Once, ShirAli presented 1 kg of baked mutton legs to "Tandoori" using the same cooking technology as "Tandori Chicken". In a clay oven, baked meat. Combined cooking method for this dish. The meat is baked, and then hoarded. Juniper branches were used as smoking products.
Before cooking, pieces of meat - lamb, beef, chicken, or turkey are rubbed with spices - rosemary, black pepper, salt, red pepper.
But sometimes there are more cunning chefs, they do not use natural juniper smoke, but add a food preservative responsible for flavoring when rubbing meat. And the meat itself is not of the highest standard, but already stale. Therefore, it is overloaded. This, of course, is reflected in his taste.
"Yes, the meat is clearly not that salty. Very salty! Salt beats the natural taste of meat. After such a meal, I feel thirsty, it rises, the pressure from it is unhealthy "said the grandfather.
"You weren't given a very good gift, eh, it's a pity to throw it away," the grandson remarked discouragedly.
"Are you an idiot? Who throws away food? It is a sin! You know, here we are at the front, sometimes starving, and I'll throw you away! Fool, what a fool my grandson! " the old fox did not give up.
"Well, what to do with this meal, it's also tough in addition"? eagerly pulling a bottle of mineral water to his hands and drinking from it, in between sips he asked ShirAli.
"How old are you? 8? 12? No, you're already yelling! Adult uncle 25 years old! Think with your head and not your ass! " the grandfather shouted menacingly.
"What, then we will cook"? the grandson answered with a spark in his eyes.
"Yes, of course! I'll go while I read the party newspaper, and you go and cook, but let's eat faster, I'm hungry, I said myself that don't cook food, I'll bring baked meat. And what brought? The horror is salty! "
"Well, what are we going to cook"? Shir Ali asked himself the question.
Remembering the grandfather's recent story about the famous Chinese culinary schools, the grandson went over them in memory.
"So the first school, Shandong is the east coast. The main feature is light and not fatty dishes. The main dish is "Fish with red scales, fried in a deep layer of oil." And I remembered that the Chinese still attach great importance to where the product is obtained, how clean it has. And somehow I lost sight of it! " ShirAli was upset.
"The second dish is Carp from the Yellow River in sweet and sour sauce. This is all river fish! "
"Braised, chicken from Dezhou" special taste, variety, method of feeding, the meat turns red.
"Fried shells, oysters, fried in oil", that is, each dish of this school is tied to a place, a region, and uses its features.
"Grandson, do not forget that their most important delicacy is soups - pure broths and milk broths. The same sensational soup, from swallow's nests. Very expensive soup. But it tastes so-so. Strongly for the amateur. Some slimy one! "
"The second cuisine, this is my favorite - Sichuan, a specialty is a hot and spicy food. This cuisine was influenced by Beijing cuisine. The most famous dishes are "Chicken cubes with peanuts in the hot sauce", "Roasted dry crucian carp", "Decoction of porcini mushroom". You understand that we can't eat pork. Therefore, even though I am a communist, I don't eat pork! "
"The third Jiangsu Zhejiang cuisine is its peculiarity in cooking methods - cooking, stewing, steaming, and boiling over low heat." The food has a slightly sweet taste. Main dishes "Braised shark fins in brown sauce", "Steamed herring", "Decoction of the fish liver", "Fish from Lake Sihu in vinegar sauce". So grandson, I only ate shark fins. I did not like"!
"The fourth is Guangdong cuisine. This is our subtropics. Many rivers and marine species of animals, fish, shells. Feature in frying, deep-frying, stewing, and boiling over low heat. In short, I'll tell you this saying that I heard in China in the 50s of the 20th century: "We eat everything that flies in the air in Guangzhou, except for airplanes. Everything that moves on land, except for a tractor, floats in water, except for a submarine. "
"But, it seems the grandfather spoke about this!" This is what I need"!
"A boiled snake is considered a special treat, for the first time dishes from snakes began to be prepared in the era of the Western Han from 206 BC. until the year 24 CE " .
"The most famous dish of snakes is" moon hu doh "," The dragon's fight with the tiger. " It is prepared from three types of poisonous snakes, wild cats, and more than 20 types of spicy herbs. There are dozens of cooking operations. But one of them is the soaking of wild cat meat in milk and then in pink water. "
"The fifth cuisine is Peking", she has two main dishes "Peking roasted duck" and "Lamb lightly boiled in a Chinese samovar".
"Sixth Cuisine - Vegetarian, Consider Buddhist."
