Relying on a bite of self-created braised meat, "conquered" the stomach of the great man, cooked for the great man for 22 years, never let go of a drop of soy sauce, every time you cook a meal, you have to destroy the menu, how to do braised meat without soy sauce? And why do you have to destroy the menu after a meal? Curious friends don't forget to like and follow.
Cheng Ruming and Chairman Mao
Braised pork without soy sauce
This full-time chef who has been in charge of the great man for 22 years, named Cheng Ruming, in the 22 years of cooking for the great man, he has never put a drop of soy sauce in the meal, this is because the great man does not like to eat soy sauce, but also because of an incident that the great man experienced when he was a child, which caused a psychological shadow on the great man.
After Cheng Ruming first started working as a chef for a great man, he was told: "No matter what you do, don't put a drop of soy sauce in it." At that time, Cheng Ruming was still very confused, but he did not ask anything more.
Later, after working around the great man for a long time, Cheng Ruming heard people mention that one of the favorite dishes of the great man was braised pork. Cheng Ruming was very happy to learn that great people like to eat braised meat, and he was finally able to make a dish of food that he liked to eat for great people!
Braised pork
But then, Cheng Ruming fell into deep contemplation, because as a chef, we all know that there is a process when making braised pork, that is, it is necessary to put soy sauce, otherwise, whether it is from the taste or color, it is not the taste of braised meat.
But the great man never asked for soy sauce, and later under various inquiries, Cheng Ruming figured out the reason why the great man did not eat soy sauce.
It turned out that when I was a child, the home of the great man was made of soy sauce, and the hot weather in the summer made the whole family float with the aroma of soy sauce, looking at the soy sauce tank with a cylinder and a bucket, and the mood became better.
Soy sauce tank
Once the great man, out of curiosity, opened a large vat of buckets, black and shiny soy sauce color, it seems to have a lot of appetite, but the great man found that in the shaking soy sauce liquid, there seems to be something white floating.
Looking at it again, the great man was shocked, it was actually a maggot! Because of the sweltering summer weather, the soybeans in the process of fermentation, due to decay, there are a series of "white worms".
This huge impact had a great impact on the heart of the great man, and since then, the great man has never touched the soy sauce again, and Cheng Ruming, who knows the origin of the matter, has opened up.
In order to satisfy the great man, want to eat a bite of braised meat, and at the same time satisfy the desire not to put soy sauce, Cheng Ruming thought of a solution.
People who have cooked rice may know that white sugar will appear beautiful sugar brown through frying, and this color is very close to the color of soy sauce, for which Cheng Ruming uses this method to make braised pork.
Sure enough, the braised pork is attractive in color, even more red and appetizing than that made with soy sauce. On this day, Cheng Ruming brought the prepared braised meat to the great man, who saw the reddish-brown braised meat and frowned slightly.
Cheng Ruming saw the situation and hurriedly explained: "This is the color of the sugar stir-fry, and there is no soy sauce", after the great man listened, he tried to pick up a piece and taste it.
Braised pork, the great man's favorite
Unexpectedly, the braised pork fried with sugar, in addition to its own salty taste, is also very fresh and sweet, and the great man frequently nods his head, directly praising Cheng Ruming's superb cooking skills.
Since then, as long as it is the braised pork made by Cheng Ruming, the great man will eat more than other dishes, which shows that Cheng Ruming's braised meat is really deep in the heart of the great man. Even later, people called braised pork that did not put soy sauce as "Mao's braised pork".
Relying on a mouthful of self-created braised pork, Cheng Ruming "conquered" the appetite of the great man, and officially became the full-time chef of the great man, during the cooking period for the great man, Cheng Ruming also found a strange place, that is, after each meal, someone would ask him to destroy the menu, why is this?
Destroy the Great Man menu
Why destroy the menu?
After officially starting to work as a chef in the home of the great man, Cheng Ruming also found that he was very puzzled by something, that is, every time after cooking, the menu would be destroyed.
Every time, when Cheng Ruming was cooking the meal of the great man on the day, he would write down the arranged dishes into the form of a menu and then report it, and after getting approval, he could start stir-frying.
But there was a rule that the menu was destroyed immediately after cooking, and at first Cheng Ruming did not understand it, until later, from a guard next to the great man, he learned the reason.
The great men ate
Originally, the purpose of destroying the menu was to prevent spies from stealing, don't look at it as just a humble menu, but once it falls into the hands of spies, they will speculate on the leader's physical condition based on the menu recipe.
If spies were allowed to go through the menu and find out that the leader was unwell, they might take the opportunity to act against the country.
Hearing this, Cheng Ruming suddenly realized, with a serious look, he swore firmly in his heart: we must ensure the safety of the great man, resolutely destroy the menu, and leave no trace!
