In the fifth episode of the second season, there is a passage that reads, "In August, the Xilingol grasslands are just waking up, and Ulliji drives his cattle to his family's pasture, where the fertile land gives sustenance to his sheep and cattle and also gives birth to a rare spirit. Mushrooms, dried and rich in guanosine salts, are used by herders to stew with chicken, multiplying the flavor.
He Fuzhi, a mushroom trader, often drives hundreds of kilometers to buy mushrooms. Mushrooms only grow on mushroom rings and are identified by the color depth of the grass, a miraculous phenomenon that is made possible by a substance secreted by the mushrooms that gives the grass a higher level of chlorophyll. He Fuzhi has to go to Wuliji's house to inquire about the mushroom harvest, and his daughter Yufeng, 23, has returned to the grassland after graduating from college.
The white mushroom is the most honored of the portobello mushrooms, which can be sold for more than 2,000 yuan a kilogram when dried, and this year's harvest is small. Herders have already begun to store fodder for cattle and sheep for the winter, which means the season is coming to an end. The father and daughter decided to make one last effort.
Mushrooms need rain to flourish, but the forecast for fall rains has been slow to materialize, and Lao He has decided to stay at a herder's house to continue the wait.
After the rain, the grassland was cleaned like a wash, and the white mushrooms finally showed up on the mushroom circle. He Fuzhi's father and daughter realized that they would finally get what they wanted in the following days.
Silingol is four hundred kilometers to the south, Zhangjiakou, the ancient Great Wall pass, is the central plains and the north of the throat of trade exchanges, but also the place where the mushroom became famous. White mushrooms are the finest of all mushrooms, with their plump flesh and delicate texture. After two or three hours of boiling water, the white mushrooms return to their full height. Leave the original soup, into the water, repeatedly stirring, change the water three or four times, playing more than a thousand times, until the sediment is removed.
Episode 2 Heart's Message
With a thousand hands, there are a thousand flavors. Chinese cooking is mysterious and difficult to replicate. From the mountains to the city, the art of cooking is still passed on by word of mouth and by heart. The wisdom of the ancestors, the secrets of the family, the secrets of the master and the apprentice, the realization of the diners, every moment of deliciousness, all created with heart.
In May, Huizhou's rapeseed ripens, which is the raw material for local cooking oil, and farmers' busy schedules can ensure that their own kitchens produce delicious flavors for an entire year. In Chinese cooking, oil is the medium between the pot and the food. Heat acts to produce a marvelous and rich cooking style, where vegetable fats and oils are more readily available and healthier than animal fats and oils. The discovery of this secret took mankind's culinary history a giant step forward.
The delicious past life is picturesque. Qingming, the time of year when rape flowers bloom. Cheng Yazhong, the only oil miller in Fuzha Village, pays homage to his ancestors on this day, just like other Chinese people. The labor of the oil mill determines the well-being of the whole village. The Chinese believe that everything goes well because of the blessings of the ancestors. The encounter at the edge of the field means that for Cheng Gou tithe, a fellow villager, it won't be long before he can eat freshly pressed rapeseed oil. Early in the morning, the moisture from the spring rains evaporates, followed by a succession of sunny days, making it the best time to harvest the canola. 5 days of sunshine makes the pod shells dry and brittle, making threshing a breeze. Canola's plant life is over, and it's off on a fantastical journey.
