Chapter 293 Chatting and Mariko
Under the arrangement of the shopkeeper, the lunch started quickly. Because Li Jie and the three of them can't sit on their knees, they all sit cross-legged in this tatami room, sitting next to the low table.
Traditional Japanese cuisine still maintains a meal-sharing system. There are many types of dishes in kaiseki cuisine, so the tables of the three people are full of dishes.
As a high-end restaurant with a Michelin star. This store has also put a lot of effort into the utensils that serve the dishes.
For example, the Yaobian Tianmu tea bowl was used to serve tea to the three of Li Jie. This is a kind of porcelain that is formed by the kiln deformation of the glaze during the firing process, because the result of the kiln change is uncontrollable.
Therefore, no matter in terms of appearance or quality, there are very few works that can reach the usable level. And there are very few that can be placed as works of art.
This craft originated in the Zhejiang region of the Southern Song Dynasty, but it was quickly lost due to yield and other problems. Only in recent years have kilns started to fire such porcelain again. And because Dongyang likes this kind of kiln-shaped porcelain, research came earlier than China.
Therefore, the craftsmanship of this kind of kiln-transformed porcelain is better studied by Toyo. But even with the recent resumption of firing, top-quality kiln-transformed porcelain is still expensive.
And the kiln porcelain used in this cooking pavilion is obviously of first-class quality. The plates used to hold the dishes are obvious, and the chef has also worked hard.
It is different from the gorgeously colored porcelain such as the Yaobian Tenmoku tea bowl. Chefs used a large number of solid-color porcelains with green glaze and white glaze. These porcelains are only in the position of changing mouths, and there are some decorative paintings.
Most of these patterns reflect the season, and it is spring now, so these patterns are also spring patterns. The simple porcelain gives people a very quiet and elegant feeling.
After the female general at the side served the three of them respectfully, she bowed and retreated to the corner of the room, and would come to serve tea or clean up the dishes when she needed to be summoned.
Maybe Chairman Yasuda already knew that Harry prefers a stronger taste and doesn't like raw or cold dishes. So the lunch at this kiosk has some special preparations.
Although the dishes still look fresh and elegant like traditional Japanese cuisine, the taste is very strong after eating. This is also true for the seafood soup that seems to be very light in taste. Although there is no oil on the surface, the soup is as clear as white tea. But the taste of drinking like a throat makes people feel a strong fresh fragrance.
"Well, this is the best oriental cuisine I've eaten in Toyo these days." Peter Parker nodded in satisfaction after tasting a few small dishes. It's very happy to laugh.
"After all, the Michelin star is still useful." Li Jie also nodded approvingly. In the end, things like dishes count for people to eat. If the guests don't like it, then no matter how much the chef persists, it is actually meaningless.
Adjusting different tastes according to different customers is a long-term business strategy. Especially this kind of high-end cooking kiosk that can't receive a few customers in a month.
"What I'm more curious about is why Toyo wants this kind of dish to be kaiseki. What's so special about it? How is this different from ordinary dishes?" Harry took a bite of the wolf tooth eel during the banquet, although It's called an eel, but it's actually a type of moray eel.
The chef used the method of roasting the wolf tooth eel with sauce. The chef's fire was very good, so that the fish skin had a bit of a crispy texture, but the fish meat was still soft and tender. While being able to enjoy the rich sauce flavor, the umami taste of the conger eel itself has not been robbed.
Li Jie is also savoring the taste of various foods carefully, and he is using his tongue to record the memories of these tastes by category. A good chef not only knows how to cook, but also tastes the most important thing.
In particular, it can record all kinds of tastes that have been eaten, and can disassemble these compound tastes separately. Know how those spices and sauces react together.
This is like an oil painter who must be clear about the ratio of each color and another color to achieve a new color.
This is the basic professional quality of a good practitioner.
