Chapter 32: Delicious Food (Part 2)

  This fragrance immediately made Chu Chen's mouth water, and his tongue moved involuntarily. The aroma burst forth in his mouth, and afterwards, the layered yet skillfully blended flavors left him savoring the aftertaste endlessly.

  "After taking a bite, Chu Chen couldn't help but exclaim: 'It's really smooth and tender, with a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth. The aftertaste is long-lasting, making one want to savor it again. In my life, I've never had vegetarian dishes that are so layered, textured, and flavorful.'"

  Everyone present couldn't help but smile when Chu Quan said this. Lu Changshun put down his chopsticks and said, "Xiao Chu, it's not just you, I've never had such a delicious Donghuang Shangsu before either. Unfortunately, Master Niu doesn't easily take action, so we can only follow Director Zhao to have such good fortune."

  After listening to Lu Changshun, Chu Chen only knew that the name of this dish was "Dinghu Shangsu", and from the name, it can be known that the taste of this dish is high-end vegetarian cuisine.

  "Dinghu Shangsu" is a dish belonging to the Lingnan flavor, originally created by an old monk at Qingyun Temple in GD during the Yongli period of the Ming Dynasty. It uses silver ear as the main ingredient and is assisted by more than a dozen precious fungi such as Xianggu, which are cooked separately with oil and seasonings.

  When made, some ingredients are arranged in a circle along the bottom of the bowl, and the remaining ingredients fill it up, then covered with a plate to form a layered "mountain shape", which can be described as delicate materials, elegant color matching, and clear layers.

  It is said that Empress Dowager Cixi was delighted after tasting "Dinghu Shangsu" and ordered it to be included in the Manchu-Han full-course banquet, making it a famous dish. "Dinghu Shangsu" also became a signature vegetarian dish of Dinghushan Qingyun Temple.

  Next, Lu Changshun pointed to a dish that should be mainly made of eel and said: "After vegetarian dishes, we must eat some meat dishes. You should not be unfamiliar with the ingredient eel. This dish is a famous Huaiyang dish called Soft Steamed Eel."

  Soft pouch steamed fish is a famous traditional dish in Huai'an history. In ancient times, the method of steaming long fish was to wrap live long fish in gauze and put it into a boiling pot with scallions, ginger, salt, and vinegar. Steam until the fish body curls up and take out when the mouth opens.

  Later, the spine is removed and cooked, after which the fish meat becomes very tender. When picked up with chopsticks, both ends droop down, resembling a small child's bib. When eating, the soup can be scooped up in it, hence the name "Soft Bib Long Fish".

  Although few people make it this way now, Lu Changshun said that Niu Shifu's carefully cooked soft-braised long fish still uses traditional cooking methods and adds his own innovation, making it well worth looking forward to.

  Before tasting, this dish gave Chu Chen a deep impression that it was particularly elastic. When he picked up a piece of eel meat with his chopsticks, the meat was still quivering but didn't break apart. If you think it must be chewy, then you're greatly mistaken. As soon as it enters your mouth, it's exceptionally tender and melts instantly.

  And this dish is not only fresh and refreshing, but also has a strong garlic flavor, yet the garlic flavor does not overpower the taste of the eel meat. The combination of the two is like the red flower that must have green leaves to match, truly complementing each other.

  Lu Changshun saw Chu Chen's intoxicated expression and smiled as he introduced the next dish.

  The next dish is a famous Hangzhou dish called "Dry Fried Resonance Bell". This dish is carefully made with the famous local product of Shaoxing tofu skin from the HZ area, with its bright yellow color, fragrant and delicious taste, crispy like a bell, it has been promoted as one of the characteristic flavor dishes of HZ, and is very popular among diners.

  This dish also has a story, it is said that in ancient times, there were two restaurants, one big and one small, in Hangzhou. The boss of the big restaurant wanted to monopolize the business, often finding fault and bullying the boss of the small restaurant.

  One day, he learned that the small restaurant had run out of tofu skin, so he incited some rascals to go to the small restaurant and specifically order tofu skin, saying that if their demands were not met, they would smash the signboard of the small restaurant. This matter enraged a burly man who often drank in this place, who silently rushed out of the store, mounted his yellow horse, and galloped away with a whip.

  Before long, the sound of horseshoes clanging was heard, and when they looked around, the big man had already appeared at the entrance of the small restaurant, still holding a package of bean curd skin from Suixiang.

  His actions moved the owner of the small shop to be extremely grateful, and he immediately started cooking a dish made from tofu skin, using high-quality pork ribs. To commemorate the good deeds of this hero, the owner rolled the tofu skin into the shape of a horse's hoof. Thus, the famous dish "Gan Zha Ling" was born.

  This dish, with its crispy skin as thin as a cicada's wing, has a golden color. When you take a bite, it crunches and crackles, and when you dip it in Mr. Niu's special sauce, the flavors are truly fresh and delicious, with a unique taste that makes it a great dish to go with wine.

  After drinking the next dry cup, Chu Chen raised his wine glass and said to Zhao Qirui: "I'm honored today to have dinner with General Manager Zhao. Here, I'd like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for your kindness towards me. I wish you good health, happiness, and prosperity. Cheers!

