Reader, No.3, 214-The Deep Taste of Life

Published at 9: 7 on January 2, 214

Author: Wang Kailing

Vinegar rice, seafood and vegetables, which are clustered together, have become the most popular and popular food in Japan:

The documentary "The God of Sushi" describes a restaurant that is "worth waiting in line for a lifetime". Its pavement is very small, with less than ten seats. Besides wheat tea and hot towels, only sushi is provided. It is located in the basement of Ginza, Tokyo, and doesn't even have a bathroom, but it has been rated as a three-star by the "Gourmet Bible" and "Michelin Guide" twice, which is the highest honor of restaurants all over the world.

"If it's not delicious, you can't serve it to the guests." Jiro Ono, 87, said.

He is the owner and chef, and also the soul and symbol of the store. When he stands in front of your dining table, holding a sushi with rapt attention, and then holding it to you, you will feel a sense of solemnity, just like sitting on a futon in a temple, and even feel a little nervous because of reverence and luck. Because of the calmness of the old man's time, because of the light of the yogi who radiates from him, and because of the man in front of him, it took 6 years to do this thing in front of him, and every time, a new work was born on the basis of repetition.

"How can such a simple thing taste so deep?" Diners asked in a happy tone.

"Every ingredient has the most delicious ideal moment, so we should grasp it just right." Jiro Ono said. In his shop, in order to make octopus taste soft and not as stiff as rubber, it should be massaged for 4 minutes; In order to protect the elasticity of rice, its temperature should be close to human body temperature; As an apprentice, you have to practice twisting hot towels first, then using a knife and cooking fish. It will be about 1 years before you go on stage to fry eggs ... < P > "I have been doing the same thing over and over again in order to make progress. I always look forward to making progress. I will continue to work hard to reach the peak, but no one knows where the peak is." The old man said.

Pursuing the perfection of skills, being meticulous in details and striving for perfection through repetition is the "professional" life that Japanese traditional culture advocates. The social identity of "official" is craftsman and craftsman, but it is also a spiritual identity, which means an achievement, accomplishment and character. In the book "Keeping Craft", Japanese writer Mison Yano wrote: "That's how they know the characteristics of materials, hone their own skills and make good things. This is their life itself and their philosophy of life. "

What makes people sigh is that this kind of serious and strict self-discipline in dealing with labor is not only the need of market and competition, but also the inherent life pursuit of "professional people" and the result of spiritual drive and self-practice. They implement their own standards, and any slack or cheating will make them lose their self-esteem.

This is a typical wisdom of the East, and it is also in line with China's theory of mind, which advocates "learning from things" and "integration of knowledge and practice", but it is more secular and transactional.

Before the age of p>7, Jiro Ono personally selected the ingredients in the restaurant. Every day, he went to the vegetable market by bike and got what belonged to him from the most trusted vendor. In the documentary, there is a scene in the food market. The vendors say, "Some rice is only for Jiro Ono, because only he knows how to cook." "If there is 3 kilograms of wild shrimp, it will be kept until he comes." "Good things are limited and must be handed over to the best people."

this is a business with body temperature. As a matter of fact, like Jiro Ono, these vendors are experts, authorities and people with idealistic tendencies in their own fields. They know fish and rice, cherish things and know people. In addition to pursuing profits, they have extra criteria and expectations. They attach importance to their next home, miss the future and destination of things, pursue perfect processes and are eager to be a part of "positive results".

The best fishmonger, the best shrimp peddler, the best rice peddler ... the best user, this is a chain formed by the "best". In trade, this is a kind of alliance-style high trust and * * * habitat relationship, but in spirit, isn't it a kind of bosom friend-style mutual pity and snuggling for warmth?

this is respect for work, things and people, as well as heaven and earth, life and self.

Because of this kind of people and life, this behavior style is not isolated, and it is possible to survive and multiply. Therefore, Jiro Ono is not alone. He is a member of a group. This group is pursuing a life with similar content and temperament: concentration, persistence, preciseness, honesty, physical and mental progress, inner peace and pure joy ...

Jiro Ono said, "You should love your job and fall in love with it."

To treat one's own labor in a spiritual way, and to pursue the deep taste in plain, the exquisiteness in simplicity and the nobleness in simplicity is the life that most people have the opportunity to harvest, and fate rarely fails to live up to this choice, especially in spiritual reward.

(Zhao Yuanyuan from Prose, No.11, 213)