Training Culinary Skills

Training Culinary Skills

The reporters were all somewhat surprised by Jiang Hao's request. One asked, "Is Mr. Chow afraid the judges will rig things and deliberately rate his dishes poorly, so he wants to taste them himself?"

"No. I simply want to find out what top-tier cuisine made by Hong Kong's top chefs actually tastes like. That's all."

After saying that, Jiang Hao pulled his suitcase toward the boarding gate.

On the plane, Zhen Xiaoqiu asked Jiang Hao, "Are you confident about entering this food competition?"

Jiang Hao smiled faintly. "Judging is subjective to begin with. Our Gourmet Roast show has offended too many people. Do you think they'll give me good ratings? What would you do if you were a judge?"

Zhen Xiaoqiu frowned. "Then why are you still entering? They'll definitely humiliate you."

"Heh. Longing for imaginary gains often makes one lose the happiness already in hand," Jiang Hao said.

Zhen Xiaoqiu was baffled. "What does that mean?"

"Who knows who the final winner will be? Perhaps we pursue different things." Jiang Hao wore an inscrutable smile.

The plane arrived at Magic City Airport, and Zhen Xiaoqiu split up with Jiang Hao. She would take one crew south, another assistant director would lead a crew north, while Jiang Hao took one crew to Shaolin Temple.

China Culinary Training Academy!

Heh, it did not exist.

That place was merely Shaolin Temple's kitchen. A plaque hung above its towering gate: "Shaolin Happy Land."

The filming crew had already coordinated with Shaolin Temple and received permission to film its authentic culinary arts. A steward led them into the temple kitchen. Jiang Hao saw thick crossbeams laid over several huge woks and asked curiously, "What are those for?"

"Amitabha. Shaolin's martial traditions are flourishing, so even the chefs who stir-fry dishes must practice Kung Fu. These crossbeams are for them to hang upside down from, cooking with their heads facing down. Over time, they can master the upside-down golden hook technique."

Jiang Hao asked curiously, "What if they accidentally fall?"

"Shaolin Temple does not forbid meat," the steward replied with a smile. "Amitabha."

Jiang Hao could not help but shudder.

The cameraman filmed the scenery of Shaolin Temple. In a wheat field beneath the Ganlu Terrace on the temple's western side, they looked out at the dark roofs and red walls of its grand halls, bathed in the sound of Chanting Scriptures from the greatest ancient temple under heaven and absorbing the spiritual aura of Songshan, the central sacred mountain.

Not far from the wheat field lay Shaolin Temple's own vegetable gardens. They were meticulously tended, with all kinds of leafy greens growing tender and fresh.

Thinking of his own matter, Jiang Hao asked the steward, "Master, I am also a chef. Aside from filming the Shaolin kitchen, I came here hoping to learn Shaolin culinary arts. I hope your temple will allow it."

"That will require the abbot's approval," the steward said.

The filming crew went off to do their work, while Jiang Hao followed the steward toward the rear courtyard to meet the Shaolin abbot. As they passed several halls, the steward did not forget to introduce them. "This is the Dharma Institute, this is the Discipline Institute, and this is Luohan Hall."

Luohan Hall. Upon hearing those words, Jiang Hao could not help glancing in that direction, afraid that eighteen Jurchens would rush out, drag him inside, and give him a brutal beating with bricks and folding chairs.

"Whew, good thing I didn't offend the abbot."

At last, Jiang Hao met Shaolin's abbot in the rear courtyard: Master Mengyi.

Master Mengyi had wise eyes and kept smiling and nodding at Jiang Hao. Jiang Hao felt as though the man had seen right through him.

"Master, I sincerely wish to learn authentic Shaolin culinary arts. I hope the abbot will permit it," Jiang Hao said respectfully.

"Buddhism opens wide the door of convenience. Since you wish to learn, it is not impossible. However, to learn authentic Buddhist culinary arts, you must become one of the Buddhist faith. Benefactor, I see that you possess some wisdom. Why not take refuge under the Buddha?" Master Mengyi said.

Jiang Hao was stunned. Asking him to become a monk? That would not do.

"Master, I—"

Jiang Hao had barely spoken three words when the abbot raised a hand and interrupted him. "I know you still have unfinished ties to the mortal world, so I will only accept you as a Lay Disciple. Lay Disciples of Shaolin must observe the temple's rules while within it, but once outside Shaolin, they need not be bound by its precepts."

"Besides, only by becoming a Shaolin disciple can you learn the true Shaolin culinary arts. I mean the real thing." The abbot winked at Jiang Hao.

Jiang Hao could not help but shiver.

Should he refuse? He only wanted to learn cooking. He did not necessarily have to learn at Shaolin Temple; places like New Oriental and Lanxiang would work too.

The steward beside him secretly nudged Jiang Hao. When Jiang Hao looked over, the steward gave him a look telling him to agree quickly.

Jiang Hao suddenly remembered how petty this abbot had been in the movie, and how he later dealt with Stephen Chow.

"Thank you, Abbot. I am willing to become a Lay Disciple of the Buddhist faith."

Since he could not resist, he might as well agree wholeheartedly. At least it would leave a good impression.

Jiang Hao knelt on the ground and underwent tonsure and ordination, officially entering under the abbot's tutelage as a Lay Disciple of Shaolin Temple. His seniority was not low, either.

The abbot nodded with a smile. "Come, walk with me in the rear courtyard. Let me tell you a secret. Of Shaolin Thirty-Six Chambers, I came from the kitchen chamber myself. If you want to learn true Shaolin culinary arts, I can personally teach you."

"Shaolin kitchen recipes encompass everything. Most earthly delicacies from the thousands of years of Chinese history are recorded in our Shaolin kitchen, such as Dongpo Pork, Beggar's Chicken, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Duke of Pei's Dog Meat, Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea Stirring Arhat, and so on."

Jiang Hao's eyes widened. "Master, can monks eat meat?"

"Buddhists do not kill living beings or incur karmic debt. As for eating meat, that is still allowed. The Buddha himself never said meat was forbidden, right? Besides, where would people get the strength to fight if they did not eat meat?" Master Mengyi said with a smile.

It was Jiang Hao's first time hearing such a theory, especially from the abbot of Shaolin Temple. It completely overturned everything he had believed before.

No wonder, no wonder Tang Niu, the expelled disciple of Shaolin, knew how to cook every kind of dish. So this was where it came from.

And so, from that day onward, Jiang Hao began his apprenticeship at Shaolin. He slept at midnight and rose before dawn, studying hard every day. Master Mengyi liked Jiang Hao very much and imparted all his decades of cooking experience to him without reservation. It was as though Jiang Hao had opened his Ren and Du Meridians; his culinary skills improved by leaps and bounds each day.

"Master, do you know Shaolin's supreme arts, like the Yi Jin Jing and Xi Sui Jing? Can you fly over roofs and walls and become invincible after learning them?"

Master Mengyi shook his head. "Where would such divine arts exist in this world? If they do, let me know. I want to learn them too."

"Master, then do bodhisattvas and immortals exist in this world?"

"Bodhisattvas dwell in the heart. One who is at peace is an immortal."

"Master, a month has passed. I want to return to Hong Kong to take part in the food competition. Would you like to come with me and see Hong Kong? It is very prosperous."

"I will not go. Your master is old now. Prosperity is merely passing smoke and clouds. Before you leave, let me offer you one piece of advice: keep a calm heart in all things."

"Thank you for your teachings, Master. This disciple takes his leave."