Seeing Ning Weimin looking forward to it confirmed that he was interested in what he said and did not dislike what he said was boring.
"Zhang Dashao"'s mood was obviously a little higher.
After sorting out the language a little, he continued to speak more smoothly.
"Let's talk about the palace-style cooking characteristics. The only place in the capital that can speak of local flavor is the 'Kouzi Kitchen', which you should also know. However, this kind of cooking in a greenhouse is difficult to say exquisite. Especially before the capital became the capital.
, the dishes are few and the cooking methods are rough. Just like most areas in Hebei Province, it is really difficult to get into the restaurant."
"So most of the court chefs of Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty were from Shandong. Shandong cuisine was therefore spread throughout the palace and among the people. In the Qing Dynasty, the food habits of the Ming Dynasty court were still inherited intact. So there is no doubt that the palace flavor
The first place on the list is the flavor of Shandong cuisine.
"The second is the original cooking of the Manchu people. The Manchu people originated from a long-standing nomadic life. The meat of cattle, sheep, chickens and other animals are the raw materials of their daily diet. The cooking methods are mainly barbecue and stew."
"When the Qing Dynasty took over the Central Plains, they didn't pay much attention to food. But during the Qianlong Dynasty, they began to pay attention to it. The palace chefs improved the Manchu diet, thus introducing a unique flavor of food that has been preserved to this day. It is now famous in the capital.
Lamb dish.”
"The third one is Suzhou and Hangzhou cuisine. Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River six times, and each time he visited Suzhou and Hangzhou. At that time, Suzhou and Hangzhou were very prosperous, and they were famous for the saying 'there is heaven above, and Suzhou and Hangzhou below'.
Local people would also welcome the emperor with a grand ceremony. Emperor Qianlong was particularly fond of Suzhou and Hangzhou cuisine, and ordered people to compile a meal table to record daily diet. In the forty-third year of Qianlong's reign, when Emperor Qianlong visited the Northeast region, he also ordered
Some famous Suzhou chefs accompanied him as chefs in the imperial kitchen."
"In short, the palace cuisine of the Qing Dynasty was based on these three flavors. As for the biggest difference between palace cuisine and folk cooking, folk cooking focuses on taste, and the combination of dish shape, seasonings and materials
It’s not very particular. Palace cuisine pays great attention to this. There are even many strict rules.”
"First, arbitrary combinations are not allowed. In general folk cooking, the ingredients can be added, subtracted, and changed at will, and there is no harm in it. For example, eight treasure dishes are fine if they have eight kinds of ingredients. No one will particularly care if you change one or two kinds. But the palace's
Babaocai must use the specified eight raw materials, and other ingredients are not allowed.
"Second, the relationship between the host and the guest of the ingredients is strict. Similar to the monarch, minister, and envoy in traditional Chinese medicine, cooking in the Qing Dynasty also pays attention to the host and guest of the raw materials. For example, when cooking chicken dishes, you must pay attention to maintaining the true nature of the chicken when using seasonings and main ingredients.
Taste. Why is this? Because the main body is chicken, it is not allowed to lose the original taste of the chicken due to the use of seasonings. It is also not allowed to be seasoned arbitrarily like ordinary folk dishes."
"Third, it is the purification of seasonings. The seasonings of palace dishes are not allowed to be used arbitrarily. For example, although chicken soup is made of chicken, in the palace, it is not allowed to cook chicken and chicken bones together like Zhuangguan cuisine.
Boil. Because there are different levels of soup stock, what is cooked in ordinary restaurants can only be called "mao soup". It usually consists of chicken racks, duck racks, pork bones, minced meat, pig skins, etc., boiled in cold water and skimmed.
Son, add green onion, ginger and wine to kill the smell. It’s not nutritious, and it’s just better than MSG water for cooking. Of course not in the palace.”
"And for all commonly used dishes that the emperor eats, the seasonings and main ingredients must be recorded in detail in the meal bottom file. This is called the meal menu. This can ensure the stability of the quality of the dishes to the greatest extent. As long as there is a meal bottom file
, then no matter when the emperor eats, the dishes presented will not taste bad."
"For example, during the Daoguang Dynasty, Emperor Daoguang wanted to eat dishes from the Qianlong period. Because there were meal stalls, the imperial chef could cook them immediately, and the taste was the same as the dishes from the Qianlong era, which was completely the characteristics of the imperial cuisine of that year...
…”
When Ning Weimin heard this, he thought he had understood the meaning of "Zhang Dashao" and couldn't help but interrupt.
"Oh, I understand. What you mean is that I have to try my best to restore the past palace model in terms of manpower, material resources, raw materials and cooking techniques. It cannot be different from the past. Just like repairing ancient buildings, repair them as they were before. Only then can I restore them as they were before.
Make authentic royal meals and restore the true palace flavor. Is that right?”
Unexpectedly, "Zhang Dashao" completely denied what he said and shook his head firmly.