Throughout the year, the easy-going Cheng Yazhong only becomes strict when it's time to collect the canola, with a pair of fiery eyes honed by 30 years of experience. The color is dark and shiny, the particles are round and full, not mixed with any impurities, especially the dryness, Cheng Yazhong must check, the moisture content is less than 11%, only then can ensure that the whole village of rapeseed safe storage for a whole year. in June, the oil mill opened, the oil press workers from the nearby villages. The boss's wife takes care of lunch every day during the working period. Frying the seeds is the first step, high temperature destroys the cell structure of rapeseed, reduces the adsorption of protein to oil, and makes the separation of oil easy, with the loud sound of bursting rapeseed, the fragrance begins to gradually permeate the whole village. Canola oil has a unique pungent odor, some people are not accustomed to smell, Huizhou people but willing to suffer. Huizhou stinky tofu is fried in rapeseed oil to produce the peculiar effect of smell and fragrance. The production of the billet has hidden mysteries, ground rapeseed, steam fumigation, moisture and temperature control is all based on experience. Whether or not the billet is pressed evenly in thickness directly affects the oil yield. Canola oil is rich in monounsaturated fats, which are beneficial to health and comparable to expensive olive oil. However, canola oil also has inherent shortcomings, one of which is the high level of fumes during cooking. Today, through scientific refining methods, the smoke point of the oil has been greatly improved, and with improved varieties, the amount of non-healthy substances can be further reduced. For the Huizhou people who live on rapeseed oil, everything begins with the extraction of the first drop of oil. Wood pressing for oil extraction is an ancient process that has been passed down for more than a thousand years. In the age of electric machinery, the duel between flesh and blood and grass still glows with primitive vitality. A 100-kilogram hammer, hitting a wooden wedge, exerts tremendous pressure on the billet in the press. Relying on this physical pressure, forcing the oil to ooze out, repeated squeezing and beating, lasting three hours, in the pursuit of profit and efficiency today, this, perhaps, is the best inheritance of ancestral wisdom.
Canola oil has a thousand-year history in China, and the breadth of its use throughout the Yangtze River Valley has created an arena for chefs of the cuisine to display their skills. Canola oil is essential to the cooking of red oil, and the secret is in the hands of the Sichuanese. Stir-frying makes the chili peppers quickly dehydrate, ooze flavor, and mash so that they are in full contact with the canola oil. The temperature of the oil is critical: too low and the chiles won't be able to escape their flavor, too high and they'll burn easily. Chinese kitchens don't rely on thermometers; it's all in the hands and experience of the chef to control it precisely. It takes a whole day for the chorizo and red pigments to fully precipitate. A vat of wonderful red oil is almost the soul of Sichuan cuisine. The color is red, the spiciness is mellow, and the aroma is overwhelming. Rapeseed oil has made a magnificent transformation in the hands of the Sichuan people. However, receding exciting hot, Huizhou, life is still plain. This year's harvest, all deposited into the oil mill, converted into 105 kilograms of rapeseed oil. Cheng Gou tithe can be withdrawn at any time, there is no deadline, this is the oil workshop to the villagers' commitment.
Traditionally, a person's livelihood depends on his or her craftsmanship, and the temperature of that craftsmanship can be felt more in China's countryside than in the city.
After the autumn harvest, the loess slopes fade in color, and Zhang Shixin is waiting for the right weather. Water from the Yanhe River, decades of experience make the ratios precise, and white flour is added to brine to tighten the array of protein molecules. Repeatedly kneaded and pressed to increase elasticity, Zhang Shixin's leg disease flared up this year, making it difficult to walk. The 35 kilograms of noodles at a time can only be done by his partner alone. At midnight, the time for waking up the noodles is enough, and now the process of rolling the noodles on the plate begins. When Zhang Shixin was young, his craftsmanship was first-rate and he was known far and wide, and people from other countries came to apprentice with him. His wife also learned her trade when she married into the Zhang family. If the noodles are well made, they can be sold to the county town and beyond. By relying on this handicraft, the old couple has brought up five children. Sun-dried noodles, easy to store, each diameter of about 1 millimeter, continuous fermentation produces hollow holes, the taste is delicate and soft.
Noodles were unearthed in China 4,000 years ago, and the staple food, once called "soup cake," is widely available in Chinese life. They come in all shapes and sizes and from all regions, and are made in all sorts of ways. Noodles, the plainest of all, are a simple food that can complement any ingredient and hold a thousand flavors. At dawn, the noodles finish their second fermentation, and it's time to show them off. In northern Shaanxi, where the air is dry and the water evaporates quickly, the speed of wrapping the noodles is the key to success or failure, and they are put into a special noodle box for the third fermentation, waiting for the noodles to stretch out to a greater extent. The Loess Plateau, the birthplace of an ancient civilization, where the tradition of farming has continued for generations. In every kiln, the elders care more about what they leave behind for their children. The material is limited, the craft is their own, but the concept of young people is quietly changing. Grandpa is unable to walk, and it is time for his children and grandchildren to take over the burden. The noodle poles are precisely separated from the center, and the flexibility of the noodles and the force of gravity work together in just the right way. 160 of them are hung in a row, and they can be stretched up to 3 meters, with silver threads pouring out to receive the last shaping from the sun and the air. The white hanging noodles add a bit of warmth to the bleak yellow land and to the family's day.
