Kitchen Xiuzhen will be quite late today.
This chapter is lovingly translated for you, dear readers. Please enjoy.
"All right! Let's make stir-fried cabbage!" Chef Zhang immediately selected a white colour head of cabbage, and pulled Xiao Wu as they made their way into his private kitchen.
"Rou Er, come with father!" Wen Shouzhen picked up a head of slightly green coloured cabbage.
"Shifu, how come the two chefs choose a different type of cabbage?" Er Gou noticed the difference, and immediately asked Chef Zheng.
"Chef Zhang selected a white colour head of cabbage. This type of cabbage is small, light, thin, tender, and has less crude fibre, and is not easily deformed after cutting."
"Although it looks old, the core of this head of cabbage contains a deep flavour."
"In choosing this type of cabbage, it is highly likely that Chef Zhang will remove the outer layer of old leaves and used tender core only. By frying the core quickly, the taste is superb." Chef Zheng explained.
Er Gou was very interested as he asked, "What about the second type of cabbage with a light green colour leaves?"
"The green colour cabbage that Chef Wen had selected is a seasonal ingredient with thick flesh, tight texture, and high toughness. Unlike the white colour cabbage, it can be easily shaped after cutting. However, if this cabbage is stored until the winter is over, the leaves would be finer and the taste is sweeter. ” Chef Zheng rubbed his chin as he was lost in his thoughts.
"Oh, so it is as what Chef Zhang had said - having a good knowledge of the type of vegetables give him an advantage!" Er Gou blinked his eyes as he considered.
— In Chef Zhang private kitchen —
Chef Zhang immediately impart his knowledge, "Xiao Wu, first toss away the outermost portions and leave only the most tender core!"
As expected!
Xiao Wu immediately tore away the outermost portion of the large cabbage and left only the tenderest core of the cabbage.
The core is slightly yellow and looks very soft and refreshing.
"Shifu, is this small part enough?" Xiao Wu picked up the tiny core. It is so small when compared to the huge head of cabbage, and does not look to be sufficient.
"This…." Chef Zhang suddenly realised that he had forgotten to take into account the proportion of cabbage core. But since he had already entered the kitchen, he could not possibly go out again to get more cabbages. It would be a loss of face for him. The other chefs will laugh at him for not planning the portions in advance.
"Xiao Wu, we will be making an elite dish. Everyone can open have a spoonful! The less they eat, the more they crave for it!" Chef Zhang thought for a while and come up with a workaround.
"Cut the core of the cabbage into shreds!"
— At the same time, in Chef Wen private quarters —
"Father, do you want to cut these into slices or into shreds?" Wen Rou asked.
She does know how to cook cabbages, but she had no idea what style her father wants to cook this dish. After all, there are many ways of cooking cabbages.
"Most of the time, we will shred the cabbages. But today, using this green colour cabbage, we will cut it into big pieces and make stir-fried vinegar cabbage! First, peel off the leaves. We will be using the leaves!" Wen Shouzhen thought for a moment.
"All right!" Wen Rou's eyes were crescent-shaped like the curve of the moon when she smiled, and merry dimples appeared on both sides of her cheeks. His thoughts and her thoughts are similar, and she picked up the head of cabbage and quickly tore off the leaves.
Is this the so-called tacit understanding?
— scene of the two trainee chefs side by side in comparison —
"Sha Sha!" Xiao Wu cut the core of the cabbage into shreds.
"Cha, Cha, Cha!" Wen Rou's hand seemed to be dancing as the cabbage leaves are torn by hand into fan shapes.
"Oh, that is amazing! Good job!" Wen Shouzhen praised.
—- Focus on Chef Zhang side —-
"Xiao Wu, pour the oil, and heat up the wok!" Chef Zhang thundered.
Although Xiao Wu is good in peeling and cutting vegetables, having done this for 3 years, he had no experience in taking charge of the wok.
He was very nervous as he gripped the handle of the wok, and his hands tremble with a mixture of nervousness and excitement. The wok almost fell as his hands were unsteady.
"Relax! Your Shifu is here!" Chef Zhang is not as bad as everyone thought - he can teach and support his disciple at appropriate moments.
"Shifu!" Xiao Wu turned around and was very touched by his Shifu's words.
3 years! For 3 years, his father, and Shifu had never taught him how to cook. Usually, Chef Zhang will bark out an order and is very cold, especially at work.
Today, at this moment, with one sentence, "Your Shifu is here!", Xiao Wu was uplifted from his low spirits and gained a measure of confidence.
— Back to Chef Wen side —
"Rou Er, clean the wok!" Wen Shouzhen advised.
This dish of vinegar cabbage depends on the taste. Therefore, the wok must be very clean, or it will affect the taste of this dish.
"Good, now add one spoonful of oil, and move the wok around in circular motion. Be sure to coat the bottom of wok with a thin layer of oil to avoid the vegetables from sticking to the wok! Then heat up the wok!" Wen Shouzhen instructed.
Wen Rou followed his instructions to the letter.
"Pour more oil! 2 spoonfuls!" Now that the wok is hot, Wen Shouzhen immediately instructed the next step.
