Datang First Chef

When the Bodhisattva found Tang Xuanzang and his party, they were eating steamed cakes with mustard.

It’s another season to eat pickled vegetables. The autumn wind blows and the weather turns cooler. Li Sanniang restaurants in Chang’an and Luoyang have rented a few more yards for pickling pickled vegetables. This year they have added new varieties, not only reeds , sauerkraut and mustard, sour bamboo shoots and so on.

Mustard mustard is made from kohlrabi. The scientific name of this dish is turnip. Turnip was a common vegetable in the Tang Dynasty. Its general use is similar to that of reed. The cooking method is relatively simple, such as steaming or boiling, which is not very delicious.

Compared with steaming with white water, pickled mustard is undoubtedly a good cooking method. It can be preserved for a long time and tastes very good. It is a good assistant for porridge and vegetables.Its pickling method is more difficult than reeds and cabbage, but those who help pickle in Li Sanniang’s restaurant are skilled workers who have mastered a lot of skills. With a little teaching, you can pickle mustard with good quality according to the steps .

Mo Wenyuan is now pickling vegetables in Luoyang, and he hired experienced helpers to pickle the first batch.

From the beginning of harvesting turnips, we pay great attention to it. When the turnips start to bolt, they must be harvested. The harvested vegetables are full in shape and crisp and tender, which is the top grade among turnips. After harvesting, sprinkle salt for the first pickling. When cooking, someone needs to step on the vegetables, and the force must be strong and heavy. Only when the vegetables are stepped thoroughly can the next pickling step be carried out.

Drain the marinade, marinate for the second time, squeeze, and finally mix with licorice powder and spices, etc. If there is no chili, use dogwood to replace it, so that the dish is slightly spicy, and finally put it in the jar and wait for a month. Take it out, it is a chewy mustard.

Zhu Bajie is very good at eating. After tasting pickled mustard, he announced that this dish has become his latest "favorite concubine". He cuts pickled turnips into pieces when eating every day, and buys some vegetable oil when he has spare money. Mix it with mustard shreds, the taste is not to mention how good it is.

When the Bodhisattva came down from the sky and saw what they were eating, he was very affectionate: "Are you eating mustard?"

Zhu Bajie’s food radar flickered, and he keenly judged that Bodhisattva was a loyal fan of Li Sanniang’s restaurants like them, and discussed the taste of mustard with him: “Yes, I like spicy mustard very much. Mix it for a better taste."

Bodhisattva: "Really, I'll give it a try when I get back." He shook his head suddenly, no, no, no, he didn't come to find his master and apprentice today to exchange the way of eating mustard, he has a serious business to do.

A second after he despised himself for not doing his job properly, he chatted with Tang Xuanzang and others: "Master Xuanzang, I don't know if you saw a place called Baihuling on the westward journey, where you beat monsters?"

White Tiger Ridge?

Sun Wukong replied first after recalling: "It is true that I passed by this place, but it was several years ago. There is a monster here, who is proficient in the art of transformation, extremely cunning, and tenacious vitality. It was the first time I became a young girl, and I beat him with a stick. Then she turned into an old woman, tried to confuse the master, and was converted by the master."

Tang Xuanzang also remembered it, put down the steamed cake and described in detail: "I also remember this monster. Looking at his aura, he is far more than cunning. It is completely different from ordinary little monsters. He is full of blood and debts, and eats people. Later, Wukong and I went around the mountain. After a few rounds, I found the monster's cave, which was full of bones."

The Bodhisattva asked, "What happened to the monster after that?"

Sun Wukong interjected: "Master and I searched all over the mountain, but we couldn't find him. I'm afraid he has escaped. Master read Buddhist scriptures on the mountain for three days and three nights to save the souls who died in vain, and then burned the cave to purify it." The evil spirit of the entire mountain." He concluded, "I killed that monster twice, so it should be extremely weak, and it won't come out to cause trouble for a few years."

The Bodhisattva thought that it was because he would not be able to cause trouble for a few years, and he was afraid that he would be rehabilitated. He wanted to take risks and took Mo Xiaolangjun as a tonic, but he hit an iron nail and was physically transformed by the gluttonous Mo Xiaolangjun.

