a while."

Fortunately, the home cook is also a professional, so killing chickens and ducks is not a problem, not to mention having a nanny to help, things will go much smoother.Xi Chuan has already kept the menu in mind, and he has already figured out what needs to be done first. Cold dishes and stews can be made now, and they will not be crowded with hot dishes.

The first thing to do is to hang the broth. The exquisite broth needs to be hung twice. The first time is to hang the thick soup with old hen and pork lean meat, then add the minced chicken, boil it and filter out the minced chicken , it becomes a clear and impurity-free Shuanghang soup, which is an indispensable ingredient for most dishes and is reserved for later use.

Xi Chuan also needs to make a pot of meat, which is more exquisite than the one he made for Shao Kuan and the others in the store last time, and the ingredients are also richer. He really uses old Shaoxing wine jars, which is a bit similar to the Buddha jumping over the wall in Fujian cuisine.This dish needs to be stewed for a long time, so you have to get up early in the morning to start the stew, and you can catch up at noon.In addition, the stewed beef, camphor tea duck, and white water tofu on the menu are extremely time-consuming dishes, and they have to be prepared early in the morning.

It was just before dawn, and Xi Chuan had already stewed all the stewed dishes. The chef looked at the sky and said, "The old man likes to eat hand-rolled noodles. Today is his birthday, so I have to make longevity noodles for him. Xiao Master, why don't you come?"

Xi Chuan said: "It's okay for me to come, but I still have some food to buy, can you help me buy it?" Most of the ingredients and condiments have been purchased a few days ago, some ingredients such as tofu, fish, fresh mushrooms, vegetables You must buy the freshest ones, otherwise it will affect the quality of the dishes.This kind of thing could have been left to Shao Kuan to do, but this young master's ten fingers are not in the sun, and he knows that shopping for vegetables is smeared, so he can't do it for him.

"Okay, okay, just tell me what you need to buy." The chef hurriedly wiped the water off his hands, and he planned to let the old man test Xi Chuan's cooking skills after breakfast, so as not to pass the test and not come to the stage at noon.

Xi Chuan made a list of the things he needed to buy and handed it to the chef, instructing him what quality vegetables to buy, and then he started kneading the noodles to make noodles.Xi Chuan found out what the old man liked, and planned to make egg noodles with mushrooms. It is an unwritten rule for Chinese people to eat eggs on birthdays. It just so happens that the old man loves soft-boiled eggs, so Xi Chuan made this. The noodles are very simple, and the toppings are not much In particular, if it is to be delicious, it must have a good soup. Fortunately, Xi Chuan made high soup early in the morning, which is perfect for noodles.

After the old man got up, he walked slowly in the courtyard on crutches as usual. Shao Kuan carried three bowls of noodles and a plate of kimchi on a tray and came out through the courtyard corridor: "Grandpa, happy birthday! Bi Nanshan! Come eat noodles."

The old man saw his grandson with a smile on his face: "Your boy came here early in the morning? Did you make the noodles?"

Shao Kuan smiled: "How can it be, of course the chef made it. Where's grandma?" He placed the tray on the stone table in the center of the patio.

The old lady walked into the courtyard with the birdcage, and there stood a brightly colored parrot inside. As soon as she came in, she called, "Happy birthday! Happy birthday!" It seemed that the old lady had gone out early in the morning to tame the bird.

The old man smiled from ear to ear, and handed it his favorite peanut: "Thank you girl!"

Shao Kuan took over the birdcage for grandma, and hung it on a hook under the eaves: "Grandma, eat some noodles."

The old couple washed their hands and came to sit down. The grandparents and grandson sat around the table to eat noodles. The rest of the family did not come so early. Everyone lived in their own home, only the old couple lived here.The old man took a bite of the noodles, raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked his grandson, "Who made this? It wasn't Xiao Zhang, right?"

Shao Kuan smiled: "Grandpa, have you eaten it? Is it delicious?"

The old man nodded: "That's right." He stretched out his chopsticks to pinch the center of the egg, and the yolk flowed out, which was his favorite soft-boiled egg: "Have a heart, who made it?"

