Lion's head is a very well-known dish, and it is also something that is cooked differently across the country.
There are also different opinions on where the lion head originated from and what type of cuisine it belongs to.
However, one thing is certain, there is indeed a big difference between the north and the south in the way lion heads are made. And Su Ji's lion heads may be considered a relatively old and independent tradition.
The most common lion's head dish, most people say, must contain water chestnuts, which are also commonly known as "horse hoofs" in some places.
However, in Su Ji’s traditional lion head, water chestnuts are not a must. Su Ji will mix it with some other ingredients to enhance the taste and make the lion head less greasy.
When Feng Yifan stepped into the kitchen, his apprentice was already eager to try.
Lin Ruifeng knew that the master would definitely be able to cook a great dish, and this was also a great opportunity for him to learn.
Seeing his apprentice's look, Feng Yifan smiled and said, "It looks like you are ready?"
Lin Ruifeng was stunned for a moment, then said: "Yes, I am ready, Master."
Feng Yifan continued, "It's no use getting ready, because you won't have a chance to get involved today. The dish of lion's head is actually very particular about the feel of the hand, so it's best to cook it alone."
When Lin Ruifeng heard his master say that he wanted to make a lion head, he was actually not unfamiliar with it.
These days in the kitchen, Lin Ruifeng sees the chef making lion head every day, but just by watching, he can already feel the difficulty of this dish.
Maybe in many places that don’t know how to make lion’s head, they will just beat the pork belly into meat paste and then make it that way.
But in fact, lion's head cannot be made by mashing meat, it must be cut with a knife.
Moreover, Su Ji’s lion head is made by separating the fat and lean meat first, and then dicing the fat and lean meat separately.
Mix in a ratio of 60% fat to 40% lean.
And in the process of cutting with a knife, although the meat should be cut into the size of soybeans, the fat must be cut slightly larger than the lean meat. This really tests the knife skills.
At least after watching for so many days, Lin Ruifeng admits that he still cannot accurately cut the meat into qualified cubes.
Today, Feng Yifan is still working in front of his apprentice.
Choose a piece of pork belly from the ribs.
Next, you need to slice the pork belly layer by layer, slicing away all the fat and lean meat.
This process not only tests knife skills, but also patience. The process of slicing is very tedious.
Then you need to cut the lean meat and fat into small cubes the size of soybeans, and you also need to cut them carefully and patiently.
Chop the green onion and ginger into small pieces. Once you have chopped them, put them all into a metal bowl.
The seasoning is actually very simple, salt, pepper, cooking wine, and some water starch.
The rest is the beating process. First of all, you need to beat the diced meat into a ball in a clockwise direction. Then comes the moment that really tests the chef's skills and strength.
This is the process that Lin Ruifeng remembers these days.
But today is different.
After Feng Yifan chopped the meat and chopped the green onion and ginger, he did not go directly into seasoning and mixing them, but instead prepared some other ingredients.
The first one is naturally the more familiar water chestnut.
Next is the lotus root. The lotus root used by Feng Yifan here is not local, but the lotus root from Mianyang that he specially purchased.
It can be said that it is the most famous kind of lotus root in China.
This kind of lotus root is praised as: it tastes like autumn pear when eaten raw and like chestnut when eaten cooked.
In fact, this is not the lotus root production season, so the lotus root in Feng Yifan's hand cannot be considered the most seasonal Mianyang lotus root, but it can be used to make lion's head.
In addition, Feng Yifan also prepared catfish, river clams, shrimp roe, a few lotus leaves, a salted egg yolk, and some slightly crushed rice grains.
After everything is prepared, cut the water chestnuts, lotus roots and cleaned river clams into cubes.
Next, Feng Yifan divided the original meat filling into four portions and placed them in four metal bowls.
Then the official production finally began.
In the first bowl, add chopped green onion, ginger, salt, pepper, cooking wine and water starch to the meat filling and stir, then add diced river clams and water chestnuts, and then start beating very hard.
Snap, snap, snap…
After mixing the filling into a dough, pick it up and beat it.
Lin Ruifeng could feel the power of his master just by watching from the side.
After beating, put some oil on your hands, first pinch a part of the filling, and then pinch the salted duck eggs prepared in advance.
Use the salted duck egg as the center and spread the fillings on the outside. Put some starch water on your palm and slowly roll it into a big meat ball. Put it into boiling water to cook it into shape and also to cook out the impurities in the meat filling.
