[Red Mansion] A little chef came to the Grand View Garden

Seeing Chef Shao's expression of white and red, red and black, the chefs in Hongshunlou immediately understood——

Even though Chef Shao watched the whole process of Liu Mei's cooking from beginning to end, and cooked it exactly the same, the taste of this plate of tofu was still not as good as Liu Mei's.

But why?

Chef Shao couldn't utter a single word, and gradually became discouraged.He let out a long sigh, turned to Lin Xiaohong and said, "Miss Hong, please tell the master that I, Old Shao, am not as skilled as others. I really have no face to stay in Hongshun Building. If you are willing to invite the master, please be smart... well!"

Immediately he turned around, untied the apron tied around his body, carefully folded it, and put it on the stove, with a dejected face, turned and walked out of the big kitchen door.

Lin Xiaohong watched from the side, frowning.From a business standpoint, she hadn't intended to force Chef Shao away, but she never thought that Liu Mei's medicine was a bit too strong, and it was a bit overkill. Burned out.

Chef Shao is about to step out of the door of the big kitchen, only to hear a clear and bright girl's voice from behind.

"Yes, you are right, you are indeed inferior to others. Not only that, you even forgot how to cook!"

As soon as the words came out, the kitchen was in an uproar.

Liu Mei's words were so cruel and heart-wrenching, Chef Shao stopped and turned around, his face was purple and his eyes were full of embarrassment.

The help cooks were also a little at a loss - they had been with Chef Shao for a longer period of time, and they knew very well about Chef Shao's skills, seeing that Liu Mei was just a little girl with yellow hair, they scolded Chef Shao so mercilessly.The kitchen helpers couldn't help trembling in their hearts, feeling that she had spoken too much.

Unexpectedly, Liu Mei continued to speak unceremoniously: "When you made this 'Jiang's Tofu' just now, what were you thinking?"

"What are you thinking?" Chef Shao repeated - he was thinking just now, when the recipe for this tofu dish is sure, he should quickly come up with an attractive dish name, add it on the menu, and wait for it After a while, the limelight will pass, and then I will talk to the owner about the salary increase and promotion.

"Of course I'm just thinking about how to do each process and how much seasoning to use!" Chef Shao prevaricated.

"Really?" Liu Mei sneered, "You watched me make this tofu dish just now, you must have watched it very carefully! Remember every step clearly, and you can see how much each seasoning is used, and the score is not bad. Draw according to the sample Hulu, you think it's easy!"

Everyone was stunned when they heard this: If not, what else should be done?

"But what's the difference between you and a new apprentice under the chef?" Liu Mei pointed to the second chef standing opposite her, and the second chef immediately showed a flattered look—rarely compared to the chef, "Inexperienced" has never had this kind of experience.

"The first one, the piece of tofu you chose just now is a little older than the one I chose at the time, and it should be cooked faster than me; when it is fried through, the color of the tofu should be slightly darker than the one I fried. Lighter, otherwise it will be difficult to taste;”

Chef Shao hadn't noticed the difference in the tofu they used at all just now, so he couldn't help being stunned.

Liu Mei continued to say:

"The liqueur I used was clear and bland because I used the top glass of the newly opened wine jar; the second glass of rum you take from the jar will be thicker and sweeter, so you should use less to avoid The taste of sweet wine is overwhelming;”

"The dried sea rice obtained by rolling bubbles, the ones I use are smaller than the ones you use, and the umami taste is more permeable..."

"Also, when you started the stove, the fire was more than [-]% stronger than when I used it..."

When Liu Mei said something, Chef Shao's face became even darker.

"The most terrible thing is that you know every little difference from what I just said, but when you did it yourself, you didn't pay attention at all."

"That's why there are so many flaws in the dishes you make."

When Liu Mei said that, she was also very angry——

In traditional Chinese dishes, the heat and the dosage of seasonings are rarely recorded accurately in the recipes. Most of the time, they just say "a little", "appropriate amount", "several moment", "short hectare"... This is of course because Chinese cooking techniques are ever-changing, and there are no fixed rules. At the same time, it also gives the chefs room to play, and adjust them at any time according to the specific conditions of ingredients and seasonings.

Because of this, the "feeling" of the chef cooking on the stove is far more important than the recipes written down in his mind.

That's why Liu Mei didn't like Chef Shao's appearance of stealing from her teacher just now, so he just memorized what she did, and then followed it up, thinking that he was done.

"The dishes you make under your hands have long been used by you as a tool for fame and fortune; you have long since lost the heart that a cook should have, how can you still cook satisfactory dishes? ——Tell me honestly You, you are not only inferior in skills... In fact, when I first saw you, I was wondering-why do you still want to be a cook?"

Liu Mei concentrated her firepower, and when she finished her speech, Chef Shao's face was ashamed for a moment, and he crouched straight down with his arms around his head.

Liu Mei and Lin Xiaohong exchanged glances, Lin Xiaohong quietly stretched out her thumb from her sleeve, and gave her friend a thumbs up.But Liu Mei could also see that Xiaohong was a little worried, probably because she was afraid that Chef Shao would be driven away by her, and no one here in Hongshun Building could stand up to him.

