Datang First Chef

Chapter 66

The name of the Jiangnan River Fresh Fair was thought up by Mo Wenyuan on a whim. After careful taste, both Wei Wen and Hu Weizhen thought it was a good name. Three famous chefs who didn't know much about vulgar things got together to deliberate on how to hold this future A grand event with a reputation resounding throughout the south of the Yangtze River.

They are chefs, not literati, and rhetoric and embellishments do not exist. The strategies they put forward may not be all golden and jade, but they are all down-to-earth words from the heart, which can be used and put into practice.At the same time, Mo Wenyuan was influenced by the ancient famous businessman Li Sanniang and various modern business investment methods. He has a little bit of conscience about how to hold a grand event. He cleared his throat and said, "First of all, we need one or many investors."

He thought for a long time, but he couldn't find any words to translate the word "investor". Sure enough, Wei Wen said with an open-minded face, "What is an investor?" .

Mo Wenyuan explained: "I see literati gatherings. There are adults who hold banquets, select venues, and coordinate everything. Poetry Parallel Prose, we also need such people to plan one or two behind the scenes to hold a gathering, among other things, finding a venue, preparing ingredients, and inviting romantic talents to comment are all important things."

"All these things together cost a lot, and consume more time and energy. With the strength of the three of us, it is definitely not enough."

The two thought about it, and felt that what Mo Wenyuan said was absolutely right, but Hu Weizhen had another idea: "Why does someone help me hold a rally for no reason?" He snorted, "I am not a scribe, and I have never held a rally before." The tradition of being famous, in my opinion, even if a rally is held, no one thinks it is beneficial to come to do business."

Mo Wenyuan smiled and said: "Then it would be good to find some people with good reasons to hold the joint event." He said, "For example, my aunt is willing to provide the venue, and I can lobby for the ingredients for the meeting. Qin Lang and others."

Hu Weizhen still dismissed it, thinking that Mo Wenyuan could not find a good way to persuade them, but Mo Wenyuan said: "Although I am not talented, I still have a little contact with some nobles from aristocratic families. After the Hexian meeting is over, please come Lang Jun will compose poems regularly, compile a collection of poems, and leave the name of the contractor in the collection."

"As for the second one, I'm still planning it." Mo Wenyuan said carefully, "I would like to invite a few prominent and famous figures to participate in this meeting, if they agree, they can attract a large number of people just by their names. "

Hu Weizhen doubtfully said: "Who has this ability?"

Mo Wenyuan smiled with eight teeth: "It's not a human being."

……

"Jiangnan Hexian Festival?" Sun Wukong opened and closed his eyelids and said, "If it's just for one day, it's not a problem to participate, but Hexian, isn't it meat?"

Mo Wenyuan said: "No, no, no, how could I invite the great sage to eat meat food? Although there are many meat foods in the river and sea, there are also a lot of vegetarian food. For example, the almond tofu I made before is the one in the river and sea. I have already planned it, if this meeting is held, it will be divided into two kinds of meat and vegetable dishes, and the great sage will comment on the vegetarian dishes at that time."

"There are no stone cauliflowers in the south of the Yangtze River, but lotus root, wild water shield and water shield are also grown in water, and can be eaten with these vegetables, which are also very delicious."

Sun Wukong reached out and touched his chin: "It's not impossible. Master happens to be studying scriptures in Tianzhu Temple. These days, he doesn't have time to wait for me. It's a trivial matter to go to the south of the Yangtze River for a day. Master will not refuse." He lowered his voice. He said, "However, Master doesn't eat fish and shrimp, but I can eat them. Although vegetarian dishes are not bad, if you eat too much, the taste in your mouth will be weak—"

The implication is very obvious.

Mo Wenyuan understands very well, does the Great Sage eat meat?It's true that his prototype is a monkey, but he also eats delicious meat. As for when to eat it, of course he avoids Tang Xuanzang and eats it in Li Sanniang's restaurant.

Monkey King: Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know, I know, but Master doesn't know.

Mo Wenyuan: Hey, okay!

