The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Knowing that rice is produced in Spain, Min Xi paid special attention to the flour shop to see if they had rice for sale.

The Spanish obviously don't know how to cook rice, and few people eat rice, so I looked at four flour shops before I found one that sold rice. The price of rice is not cheap, about the same as wheat flour, which exacerbated the sluggish rice sales.

Min Xi and Yun Ji hadn't eaten rice for a long time. They bought 50 pounds of rice at one time, which shocked the owner. It was the first time he saw someone buying rice in this way. After all, customers usually bought rice by pounds.

"Are you sure you want to buy so much?" the shopkeeper confirmed again.

"Yes, that's all I'll buy." Min Xi answered affirmatively. He had already thought about what to eat. He hadn't eaten rice for so long, so he would have to eat three big bowls of it first!

The shop owner was sure that he had heard correctly, so he weighed the rice for him, gave them the rice bag, and enthusiastically helped to put it in the car.

This trip to Spain was really worth it, as I could actually buy rice. Min Xi planned to buy more rice when he returned, and make authentic paella for everyone in Lisbon. After all, the seafood in Lisbon was really fresh, and paired with rice, it was a true golden combination.

In addition to rice, they also bought some flour, after all, they could use it to make snacks. They were guests at the Earl's house, and the Earl would definitely not charge them, but they couldn't eat and live for free, so they had to solve their own problems, after all, they would be staying for quite a while.

They went to two vegetable markets but couldn't find the potatoes that Min Xi wanted. There were one or two markets selling sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes were said to have been popularized, so why weren't potatoes?

I'll go back to Complutense University to visit Professor Diaz and see if the school grows potatoes.

When they were about to leave, Yun Ji suddenly said, "Ninth brother, look over there, isn't that the corn you planted?"

Min Xi followed Yun Ji's finger and saw a peasant woman crouching in a corner of the market with a basket in her hand. In front of her was a basket of corn cobs, which were, of course, completely dried corn. Corn was not popular in Spain, so few people knew how to eat it, not to mention that this was dried corn, so even fewer people knew how to eat it, so the peasant woman didn't sell any of the corn cobs in her basket.

Min Xi was overjoyed and quickly walked over to take a look. The corn cobs were quite plump, indicating that there should be quite a lot of them. He asked the old woman, "What are these?"

The old woman raised her cloudy eyes and looked at Min Xi, saying a word that Min Xi had never heard before. Min Xi had no choice but to stop asking her: "How much?"

The old lady said, "One peso."

"One peso per stick?" Min Xi asked uncertainly. It was really expensive.

"One basket."

"Then I'll take them all." Min Xi took out a copper peso and bought a basket of corn cobs.

Yun Ji asked: "How do you plan to eat this?" He knew that Min Xi definitely didn't buy so much for seeds, after all, one grain of corn can be used to grow one plant.

Min Xi said: "Dried corn is mainly ground into flour for eating, but there is another way to eat it. I will go back and try it. If I can make it, it will be great as a snack."

The two of them spent the whole morning at the vegetable market and came back with a lot of stuff. There were still a few markets they hadn't visited yet, so they would go again tomorrow morning.

When they returned to the Earl's estate, they saw the Earl's two children playing with their tutor. When they saw the carriage coming in, they stopped and watched for a while.

The count's two children are a boy and a girl. The boy is six years old and the girl is only three or four years old. The brother and sister are beautiful and typical dolls, very cute. The count hired a tutor to accompany the children at home. I saw him at dinner last night, but the children are timid. When they see strangers, or strangers who look different from them, they dare not look at them.

Min Xi and Yun Ji waved and said hello to the children, then brought the things they bought from the market to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

The cook was busy in the kitchen. Seeing them bringing in so many things, she asked in confusion, "What is this?"

Min Xi said, "These are the ingredients we bought. I may use the kitchen more often in the future, so please bear with me."

"Aren't you guests?" The cook became a little alert when she heard this. She thought these two were coming to steal her job.

"Yes. But I also like cooking, and occasionally I will cook some Chinese food for everyone. This is allowed by the Earl." Min Xi said.

When the cook heard him say that, she knew he was not the one who wanted to steal her job, so she felt relieved: "I will make whatever you want to eat. You don't have to cook it yourself."

Min Xi explained: "I cook Chinese food, but you don't know how to cook. I'll cook it myself, and you can take a break and try my cooking once in a while."

The cook shrugged her shoulders and pursed her lips to show that she couldn't understand. How could a guest cook at the host's home?

The count's kitchen had quite a few stoves, probably prepared for large banquets. Min Xi and Yun Ji lit two other stoves and started to cook breakfast. Since they had rice, they would make beef porridge. Madrid was not near the sea, so there was no seafood. The locals did not seem to eat freshwater fish, so they could only choose meat for the porridge. Pork was not castrated and could not be eaten, so they could only eat beef and mutton.