At this moment, Chef Shao straightened up suddenly and stood up, sweating all over his head, turned his head to look at Lin Xiaohong with great sincerity and said, "I understand what Miss Liu said...Actually, besides being a cook, I don't care about cooking. Nothing!"

"Miss Hong, from the beginning to the end, it was my old Shao who was wrong... But my old Shao, there is an old man on the top, and a young man on the bottom, and the whole family pointed at my job as a cook. Miss Hong, I was wrong before , I don’t dare to argue with the master anymore... Please, give me another chance, Lao Shao!”

Chef Shao looked at Lin Xiaohong, but Lin Xiaohong just looked at Liu Mei.That means: if Liu Mei agrees, she is willing to nod.

There was no other way, Chef Shao could only turn his face to look at Liu Mei.

I saw Liu Mei walked to the chopping board, picked up a piece of tofu without looking at it.

——Could it be to make Jiang’s tofu again?

The cooks who were watching by the side remembered that they had eaten Kaiyang tofu for several days, no matter how delicious they were, they couldn't eat it anymore.

But Liu Mei turned her wrist, and the tofu was smashed on the chopping board immediately.This piece of tofu was exactly the kind that Liu Mei had used earlier, it was crumbled and soft, and when it was smashed, it shattered beautifully into a puddle on the chopping board.

"Here is a puddle of crushed tofu, you take it as the main ingredient, no matter what auxiliary ingredients you use, make a tofu dish by yourself, and satisfy everyone present, even if you pass the test."

After saying these words, everyone in the kitchen was a little puzzled, staring at the piles of broken tofu on the chopping board.Many people looked at Liu Mei with begging eyes, hoping that she would let Chef Shao go, even if it was a piece of tofu!

But at this time, Xiaohong suddenly stood up, went straight to the stove, reached out to take the apron thrown down by Chef Shao earlier, walked up to Chef Shao step by step, handed the apron to Chef Shao, Then he said lightly: "I will be one of the people who will try it later."

Lin Xiaohong has always been the representative of the master's family, and in this Hongshun building, she has always said what she says.

As soon as she opened her mouth to express her opinion like this, Chef Shao knew that it was useless to seek—he was forced to go up the Liangshan Mountain, and confronted the broken tofu in front of him.

After standing in a daze for a while, Chef Shao tied the apron again, rolled up his sleeves, washed his hands first, and then returned to the chopping board in full view, staring at the pool of tofu.

The help cooks next to them all sweated for their Master Shao.

Liu Mei looked at Lin Xiaohong, and the two of them exchanged a look - both girls knew very well that Chef Shao must force him hard, if he still can't understand, he will always be a mediocre cook who only cares about profit .

I saw Chef Shao standing in front of the tofu in a daze, at least half a stick of incense.Suddenly, he picked up the kitchen knife and reached out to cut the tofu into small pieces of the same size.Because Liu Mei's method of throwing the tofu was excellent, the tofu was broken into messy pieces and the pieces were extremely uneven. Chef Shao repaired it like this, and the tofu gradually became diced tofu of the same size.

It's just that in order to pursue the same size, Chef Shao made these tofu cubes smaller, looking like crumbs from a chopping board.

Chef Shao looked at Liu Mei very unconfidently, but Liu Mei nodded slowly.Chef Shao was overjoyed, and only then did he realize when he turned around: Why did I just listen to this little girl?

Chef Shao put all the tofu crumbs into a sea bowl, then began to frown and think hard, went to the kitchen to get fresh chicken soup, poured it into a pot, and slowly thickened it with a simmer.

On the other side, Chef Shao took fresh ingredients of chicken melon, ham, mushrooms, and mushrooms, and cut them into small cubes the same size as the minced tofu. Then follow the little bit of oil from the ham, and fry the other three ingredients until fragrant.

Then, Chef Shao was going to put all these ingredients into the thick chicken soup, but before putting it into the pot, he hesitated and hesitated, and couldn't help but secretly went to see Liu Mei again.

In fact, Liu Mei knows that her skills are far behind Chef Shao’s by more than 01:30. Nowadays, those classic dishes that famous chefs in restaurants must have, such as Buddha jumping over the wall, roasted sea cucumber with green onions, etc., because the ingredients are expensive, she doesn’t cook much. experience.If it comes to comparing these things, she is definitely not as good as Chef Shao.

But Chef Shao didn't notice, and fell on the most common tofu.After being crushed and scolded by Liu Mei once, Chef Shao really admired Liu Mei, so when he hesitated, he suddenly became interested and wanted to ask Liu Mei for advice.

But when he really wanted to ask for advice, Chef Shao was really embarrassed to ask.

So Liu Mei opened her mouth: "Put the ingredients in your hands first, close your eyes, and imagine. The finished dish you made is right in front of you—"

Chef Shao really closed his eyes, and said after a while: "The tofu is diced, soaked in thick chicken soup, with side dishes in the middle of the tofu, the chicken and melon are tender, the ham is salty, the mushrooms are fragrant, and the mushrooms are smooth... But, But there always seems to be something missing.”

Liu Mei followed his words and asked, "What's the shortcoming?"