Cheng Ruming
Since then, in addition to making three meals a day for the great man, Cheng Ruming also has one more task, that is, to destroy the menu, in the past few decades of cooking for the great man, every time after cooking the meal, Cheng Ruming has ensured the destruction of the menu according to the requirements.
So that after making meals for the great man for so long, Cheng Ruming could not remember for a moment what dishes he had cooked for the great man, but as long as he recalled the bits and pieces of cooking for the great man, Cheng Ruming's eyes were full of nostalgia and emotion.
After the country suffered a natural disaster in 1960, in order to save the government's expenses, the great man decided to lead by example, lowered his living standards, and did not even eat meat since then, in order to suffer with the people.
In 1960 the country suffered a natural disaster
But as the leader of a country, it is enough to take care of every day every day, how can there be no meat in the meal? How can the body withstand it?
Because the great man gave the order: No meat dishes! Cheng Ruming could only find another way, but the idea he thought of was finally discovered by the great man, and ordered him not to make scallion oil cakes anymore.
Originally, in order to make the great man eat meat, Cheng Ruming mixed the chopped pork into the onion oil cake, and when Cheng Ruming carefully handed the onion oil cake with pork to the great man.
Watching the great man take a big bite and eat it, and did not find anything unusual, but also directly praised the cake he made more and more fragrant, Cheng Ruming's hanging heart was put down.
Shallot oil cake
But the good times did not last long, the great man suddenly did not let him make bread, and the great man who discovered the truth of the matter did not pierce him, nor did he criticize him severely, but only let him stop making scallion oil cake.
Every time he recalled this, Tears flashed in Cheng Ruming's eyes, the great man has always been very simple, never asked to wear a good use, a piece of clothing, worn until the patch has no place to make up for it will be replaced.
In terms of eating, it is even more provincial, it is possible to save money, never ask to eat any big fish and meat, it is the home cooking of ordinary people, and even the money for the dishes that the great man usually eats is deducted from his own salary, so Cheng Ruming also thinks about how to help the great man save money every time.
Cheng Ruming and the Great Man
A bite of pepper, a bite of bitter melon, is the most common meal of the great man, from the memories of the great man's full-time chef Cheng Ruming, we can also feel that the great man's hard and simple life style, and this Cheng Ruming, who has cooked meals for the great man for 22 years, met with the great man, from a story on the train.
22 years of hard work
Cheng Ruming first made Western food, because of some reasons, became a railway employee, but he did not expect that his experience of making Western food actually gave him the opportunity to join the Communist Party.
Chairman Mao
Once on the train, the leaders of various countries, taking the train to prepare to go to Beijing to participate, the peace conference in the Asia-Pacific region, in the face of a train of foreign friends, the conductor made a difficulty, the difference between The diet of China and the West, how can we fulfill the friendship of the landlords and try to entertain them as well as possible? After Cheng Ruming learned of the situation, he immediately used his own Western food to solve a small "crisis".
Because of this outstanding performance, Cheng Ruming had the opportunity to join the Communist Party, and since then, Cheng Ruming's life has begun to change dramatically.
Great men buy tickets
At that time, the great man often traveled from place to place to work, in order not to disturb the local government, the great man often on the train, to solve the problem of eating and accommodation, and even the work was carried out on the train.
Often when it comes to the meal, the great man will greet, the colleagues who work together to eat together, there is no shelf at all, li Xiwu, who was in charge of the great man's diet at that time, was really too busy to come, so he asked the conductor for help and helped him find a partner.
The conductor immediately thought of Cheng Ruming, Cheng Ruming's performance last time was very outstanding, and he was also a party member, and there was no problem with his political literacy and character.
In this way, Cheng Ruming had this hard-won opportunity, and in the days when the great man worked on the train, Cheng Ruming served as one of the cooks responsible for the diet of the great man.
Until later Cheng Ruming learned that the great man did not eat soy sauce, he fried it with sugar, the color was equally red and attractive braised meat, this performance was praised by the great man, because he liked to eat braised meat, but he could not soy sauce, the great man has been for a long time, did not eat braised meat.
In this way, Cheng Ruming became a full-time chef in the home of the great man in Zhongnanhai, which lasted for 22 years until the great man died of illness in Beijing.
Cheng Ruming, who has never cried in his life, has tears in his eyes, although he is only an inconspicuous cook, but in the years of working around the great man, Cheng Ruming has benefited a lot.
A simple and simple great man in his life, leading by example, infected everyone around him, including this Cheng Ruming, who has been in charge of the great man for 22 years, and he will always remember the teaching of the great man - learning is endless, no matter where you are, you must have a humble and upward heart.