In the cold winter, the north wind is cold, the snow is flying, Chang'an City is covered by heavy snow, there are only scattered pedestrians and carriages on the street, even the martial Hou who is usually flying and domineering also bows his head and walks with his neck down, and the outside has become a lonely and cold world, however, the kitchen of Chengfu is full of people and is in full swing.

More than a dozen people, including Cheng Chumo, Cheng Chuliang, Cheng Chubi, Changsun Chong, Du He, and Hou Mingyuan, together with the cooks, cooks, and helpers of Cheng Mansion, looked at Lu Ting stir-frying with curiosity.

That's right, it's fried, Lu Ting asked the blacksmith of Chengfu to create a strange iron pot, and also asked the mason to build a strange stove in the kitchen, the stove just held the pot, the stove was full of firewood, and Lu Ting, who was holding the spatula, was stir-frying the dishes in the pot up and down, and every time the iron spatula and the pot collided, it would make a special sound, as if some kind of special note had seduced the hearts of Changsun Chong, Cheng Chuliang and others.

Even more seductive is the aroma of the dish, which exudes a rich, enticing aroma throughout the kitchen as the dish rolls in the pot.

The pot is fried with small chicken pieces, Lu Ting cut it very small, in his words it is called chicken, this dish is called Kung Pao chicken, the chicken is not eaten less, this is the most eaten meat in addition to sheep, usually everyone eats either stewed or burned, I have never eaten like Lu Ting in a strange pot to fry, it is all chicken, but with this pot fried, it seems that there are some different things in the fragrance, I can't say what it is, but the fragrance is different.

Lu Ting saw that the heat was almost over, and added pre-fried peanuts, green onions, pepper, sauce and other ingredients, and the fragrance in the air was even stronger.

It's a pity that there are no chili peppers, and there is no chicken essence, Lu Ting had to use pepper instead, fortunately, Cheng Mansion has a little bit of everything, that is, the pepper that is as expensive as gold outside also has a stock of nearly one stone, Cheng Yanjin has fought so many battles, and has captured and rewarded a lot, and his net worth is not ordinarily rich.

A wealthy and noble son like Changsun Chong couldn't help but swallow his saliva, not to mention Hou Mingyuan and Cheng Chubi, the two snack goods, who were drooling and wiped their saliva with their sleeves.

After stir-frying the peanuts, green onions and seasonings evenly, it was almost time to start the pot, Lu Ting said casually: "Who will taste the saltiness?" ”

Before everyone could speak, a neutral voice sounded: "The old man is here." ”

The sound is... Lu Ting turned his head, only to see Cheng Yanjin striding over, and said with a smile: "The old man is the best at tasting salty, come, come, get out of the way." ”

As soon as I came back, I smelled the aroma of vegetables, and before I got to the kitchen, I heard Lu Ting looking for someone to taste salty, Cheng Yanjin was very hungry, and immediately signed up.

"Aye, you're back."

"Uncle Cheng is good."

Everyone saluted one after another, and Cheng Chubi danced as if inviting merit: "Aya, Aya, Brother Lu Ting is making Kung Pao Chicken, and Bi'er also wants to eat it." ”

"Stinky boy, reading has half the strength to eat, so the old man doesn't have to have such a headache." Cheng Biting Jin was not angry and patted Cheng Chubi on the head.

Cheng Biting Jin deliberately set up the house in the Wubenfang, just want to get a little more bookish, let the old Cheng family produce a seed of reading, the eldest and the second child had no time to discipline before, the brain is flexible enough, just like to dance knives and guns, there is no hope, the third brother has been more shrewd than the two brothers since he was a child, so he put hope on the third child, this kid is good, he looks at the book when he reads, his hands hurt when he writes, let him endorse the book and withdraw the Jiao, the cleverness is used in other places, and Cheng Biting Jin is not light.

Lu Ting put a few pieces in a small saucer, and handed over a pair of chopsticks: "Uncle Cheng will taste the saltiness." ”

The iron pot did not appear until the Song Dynasty, and the people of the Tang Dynasty had never eaten the dishes fried in the iron pot, and they didn't know what their taste was, so it was good to taste the salty first.

"This is Kung Pao Chicken?" Cheng Yanjin nodded and said: "It's not from the palace, I haven't heard of it, the name is a bit weird, but this color is not bad, try it." ”

While speaking, Cheng Yanjin picked up a piece of chicken with chopsticks, put it in his mouth, chewed it a few times, his eyes lit up all of a sudden, maybe because it was cut small, the chicken was very flavorful, the meat was smooth and crispy, and the fragrance of the meat and the aroma of pepper and green onions were perfectly blended together, forming a very special and layered taste, which conquered Cheng Yanjin at once.

This texture is completely different from that of stewing in a pot or roasting over a fire.

"Aye, how does it taste, is it delicious?" Cheng Chumo said anxiously.

