The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The rice porridge cooked by Min Xi has also bloomed by now. He puts the marinated beef into the rice porridge and waits for it to boil.

A long-lost rice aroma hits his face, and Min Xi says, "I haven't had porridge for a long time."

Yun Ji said, "I still remember the first time you made porridge for me on the Shark. Before that, I had no sense of taste. It was not until I drank that bowl of fish porridge that my sense of taste was restored. I still think that fish porridge is the best porridge in the world."

"Really? Why haven't I heard you mention it before?" Min Xi was very surprised.

"I was still sick at the time, and I was in a daze. After I got better, I never drank porridge again, so I never had the chance to bring it up again."

Min Xi smiled and said, "In fact, the porridge was really ordinary. It was not cooked enough and the ingredients were very simple. It was not the best porridge. Maybe you were too hungry at the time."

"Maybe." Yun Ji chuckled.

"When we go back, we'll buy more rice and make you authentic fish porridge," said Min Xi.

Yun Ji looked at him: "Okay."

Min Xi stirred the meat porridge with a spoon and said, "Okay, take it down. The beef has become tough if it's been cooked for too long. It's hard to chew."

Yunji helped him carry a pot of porridge and put it on the shelf.

"I'll serve you a big bowl and you can try how this porridge tastes. Is it better than fish fillet porridge?" Min Xi said with a smile.

The butler came in from outside: "Sir, the Earl and his wife want to try the breakfast you made."

Min Xi smiled and said, "No problem, you can drink it right away."

Min Xi tasted it, sprinkled some salt in it, stirred it evenly, and then began to serve the porridge. The porridge was very hot, but it was quite appropriate to drink porridge in winter.

The hot meat porridge was served on the table. Min Xi and Yun Ji also came to the table: "The porridge is very hot, be careful when you drink it."

The Count asked curiously, "What is this?"

Min Xi said: "Try the rice porridge. I haven't eaten rice for a long time. I saw rice for sale, so I bought some and made this porridge this morning. In southern China, rice is the staple food, and there are many ways to cook it."

Min Xi said as he used chopsticks to pick up the porridge on the edge of the bowl and drank it slowly. It's been a long time since I last tasted the fragrance of rice. Although the seafood rice yesterday was also made of rice, it was overshadowed by the soup and the original flavor of the rice was hard to taste. Although beef was added today, it was just a side dish and did not dominate the dish. The fragrance of rice was still retained.

Yun Ji couldn't wait to drink the porridge. It was very delicious, a taste he hadn't tasted for a long time. However, it still didn't taste as delicious as the fish porridge he remembered.

The Count wanted to taste it, but it was too hot, so he took a spoonful and waited for it to cool. The Countess and the two children looked at the porridge in front of them, just curious, but not hungry. The Countess was eating the ham toast prepared by the cook, and the two children were still craving for popcorn, and kept glancing at the sofa because the popcorn was placed there.

The count finally put the cold porridge into his mouth: "Wow, it tastes really good, delicious! Aurora, you should try it. Miguel and Sofia should try it too."

After hearing what her husband said, the Countess put down the toast, scooped a spoonful of porridge into her mouth, and tasted it carefully. She was obviously surprised by the taste. She then scooped up a piece of beef and ate it. It was tender and delicious. She had never eaten beef with this taste before.

The Countess said to the tutor, "This porridge tastes very good. Blanco, you feed Sofia the porridge, eat slowly, be careful of the heat. Miguel, you drink slowly, don't be in a hurry, it's a little hot."

When Miguel saw his mother asking him to drink porridge, he picked up the spoon perfunctorily, scooped a piece of beef into his mouth, chewed it, and then said happily: "Mom, this meat is so sweet!" Of course, the beef is not sweet, but fresh. It's just that the child lacks the vocabulary to describe the taste, so he just said it is very sweet. For children, the best taste is sweet.

The count said to his wife, "I'm not lying to you. Mr. Min's cooking skills are first-rate. It's a great honor to eat the food he cooks. He even cooked for the King of Portugal."

"Really? It's our honor! Thank you for the breakfast, it's delicious and we all love it." The Countess smiled and nodded to Min Xi and Yun Ji.

Min Xi smiled and said, "You're welcome. It's just a piece of cake." He did it as a side job, but he just made a little more when making his own breakfast.

The tutor whispered something into the two children's ears, and the two children said crisply, "Thank you uncle for the popcorn and breakfast, we like it very much."

Min Xi had a big smile on his face: "As long as you like it."

The Count remembered something: "I was just about to ask you, what is popcorn made of?"

