Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 35 Eight Local Dishes

(Recommendation votes? You can't keep them overnight, so what's the point of saving them?)

Teacher Lan picked up the chalk and wrote the four characters for "Eight Great Cuisines" on the blackboard. Then she wrote the eight characters for "Shandong, Sichuan, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan, and Anhui," and drew a circle next to it, writing the two characters for "Imperial Court" inside.

"The so-called cuisine is local cuisine, which is the popular cuisine of a certain region. The eight major cuisines are divided into salty, numbing, fresh, and sweet, as well as sour, fragrant, spicy, and rich flavors. China is so vast. In the past, going out was almost like going to one's death; it was all about risking one's life. Why did the ancients value friendship and parting so much? Once you parted, you didn't know if you would ever see them again. You couldn't leave home without the courage to die. At the same time, it was only under these conditions that a wide variety of foods and flavors were born. As modern people, we should remember our ancestors and be grateful for the backwardness of the past when we eat."

"The flavor of the cuisine here refers to the basic flavor, the main flavor of a region. It doesn't mean that people from eastern Shandong only eat salty food, or people from Jiangsu and Anhui only eat sweet food. People from Fujian and Fujian also eat spicy food, and people from Sichuan and Chongqing also eat sweet food. Don't be so rigid about this, or I can't teach you, and we'll definitely fight. A stupid person can't become a chef. The first requirement for becoming a chef is to be quick-witted, diligent in learning and memorizing, and able to apply what you've learned to other situations. Otherwise, at best, you'll just be a cook."

"Teacher, you get into fights too?" someone in the first row started to jeer. Teacher Lan wasn't angry. She chuckled and smoothed the loose hair that covered her head, looking at the student and saying, "Teachers were young once too. How can you call yourself a Northeastern man if you've never been in a fight? Let me tell you, when I was in college, I was a handsome guy in the eyes of the girls, but a troublemaker in the eyes of the teachers. Why didn't I become a student leader and instead became a chef? Let me tell you, it was the school's recommendation letter that smeared me, saying that I was always fighting and swearing, that I didn't do what students should do, and did what they shouldn't do. So I became a chef. Let me tell you, among all the chefs in the country, I have the highest education level. That's pretty impressive, you know. Usually, experienced chefs have to think for days before teaching me. They have more pressure than I do."

The whole room burst into laughter. In the 90s, college students were considered quite sophisticated, so what Professor Lan said was indeed true.

"Moreover, I have the best relationship with all my classmates now. The vice mayor is also on good terms with me, the vice district head is also on good terms with me, and the staff of the subdistrict office are also on good terms with me. Why? There is no competition. And as a chef who has become somewhat famous, I can help with all kinds of big and small matters at home. I also have face. This is an advantage, an advantage of the profession. You will gradually understand."

"Enough with the small talk. Let's get back to the food."

"So how exactly do you differentiate between the different cuisines? To be honest, if I go into too much detail now, you won't understand or remember it. It takes time to learn. Once you've been in the industry for a while and reached a certain level, you'll naturally understand. I'll just give you a simple explanation here so you have a general idea. Our Liaodong region is now called Liao cuisine, but that's really just self-aggrandizement. Due to historical reasons, the population composition in Northeast China is quite diverse, with people from all over the country. Gradually, it has incorporated some characteristics of other regional cuisines. But ultimately, our cuisine is just a branch of Shandong cuisine, and the main techniques and methods follow the Shandong style."

"So, we understand Shandong cuisine now: it's all about thick sauces, saltiness, and savory flavors. On top of that, if you add a handful of Sichuan peppercorns while stir-frying, and it's so numbing your tongue, that's Sichuan cuisine. If you don't add Sichuan peppercorns but a big spoonful of sugar, and it's so sweet you'll want to slurp your lips, that's Suzhou cuisine. If you don't add Sichuan peppercorns or sugar but add chili peppers, and it's so spicy it'll make your ass hurt for a month, that's Hunan cuisine. That's roughly the gist of it. I guess most of you will only ever live in Liaodong, so just understanding the basics is enough."

The students below laughed again. After talking for so long, everyone was focused and no one was daydreaming.

"But if you want to become famous, if you want to become a master chef, then you have to put in the effort. Our country's current chef grading system requires you to be proficient in two cuisines and understand three or four at the first level. For the third level, you need to be proficient in at least three. For the second level, you need to be able to cook all eight major dishes like a local. And the first level is self-explanatory; you not only need to be proficient in all domestic cuisines, but you also need to create dishes that are recognized by the domestic culinary community. Above that are the master chefs, who need to be internationally renowned. Very few people in our country have reached that level. Even including the two who died last year, there are no more than ten people. I guess you can forget about it in your lifetime. You'd better just honestly earn a little money. What are you laughing at? I don't even dare to dream of it. You think you're better than me?"

"There are many old sayings in China, such as 'teaching an apprentice will starve the master,' and 'passing down skills only to sons, not daughters.' Some elderly people would rather take their skills to their graves than leave them behind. Why? Because in the past, in ancient times, skilled work was considered lowly, with no social status. People had to rely on their skills to support their families, maintain their status, and their dignity. But what time is it now? It's a new era, the world has changed. What is the social status of people with skills now? Right? Why are you still clinging to these old ideas? So we need to be flexible and keep up with the times so that everyone can progress."

"Back in my day, it wasn't easy for me to become an apprentice. Unlike you guys now, you just pay a thousand dollars, sit here, and we'll teach you everything, step by step. Back then, finding a master took a lot of effort. It wasn't enough to just cook well to become a master; you also had to know how to teach. Do you understand? People like me, who can both lecture and cook, are extremely rare in the culinary industry. What? Don't believe me? You'd be thrilled to have me as your teacher."

"Back then, it was hard to get a job, and even begging for help couldn't get me one. The main problem was my bad record. Don't laugh, who didn't fight or swear when they were young? They just offended people. Later, an opportunity came up: I could get a job in the government canteen, but I needed a chef's certificate. I thought, why not learn it? I'm so smart, right? I even got a university degree, how could I not understand these pots and pans?"

"Back then, there were no culinary schools. The government did have training courses, but they were only for those who were already employed or had impeccable family backgrounds. We couldn't get in. What could we do? We could only become apprentices, and we had to become apprentices to famous masters. I thought to myself, in our Liaodong area, the most famous one is Liu Jingxian, but he's a few years younger than me. I couldn't bring myself to do that. So I set my sights on his father. Although the old man was older, he was much more famous. He was a master chef."

"I went there with a few boxes of fruit, but they wouldn't accept them. What to do? I just had to be persistent. I went every day, and as soon as I got inside, I started working. At first, I cleaned the house and mopped the floor, but later I even volunteered to cook. Back then, I didn't know anything, and the food I made was so bad that I felt bad even looking at it myself. But I persevered and pretended that I did a great job, haha."

"Hahaha," the students all laughed.