"Seventh Kitchen - Palace."
"In addition, Chinese cuisine differs from ours in its cooking procedures - preparation of raw materials, cutting products, heat treatment, table setting."* That's what my grandfather told me.
"Well, what will I cook. The meat is salty. So, you need to pull the salt out of it. I will soak the meat in the water. Mineral water. 30 minutes and 30 minutes in milk. And after I put out with a lot of vegetables. Ahahahahahaha, how good I am! "
Shir Ali looked at the clock hanging on the wall, took the meat, cut it off the bone, put it in a bowl. Filled with sparkling water. Left for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, he began to cut vegetables. Straws carrots red and white, Beijing kale, petiole celery. Medallions of potatoes and turnips, a barrel of broccoli and cauliflower. Squares - red, yellow, green, orange, Californian, sweet pepper. White and yellow onions are half rings.
It was just time to change the bowl of water to milk, for another 20 minutes he poured meat, this time with milk.
But even here there could be variations with milk - mare, cow, goat, camel. But ShirAli did not particularly hesitate, but poured just a cow, which was sold within walking distance. Whereas the rest had to be bought in specialized stores.
While the meat was wet, Shir Ali managed to prepare the dishes. It was a steel pan of the famous Turkish company Kurkmas. He laid out vegetables in layers, the first layer was root vegetables, the second layer of cabbage, the third layer he left for meat.
He took dill, parsley, basil, fresh arrows of green garlic, finely chopped them. Then he took out a large tomato, cleverly cut it into pieces, found the red, green, and yellow cherry tomatoes, tearing them from the stem.
Put the kettle on the stove. Boiled water on electricity and gas varies in taste. And on wood, the water becomes even tastier. That's what his grandfather told him.
He took the meat out of milk. Next dried it with a paper towel. Laid out as a third layer, covered with a fourth tomato, the fifth layer with other vegetables and herbs. Sprinkled with the cherry.
Filled a frying pan with a small amount of boiling water, turned on the fire. Put it to the maximum. After waiting for the water to boil, the grandson closed the pan with a lid and set it on the smallest fire. Reach stewed on water. After 15 minutes, everything was ready. After removing the pan from the fire, Shir Ali left her languishing.
And he began to quickly set the table. But he was stopped by the grandfather who came to smell the finished dish.
"What are you? We are men, we will eat from the pan, so it will be tastier! "
Therefore, ShirAli could only find in the kitchen, a wooden stand for a hot pan.
Grandfather during his throwing to find the stand, took the remaining dill. Finely chopped it, took off the lid, and threw it on top of the finished meal. Then finely chopped the garlic, put it on top of the greens.
Then he went to the refrigerator and took out a foggy, glass jar of homemade yogurt from there. Which he laid out with a large steel spoon on top of the finished dish. Then he took the hilt of the pan with his bare hand, without a glove, and set it on the center of the table, on the stand that ShirAli had found.
"Well, let's try what you and I have prepared," the grandfather said with a sly smile.
Young ShirAli was indignant for a second, but then he simply waved his hand.
An enticing smell emanated from the finished meal, which whetted the appetite. Braised greens, slightly acidified, garlic gave a sharp taste, tomatoes a little sweet. The vegetables themselves were well cooked, cabbage retained its texture, and had slightly springy properties. The potato was rather dry, but it completely complimented the overall taste palette.
And here is the meat. It was a little harsh, a little dry, but it seems most of the salt is gone. Nevertheless, Shir Ali, leaned more on stewed vegetables, they turned out very well. Then the meat ... it still had to be worked on. It did not reach gourmet food.
Grandfather immediately told him about his mistakes. It was necessary to pour not only boiling water, but also splash a glass of dry white wine.
To which ShirAli objected that he did not drink alcohol. Grandfather frowned, saying that he was a young man, when he was still younger than ShirAli, drinking faceted glasses, medical 76-degree alcohol. No snacks.
To which ShirAli only smiled sourly. His grandfather violated the prohibitions, well, what to take from him, the old communist, atheist, but with his inner conscience, which was also the moral for their entire generation of Victors in World War II. This is a special kind of people, veterans who saw the horrors of war, the suffering of civilians. They were able to defeat the enemy, defend their freedom. The grandson respected his Grandfather, despite the fact that he drank alcohol.
Yes, he needed to learn a lot more on the way to becoming ... a foodie. And the chef, he realized it's very difficult to become. It is necessary to study a lot, to fill your hand for practical training. And not just the theory of cooking. He had a job. Your own little restaurant.