The old lady took a sip of the soup first: "This tastes delicious. It must not be made by Xiao Zhang. Everything Xiao Zhang cooks has a taste of bean paste." The old man has a heavy mouth and likes to eat Pixian bean paste. I like to add Pixian bean paste to the dishes.

Shao Kuan said with a smile, "Your birthday is today, and I invited a friend who can cook to cook at home to give you and grandma a change of taste."

"You're messing around again, aren't you?" Although the old man scolded his grandson, he had a smile on his face, "You're doing a good job as a friend."

"Isn't it good? Try this kimchi, he also made it himself." Shao Kuan picked up the chopsticks and picked up a piece of radish. It was crunchy and delicious. It was the best kimchi he had ever eaten.

The old man also ate a piece: "Oh, it's not bad, it's a bit like the style of Wen pickles back then, old lady, please try it." Wen Pickles used to be the pickle chef of Duoyi Canteen, a famous restaurant in Rongcheng. Technology, Duoyi Canteen is famous because of Wen Kimchi. Many people in Rongcheng went there to eat it. Unfortunately, because the Wen family’s kimchi technology was passed down from male to female, Wen Kimchi happened to have no children, and the skill was lost. People sigh.

The old lady also took a bite: "It's true, you are a great friend, and you can make kimchi so well."

Shao Kuan smiled and said, "Just as long as you think it's delicious." It was indeed right to invite Xi Chuan to cook.

The two elders ate all the noodles, even the soup, and a plate of kimchi was not enough, so Shao Kuan went to the kitchen to get it once.He excitedly told Xi Chuan that his grandparents loved the noodles and kimchi he made. Xi Chuan just smiled and did not appear flattered, obviously quite confident in his skills.

After breakfast, the old lady ran to the kitchen to have a look curiously, and saw that Xi Chuan was very surprised. The young man was young, good-looking, and skilled. I was also very curious, but I refrained from watching it, after all, I have seen a lot.The old lady was full of praise for the kimchi, and planned to ask Shao Kuan to ask Xi Chuan for some old salt water to make a kimchi introduction.

In the morning, the Shao family came one after another, and Huang Xing also came with her grandfather. The Huang and Shao families are family friends and have a close relationship. Huang Xing and Shao Kuan have known each other since they were young. Because of their similar personalities, they often play together.As soon as Huang Xing arrived, she hurried to the kitchen to find Xi Chuan.

The relatives and friends of Shao's family gathered together to chat. Mrs. Shao asked Mr. Huang where Huang Xing was, but Mr. Huang couldn't answer. Shao Kuan said, "I went to the kitchen."

The old lady said, "Huang Xing also knows that young man?"

So everyone's topic turned to the chef who came to cook today, Shao's mother said: "It's Xiao Kuan's friend, a very young guy, I don't know how well the dishes are."

Mr. Shao waved his hand: "Don't worry about it, let the young people do it."

Everyone thought it was the old man who was tolerant to his grandson, but they didn't know that they had tasted Xi Chuan's handicraft early in the morning, and they were very satisfied.Someone was worried, and ran to the kitchen to see that the master was indeed young beyond imagination, and he couldn't help feeling a little worried, thinking that Shao Kuan was too unreliable in his work.

It was nearly twelve o'clock, and it was finally time to serve dinner. The appetizer kimchi was served first, which was requested by the old man and the old lady. The kimchi was also served. The other dishes hadn't been served yet, and everyone hadn't toasted yet. Mr. Shao and Mrs. Shao couldn't wait to stretch out their chopsticks to start eating, and everyone was a little dumbfounded.Mr. Shao said, "Try it, it's delicious."

Everyone was skeptical, someone picked up chopsticks and put a little bit into his mouth, and nodded immediately: "It's really delicious, this pickle is good." Pickles are eaten by Sichuan people since they were young, so you can tell whether it's good or not when you eat it. , Today's kimchi conquered everyone present.

Mr. Shao and Mr. Huang have already begun to recall the warm kimchi back then, talking with gusto.At this time, the cold dishes came up, which were camphor tea duck, stewed beef, eight-treasure stuffed lotus root, and vegetable platter.