The so-called "heart of the family" is not only the craft passed down from generation to generation, but also the belief in survival, as well as the hard work and perseverance that flows through the bloodstream.
Unlike pasta in the north, people south of the Yangtze River prefer rice-based pastries. This is not something that can be accomplished in a simple workshop, the craftsmanship is precise, the varieties are vast, and it requires exquisite handwork, and a strict teaching system. Precision processing exists in every step of the process. Glutinous rice is ground with water, and the processed glutinous rice flour has a more uniform and delicate texture. Water-ground glutinous rice flour and japonica rice flour are mixed in different proportions to create a versatile texture. This is the basic skill of making Soviet-style pastries. The pastry chef is an expert in the use of various "weapons". Seasonal fillings, natural colors and fragrances, mint in summer and autumn, roses in winter and spring. In Chinese kitchens, the type of work that involves handling rice and noodles is called baiji. Delicate craftsmanship is the foundation of the Bai Cai jianghu. Cooks, as a traditional profession, have always continued in China as masters and apprentices. Today, young people master the basic skills of cooking through schooling. But to become a real chef, they still need a master. Master and apprentice, one of the most important non-blood relationships in traditional Chinese ethics.
Kneading is basic, and not all of the 20 apprentices under Lui Kit-man's tutelage have been able to master it. Miao, just 20 years old, is from the north of Jiangsu province, graduated from high school three years ago and followed his parents to Suzhou. The parents want the boys in the family to go to college, and as the eldest sister, she needs to earn her own living as soon as possible.
Deep in the mountains, 1,400 kilometers from Suzhou, another, more primitive, rugged food can be vaguely seen in the evolution of Chinese pastries. The hours of daylight are getting shorter and shorter, and the time has come to dig for fern roots. European archaeological findings show that the oldest bread, made from starch extracted from the roots of ferns, was made. The ancestors of the Yao people of Mangshan, also discovered this secret and obtained ingredients from fern roots to make a primitive Chinese pastry, mochi. Deng Kaifeng's ancestors were known as the "Over the Mountain Yao" for their nomadic lifestyle. In the past, when food production was limited, fern root patties were a staple food for the winter. Nowadays, fern root patties are made not only as a reminder of the delicious taste, but also as a reminder for future generations not to forget the hard times. A variety of materials taken from the mountains and forests make up a marvelous filtration system. His father taught Deng Kaifeng how to access the gifts of the mountains, and also warned him to fear the mountain gods. After a day of settling, it is time to test the results, rinse again, filter more finely, and make fern root mochi. Heat is applied, the paste is raised, and stirred constantly until a gel forms on the surface. The gelatinous mass is extremely tough, and it takes a father to tame it. Coated with sun-dried starch and pulled into small balls, they were ready to eat. The children prefer sweets, the aroma of sesame accompanied by the sweetness of fern poi, which is the taste code that has been reproduced by the Yao people for generations and is the universal language for writing the history of human taste memory.
Faced with a strict master, Ah Miu was scared every day. The triangular dough that she practiced over and over again was finally recognized by the master, and for the first time, her handiwork was ready to be served on the table. The small sense of achievement motivated the girl, and every day after the close of work, as long as there are leftover ingredients, Ah Miu will stay and continue to practice. Suzhou-style pastry, an important school of Chinese Han patisserie, is as much an icon of Suzhou as the classical gardens. On the other side of the city, the modernized factory of the world attracts 7 million foreigners, creating China's second-largest immigrant city today.
In the midst of a rapidly changing life, ancient legends still play out. After years of walking the white-case jungle, Lv Jiemin has a specialty. He has a knack for molding stuffed cakes into fantastic shapes of animals and plants. From the shaping of Chinese characters to the molding of cakes, "pictograms" have always been a unique Chinese tradition. These distinctive pastries are no longer just food, but a higher level of aesthetic appeal. Making boat desserts requires both dexterity and innate understanding. To be able to see this craft is already a great reward. The master has a different intention. In order to continue the legend of Soviet-style pastry, he has been looking for a suitable successor. The road to becoming a white-case chef has just begun for Ah Miu, with the temple above and the lake below. And more about the legacy of food, precisely in the most ordinary life.
