june
22
WeChat: penetratingview
The nineteen-year-old girl ran away from Tsinghua Architecture and used desserts to interpret the Twelve Pieces of Jinling
Wei Yunyi, post-95, a Beijing female student from the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University
Two years ago, she came to tsinghua architecture department with the expectations and envy of others
Two years later, she left the campus and packed her bags to go far away
Wei Yunyi has been associated with dim sum for a long time, but she has never considered making it her career.
Until a conversation with the teacher in the first semester of the sophomore year, I did not expect that my small achievements were so precious in the eyes of the teacher.
This unintentional but intentional conversation changed the trajectory of Wei Yunyi's life.
"Hear your own inner words"
Most people's first reaction after hearing her story is: "Why did a girl from the Tsinghua Architecture Department suddenly take a break from school and devote herself to the kitchen and making snacks?" Isn't that 'waste'? ”
But Yun Yi said, "Living without love, trance is the biggest 'waste'." ”
Taking a break from Tsinghua Architecture, to be precise, is not an easy decision.
Gap years are very common in foreign countries, but in our country it is still a new thing. Especially in the eyes of most parents and elders, successfully completing school and finding a "stable and decent" job is the "right way".
The ideals of today's young people run counter to this, and most of them are more eager to be themselves and realize their self-worth in a diversified way.
Wei Yunyi is like this. She knew very well that making this decision was not a hot brain.
She has been very interested in pondering food from an early age, cooking herself in elementary school, going into the kitchen to study dishes and desserts when she has time, and baking until the college entrance examination.
Pineapple cheesecake with almond crisps
But for the future development, she has always followed the most "correct" path.
In the exchange with the teacher, I originally just wanted to share some of my occasional achievements in the innovation of Chinese dim sum, but I did not expect that my results were called "wonderful design" by the teacher, and these innovations were simply impossible for foreign pastry chefs to do and understand.
Wei Yunyi studied architectural design at Tsinghua University, and she found that the principles and reflections in these designs are not only as simple as books, but can be combined with the Chinese dim sum she cherishes.
Lemon tofu blueberry mousse
So, talking with parents and teachers, applying for suspension, packing bags, and bringing a beloved kitchen book, my soul finally felt more solid and free than ever.
"Go deep to see the truth"
She still remembers the first time she flipped through Le Cordon Bleu's classic dessert book, obsessed with the pastries that looked like exquisite works of art, and since then, she has been out of control.
Making decisions is not a hot brain, and before that, she had struggled countless times.
Made a lot of efforts to understand the industry, collected dozens of original professional pastry books and magazines, traveled to Paris, that is, went straight to the dessert shop, the market survey and took photos, and wrote a summary of the shop;
Famous chefs produce chocolates
Take a short-term gastronomic course at Le Cordon Bleu paris and experience a professional kitchen at zero distance;
Attend professional pastry training and internship in the back kitchen.
A photo taken in the back kitchen of Pastry
She gradually learned that the work in the kitchen is not easy, standing for more than ten hours a day, working in the middle of the night, walking in the small kitchen every day...
Even so, she was eager to experience it herself, and she understood the various attempts in the early stages:
"I think an industry can not just stay at the level of interest, but also go as deep as possible to "disenchantment"
Get close to what things really are, rather than relying solely on other people's legends or your own unfounded imaginations, and then determine whether you are truly in love. ”
"They are like dusty treasures"
As she learned more about West Point, Yun Yi gradually discovered a phenomenon:
Too many people go out to learn dessert and come back and say that they want to make "authentic French pastry", and it seems that only pastry is "tall".
On the other hand, Japan's traditional dim sum is thriving and can open shops in Paris, the city of desserts.
The Famous Tiger House of Paris and Fruits
Japanese dim sum and fruit
She found this phenomenon very strange, in fact, in Chinese folk and Chinese literature, hidden in the code of lost traditional Chinese cuisine, Chinese dim sum dishes containing wisdom, food culture, philosophy of life are rarely asked, such as scattered dust treasures, urgently need to dust, root seekers, what is needed is to combine international trends to innovate traditional.
The Suzhou boat spot that appeared in the documentary "China on the Tip of the Tongue"
YunYi still remembers her vision of seeing Suzhou boat points for the first time in "China on the tip of the tongue", so she plans to leave the campus for a while and visit traditional dim sum craftsmen in China to explore the memories of folk Chinese desserts.
"Interpreting the Red Chamber with Food"
After reading books about traditional food culture such as the Red Chamber Food Book, "Suiyuan Food List" and "Casual Love And Occasional Mail", Wei Yunyi found that Chinese dim sum is a treasure trove that has not yet been reclaimed.
