The Pentium Era - South to North

The first dish is boiled live fish. Mr. Xie said that this is the specialty of our master chef. Many people come to him for this pot of fish.

Zhang Chen knows that boiled live fish is a local dish in Chongqing, and he has eaten it many times. It tastes similar to boiled fish and spicy fish, and there is nothing special about it. However, this pot of boiled live fish, from the way of eating to the fish The color and taste are something Zhang Chen has never seen before.

The fish was placed in a stainless steel basin. The waiter first placed a cassette stove on the table, lit it, and turned the heat to the lowest setting. Then he sat the fish on the stove and simmered it slowly.

Zhang Chen and Liu Ligan looked at it. This was different from the Chongqing boiled live fish they had eaten. There were neither Sichuan peppercorns, spicy oil, nor dried chili peppers in the pot. The color of the soup was milky white, and the chili peppers inside were fresh green peppers. and red peppers, as well as a plate of chopped green garlic. Mr. Xie told them that they need to be added when the fish is simmered and ready to eat.

The fish was not cut into fillets, but a whole fat-headed silver carp, lying in the middle of the pot, with tofu, ham and perilla on the side. Mr. Xie fished it out with a colander. Zhang Chen and Liu Ligan saw it. , and there are snails in it.

Mr. Xie told them that there are two treasures from Changsha County in this pot, the tofu is from Malinqiao, and the fish is from the big fish pond. You call it silver carp, and we call it male fish. They are all flown here. Now we can't live without this pot of fish every day. Let's let it stew for a while and eat it later. It will taste more delicious.

"I'm satisfied when I smell this smell. It's so fragrant." Zhang Chen and Mr. Xie said.

The waiter gave the three of them a cup each and opened the lid. Zhang Chen saw that inside was shark's fin, which was light yellow in color and juicy. He took a little of it and put it in his mouth. He felt that the shark's fin was soft, silky, and salty. , and a little bit chewy.

Zhang Chen’s impression, as well as the recipes he read when he first came to the island to apply for a job, left him with the impression that the shark fin bird’s nest should be a specialty of Cantonese and Chaozhou cuisine. Just as Zhang Chen was about to speak, Liu Ligan looked at He also looked confused. He asked Mr. Xie puzzledly: "Is this also Hunan cuisine?"

"Yes, most of our Hunan dishes are local products, cheap and delicious. This shark's fin is considered high-end, but it is indeed an authentic Hunan dish called 'Zhu'an Shark's Fin'." Mr. Xie said.

"Zu'an Shark's Fin? This Zu'an sounds like a person's name." Zhang Chen said.

"Yes, this person is still from Hangcheng, Zhejiang Province." Mr. Xie said with a smile.

"Ah!" Zhang Chen and Liu Ligan were both surprised, and Liu Ligan shouted: "We Hangcheng people went to Hunan to create a Hunan cuisine? It's too confusing."

"Isn't it strange that we Hunan people have overthrown the rule of you Zhejiang people?" Mr. Xie said with a smile.

Zhang Chen and Liu Ligan both laughed.

"Do you know Tan Yankai?" Mr. Xie asked.

Zhang Chen said that he knew. I had seen his calligraphy. He, together with Yu Youren, Wu Zhihui, and Hu Hanmin, were known as the four great calligraphers of the Republic of China.

However, I think they are the Four Great Scriveners. These four people are all high-ranking officials. When they are high-ranking officials, there will be more flatterers below. It is almost the same as now. As long as they are officials, they will not dare to say the same thing as a dog crawling. There are inscriptions everywhere. Although their handwriting is very good, if you really want to talk about it, they are still not as good as Ma Yifu, Liang Qichao and Li Shutong of the same period.

Mr. Xie smiled and said: "I don't understand what you are talking about. I only know that he served as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and also served as the governor of Hunan three times. Later, he also served as the executive president. He was the introducer for the marriage of Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling. , Haha, what we lay people like is these gossips."

"Then what does he have to do with this shark's fin?" Liu Ligan listened to them for a long time, but still didn't understand why they talked about shark's fin, even Song Meiling was pulled out.

"Zu'an shark's fin, Zu'an is the name of Tan Yankai, and this shark's fin was the dish he served at his family banquet when he was the governor of Hunan. Do you think it counts as Hunan cuisine?" Mr. Xie asked.

"That way, it should count." Zhang Chen smiled.

"Well, a Zhejiang person went to Hunan to create Hunan cuisine, and now it's eaten by two of us Zhejiang people. It's quite twisty." Liu Ligan shouted. Mr. Xie and Zhang Chen heard that it made sense, and both Happy.

"This Tan Yankai didn't just create this one dish, he created a whole set of 'Zu'an Hunan cuisine'. There are no chefs of the older generation in Hunan who don't know 'Zu'an Hunan cuisine'. By the way, I'll give it to you later." There is a 'Zu'an Tofu', you can try it, it's a must-have. Before I opened this entertainment city, I thought about opening a Hunan restaurant, specializing in 'Zu'an Hunan cuisine'."