The camphor tea duck is cooked in the courtyard of the Shao family. If the Shao family lived in an apartment building instead of a courtyard, Xi Chuan would not be able to make this dish.This dish is very particular, and Xi Chuan started preparing it yesterday. The duck must be marinated with condiments for [-] hours to taste, and then smoked with cypress branches, camphor branches, and tea leaves, steamed in a cage, and then put into an oil pan Fried, sliced ​​and served on the table, the skin of this kind of duck is crispy, the meat is tender, and the fragrance of camphor tea makes it extremely delicious.

Because there were kimchi in front, everyone was looking forward to Xi Chuan's craftsmanship. As soon as the cold dishes were served, everyone couldn't wait to taste them. Fortunately, I still remembered to wish the old man his birthday first, after toasting wine and saying auspicious words, finally It can be started, and it really has a unique flavor, which I have never seen in my life.

The old lady loves the lotus root stuffed with eight treasures. She thinks it tastes delicious, without losing the fragrance of lotus root, which is stylish.The eight-treasure stuffed lotus root is stewed with scallops, shrimp, diced abalone, mushrooms, etc., and then cut into rice grains, stuffed into the hole of the lotus root with the soup, steamed for an hour, and then cut into pieces. In pieces, served on a plate covered with fresh lotus leaves, the visual and taste are extremely enjoyable.

Not to mention that the ingenious camphor tea duck and eight-treasure stuffed lotus root are very popular, even the most common cold vegetable dishes are amazing. A few cold dishes have successfully conquered everyone. Some people are reluctant to stop their chopsticks after eating up.Huang Xing and Shao Kuan's grandfather and grandson ate a little of each and stopped moving their chopsticks, waiting for the next big dish to be served, fearing that they would not be able to eat the next good dish if they were full first.

The gap between cold dishes and hot dishes is only a few minutes. The first hot dish is lantern chicken. The previous dishes are mainly light. Lantern chicken is a dish with a strong taste. Pickle to taste, cook in boiling water, remove and drain, spread a layer of red pepper noodles, add green onion, ginger, etc., then wrap a layer of pork net oil, put it in a container, steam it in a basket, and take it out of the cage Finally, the lard oil is removed, and the original soup is poured. Because the color is as red as the lantern, it is named Lantern Chicken.This dish is festive, so it is very common at traditional banquets.Xi Chuan’s method uses the traditional method of lantern chicken without frying, avoiding the same method as camphor tea duck, and it is also healthier.

Soon home-cooked sea cucumber, eel off robe, white water tofu, Bailing mushroom in abalone sauce, braised goose palm, assorted mushroom soup, eight-treasure vegetarian stew, lychee meat, etc. came up one after another. Spicy, salty, sweet and sour take turns, and everyone is full of praise and surprises.For example, the undressed eel is rarely eaten by ordinary people, because this dish belongs to Hunan cuisine. Xi Chuan combines the Sichuan flavor method. After slaughtering the eel, remove the bone and skin, shred it after soaking in water, and wrap it in egg liquid. Stir-fry in the wok, remove the oil, then sauté shredded winter bamboo shoots, shredded mushrooms and shredded chili until fragrant, pour in shredded eel and stir-fry, add condiments and take it out of the pan. It is a spicy and refreshing dish.

Another example is this white water tofu. In fact, it is the predecessor of boiled cabbage. There are small cubes of tofu floating in the clear soup like white water, which looks like boiled tofu in white water.When it was served, everyone craned their necks to see that this soup was so simple in a table of carefully cooked dishes.If there is cabbage floating in this soup, then everyone knows what it is, but if it is replaced with tofu, no one has eaten it.

Shao Kuan went to serve the soup first: "I'll try it first."

Mr. Shao also said: "Give me some tofu." The old man is old, his teeth are not good, and he can't chew many dishes. This tofu is just right for him.

"I'll have some too," said the old lady.

Shao Kuan took a sip, then chuckled: "It's not good, stop drinking it." He kept scooping the soup into his mouth as he said it.

When everyone saw his appearance, they knew that he was talking ironically, so they hurriedly turned to their side to drink soup.Mr. Shao had already eaten tofu, and he opened his eyes wide: "Isn't this boiled cabbage? Why didn't it put cabbage in it." The tofu has no bean smell, is soft and delicious, and melts in the mouth, which is really wonderful.

