Chapter 424: Boiled fish is better than hot pot?
Boiled fish tastes great, but it doesn't take much effort to make. Simply coat the fresh fish fillets with seasoned starch and set aside. Also, prepare some vegetables like wood ear mushrooms, bean sprouts, and tofu skin as side dishes. The rest of the focus is on the ingredients.
People like Second Uncle have been working in the imperial kitchen for many years and are much more experienced in handling ingredients than Wenjiu. Wenjiu just gave a word, and then they handled everything neatly.
Once the soup base is cooked and the fire is boiling, the tender fish fillets are cooked through, and the final step has begun.
When the dish is out of the pot, cover it with a layer of green onion, ginger, garlic, chili, cumin and five-spice powder. Heat oil in a pot and pour a large spoonful of hot oil on it.
There was a crackling sound, and a strong fragrance spread throughout the hall in an instant.
The servants in the kitchen were all stunned.
Even Uncle Wen was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth. Looking at the dish in front of him, Uncle Wen couldn't believe that this dish was made by him.
"Jiu'er, what exactly is this red seasoning?" Second Uncle couldn't help but ask. He'd only added a little, but the whole dish felt different. It was fragrant, spicy, and numbing, and it was incredibly satisfying at first glance. But Second Uncle was still a little worried. The flavor looked too strong. Could it really be served to the Emperor?
"This is chili pepper," Wen Jiu said, "adding a little bit can stimulate appetite and help digestion, and it can also induce sweating and remove dampness. But don't eat too much. It might cause internal heat. And people with weak stomachs shouldn't eat it often. After all, it's a spicy and irritating food."
Seeing his second uncle looking at him in surprise, Wen Jiu simply took a small plate, picked up two pieces of fish, and handed it to his second uncle: "Uncle, have a taste."
Wen Shoubao was so frightened that his legs went limp and he almost fell to his knees: "Absolutely not, absolutely not."
Wen Jiu: "It's just a food tasting."
Wen Shoubao's forehead was covered in sweat. Although it was a food tasting, he wasn't allowed to taste it. Only the head chef could taste it. He only had to taste a little bit of the soup. How could he dare to eat the meat directly from the plate?
The Fourth Master's eyes barely left Wen Jiu. He sat closer and, with his sharp ears and eyesight, he heard the two people talking clearly. He waved his hand and ordered, "No need to be so polite."
Wen Shoubao didn't dare to refuse after hearing what he said. He took the small dish from Wen Jiu's hand tremblingly. After taking a bite, he was stunned for a while.
"This... incredibly tender fish, paired with such a wonderfully rich flavor, fresh, fragrant, spicy, and numbing, is truly the most unforgettable dish I've had this year."
"Little Fourth Sister-in-law, what have you cooked?" Ninth Master suddenly interrupted the two of them. His nose twitched, and he immediately let go of the hand that was trying to grab the plate from Tenth Master. He followed the smell and ran to the warm wine.
Jiu Ye blinked his narrow fox eyes twice, took a deep breath, and said with an intoxicated look on his face, "This thing smells really good. What's its name?"
Wen Jiu replied with a smile: "The name of this dish is boiled fish."
"Boiled Fish?" Jiu Ye asked in confusion, "Why such a bland name? Look at the bright red on it, it should have a more powerful name, like Volcano Exploding Fish, Fish Crossing the Red Sea, or something like that."
Wen Jiu couldn't help but give a thumbs up after hearing this: "Otherwise, how can we say that Master Jiu is good at business?" These names are very expensive.
Jiu Ye waved his hand modestly, and then looked at the dish again. As he looked at it, he couldn't help but said greedily, "Little Fourth Sister-in-law, please make some for us to taste."
"That's right, Sister-in-law Si, bring it here." Master Shi was still chewing the dried fish, but his eyes were indeed fixed on the dish that had just come out of the pot in the kitchen.
Wen Jiu was at a loss for words, but he still had the dishes brought over. As soon as the dishes were placed on the table, the Eighth Master frowned, "How dare you! The dishes are for the Emperor! How can we enjoy them? A servant doesn't know the rules, could it be that Fourth Brother doesn't know the rules either?"
Their eyes fell lightly on the Fourth Master, obviously full of provocation.
Before the Fourth Master could say anything, Wen Jiu bowed with a smile and said, "Eighth Master, you are wrong. This dish is the result of my trial cooking, and I am not too satisfied with the taste.
Gentlemen, you are here to help me warm the wine. If you are willing to condescend to taste it and give me some suggestions, that would be more than welcome.
We all have the same goal, which is to present the best to His Majesty, Master Eight, do you agree or not?"
It was indeed a bit unreasonable not to serve the emperor the first dish. The words of warming the wine gave everyone the best way out. The children were all smiling from ear to ear.
"My dear brother, what Little Fourth Sister-in-law said is right. We are helping." Jiu Ye immediately said, "Little Fourth Sister-in-law, I will definitely give you some advice after eating."
"I also give my opinion. Of course, the things given to the Emperor should be the best," said the Tenth Master.
"Hey, what are you standing there for? Come on, bring me a bowl!"
The Fourteenth Master immediately frowned and gave the order.
The second uncle also breathed a sigh of relief and immediately wanted to run over to add more bowls and chopsticks to the masters.
Seeing that the Fourth Master was frowning deeply, Wen Jiu was afraid that he would have another conflict with the Eighth Master. He immediately pulled his sleeve, placed a small plate in front of the Fourth Master, and picked up two pieces of fish for him: "Master, try it."
The Fourth Master suddenly grabbed the hand that was warming the wine, pulled her over and sat down at the table: "Let's try it together."
He was not too angry about Lao Ba's provocation, but he felt a little uncomfortable when he heard him keep talking about slaves.
During this southern tour, he will definitely earn the title of a prince, if not for anything else, just to prevent his girl from being bullied like this.
Mr. Ba was so angry with the people in front of him that he couldn't breathe a word. He felt like he was in a dilemma whether to speak or not.
He used to be on the side of his brothers, but today, for some reason, he always speaks for Fourth Brother!
Is food more important, or is this mynah bird more important?
The Ninth Master and his companions did not notice at all that the Eighth Master was in a bad mood. In order to grab more food, the youngest Fourteenth Master had already stood up and raised his chopsticks to add more dishes.
The Ninth and Tenth Masters also kept using their chopsticks, and only stopped when their own small plates were full.
The portion of boiled fish served with the wine was slightly larger than what you'd find in a typical restaurant. She had deliberately increased the portion, thinking these gentlemen would be able to eat more. Each of the three of them scooped out a small plate, leaving little left on their plates.
"It smells really good. It tastes even better than fish hotpot!" said Master Shi.
Jiu Ye also nodded: "This boiled fish has surpassed the place of big pelvis in my heart, and it is even better than hot pot. Sister-in-law, you can make this often in the future."
"It tastes really good. It would be even better if it could be paired with a bowl of rice." Fourteen said with sparkling eyes while gasping for air while eating.
The Eighth Master watched them eat, his eyes still tinged with disdain. Although the food smelled delicious, how could it be that good? Could it be that they had never eaten before?
Gurgle~
Suddenly, a gurgling sound was heard. Everyone at the table paused and their eyes subconsciously shifted to Mr. Ba.
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