[Red Mansion] A little chef came to the Grand View Garden

Not long after, the two sides of the competition in front of the Zichen Palace had already brought up the prepared pickles and fried foods.

After the food-testing waiter has tried it, all the prepared pickles and fried foods are divided into two parts, one is presented to the saint, and the other is given to the Japanese envoy.

The Japanese envoy first looked at the pickle——

I saw that the Chinese side presented four dishes: water shield with pepper oil, bamboo shoots with chicken marrow, pickled deer breast, and goose feet, while the Dongying side presented pickled radish, pickled cucumber, pickled eggplant, and pickled seaweed. .

The Japanese envoy felt ashamed, and began to seriously doubt whether he was too presumptuous—in Chinese cuisine, there are too many ways to make small cold dishes with wine, which cannot be summed up by the word "zuke".The traditional method of making zuke in Japan is mainly based on the taste of the ingredients, mixing condiments, and adjusting the pickling time... After all, the word "zuke" is always the same.

Fortunately, the saint is very magnanimous. After tasting the Dongying pickles, he also praised the taste as very good, very light and refreshing-but he meant it very politely.

The Japanese envoy looked at the fried food again.

Because the fried food is a side dish, the servings from both sides are not too big: Shiqing's side is offering fried quail and fried seasonal vegetables; while Dongying's side is offering Tangyang chicken nuggets and fried shrimp.

The envoy was familiar with Tangyang chicken nuggets, and knew that this kind of fried food was a very simple dish. He only wrapped a thin layer of flour on the outside of the chicken nuggets, and fried them in a pan.Seeing that the method of fried quail is very similar to this Tang Yang chicken nugget, he took a piece of quail first and put it in his mouth——

The quail was boneless beforehand!

Because of this, the Japanese envoys were already amazed.It should be noted that the quail bones are extremely small and difficult to remove. If it were an ordinary cook, they would choose to deep-fry them in boiling oil and let the diners chew and swallow them together-but this would damage the soft and tender taste of the quail itself.

The envoy from Japan tasted it, and felt that the quail was marinated in advance, and the heat was just right. It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and it was extra crispy. It was definitely not comparable to the "simple" Tang Yang chicken nuggets.

He tilted his head and peeked, and saw that the saint was also giving a piece of quail to his mouth. After chewing it carefully, he showed a very satisfied expression, and then whispered to the servant next to him: "Go and ask the prince if there is any more quail. Yes, order someone to send some to Concubine Xiande, I remember she likes to eat this."

The Japanese envoy had no choice but to shake his head, and lowered his head to look at the other fried food on both sides: the fried prawns cooked by the Japanese people, no matter what, they can beat the ordinary fried vegetables.

But the fried vegetables made by Zhonghua are not ordinary fried vegetables.I saw a thin layer of batter hanging on the vegetable leaves. After deep-frying, the batter on the outside is very crispy and delicious, but the vegetables inside are still smooth and fresh, full of moisture. It's all about the taste of fresh vegetables.

Even the envoys from Japan had never seen this kind of fried food. After tasting it, they were so amazed that they even forgot all the fried shrimps served by them.

In fact, Liu Mei made this kind of fried food by mistake, using the method of frying "tempura" in later generations of Japanese food, but in this world, the practice of "tempura" has not yet been spread to Japan, and the people of Japan have so far Not yet.

This is equivalent to Liu Mei using the methods of later generations of Japanese materials to overwhelm the group of people who made Japanese materials in front of her—this was also something she had never expected.

The Dongying envoy tasted the pickles and fried foods presented by both sides, and exclaimed in his heart that it was a fluke, thinking, fortunately, it was clearly stated in the rules at the beginning that these pickles and fried foods are just snacks with wine, not included in the fugu cuisine. In the official competition.

The saint next to him heard the report from the servants in the palace, and asked in surprise: "What? There is nothing here that is made by Shiqing, and the person who cooked it was just that... that kid?"

The servant in the palace nodded in agreement, the saint seemed to relax a little, his brows opened slightly, but after thinking about it again, he became depressed again.

When I was young, Xie En's voice came from behind the bead curtain: "My concubine, thank the emperor for giving us delicious food."

It is obvious that the virtuous concubine is also lucky - the Dongpu envoy thought to himself.