It is true that good is rewarded with good, and evil is rewarded with evil.

The Bodhisattva cleared his throat and announced the tragic experience of the monster. He said: "This monster has been recuperating for many years, and he came to Mr. Mo Xiaolang. I am afraid that you will hurt his root and want to find a tonic." Mo Wenyuan has a low level among monsters. With the name of Tang Sanzang, the daring bone spirit naturally wants to eat him.

"Oh?" Tang Sanzang and Monkey King stopped eating at all. They thought about the strength of the Bone Demon at that time, and Monkey King said: "Oh, then he is probably dead."

The Bodhisattva said: "That's right, so I want you to go to Luoyang City with me to identify the corpse demon."

Monkey King stood up and was about to leave, but Zhu Bajie, who knew whether to remember to eat or not, stood up again and said righteously: "I have seen him before, so let me go with senior brother, my memory is good, I will be able to recognize For the same pile of bones."

Tang Seng's eyelids were covetous and he said: "Bajie, sit down."

"If you dare to go, you won't even have mustard." It can be said to be very cruel and unreasonable.

……

The small courtyard has become the scene of the crime. Not to mention the eminent monks in Luoyang City, the local city gods, land gods and other gods gathered here. Ordinary people can see the golden fairy aura shrouding the place from a distance.The citizens still don't know what happened, and only the people in the monastery know the inside story. If ordinary people know that a dangerous monster has entered Luoyang, it will inevitably cause panic.

The danger of the bone spirit is also very high in the 81 disasters encountered by the master and apprentice of Journey to the West. The reason why he gave up eating Tang Seng is because he found that he can fight far beyond imagination. He is not the same as the famous monks and Taoists in the world. In terms of rank, compared with other single-minded monsters, the bone spirit who is good at judging the situation shows his cunning nature and runs fast.

After ordering him to escape, Tang Seng told all the gods to pay attention to the movements of this monster, saying that once this monster appeared in the world, it would definitely cause a catastrophe. Confirm one or two.

Somersaulting clouds rolled twice in the sky, and Monkey King wearing a tiger skin skirt landed on the ground. Guanyin Bodhisattva stood beside him. Mo Wenyuan looked at Guanyin Bodhisattva standing with his hands down, showing great respect. He thought: I saw it in my dream. After many times, I finally saw the real person.

Zhong Heiyang sniffed "baa baa baa baa baa", complaining how there are so many gods, but it is just a small corpse demon who can move so many people.

Monkey King stepped forward to look at the bones, but the real body of the monster could not escape his fiery eyes. The two flames in his eyes jumped up and down, and everyone who saw it was in awe.

"It is indeed him." Sun Wukong announced, "It is the White Tiger Ridge Bone Essence."

The City God breathed a sigh of relief, and the eminent monks also looked at Mo Wenyuan with praise, as if they were looking at the hopeful future of Buddhism.

"Mr. Mo Xiaolang is really young and promising."

"Even the bone spirit was beaten to death, it's a big book."

Mo Wenyuan quickly shied away: "It was the black sheep who helped me to kill him by chance, and it was also thanks to the magic pestle that master gave me, otherwise I might become his dead soul."

"Mr. Mo Xiaolang is too modest. I heard that you recite the Shurangama Mantra very well. It is not something that ordinary monks can recite." The abbot of the White Horse Temple had a loving expression on his face, "If you want to come to my temple After some practice, our temple has a long history, and the collection of scriptures is no less than that of Daxingshan Temple." It can be said that it is naked and naked.

Of course, Mo Wenyuan understood the meaning of the eminent monk of the White Horse Temple, so he politely rejected the other party: "If there is a chance, I will definitely go to the White Horse Temple to pay homage, but I plan to return to Chang'an in a few days. I don't know when I will arrive in Luoyang."

The eminent monk said with regret on his face: "Luoyang City is very good, Mr. Mo Xiaolang can stay a little longer."

"sure!"

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the Bodhisattva disposed of the bones of the Bone Demon on his behalf. I don’t know what kind of magic he used. He waved his sleeves and the Bone Demon disappeared. The fight against the Bone Demon came to an end.