A day in Shantou begins with the hustle and bustle of the seafood market, and sourcing ingredients for the family's small store is a daily task for Ah Chieh. The youngster is a regular customer at the market. His father was a former restaurant chef, known as "Ah Wu". Zhe has four sisters and is the only boy in the family. In Chinese society, the relationship between father and son is closer than that between master and disciple. It is considered the most natural thing for a son to follow in his father's footsteps. But a few years ago, Zhe enrolled in a university in Guangzhou and was determined to make a career there. Frustrated in the job market, he returned to his hometown, where Zhe helped out at his family's small store. The store's signature is oyster brand, and to make this most common of all Chaoshan snacks, everything is learned from scratch. Before that, Zhe had never even washed a bowl. Oysters, also known as oysters, grow in shallow coastal waters, and there are records of oyster farming in China dating back more than 2,000 years. Oysters are cultivated in the coastal waters of the city of Lao Pai Chau in the Chaoshan region, where every family lives on oysters. The local people prefer small and fat oysters, which are more tender to eat, and this is the best choice for oyster brand. In the old town of Shantou, the most traditional way of making oyster rolls is hidden in the deep alleys. Sweet potato flour is battered and wrapped around the oyster meat to slow down the rapid shrinkage under high temperature. The oysters are cooked until both sides are browned, but the oysters are still tender and juicy, without losing their freshness. Dipped in fish sauce to enhance the freshness of the mouth, the outside of the mouth burnt inside moist, crispy and tender at the same time. Ah Woo's skills go beyond oyster roasting, and making banquets at home is his main business. Ah Chit followed his father out to run the tables and started as a handyman. Graduating with a degree in business administration, he now works with the most mundane of foods. He finds that carving a radish flower is no easier than solving a higher math problem. This time, Zhe was given the opportunity to take the helm, and before serving, he had to ask his father to put the final touches on it.
In a fast-developing China, where people are chasing new things with greater urgency, it's a question of whether to stick with tradition or make a change.
Yangzhou is a unique city in the developed city circle of the Yangtze River Delta. Yang Mingkun, 63, is a commentary artist. Yangzhou commentary, a folk art that has been passed down for more than 400 years. War, heroes, love, betrayal, endless stories, all with one mouth. It is not only a mouth of storytelling, but also a mouth of picking. With chef friends, discussing the doorway of daily small dishes is a joy for him.
A plate of fine hot dried silk represents the basic requirements of Yangzhou people's life. Large white dry, each piece of horizontal batch into 28 slices, and then cut into thin silk, root and root, tough but not scattered. 100 degrees Celsius water, wash and scald three times, to remove the bean fishy, poured with marinade and a lot of sesame oil. Elegant appearance, but there is extremely soft and tender fresh flavor taste. Yang Mingkun to prepare a family feast, which is an annual tradition, the master chef, hospitality apprentice, the heritage of food, can not be separated from the discerning gourmet. Rich experience and a keen sense of taste, so that Yang Mingkun can accurately grasp the essence of the city's flavors, few people know more than him where the authentic Yangzhou flavor.
Shantou, which is changing rapidly, is trying to break through. Clams, clams, tofu fish, customers are free to mix and match. The oyster brand, which has been passed down for four generations, has been transformed into something new in his hands. After repeated experiments, Zhe constantly adds new ingredients to the traditional oyster rolls. The original most familiar snack brings unexpected surprises to diners. The vitality of a craft is the inheritance and sublimation of tradition. The delicious flavor that changes with the times meets the tip of the tongue and touches the heart.
For Yangzhou people, tea and water in the morning, bath and water in the afternoon, and if you listen to a commentary, it is an ordinary but wonderful day. Just like those touching stories, heard a thousand times and not tired of, unusual clothing, food, housing and transportation, the tradition continues day after day. A Zhe's store, which has existed for a hundred years, will open its doors tomorrow with new ideas.
