Medicinal Chicken Hot Pot (1) Restless at Home

After being kicked out of the hospital, Sireno followed Sangye all the way back to the West Building.

They will set off for Chaohai District the day after tomorrow.

Although he had offended another general at the base because of his own foul mouth, he was quite shrewd enough not to make a fool of himself in front of Jiang Sili again, and instead put on a pitiful expression.

The soft-hearted Sangye couldn't help but bring him back.

"Who did you bring back?" Just as they stepped into the West Building, a figure emerged from behind the screen in the main hall. The little phoenix leaped and landed steadily on the screen, its beady eyes glaring unfriendly at the handsome man behind Sangye.

“The prince of the Chaohai tribe,” Sangye said, unaware that something was amiss, “was kicked out of the hospital by General Jiang Sili. I figured I’d be going to the Chaohai district the day after tomorrow anyway, so I might as well let him stay with us for a couple of days. Otherwise, it would be quite pitiful for him to be wandering around the base all by himself.”

The pale blue fin behind Sireno's ear trembled slightly, as if it had been startled, and it looked at Sangye with a pitiful expression.

Sangye glanced at Sireno, who was about the same height as her, and then at Lin Changli, who was sitting opposite her, looking aggressive and unhappy with his lips tightly pursed: "Don't scare him. He's just a guest and will be leaving soon."

Lin Changli raised an eyebrow, looking at her with some disbelief: "I scared him?" He laughed, "Then why was he kicked out of the hospital by Jiang Sili? Jiang Sili is known for her good temper."

Sangye quickly brushed it off: "Oh dear, why bring up those things? Do you expect him to sleep outside the base tonight?"

"I often sleep outdoors. Besides, he's a mermaid, can't he just go into the sea and find a rock to sleep on?"

“How can you compare him to me?” Sangye immediately retorted, “You’re thick-skinned and have a phoenix on your back, which can keep you warm and help you fight. Look at him, he can stumble and fall a few steps every time he goes out.”

Sangye's expression was strange: "Besides, why did you stop him from coming in? You don't even know him, and he didn't do anything to hurt you. Why are you being so petty?"

Lin Changli was speechless. He glared at Sireno, who hadn't said a word, and turned to leave angrily.

"Where are you going? Are you coming back for dinner?" Sangye asked, chasing after him. "Grandpa, I can't cure you if you don't eat."

Lin Changli's back stiffened, and he left even more angrily, walking faster.

Du Yuan and Rong Cheng leaned against the living room sofa, chewing on dried mangoes, watching the three people at the door, eating with great relish.

Sireno blinked his watery eyes and then spoke, "Thank you, Colonel, you're such a kind person."

Sangye felt a little embarrassed, since the house wasn't hers after all. Xirenuo should thank the person who left in a huff earlier.

The first floor is furnished with several guest bedrooms, all in a minimalist, combat-themed style. The only furniture there was added by Sangye after he moved in. If it were Lin Changli's style, a sleeping bag on the floor would be a bed.

I've almost finished packing for the Chaohai area; everything is ready in my storage ring and spatial buttons.

Because Rong Cheng captured Minur last time, directly helping the base solve the final problem and finding the missing Lieutenant General Keliu and the sentry, in addition to the normal accumulation of military merits and cash rewards, the base also gave her special permission to go to the military factory to select the latest developed weapons. So yesterday, Rong Cheng took the weapon and cut off half of the reef under the cliff of Xixiaolou. Du Yuan ordered her not to take it out at home again.

"Should we have medicinal chicken tonight?" Rong Cheng suggested. "I'll go kill a few yellow-feathered chickens and make a pot for Nuannuan!"

"Sure, I'll marinate it in some sweet vinegar later. It'll taste best with this tender chicken."

"Cut some more ham and sausage, prepare some tripe, thin kelp, and vermicelli, and dip them all in sweet vinegar. Oh my, that taste!" Du Yuan squinted, seemingly still savoring the flavor.