While boiling, Feng Yifan set up another pot on the stove next to him. First, put rock sugar in it, add a little water, slowly melt the rock sugar over low heat, and then continue to cook over low heat until the sugar in the pot begins to change color.
Lin Ruifeng, standing aside, understood that the master was trying to make sugar color.
This is a common method of coloring braised dishes. Of course, it is more convenient to use red yeast rice to color them.
However, Feng Yifan obviously did not intend to do so. He wanted to fry the sugar color first, and then prepare the braised sauce, which was very similar to the method of braised pork.
During the cooking process, Feng Yifan started his small class again.
"When frying sugar, don't rush to stir it. Just push it slowly with a spoon and wait for it to melt completely. Then you must be patient and fry it slowly, little by little, in one direction."
Lin Ruifeng was of course very quick and serious. He watched the master's iron spoon slowly frying the sugar in the pot, and the color of the sugar gradually changed.
It gradually turned yellowish brown, then slowly turned into a slightly dark brown, and bubbles began to appear.
Feng Yifan began to add water and other ingredients while saying, "See? It's about this level. If you're making braised pork, you either add the meat and stir-fry it, or pour in the prepared sauce, stir well, and then pour it out."
Lin Ruifeng stood aside, writing down his master's description and the production process very seriously.
Feng Yifan did not serve out the fried sugar, but quickly added other ingredients and fried a pot of braised sauce directly in the house.
After that, season the braised sauce and pour it into a small casserole, set aside and cook over low heat. Then put the boiled lion head into it, and the first type of braised sauce is complete.
For the second lion head, repeat the previous steps, but this time add chopped lotus root and stir and beat.
After being rolled into a lion's head, it is still put into white water and boiled for a while to set its shape, cook out some impurities and foam, and then fish it out.
What surprised Lin Ruifeng next was that the master let the lion's head cool down a little, crushed the rice grains before rolling it, and steamed it in a steamer lined with lotus leaves.
Lin Ruifeng, who was standing aside, saw the master using his hands to wrap the rice grains on the lion head, and was also amazed at the master's "ruthless iron hands".
After Feng Yifan had placed the meat and started steaming it, he smiled and said, "This is actually a wrong demonstration. If you want to make this, it's best not to use my method. We can soak the meat overnight to soak out the blood, and then steam it directly."
After hearing this, Lin Ruifeng nodded in a daze, still shocked in his heart. It turned out that his master always found a way to do things differently.
The next one is mixed with catfish meat paste and stewed in pre-prepared chicken soup, which is the original stewing cooking method.
For the first three, Feng Yifan added water chestnuts, but for the last one, Feng Yifan only used shrimp roe.
After being beaten and pounded, it is first blanched in boiling water and then stewed in a broth made from pig skin and bones.
At this point, four different ways of cooking lion's head were presented on the stove in the back kitchen: braised, steamed, stewed, and braised.
The fragrance gradually came out and filled the entire kitchen. It was really a gathering of various aromas that made Lin Ruifeng couldn't help swallowing his saliva. He felt that the four lion heads made by the master this time would definitely be very delicious.
While Feng Yifan was waiting for the lion's head to mature, he chatted with his apprentice standing beside him.
"Ruifeng, after watching this, do you have any insights?"
Lin Ruifeng thought about it seriously and said, "Master, this time you made four lion heads, but you used four different methods and added four different ingredients. I am really surprised."
Feng Yifan smiled and asked, "Just surprised?"
Lin Ruifeng then added: "And there is shock."
Feng Yifan waved his hand: "Don't tell me what surprise or shock you are. I just want to ask you, have you learned anything from making this lion head?"
When asked this question, Lin Ruifeng fell into serious thought.
After a long while, he slowly said, "I feel that cooking often requires a lot of care. Each step may seem tedious, but if you want to present the dish in its best condition, you must do every step well."
Then thinking of the steamed lion's head in lotus leaves, Lin Ruifeng added: "Also, there may be various accidents in the kitchen, so you need to know how to adapt."
After listening to his apprentice's words, Feng Yifan smiled and nodded: "Not bad, Ruifeng, you have indeed made rapid progress."
After praising him, Feng Yifan added: "However, you still forgot the most important point, which is the importance of basic skills. Whether it is doing every step carefully as you said, or encountering unexpected changes, it is all based on your solid basic skills."
