Chapter 49.1 Nibbling on Spring Chives Freshly Harvested Amidst the Drizzle
The weather continued to warm, prompting even the usually cold-averse Shen Shaoguang to shed her winter attire. She opted for a thin, short-sleeved outerwear in a delightful teal jade color, paired elegantly with a white skirt. The ensemble exuded a freshness reminiscent of crisp and tender tree onions. As she admired herself in the mirror, Shen Shaoguang couldn't help but contemplate various ways to enjoy tree onions—whether in savory meat sauce stuffed into an unleavened flatbread or washed, chopped, and incorporated into scrambled eggs.
Stepping outside to the eaves, she extended her hand to gauge the rain. The drizzle resembled the tiniest of embroidery needles. Deciding against an umbrella, Shen Shaoguang confidently walked to the front store.
Breakfast, prepared by Yu San, featured scallion pancakes and spinach soup. The meal was complemented by an array of pickles and salted duck eggs.
Savoring a bite of the scallion pancake, Shen Shaoguang relished its delightful combination of crispy exterior and tender, oil-rich interior. She couldn't help but appreciate Princess Yu San's adept handling of tree onions.
Contrary to her experiences in a past life, Princess Yu San's scallion pancakes were a culinary triumph. Shen Shaoguang recalled her mother's less meticulous approach—a simple assembly of scallion pulp between two pieces of dough, rolled, and pan-fried. Her father humorously dubbed it the 'single-layer pulp cake.'
In stark contrast, Shen Shaoguang's grandmother possessed the skill to craft unleavened flatbread with eight thin layers effortlessly. These pancakes, absent of exterior oil and internal green onions, were perfect for spreading with a savory paste and rolling with a fried egg—commonly known as the 'egg and large flatbread roll' in the northern regions.
Following the incident where Mother Shen transformed a pot of beef meatballs into broth, Shen Shaoguang assumed control of the kitchen in the household. With her at home, Mother Shen was relieved of kitchen duties. This transference of culinary power occurred when Shen Shaoguang was sixteen or, perhaps, seventeen.
Shen Shaoguang believed her cooking prowess was likely inherited from her grandmother's generation. Alternatively, it could be attributed to the resilience developed by the children of less affluent families. Having survived years of being fed by a mother with such ‘skilled’ cooking skills, Shen Shaoguang marveled at the fact that she had grown up healthy and thriving. Truly, Mother Shen had it quite easy!
Despite Mother Shen having her own specialty dishes, such as home-style red-braised fish and somewhat presentable aiwowo rice cakes, they were merely faint glimmers amidst her overall lackluster culinary repertoire. Amidst her internal jesting at her biological mother's culinary abilities, Shen Shaoguang couldn't help but smile outwardly.
Yu San cast a sidelong glance at Shen Shaoguang, perplexed. They were simply indulging in scallion pancakes and spinach soup, so what could be making her so elated? Could it be that Deputy Magistrate Lin sent another gift?
His eyes roamed across Shen Shaoguang's face. Since the advent of spring and her growing closeness with Deputy Magistrate Lin, their Miss had transformed like napa cabbage nourished by spring rain—fresh, tender, and full of life. Yet, the notion of a neighboring pig eyeing their cabbage brought a frown to Yu San's face. "What's so amusing about a meal?"
Shen Shaoguang lifted her gaze. Considering the lateness of the hour, why was he still so irritable from waking up? Did the princess not enjoy a good night's sleep, perturbed by a single pea under her goose feather beds?
One should never disturb those who haven't slept well, thus Shen Shaoguang smiled apologetically and explained, "The pancakes and soup today are particularly delightful, perfectly aligned with my tastes. Naturally, that brings me joy."
As if to affirm Shen Shaoguang's sentiments, A’Yuan took the ladle and generously poured herself another serving of spinach soup.
In reality, there was nothing extraordinary about this soup. The secret to its deliciousness was rather straightforward—tender vegetables. The process involved stir-frying the freshest baby spinach in a pot, adding water, boiling it, thickening with starch, pouring in beaten egg, seasoning with salt, adding a dash of sesame oil, and it was ready. Despite its simplicity, the taste was remarkably satisfying.
