Chapter 72 (Spicy and Sour Shredded Potatoes + Mashed Potatoes...)
Yan Qiushu's remarks successfully made the chef's face turn pale, and also made Nan Qi's expression change. He quickly ran to retrieve the two dishes.
After a flurry of activity, the two dishes were recovered.
Just as Yan Qiushu had expected, the sprouted potatoes were cooked as a dish and mixed with normal potatoes.
It was a bit surprising that the chef still made stir-fry, which means that the food was not simmered for a long time.
This made her think more.
When potatoes sprout, they produce a toxin called solanine, which can cause diarrhea at best and suffocation and death at worst. If the solanine is small and the potatoes are heated for a long time to kill the toxin, it's fine, but it's clear that the potatoes were deliberately stir-fried twice before being served.
So the potatoes that Ah Heng had eaten before were also crispy.
Considering her royal status, Yan Qiushu had to believe in conspiracy theories, and she felt that they made a lot of sense.
I guess the person who caused the trouble was considered good, and the potatoes in front were good. Generally speaking, cautious people will not eat a lot of unfamiliar foods for the first time. When they find that the taste is good, they will feel safe and bold to eat it the second time, which was this time.
Therefore, in these two dishes, sprouted potatoes account for a particularly large proportion. Except for the tips of the sprouts being removed, the bottoms are still left. If you just pick them up with chopsticks, you can see traces of sprouts on a few potato shreds, and the color is not so consistent with that of normal potatoes.
These two dishes were quite good. One was stir-fried with meat, and the other was stir-fried with some peppercorns and dogwood for seasoning. There was also a dish of freshly-cooked potato cubes on the side. Both were well-cooked.
In particular, many vegetables that have sprouted can be eaten, such as soybean sprouts and mung bean sprouts. Those that really cannot be eaten are very rare in the current diet of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Potatoes are such a precious new ingredient that even the Chang Wang family would not think too much about it when they come across this dish.
But in fact, if you eat too much of these, you will really have problems. Even if you don’t die, your body will have problems. According to the medical technology of this era, you will basically be a sickly person for the rest of your life.
After hearing Yan Qiushu's judgment, everyone looked at each other. The four children leaned against Yan Qiushu, Xie Qingyun and Princess Chang in fear.
Prince Chang, who had rushed over specially after hearing the news, had a handsome face as dark as dead water.
I didn't expect potatoes could be poisonous?
After all, in everyone's mind today, potatoes are a magical thing. They have a high yield, are large in size, and taste pretty good. As long as they are planted, people will be free from hunger. No one would have thought that they could actually poison people?
Yan Qiushu was also a little annoyed. She was too excited yesterday and forgot about this. She only mentioned its weaknesses but not its cruelty.
Yan Qiushu said softly, "It can be stored for a long time, but once it changes color or sprouts, try not to eat it. Save it for seeds, or remove the sprouted parts. Of course, if you can avoid eating it, don't eat it. Your Highness can try feeding it to mice. That should prove its toxicity."
King Chang nodded slowly and waved his hand. Someone immediately took the potato sprouts away. They were probably going to conduct experiments on mice.
With this movement, the kitchen staff who had already knelt came back to their senses and shouted, "Your Highness, please spare me. I didn't know anything about this!"
"Your Highness, please spare my life. I just thought this thing was precious and shouldn't be wasted. I've never heard that sprouted things can't be eaten, so I cut it off..." The chef who specialized in cooking potatoes kowtowed repeatedly. In a short time, his head turned red from knocking on the ground, and his voice trembled.
Prince Chang narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced at the group of people, and pointed at several key people in charge and helpers in the kitchen: "Take them away."
"Yes!" the guard responded immediately.
The cooks were trembling with fear and tried to explain themselves, but they had already been dragged away.
The Prince Chang's Mansion, like the Xiao family, is now under the watchful eyes of many people. This incident may seem like an accident, but who knows what is going on? We must treat it with caution.
The scene was very quiet for a while. The few kitchen staff who were not named were also sweating profusely, fearing that they would be suspected. They all expressed their loyalty: "Your Highness, my whole family is in Prince Chang's Mansion. If anything happens to Your Highness, my whole family will die with you. We will never do anything to harm Your Highness!"
"Your Highness, I am the same..."
"Okay!" King Chang said in a low voice.
Everyone fell silent. Wan'er and Ah Heng, the two children who were a little timid, trembled with fear, their faces showing terror.
Prince Chang gave a helpless smile and whispered, "I'm sorry, I invited you all here specially to try this new thing, but I'm afraid you can only eat casually tonight."
Xie Qingyun smiled and said, "It's okay, it's okay. Safety is the most important thing."
Yan Qiushu hesitated and said, "Your Highness, why don't you let me cook the remaining two potatoes? It might take a while, but these two potatoes can be used to make something different."
Although the number is small, their number is smaller than that of the Xiao family. It is a new thing for everyone to try a bite.
However, I thought I could eat as many potatoes as I wanted today, but after all the twists and turns, there were only two left.
