“… If this little beggar can really beat Miao Shengsong, it means that I am blind. I will sell Hanxiang Garden and never open a restaurant again!” Fan Hong said with a sneer.
Although he said this in a mocking tone, he was really thinking this in his heart: Su Laosan had brought An Xiaoxiao to him in the hope that he would take in this little beggar, and he had simply chased the person away at that time. But if An Xiaoxiao actually beat the seven-star chef Miao Shengsong now, wouldn't he be blinded
Qin Yiyue lost to Miao Shengsong, but An Xiaoxiao won. Ha, this little girl is obviously many times more valuable than Qin Yiyue, but he drove away the little girl who was originally going to follow him without a second thought. If this is true, how can Fan Hong still have the face to continue running the restaurant...
When Su Lao San, who was standing on the side, heard what Fan Hong said, he immediately laughed and said, "Mr. Fan, our girl's cooking skills are absolutely amazing. If she really beats Master Miao, don't regret what you said just now."
"Change your mind?" Fan Hong leaned aside in disdain. Knowing that An Xiaoxiao was going to participate in the competition, these beggars immediately came to Manhan Building to watch the game, and the people in Manhan Building didn't mind them coming in. Now Fan Hong was standing with these beggars, and he felt indescribably depressed. He felt that the grade of Manhan Building was really low... He looked at Su Laosan with some disgust, sneered and said, "Will I change my mind? A little beggar actually intends to beat a seven-star chef? Are you dreaming? Hey, beggars are beggars. They can't even figure out such a simple thing."
"Mr. Fan." Su Lao San had a smile on his face, but his eyes were particularly cold. "It's true that we are beggars, but beggars also have their dignity, so I hope you can be more careful when you speak. If you offend beggars, you will suffer."
"You threaten me..." Fan Hong was furious. He had been harassed by beggars like Su Laosan for the past two days and was extremely annoyed. He was about to curse, but when he noticed Su Laosan's cold eyes, he was suddenly startled and could not say anything. He could only snort softly and shifted his gaze to the kitchen.
At this moment, Miao Shengsong's stir-fried three fresh vegetables and An Xiaoxiao's hot pot were both ready.
Miao Shengsong's stir-fried three fresh vegetables is just a dish, garnished with some celery and green onion shreds as decoration, and it is worthy of its color, aroma and taste.
However, the dishes served at Manhanlou were particularly peculiar: first, an induction cooker was brought up, with a pot of boiling soup on it, and there were also piles of vegetables, beef and mutton slices, and even a few small bowls of dipping sauces.
"What is Manhanlou doing? What kind of dish is this!" Gao Yuesheng had been watching coldly from the moment An Xiaoxiao, Qin Yiyue and Han Yuyan started to make arrangements. Now he couldn't help but sarcastically said, "This is not even a dish. I'm afraid it's not even qualified to compete with Brother Miao. What do you think, three judges?"
"Well..." The three judges all looked embarrassed. Most dishes are naturally served on plates, and some more troublesome ones just require some extra bowls and plates for dipping sauces.
But... Manhanlou directly brought out the induction cooker and pots, which is indeed somewhat different from the general concept of "dishes".
After discussing it in low voices, the three gourmets made a judgment: "Although this is different from ordinary dishes, there are many kinds of gourmet food, and some unique uses are understandable. We still look forward to the hot pot at Manhanlou."
"Well then." After hearing what the three judges said, Gao Yuesheng stopped trying to keep them at bay and said with a bit of indifference, "Then let's see how the hot pot at Manhanlou tastes. Three judges, please start tasting these dishes now."
"The hotpot at Manhanlou looks a bit complicated, so let's try Master Miao's stir-fried seafood dish first." said Mr. Wang, one of the three judges.
At Shenghuayuan, someone immediately brought the plate of stir-fried seafood to the three judges.
The three gourmets have long known about this delicious dish of stir-fried three fresh vegetables, but they rarely have the opportunity to eat it. After all, even if they go to Shenghuayuan for dinner, the opportunity to invite Miao Shengsong to cook in person is very rare.
At this moment, the three of them couldn't wait to pick up a piece of food with chopsticks, put it into their mouths, and then savor it carefully.
"Potatoes, eggplants, and green peppers are all very common ingredients, but they are known as the three fresh delicacies in China. The combination of these three foods is even more complementary to each other. This dry-fried three fresh delicacies dish is first dry-fried and then stir-fried together. This method is absolutely wonderful. After dry-frying, the ingredients are even more delicious than before. The taste is self-evident."
"The stir-fried three fresh delicacies is indeed worthy of its reputation. This is the first time I have eaten this dish. Just this dish makes me feel that the trip is worthwhile."
"This is the third time I've eaten Master Miao's stir-fried seafood. It's really delicious, but..."
Gao Yuesheng listened to the judges' whispers, his face full of pride, but when he heard this one, his expression was stunned, and he hurriedly asked: "What?"
