Siheyuan: A Cook in the 60s

"I'll need Master Cao's care in a while. If I don't do well, feel free to ask for anything." Liu Lan still had a satisfied smile and was quite enthusiastic.

"Okay, then I won't be polite. To be honest, I was under a lot of pressure when I went to Director Li's house this time. I want to do my best, so naturally I need your cooperation. Please don't think my words are harsh when the time comes." Cao Wei was like a fool, saying whatever he wanted.

Wei Wei: ...

Good boy, you are a real dog.

It seems that he wants to scold someone, but in fact he is secretly flattering him.

Wei Wei never thought that Cao Wei was a simple thing.

They are all the same kind, and you can smell the scent from a long distance away.

"You have to have a good meal tonight, Master Cao, you have to work hard. I have been craving for this meal for a long time." (You kid, I have reminded you, what to do next is up to you.)

"Don't worry, sir. Are you still not confident in my craftsmanship? Just wait and see." (Don't worry, I understand.)

After the two finished translating from Chinese to Chinese, they stopped talking.

The jeep sped along, shaking Cao Wei's butt so much that it hurt.

The road these days is not as easy to walk on as in later generations.

Finally, the car arrived at a place with a security booth. The armed guard came over and saluted first. After Wei Wei negotiated with him, he let the car pass.

Liu Lan was so nervous that she could hardly speak clearly.

“Here…here.”

"Talk less, do more." Cao Wei glanced at Liu Lan. "My master once told me that as a chef, you should just cook and not talk if you can. I'll give you this advice, too."

"I...I know."

Finally, the car stopped in front of a small courtyard.

Wei Wei led Cao Wei in, not from the front door, but from the back door, where the kitchen was. Cao Wei entered the kitchen, looked at the clean and tidy kitchen, and the neatly arranged dishes, and nodded.

"Take a look and see if there's anything missing. If there's nothing missing, just follow the arrangements and we'll start eating around 6:30. Prepare what needs to be prepared first." Wei Wei said, looking at his watch: "Check it first, call me back in five minutes."

Wei Wei's words had some military demeanor.

Cao Wei nodded, walked around the kitchen, and counted silently in his mind.

Liu Lan, on the other hand, was completely stunned. She saw three whole chickens, half a pig, and a lot of other vegetables. The amount of meat in the kitchen was more than enough for her family to eat for a year. She couldn't help but swallow her saliva.

"Okay, no problem. You go ahead and do your work. I'll start working too." Cao Wei put on his work clothes and the hat he brought with him.

"Okay, hold on tight, I'm going to work first."

"That person, Liu Lan."

"Ah? Here we come."

"Let's deal with these mountain products first. Do you know how to deal with them?"

"I know...do you have any other requests?"

"Wow, you know this too. That's fine. I don't need to waste too much time talking to you."

The way ordinary people handle food is different from that of chefs. Most ordinary people only wash food, while chefs make full use of the characteristics of food. Another thing is that there should be no cross-flavor. This is extremely important. For example, garlic-flavored watermelon, you must have eaten it, right?

That's probably what it means.

It was quite troublesome to bring a kitchen helper who only knew how to use water but not how to wash. In addition to explaining, he also needed to keep an eye on her so that if anything went wrong, he could remind her in time. Cao Wei didn't mind the trouble, as this was a preparation for teaching Qin Huairu in the future.

Two people were working in the kitchen in an orderly manner.

Cooking for twelve people is not difficult for a professional chef. First, cook the time-consuming chicken soup.

He planned to make a dish called "Chicken with Mushrooms" as an appetizer, so the soup naturally couldn't be as thick as the one he had at Xu Damao's house that day. Appetizers shouldn't be too thick. To be clear, "Chicken with Mushrooms" and "Chicken Stewed with Mushrooms" look like the same dish on the surface, but in fact, the key to "Chicken with Mushrooms" is steaming, while the key to "Chicken Stewed with Mushrooms" is stewing. The difficulty of the two is different.

The time given is also different.

After putting the chicken in the steamer, he would start preparing other dishes.

There are eight dishes and one soup. After the soup, there must be dishes, and they must be hard-core dishes.

The definition of hard food is different in each era. For example, in later generations, if you want to eat good food, you can cut a small piece and add a piece of vegetable leaf, and sell it for thousands of yuan. The fundamental reason is that life has improved, and fish and meat have become commonplace in people's minds. They need something more high-end to highlight their status, so fancy things came out.

For example, salmon is cut into small pieces and sold at a very high price. Is there really any technical content? It's just a little bit, the size of a fingernail, the fish is fresh enough, and the knife skills are OK, and it's done.

In this era, the requirement for main dishes is that there must be meat. If there is meat, it is a top-notch banquet.

In addition, today's eight dishes and one soup are actually over the limit.

A normal reception would consist of four dishes and one soup. As for what can be added to these four dishes, that’s another matter. If that’s not possible, you can order two dishes at a time.

“Dududududududu…”

The kitchen knife and cutting board played a cheerful melody, and the aroma floated out lightly along with the wind.

Liu Lan watched from the side somewhat awkwardly.

She wanted to help cut the vegetables, but Cao Wei wouldn't let her.

"It's not that I look down on you, but this requires some knife skills." Cao Wei explained.

"I know, I know, but I don't have anything to do right now."

"Oh, what are you doing? It smells nice." Before Cao Wei could reply, a female voice was heard. He looked up and saw a woman with a noble temperament walking in. She was not dressed richly, but she looked plump.

"You mean the chicken flavor, 'Chicken with Mushrooms'?"

"Hey? Then we can eat it today, the imperial dish."

"You are an expert." Cao Wei praised him, and then asked, "Madam, where is the restaurant? Can my apprentice help to set it up?"

"How do you know I'm the lady?" the woman blinked.

To be honest, this woman is pretty good looking, plus her temperament, according to Cao Wei's rating, she can get at least 70 points, I don't know why Li Huaide likes Liu Lan. On second thought, which man doesn't like novelty?

"Ma'am, look at what you said. Ordinary people don't have your temperament. Please show me the way. Time is running out."

"Hey, you chase me away after chatting for a few more minutes." The woman rolled her eyes, but she didn't care: "Okay, come with me."