Taste of Qingdao: Interview with Qingdao's Young Culinary Master

Floral Journey, Sweet Wishes: Interview with Jiaodong's Young Culinary Master Wang Jinliang The new year brings new beginnings, and we wish you a happy and prosperous year ahead. "After a month of rain and wind, the mountains are covered in red and green." January is quiet, February awakens... Our friends, we hope you are well! January 2025 is a time of renewal and new beginnings. All the different hometowns come together to create a warm atmosphere. The smoke from the chimneys is a symbol of this warmth. In the twelfth lunar month, we remember the chimneys of our hometowns. They stand simply on the rooftops, pointing towards the stove. Year after year, day after day, smoke rises from them. The day begins for each family when the smoke rises from the chimney. Underneath each chimney, the family is filled with laughter and happiness. The smoke in the twelfth lunar month means that the new year is approaching. This is the taste of food, the food we love. In the twelfth lunar month, we search for the taste of Qingdao and prepare to go home for the New Year's Eve dinner. Climbing over the hills, the purpose of climbing is not to stop at the top, but to see the road beyond. Looking at the winding river, we finally dare to face life's challenges with a smile. In the restaurant industry this year, some people came, some left, and some set sail again. In Qingdao, a vibrant city, we were fortunate to meet three restaurateurs with the surname Wang at the end of the year. We watched them overcome obstacles, face challenges fearlessly, and move forward bravely. The solution to a problem is not to try to find an answer. If you are brave enough, you should continue to carry the problem forward. First, there is shallow right and wrong, then there is vastness without thickness, until the day it can be solved. Until the cause and effect mature and naturally fall off. A commander must be intelligent and resourceful, trustworthy and fair, kind and able to win over the people, brave and decisive, and strict to establish authority. Anyone who can carry the banner of "commander" must have the ambition to go far and the strategy and execution to start from the ground up. Wang Jinliang is known as the "young culinary master" in the restaurant industry. In his 23 years of experience, he has consistently run and grown towards the sun, making him a rising star in Qingdao's restaurant scene. He is still very strong and has a bit of style. He grew up and started his career in Mudanjiang, pursued his career in Dalian, and built his dream in Qingdao. He comes from a family with a long history in the restaurant industry. From the first day he entered the industry, he set his life goal to be in the restaurant industry and vowed to work hard for it for the rest of his life. On the road to his dream, he worked hard and every step he took was a leap towards his dream. For Wang Jinliang, "craftsmanship" is not just empty talk, but comes from the deep influence of his father and has become an important part of the company's spirit. Wang Jinliang's father was a chef for his entire life and once cooked for Grandpa Xiaoping in the army. During his long career, his father learned from others and accumulated unique recipes and skills over the years. To pass on this family skill, Wang Jinliang founded his own restaurant brand. We visited his newly opened restaurant, Haigang Zhenyan, in the winter month. Spicy Small Sea Snails It feels like being immersed in the romantic taste of drinking alone by the sea. The small sea snails are firm and crispy, fresh and fragrant, with an attractive color. The spicy and fragrant taste is irresistible, leaving a lingering taste in your mouth and making you want more. Garlic Stir-fried Live Sea Intestines The sea intestines in this season are plump and sticky. Stir-fried for nine seconds, the aroma is irresistible! The texture is bouncy and crispy, so fresh that it makes your eyebrows tingle. What exactly are sea intestines? They are so addictive to Shandong people. Sea intestines, scientifically known as Urechis unicinctus, are invertebrates. They are long and cylindrical, soft and wriggling, with no hair or spines, also known as "naked sea cucumbers." They grow in the intertidal zone of cold water seas, mostly wild in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea of China. They like to hide in the mud and sand, with a talent for digging holes up to 40 cm deep. They leave a small opening outside to eat seaweed and plankton. If disturbed, they escape underground, making them hard to catch. Only when the wind and waves are strong, their sand houses become fragile, and they are washed ashore. If you go to Shandong, and a local friend invites you to eat garlic stir-fried live sea intestines, it is a treat, a real delicacy. Handmade Mackerel and Sea Urchin Dumplings The winter solstice is as important as the New Year. On the day of the interview, it was the winter solstice. In Qingdao, you must eat mackerel dumplings and sea urchin dumplings. The winter solstice is like the New Year, with the aroma of dumplings filling the air. Sea urchin dumplings are a must-have. These ingot-shaped delicacies have become the main dish on the winter solstice table. Each bite of sea urchin dumplings is filled with the rich taste of seafood and fresh sea urchins, as well as the warmth of family reunion. This winter, the sea urchin dumplings add color to the reunion dinner. Fresh sea urchins, golden and tender, with a light bite, the freshness of the sea and the richness of the meat intertwine, creating a burst of flavor on your taste buds. These unique sea urchin dumplings are not only an innovative interpretation of traditional food but also a delicate expression of the twelfth lunar month. Chef's Special Scallop Balls with Jiaozhou Cabbage Selected fresh scallops from Hongdao, hand-shelled daily, with Jiaozhou yellow heart cabbage added for freshness. The scallop filling is repeatedly hand-beaten and shaped in clear chicken soup, retaining the maximum freshness of the scallop balls. They are fresh and tender, with a white color. A sip of soup, a bite of balls, and a bite of yellow heart cabbage, a small happiness in winter, the cabbage absorbs the freshness, and it is delicious. Black Truffle Abalone Potatoes Selected local eight-head abalone from Qingdao, Keshan yellow heart potatoes, slow-cooked in high soup, the abalone is chewy, the potatoes are soft and flavorful, with the fresh aroma of black truffle, a nourishing winter dish. Spicy Stir-fried Sea Cucumber with Black Pork Selected sea cucumber from Changdao, Licha black pork, and thin-skinned screw peppers, the fresh and spicy taste of screw peppers and the aroma of black pork are infused into the dish. Through clever seasoning and cooking techniques, the sea cucumber fully absorbs the aroma of black pork and the fresh and spicy taste of screw peppers. The fresh taste of the sea and the spiciness of screw peppers intertwine, creating a unique and harmonious taste. Red Pomelo Rice Fragrant Pork Selected Licha black pork, tied with rural straw, simmered for 3 hours, the meat is soft and tender, fatty but not greasy, with Thai red pomelo added for freshness and aroma. Made fresh for each meal, no overnight meat is sold. Pan-fried Beef Cubes Selected grain-fed marbled beef, cut into small cubes, cooked with butter and olive oil until golden brown on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, with black pepper, rosemary, and other seasonings, rich and flavorful, hot and tender. Spicy Yellow Catfish Selected Sichuan yellow catfish, airlifted to the port daily, fresh every day, with the spicy flavor of Sichuan cuisine's twenty-four flavors infused into the dish, making the yellow catfish fresh and tender, with a spicy and salty taste, instantly stimulating the taste buds and appetite. Shrimp paste, chicken, chicken soup, etc.