Food Stall: Customers Chase Me across the Country-Chapter 327 - 328: Tradition Without Authenticity

"Master, that young Mr. Wang has already arrived in Guangdong."

In a kitchen, Xue Feng jogged in and spoke to a man who appeared to be around 50 years old.

"Oh?"

Luo Yongduo’s face lit up with joy as he asked, "Where? Can we arrange to meet and chat?"

Luo Yongduo was very curious about Wang Fan and genuinely wanted to get to know him.

Xue Feng shook his head, "It might not be convenient. I only found out online today that he’s gone to Meizhou to help with flood relief and is currently cooking at a shelter."

"The Meizhou flood, is it severe?"

Luo Yongduo was stunned; even as a Guangfu native, he didn’t know, so how did this young Mr. Wang know?

Xue Feng nodded, "It’s quite severe. There hasn’t been a flood this big in years, and many villages are still out of contact, with no signs of the water receding."

Luo Yongduo frowned. Meizhou is an important region for Hakka Cuisine, which is a significant part of Cantonese Cuisine. As a Cantonese cuisine authority, he felt he should do something for Meizhou after hearing this news.

"In my name and on behalf of the Cantonese Cuisine Council, send 1 million and 5 million worth of supplies and ingredients over there, and contact this young Mr. Wang. Also, arrange a car for me to go and have a look."

Xue Feng was shocked and quickly said, "Master, that’s not a good idea. It’s still raining heavily over there, the weather is especially bad..."

Luo Yongduo glared, "What kind of talk is this? Someone from the North came to our South for disaster relief, and we Southerners don’t even help? Does that make sense?"

"But you’ve just come out of the hospital not long ago, and going to that kind of place could easily cause a relapse. How about I go instead?"

Xue Feng really didn’t want his master to go. Though it was a minor surgery, going to such a damp place would surely be bad for his condition.

Luo Yongduo said sternly, "Don’t say anymore. Not only am I going, but you all have to go too. Go and tell your master to prepare anyone among the brothers who don’t have urgent tasks. If we don’t step up to help our family in distress, it would be a joke for others to see."

"But..."

"No buts, hurry up. If you delay any longer, I’ll expel your master!"

Hearing this, the words on Xue Feng’s lips were swallowed back. In matters like these, the master never joked around. If he kept talking, his master would definitely be expelled.

If his master was expelled, all his fellow apprentices would be too. If his master knew it was because of him, he and his fellow apprentices might just turn him into a dish.

Wang Fan was aware of Luo Yongduo. Previously, when Xue Feng was helping in the cafeteria, he often explained about the Cantonese cuisine leader.

But he didn’t expect the first meeting with Luo Yongduo would happen under such circumstances.

When they met, they didn’t talk much but jumped straight into preparing dinner.

Luo Yongduo also intended to test Wang Fan, as he hadn’t seen him in action, and there were too many uncertainties just looking at a finished product.

Wang Fan originally planned to make cabbage and pork stew with vermicelli, but since Luo Yongduo brought a lot of chicken, he decided to switch dishes.

Hakka people mainly live far from the sea, so Hakka Cuisine is characterized by heavy flavors, high calories with substantial meat dishes. It emphasizes richness, heavy oil, and salty flavors with a strong local flair.

Hakka Cuisine can be divided into "mountain," "water," and "scatter" cuisines. The "mountain" Hakka Cuisine mainly distributed in places like Meizhou represents local delicacies, including mountain-raised poultry and wild game, known for sayings like "No chicken, no invite," "No meat, not fresh," "No duck, not fragrant," and "No pork, not rich."

Previously unable to do so, Wang Fan now wanted to make more hometown flavors with available ingredients. He planned to make Three Cup Chicken.

Many people might think Three Cup Chicken is from Danggui Province, but it is actually a Jiangxi Ganzhou Hakka dish, named for using a cup of rice wine, soy sauce, and black sesame oil while cooking.

Luo Yongduo’s disciples and grand-disciples were also helping with the cooking, bringing their own ingredients and utensils.

As just released from the hospital, Luo Yongduo still felt somewhat physically inadequate, so he volunteered to be Wang Fan’s assistant.

The grandmaster, though he looked like he was 50, was actually over sixty, simply well-maintained. Wang Fan dared not really order him around, and it was just making a meal anyway, so he didn’t really need an assistant.

The chicken handling was still done by Cheng Dong and the others. After chopping the chicken into large pieces, Wang Fan prepared to cook them. Before long, a large basin of chicken was placed in front of him.

Wang Fan took out a bag of salt, a bag of sugar, and some pepper powder, pouring them directly into the basin. He then gently stirred, allowing all the chicken pieces to marinate evenly.

Once the first basin was marinated, the second basin was brought in. After that, the third basin was brought in, leaving Luo Yongduo flabbergasted.

Though he had been cooking for most of his life, it was always single-pan, normal quantity cooking. He had never cooked at such a large scale.

Wang Fan had switched to serious mode, leaving Luo Yongduo directly behind him.

After heating the pan, he poured in black sesame oil. Once the oil heated, he added ginger slices and onions for fragrance, then stir-fried the chicken.

The fresh scent of chicken was quickly released, combined with the aromas of onion and ginger, the fragrance alone was enough to make one drool.

Seeing this step, Luo Yongduo realized that Wang Fan was making Three Cup Chicken. He made this dish often himself and couldn’t help but start comparing Wang Fan’s process with his own.

Upon seeing Wang Fan use something else for the second cup, he raised his eyebrows.

It wasn’t rice wine, but yellow wine?

"Is this kid doing this unknowingly or on purpose?"

At this point, Luo Yongduo was thoroughly intrigued.

For no other reason than that he also preferred using yellow wine over rice wine when making Three Cup Chicken.

After years of experimentation, he found yellow wine to be an excellent pair with chicken, like complementing a beautiful flower with green leaves. The flavor from this combination is unmatched by rice wine.

Seeing Wang Fan’s choice of soy sauce over regular sauce for the third cup, his interest in Wang Fan grew even further.

These ingredients clearly deviated from tradition.

Could it be that this young man had already reached the level of "having tradition but no authenticity" so early in age? He only grasped this after turning forty.

Ingredients are not static, and seasonings naturally have more choices. In the past, the difficulty of transportation left few alternatives for seasonings, but that didn’t mean they were the most suitable or flavorful.