……

It took Mo Wenyuan some time to deal with the matter of the Bone Demon. When he postponed his return to Beijing again, he calculated that he would not be able to return to Chang'an until the end of November. Among other things, his birthday would be celebrated in Luoyang.Li Sanniang sent a letter. While caring about Mo Wenyuan, she also expressed her regret that she could not celebrate her son's birthday. The sheep accompany him.

Winter is the season of fattening. Compared with the past, the black sheep eats more, and desserts are served on the table. The daily high-calorie food makes him grow bigger and faster. He is still a big black sheep. There is a distance, but it is no problem to walk around with Mo Wenyuan on his hunchback.

Mo Wenyuan counted the days, there were still a few days before their birthdays, and it was time to prepare a birthday meal.

If he was the only one, the preparation of the birthday party would not be too meticulous. Mo Wenyuan is not a person who attaches great importance to the sense of ritual. As long as he can study his favorite cooking skills, he will have a good time every day. He always felt a little weird cooking for himself.But this year is different, ever since he confirmed the date of his birthday to Zhong Hei Yang, who doesn't know what his birthday is, his birthday has taken on a new meaning, and Mo Wenyuan deserves to cook many dishes to celebrate.

He said to the middle black sheep: "What do you want to eat?" He said, "We can eat more abundantly, considering that the two of us worked together to kill the Bone Demon."

Zhong Heiyang wants to say what is the bone spirit, it's just a corpse demon, wouldn't it be a piece of cake to crush his bones?But he didn't say it, because he was already poked by the words of a sumptuous meal.

Is this so good?

After being given the right to choose, he felt sad instead. In the end, Zhong Heiyang baa baa baa baa said: Just make a delicious big dish that I have never eaten before.

A delicious dish he hasn't eaten before?Mo Wenyuan was lost in thought, and then he heard Zhongheiyang's request: If, if you have time, would you like to look for ingredients with me?

Mo Wenyuan opened his eyes wide and said, "Is it possible?"

Middle Heiyang: "Baa baa baa baa baa!"

of course!

……

When talking about big dishes, the first thing Mo Wenyuan thinks of is local dishes.

Local cuisine is another name for Shanghai cuisine, and it is also an important school of Jiangnan cuisine. Mo Wenyuan is a chef of Shanghai cuisine, so local cuisine is naturally the one he is most familiar with and is the best at.

It is a pity that the taste of food in Chang'an City is relatively heavy, and the people of the Tang Dynasty who lack oil and water in their stomachs prefer the cooking method of heavy oil and red sauce, while the taste of local dishes tends to be thick oil and red sauce. Yes, the taste is sweet, which is not the same as the local taste. Very compatible, Mo Wenyuan wants to help Li Sanniang expand the restaurant, he has to care about the tastes of the locals, and can achieve long-term development by adapting to local conditions, so he temporarily put away the recipes of the local dishes and studied the styles of the North.

At this time, Zhongheiyang asked him to show his skills, and Mo Wenyuan was ready to cook his own dishes. He knew the other party's taste. Heavy oil, heavy salt or bland taste was nothing to him. Delicious food was what he was most persistent about. The only pursuit.

And Mo Wenyuan is just confident that he can make the local dishes very delicious.

After making a decision, he began to draw up the menu, because it was made for himself, so there was no need for red tape, and all the seven and eight dishes were made for others to see. Mo Wenyuan went out with his own specialties and his own dishes. The dishes and other Jiangnan snacks he is good at are all listed on the list, and he is excited to report the name of the dish with Zhongheiyang.

"I've tidied up the menu, it looks good to you."

Dish, menu!Zhong Hei Yang's ears pricked up. Is there a menu?

According to his thinking, it is enough for Mo Wenyuan to come up with one amazing dish. Now it seems that there will be countless dishes swarming up, so that he does not know which one to eat first.

The name of the menu was copied in the scripture book, one dish after another, Mo Wenyuan's handwriting was neat and elegant, without style, but it allowed him to see the content clearly.

