The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

But it is easier said than done. Egg yolk mooncakes are traditionally paired with lotus paste, but there are no lotus seeds in Europe, so lotus paste cannot be made. Red beans are also not available, so red bean paste cannot be made. After much thought, the only substitute I could find was chestnuts.

There are many chestnut trees in the UK, and now is the season for chestnuts to mature. There is a tall chestnut tree in Bright's manor, which must be wild and full of fruits. The British do not eat chestnuts. When the fruits are ripe, they fall to the ground and are left to die.

At this moment, the chestnuts had not fallen much, so Min Xi and Yun Ji did not hit them. It turned out that they were planning to wait for them to fall automatically and then pick up some.

Now if we want to use chestnuts, we have to pick some.

Yun Ji took the initiative to take on the task of picking chestnuts. Although the tree was tall, it was not difficult for him to climb up. He climbed up in a few tries and stood on the branch, holding the tree with one hand and the pole with the other. After a few hits, a rain of chestnuts fell.

Min Xi laughed happily under the tree: "That's enough, Seventh Brother, come down."

Yun Ji waved the pole a few more times before coming down from the tree: "Okay, these are enough."

"That's enough. You've caught too many. You may feel happy when you hit them after a few casts, but you'll be in trouble when you're skinned later." Min Xi felt a little worried when he thought about the next job.

Fortunately, many chestnuts have opened, and some chestnuts fell out of their shells directly. Those that did not fall out can be removed by stepping on them, which is not too troublesome. The troublesome part is to remove the shells and inner membranes of the chestnuts. Although Min Xi has a secret to make it easier to remove the membranes after blanching them in boiling water, it is still very time-consuming to peel so many chestnuts one by one.

Yun Ji still had a solution. He called Powell's children over and promised them that as long as they helped to peel the fish, he would make them a delicious meal.

When the children heard that there was food to eat, they ran over happily because they knew that these two Chinese uncles were very good at cooking and whatever they cooked was delicious.

With the help of the children, the process was much faster. Min Xi also made a pot of sugar-roasted chestnuts for the children.

The children were reluctant to eat it at first. They also had this stuff at home, but it didn't taste good. They didn't eat it, only pigs ate it. The oldest child took the risk and tried it. He found that the chestnuts were not as dry and tasteless as he remembered. Instead, they were soft, sticky and sweet. The Chinese uncle really had magic. Everything in his hands would become extra delicious.

After the chestnuts are peeled, steamed, and then crushed into powder, filtered with fine gauze, fried with sugar, and then added with olive oil to make a paste. The chestnuts for mooncakes are ready. If you want to add egg yolk, wrap a salted egg yolk in the chestnut paste, wrap it with mooncake skin, put it in a mold, press it, and the mooncake is ready. Then put it in the oven and bake it.

Because I picked a lot of chestnuts, there were not enough salted egg yolks, so I baked some chestnut mooncakes without egg yolks.

Including those with five-nut fillings, there are a total of three flavors of mooncakes.

Although it is said to have five-nut filling, there are actually not that many kinds of nuts. Min Xi only found hazelnuts, walnuts, and almonds. It can barely be considered a five-nut mooncake.

After the mooncakes were made, Min Xi sent a box to each of his neighbors, saying that it was the traditional Chinese festival of Mid-Autumn Festival, and he invited everyone to eat traditional Mid-Autumn food mooncakes. Of course, Powell's family received more, after all, his children helped.

The Powell children have been studying how to make sugar-roasted chestnuts these days. Those things that they usually look down upon become extra delicious after being made by a Chinese uncle. They also want to learn how to make it so that they can eat such delicious sugar-roasted chestnuts in the future.

After eating the mooncakes, the children felt that chestnut mooncakes seemed more delicious, so they decided to learn how to make chestnut mooncakes.

Min Xi had no idea that he had inadvertently ignited a love for food in several children's hearts. Maybe in a few years, there would be several pastry masters in Britain.

For guests who come to the restaurant for dinner, Min Xi will also give each table a box of mooncakes to promote Chinese traditional culture.

After eating the delicious food, the guests can pack it up and take it away, which naturally makes them very happy.

Ever since deciding to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, Yun Ji has filled up all the reservations for that day, so as to prevent customers from placing orders on that day. He and Min Xi want to have a relaxing Mid-Autumn Festival.

On the festival day, Yun Ji went to the market early in the morning and bought a lot of vegetables, as well as fruits, dried fruits and beer. He planned to invite the neighbors to his home to enjoy the moon and barbecue after dinner. He believed that the neighbors would be very happy.

It is very rare that there is not much rain in the UK this season, and today did not disappoint, the weather was unusually sunny.

Min Xi got up early in the morning and swept the yard inside and out to welcome the Mid-Autumn Festival with a new look.

As a result, in the morning, an unexpected guest came to the house. It was the envoy of the queen that they had been waiting for for a long time. The queen summoned them to the palace to meet her today. Min Xi and Yun Ji looked at each other in bewilderment. Why did they come today, not earlier or later?

