The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi rubbed his face and said, "In fact, if there are no potatoes, corn and sweet potatoes are almost enough. We will come to Europe again in the future, and we can come here to look for them then."

Yun Ji reminded him: "But if you come again in the future, you won't have so much time."

Min Xi looked at him: "You mean, we should go to Valencia and Barcelona?"

Yun Ji nodded: "I will go, but who should I go to? Do you have any idea?"

Min Xi scratched his head in annoyance: "This is indeed a problem. How about we shamelessly ask Professor Diaz to write a letter of recommendation for us? But we've just met once, so I feel a little reluctant to ask." Professor Diaz is a professor of biology, and the person he recommends will definitely be a professor in the same major, which is a lot more convenient, but they are really not that familiar with each other.

"Why don't we ask the Earl if he knows anyone there?" Yun Ji said.

"It's not impossible. Let's go back and cook."

Yun Ji laughed and said, "People are always soft-hearted. The Earl ate the meal you cooked, so if you make another request, they will be embarrassed to refuse."

Min Xi's eyes smiled like crescent moons, and he snapped his fingers: "That's what I mean!"

The two of them stopped shopping and found a carriage, heading straight back to the Earl's manor to cook.

When they returned, the cook had not yet started preparing dinner, and Min Xi said to her, "I want to cook tonight. Please ask the Countess if she wants to eat Chinese food with us. If she does, I will make more and you don't have to cook."

When the cook heard this, she was really excited. She had also drunk the porridge made by Min Xi in the morning and it tasted really good. She really wanted to try what Min Xi’s meal tasted like.

The cook ran to tell the housekeeper that Min Xi wanted to prepare dinner. The housekeeper hurried to ask the countess. After eating the porridge in the morning, the countess was naturally more curious about the main meal, so she said, "Of course, please trouble him, and we will eat with them."

Min Xi quickly got a positive answer, and then he and Yun Ji started to prepare dinner together. The cook was also called to help kill two chickens.

Both chickens were cooked as beggar's chicken, using dried water lily leaves brought back from England, which they took with them when they went out.

The rest of the dishes are mainly beef, including stir-fried beef with green onions, braised beef, beef with egg, meatball soup, and stir-fried vegetables. The staple food is steamed rice, and the dessert is egg tarts.

When the meal was ready, the Earl came back. He guessed that Min Xi would cook dinner, so he deliberately did not arrange any social events. When he came back, he saw that it was true and he had made a fortune.

Min Xi and Yun Ji knocked off the outer shell of the beggar's chicken, took out the chicken meat, tore it open and served it on the table. The juicy beggar's chicken had a fragrant aroma that made people drool.

The count took a deep breath and asked impatiently, "What is this?"

Min Xi said: "Beggar's chicken. We Chinese don't eat separately. All dishes are served together. Everyone can take whatever they want. There are communal knives and forks for each dish."

"It's okay, we can do it ourselves."

Min Xi asked again: "Do you need some rice?"

The count was stunned for a moment: "What rice?" He had only eaten paella.

Min Xi explained: "It's just steamed rice, with no other ingredients added. It's the staple food. In China, if we don't drink alcohol during a meal, we just eat the staple food. The dishes are used to go with the rice."

"And what about drinking?" asked the Count.

"Then drink first, then eat the food, and then the main course after drinking."

"Such a sumptuous meal should be accompanied by some wine. Go to the wine cellar and get the best wine." The count called the butler to get the wine.

The two children were drooling over the aroma of the food on the table. Miguel said, "Mom, can I eat now?"

The Countess said, "Miguel, no, please wait a moment."

Min Xi said, "Madam, let the children eat first. They can't drink alcohol either."

"Yes, let the children eat first." The count stood up and took the beggar's chicken legs from the fork for the two children. Looking at the chicken legs dripping with soup, the count couldn't help swallowing his saliva.

The two children tried using spoons and forks, but found that neither worked well. So they asked their mother for permission and just grabbed the chicken leg and ate it. Sophia, who was sitting next to her mother, took a bite and said, "Wow, mom, the chicken leg is delicious. You should try it too."

The child brought the chicken leg to the countess's mouth. The countess looked at her daughter lovingly and said, "Good girl, you eat first."

"Mom, have a taste," Sophia insisted.

In order to comfort the child, the Countess took a small bite and was immediately shocked by the delicious taste on the tip of her tongue. It was unexpectedly delicious: "Yes, it is really delicious. Thank you Sophia, Mom has already eaten it, you should eat it quickly."

"Aurora, does it taste especially good?" the Count asked his wife.