When Mr. Xie said this, he sighed regretfully. Zhang Chen couldn't help but ask: "Why didn't you start it later?"

"I didn't wait for you." Mr. Xie said, "This master just can't make it in Changsha."

"Why?" Liu Ligan asked.

"His work unit won't let him go, and he won't be allowed to leave even after he retires. He must be kept to be his apprentice," Mr. Xie said.

"Who is so awesome?" Zhang Chen was also curious.

"Do you know about Changsha Rongyuan Hotel, where the hibiscus flower is made of rong and the garden is called the garden?" Mr. Xie asked. Zhang Chen and Liu Ligan both shook their heads.

"Isn't your Hunan called 'Furong Country'? There is a literary magazine in Hunan that I often read, called 'Furong'." Liu Ligan said.

"It's right to call it Furong Country. I don't read any magazines. I can only read short stories." Mr. Xie said with a self-deprecating smile, "This Rongyuan Hotel is the reception office of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee. Chairman M has been to Changsha several times. They all stayed in the Rongyuan Hotel, and the word 'Rongyuan' was inscribed by the chairman, and the name was also changed by the chairman."

"Then what was it originally called?" Liu Ligan became interested.

"It was originally called 'Rong Yuan', which means 'Rong' in 'Yi', because it was rebuilt in the former Hunan Provincial Chairman He Jian's mansion, and Rong Yuan was He Jian's nickname." Mr. Xie said, "As a master of ours, He's the special first-class chef of Rongyuan Hotel, why would you let him go if it's so easy for the company?"

Zhang Chen and Liu Ligan nodded. A first-class chef is the hotel's signature. How could the hotel destroy its own signature?

What did Liu Ligan think of? He shouted: "Mr. When I said "fuck", I said the word "fuck" and swallowed it back.

While the three people were saying these words, the waiter served steamed cured meat, blood cake duck, Dong'an chicken, Mao's braised pork, and of course the Zu'an tofu that Mr. Xie had mentioned. Every time a dish was served, Mr. Xie asked them to They tasted it and it tasted very good. Zhang Chen and Liu Ligan kept nodding.

The three of them ate and drank while chatting without stopping.

Hearing what Liu Ligan said, Mr. Xie smiled, neither denying nor admitting. He picked up the colander with his hand, tried the stewed fish in the pot, then put a pinch of green garlic in with the spoon, and said to them, It’s ready to eat. You must taste the fish first.

Mr. Xie used serving chopsticks and a colander to dig out two spoons of fish and placed them in the bowls in front of Zhang Chen and Liu Ligan respectively. Zhang Chen picked up a chopstick of fish and put it into his mouth. It felt like he had been burned, and his whole body was covered with pain. With a shock, he felt a spiciness and umami taste coming from his mouth and rushing directly to his forehead, and sweat started to flow from the back of his neck and forehead.

So cool!

The fish in the pot looked white and thick, but it turned out to be so fresh, spicy, and tender. Zhang Chen wanted to taste the fish meat, but the fish meat was like chocolate. He didn't know if it had melted or if it had melted on its own. Something went down in his throat.

"It's so delicious!" Zhang Chen and Liu Ligan shouted in unison. They couldn't wait to pick up the second piece of fish with chopsticks and put it into their mouths.

Mr. Xie looked at them with great interest, and after they all praised him, he used chopsticks to pick out a piece of fish for himself.

"Try the fish soup again." Mr. Xie told them.

Zhang Chen and Liu Ligan scooped a spoonful of soup into the bowl and drank. They had never tasted such delicious fish soup.

While Liu Li was drinking, he gave Mr. Xie a thumbs up.

"This is much more delicious than the Hunan food I had in Tailong City yesterday." Zhang Chen shouted, "No, if this continues, I won't be able to eat the Hunan food in other hotels."

"Then come here to eat. Home-cooked food is available for every meal." Mr. Xie said with a smile.

"This homely meal of yours is too luxurious." Liu Ligan shouted, "It's made by a first-class chef, and it's called, it's called..."

When Liu Ligan said this, he couldn't go on. He thought the fish soup was so delicious that it short-circuited his brain.

"That's a common occurrence." Mr. Xie smiled, turned around and called out the door: "Meituo!"

The little girl with a round face heard the call and pushed the door open. Mr. Xie asked her to go to the kitchen and call Master Fu over.

After a while, the little girl came in with a fat man. This man had a rosy face, fair skin, and slightly naturally curly hair. He looked extraordinary. If Mr. Xie hadn't told them that he had retired, Zhang Chen He Liu Ligan couldn't believe it. He looked about fifty years old at most.

Mr. Xie pointed at Zhang Chen, smiled and said to the master chef: "Mr. Zhang said that your food is more delicious than the Hunan cuisine restaurant in Tailong City."

Master Fu smiled gently: "Don't poke me."

Zhang Chen felt his face was burning.