"No, no, no, no, no. You are mistaken. Where did I mean this? I am not telling you this to ask you to blindly imitate. Because it is neither possible nor necessary. First of all, you must know that many raw materials nowadays
You can't even find it. Just like Saqima. Do you know?"
"Saqima is Manchu, and its original meaning is 'dog girl naiko dipped in sugar'. What is dog girl naiko? It is a small berry in the Northeast, so named because of its similar shape. It is now extinct, so it is gradually used
Raisins, dried green plums, hawthorns, and melon seeds can be substituted. In fact, such a substitution is not only beautiful and delicious, but also rich. According to you, if we don’t have that kind of berry, we won’t eat Saqima? We don’t need that kind of berry.
Isn’t what we have created Saqima?”
"Secondly, we cannot deny that the times themselves are developing, and life needs to change. If there is no change or development in any industry, there will be no progress. For example, there was Sichuan cuisine at the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, but
Chili peppers entered our country in the late Ming Dynasty. It is precisely because of chili peppers that Sichuan cuisine has many new flavors, such as spicy, sour, strange, kung pao, red oil, etc. If the taste never changes, where does it come from?
Today’s Sichuan cuisine? Are these Sichuan dishes not authentic?”
"It is no exaggeration to say that if there is no change, there is no development. We are still eating hair and drinking blood, picking fruits and eating raw food. How can we talk about cooking techniques? It is precisely because we are changing all the time and seeking change.
After thinking about how to change, you can know how to use fire to cook, boil, stew, and steam. It was only in the Qin and Han Dynasties that you learned to blend the five flavors and stir-fry, fry, sauce, pickle, and broil. As for the palace cooking techniques that have been passed down to this day, it was only in the Qing Dynasty more than 260 years ago.
The heyday of the year was gradually formed with the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty..."
These words greatly touched Ning Weimin, and he immediately changed his mind and changed his mind.
"Yes, yes, you are absolutely right. Yes, if only something did not taste bad at all, then wouldn't we still pick fruits from the trees and eat them? I now understand a little bit, we can change, and we should change.
Only in this way can we be unique and distinguish ourselves from Fangshan and Tingli Restaurant. But how to change it is a problem and you can't do it randomly! Do you mean to tell me this just to let me understand a basic rule and rule of palace cuisine?
Only then can we capture the essence of palace cuisine..."
"Zhang Dashao" immediately agreed and expressed full affirmation this time.
"Hey, a smart person will tell you what you said. The key is how to change. It must be reasonable and well-founded. You can't make changes for the worse, you can only change them for the better. Whether it's authentic or not, it doesn't matter.
When it comes to self-promotion, let the guests say it, let the experts say it, there is no point in praising yourself. If nothing else, in the name of palace flavor, it is said to be the inheritance of the imperial chef. But it can't make a few real Manchu dishes, and there is no
Authentic Suzhou and Hangzhou cuisine is almost all Shandong cuisine, is this right?"
"Authentic or not, it doesn't depend on following the prescription. It remains the same. Although the meal base is compiled based on the past palace dietary information, anyone can follow the prescription and make the menu. In some places, the dishes are coded.
They are good at what they do, and it looks like the real thing. But it is just superficial. They are just wearing the skin of palace dishes. They don't understand that the value of soup is clear, and unclear soup is not considered soup. It's just a matter of hair.
The soup is confusing. The taste of their dishes is too different from the elegance and purity pursued by palace cooking. Is this okay?"
"And no matter what, you can't go wrong with some of the most basic things. For example, when frying poultry, tea oil should be used as the main ingredient. If there is no tea oil, use sesame oil, and never use lard. Like the imperial meals of the Qing Dynasty, you can have all kinds of delicacies from mountains and seas, but
The only thing is that beef cannot be included. Some places serve beef with sauce and spicy beef as cold dishes, which is ridiculous. The Queen Mother of the West did not eat eggplants and cucumbers in her life. If she is using the guise of Cixi, this cannot be wrong. If you are wrong, let people who know the history pick it.
If something goes wrong, it’s a big joke!”
"So in the final analysis, the food must be good. It must comply with regulations and have historical roots, and it must be cooked properly and taste delicious. Naturally, it will be recognized and there will be a lot of customers. It must be all done.
If it doesn’t taste good in the mouth, it may even be modified randomly, just to pursue a certain form. No matter how famous it is, it will only confuse people for a while, and sooner or later the business will be deserted and no one will patronize it.”
Ning Weimin almost applauded this time.
"Oh! That's right! What you said is so right! But if you just say that you are authentic, but the food you cook is not delicious at all, then why don't you invite me for free? In fact, it is just craftsmanship.
The master, who is not very high, is more and more fond of bragging that he is authentic and using gimmicks to deceive people. Master Zhang, I finally heard it. You are really a capable person! You are also a great connoisseur! How do you know about the royal cuisine?
You know better than an expert. So if you are both knowledgeable and good at cooking, you can naturally make my food taste better than others, and it can also be like that. Right?"