After eighteen delicacies were presented, only Zhang Chun'er and Li Qi from Fan Lou were left.
As the only woman at this crab roe banquet, Zhang Chun'er naturally got a lot of bonus points at this point. After all, in this male-dominated society, it is very difficult for a woman to reach this point.
The dish presented by Zhang Chun'er was very simple, it was just a naked hen that was still steaming.
It's white and tender, and has no appearance at all. It can't be compared with the crab yellow jade fan and jade pearl in front of it.
However, Fan Lou was the number one restaurant in the Northern Song Dynasty, so the guests who came to dine with them were naturally high-ranking officials. Cai Jing, his son and the other guests were also regular patrons of Fan Lou, and they had naturally tasted Zhang Chun'er's cooking skills.
, knowing that this dish is certainly not simple.
Cai Jing smiled and said, "Ms. Zhang, what's so great about this chicken like you?"
Sure enough, Zhang Chun'er first bowed to everyone and said: "Returning to the Grand Master, in fact, this dish of the little girl is not about eating chicken itself."
When everyone heard this, they were all surprised.
But Zhang Chun'er's assistant came forward and opened the chicken belly. With a splash, a stream of soup with a strong aroma poured out of the chicken belly and flowed into the plate. Not only that, there were more than ten chickens in the soup.
The pure white chick is so alluring.
"It turns out there is a universe within." Zuo Boqing nodded.
Zhang Chun'er saluted again and said: "This dish is called 'One Hundred Sons and Thousands of Grandsons', which means to wish the grand master a happy family."
When Li Qi heard this, he thought to himself that this woman was even better at flattering than I was. The name of her dish was obviously for Cai Jing's grandson's first birthday party.
"Okay, okay, okay."
When Cai Jing heard the name of this dish, he was very happy and named three good ones in succession. Without asking any more questions, he immediately asked someone to bring it to him. He wanted to taste it for pleasure.
Zuo Boqing tasted it and said in surprise: "Sheepskin dumplings?"
Although Zhang Chun'er didn't know who Zuo Boqing was, judging from his comments just now, he knew that this person was definitely a master. He nodded and said, "Uncle Zuo is right. The wrapper of this dumpling is made of mutton, and the filling inside is
Made with crab roe, crab meat, and mushroom pellets."
Zuo Boqing nodded and said: "The dumpling wrapper is made from chopped mutton. Steam it together with the chicken. The mutton absorbs the essence of the chicken, and the crab roe absorbs the essence of the chicken and sheep. This kind of chicken is a sheep, and a sheep is a crab.
This is the first time I have seen this method. The triple umami taste is indeed very unique."
When Cai Jing heard Zuo Boqing's praise, he took a bite, and juices immediately filled his mouth. The aroma filled his mouth, and he nodded and said: "Well ---, these mutton dumplings are really fresh and sweet. This is the first time I have eaten such delicious dumplings.
, Haha. Mrs. Zhang is indeed the number one cook in the Song Dynasty, she is amazing."
Zhao Ye laughed and said: "It seems that Mrs. Zhang's rich and powerful family should abdicate."
The others also nodded in praise.
When Zhang Chun'er heard the praises from everyone, she didn't have much joy on her face, as if all this was expected by her. She glanced at Li Qi out of the corner of her eye and frowned secretly when she saw his calm look.
"Brother Li, we are really in trouble this time. Look at the dishes they cook. Every one of them is carefully crafted. What can we do if we only have a piece of tofu and nothing?"
Wu Xiaoliu looked flustered, standing behind Li Qi and muttering softly.
"You kid, stop talking nonsense here and go get ready. It's our turn to play." Li Qi urged.
...
"boom."
When Wu Xiaoliu placed the big stew pot on the table, it was truly astonishing. In terms of momentum alone, he already overwhelmed Zhang Chun'er and others.
Zuo Boqing glanced at Li Qi with a smile, looking forward to it in his heart.
Cai Jing looked at the big stew pot and asked, "Li Qi, what kind of dish are you cooking? Why do you use such a big stew pot?"
"When I got back to the Grand Master, the name of the dish Cao Min cooked is as unpretentious as Cao Min's character. It's called Stewed Tofu."
Li Qi came forward and smiled slightly.
“Tofu stew?”
Everyone looked at each other, can tofu also be stewed? And how much tofu must be in it?
This was the first time that Cai Jing heard someone introduce the dishes he cooked in this way. He couldn't help but laugh and shook his head slightly.
Everyone was curious and thought that Li Qi's 'stewed tofu' was the same as the 'hundred sons and thousands of grandchildren' dish just now. It contained the universe, and maybe what he was eating was not tofu at all.
Sure enough, when Li Qi took out two lotus leaf bags from the big stew pot, everyone was more sure of their thoughts and looked forward to the things wrapped in lotus leaves.
