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 retrieved.
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 it was not simmered for a long time.
This made her think more.
When potatoes sprout, they produce a toxin called agonine, which can cause diarrhea or even death from suffocation. If it is a small amount of agonine and it is killed at high temperature for a long time, it is no problem, but it is obvious that the other party deliberately stir-fried it twice and then served it out of the pot.
So the potatoes that Ah Heng had eaten before were also crispy.
Considering her royal status, Yan Qiushu had to believe in the conspiracy theory, and she felt it made a lot of sense.
I guess the person who caused the trouble was lucky, and the potatoes in front were good. Generally speaking, cautious people will not eat a lot of unfamiliar food for the first time. When they notice that the taste is good, they will feel at ease and eat it boldly the second time, which is this time.
Therefore, in these two dishes, sprouted potatoes account for a particularly large proportion. Except for the tips of the sprouts which have been removed, the bottoms are still left. If you just pick them 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 well cooked. 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 are really inedible are very rare in the current recipes of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Potatoes are such a precious new ingredient that even the Prince Chang’s family would not think much about it when they come across this dish.
But the fact is that 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, several people 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 the minds of many people today, potatoes are a magical thing. They have a large yield, are large in size, and taste pretty good. As long as they are grown, people will be free from hunger. Who would have thought that they could actually poison people?
Yan Qiushu was also a little upset. She was too excited yesterday and forgot about this. She only mentioned its weaknesses but not its cruel side.
Yan Qiushu said softly, "It can be stored for a long time, but once it changes color and sprouts, try not to eat it. Save it for seeds, or remove the sprouted parts. Of course, don't eat it if you can. Your Highness can feed it to mice to see if it is toxic."
Prince Chang nodded slowly and waved his hand. Immediately, someone took the potato sprouts away. They must be going to conduct an experiment on mice.
With this movement, the kitchen staff who had already knelt down came back to their senses and shouted, "Please spare my life, Your Majesty. I was not aware of this!"
"Your Highness, please spare my life. I just thought that this thing was precious and should not be wasted. I have never heard that sprouted things cannot be eaten, so I cut it off..." The chef who specialized in cooking potatoes kowtowed vigorously. In a short time, his head turned red from knocking on the ground, and his voice was trembling.
Prince Chang narrowed his eyes, scanned the group of people, pointed at the main people in charge and helpers in the kitchen, and said, "Take them away."
"Yes!" the guard responded immediately.
Several chefs were trembling with fear and tried to explain, but they were already dragged away.
The Prince Chang's Mansion is now being watched by many people, just like the Xiao family. This seems to be an accident, but who knows the inside story? We must be cautious.
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 expressed their loyalty one after another: "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..."
"Alright!" King Chang said in a low voice.
Everyone fell silent. Wan'er and Ah Heng, the two children who were a little timid, shuddered with fear on their faces.
Prince Chang smiled helplessly and whispered, "I'm sorry, I specially invited you to come here 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 may take a while, but these two potatoes can be used to make something different."
Although there are fewer of them, their number is smaller than that of the Xiao family, so it is a new and novel thing for everyone to try.
However, I thought I could eat as many potatoes as I wanted today, but after going around in circles, I only had two left.
Prince Chang looked at his wife, and Princess Chang looked at Ah Heng. Seeing that he seemed frightened, but after hearing what Yan Qiushu said, there was still some expectation in his eyes, so he said, "Then I'm sorry to trouble Miss Yan. It's really rude. Miss Yan, please don't be offended."
"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 energized. Without their parents asking, 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 all the arrangements and quickly started cutting the potatoes, cutting one potato into shreds and another 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 simmered in oil 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 some flavor because it did not contain oil. Therefore, she used her own method to make a simpler preparation.
Add salt, sugar, a little soy sauce, pepper, corn starch, and water and mix well. Then add the cooked corn kernels and carrot kernels, pour them into the pot and heat over low heat until it becomes thick.
The sauce was ready, and the mashed potatoes were also made into a batter with the cooperation of the children. However, the batter was a bit dry, so a little hot milk needed to be added to mix it. The batter suddenly became much softer.
Finally, pour the sauce in, mix again and stir evenly, then divide a little among each person.
After all, there was only one potato, and even though she added a lot of other things, the portion was still not much, just two bites per person.
After the food was divided, someone came with 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 really creepy.
But apparently that's what she thought.
Dongdong and Wan'er were the first to throw themselves into Xie Qingyun's arms and said in a crisp voice, "Aunt, we just made mashed potatoes! We made some for you too!"
Xie Qingyun said in an exaggerated manner: "Oh, you did 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 cooked for Sister Shu, it was delicious~"
Prince Chang smiled and said, "How do you know it's delicious?"
Ah Heng smiled slyly and white-knitted his finger at him.
Prince Chang smiled even more, and he squatted down and moved closer to cooperate with his son in playing this little game.
Ah Heng put his finger to him and whispered, "My finger touched the mashed potatoes just now. I licked it clean. It tastes great! I haven't licked it clean yet. Let you taste it!"
Prince Chang: “…”
His smile disappeared and he began to wonder what his son had learned from Dongdong?
Delicacies need to be tasted in time. Using this as an excuse, Prince Chang used a handkerchief to wipe his son's index finger, which still had a little mashed potato on it, and then led him quickly to the front yard.