Wei Yunyi loved "Dream of the Red Chamber" in middle school, but whenever he lifted his pen, he did not dare to act rashly in the face of the strange book of the Red Chamber, for fear of far-fetched attachment or labeling.
Just as there are a thousand Hamlets in the hearts of the same thousand people, each of them has the twelve in their hearts; Yun Yi hopes to interpret the "Twelve Nobles of Jinling" in the Red Chamber in his own way.
"Jinling's 'Twelve Pieces' turned into dim sum in your hand"
Glutinous rice flour, horseshoe powder, black and white sesame seeds, golden sand cream
The recipe is inspired by traditional flower puff pastry, which is steamed instead of fried.
After thinking about it repeatedly, I am still afraid that it is not appropriate.
Shaped like its hibiscus, thin and spreading; nephrite-like daisy, remembering the face of the fairy.
Glutinous rice flour, red adzuki beans, almonds, peanuts, melon seeds, tangerine peel, ume
One of the favorite finished products. The appearance is inspired by the Famous Han Peony Dumplings, the outer texture has been adjusted, the five petals are extremely difficult to pinch well, and it is necessary to pinch and cut the petals twice, and I can't help but sigh the wisdom of folk ingenuity. What a heart that lingers in life, what a pair of skillful hands, can be so carefully carved.
The main ingredient of the filling, red bean paste, contains hundred fruits and sour plums, and the flavor is mixed.
Purple potatoes, yam, glutinous rice flour, pine nuts, cream
The pattern comes from the classic Cantonese mooncake cake mold, which is elegant and atmospheric. The yam is soft and lustrous, and the purple of the purple potato is added to the royal nobility. The aroma of pine is thick and heavy, and it is also a snack ingredient that appears many times in the book.
Bean flour, glutinous rice flour, preserved apricots, sugar roses
The idea comes from the traditional pastry rose bean cold cake.
Coconut fruit, coconut water, lemon, cucumber
The lemon is fresh and crispy, while the coconut has no shortage of rich sweetness from tropical fruits. The clear mid-point green floats and is pleasant.
North and south almond flour, peach kernel powder, kumquat dried, dried grapes, sesame seeds, sticky rice flour, glutinous rice flour
The whiteness of the sticky rice noodles, the slight bitterness of the almonds in the light sweetness, is a combination of a sense of alienation.
Glutinous rice, mung beans, horseshoe, lotus leaves, lotus seeds
Glutinous rice and lotus seeds have a soft texture, and beans and lotus leaves are fragrant, without any abrupt taste.
Plum, green tea, lotus powder, powder
Inspired by coriander cakes. Green tea Plum is cool, and the taste is slightly bitter.
Rhombus powder, mango, stained ginger, black qiao, cinnamon
Fusiform, angular, bright and warm fragrant mango with old spicy ginger, accompanied by the thickness of spiced chocolate. It seems that the collision is somewhat contradictory, but in fact it is fused into one.
Lotus flour, sticky rice flour, glutinous rice flour, sugar golden cinnamon
Shaped like osmanthus flowers, pink and semi-transparent, exquisite and lovely.
Purple rice, coconut milk, sydney pear, locust honey
The appearance is dull and lonely, and it is self-protective
Fresh cheese, cherries, cherry wine, rose sauce, lychee
Delicate cherries, paired with bouquet floral and fruity aromas, have their own thousand styles.
"Just grabbed a piece of love that has been around for a long time"
Many people say to Yunyi, envy you know what you want.
But she said, "I really don't feel like I've done anything 'brave' or sure I'll be able to achieve anything in the future, but I'm glad I've captured a long-standing love."
I hope that the lost person will wake up as soon as possible to look for it, and the person who is looking for it will not easily miss the love,
People who love it don't give up lightly.
▼
When communicating with Wei Yunyi, what impressed us most was her "possibility"
For most people
An acceptance letter is the navigation mark of life;
A nineteen-year-old child should follow the parents' arrangement;
A high-achieving student of Tsinghua architecture, the trajectory of life should be linear;
For this recognition, Wei Yunyi chose to say "no"
We always seem to be able to pass through all kinds of "love possibilities" in life.
But the torrent of reality always rushes us to a path that we ourselves do not know where to go
"What we are looking for, what we want to escape, is in everyday life, it is everyday life."
—the end—
☀ This article was written by Bit (id: beijingivytalk). The 14 applicants applied for the "Gap Year Plan" together, clicked to view the original article to learn about Yunyi's dream, and sent her our support.