The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Chapter 352 Cold Chicken Noodles

The sun shines as usual in the early morning.

Shen Cao sighed as she looked at the large amount of breakfast left.

Even Grand Tutor Zhou didn't come for breakfast today.

The situation in the capital has been getting worse lately, and the people are filled with anxiety. It is said that the city gates are only opened once a day.

Even Mr. and Mrs. Shen began to realize that something was wrong.

The epidemic was getting worse and worse, and the emperor remained in a coma.

For some reason, she suddenly remembered what Ji Lingfeng had said to her when he left more than half a month ago.

Has the situation gotten that serious?

After tidying up, Shen Cao went to the pond in the yard to find Wan Yue.

Although she has been trying her best to hide her emotions these past few days.

"Wanyue, what are you doing?"

Wanyue looked up, her mood not very high, and held up the fish food in her hand, "Feed the fish."

Lai Cai, lying at her feet, seemed to know she was in a bad mood, and stopped playing with the fish in the pond.

Upon seeing Shen Cao approach, it whimpered, made room for Shen Cao, moved to another spot, and lay down.

His eyes kept glancing this way.

Shen Cao sat down next to her. "You didn't eat much just now, were you worried?"

Wanyue turned around and saw the concern in Shen Cao's eyes, and tears immediately welled up in her eyes.

Shen Cao hugged her and gently patted her back. "It's okay. If you feel uncomfortable, just say so."

"Sister Cao'er, I'm so worried about Mother." She said, her voice trembling and choked with sobs.

“My mother is ill. The Empress is now in charge of the palace. She and my mother have always been at odds. Now that my father is still in a coma, she will definitely bully my mother.”

She was extremely worried whenever she thought about how her mother treated her mother.

"Since you're so worried, let's sneak back and take a look."

She seemed unsure, released Shen Cao, and looked at her.

The other person gave her an affirming look.

"But..." But her mother won't let her return to the palace.

Shen Cao held her hand. "I know, the Imperial Concubine thinks it's dangerous in the palace, that's why she doesn't let you enter."

"She does mean well, but you're not a child anymore."

"People can't hide behind adults forever. Besides, as long as we're careful, go quietly, and come back quietly, nothing will happen."

"us?"

"Of course I'll stay with you. I'm worried about you being alone."

"Alright, don't be sad. We'll sneak into the palace tonight."

"What would you like to eat? I'll make you something. You won't have any energy if you're hungry."

With the matter resolved, the weight on Wanyue's heart was lifted. She thought about it carefully and shook her head.

"The weather is hot these days, and I don't have much of an appetite anyway."

"Alright, I'll make you a refreshing and delicious cold noodle dish."

Wanyue stood up. "Then I'll go with you and help you."

Just as the two were about to go to the kitchen, they ran into Shen Wan, who had come to find them. Upon hearing that Shen Cao was going to make cold noodles, Shen Wan happily went to the kitchen with them.

Shen Cao kneaded the dough, and she asked Shen Wan and Wan Yue to prepare the side dishes.

The side dishes include cucumber, tomato, garlic, and cilantro.

The two chatted and picked out vegetables. With Shen Wan around, Wanyue's mood improved a lot.

Shen Cao poured flour into the basin and added a little salt. Salt can increase the gluten content of the flour, making the noodles more chewy.

Then pour in an appropriate amount of water, and use chopsticks to mix the flour and water thoroughly until the flour becomes a slightly moist dough.

She then used her hands to combine the small dough balls into one large dough ball.

At this stage, the dough looks ugly, with a bumpy surface.

For food, time is an essential 'seasoning' that makes it delicious.

Simply let the dough rest on a clean, damp cloth for about 15 minutes, then take it out and knead it a few times; the dough will then become beautiful and smooth.

While the dough was resting, Shen Cao put the chicken breast in a pot, added a few slices of ginger, and started cooking.

After the dough has rested, roll it out into a thin, even sheet.

Sprinkle a thin layer of corn flour evenly on the dough to prevent it from sticking together.

Stack the dough sheets one by one, alternating between stacking them in front and behind.

Then use a rolling pin to cut the dough into noodles of uniform thickness.

The noodles for cold noodles can be cut a little thinner.

After the noodles are cooked, the chicken breast is almost done. Put the chicken breast into the ice water that was just drawn from the well to cool it for a while.

Once the chicken was cool enough to handle, Shen Cao instructed the two to shred the chicken breast into strips.

She then boiled water and made noodles.

Once the water boils, add the noodles.

Once the water boils again, pour in a little cold water.

Soon the water boiled again, and the noodles were cooked.

She scooped the noodles into ice water, a step that not only cooled them down but also made them more chewy.

The noodles were rinsed in cold water, and the side dishes were already chopped: cucumber strips, tomato slices, and garlic water.

Wanyue didn't particularly like the strong smell of garlic, so Shencao added a little cooled boiled water to the pounded garlic. This way, she could not only taste the aroma of garlic, but also avoid the overpowering garlic flavor.

The most important part of cold noodles is the sauce. Shen Cao prepared two kinds: one with sesame paste and one without.

The sauce with sesame paste includes sesame paste, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, oyster sauce, and a little MSG.

The sesame sauce already has a rich sesame aroma when it's being stirred.

Without sesame paste, Shen Cao made it spicy, with sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, oyster sauce, Sichuan peppercorn powder, chili powder, and a little MSG.

It's spicy and numbing. When Shen Cao was stirring it, the numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns went straight to her nostrils, and it smelled extremely appetizing.

Both sauces also contain some of Shen Cao's secret chili oil.

Then Shen Cao skillfully took a clean bowl and grabbed a small handful of noodles from it.

The noodles, after being rinsed in cold water, looked very chewy, and when Shen Cao picked them up with his hands, they bounced around a lot.

A small handful of cucumber, a large handful of shredded chicken, and some previously fried peanuts. Wanyue doesn't like garlic, so she only added a spoonful of garlic water, and then poured a large spoonful of sauce with sesame paste on top.

Once stirred evenly, the originally plain white noodles immediately turned into an enticing brown, with each noodle and side dish coated with sesame paste and sauce.

The aroma alone was enough to whet one's appetite. Wanyue, who had no appetite to begin with, couldn't help but lick her tongue when she smelled the cold noodles.

smell good.

After mixing the noodles, top them with two slices of tomato and chopped cilantro. A bowl of refreshing and cooling shredded chicken cold noodles is ready.

Shen Cao was also a little hungry at this time, so she made herself a bowl of spicy shredded chicken cold noodles, and Shen Wan also made sesame sauce shredded chicken cold noodles.

The three of them sat in the shade of the courtyard, bowls in hand, enjoying the occasional gentle breeze.