Fortunately, Spain has many mountains, which are not very suitable for planting, but are suitable for breeding, so there is abundant beef and mutton. They prefer to raise cattle rather than sheep. Beef is one of the main meats in inland Spain and is not expensive.

Min Xi cuts the beef into thin slices, marinates it with spices and soy sauce, and then adds it to the porridge when it is ready and brings it to a boil.

On the other stove, Min Xi planned to try making popcorn. The most important thing about making popcorn is the temperature. The corn can only pop when the oil temperature is appropriate. If the oil temperature is too low, the corn will not pop, and if it is too high, the corn will become mushy.

After trying several times, Min Xi finally got the right temperature for making popcorn and made delicious popcorn.

He added honey and used butter to the popcorn. The popcorn was fragrant and sweet. When it was done, the whole kitchen was filled with a strong sweet aroma.

The cook looked at him in surprise: "What did you make?"

Min Xi smiled and said, "Popcorn, try it."

The cook grabbed two and put them in her mouth. They were so fragrant and sweet, and tasted great: "They taste really good!"

At this time, the tutor walked to the kitchen door with the children and asked the cook: "Is the children's breakfast ready?"

The cook quickly grabbed a few more popcorns in her hand and said, "It will be ready soon." Then she stuffed the popcorns into her mouth and hurried to work.

The tutor sniffed: "It smells so good, what is it made of?"

Min Xi turned his head and looked at her: "I made some popcorn, do you want to give it to the children to try?"

The tutor came over and looked at the white and yellow popcorn in the bowl. It was something he had never seen before: "What is this?"

"I made popcorn with corn and added butter and honey. Please try it." Min Xi said to the tutor.

The tutor grabbed one and put it in her mouth. She was immediately surprised and said, "It's delicious. Miguel, Sofia, you guys should try it too. Your uncle made it for you. It's very sweet."

Miguel looked at Min Xi timidly, but couldn't resist the sweet temptation, so he walked over, stretched out his little hand, grabbed one and put it in his mouth.

Min Xi asked with a smile: "Is it delicious?"

Miguel nodded vigorously. "It's delicious. Uncle, can I have another one?"

"Of course, I'll give it all to you and your sister." Min Xi handed the popcorn to the tutor and turned around to continue making popcorn.

After the tutor took it, Miguel couldn't wait to reach out and grab a handful of popcorn. Sofia saw her brother eating it and also reached out to grab some.

The tutor took them to the living room and asked them to sit on the sofa to eat popcorn. The little brother and sister ate the popcorn and giggled happily.

The Countess was coming down from upstairs when she heard the children's laughter. She hurried downstairs and saw the children eating something strange. She asked the governess, "Blanca, what did you feed the children?"

The governess looked up at her and said, "Ma'am, it's popcorn. The Chinese gentleman made it for the children."

When the Countess heard this, she hurried downstairs. The Count, who was following her, saw her hurry and asked, "What's the matter?"

"The Chinese guests made some food for the children. I'll go see what it is," said the Countess.

When the count heard this, he quickened his pace and said, "That must be something good! I'll try it too."

The Countess watched the two children sitting on the sofa, grabbing a handful of popcorn in each hand and stuffing them happily into their mouths. When they saw their mother, Sofia shouted happily, "Mom, this popcorn is so delicious!"

The Countess walked over and her daughter obediently stuffed popcorn into her mouth. She had no choice but to open her mouth to take it. She found that it was crispy, fragrant and sweet, and unexpectedly delicious.

The count also came over, reached into the basin, grabbed a handful and put it into his mouth: "Wow, what is this? It's so delicious!" Then he grabbed another handful.

Miguel was anxious: "Dad, you caught too many!"

The Earl sat on the sofa: "Dad, what's wrong with having a little? It was made by a friend that Dad invited back. We have to thank Dad."

The Countess asked as she ate: "What on earth is this made of? I hope it won't cause any problems."

"Not really! Mr. Min is a chef, he would never give us something inedible." The Earl ate popcorn slowly.

"What did he say it was made of?" the Countess asked the governess.

"Corn, it is said, and butter and honey," said the governess.

The countess asked her husband in confusion, "What is corn?"

The Earl shrugged: "I don't know, I'll ask him later."

At this time, the housekeeper came over to ask: "Sir, Madam, breakfast is ready. Mr. Min also made breakfast. I would like to ask what kind of breakfast you would like to eat?"

When the Earl heard this, he quickly stood up and said, "Mr. Min also made breakfast? I'll go see what he made!"