The old lady also nodded in agreement: "The tofu is good, and the cabbage is not chewy. This kid is quite interesting."

When everyone heard this, they all waited impatiently for the soup to be served in front of them. Although a big bowl came up, there were so many people that one bowl for each person was really afraid that they would not be able to drink it.Of course, it’s not that you can’t drink it. There’s no chef who doesn’t know the portion, but it’s not too much. One bowl for one person is just right. Everyone praises it. In addition to boiled cabbage, there is also boiled tofu.

The last two hot dishes are Xiaoyayuan’s signature dish, Garlic Catfish, which was added by Xi Chuan. This is his true independent debut after he graduated from the teacher, so he made this dish to express his respect for the master. With respect and gratitude, another pot of meat is served in a winter melon cup. The outside of the winter melon cup is engraved with Songhe, which symbolizes longevity, and the words "Fushou Longchang", which is very unique.Even Huang Xing and Shao Kuan were taken aback, they didn't expect Xi Chuan to be able to do this trick, it was really professional.The beautiful meaning of this finale dish has won unanimous praise from everyone.

Everyone ate to their heart's content. The sweet food eight-treasure steamed pot and crystal cold cake served at the end satisfied the hobbies of the elderly, women and children. The men were full of praise for the staple food, steamed rice. , It really is a master, even the rice is cooked differently.

Mr. Shao said: "Today, I have put a lot of effort into cooking this dish, okay! Please go and see your friend, has he eaten it? It's hard work for him, I have trouble with my legs and feet, can you let him come over, I want to meet him face to face Say thanks."

Shao Kuan quickly put down the bowls and chopsticks and got up to look for Xi Chuan. After serving the last dish, Xi Chuan felt like he had finished a tough battle and was sitting in a chair to rest, while the chef and the nanny were eating without looking up. .Shao Kuan asked: "Xi Chuan, have you eaten?"

Xi Chuan smiled: "Not yet, but I tasted the dishes and I'm a bit full." Actually, the person who cooks doesn't have a big appetite, because the appetite is not good because of the oily smoke.

Shao Kuan said: "My grandfather said that he likes your cooking very much and wants to thank you in person. But he has bad legs and feet, so I have to trouble you to go for a walk."

Xi Chuan was taken aback, then nodded: "It should be." He took off the apron on his body, washed his face, and followed Shao Kuan. As a chef, he really needed to listen to the feedback from the guests, let alone On the old man's birthday, he should go to say congratulations.

When Xi Chuan entered, the people in the room were talking loudly. When they saw Xi Chuan, everyone fell silent. Most of them saw him for the first time. They didn’t expect him to be so young and handsome. The key is The craftsmanship is still so good, what a rare talent.

Shao Kuan introduced him to his grandfather, and Xi Chuan hurriedly said, "Happy birthday to you, old man, and a long life!"

Mr. Shao stretched out his hand to shake his hand: "Okay, okay! Thank you, thank you young man, I haven't had such a good meal for a long time, the craftsmanship is really good, and I have a bright future in the future."

Xi Chuan said with a smile: "Thank you for your encouragement, I will continue to work hard!"

Everyone stopped Xi Chuan and asked about the recipes of those dishes. Xi Chuan answered them one by one. There is no need for him to keep his secrets, because even if he knows the recipes, the taste of different people may not be the same.

Xi Chuan went back to the kitchen to eat some food, and was ready to go back.Shao Kuan gave him a red envelope: "This is my grandfather's red envelope for you."

Xi Chuan thought that the money for cooking was paid by the old man, so he took it: "Thank you then."

Shao Kuan said again: "I transferred your salary to WeChat. Thank you very much today, and I might ask you for help in the future."

Xi Chuan took out the red envelope and took out his mobile phone to check WeChat. Sure enough, there was a money transfer. He said puzzledly, "Your grandfather gave it all, why did you return it to me?"

Shao Kuan said: "That's a red envelope from my grandfather, you just take it, it's rare that the old man is so happy. The salary is what we agreed before, of course we have to give it, you have worked hard for several days, you deserve it. Thank you! You can come to me if you need any help in the future, although I don't have any great skills, it's okay to help a little."