After sneezing, Feng Yifan washed his hands and nose, and then returned to the stove to continue working on the dish.
At the same time, he reminded Ning Cheng who was practicing knife skills: "Remember, if you feel like sneezing in the kitchen, it is best to leave in time before sneezing. If you don't have time, you must turn your back to all the ingredients and cover your mouth and nose with your elbow. Afterwards, you must wash before continuing to work."
After hearing this, Ning Cheng nodded very seriously to indicate that he would remember it.
Some of the dishes that Feng Yifan has been researching recently are basically developed based on Suzhou-style soup.
Taking advantage of the unique aroma of Suzhou soup, Feng Yifan not only uses Suzhou soup to braise meat, but also uses Suzhou soup to braise some bean products and vegetables.
After being marinated in Suzhou soup, Feng Yifan uses some Western techniques to recombine soy products, vegetables and meat to create some unique Suzhou dishes.
For example, in this dish, Feng Yifan uses thin tofu braised in Suzhou soup, rolls up the braised beef, and garnishes it with braised broccoli, creating a unique dish.
The dish is very beautiful, as if blooming flowers are placed on the plate.
Feng Yifan only made a few and called Ning Cheng over, and then he and his father-in-law brought Ning Cheng to taste them together.
At first glance, the grassy taste of the broccoli is removed after being braised, and the overall taste is very similar to meat. Combined with the toughness of the thin tofu below and the meat wrapped in it, the overall taste is soft within the toughness of the tofu.
It tasted like a whole. Ning Cheng felt that this dish tasted beyond imagination.
Broccoli, in particular, is very good at neutralizing greasiness. You can simply taste the aroma of the meat without feeling greasy, so after taking a bite, you will want to take a second bite.
Ning Cheng thought this dish was really delicious.
But after eating, Feng Yifan and Su Jinrong shook their heads almost at the same time.
It was obvious that the taste did not meet the requirements of the father-in-law and son-in-law.
Su Jinrong bluntly said: "The taste is too monotonous, without any layers of texture. Moreover, the broccoli has lost its original fragrance after being braised. It tastes just like meat. The overall taste is not even as good as the tofu wrapped around it."
The evaluation given by his father-in-law was very pertinent, and Feng Yifan also understood that neither the broccoli nor the meat met his expectations.
After the broccoli is braised, the flavor of the spices is indeed absorbed, but it loses its original flavor.
The most important thing is that after the broccoli was cooked until it was a little soft, it tasted no different from overcooked meat, making the whole dish lose its due sense of layering. In fact, it did not taste as amazing as the piece of dried tofu.
Feng Yifan sighed helplessly: "It seems that this attempt is not a good one. It may need to be improved."
Ning Cheng stood aside and didn't dare to speak. He felt that this dish, both in appearance and taste, had exceeded his imagination. He just didn't expect that in the end Feng Yifan and Su Jinrong were not satisfied.
At this moment, Ning Cheng felt for the first time how difficult it was for a chef to create new dishes.
But Feng Yifan was not discouraged. He immediately started a new round of preparations and attempts.
These days, Ning Cheng comes here every day to practice knife skills. He also sees Feng Yifan's hard work every day, developing new dishes day after day. It can be said that the final product of each new dish is after many attempts, constant failures, and finally accumulating experience to find the direction of success.
Ning Cheng watched in the kitchen every day. Every time Feng Yifan developed a new dish, it was an amazing dish, very beautiful in both taste and appearance.
To this day, Ning Cheng is deeply impressed by every dish.
Among them is a dish similar to rouged goose breast. The cooking method looks similar to rouged goose breast, but the finished product is more beautiful. At the same time, the taste is based on the taste of rouged goose breast, and some unique spices are added. It really leaves a lingering fragrance on your teeth after eating it.
What impressed Ning Cheng most about this dish was that after eating it, some rouge red would remain on his lips.
It was like being kissed by a rouge-covered lady.
Feng Yifan has created quite a few dishes of this kind these days, and each one has a very unique style. They seem to be improved ancient dishes that have a traceable history, but Feng Yifan has added many innovative elements to them. In particular, he has integrated the essence of Chinese and Western cooking, and the dishes he made are truly eclectic.
It seems that there is also a dish called braised duck tongue that is also derived from the Red Mansion cuisine.
Feng Yifan did not braise the duck tongue like other duck tongues on the market. He simply put the whole duck tongue out after braising it.
He removes all the crispy bones, leaving only the core duck tongue part, and then seasons it carefully.
They even use Western methods and roast it over charcoal to give the duck tongues a fruity aroma.
When the dish is finally served, the duck tongue is arranged into a gorgeous flower, which looks amazing and tastes unique.
Ning Cheng had bought small packages of braised duck tongues online, and also bought duck tongues braised by others in the town market. But the taste of those was completely different from Feng Yifan's braised duck tongues, and it could be said that they were not even the same dish.
At the same time, Feng Yifan's braised duck tongue has also become Feng Ruoruo's favorite side dish.
Ning Cheng sometimes feels that every dish Feng Yifan makes seems to be created for his daughter, because among all his dishes, Feng Ruoruo’s favorite is definitely his, and basically all of them suit Feng Ruoruo’s taste.
Among the dishes created by Feng Yifan, there are very few with spicy flavors that are popular among the public.
This is also because Feng Ruoruo doesn’t like spicy food.
But Ning Cheng had been studying under Feng Yifan for so long that he finally understood that simply relying on spiciness to cover up the lack of flavor in a dish is a very despicable practice when the chef's level is not good enough. Usually serious chefs would despise the practice of using spiciness to numb the taste buds of diners.
These are some of the life principles that Ning Cheng learned from Feng Yifan.
To be a good cook, you must first learn to be a good person. You cannot lose the essence of food simply in pursuit of profit.
Food is meant to bring people happiness and pleasure, and to make this happiness and pleasure last forever.
Instead of simply using heavy oil and spicy food to give people a short-term stimulation, the disadvantage is that after the stimulation, the taste pleasure is gradually lost.
In Ning Cheng's opinion, Feng Yifan is not just a chef, he is more like a culinary artist.
His dishes, each of which is like art, give people a blissful taste experience.
Ning Cheng saw this as a kind of grace that he rarely saw in other chefs. The more he observed, the more Ning Cheng was attracted to Feng Yifan.
This made him more determined to learn cooking skills from Feng Yifan.
When Ning Cheng was thinking about this, Feng Yifan patted him on the shoulder and said, "Hey, what are you doing standing there? Keep practicing. Look at what you're doing. Be more serious and don't make mistakes all the time. Cutting vegetables is like cooking. You need to take it seriously. Do you understand?"
After being scolded, Ning Cheng immediately came to his senses and quickly responded, "I know, Uncle Yifan."
After agreeing loudly, Ning Cheng continued to practice his knife skills with his head down.
Although he repeated the boring task of cutting vegetables every day, Ning Cheng felt very fulfilled. He did not feel uncomfortable or irritated at all.
Because practicing knife skills in this kitchen not only helps you hone your skills, but also allows you to learn other things.
In particular, Feng Yifan did not avoid Ning Cheng during the process of developing dishes, which allowed him to gain some new knowledge about cooking.
Therefore, every day's practice makes Ning Cheng feel very fulfilled.
Ning Cheng was practicing his knife skills, Feng Yifan continued to study his dishes, and Su Jinrong stood by to give advice.
When Feng Ruoruo gets up, she will sneak into the kitchen and get close to her grandfather. Although she is very close to her grandfather, the little girl actually chats more with her father.
Feng Ruoruo likes chatting with her father very much, because her father will respond to her and tell her stories.
Today, Feng Ruoruo once again came to her grandfather's side. Seeing her father busy over there, the little girl immediately became curious and started asking questions.
"Dad, Dad, what are you going to do today?"
Feng Yifan quickly answered his daughter: "Dad is researching new dishes today. I just made some, but Dad and Grandpa are not satisfied."
Feng Ruoruo immediately said, "Dad, then let Ruoruo try it. Maybe she will be satisfied."
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Grandpa is not satisfied, so Dad will definitely have to redo it."
Feng Ruoruo said, "It doesn't matter. Ruoruo will know whether to redo it or not. Dad, please give Ruoruo a taste."
Seeing that his daughter kept asking, Feng Yifan gave the remaining bit to his daughter to taste.
In fact, Ning Cheng knew that Feng Yifan left some of this on purpose to give his daughter a taste. He knew that when his daughter woke up from her nap and had a snack, she would run to the kitchen and would definitely ask to try the new dish made by her father. So Feng Yifan would leave some for his daughter.
Feng Ruoruo ate the food her father handed to her and chewed it carefully.
He looked like a gourmet.
After eating it, Feng Ruoruo shook her head and said, "Dad, this is not delicious. It's soft. Ruoruo can't even bite it with his teeth. Ruoruo doesn't like the taste either. Dad, you should change it."
People who have not experienced this period of time when Feng Ruoruo accompanied her father in developing new dishes in the countryside may be surprised that Feng Ruoruo would actually say that the dishes her father cooked were not delicious
But Ning Cheng knew very well that although Feng Ruoruo always seemed to say "All the food my father cooks is delicious", the little girl was actually very picky. Most of the time, she would not say that the food her father cooked was bad, but she would tell her father that she did not like the taste and ask him to cook it again.
Therefore, from the perspective of Ning Cheng, a bystander, the person who makes the final decision on every new dish of Feng Yifan should actually be Feng Ruoruo.
Many times, Feng Yifan and Su Jinrong may both feel that it is feasible.
However, if Feng Ruoruo doesn’t like the food after eating it, or doesn’t like the design, Feng Yifan will make some adjustments.
Feng Yifan chatted with his daughter for a while and suddenly got inspiration from what his daughter said.
Feng Ruoruo said to her father, "Dad, last time I went to Sister Wenwen's house, I saw a lot of small mushrooms and a lot of strange vegetables drying in her house. Sister Wenwen said those were picked from the mountains. Dad, can you use them to cook?"
After his daughter said this, Feng Yifan suddenly thought of a good idea.
The ingredients he has on hand now are basically vegetables from his family’s vegetable base, as well as various river fish.
But in fact, Feng Yifan has always overlooked one point, that is, Yanghu Township is a place surrounded by mountains and rivers.
The counterpart to river seafood should not be the vegetables from the vegetable base, but the wild delicacies from the mountains.
Before, Feng Yifan had been studying the various vegetables and fruits in his parents' vegetable base, but he had overlooked the many wild delicacies in the mountains of Yanghu Township. Perhaps if those things were combined, they would have some different taste
Thinking of this, Feng Yifan felt as if the door to a new world had suddenly opened.
He picked up his daughter, kissed her happily and cheered.
This scene shocked everyone in the kitchen.
Feng Ruoruo, who was held in her father's arms, kissed by her father, and cheered by her father, was also stunned.
She was in her father's arms, looking at her father. Her little face was first filled with fear, then turned into a kind of dementia, and finally she cheered along with her father.
Although Feng Ruoruo didn't know why her father was cheering, she felt that if her father was happy, then Ruoruo would be happy too.
After cheering for a while, Feng Yifan put his daughter down.
After Feng Ruoruo was put down, she quickly asked, "Dad, why were you so happy just now? Did you think of something?"
Feng Yifan smiled and gently pinched his daughter's face and said, "Yes, Daddy has come up with a great idea, and Daddy was inspired by Ruoruo to come up with that idea, so Daddy feels that he should thank Ruoruo, so Daddy hugged Ruoruo and cheered together."
When Feng Ruoruo heard what her father said, her big eyes blinked and she looked at her father expectantly.
"Dad, what idea do you have?"
Feng Yifan smiled and pulled his daughter in front of his father-in-law, and expressed his ideas in front of him.
Su Jinrong was a little surprised when he heard Feng Yifan wanted to use wild vegetables and add them into the preparation of dishes, but on second thought, he felt that it did seem to be a feature.
Perhaps in many restaurants, wild vegetables do not taste good, mostly because it is impossible to remove the bitter taste of wild vegetables.
But Feng Yifan now has Su Zao Tang in his hand, so he can get rid of the bitter taste more easily.
Combine the freshness of wild vegetables with the freshness of river fish, and the special flavor of Suzhou soup. Su Jinrong feels that it should definitely be a great combination.
Su Jinrong smiled and nodded: "Well, it's a method that can be tried."
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "In that case, we will use wild delicacies to make new dishes tomorrow."