socalfunplaces Chapter 88 Cooking
Chapter 88 Cooking
The blower whirred, the stove roared, the kitchen was noisy, and the chopping board clattered loudly.
It's 9 a.m., and the staff have just finished their lunch. In the kitchen, they're preparing ingredients for lunchtime, while the interns in the chef training program are having their first cooking practice since joining the program.
Sister Jin led the side dish preparers and general laborers in a flurry of activity in front of the chopping block, while keeping an eye on Xiao Wei and his group.
Xiao Wei and his friends were now all dressed in standard two-pocket chef uniforms, except they weren't wearing hats. The traditional Chinese chef's hat was actually the People's Hat, the kind that used to be on the old People's Liberation Army uniforms, only it was white. Later, the tall cream hats that were everywhere were worn by foreign chefs, and as a result, foreign things were considered better, so all the domestic chefs started wearing tall hats.
Today was a hands-on class. One person cooked green beans, and the other stir-fried pork slices. Everyone did everything themselves, from sourcing and processing the ingredients to the finished dish. There were only five or six people, so it didn't take much time and didn't delay the restaurant from welcoming guests at noon.
All eight stoves in the kitchen were lit at once, and a row of small oil pans sat on the fire, quietly emitting invisible fumes that were then vented upstairs by the exhaust fan.
Braised green beans, also known as Northeastern green beans, are made by taking round green beans, removing the ends, frying them in oil, and then stir-frying them in a wok.
Flat green beans are sandy, meaning they become soft and sticky when cooked, making them suitable for stewing, while round green beans are crisp and better suited for stir-frying.
The green beans had all been picked, washed, and drained, and the meat had been cut into pieces and marinated with soy sauce, sugar, pepper, and flour. They were laid out in front of everyone. Xiao Wei put the back of his hand on the oily noodles to feel them, but he was just imitating others; he couldn't actually feel anything.
Standing next to him, Xia Maosheng burst out laughing, almost dropping the strainer in his hand. He coughed several times and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before saying to Xiao Wei, "You have to feel it. Heat rises, so you need to put your hand as close to the oil as possible. When you feel the oil temperature is about right, it's hot enough. Or you can try another method: pinch off a little bit of vegetable and drop it in. If the vegetable sinks to the bottom, the oil temperature isn't high enough. If it swirls and doesn't sink, then it's ready. Try it."
Xiao Wei thought for a moment, then pinched off a small piece of green bean and threw it into the oil. It sank to the bottom and bubbled. Xia Maosheng used a slotted spoon to scoop up the small piece of green bean and discarded it, saying, "You can't leave this in the pot. If the oil gets hot enough, it will burn when you fry it, and the whole dish will taste bad. If the oil is hot enough, you don't need to worry about it; just add the other vegetables."
After waiting a while longer, the other burners were all lit and frying. Finally, the oil temperature on Xiaowei's stove was right. He imitated Xia Maosheng, putting the green beans into a strainer and clumsily lowering it into the oil. As soon as it was put in, with a whoosh, the oil surged and bubbled upwards like it was boiling. Xia Maosheng shouted, "Lift it up!"
Xiao Wei used both hands to lift the strainer out of the oil pan, and the churning oil immediately calmed down. Xia Maosheng said, "Try it one at a time. You didn't drain the water properly."
He put it down and lifted it up again, then put it down and lifted it up again, repeating this process four or five times until finally, all he could hear was a sizzling sound as the oil stopped bubbling up. Xia Maosheng nodded, and Xiao Wei put the entire strainer into the oil pan, flipped it over, poured the green beans into the oil, and slowly stirred them with the strainer.
Xia Maosheng was very serious at this moment. He was busy with his own work while keeping an eye on Xiao Wei. He knew that being a chef was a dangerous job. One wrong move and you could get burned or burned.
After stirring for a minute, the surface of the green beans became noticeably wrinkled, and their color changed from dark green to a slightly yellowish hue. Xia Maosheng said, "It's ready." Xiao Wei looked at them carefully, memorized their appearance, and then used a slotted spoon to scoop the green beans out and place them on the draining rack. He turned around to get the prepared steel basin, scooped a few pieces of starch from the spice bowl next to him and put them into the steel basin, then poured in the marinated meat pieces and stirred them with his hands.
Starch is very hard when soaked in water, and it takes a lot of force to move it. But after stirring it a few times, it becomes very easy to move.
Mix the starch and meat pieces well, making sure each piece of meat is evenly coated with starch. By this time, the oil in the pan that just fried the green beans should have cooled down a bit. Xiaowei then put the meat pieces into the oil.
Xia Maosheng said from the side, "Move your fingers quickly, break the pieces of meat apart, and put them in one by one. Be fast, and be careful not to put your fingers in the oil." As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Wei cried out and quickly pulled his hand back. His fingers were in oil. In fact, every chef has been burned by oil. No matter how skilled you are, it is inevitable that you will occasionally put your fingers in. However, there is starch on your fingers, so as long as you don't keep them in there, you won't get hurt. It's just a burn.
Continuing, Xiao Wei was initially hesitant, standing far away with his head tilted. Gradually, he became more familiar with the task and stood closer and straighter, his hand speed also improving. Deep down, no matter what it is, practice makes perfect. It's all the same.
Occasionally, some pieces of dough that weren't mixed evenly would pop open in the oil, but because water starch was used, the oil didn't splatter.
With a couple of quick scoops, a large bowl of meat is quickly added. Once the oil temperature rises again, pour the whole thing into the oil and fry until the surface of the meat changes color and turns golden brown. Then remove it and drain the oil.
Add a little oil to the wok, sauté scallions and garlic until fragrant, then add a spoonful of bone broth, salt, and MSG. Stir well, add a little soy sauce, and bring to a boil. Add the fried green beans, stir, and wait for the broth to absorb the moisture from the slightly dried green beans. Thicken with a thin cornstarch slurry, stir again, add a drizzle of oil, and remove from heat. The braised green beans are now ready.
Clean the wok with an oil brush (a standard restaurant wok should not be wet), add a little oil, sauté scallions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant, add broth, add the chopped assorted ingredients: diced green bell peppers and garlic shoots, stir-fry, add soy sauce, salt, and MSG, add the fried meat pieces and stir-fry until the sauce thickens evenly, add a drizzle of oil, stir-fry and remove from the wok, resulting in crispy and savory meat pieces.
Carrying the two dishes he had made himself for the first time in his life, Xiao Wei swaggered over to the stove, placed them in front of Sister Jin, and said, "How is it, Sister Jin? Is it alright? Try it."
Jin Jie covered her mouth and laughed so hard she could barely stand up straight. Xia Maosheng and Yang Tiebin, who had finished cooking, came over to watch. After one glance, they also started laughing, though not as much as Jin Jie. Xia Maosheng pointed at the dishes and said, "Everyone else's crispy fried pork slices are golden and shiny, what is this plate of black lumps?"
Yang Tiebin reached out, grabbed a piece, threw it into his mouth, chewed it, nodded, and said, "It tastes alright, quite delicious. You did well the first time, but you put too much soy sauce in, and you did it twice. Just use less next time. Okay, I believe you can learn it now." He gave Xiaowei a thumbs-up.
The dishes he and Xia Maosheng cooked were devoured by a group of handymen. They had actually been doing this for several years, and they could cook these two dishes with their eyes closed.