Good ingredients, for a chef, are like a gun in a soldier's hand, a mirror in a woman's bag, and a wife in a farmer's home...
Whether it is Fulin Hotel or other high-end restaurants in Hong Kong, dried abalone from Japan is indispensable, not only because of the deep sea in northern Japan, the sea is deep and the water is clear, and abalone grows particularly delicious. The most important thing is that Japan has a special technology for drying abalone. The secret recipe is not spread to the outside world. Therefore, even if there are excellent quality fresh abalone elsewhere (such as South Africa, New Zealand, etc.), it cannot be dried in Japan. Bao effect.
This is a very interesting thing. China is the country that eats the most abalone and likes it the most, but Japanese dried abalone is the best abalone in the world. Fulin Restaurant’s signature dish "Ah Yit Abalone" always uses it. is high-quality Japanese abalone. However, as people eat more and more abalone, the size of abalone becomes smaller and smaller. A three-headed dried abalone requires a pound of fresh abalone to be dried. Such a large net abalone can grow normally in the sea. , at least 0 years.
Although the weight of abalone used by Fulin Restaurant is also decreasing year by year, as a chef, both Li Wenji and Yang Guanyi still hope to use better abalone for cooking.
In the fax to Fulin Hotel, Liu Ziqing claimed that there were hundreds of three-headed abalone. Li Wenji didn't believe it at first, but even if there were only ten, it was not a loss to come. The master asked him to come, so he did. coming.
For Li Wenji, although 10 or 100 three-headed abalone are precious, the number of three-headed abalone that has passed through his hands is unknown. In the early years, he did not do one-headed abalone and two-headed abalone. This time, it is just a bigger business. That’s all.
But when he saw the net treasure Liu Ziqing took out, he was completely shocked.
Yes, it was a shock.
This is more shocking news than knowing about the 9/11 incident, than hearing about the oil price increase, and second only to cuckolding.
Li Wenji calmed down for a while, picked up the tea, moistened his throat, and then asked Liu Ziqing: "Where did your boss get these abalones?"
Liu Ziqing has been working in the auction house for 0 years. He knows immediately what kind of emotions a person has, so he said with a smile: "I work part-time. I do whatever the boss asks me to do. How can I ask so many questions."
Speaking of roots, Li Wenji is a chef. No matter how great a chef is, he should be in the kitchen. There is no need to learn how to hide his expressions. The more famous a chef is, the greater his style and the more powerful he will be. No need to cover yourself up. Therefore, as a chef, it was impossible for Li Wenji's surprise to be hidden from Liu Ziqing.
In the auction house, this expression means that your baby has increased in value by another 15%.
Li Wenji was a young man, but he had a deep vision. As a chef, he could easily distinguish the priorities at the dinner table. Of course, he also knew what Liu Ziqing was planning. He sipped his tea and said, "Tell me, what do you sell?" What kind of charter is this abalone?”
Liu Ziqing rubbed his hands secretly and said with a smile: "My boss has a long history and has saved some rare abalones. Now he wants to sell them at a good price, but the quantity is too much. After thinking about it, I think I should ask Master Yang Guanyi. "
"Are there really 100?" Li Wenji couldn't help but pick up the abalone in the incubator again, even though he knew it was inappropriate to do so.
"There are more than 100, I'm afraid there are 1,000." This is what Huang Xuan told him. Although Liu Ziqing was nervous, he still said it. In negotiations, it is still important to get the upper hand.
Li Wenji sneered and said, "Young man, abalone and abalone are different."
He said this and gave Liu Ziqing a contemptuous look.
Liu Ziqing can be considered middle-aged. Being called a "young man" by Li Wenji, who is only 10 years older than him, he immediately became a little angry, but he couldn't mess up today's affairs, so he just said with some annoyance: " Then ask Mr. Li Wenji, what is the difference between this abalone and ordinary abalone?"
Li Wenji snorted softly, pushed the cup in his hand to the middle of the table, waved, and said: "Pidan, come here and take a look at this abalone, and tell your brother Liu about it."
Yang Guanyi is most famous for his abalone, and Li Wenji not only learned the true taste of it, but also pondered many new dishes over the years. He called himself "Wan Chai Family", and his apprentices were divided into two to learn each one. one of the craftsmanship. The original name of preserved egg is Pi Shouzhou. When entering the restaurant, people will naturally think of preserved egg and lean meat porridge. What he learned was abalone cooking, and he was already three points as good as Li Wenji, so he was highly appreciated. Now besides his master, other cooks also call him Brother Pi.