Braised pork with eight treasures, duck feather crab, rice cake, deep-fried shrimp, fried eel, silk buckle, three-shredded white chicken, marinated fresh bad food, braised in soy sauce, roasted bran, boiled dry shredded steamed bun...

All kinds of dishes clustered together like a spell, making the viewer dizzy. The eyes of Zhongheiyang were not enough. He looked at the left for a while, and the right for a while. When he looked up again, there were only two big characters written in his eyes.

--happiness

Mo Wenyuan said, "Are you satisfied with these dishes?"

The middle black sheep nods its head like a dove, and the dove will nod while cooing.

Mo Wenyuan said: "Okay, let's start with these, I don't have time to prepare any more." He has no doubt that he can find the ingredients, the middle black sheep has great powers, no matter whether the season is right or not, China has a vast territory spanning the subtropical tropics Temperate, can always find the vegetables or meat he wants.

And he is still a little looking forward to the upcoming food journey, traveling around China with Zhongheiyang to find delicious food, hey, it is really the highest pursuit for a cook.

Middle Heiyang: "Baa baa baa baa baa!"

Starting to hunt for ingredients?

Mo Wenyuan couldn't help laughing: "Just wait a little longer!" When the moon was in the sky and everyone fell into a deep sleep, they set off again.

A quiet night has the benefits of a quiet night. In the dead of night, no one knows what to do and where to go. If you sit on the back of a black sheep in the blue sky and cross half of China at this moment, it will become a symbol of auspiciousness after being seen. Who sees it? Do you want to write a special book?

China is the country of writing, and also the country of masters of swords and pens. Common sayings are spread among the people, legends are collected in literati painting books, and Youyang Zazu has been passed down from generation to generation. Book of ghosts.

Mo Wenyuan hopes that he can be famous far and wide, and his chef name can be left in history, but considering the author's preface of this book "Those who are solid and not ashamed are also the book of suppressing strange novels", he still does not want to be a part of strange novels. If you are a member, you can only wrong Zhong Goat.

……

The moonlight shined on Mo Wenyuan's bedside through the gap between the windows, and the middle black sheep stood up and arched its head against the other person's head.

Mo Wenyuan opened his eyes, far from sleepy, his eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Where are we going?"

Middle Heiyang: "Baa baa baa baa baa!"

Wherever you want to go, just go there.

Mo Wenyuan smiled and said: "I didn't put the map of Jiuzhou into my mind, at most I can tell you what to look for, how do you know where it grows, and where it grows best?"

The middle black sheep held its head high, very proud: It doesn't matter if you know, as long as I know.

I have a map of Jiuzhou ingredients in my mind, just tell me what you are looking for, and I will find it.

Mo Wenyuan was shocked when he heard this, thinking that this is too convenient, right?He recalled the menu in his mind. It is true that Zhongheiyang is inspired to eat delicious food all over the world, but he also has his own bias in Heaven and Salty. Mo Wenyuan found that Zhongheiyang has a soft spot for sweet food. Of course, it's not a staple food for him, but a small snack after dinner.

The first dish he is going to cook is a traditional snack in the Jiangnan area, sweet-scented osmanthus lotus root.

Mo Wenyuan himself likes this dessert very much. The lotus root has a fragrance. After being boiled in a large pot, the hardness is weakened, and it becomes softer in the middle. You can gently tear the lotus root with your teeth and fill it The glutinous rice in the hole is stewed until soft and glutinous, and the sweetness of sugar permeates the glutinous rice, giving it a sweet taste.

Compared with other foods, the method of sweet-scented osmanthus lotus root is not difficult, but the taste is very good. The stew is just right, the aroma of osmanthus, and the thick sugar juice that plays the finishing touch. The three blend together, A perfect harmony has been achieved.As far as Mo Wenyuan is concerned, he believes that the final sugar juice is the most important thing. The length of time it is marinated in sugar water is related to the sweetness of the finished product. Unhappy, how can it be called osmanthus candied lotus root if it is not sweet?

