Chapter 145
“Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon! Master Sun is going to make Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon!” Han Guishan perked up instantly. Although he wasn’t like Xu Cheng, who dedicated his life to the pursuit of true gourmet food, after many years of friendship with Xu Cheng, Han Guishan had developed quite a discerning palate under his influence. Ten years ago, he even had the fortune to taste the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon personally made by Sun Guanyun.
That taste was indeed memorable for many years.
“Hasn’t it been almost seven or eight years since Master Sun last made this dish?” Han Guishan smacked his lips, “If his disciples could inherit even seventy percent of his skills, Jewel Building wouldn’t have ended up like it is today.”
“Eight years,” Xu Cheng said, “In the past few years, I begged him countless times to make this dish, without success. I never expected I would be so lucky today. Does Master Sun have old friends at UAL University?”
“Not sure,” replied Han Guishan, “I’ll have my assistant check. Oh, I forgot to tell you. There’s this young talent I’m quite fond of. Uh, this, Jiang Feng, a student from UAL University. I think he has a good chance of making it to the top four.”
Xu Cheng didn’t recall Jiang Feng, so he picked up his file to take a look: “I haven’t heard of any noteworthy chefs with the surname Jiang from Zet City, but in the Shu region, I’ve heard there’s a Chef Jiang whose Spicy Fish Head is unparalleled. It’s a pity that when I went to find him, he had been retired for many years, and I couldn’t get any news. Have you tried his cooking?” “Haven’t tried anything else, but the pickled vegetable dumplings made by this young friend tasted just like the ones my mom used to make for me when I was a child, not a bit different, that taste. Sigh, it’s a pity Dr. Cao says I can’t eat a lot of coarse grains now, and Wang Jing won’t allow me to eat them either. Sigh, too bad, otherwise you could have a taste,” Han Guishan smacked his lips. Xu Cheng:”…”
He continued to read Jiang Feng’s file.
“Are you sure the info is right, that he’s from Zet City?” Xu Cheng asked.
“I’ve chatted with him, he’s from Zet City, what’s up?” Han Guishan asked. “Nothing, I was just overthinking,” Xu Cheng put down the file. His thoughts had just wandered to the Taifeng Building in Beiping, a restaurant that had been abandoned by the Li Family for half a century already. It seems that old age really does lead one to overthink.
Just a coincidence of names.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen of Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant, Jiang Feng was also getting gradually familiar with the anatomy of the squab. Sun Guanyun’s assistant had just delivered fresh ingredients, carried in almost by the sackful, even the least numerous squab eggs amounted to hundreds. Seeing such a generous display left the impoverished Jiang Feng in awe.
Now, he even buys pen refills by the box, having to haggle with the store owner for a couple of extra refills each time.
So far, sixteen pigeons had been ruined in his hands, and Mrs. Wang Xiulian had even had Ji Yue write up a special offer for Soup with Chinese Caterpillar Fungus and Pigeon on the Promotional Board at the door.
The seventeenth squab’s deboning went smoothly.
“Yes, cut that, pull, do it now, quickly pull it out!” Sun Guanyun was also satisfied, achieving this level of skill after only a dozen or so attempts showed that Jiang Feng’s knifework foundation was solid.
Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Weiming had already arrived, but neither spoke up. They rarely deboned squab on a regular basis and weren’t as skilled as Sun Guanyun, so they offered no commentary.
Jiang Feng pulled out the wing bone with force, and it was done.
He turned the skin of the deboned squab inside out and placed it in the dish. Although it looked a bit unsightly, one could still make out the shape of a squab, now resembling a deflated balloon, lying flat in the dish.
“That’s good, keep practicing, there’s no issue with the deboning,” Sun Guanyun said, picking up a squab to start deboning.
In terms of knifework, Sun Guanyun might only be slightly better than Jiang Feng, but he had been perfecting this dish for over a decade, with countless squabs meeting their end at his hands. When it comes to familiarity with the anatomy of pigeons, Sun Guanyun surpassed even the experienced pig killer’s knowledge of a pig’s anatomy.