He nodded knowingly and said, "Don't worry, Great Sage, I'm here."

In a few words, he invited a heavyweight guest for the Jiangnan Hexian Association. Thanks to the blessing of Tang Sanzang to learn scriptures from the West, Monkey King has become a celebrity in the Tang Dynasty, and there are many monks who have the ability to subdue demons and demons these days. The world is peaceful again, and the common people are very fond of Tang Seng's apprentices in the folk tales. The effect of Monkey King's appearance may not be the same as that of idol fans.

Some people in the Li Sanniang Restaurant in Chang’an City were proud to have met Sun Wukong who bought food. A few times ago he used the prototype to buy food and caused a commotion and frenzied interception.

……

Besides, many well-known chefs in the Huaiyang area have received invitations from the Jiangnan River Fresh Food Fair. I hope they can join this grand event.

When the invitation was issued, the rules of the grand event had already been drawn up, and the lineup for participating in the Hexian Club had also been finalized.The three sponsors still have a lot of face, especially Mo Wenyuan has the name of a Buddha, and ordinary people are willing to sell his face. This meeting is like a gathering of literati. First draw up the theme, and then make two dishes based on the theme. For river delicacies, you can use whatever ingredients you like.These ingredients were provided by the person who held the meeting, and then the taste was judged by many invited literati, eminent monks, and other odds and ends. Finally, the meat and vegetables were selected to select the best delicious delicacies.

As for recording the grand occasion of the Hexian Festival in writing, I have also talked to the chefs. In addition, Hu Weizhen has many descendants in the Jiangnan area who have a lot of face.

It is not uncommon for people to hesitate whether they will be stolen when cooking in public, but Hexian will say that you can bring your own secret sauce and spices, and you don’t need to cook on the spot. The chefs say that they are for others to see It doesn't matter if you have a knife skill, these skills can't be learned simply by looking at them.

In the end, most of the people agreed to participate in this meeting. The number of people was beyond the imagination of Mo Wenyuan and others.

Mo Wenyuan sighed: "This Hexian Fair is undoubtedly a grand event."

Wei Wendao: "Isn't it? Not to mention the boundary of Jiangnan, even if we have never heard of this kind of gathering in the whole country for many years, it is only now that the world is peaceful, the people are free from disasters, and Jiangnan is also rich to hold this gathering."

After sighing, he couldn't help but asked Mo Wenyuan: "But there is one thing that I don't know."

"Speaking?"

"It is understandable that Qin Weishan and Sanniang are willing to contribute money, capital and effort. Since you said that Sun Dasheng in the common saying is willing to come, after this grand meeting, the monks in the temple will definitely give a new common saying. It is in the name of this." , they are all willing to come.”

"Yes?"

"I also understand the literati and poets who are invited here. Not to mention the former, many of the latter came from the two capitals to support them. Obviously, you invited them alone."

"Wei Lang really offends me, but his acquaintance happened to be in the south of the Yangtze River, and the world's aristocratic families are connected. As long as Xiao knows one of them, he can bring two or three."

At this point in the conversation, Wei Wen's expression had changed slightly. Guan Zhi seemed to be trapped by some problem and couldn't figure it out. He scratched his head and scratched his head.

"The above, I really can understand, but! But!" He couldn't help but scratched his head crazily, no longer the calm concentration of the lunatic chef in the past, the rock-like statue of firmness was injected with life, and the facial features became lively stand up.

"Why did Zhang Duzhi agree to your invitation?"

Like Zheng Duzhi, there is also a famous prostitute in Jiangnan, even Wei Wendu has heard of her name.The famous Jiangnan prostitute's surname is Zhang, and her first name is Xianxian. People call her Zhang Douzhi. She is a Jiangnan woman like water in a typical picture book. She has both talent and appearance. The lotus flowers are fragrant and clear, and they are graceful and clean.Talent is the first in the south of the Yangtze River, and the poems written by the famous talents can't match it, and it is rare to find a woman who is more beautiful than her.

