Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 159 A dish that shouldn't exist under urban theory: "Stir-fried pork kidneys". (Bonus chapter for 2K chapters)

Mao Xianzheng closed his eyes slightly.

He is now in his seventies, and his life has been quite eventful. He has done a lot of research in order to learn how to cook.

He was once a genius chef of his time, alongside "Zheng Susheng," "Sun Lixin," "Hu Taosheng," "Hou Yurui," and "Liu Jianming."
Together, these renowned masters spent the most golden age of Chinese cuisine.

Why is it only at "Level 7" now? On the one hand, there are indeed limitations in talent, and on the other hand, level examinations were not popular back then.

Finally, there is also a competition held overseas.

The system wasn't as perfect back then. When Western cuisine made a big inroad into China, the culinary world was divided into several factions.

Mao Xianzheng, a descendant of imperial chefs, was a typical example of someone who vehemently opposed "Chinese cuisine being prepared in a Western style" back then.

“We Chinese have our own unique traditions, the skills passed down from our ancestors over thousands of years. How can they be inferior to Western cuisine?”

"Any of their techniques can be found in China!"

“I understand that you want to systematize and standardize, but that is not a reason for us to abandon tradition!”

Mao Xianzheng admitted that he was somewhat conservative.
But in his time, which chef wasn't conservative?

Eight major cuisines, sixteen main branches, and a hundred schools of thought contend with each other. Wherever you go, you compare lineage, tradition, and the authenticity of your school!
Without talent and connections, it's difficult to find a renowned teacher, let alone enter this circle.

In addition, traditional chefs have a philosophy of "teaching an apprentice and starving the master," so they keep their ancient recipes and techniques to themselves, and eventually, they take them all to their graves!

He felt that he was already considered open-minded among this group of conservatives, but he still could not accept the integration of Western culinary techniques with Chinese cuisine.

At that time, he had considerable influence in the Chefs Association because of his influence, and his own restaurant was located in Beijing. Because of his opposition to this matter, people often came to him with money to plead for him.

But at that time he did not succumb to the temptation of these "visitors to China" and insisted on sticking to tradition, making his own style of cuisine.

In that era when martial arts had burned out its last glories, chefs, like the martial arts world, also had their own rules.

Although unlike the old Shanghai districts where opening a martial arts school required visiting numerous schools, each area of ​​the Beijing district has its own unique rules.

Back then, in the Beijing area, without a master's apprenticeship or a reputation, even if your skills were exceptional, people in the industry would only call you a "self-taught cook."

In the days before the internet was widespread, cooking battles weren't as refined as they are now. For aspiring cooks to climb the ranks, they had to fight their way up from one restaurant to another.
They managed to build a reputation through sheer hard work.
This is fundamentally different from the current situation where many things are simply promoted through variety shows or other videos.

It's somewhat similar to the current trend of new chefs searching the world for Chen Xiaodong.
Back then, every chef in every restaurant possessed exceptional skills. In an era before technology and animal husbandry had reached their peak, they used their solid craftsmanship to advance the landscape of Chinese cuisine.

The Western-style restaurants that entered the market originally took a different approach, but they found that while the general public could accept them, they still couldn't penetrate the upper echelons.

Therefore, in accordance with the rules of that time, gambling became a bridge used as a buffer.

At his busiest, Mao Xianzheng would face three to four chefs from overseas every week, and he still managed to maintain his winning rate despite this high frequency of interaction.

Until he met "Auguste Eskfy".
By removing the memory segments exclusive to the elderly from their minds, Mao Xianzheng's so-called "taste of memories" is not like the five flavors of a scorpion, where one actually sees a villain.

It's describing the kidney in my mouth.
As mentioned earlier, he is a chef who has gone through multiple stages of development, including conservatism, innovation, and creativity, so he has a wide range of knowledge.

Back in the earliest days, when he was still an apprentice at his family's restaurant, his father, when making "stir-fried pork kidneys," proposed the concept of "the water chestnuts should be glossy and white with a hint of pink."

The term "translucent pink" refers to the fact that the stir-fried pork kidneys should have a slight pinkish tinge. In the days before thermometers and heat meters, this slight pinkish tinge during cooking was the perfect state for stir-fried pork kidneys.

However, in modern times, this cooking method has been abandoned by chefs.

The main reason is that if the "transparency" is not done properly, myoglobin residue can easily remain. The freshest pork kidneys may be slightly better, but any pork kidneys that have been frozen will have food safety issues.

Between taste and safety, the chef chose the latter. As a result, most teachers who teach this dish later strictly indicate that the entire heating time should not be less than 20 seconds, in order to prevent students from sacrificing safety in pursuit of taste.

Of course, those who offer 8-second or 10-second pork kidney dishes are just trying to create hype and generate traffic; they don't care about the diners' well-being.

Although some chefs can make it in 10 seconds, in Mao Xianzheng's eyes, "stir-fried pork kidneys" without the "crispy" texture is no different from any other dish.

Of course, he's getting old, and he has to accept it. In his memory, it's been at least 20 years since he last ate the kind of pork kidneys he had during his apprenticeship.

He originally thought he would never taste that exquisite flavor of pork kidney again in his life.
Until he put Xia Ming's pork kidney into his mouth.

"While retaining its ultimate crispness and elasticity, the inside is filled with the freshest texture of pork kidney, and what's remarkable is that there is not a trace of offal taste."

"The crispness on the outside and the tenderness on the inside are perfectly combined. How many years has it been since I last had this feeling when I ate this dish?"

Mao Xianzheng was confident that Xia Ming's "stir-fried pork kidneys" had hit the perfect balance between raw and cooked, bringing out the "crispness" and "tenderness" of the pork kidneys to the fullest.

To put it dramatically, even if Mao Xianzheng took his father out of his coffin, he might not be able to recreate this exactly.

Among the other judges, apart from Wei Yan who was a bit confused, the rest all recognized the remarkable quality of this pork kidney dish.

Sui Wubai looked thoroughly enjoying himself.

With each bite, he could feel the delicious taste of egg white, which, along with the unique flavor of pork kidney, melted in his mouth.

Since his master left, he had never tasted such a stir-fried pork kidney dish that had the texture of ice cream and the distinct crispness of offal, perfectly blending the two. His eyes were starting to light up as he ate it.

If the dish is rated 90 points for its appearance, then for him now, the taste is absolutely perfect.

In his excitement, he even opened his eyes in his mind.
After reporting all the dosages, when it came to the cooking time, he frowned and looked confused.

"Stir-frying time: 20 seconds? 18 seconds?"

"No, the time shown on the tablet is about 15 seconds, but in 15 seconds, there should definitely be traces of blood inside this kidney!"

"It's the deep-frying time. No, the deep-frying time is standard, but the stir-frying time is off."

Sui Wubai had conducted many experiments in private and knew its critical point, but Xia Ming's dish was truly incomprehensible to him.

"Despite the theoretically excessively short stir-frying time, it perfectly showcased all the characteristics of pork kidney. This... is illogical."

Sui Wubai gasped. The pork kidneys in the bowl seemed like a bottomless pool, hiding secrets he had never known before.

"This is clearly a 'stir-fried pork kidney' dish that shouldn't exist under urban planning principles."

"How did Xia Ming manage to do that?!"

(End of this chapter)