Food Appreciation Class Notes

1. Food Concept

Chef Fu’s philosophy is that high-quality ingredients are the basis of delicious food. Dishes with poor raw materials cannot be called gourmet. Taking "ingredients" as the preset and constant starting point, three inferences are formed: retention and restoration; matching and balance; improvement and optimization.

These three inferences are actually three ways for ingredients to become food.

Retention and reduction: steaming;

Matching and balance: stir-frying and stewing;

Improvement and optimization: pickling and smoking.

To become "wonderful food", if it is just one dish, it is not enough. We also need to consider how to combine many dishes into a banquet, and how to match the drinks. This is perfect. enjoy.

2. How to eat

First use your eyes to see what it looks like; then put it to your mouth, smell it with your nose, and then test the temperature with your lips; send it Put it into your mouth, chew it slowly with your teeth, and stir it with your tongue; after you have tasted all the different flavors, you swallow it down your throat. Is this the end? It’s not over yet, please close your mouth, send the smell to your nose, and savor it carefully. Finally, it’s safe to fall asleep. (Looking with eyes, smelling with nose, kissing with lips, biting with teeth, stirring with tongue, swallowing with throat, aftertaste is um, stomach is relieved.)

3. How to comment

Cold and hot: frozen The coke is cold, the mutton shabu-shabu is piping hot

Delicate and rough: the red bean filling is delicate, and the multigrain rice is rough

Soft and crispy: the roasted potatoes are soft and crispy, and the cucumbers are crispy

Crispy and firm: fried chicken wings are crispy, and soy sauce beef is firm

Light and rich: steamed fish is light, braised pork is rich

Lubricant and sticky: water shield soup is smooth, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is sticky

4. Cuisine

The most common feature of the major cuisines is that they can serve up a banquet all year round using local and seasonal ingredients. At this table, the ingredients used are not repeated, and the cooking techniques are not repeated.

Along the coastline, from south to north: Guangdong Cantonese cuisine, Fujian Fujian cuisine, Zhejiang Zhejiang cuisine, Jiangsu Jiangsu cuisine, Shandong Shandong cuisine;

Along the Yangtze River, from east to west: Jiangsu cuisine has already been mentioned, followed by Anhui Hui cuisine, Hunan Hunan cuisine, and Sichuan Sichuan cuisine.

In the future, the concept of the eight major cuisines will gradually fade away and be replaced by a cuisine system created by a certain large restaurant or a certain chef, or a cuisine system based on a certain single ingredient.

5. Home-cooked food

The four principles of home-cooked food:

1. Pay attention to the raw materials: this is the first important thing. All cooking methods are designed to restore, match and enhance the original taste of high-quality ingredients.

2. Be in season: Eat more special seasonal ingredients according to seasonal changes. Processing and eating methods, following tradition, are the best.

3. Balanced seasoning: Seasoning must be prioritized, layered, and must be in harmony with each other. Try not to use artificial seasonings.

4. Restrain the presentation: As long as home-cooked food is really delicious, it will naturally look good. Don’t use ingredients or knife techniques that are just for good looks but don’t match the taste.

In addition, do not eat hot dishes after they have been left cold; do not eat cold dishes after they have been left out for a long time; fresh dishes are the most delicious.

6. Specific operation examples

1. To make green vegetables delicious, there are three methods: first, heat the pot until it is boiling hot; second, it is best to use lard; third, Do not cover the pot.

2. Braised food is to use a pot of soup to cook various meat and vegetable ingredients, and burn the good taste and aroma in the soup into the ingredients to make it more delicious.

Master Fu’s private recipe: our sauced pork trotters

Ingredients:

Whole fresh pig’s trotters, the bigger and fatter, the better;

Prepare your own stewed soup, the darker the color, the better.

Technique:

Blanch the whole fresh pig's trotters first, then put them into the pot; bring to a boil over high heat and then simmer over low heat for 1 hour. The blood inside must be completely simmered out;

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Wash the pig's trotters, put them into ice water, and cool them thoroughly;

Put them in a brine pot, bring to a boil over high heat, and simmer over low heat for 1 hour;

Turn off the heat and put it in the pot Let cool and let the braised pork trotters soak into the pork trotters;

Remove from the pan and let it dry at room temperature until there is no moisture on the surface, then it is ready to eat.

3. Steak: Only buy raw cuts, and the bigger and thicker the cuts, the better. Those very cheap steaks that are called "family meals", "seasoned", and "marinated" are probably made from minced meat.

How to fry steak:

Marinate the steak with soy sauce and black pepper overnight;

Store the marinated steak at zero temperature to keep it fresh for a week. ;

Heat the cast iron pan until smoking, and fry the rosemary in olive oil;

Place the steak in the pan and cook for half a minute on each side;

Oven Preheat to 250 degrees and grill the steak for two minutes on each side;

When turning over, remember to put a small piece of butter on the steak;

After taking it out, let it rest for five minutes;

Place on a hot grilled plate, sprinkle with salt and black pepper, and serve.

Explanation of the method:

Marinating is to supplement the flavor; frying the rosemary is to enhance the aroma; frying on both sides is to lock in the moisture; flipping the butter on the other side is to make the steak more flavorful. Fat makes it more fragrant; after five minutes of cooking, the steak will become softer; if the hot plate is kept warm, the aroma of the steak will spread better.

4. Chef Fu’s private recipe: Yellow croaker and braised pork

Ingredients: One pound each of yellow croaker and pork belly, rice wine, soy sauce, rock sugar, ginger slices and dried chili.

Wash the yellow croaker, dry it and cut it into one-inch wide pieces.

Cut the pork belly into one-inch cubes. Do not blanch it. Put it in the pot and stir-fry over low heat until the oil comes out. Turn to high heat and stir-fry the yellow croaker and ginger slices until the aroma is overflowing.

In another small pot, simmer 100 grams of rock sugar, add a bowl of water and bring to a boil, then pour the fish and meat into a large pot.

Bring to a boil over high heat, add a few spoonfuls of rice wine and soy sauce, turn to the lowest heat and simmer for 2 to 3 hours.

Turn on high heat, add dried chili peppers, and remove the juice from the pot.

Chef Fu’s private recipe: Yellow croaker braised pork

Ingredients: Yellow croaker and flounder One pound each of pork belly, rice wine, soy sauce, rock sugar, ginger slices and dried chili peppers.

Wash the yellow croaker, dry it and cut it into one-inch wide pieces.

Cut the pork belly into one-inch cubes. Do not blanch it. Put it in the pot and stir-fry over low heat until the oil comes out. Turn to high heat and stir-fry the yellow croaker and ginger slices until the aroma is overflowing.

In another small pot, simmer 100 grams of rock sugar, add a bowl of water and bring to a boil, then pour the fish and meat into a large pot.

Bring to a boil over high heat, add a few spoonfuls of rice wine and soy sauce, turn to the lowest heat and simmer for 2 to 3 hours.

Turn on high heat, add dried chili peppers, and remove the juice.