Ren bojie

When I was doing research on snacks in Yangzhou last year, one morning after interviewing Master Xu Yongzhen, I asked her who else I should visit in Yangzhou. She said, "Wang, you should have a chat. I called to see if he was drunk. " I thought, how can I ask others if they were drunk in the morning?

Because of the introduction of Master Xu Yongzhen, Master Wang was willing to meet me, so we made an appointment at a friend's restaurant. He was wearing a dark collared T-shirt that day. When he came in and sat down, I couldn't believe my eyes. He doesn't have a trace of fireworks, but he looks like a scholar rather than a chef. I saw that he walked slowly, gentle and approachable, and had no master's airs. No wonder all the books call him a Confucian chef. When he was young, everyone called him "Young Master". From his exquisite temperament at the age of 76, we can imagine his handsomeness and handsomeness when he was young.

He has a strong Yangzhou accent and a low voice. When I asked how to hang soup, there were many professional words that I couldn't understand at once, so he smiled and repeated them and explained the details to me. I was surprised at his extensive knowledge. He can not only talk about a dish in depth, but also extend from the dish itself to the dietary differences, geographical differences and cultural differences in various places. It is conceivable that he often thinks systematically at ordinary times. I asked him how his knowledge and thoughts came from, and he said, "You read and think." I asked him what books he liked to read, but he said that it had nothing to do with food, but books like "Lessons Learned" and "A General History of China".

He always smiles and doesn't talk much, but that humility makes me feel that he is as kind as my grandfather. Only after the interview, the photos of my chef friends competing with the master with reverence reminded me of his status as a master of Huaiyang cuisine.

His high status is also reflected in his capacity for drinking. He can drink a catty of wine at a meal, and he often starts drinking in the morning. No wonder Master Xu Yongzhen said this morning to see if he was drunk. Of course, this is a joke. On the day that "Yangzhou Nightingale" was finished, our film crew invited all the main creators to dinner. That day, I saw with my own eyes his capacity for drinking. But to my surprise, a person likes drinking so much, but his body is full of bookishness.

I heard that he was a myth in the kitchen world when he was young. He recorded the time from plucking a live chicken to serving a chicken for 3 minutes and 04 seconds, and no one has surpassed it so far. 2/kloc-when I was 0/or 22 years old, I stood on the stove in a suit, but I didn't see any oil stains on that dress; Cooking is never repeated, clean and tidy; Major receptions are never missed.

No wonder when interviewing food critic Wang Zhen, he called Wang a "general". Speaking of kung fu, he mentioned an anecdote of master Wang Lixi. "There is an important banquet for more than 50 foreign guests. Shrimps are fried one by one, and it is not easy to fry every dish, because the raw materials of shrimp are brought with water. Everyone was afraid to shoot. He said I would shoot. Open the cauldron and fry it in one pot. Sizing, lubricating oil, stir-frying, serving 50 plates, exactly the same as frying in a small pot. Therefore, no one does not admire him. This is the general style. There is no chaos in danger, the command is moderate, and the atmosphere is refreshing. "

Teacher Wang Zhen went on to say, "He is open-minded and not conservative. He can turn foreign dishes into his own from the standpoint of Huaiyang cuisine. Never simply learn, but learn the good characteristics of others, mix them with your own dishes, and then sublimate them. Take the representative vegetable Squirrel Siniperca chuatsi as an example, which is different from the general traditional practice. He first removed the fish head and tail, and then made two pieces of meat like squirrels picking grapes, which was very innovative. "

/kloc-became an apprentice of caigenxiang at the age of 0/6. At that time, caigenxiang was the cradle of Yangzhou famous chefs. At first, he just worked as a handyman with his master, but he was quick to learn and quickly stood out and was deeply loved by his master, so he always called himself Master Cai Genxiang. Speaking of Chen Luoping, who was also born in Caigenxiang, he smiled and said, "I am his big brother." When I was chatting with Master Chen, Master Chen was surprised and said, "How can he be my master elder brother? He is my master! " Needless to say, Master Chen's surprised expression has told me this friendship and morality.

Some time ago, Master Wang was hospitalized, so I went back to Yangzhou to visit him. I said, "You can't drink any more." He went over and said, "No, no". I said, "Commanding the kitchen is like leading the three armed forces." He sighed and said, "A chef has the talent of being a champion, but he is not blessed with it. You should pass it on. "

As for me, I just hope you are all healthy and safe.

During his career as a chef, he never saw any oil stains on his clothes, whether he worked at the dining table or turned over the pot on the stove. He is called a "Confucian chef" or a "young master" chef. 1958 held a cooking competition in Yangzhou. The broiler he cooked took only 3 minutes and 04 seconds from slaughtering, unhairing, slitting, and frying, and no one can surpass it so far.