Pi Dan was just thirty years old and still in the prime of life. He was originally sitting behind Li Wenji, stretching his head to look. Now he was called to the front. He stared at the abalone in the incubator without blinking, and then took it in his hand and looked through it. After a long while, he picked it up and smelled it before saying, "This is the abalone dried by the Huagu family."
"oh?"
Pidan glanced at the master before continuing: "When drying abalone, you need to use clean sea water to wash away the sediment and other dirt on the surface of the fresh abalone. Many people now either don't understand, or don't Be careful, use clean water or tap water to wash abalone. The abalone meat is tender. If you wash it with tap water, it will easily absorb water, and the quality will be much worse. "
"It's like using saline for infusion." Liu Ziqing said he understood.
Li Wenji coughed, and Pi Dan continued: "When shelling, different masters have different methods. Generally, they hold a round-headed knife from the thick part of the front end of the shell, insert it along the flesh wall of the shell, and cut off the meat column to remove the meat. Take out the shell, remove the connected internal organs, and wash the body. This step is not difficult to say, but it is not easy to take out the whole abalone. But the reason why I say it is dried by the Huagu family is the knife edge. ”
"Knife edge?" Liu Ziqing lay down and looked at the abalone in the box, but didn't find it.
Preserved egg pointed casually and said: "This abalone is already very big. If it is dried directly in the sun, it will dry too slowly and it will easily deteriorate. Therefore, two to four slits should be made diagonally on the back of the abalone, and the cuts should be continued and maintained. The piece is large and the body is intact, so there is a lot of knowledge involved, such as how many cuts to make, and where to cut it. Each abalone is different, and the position of the cuts is also different. "
When he said this, Li Wenji frowned and said: "Young man, do you understand now? The appearance of the same thing is different when cut twice and four times, and the taste will be different when cooking. There are all these things going on, and there are countless masters in Japan who can do this. Times have changed, and almost all the older generation of Japanese masters, dead and alive, can no longer do it. "
When he said this, he said with emotion: "Nowadays, abalones are caught and eaten before they reach their full length. It is basically impossible to see two-headed abalones in the future. Even three-headed abalones are the same." Very few. Among the young generation in Japan nowadays, not to mention three-headed abalone, not many people have the opportunity to cut 500 four-headed abalone. Craftsmanship can only be learned through practice. What kind of skill can only be practiced with 500? Those who only practice on the mat can only dry the abalone in the sun, but not in the sun.”
Liu Ziqing did not resonate with the sentiments of this generation of abalone masters. He smiled and said: "So, the five abalones here are much more expensive than ordinary abalones?"
"It's expensive." Li Wenji tasted the tea again and said: "These five abalones must have been made by the master of the Huagu family. Maybe they were the 'Master Tianwang' of the previous generation. Just with the name of the Huagu family, I’ll let you bid whatever you want.”
Li Wenji's smiling face didn't make Liu Ziqing feel much pressure. He was a person who had seen big money, dealing with millions, tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars. Hearing what Li Wenji said, he felt angry. Not polite, he raised a finger and said: "1.5 million each. 5 is 750."
"You really dare to ask for it." Li Wenji still smiled. Yang Guanyi's disciples were all in pretty good condition. 1.5 million abalone was rare, but it was by no means too small, so he still smiled and said: "Preserved egg, take it."
With that said, he leaned down and wrote the check.
Liu Ziqing, who was originally waiting for the other party to give in, didn't expect to meet such a person. Before he started to feel depressed, he instantly became ecstatic. Huang Xuan's request was to ask for a price starting from one million, and 50 would be enough. He doubled the price. , it can be described as a smooth start.
Li Wenji blew on the 7-digit check and handed it to Liu Ziqing. He said with a rosy face: "If Mr. Liu still has abalone, I can write 10 more checks like this."
After confirming the value of these Internet treasures, Liu Ziqing was not in a hurry. He was the fourth person in Sotheby's China. The contract given by Huang Xuan was the vice president of Hexin Industrial Trading Department. He was also a member of the senior management, but He knew in his heart that if he only relied on his relationship with Huang Xuan, his workplace value would be reduced to the lowest when the factory in China was built, so he calmed down his emotions and said with a smile: "Master Li doesn't mind. If so, please wait for me for a few minutes?”
"Okay." (To be continued)