Huang Shengli took over the responsibility of teaching after winning the argument, and skillfully began the theory class.
"The Su Yuan Food List" emphasizes the importance of ingredient quality in the must-know section. For a table of delicious dishes, the chef responsible for cooking takes sixty percent of the credit, and the person who procures the ingredients takes forty percent. This shows that to become an excellent chef, one must first learn to select good ingredients.
Qin Huai had seen some of "The Su Yuan Food List" — Qin Luo bought a copy in the fifth grade.
It was bought at a second-hand bookstall behind the primary school, three yuan a copy, two yuan more expensive than the Snack Encyclopedia. Qin Luo thought "The Su Yuan Food List" was a recipe book like the Snack Encyclopedia, containing various delicious dishes to try at home.
But after buying it, he discovered it was actually a book with classical Chinese text and translations. Although Qin Luo was upset for wasting 3 yuan, he still read "The Su Yuan Food List" for the sake of the money, and Qin Huai skimmed through a few pages as well.
The first few pages covered the must-know list.
The last on that list left a deep impression on Qin Huai.
The general idea was that the main cooking methods of Manzhou cuisine and Han Chinese cuisine differ. Chefs from both sides are accustomed to their styles since childhood and are therefore skilled at their respective methods. When they entertain one another and use their best techniques to cook dishes, the guests find them delicious, and the chefs retain their unique flair.
However, now many chefs forget to maintain their distinctive styles, trying hard to please guests, failing to capture the essence of other cuisines, and losing their own core.
It’s like a scholar entering an exam room. If one blindly imitates, imitating the master when encountering a master, imitating the examiner when encountering an examiner, they can only learn the surface and struggle to pass for a lifetime.
The reason Qin Huai remembered this principle so well was not because he agreed with it, but because he thought it was sheer nonsense.
What’s wrong with imitation? Qin Huai has learned to make snacks by following recipes and imitating others since he was young. He learns from the Snack Encyclopedia when he encounters it, learns from patisserie bosses when he meets them, rarely fails, and often receives praise.
Only now, at a higher level, does he struggle to learn from Zheng Da.
After Qin Huai’s first attempt at completely imitating Zheng Da’s method ended in disaster, thoughts of the principle surfaced in his mind.
Could it be that he is like the scholar who can only learn superficially and never pass in his lifetime?
Qin Huai was still learning how to select crabs from Huang Shengli.
He could pick shrimp, but he really wasn’t good at picking crabs. Yet, crabs are crucial for Crab Dumplings, the powerful flavor contributor crab roe, and the crab meat that complements the roe without being overpowering are the two star ingredients in this snack.
Learning how to select crabs, extract meat, determining how much meat, and assessing the status of crab roe and meat is the most vital preparation step.
Of course, if Qin Huai were a master chef at a restaurant, this step could be delegated to others; no master chef handles such prep work or ingredient tasks themselves, and even Huang Shengli wouldn’t do it unless absolutely necessary.
But not doing doesn’t mean not knowing how; Qin Huai must first know how, to qualify not to do it.
Qin Huai glanced furtively at Zheng Da, who was by the steamer.
Zheng Da was squatting by the steamer, engrossed in a video. Qin Huai could faintly hear some keywords.
Lecture, method, expression, description.
It was clear that Zheng Da really wanted to win the argument.
Zheng Siyuan, on the other hand, was practicing on the side. He usually didn’t come to Huang Ji’s kitchen in the afternoon, but came today upon hearing about Qin Huai’s big failure yesterday and with the rare presence of both Zheng Da and Huang Shengli, to see the excitement and possibly mediate if needed.
Gong Liang was no longer sitting at the kitchen door, but he hadn’t left, possibly outside on the phone handling work.
Qin Huai thought there was a high chance that Gong Liang wouldn’t get to eat Zheng Da’s Crab Dumplings today, as Master Zheng’s teaching license had been revoked, prohibiting him from lecturing, making Gong Liang’s trip in vain.
Qin Huai planned to make a small treat tomorrow for Gong Liang to reward him with a couple of guo’er to prevent his favor rating from dropping.
Qin Huai was selecting crabs according to Huang Shengli’s method, and after picking one up, he looked at Huang Shengli, relieved when he saw the approving look.
"Master Huang, I have a question I’d like to ask you," Qin Huai said softly.
"Oh? Let’s hear it," Huang Shengli immediately perked up.
"I know that in theory, learning shouldn’t just be about imitation," Qin Huai commented as he placed the selected crab into the plastic basket and began choosing another plump, pleasing crab. "But it’s hard for me not to imitate."
"I never felt there was anything wrong with imitation before. Even when making apple dough balls, I was completely imitating Zheng Siyuan."
"But even now, I’m imitating. I even consider my filling skills quite good, yet this is what my imitation has come to."
"Could it be that my method was wrong from the start, that snacks shouldn’t be made this way?"
Huang Shengli didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he humorously helped Qin Huai select another crab.
"If Huang Jia asked me this, I would definitely tell him that’s right. Snacks aren’t made this way."
"Huang Jia faces the same problem. His skills were taught by me hand-in-hand, from a young age through words and deeds, practically a younger version of myself. When you eat his food, you can clearly taste my style, and instantly know he’s my disciple."