After Qin Huai finished eating the crab dumplings, he realized he might have underestimated this snack a bit.
He silently ate two of the three crab dumplings he had taken and left the last one for Huang An Yao, who was asking for favors everywhere, then he said:
"Master Zheng, could you demonstrate it for me one more time?"
"No problem!" Zheng Da agreed readily.
He wasn’t particularly eloquent, and his superb skills paired with a lack of words made his already seemingly ordinary process appear even less impressive. Qin Huai’s understanding to just observe without asking was more than welcomed by Zheng Da, who immediately prepared to start the demonstration.
Just like the previous process: peel the live shrimp, take the meat, and mince it.
Extract the meat from the crab.
Add Shaoxing wine, salt, and other seasonings, mix evenly.
Just as Zheng Da was mixing the filling, Qin Huai inquired, "Master Zheng, how do you control the seasoning level in the filling?"
Qin Huai knew that Zheng Da probably couldn’t explain it well, because previously when he was making snacks at the Qin Family Breakfast Shop, Qin Congwen had asked him the same question, and he couldn’t explain it either.
Qin Huai understood that preparing filling is a process heavily reliant on intuition, much like traditional Chinese recipes that describe the quantities of seasonings primarily as a small spoonful, a pinch, or to taste, unlike modern recipes found online that specify down to grams. These small amounts and to taste actually refer to intuition.
In ordinary households, if one day a child whimsically wants to learn cooking and asks their parents how much salt to put in braised pork, the parents are sure to say a small half-spoon.
As for whether this small half-spoon is 1/3 or 1/4 of a spoon, or some other precise measure, that depends on their own judgment.
The taste in cooking comes from experimentation.
Some people lack talent in this area and may have to experiment many times to grasp what a pinch truly means. But some people are naturally sensitive, needing only to make it once and taste it to roughly judge if a seasoning is too much or too little, and can adjust accordingly next time. Over time, they develop a stable flavor of their own.
Masters like Huang Shengli, who can clearly articulate and pinpoint precisely where the problem lies, are actually rare.
There aren’t many renowned masters these days.
Of course, masters like Zheng Da who are completely unable to articulate are even rarer.
Most normal masters, although not particularly eloquent, can still convey something.
However, Qin Huai had previously said that he can actually understand Zheng Da’s teaching method, especially the phrase, "Can’t you feel it? You know this feeling, right?"
Whether a third party can feel it, Qin Huai didn’t know, but he could truly feel it.
Zheng Da’s response was just as Qin Huai expected.
"This is... is... actually, you have to... control the seasoning through... the seasoning is really... let’s put it this way... actually..."
It was clear that Zheng Da wanted to provide some precise verbal guidance, but his ability was limited, and this wasn’t his strong suit.
After hesitating for a while, Zheng Da finally chose to answer in the way he was most familiar with.
"You need to find the feeling."
"It’s normal to not get it right at first. Such intricate seasoning can’t be taught, you can only roughly gauge a standard range. After you try making it yourself, and taste the steamed dumplings, you’ll understand where the issue lies."
"In general, the simpler the ingredients and the fewer the types of seasonings, the harder it is to perfect the seasoning. If any seasoning goes slightly awry, it will affect the overall taste, and this is when a chef needs a sensitive palate."
After delivering his standard answer, Zheng Da still managed to convey some useful information, which encouraged him. Without waiting for Qin Huai’s reaction, he happily continued talking.
"Eh, actually, Xiao Qin, you’ve been a bit delayed here."
"Earlier you asked how my master taught me and my fellow apprentice. I briefly mentioned it but didn’t finish. For a chef, the most important thing isn’t strength or intuition; the most crucial thing is actually the palate."
"Strength can be trained, and if intuition is lacking, it can be compensated with practice. Intuition is hard to describe, and even someone with a slow mind can have a breakthrough someday, while even the most intelligent people can be unexpectedly bottlenecked. But having a keen palate is incredibly important; a chef without the sensitivity to taste and adjust the dishes can hardly advance further."
"Don’t mind my clumsy speech when explaining issues to you. Sometimes it’s not that I can’t explain it, but these things are just really hard to put into words."
"Many things aren’t about verbal explanation; they depend on tasting."
"Why did my master choose me and my fellow apprentice as disciples back then? It was because both of us had refined palates. You wouldn’t believe how my master conducted the selection process — ten plates of boiled shrimp, and one plate had an almost indiscernible additional seasoning."
"We tasted one plate at a time and could drink water in between, and those who correctly identified the plate with the added seasoning advanced."
"The second round involved the sauces for the boiled shrimp: ten sauces with one recipe slightly different from the other nine. Each person could taste each sauce only twice, and those who identified the different one advanced again."
"This was the threshold screening. You wouldn’t believe how exciting it was back then. Well, times are different now; if such a culinary competition were held nowadays, the first round would be having the chefs taste the flavor. Those with an inadequate palate would be eliminated immediately. Then other basic skills would be tested—knife skills and others—finally determining the most well-rounded chef. It would definitely be exciting!"