Yang Weihua: Focusing on the Inheritance of Fotiaoqiang
Yang Weihua opens the lid of the jar containing Fotiaoqiang
Yang Weihua, Executive Chef of Fuzhou Juchunyuan Hotel Co., Ltd. won the "Golden Chef of China Award" at the 32nd China Chefs Festival held in October this year. As the eighth-generation inheritor of Juchunyuan Fotiaoqiang cooking skills, Yang Weihua reviewed his journey of Fotiaoqiang inheritance over the past 30 years. He said, "Although it is very hard, it is worth it. It is Fotiaoqiang that makes me who I am today."
In 1989, Yang Weihua became an apprentice at Juchunyuan. "At that time, the cooking requirements of Fotiaoqiang were very strict, and only senior masters could be the chef," said Yang Weihua. Every day, after he finished his duties, such as washing vegetables and dishes and feeding the stove, he would learn to cook by the stove. Because of the difficulty of learning skills or the tedious production process, many of the colleagues who joined Juchunyuan together with him changed to other jobs.
Cooking is the art of time. As long as there was a position available, either wok, cutting board, or steamer, Yang Weihua would do it, therefore he had solid basic skills. Yang Weihua persevered through the difficulties and gradually got on the right track. Later he began to learn to cook Fujian dishes such as Fotiaoqiang from the famous chef Yao Xinrui at Juchunyuan. "Cooking is a once-off job. Every time we should try our best to provide customers with detailed, exquisite and extreme dining experience. It's what my teacher taught me over the years," said Yang Weihua.
Although Yang Weihua has been promoted to a manager now, he still cooks every day. In the special kitchen set up for cooking Fotiaoqiang at Juchunyuan, Yang Weihua showed reporters how to cook Fotiaoqiang.
Shark's fin, abalone, sashimi, old muscovy duck ... due to the different textures, Yang Weihua had to cook more than 20 ingredients respectively by steaming, quick-boiling, boiling, frying, sauteing, etc. After that, he simmered them separately, and then simmered them together. Finally, after more than 20 procedures, all ingredients and accessories were mixed together in a jar. As the lid was opened, various flavors were integrated together, delivering a rich and mellow taste.
"Work hard, and focus on what you are doing." This is the principle that Yang Weihua has always implemented in his cooking. He said, "There is still a long way to go for the inheritance and innovation of Fujian cuisine." Today, in addition to continuing to improve his Fotiaoqiang making skills, Yang Weihua has also opened a Fujian Cuisine Studio, and teaches Fujian cuisine making skills in colleges and universities, in order to cultivate practical talents for the inheritance of Fotiaoqiang. (Text / Reporter Quan Yiyue; Photo / Reporter Chen Nuan)