"Eating is a long journey of self-arrival, feeling the taste of life between meals. Whether it is food or drink, it will be a blessing in the process of our dialogue with the world. ”
Chen Li's "Taste of Life".
The world of food is vast, and each ingredient has its own unique charm. Yi Yin proposed in "Lü's Spring and Autumn Season: The Original Taste" that "taste-oriented, taste-oriented", as far as a dish is concerned, the taste is fundamental relative to the appearance and color, etc., and if the cooking can make the ingredients fully and appropriately express their original taste, then this cooking technique can be called a "good environment".
China's land is vast, rich in products, the four seasons change, different regions have created different terroirs, giving birth to unique ingredients, as we often say, "one side of the water and soil to raise one person", the balance between flavors, conveys the temperature of the ingredients, but also carries a profound historical and cultural heritage.
Roast goose from Guangzhou, Dushan kimchi from Guizhou, bacon from Shaanxi, donkey meat from Hebei, and crab roe buns ......from JiangsuThese are the most representative dishes in each city, and a variety of ingredients have accumulated over time in different climates and soil environments. Combining different ingredients and cooking methods, it becomes a representative classic dish. The subtle relationship between people and food is reflected in this dish, and at the same time, we also get a glimpse of the diversity of human society in these relationships. Through the book "Taste of Life", "Treasure Professor" Chen Li let us perceive the mystery of ingredients and gain an in-depth understanding of the world contained in local cuisines.
Chen Li is one of the most important gastronomic advisors behind A Bite of China and Flavor of the World, and is affectionately known as the "Walking Encyclopedia". Chen Xiaoqing, director of "A Bite of China", once commented on him: "It is difficult to find a scholar like Professor Chen in China today who has both family history and personal vision." Recently, he was invited to be a member of the presidium of the first "Forbes China Chef 30" selection, which is an outstanding representative of Chinese chefs.
Chen Li serves as a member of the presidium of the "2023 Forbes China Lucky Kitchen 30 Selection".
As for the qualities required of a good chef, Chen Li pondered for a moment and replied, "Imagination, non-performance, loyalty to the food itself. He believes that the great potential of chefs is inseparable from their imagination, and that the kitchen is not the only world, the outside world is full of infinite possibilities, and that is the world where they can use their imagination. He continued, "Not performing refers to the object of the chef's interaction, and many chefs nowadays are cooking with a performative nature, such as a few hands, which seems to attract attention, but they only focus on interacting with the consumer, but ignore the dialogue with the ingredients. ”
The art of cooking, emphasizing "taste-oriented", pays attention to the harmony of taste. "Returning to the ingredients themselves, staying true to the original taste, a good chef will try his best to bring out the original taste of the food, and present the most natural and original taste of the food. Chen Li emphasized that only by interweaving tradition and innovation, maintaining the awe of food, and at the same time integrating the modern concept, and simplifying the complex to retain the original taste of food, can we interpret the essence of food with heart.
In his eyes, the development of the food industry is based on the aesthetics of taste buds, "We use our eyes to discover the beauty of the picture, our ears to feel the beauty of the rhythm, and the sense of security and satisfaction brought by tasting food with our taste buds." It is undeniable that food and sex are two instinctive reactions of human beings, and food can make people feel relieved and can make people call it 'enjoyable', which is the powerful ability and charm of food itself. In Chen Li's view, every time he eats is a kind of learning. Therefore, the chef has a responsibility: to make the food aware of the natural message that the dish carries, so that they can be inspired, enlightened and feel happy.
Chen Li is good at cooking in life, and a friend who has been to his family banquet once commented: "Chen Li is never limited to the difference between Chinese and Western, nor is he confined to the established recipes, he is best at using ordinary ingredients to make a natural delicacy, without too much decoration, loyal to the original taste of the ingredients, is the highest state of cooking." ”
When judging whether a food is delicious, Chen Li puts the characteristics of the ingredients in the first place, "Ingredients are the gift of nature," Chen Li continued, "If there are not so many elements of nature that nourish us, then we cannot achieve the so-called happiness, so we should be grateful." ”
He took Huizhou's famous local ingredient Daobanxiang as an example and talked to us about the importance of the characteristics of ingredients. Daoban incense is a legendary classic of Huizhou cured meat, which is obtained by exposing pork to the sun. The most important part of the whole process is "drying", and the time is quite particular. "After pickling, a wide variety of microbial populations are produced, and flavor substances accumulate during the metabolic process, resulting in a special aroma called 'knife plate fragrance'. Chen Li emphasized that how to express the characteristics of the ingredients is a great test of the chef's skills, "If the chef uses braised and chili pepper to cook the knife plate aroma, and the original aroma is concealed, then the essence of the dish no longer exists." ”
A Taste of Life", by Chen Li.
Regarding the reputation of "gourmet", Chen Li humbly replied: "I am not a gourmet, but I often think about it." Recalling the experience of entering the food industry at the beginning, he said, "It was an accidental accident." Many years ago, Chen Li was invited by Hong Kong's Asia Television Network to host the program "The More You Eat, the Crazier You Eat", which focuses on psychological counseling, and interprets the eating behavior related to it from the pathological perspective of psychology and psychiatry. For example, he will use scientific evidence to explain why eating red meat can improve a person's sleep. "I tried to help him gradually regain a good sense of sleep, concentration and mood through food adjustments, but the TV station mistook me for eating. He replied with a smile.
In modern life, people are often in a social and social place, which is easy to cause anxiety; When we are in nature, we can relax completely. Chen Li said, "However, the ingredients themselves carry a lot of information about the natural world, and what chefs need to do is to use this information from the natural world to make the eaters really feel through the dishes, so as to gain a greater sense of security." ”
Later, he shared the reason with us with food***, "We know that cows and horses sleep standing up, they are very alert, and the sleep bands and intervals are very short. In addition, in a recent study, scientists found that penguins only sleep for two to four seconds in their brainwaves when they hatch their eggs. But interestingly, any carnivore sleeps safely, and why? Because they eat a lot of red meat, there is a color amino acid in red meat, which produces neurotransmitters including serotonin or various ethylcholine, which improves our sleep to some extent. ”
In recent years, with the progress of science and technology and the continuous deepening and exchange of various cultures, many new faces have appeared in the ingredients on people's tables, setting off a "table revolution". "The emergence of new ingredients can sometimes test the chef's cognitive and comprehension skills, for example, there is a tailless scoop chicken in Yunnan, the body shape is like a water scoop, because of the special size of its chest and legs The meat quality is particularly developed and delicate, so the cooking method of this chicken is also very different from ordinary chicken. At this time, the chef's vision is particularly important. Chen Li shared, "Many times, the chef is more like an artist, the ingredients are a tool for him to express his artistic imagination, he needs to constantly broaden his horizons, interact more with the ingredients, and generate his own understanding, in order to finally inject charm and soul into the dishes." ”
The world is so big that you can only measure a limited amount of land, but your taste buds can reach an infinite territory. Chen Li hopes that the young chefs who will succeed can have the perspectives of biology, naturalism and microbiology, and express Chinese food more internationally through their own interpretations, "This expression is not only reflected in the selection of ingredients, cooking techniques, the art of plating, etc., but more importantly, to truly grasp the essence of local ingredients, so as to achieve the realm of spirit and soul, and let the world appreciate the taste of Chinese cuisine." ”
Disclaimer: Brand Voice related information comes from interviewees, not Forbes editorial content.