After hearing Harry's question, Li Jie took a sip of soup, rinsed the food residue in his mouth, and then began to speak. "Huai Shi, you have to take this word apart to understand it. In the context of Chinese, Huai Shi means embrace, and Shi refers to stone."
"So from a literal point of view, it's a dish with stones in its arms." Li Jie raised one of his eyebrows while propping his chin with his thumb, and said with a smirk.
"Huh? You mean the chef needs to hold a stone in his arms while cooking?" Peter Parker almost spit out the food in his mouth when he heard Li Jie's explanation. He quickly took a sip of the soup before suppressing it.
"Are they playing an oriental comedy?" Harry also wanted to laugh, as long as he thought of a chef holding a stone while cooking. "You should praise Jason next time, hold a rock and make a burger."
"No, never. That's too stupid." Li Jie rejected the proposal with righteous words. "The real meaning of kaiseki is to put warm stones on the abdomen to fight hunger. It was originally a method of practice for monks during penance."
"Afterwards, this concept was introduced because of the big tea party that became popular in the modern era. The traditional Oriental tea party was an activity for nobles and wealthy businessmen. It was not until the American Berry knocked on the gate of the East with strong boats and cannons, turning the country into a After becoming a semi-colonial country."
"The country was divided into two factions and started a chaotic battle. After that, the downfall faction won the victory, the whole country began to be fully westernized, and the East and West entered a period of rapid development. In this era, the common people began to get rich slowly, so the tea party also It began to spread among the people." Li Jie quickly talked about the historical background of Toyo.
"However, drinking tea on an empty stomach, especially strong tea, is harmful to health and prone to stomach pain. Therefore, tea will provide food at the beginning. At the earliest time, the amount of food was not much, far from the many dishes we eat now. At that time, the role of food was only Just a stomach pad."
"That's why there is the term kaiseki. It means using hot stones to incubate the stomach to make the stomach less hungry. But today, after continuous changes, the kaiseki cuisine we eat has become like this." Li Jie After speaking, he took another sip of soup.
"You mean that the United States once colonized the East? Our history textbooks don't seem to mention it." Peter Parker, a top student, has shifted his attention from food. Now he is surprised that he has not learned this passage about the colonization of the East. knowledge of history.
Li Jie shrugged and said there was nothing to be surprised about. "If you want to find this information, it's still easy to find. Moreover, the Orientals even erected a bronze statue for their conquerors to thank Admiral Berry for knocking on the door of their country."
"And it seems that there are commemorative and performance activities about him every year, but I forgot where it was held." Li Jie spread his hands, expressing that he only knew so much.
"Well, isn't Bailey considered an invader by doing this? Why build a statue for the invader and mourn him?" Harry felt a little messy.
"I don't know why." Li Jie could only roll his eyes at Harry for this question.
"Strange country." Peter opened his mouth for a long time without knowing what to say, and finally he could only choke out this sentence.
The process of eating was spent in such a chat between the three of them. And the female general who had been helping to deliver tea and clean up the dishes in the corner of the room suddenly said something in fluent English when the lunch was about to end.
"Mr. Li is very familiar with the culture and history of the East."
Um? Li Jie didn't react for a moment, and after a pause, he realized that the smile on the corner of the woman's mouth was complimenting him. "Sure enough, everyone around Mr. Harry is extraordinary."
This female general is not only very fluent in English, but also has a very confident tone of voice when speaking. Not as weak as she looks at all.
Also because of the change in this woman's aura, Li Jie suddenly remembered where he had seen her before.
It was in the information provided by Chunzheng, and there was a photo inside. The woman in the photo is full of heroism, and she is very eye-catching in a capable black suit. It is clear at a glance that she is a strong woman who is not easy to mess with.
It was precisely because of the heroic spirit in the photo and the softness in the cooking booth, these two completely different temperaments prevented Li Jie from recognizing her instantly.
According to intelligence, the woman in the photo is the current head of the Yashida Foundation, Yashida Mariko.