Master Tan involuntarily straightened up, stretched his neck slightly forward, and with widened eyes, he asked, "Which three dishes?"
"Stir-fried beef, stead at patties, and egg drop soup," Hua Xiaomai said with a smile.
In the past, when she studied cooking, she had heard that the qualified big restaurants of old tis often conducted a test before employing a chef. Only after trying out the candidate’s skills and being satisfied, would they decide to keep and hire the person. And this test, generally speaking, involved preparing a few dishes, among which the most common ones were stir-fried beef, stead at patties, and egg drop soup.
These three dishes, while very common in the neighborhoods where everyone had tasted and could make them, were difficult to cook perfectly. Knife skills, seasoning, choice of ingredients, and control of the heat—all of a chef’s abilities were exposed through these three dishes, and even the slightest oversight could not be concealed, easily revealing any mistakes.
When Hua Xiaomai graduated from Chef School, the tests she had to undergo were much more complex and elaborate. However, since she was in this era, she was also interested in utilizing the local thod to test Master Tan.
"These three?" Although Master Tan had been busy in the kitchen for many years, he had only worked in his own small shop. Being put to the test in front of others like this was the first ti in his life, so he inevitably felt sowhat puzzled and his face showed a trace of astonishnt.
"What’s the matter, is there a problem?" Hua Xiaomai lifted her chin and asked, "Or do you find it too difficult?"
Too difficult? It was clearly too simple if anything.
Master Tan muttered to himself and managed a slight smile: "Well then, I’ll give it a try." Saying this, he stepped into the kitchen.
Hua Xiaomai didn’t want to miss out and followed him in.
Since Zhou Yunyun ca daily to cook for the workers at Sauce Garden, the kitchen was never short of common ingredients. Freshly purchased ats of various types were kept in a large basin, with cold well water underneath to prevent spoilage, and vegetables and fruits were piled up in the corner.
The kitchen of Zhenwei Garden certainly couldn’t compete with those of formal restaurants in terms of equipnt, but it was completely adequate for the few dishes they were about to prepare. Master Tan wasn’t at all hesitant. Upon entering the kitchen, he imdiately rolled up his sleeves, sorted through the large basin, and selected a piece of pork with a balance of fat and lean. After so thought, he also took an extra piece of pigskin, laid it on the chopping block, and finely chopped the at into mince.
Watching from the side, Hua Xiaomai nodded quietly to herself.
Using a pigskin mat under the pork while mincing is a very authentic technique. Not only does it prevent tiny wood splinters on the chopping block from mixing into the mince, but it also prevents the wood’s odor from seeping into the at. However, this also significantly increases the difficulty of chopping—after all, the pigskin is both soft and slippery. If the knife isn’t handled firmly, it can easily slip off course, which is far less convenient than chopping directly on the block.
Whether Master Tan was deliberately flaunting his skill was unclear, but he took up the cleaver and busily set to work. His knife movents were smooth and his actions were swift. In just a mont, he had chopped the entire piece of pork into fine mince, mixed in a bit of raw oil and soy flour, pressed it into small round patties, and placed them in the stear to cook.
The whole process was quick and smooth. Zhou Yunyun, standing beside him, watched with eyes wide open, thinking about her own diligent practice over ti and wondering when she would ever possess such skill; she couldn’t help feeling a bit dejected and pursed her lips quietly.
"You don’t need to do that," Hua Xiaomai gently nudged her arm with her elbow and whispered, "One doesn’t necessarily have to reach Master Tan’s level to graduate. Just the skill of mincing on pigskin alone takes eight or nine years to master, sothing I can’t guarantee I’d do flawlessly either. Look at , haven’t I still managed to open a decent restaurant? Knife skills, heat control... Everything serves the taste of the dish. As long as you make the dish taste great, the thod isn’t critically important."
After hearing this, Zhou Yunyun seed to cheer up a bit and nodded vigorously.
While waiting for the at patties to finish steaming, Master Tan had already begun preparations for the next dish.
For stir-fried beef, one should use lean and tender parts of the beef like the leg, hip, or loin so that the at will be tender and easy to chew when eaten. When slicing, one must know how to use a thin blade to ensure each slice of at is roughly the sa thickness to avoid uneven heating when stir-frying, which could result in so pieces being tender and others tough, making them unpalatable.
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