This snack with wine is an appetizer, but the appetizer part is very easy to whet the appetite of diners.

This is the case in Zichen Hall.Seeing that the Chinese dishes have been well received, everyone is in high spirits, waiting for the official competition to begin.

Then there was a sound of the gong, and a servant reported loudly from below: "The two sides present the first puffer fish dish."

Then, Shiqing and Guijian went to the hall first, and Liu Mei and Prince Dongying followed behind them step by step.Beside them, there are servants carefully holding huge porcelain plates in duplicate, slowly going up to the hall——

"It's all fish sticks!"

"They even made fish sticks!"

When everyone in the Zichen Palace saw clearly what was on the plate, they couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

Shiqing and Gui Jian, as expected, made a dish of fish meat at the same time.

On the two porcelain plates next to Shiqing, fish cakes are arranged in the shape of sunflowers, and each piece of fish cakes is like a petal of a sunflower, blooming layer by layer.

On the other hand, in the two plates made by Guijian, the fish meat was placed in the shape of a crane. Interestingly, there seemed to be two peonies in full bloom in the mouth of the crane—they were cut out of white radish by Guijian. The carvings are so vivid that they can almost confuse real ones.

When they arrived at the hall, Shiqing and Guijian stood still, they both took out chopsticks from their sleeves, took fish fillets from their plates, put them into their mouths, chewed and swallowed.

This is the rule of cooking fugu - the person who cooks must taste it before all the diners.If there is any lingering poison in this puffer fish dish, the chef who made this dish will be the first to fall.

After Shiqing and Guijian had finished their tasting, they rushed forward and bowed, indicating that there is no problem.

"Two, let's talk about your respective dishes!" The sage spoke in the first place.

Shiqing took half a step back, stretched out his hand to Gui Jian, and motioned for him to speak first.

Seeing that the etiquette is very considerate, seeing Shiqing like this, he hurriedly bowed his hands to Shiqing and thanked him solemnly, and then said: "This is a small folk system-gold and jade quality".

As he spoke, he turned around, took a sweet white porcelain double-lion-headed plum blossom jar, rushed up to grab a handful, and said, "This is a golden urn, also called Bahe ①."

This ghost was born with a sad face, but what he said surprised everyone in the house.

"Golden and jade croissants" is an ancient method. In history, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty once praised this kind of fish croissants as "the best taste in the southeast".As for the method of "Bahe 齑", its name can only be seen in ancient books, and no one knows its formula nowadays.

Could it be that this prescription actually reappeared in Dongpu?

Even the sage became interested, and even leaned over to look at the fish sticks and squids presented by Guijian, then turned his head to look at Shiqing, and said in a deep voice, "Shiqing, what is it that you presented today? "

Seeing the sage's question, Shiqing just shook his head and didn't speak.

The sage knew that he would not open his mouth very easily, but other people felt that Shiqing was afraid of seeing the "golden and jade scallops" made by ghosts, and he was timid, so he was unwilling to explain more.

"Shiqing, what is the dipping sauce for the fish you presented today?" The Holy Majesty was a little displeased, and asked again.

Only then did Shiqing speak: "It's ordinary small ground sesame oil, plus boiled Qingjiang sauce."

The "clear sauce" in his mouth refers to soy sauce.

As soon as these words came out, many people immediately showed disappointment.

The sage couldn't help sighing—he knew that the Dongying people had come prepared, but he didn't expect that this ghost would be such a powerful opponent.

The waiter, who tasted food when he was young, tasted the fish meat from both sides, and handed the plate to the saint and the Japanese envoy.

The sage was obviously more interested in the "golden and jade-quality croissant", he picked up a piece of fish croquette, and saw that when the fish croquette was placed on the plate, it was stacked together like white jade, and once lifted up, he could see its incomparable frivolity , like cicada wings.

The sage looked at the "Eight Harmony" again, the color was golden, and he sighed: "Sure enough, it really is a golden jade!"

He dipped a slice of fish sticks into Hachiwa, put them in his mouth, and carefully identified them, "Salt, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, corn, japonica rice... citrus... and what's another flavor? I really can't tell. "

Ghost saw admiration, knelt down with a sad face and said: "To His Majesty the Emperor of China, there is also a salt plum that has been pickled in advance."