The Countess nodded: "Yes, it is indeed very delicious!"

The count smiled proudly: "I am not lying to you, I dare say Mr. Min's craftsmanship is unmatched in all of Europe."

The earl's heart had long been on the food on the table, but the wine had not yet arrived. He could not help but curse himself for being a fool, wondering why he had not prepared the wine earlier and had to wait until the food was served before thinking about it. Fortunately, the butler quickly took out the wine and poured it for both the host and the guests.

The host and the guest drank some wine and then started to eat. The Count couldn't wait to take a big bite of the chicken, and his eyebrows began to dance with joy: "Wow, this chicken tastes absolutely amazing, the best chicken I've ever eaten. I didn't eat this dish when I went to Lisbon, I had chicken cooked in another way, which tasted very good, and was also tender and boneless."

Min Xi said, "That's roast chicken. This is beggar's chicken. The cooking methods are different. That dish is stewed with many spices, while this dish preserves more of the original flavor of the chicken. Each tastes different."

"Yes, I will never forget that chicken after I ate it. I didn't expect there is another chicken that tastes as good as that one. You are such a good cook." The count exclaimed.

Min Xi said, "I can try making roast chicken for you some other day."

The Earl narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Thank you so much! Our whole family will enjoy this delicious meal."

The Countess also politely praised Min Xi's cooking skills, and the two children made no secret of their love for the chicken, saying that it was the most delicious chicken in the world.

Which chef doesn’t like diners to praise his cooking skills? Although Min Xi has heard so many compliments, he still enjoys hearing new ones.

After three rounds of drinks, the Earl asked, "Where else do you want to go?"

Min Xi and Yun Ji looked at each other and said, "Your Excellency, we also plan to visit Barcelona and Valencia."

The Count was stunned for a moment: "You are going to Valencia and Barcelona? Is there something you want to do?"

Min Xi shook his head: "It's not that I have anything to do. I heard that these are the two largest port cities in Spain. There must be a lot of big ships. I just want to go and broaden my horizons."

The count said proudly, "Barcelona and Valencia are the largest ports in Europe. If you want to see ships, you should go to these two places. Even Lisbon cannot compare to the scale of these two ports. So when do you plan to go?"

Min Xi said, "Let's wait for two days." He remembered that he had accepted Mrs. Alwaka's invitation to the banquet, so even if he didn't go, he had to tell her.

"Will you go to Valencia or Barcelona first?" asked the Count.

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to Valencia first, and then we'll see if we can go to Barcelona." Valencia is closer, and if we can find potatoes in Valencia, we don't have to go to Barcelona. If we can't find any, we can go directly from Valencia to Barcelona, ​​which will save us a lot of time on the way.

The count said with some regret: "I thought you would stay in Madrid for a month, but I didn't expect you to leave so soon."

The Countess suddenly said, "My dear, the weather in Madrid is quite cold recently. Why don't you take the children to Valencia for a vacation? The children also want to go to the beach."

The Earl's eyes lit up: "My dear, this is a great suggestion. Mr. Min, maybe we can go together."

"If that's the case, it would be even better." Min Xi said with a smile.

Miguel was a little older and his eyes lit up when he heard his parents' conversation: "Dad, Mom, are we going to the beach?"

The Earl nodded to his son: "Yes."

Miguel raised his hands excitedly: "Oh, that's great!"

The younger sister was still little and didn’t know what was going on. When she saw her brother cheering, she also raised her hand: “That’s great!” It was so soft and tender, so cute.

The count said: "Then come and stay at my house when you return to Madrid."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Okay, if time permits, I will stay in Madrid for a few more days."

The Earl and his family enjoyed the meal very much. Even the two children, who were usually very picky eaters, had their bellies full.

However, they didn’t like the steamed rice as their staple food, probably because they thought it had no taste and was a bit rough in texture. So they just mixed it with the braised beef broth and ate some of it.

Min Xi and Yun Ji liked it very much. Even if it was brown rice, it was still rice. They ate two big bowls, which made up for the regret of not eating much rice in the past two or three years.

The dessert captured the hearts of the two children, who exclaimed, “This is the most delicious dessert in the world.”

After dinner, when the tutor left with the two children, Miguel ran to Min Xi and said, "Uncle, the dessert you made is so delicious. Can I have it again in the future?"

Min Xi looked at the cute little boy and patted his head: "Don't worry, uncle will make it for you tomorrow."

Miguel was very happy and waved to Min Xi, asking him to come closer.

Min Xi cooperated and turned sideways, and Miguel kissed him on the face: "Thank you, uncle!"