  Zhao Qirui saw Chu Chen finish his wine in one gulp, and he also finished the wine in his cup to give face to Chu Chen. Then he waved his hand and said:

  "Xiao Chu, don't be so polite to me. To be honest, if you weren't talented, I wouldn't have a reason to treat you with such kindness either. Since you've already introduced the dishes you're not familiar with and the old routes, shouldn't you also introduce these two dishes that you do know?"

  Chu Chen smiled somewhat awkwardly: "Actually, I also coincidentally saw these two dishes in a magazine, so I can only talk about them, haven't practiced making them, please forgive me."

  "In that case"

  "Then let's practice while we talk." Zhao Qirui said with a smile.

  The last dish is the nine-turn large intestine, which was mentioned by Chu Chen at the beginning. This is a traditional Shandong dish that originated in the early years of the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty and was first created by the "Jiuhua Building" restaurant.

  This dish is made by scalding pig large intestine in water, then deep-frying it, and filling it with over a dozen seasonings. It's cooked with a small fire to bring out the flavors. The method of making this dish is unique, using a lot of ingredients, with all five flavors present. During production, it's first boiled, then fried, and finally roasted, repeatedly scooped into the pot several times until it's fully cooked.

  It is said that the boss of Jiuhua Building liked the number nine the most. Some literati and elegant scholars felt that this dish was indeed different from others and had a unique flavor after eating. To please the owner's fondness for the number nine, they praised the chef for making this dish as exquisite as the Taoist "Nine-refined Golden Elixir", so it was renamed "Jiuzhuan Dachang" ( Nine-turn Large Intestine).

  The dish has a reddish color, tender texture, and when you put it in your mouth, the five flavors of sour, sweet, fragrant, spicy, and salty are all present. The flavor is extremely unique, and although this dish uses fatty intestines, it's rich but not greasy, making it a favorite among meat-lovers like Chu Chen.

  Although the nine-turn large intestine is delicious, eating too much of it also puts a great burden on the intestines and stomach, so the last dish of plain boiled cabbage solved this trouble.

  This boiled water dish is a traditional Sichuan dish, originally created by Huang Jinglin, a famous Sichuan chef in the Qing palace kitchen. Later, Sichuan master Luo Guorong brought back its cooking techniques to Sichuan and it became a high-end dish served at banquets in Beijing restaurants.

  This boiled water cabbage, although it's called boiled water, actually uses clear broth. And this clear broth isn't something that can be done in a short time; Master Niu spent an entire night carefully simmering it to perfection.

  This soup looks like a bowl of clear water with a few pieces of white vegetables soaking in it, without any oil flowers visible, seemingly light and tasteless. But when you eat it, it's refreshing and fragrant.

  As for the soup, it's not greasy or oily when you drink it. As soon as it enters your mouth, the greasiness of the fatty intestines disappears without a trace. When you savor the flavor, it's neither too light nor too thin, with a delicate and rich taste complementing each other. The whole dish of boiled water cabbage looks ordinary but is actually better than a delicacy.

  It turns out that these five dishes are representative of the five major cuisines, and each has a related story. Coupled with Master Niu's superb culinary skills, listening to them is full of wit and humor, while eating is also extremely satisfying.

  Then, Chu Chen also did not show favoritism, and separately toasted Lu Changshun and the driver with a cup of wine. Of course, the driver only used tea instead of wine. Later, everyone chatted while eating, and again discussed some issues related to jade, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

  Enjoying the delicious food and listening to the classic stories, the atmosphere of this meal is quite interesting. The exquisite dishes, like the eight precious jade foods, also left Chu Chen with a lasting aftertaste.

  After finishing dinner, the waiter cleaned up the table and served a cup of tea to each guest. The driver then left under Zhao Qirui's indication.

  At this time, the scene was a bit leisurely and relaxed. After Zhao Qirui drank a sip of tea, he said to Lu Changshun: "Old Lu, I'm troubling you to help me find someone to carve this piece of jade today. It's about celebrating longevity, just like we discussed before, and it would be best if it could be more festive."

  Jian Chang nodded in agreement, then turned to Chu Chen and said: "Little Chu, the next thing I need your help with is also simple, it's your specialty. As it happens, today was a coincidence, being able to meet you at Old Lu's store. Otherwise, I would have had to make another trip to Wu Shu."

  Chu Chen smiled and replied: "No problem, as long as you don't mind that my eyesight is not good. I wonder what item Mr. Zhao wants to appraise."

  "It's not something valuable either, just a celadon bowl, yeah, here it comes."

  At this time, the driver walked in with a gift box and placed it on the table.

  Zhao Qirui opened the box and said, "Actually, this bowl was given to me by a client who had no money. He went abroad to gamble and lost everything, so he couldn't pay for my goods. However, he didn't dare to owe me money, so he borrowed from all sides and paid back most of it. The rest was offset with this bowl."

  "To be honest, I don't care about the tens of thousands of yuan, it's just that I dislike his attitude and personality. If this bowl is not genuine, then don't blame me for being impolite."

  Chu Chen nodded in understanding and then looked at the blue porcelain bowl that Zhao Qirui had mentioned.

  Inside the gift box, this bowl is covered with celadon glaze all over, with a slanted mouth, an oblique arc abdomen, and a ring foot. The inside of the bowl is carved with Qilin Tongzi, and its workmanship can be identified as a fine piece of celadon.

  "Huh?"

  As soon as Chu Chen saw this bowl, he let out a soft "hmm".