In fact, the method of smoking, whether Chinese or foreign, has existed since ancient times. It's just that this method of food processing first appeared, not to cook food, but to extend the shelf life of food.

In ancient times, without refrigerators, the meat and fish obtained by humans through catching or catching could not be eaten in one meal, and it was likely that the protein would rot and deteriorate the next day, becoming inedible, resulting in the waste of very precious food.

At a time when salt was not widely used by humans, the method of preserving food by pickling was not widely used.

The ancients caught wild beasts and fish, and in the era when there were no cooking utensils, they directly used the most primitive way of drilling wood to make fire, and roasted the food for consumption.

The food that could not be eaten was left on the shelves of the burned pyre. Meat or fish are subjected to micro-fire and smoke in this way, and the protein and fat on the surface are slowly caramelized, which isolates the internal protein from the outside world, delaying the oxidation or fermentation of the protein.

This is how people discovered smoked food to increase the shelf life of the food. Later, people had more and more kinds of food and cooking techniques.

The method of smoking has gradually changed from a simple method of preserving food to a cooking method, and more and more people are beginning to enjoy the unique taste of smoked meat or fish.

It wasn't until an era like the Song Dynasty when food was relatively abundant that smoking became a unique cooking method that gradually gained popularity.

Different chefs, through their own continuous experimentation and innovation, have created their own unique cooking methods.

Yang Huairen felt that people like the old monk Wuneng might not be a professional cook, but maybe he had a soft spot for meat or fish made by smoking, so he had a unique opinion.

Yang Huairen himself has learned the cooking technique of smoking, and this method in later generations can be said to be the best of many similar methods in history.

Yang Huairen felt that he was young and wanted him to do it, but the old monk waved his hand and motioned for him to sit and let him come.

The old monk pulled on the ground a few times, picked up a small gravel the size of a bean, then stood up, patted the soil on his buttocks, and walked to the edge of the fence.

There are a lot of chickens in the Zhuangzi, most of them are free-range in the back mountain, and the chickens come out to the mountains to find food during the day, and when it gets dark, they return to the chicken coop as if they are very disciplined.

In addition to feeding chickens with some feed mixed with herbs or minerals on a regular basis according to the method Yang Huairen said to ensure the health of the chickens, these chickens basically grew up eating wild food, which is equivalent to the free-range chickens of later generations, and the taste is much better than that of simple captive chickens.

A young and sturdy rooster walked to the edge of the fence, held his head high, his expression was full of pride, and he pulled his throat twice and ran away from the other chickens who were also here.

Sure that he had occupied the area, the big rooster began to look down for food, and his hook-like claws dug the ground a few times, scraping the dirt and small stones aside, and the insects began to scurry around in fright.

The big rooster shook its head, and the cockscomb trembled and trembled, as if it was aiming, and when it had predicted the escape route of the worm, it pecked it violently, and the hard beak pecked the worm half to death.

The worm rolled in pain, but there was no longer the ability to escape, and the big rooster slowly pecked the worm into his mouth, stretched his neck, and swallowed it into his stomach.

The old monk on the other side of the fence nodded silently, feeling that this young and strong rooster was the best ingredient for making smoked chicken.

He closed his eyes, his lips closed up and down, and he didn't know what scriptures he was reading, which was considered to be overtaking the big, and when he opened his eyes, the small gravel in his hand was on his index finger.

With a flick of his thumb, he didn't look very hard, and he couldn't see the trajectory of the stone clearly, only a slight "whoosh" sound, and he saw that the proud big rooster fell in response, and it didn't even shake, as if it was petrified in an instant.

The old monk turned his head with a smile and stretched out his hand to make a gesture of invitation to Yang Huairen.

Yang Huairen couldn't help but arch his hand, thinking that if only I could learn such a "finger magic" stunt, I would even save the pistol in the future.

But then I thought about it, this kind of martial arts is estimated to be a thirty-year-old and fifty-year-old martial arts, and it can only be used until it is seventy or eighty, so it ...... Don't learn.

One person makes a smoked chicken, and this one big rooster is enough. The old monk was responsible for catching the chickens, so Yang Huairen was very consciously responsible for killing the chickens and plucking the feathers.

In fact, the step of killing the chicken is also saved, Yang Huairen climbed over the fence and picked up the big rooster that fell to the ground, and found that there was a hole in his head, and the small gravel with a sharp edge was still embedded in it, and the big rooster did not have much blood, but at the moment it fell, it was already dead.

Yang Huairen pointed to the rooster in his hand and scolded with a smile, "I told you to pretend to be the boss, isn't this hanging?" That's why a chicken with a gun shoots a bird and a stone shoots a chicken......"

The two of them went to the kitchen of the mansion, where there was plenty of firewood to make a fire in the small courtyard outside the kitchen.

A few cooks in the family had just finished their lunch at home and were about to rest, when they saw the master coming to the kitchen, they hurriedly ran over and asked the master what he wanted to eat.

Yang Huairen didn't need them to cook, so he asked them to bring out some firewood and build two fires in the shade of the trees in the yard.

Yang Huairen found a wooden basin by himself, and there was standing hot water in the kitchen, and he began to bleed and pluck the chickens with his own hands.

The chicken feathers of this big rooster are very good, and it is not to throw away the waste directly, but to select those harder and neater feathers, which can be made into feather dusters in the future, and the remaining soft fluff can be used as the filling of the padded jacket in winter after collecting more.

Yang Huairen's basic food processing work used to be done a lot in his father's shop, and he was also very proficient in getting started.

He went back to the kitchen, took out his kitchen knife and pinched the head and tail, and the chicken went down the sternum with a knife, and the whole chicken was split in two.

When he came out again, Yang Huairen was holding two plates in his hand, each of which contained half a chicken.

Yang Huairen handed the two plates to the old monk with both hands, "Well, you choose first." ”

The old monk smiled and took a plate with his hand.

Yang Huairen continued, "What tableware, kitchenware, knives, as well as oil, salt, sauce and vinegar and various seasonings are available in the kitchen, and the master can use them at will." ”

The old monk nodded and said with a smile, "Then let's start?" ”