Hou Mingyuan swallowed his saliva: "Uncle Cheng, don't patronize it, how does it taste?" ”

"What's the hurry" Cheng Yanjin glared at them, and said with some dissatisfaction: "It's good, don't you have to taste it well, what's the hurry." ”

After training the juniors, Cheng Biting Jin shook his head, just when Lu Ting thought he was going to deny it, he didn't expect Cheng Biting Jin to eat two more pieces in a row, shook his head and said: "Only eat one piece, you can't taste it, the old man tastes a few more pieces." ”

One, two, three, four, I ate four pieces in a row, as if I hadn't tasted salty yet, Cheng Yanjin grabbed the spatula, made a full plate with his own hands, and smiled: "The children are waiting, the old man wants to taste it well, taste the saltiness." ”

It's so delicious, the chicken is smooth and tender, the peanuts are crispy, and the green onions are also delicious, especially the spicy pepper, which tastes hearty in winter, and Cheng Biting Jin can't stop eating.

Said to taste a salty taste, I ate four pieces just now, and in a blink of an eye, the small half dish of kung fu was gone, it seems that one person wants to eat all the dishes in the pot, is there such a taste of saltiness, Hou Mingyuan couldn't help it anymore, looked left and right, picked up a big bowl and spoon by himself, and said loudly while loading: "Brother Lu Ting, I will also help you taste salty." ”

Is that okay too?

Cheng Chuliang was not stupid, and immediately took a big bowl and followed it: "I'll taste it too"

"I'll try it too."

"Brother Lu Ting, I'll also taste a salty taste."

"Brother Lu Ting, I'm the best at tasting salty, I'll help you."

"Ah, don't rob it, Bi'er wants to taste it too."

As soon as Hou Mingyuan moved, everyone seemed to have received some kind of signal, one by one picked up the bowl and spoon and walked to the pot, saying that it was salty, and one by one took a big spoon and put it into their bowl, the situation was like the disaster victims surrounding the soup soup bowl, even Lu Ting was also squeezed aside.

Lu Ting saw that the three-year-old Duocheng did not grab the shovel and spoon, he was shrewd, and directly took the bowl and scooped it into the pot, and filled half a bowl at once.

In less than half a pillar of incense, a large pot of Kung Pao chicken was snatched up.

I was going to cook, but now it's good, and I'm done eating it one by one like a meal.

Cheng Yanjin ate a large plate of Kung Pao Chicken alone, looked at the empty pot with some unfinished eyes, patted Lu Ting's shoulder happily and said, "Yes, virtuous nephew, this dish is really delicious, by the way, Kung Pao Chicken, what a strange name, I understand Kung Pao Chicken, what does Kung Pao mean?" ”

Kung Pao Chicken was created by Ding Baozhen, the governor of Shandong and the governor of Sichuan in the Qing Dynasty, who was a scholar of cooking and liked to eat chicken and peanuts, especially spicy flavors. When he was an official in Shandong, he ordered the family chef to improve the Lu cuisine "sauce fried chicken" for spicy stir-fry, and later when the governor of Sichuan was in office, this dish was promoted, and a delicious dish was created that fried the chicken, red pepper and peanuts in the pot, because Ding Baozhen ruled Shu for ten years, and was just right for the official, and had many achievements, and died in office in the eleventh year of Guangxu, the Qing court in order to commend his merits, posthumously presented the "Prince Taibao", and the descendants called this dish Kung Pao Chicken.

The problem is that Lu Ting can't tell Cheng Yanjin for a reason, and he can't explain it clearly, so he has to say vaguely: "Uncle Cheng's words, when the junior was in Suzhou, he was inadvertently serious about a ranger with a fairy wind and strong martial arts. ”

"A ranger with strong martial arts? What is his name and where is his origin? Cheng Biting Jin was interested.

"I asked, but I didn't want to say, I just knew each other for a few days, and suddenly I disappeared" Lu Ting said with some regret: "Don't hide it from Uncle Cheng, I also want to find his old man when I leave Suzhou this time, and I don't know if I can see him again." ”

Arrange a master who makes something out of nothing, even if you want to find it, you can't find it.

Cheng Yanjin comforted: "Some masters are like this, they like to be elusive, and they will naturally see you again if they have fate, by the way, it is also chicken, why is the fragrance of Kung Pao Chicken so strong?" It's much more fragrant than stewing in a jar. ”

Judging from the materials, the seasoning used by Lu Ting is not new, and many times the chef also uses it to cook, but it does not have this special fragrance.

Lu Ting thought for a while and said thoughtfully: "It may be because of the pot gas, the heat is enough, and the food and seasonings are well integrated." ”

For the Chinese people, the pot gas is very important, in later generations, every household is to use the pot to fry vegetables, what they want is the heat and pot gas, in fact, there is a lot of pot fried dishes.

"Pot gas, is there?" Cheng Yanjin slapped Lu Ting with a smile, and said with a grin: "I ate fast just now, the old man didn't taste it, the virtuous nephew will fry more, and the old man has to taste this pot of gas." ”

The eyes of the eldest Sun Chong, Hou Mingyuan and others who had finished eating on the side lit up, and they all echoed, and Cheng Chubi clapped his palms and said: "Brother Lu Ting, make chickens, Brother Lu Ting, make chickens again..."

Lu Ting: ......