Wang, born in 1940, is one of the four famous chefs in Yangzhou and a great disciple of the culinary master Dai Lizhi. First-class chef, superb cooking, excellent stove, table and dishes, clean and tidy operation, quick and natural. According to many old Yangzhou people's memories, Wang's specialty is fried shrimp. After eating, even the shell is reluctant to throw away, because it tastes crisp and fragrant. Wang's sour mandarin fish was fried three times in the oil pan until it was crisp, and the sweet and sour juice was cooked in three pots. The juice is boiling, and the color, smell and shape are good. He stressed that the dishes he made must be refreshing, which is the essence of Huaiyang cuisine.

At the beginning of Cai Genxiang's apprenticeship, Wang just followed the master as a handyman, starting from the most basic work, twisting hair, cutting vegetables and cutting meat. He still remembers the working hours of that year, 7 am in spring and autumn, 6: 30 in summer and 7: 30 to 8: 00 in winter.

This working time is about two hours earlier than the current hotel chef. This extra time was mainly because there was no refrigerator at that time and the ingredients could not be stored. All the ingredients were bought in the morning and used on the same day. At noon 1 1 Before entertaining guests, fire-resistant dishes such as braised pork and bear's paw are all ready, so the kitchen has to move quickly.

Because there is no electric equipment such as meat grinder, the reception capacity of vegetable root incense is large, and two or three pigs have to be handled every day. It is the apprentice's business to pick up materials in different grades. The groove head meat and front shoulder meat are given to the white box, and the hooves, ribs and back seat meat are given to the red box ... These steps of drawing materials have helped Wang to practice a good swordsmanship, but the finished product must be uniform in thickness and length, commonly known as inch vegetables. It is very docile, not playful and clean, so it is very popular with its owners.

Nevertheless, he sometimes makes mistakes through negligence. Once, when the pot was burning meat, he went to chat with other chefs and almost burned the meat. Master saw it and gave him a big slap without saying anything. He wasn't angry. He was still glad that the meat pot wasn't burnt. This slap in the face also made him more cautious in his future career as a chef. Wang worked hard and became the chef of Caigenxiang after a year of apprenticeship.

"When I first learned to cook, I didn't think it was a big deal to be a chef. At that time, I was just cooking and moving a knife. " "But after learning to cook, I found that it is not so easy to be a good cook. A real chef can't do it without ten years of hard work. " Master Wang said. First of all, I will be an apprentice for three years, then a younger brother in the kitchen for three years, and then I will study outside for the last three years to learn from each other's strengths and have a year of exploration.

Speaking of soup, Wang said that Yangzhou's soup is the most important. First, white soup, which should be thick but not greasy! One is clear soup, which should be crystal clear! A really good cook is very particular about soup. As the saying goes: a player's voice is accurate and mellow; Chef's soup, without good soup, you can't cook good food In traditional cooking, making and using soup is not only an important symbol to measure cooking skills, but also an experience and skill to judge the delicious food.

The soup in Yangzhou is different from that in Guangdong. Guangdong's soup needs to stew all the ingredients, while Yangzhou's soup needs to be taken out after the ingredients are simmered in place, then all parts of the meat are processed, then it is made into cakes, then it is simmered, and finally the shredded chicken is added. Finally, after the shredded chicken is simmered, it should be taken out and made into boiled dried silk ... people make full use of their materials, land and materials.

"Nowadays, Yangzhou cuisine is generally too sweet. Actually, it shouldn't. Salt should be slightly sweet. Chinese cabbage basically needs no sugar. Dishes with soy sauce need a little sugar, mainly to remove the salty and astringent taste of soy sauce and increase its umami taste. " Wang said to him.

1958, in the Yangzhou Cooking Competition, the broiler he cooked, from slaughter, unhairing, cutting into pieces, blending to stir-frying and plate-loading, took only over 3 minutes in total, which is still beautiful. That year, he 19 years old and worked as an apprentice for two years.

When asked why Wang Lixi could change from a live chicken to a plate of Chinese food in three minutes, Wang Lixi said, "Now chefs don't kill chickens. In our time, they all made it by themselves, and practice makes perfect. At most, they can slaughter 108 chickens in two hours a day. " One day, Dai Li asked Wang and his two younger brothers to kill all the chickens in the yard. The whole process took them more than two hours, adding up to 108 chickens, which were made into roast chicken, fried chicken and boiled chicken respectively.

Wang said, "The chef is a magician. Things that don't get along can be replaced with good dishes, and he will change. "