The small shops on the roadside in Shanghai are different. Even the golden Shanghai of Cuntu Village has an inconspicuous and lively residential area. Small food stores and hardware stores are crowded together. Not too long ago, the boss is often an old lady who is not too young. When she walks to the store and asks for 20 yuan or 30 yuan of lotus root, she takes out a plastic box from under the table and fishes out a moderately sized lotus root from the pot with precise eyesight. The crimson lotus root is neatly cut into small pieces with a kitchen knife, put into a foam box, poured with a spoonful of viscous syrup, and finally inserted with a toothpick.

Even those who are used to delicate dishes are overwhelmed by its taste.

Just thinking about it, Mo Wenyuan was overwhelmed by the smell in his memory, he opened his eyes and found that Zhongheiyang was staring at him motionless, and smiled knowingly: "The first ingredient we are looking for is lotus root. "

……

Lotus root is the rhizome of lotus, which was also called white stem in ancient times. There is a line in the poem "Yong Lotus" which mentions that "in the mud and unstained mud, no one knows that the white stem is buried in the ground". It is harvested from nine to ten The harvest time in the south is later than that in the north.

In the current season, unless it is a very southern warm area, there are very few places where you can dig out tender lotus roots, but this problem is not a problem for Zhong Heiyang. to lotus root.

Mo Wenyuan watched from the side, fully understanding the meaning of a certain word, but didn't understand it.

Middle Heiyang: "Baa baa baa baa baa!"

You can get on my back!

Mo Wenyuan straddled the black sheep without touching the black sheep's flesh. He thought about the speed of the beast, and was a little worried: "How far are we going? Will I have any effect on your back? ?”

He watched a TV series in his previous life, and he still remembers the conclusions in it. It probably meant to complain about a plot in Superman, saying that with Superman’s flying speed and his physical strength, if he catches a person falling from mid-air, Then this person will be cut into three pieces, who told him to have a body of steel.

Thinking of Monkey King flying thousands of miles somersaulting, he couldn't help worrying about his physical strength.

Zhong Heiyang considered all the problems, and he assured Mo Wenyuan that there would be no problem!After finishing speaking, he soared into the clouds and rode the fog to prepare for take-off.

Mo Wenyuan only felt a sudden strong wind blowing against his face, and then he seemed to be covered in a protective cover, and he could no longer feel the speed of the wind flow. The clouds whizzed past his ears, and he was in the boundless sea of ​​clouds. The ancients are not seen before, and those who come after are not seen.

The black sheep bleated in his ears, like the horn of the bus when it stopped in the early years, telling him that he had arrived.

Mo Wenyuan felt refreshed when he got off the sheep's back. The ultra-high-speed high-altitude flight not only did not make him feel uncomfortable, but also brought him spiritual satisfaction. Human beings have a natural yearning for soaring in the sky Otherwise, the airplane would not have been invented, and flying in the airplane is far from the experience. If you want to find faults for his trip just now, it may be that the black sheep flew too fast so that he arrived at the station without much experience. .

After coming down, it was serious again. The mountains and forests here are dense, the flowing water is gurgling, the grass is delicious, and the fallen flowers are colorful. It looks like a paradise.The temperature was also much higher than in Luoyang City, and Mo Wenyuan felt a burst of warmth, and the large coat he was wearing was dragged down.He stretched his sleeves slightly, and the clothes disappeared.

The universe in the sleeve is a spell taught to him by the wise monk. Mo Wenyuan is not proficient in mastering it, and he cannot put too many things in the universe, but a piece of clothing is no problem.

The middle black sheep ran forward like a merry-go-round, the higher temperature made him very comfortable, Mo Wenyuan followed closely, and the two came to a lotus pond, the lotus had withered, and there were only clusters of crowded lotus leaves on the surface of the pond , the big leaves are next to the small leaves, so lively.

Mo Wenyuan had just fixed his eyes, and the middle black sheep had plunged into the lotus pond. His food radar told him which end of the lotus root was the most delicious, and where he should dig it out. Holding a small net in its mouth, the net is full of crisp and tender lotus root.

The nine-hole lotus root grows here. It tastes crisp when eaten raw, the juice is sweet, and the skin is white, smooth and tender. The caring Zhonghei sheep has washed the mud on the lotus root before picking it up. The size and thickness are moderate. Like the arms of a fat white baby.