Liu Mei huddled behind Shiqing, couldn't help sticking out her tongue quietly - thinking that the emperor's family could eat from top to bottom.It's fine for Shiqing to be like this, but the emperor himself is also like this.But the emperor can eat the onion, ginger and garlic. He can even distinguish the taste of corn and japonica rice.

She thought badly: This is really a family of foodies!

The Japanese envoy sitting next to the Holy One forgot even the fear of eating puffer fish at this moment, he ate it with a smile on his face, and praised it loudly.

So far, no one seems to be optimistic about Shiqing's side.

But Liu Mei trusted her teammate unconditionally, believing that he would definitely win.

She has seen Shiqing dissect fish sticks. To be honest, she can hardly imagine the miraculous knife skills; plus the "sesame oil and clear sauce" dipping sauce that Shiqing casually mentioned, the Qing Jiang was actually made by her own hands to help Shi Qing - so, even if the other party made the ancient lost "Eight Harmony" so what?

However, Shiqing's expression and attitude were extremely calm.

He seems to be completely unmoved by the "golden and jade quality" made by ghosts. Others only think that his skills are not as good as others, and they feel timid at first; In this competition with Guijian, he has full confidence.

After the sage had tasted the "golden and jade-quality bread", he turned to Shiqing with regretful eyes.

"Shiqing's porpoise and fish..." The sage lifted the chopsticks and picked up a piece of fish, and the head of the chopsticks stopped in the air.

"This..." The sage stared at the fish he was holding in his hand, and could hardly speak.

Everyone didn't know why, but only heard a "plop", and the ghost suddenly knelt on the Zichen Hall, staring at the piece of fish meat held by the saint's chopsticks, and said in amazement: "This... this is... "

The envoy from Dongying saw that the saint was like this, and so was the ghost, so he hurriedly drew a gourd in the same way, took a piece of fish sticks up, and looked at the light, and saw that there were faintly colorful lights flowing on the surface of the fish sticks.

The Japanese envoy rubbed his eyes, and quickly aimed the fish stick in his hand at the bright candlelight in the hall. This time, he could see more clearly—the fish stick was as thin as a cicada's wing, and it was the same as the ones cut by ghosts. The difference is almost the same, but you only need to lift it lightly, and when you look at the light, you will see the colorful light of seven colors, which is full of brilliance.

All the ministers and officials watching in the Zichen Palace also saw it clearly at this time, and they were surprised, and they all said: "This is made by His Royal Highness...?"

"God, is this still fish cake?"

"That's right, His Royal Highness either doesn't make a dish, but if he makes a dish, it will be a wonderful dish that will fascinate the world. This... this is indeed the only successor of the Taotie Mountain Man—"

The prince of Dongying stood and looked at His Royal Highness Zichen, his face turned purple, and he quickly winked at the envoy above.

The messenger understood, threw away the piece of fish meat on the head of the chopsticks, picked it up, and looked at the light, it was still the same, still shining with seven colors of light.

He hurriedly tossed it again, picked it up again, and threw it again... It turned out that every piece of puffer fish was the same, reflecting bright and moving colors.

"It's useless to look at the pieces one by one. The same person and the same blade come out like that. It's only after you try the dipping sauce that you realize how wonderful this dish is." The saint said beside the messenger. In this short period of time, half of the fish meat on his plate has gone.

The Japanese envoy was skeptical, took the fish sticks, carefully dipped them into the saucer, lifted the chopsticks again, and saw that the seven-color light that originally shone on the fish sticks began to flow one after another—this is the dipping sauce. The effect of using the best small ground sesame oil not only enhances the aroma, but also makes the taste smooth and harmonizes various colors.

The Dongying envoy held the chopsticks and put the fish sticks into his mouth. He felt that the taste was incomparably graceful, the surface was slippery, but the fish sticks inside were crispy after chewing.The fish croissant itself is only slightly dipped in the sauce, but it tastes delicious in a very short time. The slightly sweet taste of the clear sauce also reveals the slightly spicy aroma of onion and ginger. The brilliance reflected on the surface is the same, and it is ever-changing.

"This is... this is..." The Dongpu envoy was so amazed that he even forgot to wink at his own prince.

