The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Since preparing to open a new store, Min Xi has consciously taught Diego to make more snacks. In addition to baked egg tarts, cakes, biscuits and sweet bread, there are also steamed custard buns, fried twisted dough sticks and small dough sticks.

Diego can't handle it all by himself, so he doesn't need to do too many tricks, he can change it up occasionally. Then find him a helper to help him.

Diego studied very hard, because he understood that this was the trust his boss had in him. Gael loved to brag about how capable he was and how much his boss valued him, but his boss did not ask him to be in charge of the new store.

Yunji consciously taught Diego how to do accounting and simple addition, subtraction and multiplication, because they would be useful when the time came.

Min Xi felt a little sympathetic for the child. In just a few months, he had to learn how to make so many different kinds of pastries, and also learn literacy and arithmetic. Even a crash course couldn't do that.

Fortunately, the boy was smart, and he had learned some simple addition and subtraction in the tavern of Sanvis. Some people are illiterate, but they can do simple calculations, which is a talent, and Diego just happens to have this talent.

So Diego preferred arithmetic to literacy and learned it faster.

Before they knew it, they had been open for almost three months, and the summer in Fulangji had passed, entering the cool and pleasant autumn.

The most obvious change is that the weather has become cooler and the streets are full of people selling grapes. This is the season when grapes are ripe and also a good time to make wine.

Min Xi checked the jar of soy sauce he had dried. After more than two months, he could already faintly smell the aroma of the sauce. Unfortunately, the temperature was gradually dropping, so the soy sauce could not be eaten for the time being.

Min Xi thought that since he couldn't eat soy sauce, he should be able to eat bean paste, so he took out some, chopped the chili peppers, mixed them into the bean paste, then boiled some olive oil, let it cool, and poured it in. This is a bit similar to Sichuan red oil bean paste.

Min Xi picked up a little with chopsticks to taste it. It was quite similar to the original. It would be even better after a few days when the chili flavor is absorbed.

The first thing to do after making the red oil bean paste is to treat yourself to a savory dish.

He went to the market and bought some pork belly and lamb ribs. Lamb ribs have less meat and more bones, so they are sold very cheaply. Min Xi bought a whole one.

Stew the lamb ribs first, then make the twice-cooked pork.

The pork belly is blanched and cooked with a variety of spices and wine to remove the meaty smell, then sliced ​​and stir-fried with bean paste and garlic sprouts. The whole room is filled with a choking aroma, and no one, including Min Xi himself, can help but sneeze.

Yun Ji sneezed and went out the back door: "This food is too spicy!" It's no wonder that he couldn't stand it. At that time, chili peppers had not yet been introduced to China, and Sichuan cuisine had not yet formed its later flavor, and he had never eaten it.

Baron Fernando came in with two barrels of wine and was almost choked by the pungent smell: "Ah-sneezes-what's that smell?"

Gail, who had taken refuge in the front hall, said, "The host is cooking something new."

Fernando said, "What new dish? I've never had it before. It looks very special."

He walked to the kitchen door and almost cried because of the fumes and spicy food inside. He quickly ran through the kitchen and ran to the back door. He asked Yun Ji who was taking shelter in the backyard: "What is Min cooking?"

Yun Ji shook his head: "I don't know either. I'll know when it's done."

Min Xi cooked twice-cooked pork and a dish of lamb ribs with soy sauce, and brought the dishes to the table, saying, "Go wash your hands and come eat."

The staple food for lunch today was white flour steamed buns without any stuffing, which went well with twice-cooked pork and lamb ribs. In fact, these two dishes are best served with rice, but unfortunately there is no rice in Europe at this time, so we had to use steamed buns.

Fernando prepared himself mentally before entering the front hall from the backyard: "If I didn't know you were cooking, I would have thought someone was releasing poison gas. The smell is too strong."

"Haha, if that's the smell. You came so early today, did you miss breakfast?" Min Xi said. It was not yet eleven o'clock and the guests had not arrived yet.

Fernando said, "I came to see you for something, and I brought you two barrels of wine. Your Majesty gave me this as a reward. I'll give you two bottles to try. This is five-year-old wine. The grape yield was low that year, but the wine is the best."

Min Xi looked at the small oak barrel and said, "Thank you. I'll treat you to lunch today. Both dishes are new."

Amanda brought the steamed buns to the table. Min Xi and Yun Ji sat down, and Fernando also sat down. Several employees did not dare to sit down when they saw the guests were there. After all, the baron was a nobleman.

Min Xi took a look and said, "Greta, bring two more plates and divide the food. You can go to the next table to eat."

Greta hurried to get the plate.

Min Xi pushed some of the dishes aside and put them on the table next to him for a few employees to eat, and the three of them sat here to eat.

Fernando picked up a long steamed bun and said, "What is this? I've never seen you make staple food of this shape."