"Great!" Wen Rou used the spatula and followed Wen Shouzhen's style of using the spatula to grab exactly 2 spoonfuls of oil and added them to the wok.
"Increase the heat of the flames!" Wen Shouzhen looked down and watched the fire.
Wen Rou immediately grabbed some firewood and tossed them into the furnace.
At this time, a cloud of hot air arises from the oil in the wok.
"Add the cabbages." Wen Shouzhen shouted.
"Father, usually your vinegar cabbages are very sour. Let's switch and play around and see if we can make it more exciting in taste, what do you think?" Wen Rou did not listen Wen Shouzhen this time, and immediately add some a mixture of yellow, red, and orange peppers as well as some dried red chilli into the wok.
"Rou Er!" Wen Shouzhen could not react in time.
Frankly, Wen Rou had taste the dish of vinegar in white cabbages many times. Although it is very sour and delightful, it seemed to lack something.
These few days, Wen Rou have flipped through the cookbook that she won from Chef Gao, and come up with some ideas to improve this dish. The cookbook mentioned the peppers and chillis, and Wen Rou decided to try combining them for a different taste - spicy, tangy and sour.
The peppers and dry chillies jumped up and down in wok. As they are heated up, a mouth-watering aroma effused out.
"This is ….." Wen Shouzhen caught a whiff a spicy taste drifting into his nostril, and he was astounded.
So as not to affect the look of the dish, and to make it eat to eat, Wen Rou took them out of the wok.
"Sou la!" The pieces of the cabbages were tossed into the wok.
"Rou Er, quick, stir-fry them!" After she had added the cabbage, Wen Shouzhen regained his wits.
"Yes, Father!" Wen Rou smiled and replied.
The spatula danced, and the cabbage flew around in the wok.
The lightly green cabbages seemed to be enveloped in a yellow hue.
A sweet and fragrant smell effused from the wok.
"Add the vinegar!" Wen Shouzhen passed over a bowl of vinegar.
When Rou gently used the spatula to get a spoonful of vinegar.
"Add them to the edge of the wok, and quickly pour it in two circles." Wen Shouzhen was speaking very fast, this is a critical moment and the instructions come fast and furious!
"Father, why do we do that?" Wen Rou could not understand this.
"If you put the vinegar on the walls, and they drip down, it can preserve the freshness of the cabbage taste; if you add it directly to the cabbage, all you can taste is the sour taste, and the cabbage lacks some springiness as it absorbed the vinegar quickly." Wen Shouzhen explained
"Father, you have discovered this secret, right? You are amazing!" Wen Rou praised.
"Quick, focus on your task, add some sugar! One spoonful is enough!" Wen Shouzhen's gaze never left the wok.
Wen Rou waved her hands, and the sugar falls onto the wok like snowflakes and disappeared among the wok. They were nowhere to be seen.
In the wok, there are tiny bubbles as they bubbled and popped on top of the cabbage.
"This sugar and vinegar must be used together. If you do not use them together, the balance of the dish is not good. Only in this way, can you have a taste that is unique - in sweetness there is sour, and in sour, there is even more sourness!" Wen Shouzhen did not hold back his knowledge from his daughter.
"Father, do you usually teach brother Shi Tou in this way?" Wen Rou asked.
"You lass! This is our family secret skills and not shared with outsiders!" Wen Shouzhen face turned beet red, and he was quite embarrassed.
— back to Xiao Wu’s side —
Chef Zhang continued to guide Xiao Wu step by step.
When the oil is about 50% hot, under command of Chef Zhang, Xiao Wu placed the shredded cabbages into the wok.
He begins to stir fry the cabbages, and when the fire is hot, he immediately added a soup of broth that he had prepared beforehand.
After that, under the guidance of Chef Zhang, Xiao Wu add soy sauce, vinegar, flour, salt and ginger to cook a gravy. When the cabbages are almost ready, he poured this gravy over the cabbages.
From the wok, a cloud of steam raised up. Xiao Wu's dish is ready!
This dish had used the higher-quality cabbage that is soft and not easy to lose its shape. Although it is stirred-fried, the finished dish looked soft and sloppy. Plus, there are very little vegetables as the core is small. When cooked the amount seemed to be very small and insufficient for everyone to try. When people saw this, they lost their desire to eat it.
— Back in Chef Wen quarters —
"Rou Er, add a bit of soy sauce, and some salt. Then it is ready!" Wen Shouzhen noticed that the dish is almost ready, and immediately instructed.
Wen Rou used the spatula to pick up ½ a spoonful of soy sauce and pour it on edges of the wok in a circular motion. The pinch of salt was scattered onto the cabbages, and the dish looks much better.
The salt slowly dissolved under the heat of the wok, and soy sauce dripped along the edges and fall into the gravy and got infused into the flavour of the gravy as well.
Wen Rou immediately took out the cabbage. At this moment, the dish of Vinegar Cabbage is ready!
………..
Wen Rou is annoyed. She had politely asked the site that stole this chapter from prosperous food dot com to stop stealing this chapter, and they refused. She is powerless. But you, dear reader, can do something about it. Just read it at prosperous food dot com if you reading this from an aggregator site. 😉 Support Wen Rou.
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