Busy at 4 a.m., a menu changed several times... The chefs behind the Chinese New Year's Eve meals in colleges and universities are so diligent

The taste of the world is reunion. The students who stayed on the Shanghai campus were still warm, although they were far away from their families.

"The dumpling skin is in the palm of the hand, filling, folded in half, sealed into a semicircle, starting from the left, the right index finger slightly over the front of the thumb, the index finger slightly pushes the dumpling skin forward into the folds, the front of the thumb is gently pinched, repeat this step until the right..." Chinese New Year's Eve, in the canteen of the Songjiang Campus of Shanghai Wai Chinese University, the chefs who usually live behind the scenes for a long time and the students who stay in the school together to wrap dumplings, wrap tangyuan, and watch the Spring Festival Gala. Everyone gathered together and enjoyed themselves. "We are very happy and feel that this year is very lively and meaningful." The students at the scene said happily.

Students from Shangwai school make dumplings with the chefs in the cafeteria. (Photo by Zhou Xuyang)

Lei Xiaofeng, 48, is the head chef of the canteen of Shanghai University of Foreign Chinese Songjiang Campus. In order to "make something delicious" for the university students every day, he got up at two or three o'clock in the morning. However, Master Lei Xiaofeng, who is good at cooking and cooking, has almost no opportunity to eat Chinese New Year's Eve meal with his family. "When was the last time I had a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner with my family?" Answering the reporter's question, Lei Xiaofeng was very embarrassed, and it took half a day to hold out a sentence: "It has always been eaten in the kitchen of the school canteen..."

His hometown is in Xi'an, and he has been working in Shangwai for more than 20 years. "I haven't been back for several years, and I wanted to go back to my hometown this year, but there are more students staying in school this year, so I wonder if I should stay." Huang Xiaofeng said that this can not only increase manpower, but also facilitate temporary coordination in case there is a matter.

Students from the upper and outer schools guess the riddle together in the cafeteria. (Photo by Yang Hong)

from Chinese New Year's Eve to the sixth day of the Chinese New Year, the canteens of the two campuses of Shanghai Chinese University provide a rich Chinese New Year's Eve meal for the students who stay at the university, and students can eat for free with their campus cards. Behind the sumptuous Chinese New Year's Eve meal is the persistence of a group of busy chefs.

[A menu, changed several times]

Walking into the large kitchen of the Songjiang Campus of Shanghai University of foreign Chinese, as soon as you enter the door, you will see the stove, 4 stoves are arranged side by side, and when the amount of dishes is large, several chefs can hold the spoon at the same time. And the prepared dishes, basket by basket, are neatly placed in the back for the convenience of the chef; the frozen meat products that cannot be directly put into the oil pot are also placed in advance on the shelf behind the chef to naturally thaw.

Eat Chinese New Year's Eve dinner together, reunite for the New Year. The University canteen of Shanghai Overseas Chinese university has carefully prepared the Taste of the Year on the tip of the tongue for the students staying at the university.

Considering that ethnic minority students stay in Shanghai for the New Year, the Chinese New Year's Eve meal set offered by the ethnic restaurant can be described as a strong hometown flavor - golden silk lamb chops, special large plates of chicken, local chicken stuffed flower rolls, stewed beef brisket, Xinjiang roasted buns, crispy twist flowers, dumplings, grains and fengdeng, Xinjiang big red dates... It's not tempting. The set menu of 1B Restaurant is also quite varied. White cut beef, double pepper fish fillets, shrimp slippery eggs, duck with honbang sauce, mushroom chicken soup, white-blanched shrimp, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, shredded asparagus in green onion oil... Meat and vegetarian combination, delicious taste, diverse dishes, balanced diet, fully satisfy your taste buds.

Don't underestimate the menus, "We started discussing it a week in advance. "Lei Xiaofeng said that since it is the New Year, no matter where the New Year is, we must eat a decent Chinese New Year's Eve meal, which has the taste of reunion." Then, chicken, duck, fish, meat, shrimp, none of them can be less. "To be provided for 7 consecutive days free, how can we make students not get tired and eat well?" Lei Xiaofeng and several other chefs and colleagues who left behind for the New Year first recalled the dishes that sold well in the past, and then processed and innovated on this basis. "Some dishes, even try to make it first, give everyone a taste, and then improve."

Chinese New Year's Eve night, students staying in the school eat Chinese New Year's Eve meal together in the canteen. (Photo by Zhou Xuyang)

Not only should the nutrition be balanced, but the color matching should also be exquisite, not only so that the students have an appetite after watching it, but also beg for a mouthful. "Braised pork means that the days are red and hot; stir-fried rice cakes mean backgammon; grains are abundant, which means that the harvest is full..." At the same time, the dishes also take into account salty, spicy, sweet, light and other flavors." Let the students have a choice and have fun choosing. Lei Xiaofeng said with a smile, "Before and after, this menu has been changed several times." In addition, the canteen also prepared drinks such as stomach-warming crock pot soup, fruit and yogurt after meals.