Sangye patted the merman next to her on the shoulder and found that he was quite muscular and strong. But then she thought about it and realized that it made sense, since he swam in the sea every day.

She said to Sireno, "Let's have a medicinal chicken hot pot together today to get rid of the cold."

Looking at the red-haired woman's cheerful smile, Sireno smiled back: "Okay."

As Sangye walked to the kitchen, he sent messages to Lin Changli and Mu An: "Let's have medicinal chicken hot pot tonight. Come back early!"

There was no response from Lin Changli's side.

Mu An declined, saying he would have a robot deliver Wu Jia Ning over.

Although she didn't quite understand, Sangye figured she wouldn't cause trouble for herself, so she quickly replied: Okay, then I'll have the robot deliver the base and ingredients to you, and you and Wu Huansheng can cook it yourselves at home.

Mu An: Thank you.

As for Wu Jia Ning, it's up to her to decide where she wants to eat.

The task of killing and plucking the chickens was assigned to Rong Cheng. They were never stingy when it came to ingredients, especially since they needed to prepare enough for so many sentries. Rong Cheng killed a total of seven chickens and cleaned the meat and internal organs separately.

Medicinal chicken originally evolved from nourishing medicinal cuisine until people discovered that it could be mixed with fresh chicken and several seasonings to create a unique flavor, especially when paired with specially prepared sweet vinegar.

So this way of eating gradually spread.

The method is actually relatively simple; the scarce resources are the medicinal herbs and seasonings themselves. After all, ordinary people at that time could barely make ends meet after a year of farming, and their success depended entirely on the harvest. Medicinal herbs were often used to save lives, and there was simply no way to prepare nourishing medicinal meals.

Only Shifangwu can supply it in large quantities. In winter, Shifangwu Restaurant will offer medicinal chicken hot pot at a cheap price, making it affordable even for ordinary people.

Furthermore, because the medicinal herbs all grow on the back mountain of Shifangwu, they naturally possess spiritual energy, which is why they can survive the entire winter without illness or pain after consuming them. Families with elderly people or children will choose a day to reunite.

Take a freshly cleaned Sanhuang chicken, weighing about two or three pounds, rub salt on its skin, drizzle it with Shaoxing wine, and let it sit for a while.

Next, stew it with thin slices of ginger, jujubes, sesame oil, dried tangerine peel, and angelica root, adding bamboo shoots to enhance the flavor.

Then add astragalus, angelica, and a handful of goji berries and simmer for half an hour. Remove the three-yellow chicken; by this time, the chicken meat is completely tender, and all the essence has been infused into the soup.

Rong Cheng didn't mind at all. She stood aside and watched Sangye make the base ingredients while munching away on her food.

The remaining broth is simmered and concentrated with spring water. The secret to making the broth more flavorful is not only the quality of the ingredients themselves, but also the proper combination of seasonings. Adding chicken essence and salt at the right time will make the flavor even brighter.

After simmering, put it in the freezer to stand. Soon, a pot of concentrated soup will turn into a bright yellow and fragrant solidified base, resembling the instant noodle sauce packets I made before.

When making hot pot, simply scoop out a spoonful and dissolve it in water to perfectly replicate the medicinal chicken dish.

When planting in the cave this time, Sangye didn't forget to plant two or three acres of medicinal herbs. The yield of medicinal herbs is far lower than that of other herbs, and some medicinal herbs are valuable precisely because of their scarcity.

Three-yellow chickens don't need to be stewed beforehand. Cooking this type of chicken for too long will make it tough, the meat will become completely fibrous, dry and tough, and the taste will be terrible. So you can only put it directly into the pot. As for the unpleasant blood foam, just consider it a sweet burden.

Cut the three-yellow chicken into small pieces, each no longer than one finger's length and no thicker than the tip of your little fingernail. This ensures it cooks quickly and absorbs the flavors well.

Sweet vinegar is a new type of condiment made by further processing vinegar.