Because there were too many guests, one piece of tofu would definitely not be enough, so Li Qi specially made two pieces.
When Li Qi took apart the bamboo slices and lotus leaves, everyone saw that the appearance was brown and nothing special, and they felt a little disappointed. When Li Qi cut the tofu open, everyone saw that it was really a piece of tofu.
Except for Zuo Boqing, everyone shook their heads and sighed. Compared with the previous dishes, this tofu stew is really far behind.
Wu Xiaoliu stood aside and looked at everyone's faces, his back already wet.
Li Qi's recipe is also extremely simple, just soak the tofu in the bean soup and eat it.
After the maid served the dishes, everyone had no appetite at all.
Cai Suan was displeased and said: "Master Li, today's crab roe feast has been stated in advance that crab roe will be used as an ingredient. I won't tell you how your stewed tofu tastes, but it seems to be against the rules."
Li Qi replied: "Sir, please see, the browned part on the outside of this tofu is the crab roe."
Cai Sui was stunned and said: "Oh? You said this brown color is crab roe?"
Li Qi nodded and said: "Yes. The common people first apply a layer of crab roe on the tofu, then apply 10% lard on it, burn it over fire, then wrap it with lotus leaves and bamboo slices, and stew it together with soybeans and river fish.
.”
"I see."
After listening, Zuo Boqing nodded slightly and said: "Wrap the tofu with lotus leaves and bamboo slices, and then put it into the stew pot. This way, it will have the effect of stewing on top of stew, and the crab roe flavor can be completely penetrated into the tofu.
The large amount of soybeans and the umami-rich fish soup can bring out the original taste of tofu, coupled with the fragrance of lotus and bamboo, Master Li is really unique."
An expert is an expert, nothing to say.
Li Qi smiled and said, "Brother Zuo, thank you."
Suddenly I heard someone shouting: "It has such a strong bean aroma, it tastes good, it tastes good."
It was Wu Min who spoke. He originally had no hope for this bowl of bean soup, but he had just eaten so much strong-flavored food that his mouth was a little dry, so he wanted to use bean soup to quench his thirst.
Thinking that this seemingly ordinary bean soup is so delicious, I couldn't help but let out an exclamation.
When everyone heard this, they were all surprised. They all picked up their spoons and tasted the bowl of bean soup. After tasting it, they all drank without saying anything. The bowl of bean soup and the tofu in the bowl were wiped out in an instant.
, but his face still looked like he was still unsatisfied.
The expressions on these people's faces are more real than any amount of words of praise.
I have to say that this stewed tofu is just right. If it were the first dish, it might not have such an effect.
Zuo Boqing tasted the bean soup carefully, and then tasted the piece of tofu in the soup. He raised his eyebrows and said intoxicated: "The rich and sweet bean soup, the tender and refreshing tofu, especially the browned part, the original flavor
The crab roe paired with the pleasant fragrance of wine is perfect. Although this stewed tofu uses some cheap ingredients, Master Li’s clever method of making them makes these usually inconspicuous ingredients become
When it tastes so delicious, it really turns rotten food into something magical.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Cai Jing suddenly said coldly: "Bo Qing, are you serious about this?"
Zuo Boqing was stunned and nodded subconsciously.
Cai Jing glared at Li Qi coldly and said, "Li Qi, you are so brave."
When everyone heard this, they were all shocked. They didn't know why Cai Jing suddenly attacked.
Li Qi's face was calm and he said: "Why did the Grand Master say this?"
Cai Jing sneered and said: "I want to ask you, your dish is called tofu stew, and you also eat tofu, but why did you only serve me a bowl of bean soup?"
When Cai Suan heard this, he quickly got up and came over to take a look. Sure enough, Cai Jing had only soup in his bowl and no tofu. He was immediately shocked and angry. He was about to ask someone to take Li Qi down, but Cai Jing reached out and stopped him. He looked at Li Qi.
Qi looked calm, knowing that there must be a reason for him to do this.
Li Qi nodded and said: "How dare the common people just present you a bowl of bean soup? You will know when you put the spoon into the bowl."
Cai Jing was stunned and wondered if there was another mystery to this bowl of soup. He picked up the spoon and put it into the bowl. He was shocked when he saw a foreign object in the bowl. He took a closer look and saw that it was just a piece of tofu. But this piece of tofu was
Take the middle part, which is milky white and yellowish on all sides, so when you put it into the bean soup, it is integrated and difficult to spot if you don't look carefully.
"But I just heard what Bo Qing said. The browned part is also a delicacy. Why did you choose the middle piece of tofu for me?" Cai Jing still looked unhappy and asked in a deep voice.
Li Qi raised his head and said loudly: "Because the crab roe will do a lot of harm to the grand master but not a single benefit."
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