“The preparation of this dish is simple, but the difficulty lies in the control of the heat. The potatoes, eggplants, and green peppers must be stir-fried just right so that they can complement each other when stir-fried at the end. However, in this dish, the potatoes seemed to be overcooked, and the taste was slightly inferior to the previous stir-fried three fresh dishes, with a slight flaw.”
The gourmet Mr. Zhang said seriously.
To be able to serve as a judge in a competition of this level, it goes without saying that those who are gourmets must have experience as experts and can taste even the subtle differences.
When Gao Yuesheng heard Mr. Zhang's evaluation, he looked unhappy and hurried to see Miao Shengsong.
Miao Shengsong's face showed a hint of annoyance and helplessness, and he obviously agreed with Mr. Zhang's evaluation. As a seven-star chef, he would rarely make such a mistake. But when he learned that his opponent was only a girl of fourteen or fifteen years old, he couldn't help but feel a little impatient, and his performance just now was a little abnormal.
Gao Yuesheng felt a little nervous, but then he put his worries aside. Even so, this dish could still surpass the works of an ordinary six-star chef. Why should he worry too much
He smiled and continued, "Brother Miao has already cooked a dish, so it's inevitable that he is not up to the task. Three judges, please come and try the hot pot made by Manhanlou."
Following Gao Yuesheng's words, everyone's eyes turned to An Xiaoxiao, Han Yuyan and Qin Yiyue who were waiting nearby.
The chef from Shenghuayuan brought Miao Shengsong's stir-fried three fresh vegetables, while the waiters from Manhanlou, Pan Qingguo, Su Xin and others helped to bring the ingredients for the hot pot to the table one by one. All kinds of fresh ingredients, induction cookers, etc. immediately filled the entire table.
Miao Shengsong's stir-fried three fresh vegetables were flawed. Although he admitted his mistake, he still looked unhappy when he saw the hot pot. He said indifferently, "Huh, what kind of dish is this?"
This was a question that Gao Yuesheng had raised before, but it was refuted by the three gourmets. However, Miao Shengsong couldn't help but bring it up again.
But this time, Old Han spoke leisurely: "When I heard the name hot pot just now, I didn't react, but now I vaguely think of this thing... This hot pot was a very popular way of eating delicious food before meat was poisonous."
When Han Yuyan heard what Old Han said, he immediately became happy: "Grandpa, have you heard of hot pot?"
"That's right." Old Han nodded, his face full of joy. "The name hot pot was also suggested by Ye Chui, right? I remember eating this kind of food when I was a child, and there seemed to be many hot pot restaurants in the streets and alleys at that time. This is a way of eating that has been passed down in China for many years."
Meat is poisonous. It has been eighty years since Mr. Han started to do so. He is ninety-seven years old this year. He was already a teenager before the vegetarian movement, so he remembers many things from that time and can be considered a living fossil about food. When the three gourmets heard him say this, they all became very interested.
Fan Hong, who was standing outside the kitchen, was immediately unhappy when he heard what Mr. Han said. He couldn't help but say, "I heard that hot pot is the way beggars eat when they have dinner together. How come Mr. Han said it has become a delicacy that has been passed down in China for many years?"
Old Han had a smile on his face, but when he heard Fan Hong's words, he suddenly got angry and looked towards the door: "Little bastard, are you saying that I deliberately flattered Manhan Building?"
When they heard Mr. Han introducing hot pot, Miao Shengsong and Gao Yuesheng were a little unhappy, but they didn't say anything. After all, Mr. Han's status was there. Even though Miao Shengsong had a tense relationship with Mr. Han, they didn't dare to refute rashly. As a result, Fan Hong couldn't help but interrupt. Miao Shengsong and Gao Yuesheng both looked happy and were quite grateful to Fan Hong.
Everyone at the door made way, revealing Fan Hong.
Fan Hong wanted to slap himself. Why did he just say it directly? However, since things had come to this point, he could only bite the bullet and continue. He said in a deep voice: "Mr. Han, you said that hot pot is the inherited food culture of China. Can you provide any evidence? We can't just believe your one-sided words."
"You want me to produce evidence?" Old Han was furious. He was about to tell Fan Hong what evidence he wanted. My words are the evidence. However, at this moment, a breathless voice suddenly came over.
"Green ants and new wine, a small red clay stove. The sky is about to snow in the evening, can you have a drink? This is Bai Juyi's "Asking Liu Nineteen" in the Tang Dynasty. The small red clay stove in it is a hot pot. Boss Fan wants evidence. Does this count?"
Everyone looked in the direction where the voice came from. In the lobby of Manhan Building, Ye Chui, who was panting and sweating, was walking in. As he walked over, he looked at Fan Hong and continued:
"In addition, there is such a description in the famous novel "The Travels of Lao Can": The meal was served with a bowl of fish, a bowl of mutton, two bowls of vegetables, four plates, a hot pot, and two pots of wine. In addition, there are many descriptions of hot pot in "A Dream of Red Mansions" - if Mr. Fan doesn't believe it, he can find Lao Can's Travels to check it out." (~^~)