Boil rice vinegar or other vinegar in a pot to remove the original pungent taste. Then, turn the heat down to low and keep it warm. Add soy sauce, water, MSG, chicken bouillon, and sugar. After boiling, cook for a few more minutes to make it. It's very simple and quick.

The cooled sweet vinegar doesn't have the pungent sourness of regular vinegar; it has a perfect balance of sweet and sour, making it exceptionally refreshing and effectively neutralizing the subtle flavor of the medicinal cuisine.

Many people who tried sweet vinegar for the first time were amazed.

Moreover, sweet vinegar is not only great with medicinal chicken, but it's also a wonderful dipping sauce for barbecue. The slight fishy smell left on the barbecue will be completely neutralized and covered by the sweet vinegar, leaving only a wonderful taste experience for your palate.

As for the ham Du Yuan mentioned, it wasn't the Dangkang ham that was cured last time, but rather a sausage made with starch; cut into oval shapes and boiled for half a minute before eating. Dangkang ham would be too salty in soup.

As evening approached, Wu Jianing came running over like a little pony. At her age, she was the kind of girl that cats and dogs disliked. Wu Huansheng loved seeing her asleep, but when she was awake, he was annoyed and wished she would play outside more.

With his gentle eyes downcast, Sireno sat on the kitchen veranda, facing the garden corridor that had been created, and picked vegetables with Du Yuan.

It seems that no one who comes to this small kitchen can escape the fate of picking vegetables.

It's unclear what Du Yuan and he talked about, but Sireno smiled shyly and said, "Yes, would you like to hear it?"

While drinking herbal chicken soup in the kitchen, Sangye heard an ethereal song coming from the doorway. It sounded like a small ocean creature coming ashore for the first time, filled with nervousness, shyness, and curiosity; or like a lover's whisper, pure and passionate.

Even Wu Jianing, who had been running around outside the door, quietly sat down next to him.

Sangye approached, then stopped lightly at the doorway, as if afraid of disturbing him.

Sireno noticed Sangye. He turned his head slightly, and Sangye met his deep blue eyes. His curly silver hair fell naturally down to his waist and was covered by a light veil.

For a moment, Sangye felt speechless, unable to utter a single word.

"Wake up." A snap of the fingers rang out, and the troublemaker arrived.

Lin Changli stood in front of them, tilting his head to look at them.

"Control your mental energy, don't use it on just anyone," Lin Changli said meaningfully.

Kuwano suddenly came to his senses and realized that the air was filled with a tidal wave of spiritual energy, carrying the scent of the sea.

They were all unsuspecting, so they didn't notice anything amiss.

The source of spiritual power is self-evident.

But the person involved just blinked innocently and said, "Whenever I sing, I radiate spiritual energy. It's in our nature as a member of the Chaohai tribe, and I can't control it."

The tone was sincere and without concealment.

Sangye patted his face and quickly withdrew from the mental energy.

This ability is terrifying; even she and Du Yuan, who are guides, almost got caught up in it.

Lin Changli sneered: "Your talent skill only works on women."

Sireno did not refute: "It has a greater impact on the opposite sex."

Even knowing they were being influenced by mental energy, no one could muster the anger to look at Sireno's handsome face.

"Alright, alright," Sangye smoothed things over, "Don't take it to heart, it's nothing, and Sireno didn't do it on purpose. Now that you're all back, let's eat."

After saying that, she ran into the kitchen and asked Rong Cheng to bring all the prepared dishes to the table.

Only Lin Changli and Xirenuo, along with a fish, remained outside the door.

"Your Highness seems to harbor a great deal of hostility towards me?" Sireno stood up, his delicate demeanor gone from that he had shown in front of Sangye, his expression becoming dignified. He lowered his voice, as if not wanting to be overheard. "But Your Highness and I only met today."

“Or perhaps…” Sireno turned to look inside the house, where a lively red-haired woman was holding a chubby baby and feeding her water.

Before Sireno could finish speaking, a look of keen interest flashed in his eyes.

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Author's Note: [Dog head carrying a rose][Dog head carrying a rose][Dog head carrying a rose]