Shanghai Pudong Sanlin Tang, there was once a group of village cooks, known as the "shovel knife gang". They have been working together for a century and have produced many talented people. One of the family, five generations of cooks, after decades of sharpening, still active in the culinary world, and eventually became a generation of masters. Li Mingfu, in charge of the family-run restaurant, goes to the market at 5:00 a.m. for breakfast every day. In order to ensure the freshness of the ingredients, the ingredients are bought only for the day, and the portion size is estimated in advance. Being meticulous and doing everything himself is a habit of Shanghai men. Every night, the back kitchen is full of swords and knives, with Li Yue at the helm and Li Wei at the helm. Li Mingfu's two sons are the generals in the kitchen. The twins were so good at cooking that Li Mingfu no longer had to cook himself. The fact that the family's craft has been passed on is his greatest comfort.
The Huangpu River has seen the growth of Shanghai. In the city's history of blending the East and the West, tolerance and openness of the palate, there is a kind of taste, from a humble origin, but a family of its own. In the evolution, not due to the impact of all parties and disappeared, on the contrary, more and more clear, strong. This is the local cuisine, which laid the foundation of the city's taste.
In the jianghu of the local gang cuisine, 83-year-old Li Bo Rong, relying on a body of kung fu, won a world of fame. There are no shortcuts to kung fu, as the fists do not leave the hands and the curves do not leave the mouth. Li Wei and Li Yue both began to learn the art of cooking from the age of 14 under the tutelage of Li Bo Rong. Knife skills, the core technique of Chinese cooking, represent a chef's strength. Demoiselle knife skills, relying on wrist control, the strength of the knife, position, direction, all within a square inch. De-boning a whole fish is a test of understanding the structure of the ingredients, precisely cutting through the knots that connect the bones and flesh, and separating them perfectly. The ultimate knife skill is like a profound martial art. Only when the hands are practiced to a high degree of proficiency, can the knife be used with ease and ease.
Li Wei's specialty is a knife skill dish in the local cuisine, "Buckle Three Shredded Pieces". Ham, chicken breast, asparagus, three extremely fresh ingredients, first thinly sliced, and then cut into a diameter of less than 0.5 millimeters of fine silk. The ingredients are pre-cooked and shredded in order to expand the contact surface between the ingredients and the soup. During the cooking process, the three flavor profiles are released at the same time, blending into one. The delicate knife work also brings out the unique beauty of the ingredients. It is the Chinese food philosophy to balance taste and color. Brother knife skills exquisite, brother specializing in fire. River shrimp, cooking process less than 10 seconds, the oil temperature reaches 200 degrees Celsius, the ingredients can be placed in the pot. Shrimp meat cooked but not old, shrimp shells crispy but not burnt, the time can not be the slightest difference. Li Yue can even judge the timing of the pot according to the sound of the shrimp shells bursting. When the juice is collected, it is re-introduced into the pot, which is equally clean. The dish has a textbook rigor to the fire test.
On the subject of heat, there are more extreme examples in Cantonese cuisine. In Jelly Pot, the pursuit of fresh, raw and tender food is met with fierce fire and hasty work to minimize cooking time. Not only that, the chef also needs to adjust the fire and the timing of the "copied" casserole according to the distance between the table and the stove. The cooking continues while running. If this were a play, the food would only be perfect when the curtain rises, the moment of enjoyment. In Chinese, the use of the word "fire" is not limited to the kitchen, but can be used to evaluate the cultivation of the world and the realm of the human being.
Lee is happiest when he is back in the kitchen where he worked, where he learned his trade in 1945, and where he said goodbye to the kitchen at the age of 80. The times have changed, destiny has fluctuated, Li Bo Rong has never put down the hands of the knife and spoon. Good learning, attentiveness, preaching and teaching have brought him the achievements and respect he enjoys today. The transmission of Chinese culture is not only Tang poetry, Song lyrics, Kunqu Opera and Peking Opera. It encompasses, every detail related to our lives. From this perspective, chefs are the inheritors of culture and the great writers of civilization.
Huizhou, the cake residue left behind by oil extraction is the best fertilizer for crops.
In front of a kiln in northern Shaanxi, Zhang Shixin's children and grandchildren, hang out the noodles they make.
The Yao people of Mangshan are still grateful for the gifts from the mountains.
From the hand to the mouth, from the mouth to the heart, the Chinese continue to have a unique way of perceiving the world and life. As long as the fire is lit and the dishes are served, every ordinary person, at some point, participates in the creation of an extraordinary epic on the tip of the tongue.