Upon hearing this, Lin Ruifeng nodded immediately, and understood in his heart the purpose of his master's specific inquiry.
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Have you seen the different production processes of Master? You also need to grasp the timing of each one so that they can be served almost at the same time."
After saying that, Feng Yifan turned off the stove, but did not rush to open the lid of the pot. Instead, he started to prepare the dish first.
Four different containers were selected: a small red porcelain tripod for braised lion's head, a small celadon bowl for steamed food, a small yellow weasel porcelain cup for stewed food, and finally a small white porcelain covered bowl for the original stew.
After all four kinds of lion heads were served, Feng Yifan also poured different soup ingredients into them.
Then they were all covered. The small celadon bowl was covered with a trimmed lotus leaf.
After the entire plating process, the four serving containers have become a perfect work of art.
Lin Ruifeng was standing nearby, staring with his eyes wide open.
When Feng Yifan had finally finished everything, he smiled, waved his hand in front of his apprentice's eyes and said, "What's wrong? Why are you just standing there?"
Lin Ruifeng came back to his senses, calmed down and asked: "Master, your presentation is so beautiful. It really looks very high-end after it is presented like this. It makes people feel that they can't afford it at all."
Feng Yifan couldn't help laughing at his apprentice's praise: "This is actually the importance of the instrument."
Then, Feng Yifan placed them one by one on the tray, preparing to serve them while continuing to explain to his apprentice.
Lin Ruifeng was quick-witted and quickly stepped forward to help take the tray. He held it very seriously in his hands, as if he was holding four antiques, and he did not dare to make any mistakes.
Feng Yifan and the other apprentices calmed down and said slowly: "In tradition, there is a saying of 'color, fragrance, taste, meaning and shape', but in fact, for a chef, it should be 'color, fragrance, taste, shape and container'. What kind of dish should be matched with what kind of container to show the artistic conception you want to show."
Lin Ruifeng listened very carefully, looked straight ahead, carefully carried the tray, and slowly walked out of the back kitchen door.
After Feng Yifan finished his explanation, he stopped talking and led his apprentice out of the kitchen.
The moment the master and the disciple stepped out of the kitchen, they were surprised to see that quite a few people were already waiting in the restaurant outside. Among them, in addition to the people from the TV station, there were also some old neighbors on the old street and people visiting the night market.
This situation can be blamed on those people from the TV station who were out and about, a few of the younger staff members accidentally leaked the matter.
As a result, word spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred.
The first ones to come and see were, of course, the owners of the nearest shops. People who were visiting the night market on the old street behind also came to watch. Finally, the owners of several shops on the west side also came over.
At this time, in the restaurant, whether it was the old couple from the Lin family breakfast shop who were relatively close, Yang Zhigang from Lao Yang BBQ Restaurant, Fan Chaodong and Wang Cuifeng from the rice wine shop, or several elderly people on the west side, they had all been waiting for a long time.
Seeing the master and disciple come out, the restaurant suddenly became quiet, and everyone's eyes were instantly focused on the master and disciple.
I don’t know who said, “It’s out. It’s finally out.”
The next moment, the restaurant was in an uproar, and there was a crowd of people outside the door, many of whom wanted to come in and take a look.
Faced with this situation, the TV station had no choice but to coordinate quickly.
Lin Ruifeng was a little scared when he saw this situation, but Feng Yifan held his apprentice's hand and prevented the tray in his hand from falling.
Taking the tray from his apprentice, Feng Yifan walked to the dining table in the middle and put it down first.
Then he said to the crowd at the door: "Please don't crowd, please be quiet and listen to me."
Feng Yifan's voice was quite deep, and it really quieted the crowd. People inside and outside the restaurant looked at him, waiting for his next words.
Seeing the crowd quiet down, Feng Yifan said, "Our Su Ji is a restaurant, not a place for sightseeing. So, I understand that everyone wants to take a look at my dish, but please don't disturb the guests' meal. Feng Yifan would like to thank everyone here."
After saying this, Feng Yifan bowed to the crowded crowd inside and outside the restaurant at the entrance, asking for everyone's understanding.
After hearing this, most people in the crowd were able to understand and said they just wanted to take a look and would definitely not disturb the restaurant guests.
Finally, the crowd quieted down when the old man surnamed Yan, who was celebrating his birthday, came over and expressed his willingness to be shown to everyone.