Prince Chang looked at his wife, while Princess Chang looked at Ah Heng. Seeing that he seemed frightened, but after hearing Yan Qiushu's words, there was still some expectation in his eyes, so he said, "Then I'm sorry to bother you, Miss Yan. It's really rude, please don't take it as an offense, Miss Yan."
"No, no." Yan Qiushu shook her head, rolled up her sleeves and went into the kitchen, waving to the four children at the same time: "Come and help."
With just four words, the listless children were immediately perked up. Without their parents saying anything, they all ran over and asked eagerly, "Sister Shu, what should I do?"
"Aunt Yan, can I get some water?"
"I'll light the fire!"
Yan Qiushu made the arrangements and quickly cut the potatoes, cutting one potato into shreds and the other into cubes.
The diced potatoes are steamed and the shredded potatoes are stir-fried to make spicy and sour shredded potatoes.
"Sizzle..." The sound of ingredients being put into the oil pan was heard.
The kitchen returned to its previous bustle, and the coldness just now seemed to have disappeared.
Prince Chang and his wife and Xie Qingyun stood aside and watched the figure in the kitchen. The vigilance, suspicion and coldness in their eyes about today's incident also melted away.
The spicy and sour potato shreds are easy to make and don’t need to be fried for a long time.
The highlight is the mashed potatoes.
Yan Qiushu took out the steamed mashed potatoes and asked the four children to press them with spoons until they were soft, while she prepared the sauce. The sauce for the mashed potatoes was not difficult to make, but it lacked oil and taste. For this reason, she used her own method to make a simple mixture.
Add salt, sugar, a little soy sauce, pepper, corn starch, and water and mix well. Then add cooked corn kernels and carrots, pour them into the pot and heat over low heat until it becomes thick.
The sauce was ready, and the mashed potatoes were mixed into a paste with the cooperation of the children. However, the paste was a bit dry, so a little hot milk needed to be added to mix it. The paste then became much softer.
Finally, pour the sauce in, mix again and stir evenly, then divide a little per person.
After all, there was only one potato, and even though she added a lot of things, the portion was still not much, only enough for two bites per person.
After the food was divided, someone came to serve the plates. Yan Qiushu only needed to take the children to eat. As soon as she came out of the kitchen, she saw three people outside the kitchen looking at them with smiles.
Yan Qiushu was stunned. This look was creepy.
But that's clearly what she thought.
Dongdong and Wan'er were the first to throw themselves into Xie Qingyun's arms and said crisply, "Aunt, we just made mashed potatoes! We made some for you too!"
Xie Qingyun said exaggeratedly, "Oh, you made it all for us? Thank you Wan'er and Dongdong." She looked at the young boy who came over shyly and said, "Thank you Pingsong too."
Xiao Pingsong smiled innocently and was also very happy.
Ah Heng happily threw himself into his mother's arms and said affectionately and proudly, "Mom and Dad, I just helped Sister Ah Shu cook. It's delicious~"
Prince Chang smiled and said, "How do you know it's delicious?"
Ah Heng smiled cunningly and beckoned to him.
Prince Chang's smile grew wider, and he squatted down to move closer to cooperate with his son in playing this little game.
Ah Heng held out her finger to him and whispered, "I touched some mashed potatoes with my finger just now. I licked it clean and it tasted great! I haven't licked it clean yet, so I'll give it to you to try!"
Prince Chang: “…”
His smile disappeared and he began to wonder what his son had learned from Dongdong?
Delicious food needs to be savored in time. Using this as an excuse, Prince Chang took a handkerchief to wipe his son's index finger, which still had a little mashed potato on it, and then took him quickly to the front yard.
Princess Chang hid her smile and called out to Xie Qingyun, Yan Qiushu and the others, "Let's go too."
Everyone nodded and walked over briskly.
The other dishes in the living room had already been prepared. Fortunately, it was summer and most of the dishes were cold, so they could still be eaten.
However, after such a delay, everyone's interest was not as high as at the beginning. After a brief chat, they started to eat.
The hot and sour potato shreds were a dish placed in the middle of the table, while the mashed potatoes were served in a small white bowl next to everyone's chopsticks. This was the first thing everyone ate.
Ah Heng hadn't eaten Yan Qiushu's cooking for a long time and missed it so much that when it was time to eat, he immediately picked up the spoon and scooped a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.
Hmm~~~
The soft mashed potatoes have a familiar milky aroma and lie softly on the tip of the tongue. The light saltiness and slight heat further enhance its taste, but there are also corn kernels, carrot kernels, etc. between the lips and teeth, making it no longer just soft, but a little sweeter.
When the corn kernels were bitten open, the juice that burst open and the crispness of the carrots made him happy.
Mingming's chef also learned the cooking skills of Sister Shu and made him corn fried rice. The ingredients were all corn, which reminded him of it, but the taste was completely different.
He really likes what Sister Shu makes more!
"Dad, is it delicious?" The child smiled contentedly and looked at his father expectantly, wanting to share the joy of tasting delicious food with him.
Prince Chang just swallowed the food in his mouth and nodded with satisfaction: "It's delicious. Your sister A Shu is a great cook. It looks simple, but it turns out to be surprisingly delicious."
