Chapter 441 Plum Blossom Soup Cake
Wen Zhenyi looked at him curiously: "What wish did you make?"
"If you tell your wish out loud, it won't come true."
"Is there such a thing?"
"Of course there is."
Wen Zhenyi didn't hesitate. The two of them followed the little monk to the place where vegetarian food was served. There were already quite a few people sitting there, but everyone was eating quietly.
The young monk took them to an empty seat and asked them to sit down: "Please wait for a moment, my brother will bring the vegetarian food up in a while."
"Thank you, little master."
"Amitabha." The little monk said this and left.
When Wen Zhen saw that no one was talking, she stayed quiet too.
After a while, two young monks came over with trays and placed the vegetarian food in front of the two men. "Dear donors, this is today's vegetarian food. Please enjoy it."
"Thank you, two young masters."
Wen Zhenyi looked at the vegetarian dishes on the table, including soy milk, tofu, fungus, cowpea, etc. A total of eight bowls of vegetarian dishes were made, which was according to Fei Cheng's instructions.
Shen Hanxing handed her a pair of chopsticks and motioned for her to try it.
Wen Zhenyi picked up the dish from the bowl and took a bite. It tasted really good. No wonder so many people like it.
She savored the dishes slowly, her mind already forming images of how the dishes were prepared and the ingredients used.
Shen Hanxing and the others arrived relatively late, and by the time they finished eating, they were the only table left in the small dining hall.
An old monk came over and said, "Two donors, is the vegetarian food not to your taste?"
Wen Zhenyi and Shen Hanxing quickly stood up and returned the greeting: "It's not unpalatable. I think it's quite delicious. If you add some chili peppers to this dish, it will be even better."
The old monk looked at the dish she mentioned and asked, "Chili peppers?"
"Well, Master, you might as well give it a try next time."
"What about the other dishes?"
"You can try cooking cabbage with soy milk, it's quite flavorful too."
"The young donor is quite knowledgeable about food."
"I just like cooking. If the master doesn't mind, can I make a few vegetarian dishes for you?"
"Don't mind, I'll take you to the kitchen."
Wen Zhenyi looked at Chen Hanxing and said, "Husband, please wait for me here."
"good."
When Wen Zhenyi went to the temple kitchen, he passed by a courtyard with some white plum blossoms in full bloom: "Master, can I pick some plum blossoms?"
"Can."
Wen Zhenyi picked some plum blossoms without damaging the branches and leaves.
The old monk watched from the side, a smile on his face: "Young donor, are you planning to use plum blossoms in your cooking?"
"Yes, I plan to make a dish of plum blossom porridge and a dish of plum blossom soup pancake for the master."
"That sounds interesting."
Wen Zhenyi came to the kitchen. There was only one young monk cleaning the kitchen. He was a little surprised to see the old monk bringing Wen Zhenyi in: "Master."
"This little donor wants to borrow our kitchen."
"Please, benefactor."
Wen Zhenyi picked off the center of the plum blossom, washed it with light salt water, and then washed it again with clean water.
Before processing the plum blossoms, she had already cooked the japonica rice to save some time.
Wen Zhenyi washed the white plums, squeezed out the water, and boiled them in boiling water for a while to bring out the fragrance of the plum blossoms.
Filter the cooked plum blossoms with a colander, leaving only the soup.
Take out appropriate amount of flour, add a little salt, slowly pour in the soup, stir with your hands at the same time, knead into a dough of moderate hardness, and set aside to rise for quarter of an hour.
Wen Zhenyi also stirred the porridge. When the porridge became thick, he put the white plums into the pot and cooked for a while before serving it.
The old monk looked at the porridge on the side and said, "Little donor, is it ready?"
"It's ready. Master, if you like sweet food, you can add some sugar. If you don't like sweet food, just eat it like this."
The old monk asked the young monk to bring a bowl and a spoon, and scooped some from the big bowl. He first smelled the fragrance and could smell the faint scent of plum blossoms.
Then I took another sip of the porridge. The japonica rice was soft and melted in my mouth, with a sticky texture. The rich rice aroma was mixed with a faint scent of plum blossoms.
Wen Zhenyi also cooked a vegetarian soup.
It was time for the dough to rise, so she rolled it into thin pancakes. Since there was no mold, she used a knife to cut the pancakes into the shape of plum blossoms.
Boil half a pot of water, add plum blossom slices, and cook on medium heat for half a cup of tea. Use a strainer to scoop out the plum slices, rinse them in cold water, drain the water, put them into the soup, and pour the freshly cooked vegetarian soup on top.
Wen Zhenyi handed a bowl of plum blossom soup cake to the old monk: "Master, please try it."
The old monk looked at the noodles in the soup, which really looked like white plum blossoms blooming in the water: "Young donor, you have a skillful hand."
Wen Zhen smiled.
The old monk took the soup bowl and took a sip. The taste was not strong, but lightly sweet. The plum blossom noodle cake was chewy and also had the same plum fragrance.
"I wonder what your name is, little donor?"
"Wen Zhenyi."
The old monk quickly put down the bowl in his hand and pulled the young monk beside him to kneel on the ground: "I didn't know that Princess Jingle had arrived. I'm sorry for not welcoming you."
"Master, please stand up. I am just a layman who comes to Anning Temple to burn incense and eat vegetarian food. You don't have to be so polite."
"I agree."
“Master Yuanyi’s cooking skills are excellent. I hope I can have the chance to taste his cooking skills again next time.”
"It is my great fortune to be able to enjoy the cooking skills of Princess Jingning."
"Master, you're welcome."
"My lady, there's no need to rush back. Why don't you go to the Purple Bamboo Forest in the back mountain and sit for a while. Have a pot of Anning Temple's unique Purple Bamboo Tea."
"I've heard for a long time that there's a purple bamboo forest on the hill behind Anning Temple. It's a blessing to have the opportunity to sit there for a while and taste a pot of the unique purple bamboo tea."
"I'll take you there."
"Thank you."
Master Yuanyi took her to find Chen Hanxing, and the three of them went to the purple bamboo forest in the back mountain together.
The silvery white world is tinged with emerald green, making this white world no longer monotonous.
The roads in the back mountain were all cleared, with white snow on both sides of them. When the wind blew, the snow above their heads would scatter all over the ground.
Wen Zhenyi looked at the scene in front of him and said: "It's really beautiful. I should bring some children to see it. They will definitely like it here."
Master Yuanyi smiled and said, "The eldest princess can bring them here anytime."
"I haven't been free recently, and I don't know if I'll still have the time when I'm done with my work."
“There’s always a chance.”
The three of them walked to the depths of the bamboo forest. There was a pavilion there, surrounded by purple bamboo forests, which did not make people feel cold.
"Please wait a moment, I'll go over there and get some mats for you." Master Yuanyi pointed to the bamboo house not far away.
Chen Hanxing said, "I'll go get it for the master."
"Thank you, Prince Consort."
Wen Zhenyi took off the hood of his head, which was covered with a lot of snow that had just been blown off by the wind. He untied his cloak, shook off the snow on the outside, and put it on again.
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Tips: Plum Blossom Soup Cake
Plum blossom soup cake is recorded in "Shan Jia Qing Gong" - Southern Song Dynasty. Lin Hong.
The plum blossom soup cake described here comes from the book "Song Yan".
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