"Shiqing, what is the name of your fish cake? You refused to say it earlier, but now, you should give me an explanation, right?" The saint asked Shiqing to report the name of this dish.

After hearing this, Liu Mei secretly said in her stomach: Seven-color Liuguang croissant, seven-color streamer croquette... this fish croissant is so radiant, only this name is worthy of it.

Sure enough, Shiqing rushed up and cupped his hands, and said loudly: "Seven-color streamers are popular."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the voice of praise from Zichen Palace, "It's indeed His Royal Highness who made the move himself!"

"His Royal Highness is the only one in the world who can use such amazing skills to carve out such fish!"

Liu Mei knew that although these compliments were flattery, they were blown out by those who know how to eat but can't cook.In this world, I am afraid that she is the only one who knows how Shiqing's fish meat cuts out such a light: when he cuts the knife, every time he uses force, he leaves a little bit of force back, and when he lowers the blade, every piece of fish meat is slightly forceful The back hook, and the kitchen knife used by Shiqing has its own mystery, and it is possible to slice such a miraculous fish.

However, Shiqing humbled himself in public: "Your Majesty's reputation is too high. Although this fish was cut open by the minister, the dipping sauce was carefully cooked by Xiaoliu."

When the sage heard that the dipping material was made by Liu Mei, his half-believing eyes slipped over to Liu Mei's face.

"This is just an ordinary fish stick, and an ordinary dipping sauce. Only when the two are combined can such a perfect dish be made." Shiqing continued.

Liu Mei didn't expect Shiqing to use the word "fit", she couldn't help but blushed when she heard that, seeing the intriguing gossip eyes of the old emperor looking towards her, she quickly lowered her head, not daring to go any further look.

Seeing the master next to him, the ghost walked over on his knees, kowtowed three times in front of Shiqing, and said to Shiqing in a pleading tone: "Xiaomin... I beg Your Highness to borrow a kitchen knife to have a look."

Shiqing didn't hide his secrets either, he gave a false kick and said, "Go!"

Ghost Jian didn't expect Shiqing to be so magnanimous, allowing him to observe the kitchen knives he used—this was supposed to be the secret of Shiqing's making this "seven-color streamer"—the ghost saw it for a while. He walked on his knees.

Shiqing put his hands behind his back, and added a sentence behind him, saying: "In my country of China, there are many recipes that have been lost, but this recipe will be lost, and there is a reason for it to be lost. The morals of the world are always changing. Skills can only get better and better, don’t hold an ancient food recipe as a treasure in the future, and always look forward to the way of drinking and food.”

Liu Mei listened, and nodded viciously, Shiqing's words were just right for her, and she also thought for a moment that if she had the opportunity to return to her own world in the future and study the dishes of the Red Chamber again, she couldn't rest on her laurels, Only by adapting those dishes to the new era can these old good things be given new life.

She remembered these words.

Immediately afterwards, the gong sounded in front of Zichen Hall—this was a signal that the second puffer fish dish was ready to be served.

For the second puffer fish dish, both parties chose the hot dish by coincidence.That's why the sound of the gong is used as a sign. Both parties must prepare and present the hot dishes within three incense sticks after the sound of the gong.

Liu Mei is confident, she has already prepared all the main ingredients and auxiliary materials, and the stove has already heated up the cauldron, just waiting for her to start cooking.

But Shiqing did not follow, and was left by the sage in the Zichen Hall to ask questions.

The sage seems to be deliberately trying to keep Shiqing, and doesn't want him to get too close to Liu Mei.

However, as time passed, a burst of strong fragrance rose in front of the Zichen Hall, rushing into the noses of everyone in the hall very domineeringly.All the people in the Zichen Hall were alright, but only the saint, who seemed a little excited, stood up with his body propped up, looked at the cook from a distance, and asked in surprise: "What kind of dish are you cooking here?"

Shiqing bowed to the saint without showing any trace, and said, "I'll go down and have a look."

So he slipped down smoothly again, and went with Liu Mei.

The author has something to say: ① "Bahe 齑", which was recorded by Jia Sixie in "Qi Min Yao Shu", is not lost, but it may not look so delicious now.

②Jia Yuanchun was granted the title of Minister of Fengzao Palace in Jin Dynasty, and the title of Xiande Concubine.Here is the Yuanchun brand scenery board.