Yu San refrained from slapping someone in the face while they were smiling[1]. He cast another glance at Shen Shaoguang, then lowered his head to enjoy his soup.
Shen Shaoguang smiled. Her Royal Princess possessed such a temperament, as if he were experiencing month-long periods.
After getting a taste of Princess Yu San’s concerns, the other three individuals enjoyed their morning meal, and the small tavern transitioned into its daily operational routine. A’Chang took care of cleaning, A’Yuan selected the groceries, Yu San preprocessed the ingredients, and Shen Shaoguang calculated yesterday's turnover while collecting vegetables and meat from the vendors.
The main items included pork, some mutton, pullets, pigeons, and a variety of vegetables that needed to be stocked. Recently, the consumption of vegetables had been relatively high. The Tofu Shop run by the Qiu Residence delivered tofu, and the oil shop sent over sesame oil. Although their tasks might not appear extensive, they remained busy throughout the morning.
To Shen Shaoguang's delight, the fisherman had resumed bringing fish, including common carp, crucian carp, and grass carp of various sizes. This allowed Shen Indelible's fish and vegetable dishes to return to the menu. The two common carp received that day had red tails and were over a foot long, making them perfect for preparing Fish in Vinegar Gravy. It was rumored that the imperial court prohibited the consumption of carp due to a naming taboo[2], but how could such a restriction be tolerated? Officials, members of the gentry, scholars, and common people continued to indulge in this delicacy.
Today, the vegetable vendor brought exceptionally fresh and tender hotbed chives. Shen Shaoguang instructed Yu San to set aside a bundle for herself and to prepare hotbed chives and pork belly turnovers for everyone at noon.
While hotbed chives closely resembled garlic chives, they were more delicate, with a milder taste compared to their pungent garlic chive counterparts. The preparation involved chopping the hotbed chives and mixing them with pork belly to create the filling. The dough, kneaded to a soft consistency, was then rolled out into a flat shape. A generous amount of filling was spread on it, followed by another layer of flattened dough. The edges were firmly pressed together, and excess dough was trimmed off using a suitably sized plate to maintain a circular shape. The pan was lightly coated with oil, and the turnovers were cooked over low heat.
The result was a delectable creation—pork belly and hotbed chives turnovers with golden-brown skin, flavorful filling, a crispy texture, and an explosion of juice with each bite. Tsk! Tsk!
Shen Shaoguang's words triggered a salivary response in A’Yuan. "Miss, if you stand outside the tavern and describe how this dish is made and its taste, you'll attract numerous customers to walk in."
"..." A’Yuan displayed a keen understanding, much like a perceptive little animal. How did she know I worked in this field in my previous life?
Gourmet food weekly publications heavily relied on advertising to stay afloat. Relying solely on subscription fees and magazine sales wouldn't have sustained them for long. Writing concise food articles was Shen Shaoguang's forte.
She recalled a hotel that introduced a novel dish called Raisin Fish. It lacked aroma, richness, umami, and had a peculiar texture, somewhat resembling unsweetened gummy candies. The dish was remarkably expensive. Shen Shaoguang struggled to find commendable aspects and settled for praising its texture as being very 'witty.' Later, a reader's feedback noted, "I finally understand why you praised it as 'witty.' And most importantly, I can't find any fault in your words, you bunch of unscrupulous literati..."
Shen Shaoguang couldn't help but think that perhaps the Heavens couldn't tolerate her countless lies in her past life, leading to her being sent to another time and place as punishment, condemned to work as a cook. Retribution, this was all retribution!
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Footnotes:
[1] refrained from slapping someone in the face while they were smiling (伸手不打笑脸人) - means if a person is showing a positive attitude, you would feel inclined to forgive them even if they have made a mistake.
[2] naming taboo (避讳) - The naming taboo of the state (國諱) discouraged the use of the emperor's given name and those of his ancestors. The strength of this taboo was reinforced by law; transgressors could expect serious punishment for writing an emperor's name without modifications. I think the reason why this fish could not be consumed is because in chinese, common carp is written as 鲤鱼 (Lǐ yú / Li Fish), and the current Emperor is surnamed Li (refer to c31.2).
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_taboo
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Foods:
scallion pancake https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfPpPtUiBqQ