Chapter 27, Inn No. 27: Peony Swallow Dish and the Dragon Boat Festival
Peony Swallow Dish, also known as Luoyang Swallow Dish, is the first dish in Luoyang Water Banquet.
The challenge of this dish lies not in the lifelike peony carving, but in the swallow's nest at the bottom.
The main ingredient for agar-agar is actually the most common radish, but it takes a lot of effort to make this simple radish dish delicious.
Cut the white radish into very thin shreds, like hair, soak them in spring water, squeeze out the excess water, sprinkle with mung bean flour and mix well. Steam the prepared radish shreds in a pot until cooked, then soak them in cold water and let them dry.
This step needs to be repeated at least three times. Steaming and drying the radish three times will improve the texture of the shredded radish and remove all the spiciness of the radish.
Yunyin took out the shredded radish she had dried earlier and soaked it. Then she went to make broth, a step that was crucial to the flavor of the whole dish.
The broth needs to be clear and transparent. Choose freshly slaughtered old hens and pork bones, add scallions, ginger and other ingredients, bring to a boil over high heat, skim off the foam, and simmer over low heat for several hours to make the broth rich in flavor.
When making soup, select a few egg yolks, add starch and salt, stir, steam in a pot until cooked, and cut into strips to make the stamens of peony flowers.
Finally, prepare the side dishes for the Peony Swallow Dish. Shred bamboo shoots and mushrooms, blanch them, and then steam them together with soaked shredded radish. If you prefer a meat dish, you can add shredded chicken, shredded ham, etc. Arrange the steamed radish on a plate, place a peony carved from a red radish on top, and finally pour over a rich broth. The lifelike peony blooming before your eyes allows you to appreciate the beauty of Luoyang even without leaving the city.
Yunyin brought the prepared dishes to the table. Song Shi was immediately attracted by the dishes. He couldn't wait to pick them up and said, "Yun Niangzi's dishes are indeed exquisite. It would be even more perfect if the dining environment could be improved a bit."
For the first time, Xie Yan felt that Song Shi's words were exactly what he wanted to hear. This was also the reason why he didn't come here often. The dining environment here was indeed too simple, which made it unacceptable for someone who always pursued etiquette to eat by the roadside.
Fortunately, Song Shi knew about his problem and would always choose a scenic spot to dine whenever he brought him here. This time, they chose to dine under a lush locust tree.
This locust tree is some distance from Yunyin's food stall, closer to Pingjiang. The tree is robust, and it is currently in bloom. The flowers, like waterfalls of silver beads, cascade down, and their fresh and elegant fragrance is carried on the wind, making their dining experience relaxed and pleasant.
Seeing that everyone said the same thing, Yunyin sighed and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. Building a restaurant isn't something that can be done in a short time. You're all enjoying nature now, isn't that a kind of rustic charm?"
Song Shi shrugged and said, "I don't care. As long as your cooking is delicious, I don't mind where we eat."
Xie Yan coughed lightly and said, "Alright, let's eat first. With such a magnificent view, we can't miss out on this exquisite cuisine."
Song Shi first ladled out a bowl of soup with a soup spoon. Floating in it were shredded bamboo shoots, swallow's nest, and mushrooms. Paired with an extremely delicious broth, one sip felt as if his soul had been touched, and his mind went blank for a moment, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
"Miss Yun, is the swallow silk in here real swallow silk?" Song Shi asked curiously, staring at the fine, hair-like swallow silk in the bowl as she came back to her senses.
Yunyin shook her head: "How could we use something so expensive? It's just simple shredded radish."
Before Song Shi could speak, Lin Hui, who had been talking incessantly, exclaimed in shock, "How could it be a radish? I didn't taste a thing!"
Xie Yan was also curious and looked at it carefully for a long time, but still couldn't figure out that the texture was actually shredded radish.
He had noticed early on that the lifelike peony was carved from a radish, but the fact that it was carved so realistically still surprised him. Restaurants and taverns in Long'an County weren't particularly skilled at carving, even the Manxiangju restaurant from the prefectural city.
"Why would I lie to you? This is indeed a radish, it's just a bit troublesome to cook, but it tastes pretty good."
Lin Hui pursed his lips and said, "This is not just good, it's absolutely delicious. If you hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have been able to tell the difference."
Lin Hui's family was in the silk business and was one of the wealthiest families in Long'an County. Naturally, they had eaten bird's nest before. The texture of this shredded radish was not very different from that of real bird's nest, and it could be mistaken for the real thing.
Song Shi looked at her with disbelief, thinking they were making a big fuss. Although he also thought Yun Yin was a good cook, he had long considered her to be on par with top chefs, probably even the imperial chefs in the palace were no better. So he wasn't too surprised that she could make such realistic-looking swallow's nest soup.
"It's fortunate that you settled in Long'an County, Lady Yun, otherwise I would have missed out on your culinary skills," Song Shi chuckled. "The people in those prefectures don't have the same good fortune as us."
Lin Hui and Xie Yan both nodded in agreement, and Yun Yin laughed and said, "Okay, stop praising me. Every time you come to eat, you praise me over and over again. I really feel embarrassed."
"I'm already very satisfied if you like it and keep coming back to my business."
Song Shi said, "Of course we'll come here often."
"Miss Yun, the Dragon Boat Festival is almost here. Would you like to come to the county town then? I'll invite Miss Luo along, and we can go watch the dragon boat races and many other activities."
Yunyin was also quite curious about how Dazhao spent the Dragon Boat Festival. Thinking that everyone went to the county town to participate in activities that day and not many people came to eat, she also wanted to take a holiday and rest. She nodded and said, "No problem, I will come to the county town to find you then."
On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Dragon Boat Festival, people wear five-colored silk threads and mugwort, and people also give each other rice dumplings, sachets, or round fans.
Yunyin packed the prepared zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) early and went to Long'an County with Zhang Lin to participate in the event.
She looked at Zhang Lin, who was dressed up, and said, "Not bad, you look very energetic today. You can take the money and go have fun by yourself. I won't go with you."
Zhang Lin nodded and said, "No problem, I'll go shopping by myself, my wife doesn't need to worry about me."
As they passed the town entrance, Yunyin saw Luoman already waiting at the intersection. She quickly stepped forward and said, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Sister Aman."
Luo Man waved her hand and said, "No, I just arrived too. Get in the car, girl."
Yunyin parted ways with Zhang Lin and got into Luo Man's car. Zhang Lin and the other companions from Luo Man's shop headed towards Long'an County.
"Sister Aman looks really good today." Yunyin said, looking at Luoman in her wide-sleeved long dress. "She's a refreshing sight, and she looks more graceful than usual."
Luo Man usually wears linen narrow-sleeved ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), but this was the first time I saw her wearing a silk wide-sleeved dress. She really looked just like a fairy in a mural.
Luo Man looked at Yun Yin, who was still wearing her usual linen dress, and said, "There's an event today, so you really need to dress up. You should dress up nicely too. You're so beautiful, if you dress up a bit, you'll be noticed immediately in a crowd."
Yunyin shook her head and said, "I don't want to be noticed at first glance. But I do like pretty clothes, so I can go and buy some nice outfits later."
Luo Man recommended, "There's a clothing store in the eastern part of the county town that makes really beautiful clothes. You should check it out."
After discussing clothing, the conversation turned to food. Yunyin took out some zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and said, "These are zongzi I made. Sister Aman, you can help yourself if you want some."
Aman looked at the small rice dumplings tied with five-colored silk threads and said, "You've already given us rice dumplings before, why did you bring so many more today?"
Yunyin: "I gave you big zongzi before, but since we're going to be traveling today, I've prepared some small zongzi so you can eat them if you get hungry."
"You've thought of everything so thoroughly," Roman exclaimed.
While the two were chatting, the carriage arrived safely at the entrance of Long'an County.
Yunyin lifted the curtain and looked out. At this time, Long'an County was bustling with people, and the city gate was blocked by a dense crowd. For a while, they were unable to enter the city smoothly.
"Why are there so many people?" Yunyin asked curiously.
Luo Man glanced at it and said, "There's an event in the county town today, and the magistrate has also canceled the entrance fee, so people from nearby villages have come to the county town, making it seem like there are a lot of people."
"That's a bit too much." They had been waiting for a long time but still hadn't been able to enter the city. Luo Man sighed and said, "Let's just wait patiently. Luckily, we arrived early, and the dragon boat races haven't started yet."
When the two were finally able to enter the city, half an hour had passed. After properly storing their carriage, they boarded Song Shi's carriage and exited through another city gate, heading towards Pingjiang.
Pingjiang is still some distance from Long'an County, and it took them another half an hour to get closer to Pingjiang.
Yunyin stepped down from the carriage, looked at the rushing river, and sighed, "Long'an County is really far from Pingjiang. It's not as far as where I live."
She could see the Pingjiang River from a short walk from where she lived, and she could often see boats passing by on the river when she inspected the farmland.
Song Shi got out of the car to pick up Luo Man. Seeing that her sister had someone to meet her, he looked at Yun Yin and said, "That's why I said there aren't many restaurants in the county town that serve fish. Even Pingxi Town is closer to Pingjiang."
Song Xuan lifted her skirt and walked towards them, with Xie Yan following behind to prevent them from being separated by the crowd. He escorted Song Xuan to meet Song Shi, and seeing that they were still standing by the roadside talking incessantly, he interrupted, "Alright, let's hurry up and go to our reserved seats. There are more and more people."
Every year, Long'an County holds dragon boat races, so many high platforms have been built in this area near the river. During the Dragon Boat Festival, these platforms are open to the public, and you can reserve a great spot with a superb view for a small fee.
Others could also watch from the riverbank, but the view wasn't as good as from the high platform. Yunyin followed the group to the high platform they had reserved. The area was already bustling with activity, and there were many vendors selling drinks and snacks.
The must-drink beverage for the Dragon Boat Festival is the mugwort and calamus drink, made by simmering mugwort and calamus, among other ingredients. It is the top choice for the festival. Another popular drink is the perilla drink, made with early summer perilla, dried tangerine peel, licorice, and other medicinal herbs. It has a pale yellow color, a refreshing and slightly sweet taste, and a pleasant herbal aroma of perilla.
If you don't like the taste of medicinal drinks, there's also the option of aromatic drinks. Aromatic drinks are made with fresh, fresh fruit, similar to modern fruit teas.
With medicinal drinks and fragrant drinks, tea is naturally indispensable. Tea brewing is very popular in Da Zhao, and various flowers are also used to brew tea. Smelling the faint fragrance of flowers and eating sweet snacks and rice dumplings, even in the hot summer, Yun Yin feels no different from spring.
"Dong dong dong." A series of gong sounds rang out, and Yunyin got up and looked outside. The dragon boat race was about to begin. She and Luoman leaned against the railing, watching the men in front of them show off their strong bodies.
The women around him gasped in surprise, everyone craned their necks to look outside, and the other men by the fence covered their faces and sighed.
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