But it’s a good thing it happened today. After all, if the customer ordered a meal and couldn’t find anyone when he came, it would really offend the customer and I would have to pay compensation and apologize.

Min Si said to the Queen's envoy, "Is there any news from the Portuguese delegation?"

The envoy said expressionlessly: "I don't know about this. I am just here to welcome the two Excellencies to the palace. Please follow me quickly."

Min Xi and Yun Ji had no choice but to go back to the house and change into their most decent clothes. After all, they were going to meet the queen, so they should dress formally.

In addition, Min Xi also brought two boxes of mooncakes. How could he go out empty-handed during the festival? Although the queen might not eat the two boxes of mooncakes he brought, it was basic etiquette.

The carriage carried them into the city, and after a long journey, they finally arrived at the royal palace. This palace was not the Buckingham Palace that Min Si was familiar with. Min Si had never heard of this palace. It should have been lost in the long river of history.

This palace is not even as majestic as the Royal Palace of Portugal, which shows that Britain was really poor in the past.

Min Xi and Yun Ji were warned not to look around, so they had to carry the mooncake boxes and follow the envoy across the wide palace square.

When they arrived at the door, they were greeted by servants, who searched them as usual before allowing them in. When they met Sebastian I in Portugal, they were never searched, which showed that the Queen's security measures were much stricter.

Of course, we can't blame the queen for being cautious. After all, there were many people who hoped she would die, and her political enemies even sent people to assassinate her.

The guard at the door opened the box that Min Xi carried with him and looked at him with light blue eyes: "What is this?"

Min Xi replied: "Moon cakes. Today is the traditional Chinese festival Mid-Autumn Festival. I made some festive food. I didn't expect to be summoned by the Queen, so I brought some moon cakes to Her Majesty the Queen."

The guard leaned over and smelled it. It smelled sweet and fragrant. It was indeed food. He hesitated for a moment, but still closed the lid and handed it back to Min Xi: "Go in."

The courtier led them into the palace, through several corridors, and finally arrived at a side hall: "Wait here, I will go and inform the queen."

After saying that, he left without even pouring a cup of tea, leaving Min Xi and Yun Ji staring at each other.

Min Xi whispered, "After meeting the Queen, we should be able to go back for dinner in the evening."

Yun Ji nodded without saying anything. The Queen had asked them to come for two reasons: one was about the Portuguese embassy, ​​and the other was to bring a letter to the Ming Emperor.

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, the servant came back and said, "Please follow me."

This time they walked for a long time and did not go to any palace. Instead, they arrived at the garden. Queen Elizabeth was wearing a sun hat and basking in the sun in the yard. A British shorthair cat was lying at her feet and a long-haired cat was lying on her knees.

When he saw them coming, he didn't move, or even turn his head.

The two men walked up to Queen Elizabeth, and the courtier said, "Your Majesty, the two Chinese gentlemen have arrived."

Min Xi and Yun Ji bowed to the queen and said, "Greetings, Her Majesty!"

Queen Elizabeth then raised her head and nodded to them: "Now that you are here, please take a seat."

Only then did Min Xi notice that the queen was holding a piece of paper in her hand. Judging from the creases, it should be a letter.

Min Xi handed the box in his hand to the courtier: "Your Majesty, today is our traditional Chinese festival Mid-Autumn Festival. I made some festive food mooncakes. Please taste them, Your Majesty."

The queen put the letter in her hand on the table beside her: "Oh, what is it made of?"

Min Xi said: "There are three flavors, one is chestnut filling, one is chestnut and egg yolk filling, and the other is nut filling."

"It's interesting that chestnuts can be used to make your mooncakes. Lucien, take them out and let me taste them," said the queen.

The courtier Lucien hesitated: "Your Majesty, this is against the rules."

Queen Elizabeth looked at him and couldn't help but laugh: "Are you still afraid that they will frame me?"

Min Xi said hurriedly: "We would like to taste it with Her Majesty the Queen. Please bring some tableware."

Hearing this, Lucien dared not refuse any more, and quickly brought a knife and fork. Min Xi personally moved a chestnut and egg yolk mooncake to the plate, then cut it with a knife, divided it into four pieces, picked up a piece with a fork, and handed it to Queen Elizabeth with both hands: "Your Majesty, please taste it."

After saying that, he picked up the fork, picked up a piece, handed it to Yun Ji, and picked up a piece for himself: "We will dare to taste it with the Queen." Without waiting for the Queen to eat, he started eating first.

Queen Elizabeth smiled slightly when she saw this, and put the mooncake into her mouth. She took a small bite and found it to be delicate, sweet with a hint of saltiness. "Not bad."

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty." Min Xi finished eating the mooncake and put down his fork.

Yun Ji finished eating the mooncake and silently put down his fork.

The two of them then sat down on the chairs designated by the Queen.

The Queen finished her mooncake, put down her fork, and said, "Happy holidays!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, and happy holidays to you too!" the two of them hurriedly expressed their gratitude.