"That's right!" Ah Heng smiled proudly.
Yan Qiushu didn't expect that Ah Heng had become more lively since he came back. Although he was taken care of by Dongdong at the Xiao Mansion, it was not his own home after all, and he was not facing his parents, so he was still restrained. But now that he is back with his parents, his sense of security has increased dramatically, and his true nature that was brought out is completely revealed.
She looked at him with a smile. Ah Heng noticed the gaze on her and looked over. When her eyes met hers, her face immediately turned red.
Dongdong chuckled, thinking that Ah Heng was still too shy. He greeted him enthusiastically: "Uncle, this shredded potato is also delicious, please try it!"
King Chang was speechless. Who is the master?
However, he was reluctant to disappoint the child's enthusiasm, so he reached out his chopsticks to the spicy and sour potato shreds.
Just as the soft food was gone, the spicy and sour potato shreds appeared.
But unlike the stir-fried potato shreds made by the chef in the mansion, this spicy and sour potato shreds is slightly sour and spicy, accompanied by the crisp taste of potatoes, without any starch at all, and tastes very refreshing.
When he ate mashed potatoes, he hadn't thought about eating yet.
But when he ate this, he ate it in one bite, and his hands unconsciously went to hold the bowl to eat. The sweet aftertaste of white rice paired with sour and spicy shredded potatoes was also excellent.
After eating, he went straight for the second one with his chopsticks.
Seeing Dongdong and Ah Heng both looking at him, Prince Chang said with a smile, "Why? Are you afraid that I won't like it?"
"Ahem!" The two of them quickly looked away and followed suit with a chopstick.
Dongdong's chubby cheeks were puffed up from eating so much. He took a bite of vegetables, a bite of rice, and then a bite of mashed potatoes. He looked so happy.
I didn’t expect that these potatoes, although not looking good, actually taste really good, whether it’s French fries, mashed potatoes or spicy and sour potato shreds!
Unfortunately, there are still too few potatoes. I wonder what I would make if I added more potatoes?
Thinking of this, he complained in his heart again.
The person who cooked with sprouted potatoes was really bad! Otherwise, he would have eaten more delicious food now!
"A-choo!"
The young man sitting on the fishing platform sneezed, scaring away the fish that was about to be hooked. The water rippled for a moment and then returned to calm.
The maidservant who was attending to the young man hurried over with a coat: "Your Highness, it's windy and a bit chilly, would you like to put it on?"
"No, take it." The boy said lazily.
He doesn't like wearing so many clothes; it makes him feel restricted.
However, it was because of this interruption that he looked at the sky. It was actually quite late. If it weren't for the street lights, he wouldn't be able to see the fishing rod at this moment.
After all, he just sat here after dinner, and surprisingly, he hadn't caught a single fish until now.
King Huai was a little upset, so he simply threw away the fishing rod and got up to walk towards the study.
The palace maid hurried to follow him, but he waved his hand: "No need to follow."
Then he walked forward alone.
He walked all the way to a dark place before he spoke: "What's going on? No news from over there yet?"
"I will go and investigate right away." The voice sounded low and vague, and then the sound of flying birds was heard.
King Huai continued to walk towards the study. Although it was unintentional that he had poisoned his brother, he still had to write a letter of apology and apologize first. Even if those people were angry, they could only say a few harmless words to him. After all, he brought back potatoes, a good food that benefits the country and the people.
However, just as he arrived at the study and hadn't even picked up his brush, the butler came hurriedly, saying, "Your Highness, His Highness Prince Chang just sent someone to tell you that the potatoes you brought back cannot be eaten if they have sprouted, changed color, or anything like that. Otherwise, you'll vomit at best, or suffocate or die at worst!"
"I heard from the eunuch who delivered the message that Prince Chang has been conducting an experiment on rats. All the rats that ate the sprouted potatoes died. Now he's rushing to tell the other families who received potatoes about this! Your Highness, it seems you ate some tonight. Are you feeling unwell? May I go and call the imperial physician right away?"
The housekeeper asked carefully, but did not get a response from the person involved.
The young man, who had a cool and cheerful demeanor, suddenly changed expression upon hearing his words. He looked at him in shock and anger, "What did you just say? King Chang sent someone to tell you that potatoes are poisonous?!"
"Yes, it's just that the sprouted potatoes are poisonous. Don't worry, these potatoes are still good things!" The housekeeper comforted him in confusion.
"Pah--" As soon as he finished speaking, King Huai had already gloomily swept down the four treasures of the study on the desk, his eyes and heart full of disbelief, and the excessive shock made his facial features distorted.
How is that possible?!
He had spent a long time experimenting to come up with these symptoms, which delayed him and caused him to miss Xiao Huaiya. But now, Tu Dou had only been in the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty for a few days?!
He actually knew it?
You even know the symptoms?!
But others didn't know that King Huai knew very well in his heart that the symptoms King Chang described were absolutely correct. The difference was that he was experimenting on living people, ensuring that the dosage would cause an adult man's body to collapse...
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