Accurate, fast, and efficient, Mo Wenyuan sighed in admiration. For the ingredient radar in the head of the black sheep, it also gave him the ability to accurately find the highest-grade lotus root. No wonder he can collect special ingredients as high as a hill in one night. The speed is really amazing. quick.

Hey, he is simply an ideal chef's assistant!

……

In the middle of the night, the two returned with a full load. Mo Wenyuan was in high spirits, ready to show off his skills. He looked at the tender lotus root and felt itchy in his heart. He planned to make sweet-scented osmanthus lotus root first to satisfy his cravings.

Zhongheiyang was so curious when he saw the cauldron being brought out, he opened his eyes and watched from the side.

In terms of taste, the powdered lotus root is softer than the white lotus root, and the stewed taste will be better, but Mo Wenyuan prefers the fragrance of the white lotus root. Considering his personal preference, he chose this lotus root, in order to make the taste of the crispy lotus root more delicious. To make it soft and glutinous, he did two tasks, one was to wash and scald the white lotus root with hot water, and the other was to prolong the stewing time.

The glutinous rice has distinct grains and is slender in shape. Mo Wenyuan used top-selected glutinous rice, which was pink in color. He stretched out his hand to pick it, and when he came out, his hand seemed to be stained with the aroma of rice. It took a long time, so he took advantage of this opportunity to cut lotus root.

The pointed ends at both ends are cut, and the soaked glutinous rice is carefully poured into the hole, and then a toothpick is inserted to fix the lotus root into a complete section to ensure that the glutinous rice grains will not leak out during the stewing process.

The toothpick is said to have been invented by the Indians. It was introduced into China along with Buddhism hundreds of years ago. It is well known as a way to clean the mouth. Some foods in the Tang Dynasty were relatively rough, especially those from poor families who could only eat coarse grains. Most of them are not very good, and the gaps between the teeth are also very large. When eating, the leftover leaves are easy to be stuffed into the gaps between the teeth. Small toothpicks made of wood or bamboo are very popular among residents, and there are always a lot of toothpicks in restaurants.

Sugar, maltose, dried sweet-scented osmanthus, and red dates are put in the cauldron. The beetroot, the good friend of candied lotus root, is still in Europe far away and has not been introduced to China. Due to geographical restrictions, it can only be stewed in the oldest way.

Old fashioned is also great.

As the cooking time gets longer and longer, the sticky sweetness of sweet-scented osmanthus and lotus root gradually diffuses into the air. Zhongheiyang stands motionless on the side of the pot, like a watchman stone. Fortunately, the fragrance of this food is not strong. Otherwise, the folks living in the yard will be awakened by the scent.

While waiting for the sweet lotus root to be ready, Mo Wenyuan also cooked some other foods, such as delicious steamed steamed buns and so on. A good mood is the perfect seasoning for cooking. He performed exceptionally today, eating richer than other mornings.

When the sun came out and he was about to open for business, the lotus root finally turned into a color he was satisfied with, brownish red. Stir it in with chopsticks, and the sugar juice would pull out long sticky strands.

He quickly fished out the biggest section at the bottom, cut it into pieces, put it on a plate, poured a spoonful of sugar on it, and brought it under the nose of Zhong Hei Sheep. inside.

Fragrant, sweet, soft and waxy!The aroma of sweet-scented osmanthus is very light, floating on the surface, sweet but blended with sugar water, it is difficult to describe the taste of sugar lotus root, soft and slightly brittle; glutinous rice is dyed with red juice, it is indeed lighter in color than red lotus root from the outside Light, when eaten in the mouth, the aroma of rice and sugar blend together, with the taste of sucrose and maltose...

The love of sweetness in the Jiangnan water town is fully reflected in this dish. Zhongheiyang only feels that he is lying in the soft clouds, with osmanthus flowers floating on both sides, and the sky has been dyed a magnificent red. Sunset is like a brown sugar soup filled with lotus root noodles...

His tail is circling happily, sweet-scented osmanthus and lotus root, it's really great!