Princess Chang hid her smile and called Xie Qingyun, Yan Qiushu and others: "Let's go too."
Everyone nodded and walked past with brisk steps.
The other dishes in the living room had already been prepared. Fortunately, it was summer and most of the dishes were cold food, so we could continue eating.
However, after such a delay, everyone's interest was not as high as at the beginning. After a brief chat, they started to eat.
Spicy and sour potato shreds were a dish placed in the middle of the table, and 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 very much. 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 exude a familiar milky aroma, lying softly on the tip of the tongue. The light saltiness and slight heat further enhance its taste, but there are also corn kernels and carrot kernels between the lips and teeth, making its taste no longer just soft, but a bit sweeter.
He was delighted by the juice that burst from the corn kernels and the crispness of the carrots.
Mingming's chef also learned the cooking skills from Sister Shu and made him corn fried rice, both with corn as the ingredient, which reminded him of it, but it tasted completely different.
As expected, he 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 the food with him.
Prince Chang just swallowed the food in his mouth and nodded with satisfaction: "It's delicious. Your sister Shu is a great cook. It looks simple, but it tastes surprisingly good."
"That's it!" Ah Heng smiled proudly.
Yan Qiushu didn't expect that Ah Heng had become more lively during the time 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 reserved. But now that he is back with his parents, his sense of security has increased dramatically, and his true nature that was brought out has been fully revealed.
She looked at him with a smile. Ah Heng noticed the gaze on her, and looked over. When her gaze met hers, her face immediately blushed.
Dongdong snorted and laughed, thinking that Ah Heng was still too shy. He greeted him enthusiastically: "Uncle, this potato shreds are also delicious, please try it!"
King Chang was silent. Who was the master?
However, he didn't want to disappoint the child's enthusiasm, so he reached out his chopsticks for the spicy and sour potato shreds.
Just as I had eaten the soft food, the spicy and sour potato shreds appeared.
But unlike the stir-fried shredded potatoes made by the chef in the mansion, this spicy and sour shredded potato is slightly sour and spicy, accompanied by the crisp taste of potatoes, not at all spicy, and tastes very refreshing.
While he was eating mashed potatoes, he wasn't thinking about eating.
But when he ate this, he ate it in one bite, and his hands unconsciously went to hold the bowl to eat rice. The sweet aftertaste of white rice paired with sour and spicy shredded potatoes was also excellent.
After eating, he went straight for the second chopstick.
Seeing Dong Dong and Ah Heng both looking at him, Prince Chang said with a smile, "Why? Are you afraid that I don'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, and he was so happy that he was bubbling with joy.
I didn’t expect that these potatoes, which don’t look good, 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 used sprouted potatoes for food is really bad! Otherwise, he would definitely be able to eat more delicious food now!
“A-choo!”
The boy sitting on the fishing platform sneezed, scaring away the fish that was about to be hooked. The water rippled for a moment, and then the surface returned to calm.
The maid who was serving the young man came over quickly with a coat in her hand: "Your Highness, it's windy and a little chilly, would you like to put it on?"
"No, take it." The boy said lazily.
He doesn't like wearing too much; he feels constrained by being wrapped up too much.
However, it was this interruption that made him look at the sky. It was actually quite late. If there were no street lights, he would not be able to see his fishing rod at this moment.
After all, he just sat here after dinner, and surprisingly, he hadn't caught a single fish so far.
Prince Huai was a little upset, so he simply threw away his fishing rod, got up and walked towards the study.
The palace maids hurried to follow him, but he waved his hand: "No need to follow."
Then he walked forward alone.
He walked to a dark place before he spoke: "What's going on? No news from there yet?"
"I will go and investigate now." The voice sounded low and vague, and then the movement of flying birds could be heard.
Prince Huai continued to walk towards the study. Although it was unintentional that he caused his brother to be poisoned, 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 picked up the brush, the butler came in hurriedly, saying, "Your Highness, His Highness Prince Gangchang sent someone to tell you that the potatoes you brought back cannot be eaten if they have sprouted, changed color, etc. Otherwise, you will vomit at best, or suffocate or die at worst!"
"I heard from the eunuch who passed on the message that Prince Chang had conducted an experiment on mice. All the mice that ate the sprouted potatoes died. Now he is rushing to tell other families who received potatoes about this! Your Highness, it seems that you also ate a little tonight. Are you feeling unwell? Shall I go and ask the imperial physician for help?"
The housekeeper asked carefully, but did not get a response from the person concerned.
The young man, who was always so proud and elegant, looked at him with surprise and anger after hearing what he said: "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!" The housekeeper comforted without knowing why.
"Pah--" Just as he finished his words, Prince Huai had already gloomily swept down the four treasures of the study on the desk, his eyes and heart full of disbelief, his facial features distorted with excessive shock.
How is that possible?!
It took him a long time to come up with these symptoms through experiments, which delayed him and caused him to miss Xiao Huaiya. But it has only been a few days since Tu Dou was brought to the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty? !
He actually knew it?
You even know the symptoms?!
But others didn't know that Prince Huai knew very well in his heart that the symptoms Prince Chang described were absolutely correct, but the difference was that he used living people as the experiment to ensure that the dosage could cause an adult man's body to collapse...