In the Tang Dynasty, people valued talents more than appearances. Women with well-known names were often only handsome in appearance, but Zhang Xianxian was different, with both talents and appearances.

Just like this, a woman in the south of the Yangtze River was persuaded by Mo Wenyuan to be the questioner of the Hexian Club. Even if Wei Wen knew about it, she felt a sense of grief and recklessness. Putting the two together, such as Zhang Fei embroidering flowers and Xi Shi playing with a big knife, no matter how you think about it, it violates harmony.

Mo Wenyuan said: "I didn't do anything, but I just sent a letter of worship to Zhang Duzhi in a whimsical way, and met Duzhi once, and spent money to do things with the fake mother, so I didn't do much."

In order to play up their talent and fame, famous prostitutes also need social activities. As long as the fake mother agrees, everyone knows that she is also willing to participate in public activities. Mo Wenyuan has dealt with that fake mother before, and she can tell by her expression Zhang Xianxian was very willing to participate in such activities, but it was a pity that Zhang Duzhi himself was very determined, and after meeting Mo Wenyuan in person, he agreed wholeheartedly.

"Something must have happened when you met Duzhi." Wei Wen insisted, "Quickly invite the truth."

Mo Wenyuan muttered helplessly, his voice was so low that only he could hear it: "Does it count if you find out that Zhang Duzhi is a star-chasing girl?"

Wei Wendao: "What did you say?"

"It's nothing, it's just my mouth."

In the Tang Dynasty, there was also a theory of chasing stars. Zhang Xianxian was known as a member of the stars, but for some reason she was obsessed with vulgar lectures. She always listened to the vulgar lectures held in temples, new ones and old ones. Don't let them go, such as "Yu Lan Saves Your Mother" can be memorized backwards.

Among the many common sayings, her favorite is the new saying of Tang Sanzang to learn from the West. She is very fond of the Monkey King, the Monkey King who has the ability to escape the earth and can change 72. Mo Wenyuan himself is also a fan of Monkey King After the two met, they chatted for a few words, and they hit it off right away. When he heard that Monkey King would also appear at the Hexian meeting, Zhang Duzhi made a decisive decision and said that he would participate in the Hexian meeting.

Wei Wen never imagined how she was invited here.

……

Determining who will be present is only one of many tasks, and Li Sanniang and others have more tedious affairs to be busy.Li Sanniang is well versed in the effectiveness of advertising, and after Mo Wenyuan came up with the prototype of the Jiangnan Hexian Club, she wanted to hug her son tightly in her arms to express her excitement.Then she rolled up her sleeves and made a quick attack, competing with the merchants who wanted a piece of the pie, and grabbed the job of selecting the venue.

The time for the Hexian Festival is very tight. At this time, the autumn is getting stronger and the weather is getting colder every day. After a few more days, entering the late autumn when the wind is bleak and the leaves are falling, many melons and eggplants will be useless, so all parties are making preparations very nervous.

Li Sanniang said: "There are both rivers and rivers, so it would be more appropriate for the assembly to be placed on the ground beside the water." The river she chose was not well-known, but the scenery was beautiful, with green trees and grass on both sides of the river bank. , the emerald green grass tips are wilted, and the branches are still hanging leaves, but the cold wind blows, and the leaves flutter down like butterflies.

In this situation and the scene, autumn is strong, even if there is no food, no gatherings, literati must also flourish in poetry.

Building countertops, setting up temporary stoves, one job after another, too busy for people to see.

Zhongheiyang was not idle either. He said he was a non-staff member, but he acted like a socialist brick. He moved wherever he needed it. He was very helpful in preparing ingredients.

Don’t worry about fish and shrimp. There are fish merchants here. You can find all kinds of fish, shrimp, puffer fish, and other river products. There are many, high-quality, and fresh ingredients.What Zhongheiyang is really busy with is the vegetable part. In order to find a justifiable reason to let Sun Wukong and eminent monks from Daming Temple and other famous temples join this event and add gimmicks to the Hexian Festival, Mo Wenyuan took great pains. Most of the vegetables are not very fresh, and the chef's use of this dish will inevitably be abnormal.

