Siheyuan: A Cook in the 60s

"Wow?! Really? So young?"

"Fengze Garden? What is that place?"

"You don't even know that place, let me tell you..."

The whole cafeteria was filled with whispers, and most eyes were on Cao Wei.

There were also several hostile looks.

There is nothing else to say. In the kitchen, there is more than just one cooking chef. If someone comes up, someone else will come down. If the old chef retires, someone else will naturally take over. If the cooking skills cannot convince everyone, then it is useless to say more.

"Oh, that's perfect. You've been a great help. If you hadn't brought us here, we wouldn't know what to do at noon." Wei Wei slapped his thigh and spoke as if it were a true story.

"Okay, okay, it's just right. Everyone is here. Cao Wei, come on, show us your skills."

"Okay!" Cao Wei glanced at what he was going to make today. Actually, there weren't many things that could be made these days. There were only a few things that were constant, such as cabbage, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other vegetables occasionally. As for meat, it depended on the weather. Once every ten days or half a month was considered good. Most of the time, a little meat would be enough.

"Director, do you need to..."

"No need, Xiao Cao, just these things, make two plates of delicious food, one hot and one cold, using local ingredients. OK?" Li Huaide narrowed his eyes slightly and challenged Cao Wei. He also glared at Wei Wei.

This is one of his own. If he wasn't one of his own, he would probably have cursed him to death.

It's OK for a new chef to taste food, but you have to go to the warehouse to get good food to taste. What's wrong? Are you trying food or eating good food? This is in front of everyone. You have no sense at all.

"Okay." Cao Wei didn't waste any words and started directly.

He picked up a cucumber, placed it on the table, and casually pulled out the knife from the chopping board. He picked it up and looked at it, then sharpened it on the whetstone.

"Pretending." Someone muttered softly, but the voice was not loud and not many people heard it.

Cao Wei ignored him, sharpened the knife, and started cutting!

“Dudududududu…”

The kitchen knife and the chopping board struck out a pleasant symphony, the speed was so fast that it was almost invisible to the naked eye. The system evaluated that the knife skills were proficient, but there were also levels of proficiency. According to Cao Wei's own understanding, he was probably in a state of being about to break through. This coir cucumber was effortless to cut.

After cutting, it will be the same as before cutting.

This move immediately stunned the person.

"Hasn't this been cut? Why does it look like it's not cut?" asked an old lady who was washing vegetables curiously.

Cao Wei also prepared a bowl of sauce, and then something magical happened. As the sauce was poured on the cucumber, it opened like a flower amid the exclamations of the crowd.

Cao Wei did not show much satisfaction, and placed a plate in front of Li Huaide: "The coir cucumber is not quite good enough. I don't have the seasoning I use here. This sauce is something I made temporarily, so the taste may be a little different. Uncle, you have to eat it."

"Shandong cuisine?" Li Huaide did not pick up his chopsticks immediately, but asked instead.

"Yeah, I'm good at Sichuan and Shandong cuisine."

"Then your next dish is spicy shredded potatoes."

"Yes, you are a foodie." Cao Wei gave Li Huaide a thumbs up.

Wei Wei didn’t know whether the food was delicious or not after their conversation, but based on the relationship between the two, he labeled Cao Wei as someone who “cannot be provoked”.

"Okay, then you do it." Li Huaide took out the chopsticks, picked up a piece, put it in his mouth, and tasted it slowly.

Cao Wei didn't care, he picked up a potato and started cutting it into shreds.

"There are some cut pieces next to it." Wei Wei reminded in a low voice.

"Oh, it's better for you to taste the food yourself." Cao Wei showed a simple smile.

“That’s right.” Wei Wei nodded and agreed, then looked at the plate of cucumbers. To be honest, he had never seen such a dish before. It looked good, but was it delicious?

"You are really cunning, kid." Li Huaide nodded at Cao Wei with a smile: "If you don't like the shreds that others cut, just say so directly. Why do you say it's better for you to do it yourself?"

At this moment, Li Huaide's tone of voice became a little more intimate.

Obviously, the shredded cucumber conquered his taste buds.

As soon as Li Huaide said this, everyone looked at Cao Wei with strange eyes, and even looked at him with disdain, "Your knife skills...

Everyone stopped when they thought of this, and thought about the cucumber, which was indeed something special.

"Come, try it." Li Huaide invited everyone to try it.

"Come on, come on. Director Li has said it." Wei Wei immediately asked everyone to start eating. He took a bite first, followed by the two chefs who were cooking.

“Hiss…” Wei Wei took a breath of cold air: “It melts in your mouth, so soft and delicious…”

Li Huaide glanced at Wei Wei and said, "If you can't talk, just keep quiet. What does this sedge cucumber have to do with being soft and tender?"

"Pfft..." Someone couldn't help but laugh, and the whole kitchen followed suit.

"Hey, we don't have much culture, nothing else, just delicious food. Master Li, Master Zhang, how is it?"

"You're awesome, young man." Master Zhang gave him a thumbs up. As a chef himself, he understood Cao Wei's level better.

There are two key points to cooking cucumber. One is to cut it well. If it is cut well, the sauce can be evenly distributed. The second is the sauce. No matter the former or the latter, it can show the excellent level of Cao Wei. What's more, people say that this is what is cooked when there is not enough seasoning. If it is cooked with seasoning, how delicious it would be?

"Not bad." Master Li said silently. Although his spot was taken by someone else, he had nothing to say about the raincoat cucumber.

At least, he couldn't cut it out.

Nowadays, cooking skills are still a rare skill.

Spicy and sour potato shreds are a dish that is easy to make. For ordinary people, they just cut the shreds, put them in the pot, add seasoning, and make sure they are cooked. It won't be too bad. As for the spiciness or saltiness, because of the vinegar, you just need to drink a few more sips of water. But in the hands of a chef, the attention to this dish starts with the knife skills.

Cutting into strips is a skill. It cannot be too coarse, otherwise it will be difficult to control the heat; and it cannot be too thin, otherwise it will be boring to chew and easy to break.

How to achieve accuracy is a science.

Cao Wei had just stopped and was about to take the next step when Li Huaide called out, "Go and have a look at how the other person is slicing the potatoes, so that you won't be resentful that Cao didn't use your potato shreds."

"No way, Director Li, look at what you said, let's all go and take a look, let's all go and take a look." Wei Wei's heart skipped a beat, oh well, the platform is here.