Min Xi said: "Mantou is similar to steamed buns, but without fillings. In fact, in China, this is still the main staple food. We steam a large pot of mantou at a time. Because there is no filling, it can be kept for many days. When you want to eat it, you can just heat it up in the steamer. It can also be used as dry food when you go out, and you can eat it even if there is no vegetable."

Fernando said, "Aren't you afraid it might break?"

Min Xi said: "Northern China is very dry, so things don't easily go moldy or spoil. Winter is especially cold, and the steamed buns are frozen into lumps, so it's hard to spoil them."

"Is it that cold? Isn't it the same as Northern Europe?" said Fernando.

Min Xi nodded: "It may be colder than Northern Europe. Ask Yun, he grew up in the north."

Yun Ji said: "I don't know what the situation is like in Northern Europe. I only know that our winter is very cold. The wind is like a razor blade, and the water in the lake is so cold that you can skate on it."

"It was really cold," said Fernando. "We hardly ever have snow in France. The only time I saw snow was in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the first day of the season and melted the next day. It was almost not frozen."

He took a bite of the bun: "It's soft and delicious, and it seems to taste good."

Min Xi suggested him: "Eat it with some vegetables." He picked up a piece of twice-cooked pork, and it really tasted like what he remembered, spicy and delicious, even the smell of the meat was masked a lot. Then he took a bite of the steamed bun, and it was a perfect match.

Yun Ji also took a bite of meat, and Min Xi asked, "How is it?"

Yun Ji nodded: "It smells good." It's a little spicy, but he didn't say that.

Fernando took a bite and exclaimed, "It's so spicy!"

Min Xi laughed: "The characteristic of this dish is that it is spicy."

Yun Ji asked: "Where is this made? How did you think of mixing spicy and bean paste together?"

"I forgot where this recipe was made, but I heard about it from other chefs. I wanted to see if the soy sauce was ready, but found out it wasn't, so I took out some bean paste, which can replace the soy sauce to a certain extent. Would it make the meat more fragrant if used to stir-fry it?" Min Xi asked.

Yun Ji said: "Yes, I feel like the pork smell is not that strong anymore."

Fernando said: "This dish is really delicious and it whets people's appetite. What is this dish?" He asked, pointing at the lamb ribs.

Min Xi looked at the sheep scorpion, and didn't know how to say scorpion in Portuguese, so he said, "The spine of the sheep."

Fernando said, "All bones?"

Min Xi smiled and said, "Yes, just chew the bones. You can also try dipping steamed buns in the soup." He used a spoon to scoop a bowl of lamb ribs for Fernando, with both the soup and the meat.

Fernando dipped the steamed bun into the soup and took a bite: "Delicious!"

In fact, the most suitable way to eat this dish is with hot pot. After eating the lamb ribs, you can use the lamb soup to boil the vegetables. However, the guests will be served soon, so there is naturally no time for hot pot.

Fernando was not good at using chopsticks, so in order to eat the mutton, he had to grab it with his hands, but he didn't feel ashamed.

Yunji and Minxi are very skilled in using chopsticks and can eat everything cleanly without using their hands.

Yun Ji was eating lamb ribs and asked, "Do you have anything else to do today?"

Fernando raised his head and nodded: "I have something to say. I'll talk to you later."

After eating and drinking, Fernando said, "It's like this. Your Majesty will send an envoy to attend the wedding of King Philip II of Spain next month. After much deliberation, he decided to send a Chinese painting to his uncle the King. Your Majesty asked, is there a better painting that can represent the blessing of the newlyweds?"

Yun Ji and Min Xi looked at each other: "Your Majesty's uncle just got married?"

Fernando said: "This is his third wife. The previous two have passed away. This young wife is 22 years younger than him and only less than 5 years older than our Majesty."

Yun Ji understood: "Let me think about it, it should be possible. You have to provide the paper and paint."

Fernando said, "Sure, but the rice paper I gave you last time is no longer available in large sheets. Only small ones are available. Can they be spliced ​​together?"

Yun Ji said: "If you don't have rice paper, you can paint on white silk cloth."

"Okay, I'll go prepare the materials for you," said Fernando.

After he left, Min Xi smiled and said, "You didn't even tell me how much the fee was this time."

Yun Ji said: "Since I am painting for His Majesty, I will definitely pay him a fee."

Min Xi asked, "What subject are you going to paint?"

Yun Ji said, "There are only a few types of weddings: joy on the eyebrows, prosperity and prosperity, mandarin ducks and lotus flowers, and many children and blessings. Which one do you think is better?"

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "Then let's say it's a prosperous time with flowers in full bloom, a riot of colour, and it looks festive."

"That's what I thought too." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi thought that it was Sebastian I's uncle Philip II who finally annexed Portugal.