Black sheep can't do things that are too shocking. He is like the most natural food detector, leading a group of people to shuttle through the fields, forests, plains, and mounds near Huaiyang, looking for the best and freshest local dishes, and preparing for the upcoming event. The seafood will provide quality assurance.

The guys who followed him were all impressed by Zhong Hei Yang's wonderful ability, and some people sighed from the bottom of their hearts: "This supernatural power and the chef are really a match made in heaven. No wonder Mo Dalang Yang stays with him and gets together every day."

A match made in heaven!

Zhong Heiyang turned his head and took a deep look at this guy, as if he wanted to imprint his appearance in his heart. There are not many people who can speak so well and make him "dragon's heart happy". It is rare to meet one and cherish it.

It's a pity that the guy was so terrified that he didn't dare to use the black sheep as a raft anymore.

……

Since Sun Wukong agreed to Mo Wenyuan, it was impossible not to go. He originally wanted to sneak away and call back and forth for a day while his master was studying the Indian scriptures at the Buddhist Academy. Meditate to appreciate the mysterious Dharma.With Tang Sanzang guarding him, he had to report when he went out.

Master Xuanzang is not a person who does not want to be reasonable, on the contrary, he is different from ordinary people and is good at flexibility. Hearing what Sun Wukong said, he readily agreed: "Since Mo Dalang invited you, you can go."

Sun Wukong just wanted to somersault and leave, but he didn't want to kill Cheng Yaojin halfway, Zhu Bajie blocked the middle of the road with his broad chest and said: "Hey, big brother, can I go with you this time?" He hasn't closed his ears yet Transformed into the appearance of a romantic and noble son in the world, Zhu Bajie at this time is a full-fledged pig.

Sun Wukong remained calm and said, "It's fine for me to take you there. Did you tell Master before we left?"

Zhu Bajie: "Hey hey hey hey, that's right, big brother, you can take me there first, and I will explain to Master when I get back."

Sun Wukong glanced at him with obvious meaning: "You are so courageous."

"If you really want to go, go. I don't know whether you told Master or not."

"Good, good, good! This is very good!" Zhu Bajie was overjoyed, his spiritual power flowed, and he instantly transformed into a handsome man. He grabbed Monkey King and said triumphantly, "This time I will do somersaults with the big brother, and it won't be like the last time. Embarrassed."

Sun Wukong: "..."

Without saying a word, he jumped into the air, Zhu Bajie's eyes suddenly widened, his legs and feet dangling.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Was caught off guard.

……

This time, the Jiangnan Hexian Fair was very powerful, and the identities of the judges recruited were also different. Everyone knew, monks, family members, literati, craftsmen...all of them, it can be said that it took into account all social classes and all aspects.

The people in Huaiyang and other places have already heard about this event. The life of the ancient working people is very poor, and entertainment activities are also scarce. I heard that such a grand event is organized, even if I have less work, I still want to see it. It was full of people, even a few monkey-like teenagers hung from the trunk of a big tree.

The distinguished judges sat on the seat cushions, and the sharp-eyed onlookers noticed that there was no one on the seat cushions, and the host of the assembly had already been taken care of, and he walked forward a few steps and said loudly: "This time, I will wait for the invitation from the Hexian Conference." A fairy has arrived."

As soon as this remark came out, the crowd was in an uproar. Everyone in the world knew where the immortals were, but they had never seen the real immortals who practiced walking in the world. They were curious and awed by their people.

"This immortal is someone we are familiar with. He is the Sun Wukong and the Sun Walker of Master Xuanzang on his journey to the west."

There were applause and cheers from the attacking crowd, no matter what era the charm of Monkey King is unmatched.

Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao, just said, and the moment the words fell, Monkey King fell from the sky. Zhu Bajie, who was not ready, was unsteady on his feet, staggered, and sat down on the table.

There was sniggering from the crowd, who said his landing posture was too funny.

"Who is he?"

"Since we are traveling together, I'm afraid it's not another disciple of Master Xuanzang."

"The handsome young man is probably not Gao Laozhuang's..."

