Return To 1977 Chapter 777: Secrets
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If anyone wants to say dissatisfiedly that "fried peanuts" and "braised pork elbows" are only occasional needs for life adjustment, and their use is not too great.
Then "Zhang Dashao" passed down a few cooking tips that are used in almost every household and for daily meals. Speaking of which, it is really a blessing and a lot of benefits.
What are they?
The first thing is how to use MSG.
MSG is actually sodium glutamate, which was first successfully developed in 1866 by the German chemist Ridhausen.
Later, the Japanese realized its commercial value and took the lead in creating the industrially produced "Ajinomoto".
It was not until Wu Yunchu invented the hydrolysis method for producing sodium glutamate in 1921 that it was introduced to my country, which completely broke the Japanese monopoly.
Since then, MSG has entered the kitchens of ordinary people at a low price, and has been closely linked to Chinese food culture.
Needless to say, the benefits of MSG are obvious. It can enhance people’s appetite.
It can also improve the body's ability to absorb various other foods, and also has a certain nourishing effect on the human body.
Think about the original advertising slogan of "Ajinomoto", wasn't it "If you have Ajinomoto at home, white water will turn into chicken juice"?
To be honest, compared to the health care products in today's society, this is really not false advertising.
But as the saying goes, too much is never enough.
You must know that in the past, overseas Chinese, except for a very small number of social elites, were almost all coastal poor who were "sold as piglets".
As for these Chinese workers and their descendants, there are not many serious chefs who know how to cook, and some of them have never even used a stove at home.
So they all regarded this thing as a seasoning treasure.
In 1968, Chinese restaurants in the United States and Canada commonly displayed dozens of large cans of No. 1 MSG in street windows to attract diners, which shows the extent of the abuse of MSG at that time.
This eventually triggered the "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" controversy in the United States.
Since then, not only MSG has been blamed for being "harmful to the human body", but Chinese cuisine has also suffered huge reputational damage.
So it can be seen that no matter how good something is, you must pay attention to the way it is used, otherwise the result will be counterproductive.
Speaking of mainland my country, due to a long period of material scarcity, many families of ordinary people in our country could not even afford soy sauce.
So the seasoning habit of mainly MSG was naturally formed.
No matter what dishes every household cooks, they almost always add some MSG.
But it is a pity that we have been using such a common seasoning all year round, but not many people know how to use it.
"Zhang Dashao" said that you can't just sprinkle a large amount of MSG in. Using too much will definitely make people sick.
Moreover, there are many dishes where MSG cannot be used, or even if it is used, it will have no effect.
For example, food that has an inherent umami flavor does not need to add MSG. Such as fish, shrimp, seafood, eggs, etc.
In addition, MSG should not be added to dishes containing vinegar. MSG is not easily soluble in vinegar, and the more acidic the vinegar, the lower the solubility and the worse the umami effect.
There is also no need to add MSG to sweet dishes. The umami flavor of MSG can only be expressed in salty dishes. If MSG is added to sweet dishes, not only will it not increase the freshness, but it will suppress the original sweet flavor and produce an odor.
Finally, MSG cannot be added to foods that need to be stewed or fried for a long time. Because the effect of MSG will be completely destroyed by long-term cooking and high temperature of strong oil.
So speaking of it, the application scope of MSG is actually quite limited, and it is only suitable for quick-fried dishes and vegetarian-based soups.
Many people believe that Chinese food is inseparable from MSG, and even relies entirely on MSG to taste delicious. This is actually too nonsense.
People say a good cook is a handful of salt, but I have never heard of a good cook being a handful of MSG, right?
The correct answer given by "Zhang Dashao" is that if you want MSG to play its due role, you should first sprinkle a small amount of MSG on the top of the vegetables to be fried, and then stir-fry over high heat.
Never sprinkle MSG before serving. It is useless, because in such a short time, MSG cannot be fully decomposed and the flavor cannot penetrate into the raw materials.
Now that we have talked about this, "Zhang Dashao" mentioned another thing by the way.
He said that the truly unique thing in our seasoning is not MSG, but Sichuan peppercorns.
Sichuan peppercorns have a unique aroma. If you rub meat with peppercorns and salt, you will easily get a unique aroma.
The simplest way to use it is to heat the oil when cooking, fry dozens of peppercorns first, then take out the peppercorns and throw them away, and then use the peppercorn oil to stir-fry.
Eats will feel the appetizing aroma and wonder where it comes from.
If you pour a small spoonful of pepper oil on the mixed eggplant at the end, and soak the belly in pepper sugar water before frying, you will have an unexpected feeling.
In fact, pepper water can be used to enhance the aroma of almost all cold dishes, and since halal dishes never use alcohol, pepper oil is indispensable to kill the smell.
Needless to say, after receiving this true message, the Hong family naturally followed the prescription and tried it again.
I found that it really has a magical effect, especially the application of Sichuan peppercorns. It can really evoke the deliciousness of the raw materials, just like a catalyst.
The children at home all praised Wang Yunlin for making the food more delicious.
