Busy kitchen (14 May)
Kunming is a city that pays attention to food culture. ZIRAN is a popular private restaurant in downtown Kunming, which is small but has a wide variety of dishes. The restaurant has only one chef, who is busy in the kitchen every day when the restaurant opens. At the same time there are several assistants in the back kitchen to help the chef prepare and organize the ingredients. There are customers in the restaurant ordered food, the chef in the kitchen is checking and cleaning the stove and pots and pans to be used for cooking, and the two female assistants behind him are cutting and trimming vegetables.
Meticulous cooking process (14 May)
Chef Zhang is the only chef at ZIRAN restaurant, and he is passionate about developing some innovative traditional dishes. Chef Zhang used to work in the back kitchen of the famous Cuihu Hotel in Kunming, and then he left due to health reasons. He has always loved cooking and wanted to create more possibilities in food preparation, so he has now opened his own private restaurant. Chef Zhang is very careful and meticulous in his cooking, and he has very strict requirements for each step, such as the control of the heat and the addition of the sauce. Chef Chang is pictured pouring a special sauce over the heated fish.
Handmade tofu balls (14 May)
YAN YU is one of the partners of ZIRAN restaurant, she is also in charge of shopping for ingredients and preparing them in the kitchen, she likes to cook at home, so she often goes to the market to buy and bring home the food, she is very experienced in shopping and handling ingredients. YAN YU says, "It's not easy to handle the ingredients, especially those that require manual skills. For example, tofu balls, a traditional Kunming food, are made by grinding tofu, then mixing it with some flour and spices, and finally squeezing them one by one by hand into similar-sized balls."
Appetizers (14 May)
ZIRAN restaurant has many distinctive appetizers for customers to choose from, and one of the most popular is the cold peanut dish. The cold peanut dish is not difficult to make, it does not need to be heated, just shell the raw peanuts and put them into the plate, then add soy sauce, vinegar and a little chili oil as the base, then add chopped green onion and cilantro to enhance the flavor, and finally stir the peanuts and all the ingredients to finish. This is a very appetizing cold dish, the raw crunchy peanuts with the spicy and sour taste will make people's appetite increase after eating.
Braised pork with kidneys (14 May)
Braised pork with kidneys is one of the best-selling entrees at ZIRAN. Braised pork is a famous Chinese dish and is served in different ways in all major cuisines. Kidneys is nutritious, and Kunming people like to make it into different dishes. Chef Zhang has cleverly combined the local favorite kidneys with braised pork. Chef Zhang said "cut the pork kidney to remove the fishy and marinate it with spices for a few hours, then simmer the kidney and the fatty and lean pork in the braising sauce, and finally make a delicious dish of braised pork with kidneys."
Spicy stinky mandarin fish (14 May)
Spicy stinky mandarin fish is one of signature entrees at ZIRAN restaurant. Stinky mandarin fish is a traditional Huizhou dish that smells bad but tastes delicious and tender when eaten. The fish takes two to three days to marinate, and the amount of salt needs to be controlled when marinating. Kunming people prefer spicy food, so Chef Zhang makes his own spicy soup to go with the mandarin fish, which makes the dish taste spicier and more flavorful. At the same time, Chef Zhang will put a lot of chopped green onion, cilantro and sesame seeds in the spicy stinky mandarin fish, which will diminish the foul smell in the fish.
Deep-fried yellowtail with shrimp (14 May)
Deep-fried yellowtail with shrimp is another signature main dish of ZIRAN restaurant. Deep-fried yellowtail is one of the most popular local dishes, and there are many vendors selling deep-fried yellowtail on the streets of downtown Kunming. Chef Zhang has taken this popular folk food and made it a restaurant specialty. He marinates the processed yellowtail and shrimp in salt and wine for half an hour, then coats them in cornstarch and egg wash and fries them in a frying pan, and finally served them with fried green pepper and sliced garlic. This dish is rich in flavor and crispy. Many customers are satisfied with it.
Marinated rice noodles with lotus egg (6 June)
Rice noodles are the most common traditional food in Kunming, and different types of rice noodles are available at various restaurants in the area, but the marinated rice noodles with lotus egg are only available at ZIRAN restaurant, which is an innovative way of eating rice noodles by Chef Zhang. Chef Zhang first mixes the rice noodles with marinade in the traditional way, and then adds cooked broccoli, lotus egg and some pepper respectively, where the lotus egg must be cooked with sterile egg until half-cooked, and the customer can poke the egg to mix the egg wash with the marinated rice noodles.
Colored pea noodles (6 June)
Colored pea noodles is an innovative snack recently developed by Chef Zhang and is now the new signature dessert of ZIRAN restaurant. Pea noodles are one of the traditional snacks in Kunming, and locals love them for breakfast, where they are traditionally eaten with chili and soy sauce. However, Chef Zhang grinds the peas into a pulp and divides them into several portions, then adds the juice of different vegetables and fruits to the pulp and boils them together to form a paste, which finally cools and solidifies into colorful pea noodles. This also makes pea noodles become a fruit and vegetable flavored dessert.
Spicy Small Hot Pot (6 June)
Hot pot is the most common form of food in the Sichuan and Chongqing regions of China, and their hot pot is usually a large pot shared by many people. ZIRAN restaurant also provides hot pot, but they make a small hot pot for each person according to the number of customers. At the same time, the kitchen prepares various slices of high quality meat and vegetables as side dishes for the hot pot, and each customer at a table can choose different dishes to heat up in their own small hot pot according to their preference. This one-person hot pot format not only ensures hygiene, but also provides enough freedom for each customer.