A small pair of scissors in Sun Guanyun’s hands worked magically, his movements extremely fast, more than twice as quick as Jiang Feng’s. Within minutes, a flat, fully deboned squab appeared on the plate.
“Have you made a similar dish before?” Sun Guanyun asked.
Jiang Feng honestly shook his head.
I ll demonstrate for you once, you taste it, and then use a squab for practice. If it doesn’t work with squab, use a duck instead,” Sun Guanyun said, glancing at Jiang Weiguo.
Alright, alright, stop looking at me. I never said I wouldn’t teach. If your grandson loses to mine, I’ll teach him how to cook sugar base,” Jiang Weiguo said.
Pah.” Sun Guanyun was about to curse, but considering that the target of his vitriol was Jiang Feng, he swallowed his words.
“The Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon is a nourishing dish. The pigeon meat itself can strengthen the liver and kidneys, benefit qi, and enrich blood-it is very nourishing. The vegetarian stuffing can absorb the pigeon’s fat, ensuring the taste is not bland. So except for the squab egg, there is no need to add any additional meat. Watch how I do it first, then you try it yourself following my method and give it a try.” Sun Guanyun finished speaking and started to work.
Sun Guanyun minced chestnuts, lotus seeds, lilies, and mushrooms among several other ingredients, then added seasoning to make a vegetarian stuffing, constantly stirring with a spoon to ensure thorough mixing. He then placed the cooked squab egg into the pigeon’s cavity and spooned in the vegetarian stuffing. After de-boning, the pigeon’s flesh was thin, but once the stuffing was in, the pigeon puffed up once more.
Then it was time to “fly” the squab, which meant repeatedly boiling it in a strainer in boiling water. During the boiling process, it was necessary to prick holes through the pigeon, also known as loosening the meat.
“The squab’s skin is thin, and the flesh is even thinner. If we used thick-fleshed meat, it would toughen during the steaming process,” Sun Guanyun explained. If we don’t prick holes, the pigeon would burst.”
After that, it was time to add seasonings and place it in the steamer for a slow steam on low heat, which would take a little over an hour.
Sun Guanyun had indeed shared everything he knew, holding nothing back. Although he didn’t verbalize every detail of the ingredients and ratios, his every move was practical and real. Jiang Feng might not be able to remember everything the first time, but Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Weiming were observing right beside him. With those two seniors present, the recipe couldn’t be hidden.
“You try.” Sun Guanyun said.
Jiang Feng took his own de-boned squab and, trying to replicate what Sun Guanyun had just done, made his attempt.
“There’s not enough lily, add a bit more.”
That piece of mushroom is cut too large, take it out.”
“Stir it a bit more evenly.”
“You’ve overfilled it, scoop out half a spoonful, otherwise the squab will burst before you can even loosen the meat.”
Right, that’s how to roll it, give it a couple more pricks.”
“Too many bay leaves, remove one, your squab is small.”
“That’s good, put it in the steamer.”
After nearly an hour of hard work, the pigeon that Sun Guanyun had cooked was almost ready to come out of the pot.
“Mr. Jiang, do we still have ham and egg stir-fry?” Customers had started arriving at the restaurant, and Ji Yue called out from outside.
“Yes,” Jiang Jiankang shouted back.
“Go ahead with your work. I’ll call you when it’s time to thicken the sauce,” Sun Guanyun spoke, while Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Weiming stood by without any intention of helping.
If these three special-class chefs stayed in the kitchen every day, they would drive the neighboring small restaurants out of business, and their relationships wouldn’t be as good as they were now. Working one day and taking five off was a schedule Jiang Weiguo had devised.
The squab in the pot still needed a while, so Jiang Feng returned to stir-frying dishes.
A few minutes later, Wu Minqi arrived, spotting the duck and squab on the counter. She went to her own station, checked the orders first, got all the ingredients into the pot, and then asked, “What are you learning today?” “Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon.”
Wu Minqi paused in her actions, took a deep breath, and glanced at Jiang Feng.
Full of envy and jealousy.
“You really are lucky,” Wu Minqi sighed after a while.
Jiang Feng:…
Well, it’s okay, I guess..