"It's made of corn, a grain crop brought back from the New World. We saw it for sale at the market this morning and bought some. It's made using the popcorn method, and it tastes surprisingly good," Min Xi explained.

"You really have a brilliant idea. This popcorn is really good, fragrant and sweet. Not only the children like it, but we also like it." The count said with a smile, "Do you have any place you want to go? I'll go with you."

Min Xi thought for a while and said, "We want to visit a professor at Complutense University." After visiting two vegetable markets and not finding any potatoes, Min Xi thought, why not go visit the professor, at least to deliver Professor Greeley's letter. If he could really find potatoes there, it would be a pleasant surprise.

The count asked in surprise, "You also know the professor at Complutense University?"

Min Xi explained: "No. I am very interested in botany and I know Professor Greely of the University of Coimbra. He knows Professor Diaz of the Complutense University. When he learned that I was coming to Madrid, he recommended that I visit Professor Diaz."

"Then I'll go with you. It's just the right time for me to go and have a look. I have a classmate who teaches at Complutense University and I haven't visited him yet," said the count.

So after dinner, they set off together to Complutense University.

As we chatted on the way, we learned that the best university in Spain is the University of Salamanca, where the Count graduated. It is the oldest university in Spain. The Complutense University was established much later than the University of Salamanca, and it was only after the capital was moved here that it was taken seriously. Its conditions in all aspects are not as good as those of the University of Salamanca.

The most important thing is that the University of Salamanca is not in Madrid, but in Salamanca, about 200 kilometers away from Madrid. It takes about two days to get there by horse carriage.

Min Xi prayed in his heart that he would find potatoes in Complutense. He really didn't want to go to Salamanca.

When they met Professor Diaz, took out Professor Greeley's letter and explained their purpose, Professor Diaz received them warmly.

Since we are at the school, we must visit the plantation of the biology professor. Complutense University also has a glass greenhouse, which is not very large, but not smaller than the Baron's glass greenhouse.

Min Xi and Yun Ji followed the professor in and walked around for a few rounds, but still couldn't find the potatoes they were looking for. However, corn, sweet potatoes, bananas, and tomatoes were all available here.

Min Xi was a little worried. Why couldn't he find it anywhere? Could it be that potatoes hadn't been introduced to Europe yet? This was not impossible.

Min Xi pretended to chat with Professor Diaz: "Where are the plants brought back from overseas usually sent first?"

Professor Diaz said: "It's not so certain. Generally speaking, it depends on which port it docks at, and then it is sent to the local university for cultivation and research."

Min Xi thought about it. The largest port city in Spain is Barcelona, ​​followed by Valencia. He couldn't help but ask, "Do both Barcelona and Valencia have universities?"

"Of course!" said Professor Diaz.

But these two cities are both on the Mediterranean coast and are not close to Madrid. Barcelona, ​​in particular, is even farther away from Madrid, more than 600 kilometers away, even farther than the distance from Lisbon to Madrid.

Is that all there is to it?

At noon, the Earl invited his classmates to dinner and invited Min Xi and Yun Ji to go together. The two couldn't refuse, so they went with them.

The Earl's classmate was a very talkative person. He asked Min Xi and Yun Ji many questions about China. The meal lasted until two o'clock.

After dinner, the count had something else to do, so he said he would send them back first while he went on to do his business.

Min Xi said, "Don't bother me, sir. Just go and do what you need. We can go shopping and walk around to get familiar with Madrid."

"This place is not close to my home, and can you find the place?" asked the count.

Min Xi smiled and said, "If we get tired, we can call a carriage. The driver will surely find one."

The Earl thought this made sense: "Well, take your time shopping."

After the Earl left, Min Xi sighed, "What should I do, Seventh Brother? I suddenly thought of something."

"what's up?"

"Potatoes may not have been introduced to Spain at that time." Min Xi said with a wry smile.

"What then? Is it possible that it has already arrived, but has not yet reached Madrid?"

Min Xi said: "If it really came, it would probably be in Valencia and Barcelona, ​​the two largest ports in their country. Do you know how far Barcelona is from here? It's about the same distance from Lisbon."

Yun Ji frowned: "What about Valencia?"

"Valencia is closer. It will take seven or eight days to go there and back," said Min Xi.

Yun Ji thought for a moment and said, "If we go to both places, it will take about a month on the road. Adding the time to go back to Lisbon, we can get back before April. But this will be too tiring. We will be traveling all the time. It is better to seek an unknown answer. You decide. If you go, I will go with you."