Chef transforms skill into luck

A feast of specialties from his hometown that took Zhang Hui hours to prepare.

As a teacher of basic skills in cookery, Zhang told himself to master the kitchen utensils early on. "The knives, for example, can be used in dozens of ways for different kinds of dish and materials and each one requires delicacy and intensity in training," he said.

The basic skills are the key to one's future, he noted.

"Even the seemingly simplest dish has to be done from solid basics," he said.

Another technique of a chef is dianshao, which refers to the way a pan is jerked back and forth to stir its contents. It turns out the moves demand much more than just hands and arms. "This technique can take a whole semester to master", Zhang said.

Then careful selection and preparations of the respective ingredients pave way for the delicate local flavors.

During his brief service at the Chinese embassy in Bangkok, he said he was cautious with each step of cooking.

"First, I boiled the noodles from local markets until they were 80 percent cooked. Then, I took them out to dry and coated them with oil before mixing them with the sauces and other ingredients," he said.