Students staying in school outside the school watched the Spring Festival Gala together in the canteen, and they were happy and harmonious. (Photo by Yang Hong)

[Each piece of meat is about two or two, too thick and too thin is not OK]

In fact, not only Chinese New Year's Eve on that day, every day at 4 a.m., the chefs in the school cafeteria began to get busy.

Rolling noodles, japanese noodles, wrapping small dumplings, fried spring rolls, frying pan stickers, steaming buns, boiling dumplings... There are about forty or fifty varieties for a single breakfast. Some students get up very early to go to early self-study; some students are busy on the street to feel the New Year atmosphere in Shanghai. "Our job is to prepare a hearty breakfast for everyone in advance. Watching the students eat a hot breakfast, I felt very happy. The chefs, who had been busy all morning, wiped the sweat from their foreheads and said.

Lei Xiaofeng, head chef of Shangwai Songjiang Campus, prepares dishes.

Fresh vegetables arrived on time at 6am. The first thing the chefs who go to the regular day shift is to accept the dishes sent. "Is there any rotten winter melon?" Are there many yellow leaves in green cabbage? Lei Xiaofeng said that these need to be carefully checked one by one, if the quality of the dishes is found to be not good, it should be returned or replaced, therefore, the general order has a balance and advance amount. After picking out the fresh dishes, the next step is to soak, wash and other further finishing. "Leafy green vegetables are generally soaked for 30-50 minutes and washed off the residual pesticides on them." Lei Xiaofeng told reporters that don't underestimate this step, it is all recorded, and each dish is cleaned at least twice.

Some dishes are kung fu dishes, starting with side dishes and processing. For example, the straw meat is purchased from the freshest pork belly, boiled in water, and cut into small pieces of uniform size, "each piece is about two or two." Thick, it is unpleasant to bite; thin, it is easy to burn up. Lei Xiaofeng and his colleagues used straw to tie up the cut meat pieces one by one. Why use straw? It turned out that there was a smell of straw when it was smouldered. "Straw and meat is a famous dish in Shanghai, and since it is in Shanghai for the New Year, let the students try authentic Shanghainese cuisine."

【Every dish is carefully produced】

"Every dish is carefully prepared, the color and fragrance are exquisite." Lei Xiaofeng said, "If the frying is not good, don't take it out and do it again." ”

Although it is a large pot dish, there is no small degree of fineness.

Large plates of chicken with fresh chicken thighs and dried fried small yellow croaker, using fresh yellow croaker instead of frozen fish. These little yellow croakers are killed and cleaned by the kitchen chefs themselves. The size is also exquisite, generally 5 pieces a pound, after cleaning, with green onion, ginger, cooking wine, salt, monosodium glutamate, pepper pickling. After marinating for about 1 hour, sizing with egg juice and corn starch. When the oil is 40% or 50% hot, the yellow croaker is put down and fried for 3 minutes; a plate of crispy, golden and dry fried small yellow croaker is finished.

This gang of sauce duck is made by the chefs of the canteen using the "secret recipe". "Stir-fry sugar color, be sure to use yellow rock sugar." Lei Xiaofeng said that the sauce duck in this way is not only ruddy in color, it will not change color due to a long time, and the taste is good. "Another key is to master the heat and time." Lei Xiaofeng said that if the heat is too large, there will be a burning taste and a bitter feeling; if the heat is too small, the color will not go up. If you master it, then the roasted duck with this sauce has "endless aftertaste".

Chinese New Year's Eve night, the students of the Shangwai Songjiang Campus had Chinese New Year's Eve meal together. (Photo by Zhou Xuyang)

"When the students were almost finished eating, a few of our chefs began to eat with the leftovers." This year is the same. Chinese New Year's Eve it was more than 7 o'clock at night, and Lei Xiaofeng moved chopsticks with several masters. When the dish is cold, heat it up slightly. After a simple "Chinese New Year's Eve meal", the canteen chefs have to clean up the entire canteen. The rest of the dishes, some need to be put in the refrigerator, some need to be covered. The hot stove that has just been used should also be cleaned with water. After the kitchen floor is washed and dragged, the water is scraped off. "We demand that there be no standing water on the ground."

Chinese New Year's Eve night, the students of the Shangwai Songjiang Campus and the chefs wrapped tangyuan together. (Photo by Yang Hong)

Although Lei Xiaofeng does not have to take charge of the spoon every day, as the general responsible person, he arrives at the post every day for seven days of the Spring Festival. "There are temporary changes in personnel transfers, adjustments to the purchase of dishes and quantities ... These require ongoing coordination and notification. Lei Xiaofeng said that if the school has a temporary task and a notice, we must also be ready at any time.

It is precisely with a group of Lei Xiaofeng that the three meals a day for students who stay in school are guaranteed, and students can stay in school for the New Year without worries.

Column Editor-in-Chief: Xu Ruizhe Text Editor: Li Lei Title Image Source: Li Lei Photo

无标注的，均为李蕾摄      

Source: Author: Lei Li