The cabbage is picked into slices, blanched in boiling water and then in cold water; the fresh shrimp meat is whisked vigorously to make shrimp gelatin. Cabbage is the skin, shrimp glue is the filling, and after carefully laid out, a dish is like a beautiful rice map.
This is Cai Zhenrong's preparation to show the public the dishes made at the "100 Chefs" of the 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area "Cantonese Chefs" Skill Competition - "Fruitful". Not long ago, he was awarded the first batch of five-star "Cantonese Chefs" in Guangdong Province, an honor that set the industry benchmark for "Cantonese Chefs".
Cai Zhenrong is showing his apprentices the production of Chao cuisine. Southern photographer Gong Zhinan Courtesy photo
As the leader of the provincial "Cantonese Cuisine Master" master studio, Cai Zhenrong witnessed the changes brought to Shantou by the "Cantonese Cuisine Master" project in the past three years. "Since the implementation of the 'Cantonese Cuisine Master' project, it has achieved fruitful results in promoting villagers to become rich, promoting Cantonese cuisine culture, and cultivating Cantonese cuisine masters, and has also added new momentum to the revitalization of the countryside." Cai Zhenrong said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Nanfang Daily that this is exactly the meaning of his "fruitful" platter dishes displayed at the "Hundred Chefs Group Meeting".
Cai Zhenrong's plattered dish prepared for the "Hundred Chefs Group Heroes' Meeting" - fruitful southern photographer Gong Zhinan Courtesy photo
"Master Studio" where teaching is long
Nanfang Daily: Born in a family of Chao cuisine, how did you grow up to become a "Cantonese chef"?
Cai Zhenrong: Three generations of our family are chefs. Influenced by my family, I entered the industry in 1980 by "mentoring and apprenticeship". Although he has a family history, he has suffered a lot in his academic career. Before I enter the kitchen, I start by handling raw poultry and other ingredients, and do handyman work first. After a year, you can become a helper for the master, playing on the side and moving the cutting board. Until the second year, you can go to the side of the wok to practice cooking with the master, and after practicing for 3 years, you can basically become a "little master".
From a young age, I learned art relatively quickly, and I couldn't help but study hard. Every day at the end of lunch, when the teachers and masters go back to rest, we as young people do not leave work, not only to finish the preparation work, but also to take time to practice on our own, working more than 12 hours a day. Although bitter, but full of harvest.
Nanfang Daily: In your "Cantonese Chef" master studio, young Cantonese chefs are also cultivated. How do you think the cultivation of the "Cantonese Chef" project is different from that of that year?
Cai Zhenrong: The current "Cantonese Chef" master studio is not "one-on-one" training, but a whole small team conducting specific research on the same dish. The relationship between the master and the apprentice is not limited to one-way output, but teaches each other. As a master, I can teach my apprentice to cook a certain dish; as an apprentice, I can also use your imagination to make a new dish for the master to guide and comment, or to propose new improvements to a traditional dish. Each dish is constantly adjusted to optimize the nutritional mix until it is adjusted to the most perfect state before being presented to the guests.
For example, when we made "pomegranate chicken", the original main ingredient was chicken, and then we tried to change it to crab meat, which immediately improved the deliciousness of the dish. At the moment of promoting healthy eating, we can also adjust the main ingredients to mushrooms and turn them into vegetarian dishes, which is another flavor. Constant adjustments can be adapted to the different tastes of the public, and these changes are discussed together in the master's studio.
A dish "revitalizes" an industrial chain
Nanfang Daily: After the implementation of the "Cantonese Cuisine Master" project, what changes have you felt around you?
Cai Zhenrong: The "Cantonese Cuisine Master" project is a great help to people's livelihood. The government funds to support the "Cantonese cuisine master" training, not only to teach the skills, but also to issue certificates, so that the trained "Cantonese cuisine master" can have more free career choices, both to go to the hotel to apply for employment, get higher salaries, but also to start their own business to open a store. Whatever the choice, it is full of rewards.
A plate of dishes can revitalize a shop, for example, I am widely known in Shantou by relying on "Arong abalone". Now, the "Cantonese Cuisine Master" project has not only promoted the research and development of dishes, but also revitalized the entire industrial chain of agricultural products. For example, the dish "Chaoshan Brine Goose" has led to the prosperity of the lion's head goose breeding industry, from goose eggs, small geese, big geese, and even goose feathers, there are people engaged in production, production and processing. The revitalization of a whole industrial chain is driving the employment and revitalization of an entire rural area.
A tidal smell affects exchanges with people at home and abroad
Nanfang Daily: In recent years, with the help of the "Cantonese cuisine master", what kind of gastronomic exchanges have been carried out with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area?
Cai Zhenrong: Not long ago, I just led a team to Shenzhen to participate in a food culture exchange competition in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Competitions and exchanges like this are very frequent, and this kind of exchange is very inspiring for the improvement of dishes from styling to raw materials. We can collect high-quality ingredients from all over the province, the whole country and even around the world, and use the preparation method of Chao Cai to make an innovative dish. In addition to ingenuity, dare to innovate, but also the inheritance of Chao cuisine culture.
Nanfang Daily: There are many overseas Chinese, and a tide flavor can often hook up with a nostalgia, can you share your personal experience?
Cai Zhenrong: We also have a lot of exchanges with overseas Chinese. When they often return to Shantou, they pass on suggestions for improving Chao cuisine to our masters, and provide innovative ideas for us to inherit and develop Chao Cuisine. Chaoshi cuisine is the dish that hipsters like to eat, so where there are hipsters, there are chaoshi dishes. I have traveled all over the world and worked as a judge for food festivals in many places, and I can see the presence of Chaoshi restaurants everywhere I go. Although it is not necessarily 100% authentic, it all has the flavor of chaoshi cuisine.
Before the outbreak of the epidemic, we often formed teams to participate in world-class exchange competitions, and also led teams to Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and other countries to perform exchanges, or invited local restaurants to participate in our food festivals. Such international exchanges have allowed Chao cuisine to go overseas, and also made Chao Cuisine culture more widely spread.
[Reporter] Wang Hanqi
【Photo】 Gong Zhinan
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【Author】 Wang Hanqi
【Source】 Southern Press Media Group South + client
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