"Haha, delicious and lazy Zhu Bajie!"

Fortunately, Zhu Bajie fell and squatted in pain. At this time, he grinned and focused on his not fat buttocks, otherwise he would definitely explode if he heard the crowd talking.

Monkey King must have heard it, but he traveled back and forth between the Western Paradise and the Eastern Land and Tang Dynasty many times, could he have heard the common saying about himself and others?Therefore, the eyelids are not raised in this matter.

Sun Wukong: Hey, anyway, the image of my grandson and master is as wise and powerful as ever. Zhu Bajie is a lazy eater, so let him be a lazy eater!

Anyway, he also felt that this description was correct.

Another mat was added to the judges, and the two were arranged next to the eminent monks in Daming Temple. They were both Buddhists. It was very appropriate to sit together, nodding to each other to show respect.

Zhang Xianxian, who was sitting alone, covered her face with her hands to hide the excitement that was throbbing on her face.

This is a living saint!

Star chasers feel the satisfaction of grabbing the soul!

"Jiangnan River Fresh Meeting, start a meeting!"

……

In most gatherings, there are performances before the competition full of competition. If literati attend the meeting, beautiful women will inevitably show their performances, and talented people will show off their poetic talents and elegance.At the gathering of chefs, all they can perform is cooking. As a famous chef, he always cooks some dishes that are highly ornamental and the production process is very smooth.

Participation in this project is not mandatory, but as long as the chefs who come here are sharpening their knives and want to show off their skills at this time, the dishes they choose to cook also have a clear tendency, either for showmanship or exquisite style , either exquisite in style, or rich in color, it seems that if it cannot be ground-breaking, it is not a good dish.

Mo Wenyuan also has a similar tendency. He believes that this dish must show the chef's magnificent and weird imagination, the ingenious knife skills, and the food itself has a taste that makes the index finger move. It is a good performance dish.

He pondered at home for a few days, but he didn't plan to use the big dishes that were already in the store. Instead, he made new ones and thought of a new style of dishes.

After he made up his mind, he went to the aquaculture area. The river fish provided at the meeting were the best, the freshest, and the varieties were rich, including all kinds of river fish in the river. The vat Wen Yuan was walking towards had not been cared about so far. When he moved, not to mention the minds of the judges, he stood on the ground in twos and threes, and the people squatting on the trees were all affected by him.

The people in the back row couldn't see what was going on in the front row, they heard a commotion and asked, and the people in the front row said vividly: "It's Mo Dalang, he picked fish!"

"Choose fish? What kind of fish did you choose?"

"I don't know, but I think that big barrel is taller than other barrels, and no one cares about the fish in it so far."

When Mo Wenyuan saw the big fish in the bucket, he showed a confident smile that he was sure of winning, and he didn't allow anyone to help him. He lifted the net bag from the side of the bucket, his wrist trembled, and scooped it up in the water——

"Ah!"

"It's actually a sturgeon!"

"Catch a sturgeon of this size?"

"Qin Lang also spent his money this time!"

Sitting among the crowd, Qin Weishan enjoyed the astonished eyes of the crowd. He thought to himself that he didn’t spend any money. Perhaps God wanted them to hold such a grand event. Fishing this morning was different from usual. Those fish seemed to be As if knowing his own way, he desperately slammed into the fishing net pocket, like a sturgeon, he could not see a few on weekdays, but today it can be said to be inexhaustible.

Hey, the quality of the fish he serves is better.

Middle black sheep: hidden merit and fame.

If it wasn't for him ordering these fishes to always bump into their pockets, would they be able to catch so many?

Not to mention the common people who were surrounded by guests, even the other chefs who competed with Mo Wenyuan wondered why Mo Wenyuan found a sturgeon. Sturgeon is not cooked. This fish is huge, but the taste is not very good. Ordinary people don't eat it. Only those private chefs raised by dignitaries and nobles can cook this fish.They do not make sturgeon for the freshness of the product, but mostly for "replenishing qi and tonifying deficiency, making people fat and healthy."