Of course the old lady was happy to receive this praise, she felt at least ten years younger.
Even Hong Lucheng said that Wang Yunlin’s cold dishes and pickled vegetables are better than the Suzhou chef who used to spend 120 yuan a month in Yanmei Building to make cold dishes. It seems that the trick is In this spoonful of pepper water.
But these two items alone are not enough to bring the standard of Hong's cuisine to a higher level. But there is another one that has made the greatest contribution.
What?
Hey, water the meat!
Isn’t this sentence interesting?
To be honest, when Hong Yanwu heard these four words, his first impression was that they were water-filled meat. I just want to find a piece of tofu and slap "Zhang Dashao" on the face.
I thought to myself, where is the **** chef?
Isn't this "Zhang Dashao" possessed by a black-hearted butcher? Or it's swine fever.
Why are you sick? Let us leave out the good meat and eat water-injected meat instead?
Obviously, this is a way of looking for money.
But don't worry, what "Zhang Dashao" wants to say is of course different from the water-injected meat mentioned by the health supervision department. What he was talking about was actually the secret to stir-fried shredded pork and fried pork slices.
You must know that whether you are a cook or a qualified housewife, whether the sliced and shredded meat is delicious or not is a basic indicator.
This thing seems easy to say, but in fact, the technical requirements were quite high.
First of all, the knife skills must be somewhat level, the thickness should be consistent, and there should be no drag or connection.
Then the heat is also very particular. If the cooking time is a little too long, it will become old. If the time is not enough, there will be bloodshot eyes.
And what kind of seasoning to use. According to the different types and parts of the meat, the proportions of soy sauce, pepper, starch, MSG, sugar, and cooking wine are different.
It is even less possible to imitate the meat tenderizer used by today's chefs who are good at chemistry.
So, if you want to test whether a cook is qualified or not, and whether a housewife is good at cooking, all you need to do is stir-fry some pork and you will know everything.
This is more accurate than making a classy dish.
Because people don’t often eat good things like lobster and king crab. What’s more, they are delicious no matter how they are cooked, and the skill of cooking them does not really show off.
Only home-cooked dishes, the taste is familiar to everyone, and almost everyone can cook it, so naturally it shows the most ability.
Take Wang Yunlin as an example, even though she is already considered a leader among housewives.
But to put it bluntly, her ability lies in the word "fine".
No matter the knife skills, heat, and seasonings, patience and care that is difficult to achieve by ordinary people are paid. The details are reflected in the details, and the cleanliness wins.
But after all, she is not a professional chef, and she does not know some key tricks.
She has done all this, that is, frying the slices of meat and shredded pork until they are delicious. If she wants to call it "fragrant", it is an extravagant hope that can be seen but cannot be touched.
But after a few words of "Zhang Dashao", the guidance was like a broken window paper, which was different.
When she came back to try it, she found that the quantity had changed to the quality. From then on, the sliced and shredded pork she fried became a well-known specialty dish.
Not to mention others, even Hong Yanru, who has never been a fan of meat, would take the initiative to bring back a piece of pork belly for her mother to fry when she came home from school every week after trying it.
As for this secret, it is actually very simple. The real meaning lies in "adding water".
To put it bluntly, before mixing the meat slices with seasonings, you need to add some water and grab it with your hands so that the water can penetrate into the fibers of the meat slices.
After that, marinate and season according to the general method, and then stir-fry over high heat. The meat slices will be fresh, tender and smooth, which is different from others.
This is obviously a kind of "water injection", but it is different from the time when the black-hearted butcher started.
It can be seen that water injection itself is not a problem. If the timing of water injection is right, it is the secret of cooking skills. If it is wrong, it will ruin things.
As for why the meat slices and shredded meat taste better when mixed with water? In particular, why is chicken so effective? This may be a bit troublesome to explain, so "Zhang Dashao" didn't elaborate at all.
Anyway, when Hong Yanwu asked later, he just said, "Isn't it the end of the world?"
That’s right, as long as it’s delicious.
But no matter what, there are two things that can be confirmed.
First, we must not underestimate our country’s culinary culture. Five thousand years of inheritance is no joke.
From the perspective of creating beauty, I am afraid that the person who has made the greatest contribution to our lives is a good cook. They can harmonize the five flavors and turn decay into magic, which cannot but be respected.
Secondly, through this repeated verification, Hong Lucheng and Wang Yunlin have been sincerely convinced and fascinated by "Zhang Dashao"'s cooking skills.
Even though he has never been on the stove to make gestures at all, the professors he gives are basically just a few casual instructions, but you may not be able to understand what he said in ten years.
So the old couple not only asked Hong Yanwu to treat the famous chef well, but also wanted to get acquainted with him. Hong Yanwu and Chen Liquan were asked to invite "Zhang Dashao" to their home for a banquet.
It's a pity that "Zhang Dashao" has a very weird temper, so the invitations from Hong Yanwu and Chen Liquan were in vain.
In this case, the Hong family can no longer force themselves.