As if in a dream, Chef Shao replied in a daze, "The shortcomings are different!"

Liu Mei continued to guide: "Is it the aroma, the taste, or the taste?"

Chef Shao was taken aback, opened his eyes, and said, "The one with a different taste, it's better to have more flavor!" After finishing speaking, he rushed to the other side of the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets.

After a while, he came out with two small pots, one containing sea pine nuts, and the other containing freshly fried pumpkin seeds.

"That's it!"

Chef Shao seemed to be insane. He held the two pots and thought for a long time, and finally made up his mind to put the previous four ingredients, together with pine nuts and melon seeds, into the thick chicken soup, then added minced tofu, and waited until it was cooked. Roll, then sprinkle salt out of the pan.

When this tofu dish came out of the pot, Chef Shao was apprehensive, and went to fetch several small bowls, which were not equipped with chopsticks but only spoons, and put the tofu in the bowls one by one.The first two bowls were given to Xiao Hong and Liu Mei first, and the rest were given to the other helpers in the kitchen, and the shopkeeper and waiters who came in from outside to join in the fun.

After tasting this tofu, there was silence in the big kitchen, and no one spoke.

Chef Shao couldn't help feeling anxious.After all, he hasn't tasted this tofu since it came out of the pot.Seeing everyone reacting like this now, he naturally felt a little uncomfortable.

"Taste it yourself!"

Liu Mei said calmly.

Chef Shao looked around at everyone's faces, then took the last small portion of tofu, scooped it up with a spoon, and put it in his mouth.

For a long time, the man who was nearly forty years old had been silent all this time, but unexpectedly, he suddenly squatted on the ground covering his face.

Liu Mei sighed, thinking: It’s not too uncommon for a dish to be so successful that the person who cooked it ended up crying. Always accompanied by the text "delicious to tears".

This terrible matter about Hongshun Tower has finally come to an end.Chef Shao got Lin Xiaohong to agree that as long as he works hard, he will continue to create some high-quality dishes and earn a good reputation for Hongshunlou. At the end of the year, the host will naturally give him a big red envelope.

Chef Shao thanked Xiao Hong, and turned around to look for Liu Mei.

I saw the chef bow to Liu Mei with a long bow, "Master Liu!"

"Master" is different from "Master" and has its own meaning.Here, Chef Shao respects Liu Mei as the "teacher of one word".

The Second Chef and others followed and bowed to Liu Mei, "Master Liu" and "Grandma Liu", the help cooks were young, and they followed Chef Shao to call them indiscriminately.

Call her so old? ——Liu Mei was naturally so angry that she didn't talk to each other, and it was easy to shut up one by one, then listened to Chef Shao's respectful inquiry: "Master Liu, if you didn't give me a blow in front of me, would you wake me up again?" It took me a lot of patience to make this dish - stewed minced tofu in chicken sauce..."

Stewed minced tofu in chicken sauce - Liu Mei couldn't help but twitch the corners of her mouth when she heard it, this is really an embarrassing name!

Chef Shao also scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, and said to Liu Mei: "So...Miss Liu, I would like you to give this dish a name!"

"This dish of yours is tofu as the main ingredient, thick chicken sauce as an auxiliary, and six flavors as an auxiliary ingredient, all boiled together."

Liu Mei thought for a while, and then added, "The wonderful thing is that the flavors of these six ingredients are perfectly blended together, and the tastes are both distinct and integrated..."

"Yes, it's called six-in-one magic...tofu!" Liu Mei suddenly remembered something, turned around, and asked the crowd who came up, "Who is in charge of the ingredients here, and is familiar with that unusual seasoning?"

Everyone saw Liu Mei asking, and immediately pointed to the second chef, but Chef Shao still didn't understand, "What is...six-in-one, magical...tofu?"

But Liu Mei turned her head excitedly and said to him: "Don't worry, just wait here, I have something to ask you!"

Chef Shao was confused, but he didn't dare to walk away, so he had to listen to Liu Mei asking the second chef if he had ever seen a kind of "red", "pointy", "very hot and spicy food". , even pain" condiment.

The second chef only said that he had never seen it before, but he agreed to Liu Mei, willing to ask other restaurants, merchants, and even medicine shops for her.

Liu Mei was finally satisfied.

Only then did she turn around, looked at Chef Shao, collected herself, looked around again, finally lowered her voice, and asked mysteriously: "Ask you for someone!"

Chef Shao bowed slightly, and said respectfully, "Master Liu, please ask me."

I saw Liu Mei rolled her eyes, seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, and asked in a low voice: "I want to ask who, Prince Zhongshun..."

"...I want to ask, has he really... cut off someone's hand?"

The author has something to say: The prototype of Chef Shao’s tofu dish is “Wang Taishou Babao Tofu” in “Suiyuan Food List”.As for the name "Six-In-One Magic Tofu", it has the same name as "Six-In-One Magic Mapo Tofu". There will be a little bit of other "dishes" mixed in at the end of this article, so let's throw an introduction here.I won't write more about chili, after all, this seasoning dish is not mentioned much in "Red Mansion".I wish you all a good mood and good appetite!