Sturgeon can be used as traditional Chinese medicine, which has the effects of nourishing qi and tonifying deficiency, promoting blood circulation and treating stranguria.

Then why Mo Wenyuan chose the sturgeon, of course it is because it is big =v=!

In addition to sturgeon, Mo Wenyuan also took some other river fish. If any future cooks saw the materials in his hands here, they would definitely shout "Taihu three whites".

Taihu Lake refers to three famous river delicacies in Taihu Lake in the Yangtze River Delta region, namely white fish, whitebait and white shrimp.These three things are white in color, very heavy and fresh, steamed and boiled are the best.

Mo Wenyuan was not in a hurry to deal with these materials. Instead, he took a few bamboo branches and began to weave them carefully. After a while, he turned into a huge bamboo plate.

Sturgeon was chopped off at the first place and steamed in a pan, but it was only steamed until the fishy smell was removed, then it was taken out and deliberately placed in two positions on the large plate.

Ok?

The judges whispered to each other, what is he doing?

After the fish heads and tails are processed, it's the turn of the fresh fish. The first thing he cooks is boiled shrimp. The whole body of the Taihu shrimp is bright white, and they are alive and kicking in the bucket.There are two methods of boiling, one is the original burning method, and the other is the modified burning method. The modified burning method needs to marinate the ingredients before cooking to make the taste more crisp.

He looked at the fresh shrimps, and thought that the essential umami taste was enough, so he didn't do much treatment, and just added two drops of peony flower wine to the water to enhance the aroma.

The cauldron is set on the stove, and it is already heated up. Put the scallion and ginger slices into the pot first, and then add water and a small amount of peony flower wine. These seasonings have different aromas. The flavor of the slices was strong and overbearing, and when mixed together, the scent became more pungent. The chefs around couldn't help but look sideways at Mo Wen, as if trying to figure out what he was doing.

The water boiled in a short time, and the white shrimp that had been in the water for a period of time fell into the cauldron. The steam was so hot that it attracted the eyes, and the meat of the shrimp changed color in the water. The white meat is different from ordinary white meat, and has a crystal clear taste. Mo Wenyuan quickly fished out the shrimps and spread them on the light green bamboo branches. When you poke the shell, you can see the soft meat inside shaking tremblingly——

Mo Wenyuan peeled off a shrimp and tasted it. His snow-white teeth were in contact with the snow-white meat of the shrimp. When the upper and lower teeth joined together, the meat of the shrimp broke, and the soup inside his body splashed out and landed on the tip of his tongue.The amount of juice is not a lot, it can be called the concentrated essence, the deliciousness of the shrimp, the freshness of the scallions, the irritating spicyness of the ginger, and the wine of the peony flower wine.

If he didn't remember that he was in the competition, he would definitely eat one after another. The boiled shrimp is really delicious!

……

The shrimp meat is just the beginning. While waiting for the shrimp to be ready, Mo Wenyuan also fried some fish meat to make smoked fish, and then sliced ​​the fish fillets. They whispered to each other about the method of cooking.

"He actually used multiple cooking methods at the same time?"

"It's more than that, I also took the belly of the sturgeon and cut it into pieces!"

The southern region has the cooking method of the southern region, and the northern region has the cooking method of the northern region, frying and steaming, all methods are integrated by Mo Wenyuan and used in this big dish.

His person is better than a robot made up of precision gears and bearings, and he seems to have eight hands and six pairs of eyes, and he does not stop cooking.

The pictures on the large bamboo platter gradually took shape, and the eyes of the judges gradually widened.

Those who can be judges, even if they are not well-read poets, are the first in their field of expertise. They have extensive knowledge, and they can see what Mo Wenyuan puts out with a lot of fresh fish.

"Map of the Tang Dynasty!"

The brown color of thick oily red sauce, the white color of steamed and boiled fish, the high raised fish head, and the beautifully curved fish tail... A sturgeon is closely connected with other delicious flavors, forming a magnificent territory.

Mo Wenyuan showed a satisfied smile, Hexian Datang, it's done!