Just two days after the Ghost Festival comes the "Last Dog Days of Summer," and the sweltering heat in the air hasn't subsided yet. Even sitting in the shade of a tree, one can feel the oppressive heat from the bottom of one's heart.
When the weather gets hot, the desire to eat diminishes. No matter how delicious the delicacies are, nothing can compare to a round, plump watermelon that's been chilled in well water.
The diet of the people of Chang'an is not as monotonous and boring as many people think. In addition to the pork that ordinary people eat, there are also mutton, chicken, dog, and goose. Sometimes Xu Milu can even find people selling old oxen with broken legs at the market.
As for aquatic products, although the surname of Li Shimin should be avoided, carp is still the most common aquatic product, followed by grass carp, black carp, mandarin fish, crucian carp, catfish, etc.
Although Chang'an did not have abundant aquatic products, large ships came from the south every day, bringing back large quantities of aquatic products, which were then transported to the East Market to be sold before dawn.
In addition to the five major categories of vegetables—mallow, leek, celery, scallion, and wild garlic—there are also other vegetables such as water spinach, arrowhead, lotus root, taro, and bamboo shoots, as well as many wild vegetables.
It can be said that this was an era in which both spiritual and material civilization were very rich.
Xu Milu has gradually become familiar with Yin Wenjiao next door over the past few days.
“Little Rice Sister, I dug up some wild bamboo shoots outside the temple yesterday. These bamboo shoots are very tender, but I don’t know how to cook them. I’m keeping them in my hands so they don’t go to waste. I’m bringing them here for you to eat.”
Yin Wenjiao, carrying a basket, stumbled into Xu Milu's courtyard, looking utterly frail and delicate.
Xu Milu quickly took the basket and glanced inside. She saw many plump, white winter bamboo shoots, each one more succulent than the last, and couldn't help but squint.
Digging for bamboo shoots?
Whose bamboo shoots are always perfectly clean when they're dug up?
The key question is, where would we find winter bamboo shoots outside Chang'an in the middle of summer?
Thinking back to the scene of a hundred ghosts bowing in worship that day, Xu Milu had some vague guesses in her mind, but she didn't expose them:
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Sister Wenjiao. Let's leave it for now. Your arrival is just in time. I've been eating vegetarian food for several days in a row, so I'm going to have some meat. This morning a fishmonger came to the East Market, and I bought a bighead carp. I'll make a spicy fish head dish for you. It's so hot in the summer, I'm sure you don't have much of an appetite."
Although she was still somewhat unsure whether Yin Wenjiao was the Tang Monk's birth mother described by Wu Cheng'en as someone who "lost her virginity to river bandits and eventually calmly committed suicide," Xu Milu did not intend to pursue the matter any further.
When she was a child, she only read a few words in the book, but when the characters came to life, Xu Milu realized that Yin Wenjiao had been forcibly taken by bandits for eighteen years, which was a dark experience.
"Steamed fish head with chopped chili? This bighead carp has a big head and a short body. Ordinary families usually find it tasteless and mostly take it home to make soup. Can the fish head actually be made into a dish?"
Yin Wenjiao blinked her beautiful eyes slightly, revealing a touch of girlish naiveté.
She had learned in the past few days that Xu Milu was a "fake Taoist priest," but she could understand the hardship of a woman being alone in a foreign land, so she didn't care.
"The fish head with chopped chili is made from this fish head. Compared to the belly and tail, the fish head has a unique flavor. The fish head has fewer bones, and the cheek meat is tender and smooth. As for the fish lips and eyes, if they are cooked well and served, they will make your mouth water."
As Xu Milu spoke, she pulled a whole, lively bighead carp out of the bucket. This fish had a long, flat body, a prominent belly, a large, round head, and its lips were slightly parted when it was out of the water. Its eyes were bright and it looked incredibly fresh.
"Bang!"
Xu Milu always cleaned fish efficiently. She stunned the fish with the handle of her knife, then skillfully gutted it, chopping off the body to give to Ah Chou for dinner, leaving only the fat, large fish head.
"Wow, that's truly... such skillful swordsmanship."
Yin Wenjiao was both scared and curious to see, so she couldn't help but cover her eyes and peek through her fingers.
Xu Milu cleaned the fish head, split it in half from the middle of the lips, and then made several horizontal cuts on the sticky fish meat. She then arranged the fish on a plate, making it look like two fish were intimately close together.
"This fish is very fresh. I don't know how the fish vendors keep it fresh."
Xu Milu smiled and sprinkled cooking wine, pepper, and salt on the fish head, spreading it evenly little by little, and set it aside to marinate.
Fresh bicolor mandolin peppers were chopped into small pieces, mixed with a little salt, and the spiciness was already released, making Yin Wenjiao cough.
"What is this? It smells pungent."
"This is a bell pepper, spicy and delicious, and that's the essence of this dish."
Xu Milu took out a bottle of Erguotou, which was Old Liu's private stash, from the kitchen, poured it into the chopped chili peppers and mixed it well. She then sliced ginger and scallions and placed them on the bottom of a plate. After that, she put the marinated fish head on top, brushed a layer of cooking oil on the surface, poured a generous layer of chopped chili peppers on top, and steamed it over high heat.
—The fire spirit that the traveler gave her was truly an amazing treasure. Occasionally feeding it some charcoal would keep the little thing alive. When cooking, just stuff it into the stove, and the fire could be made bigger or smaller as desired, making it even more convenient than a gas stove.
Steam for 15 minutes, and the fish head will be almost done. Remove the steamed fish head, sprinkle with chopped green onions, and add no other seasonings. Heat oil in a wok and pour the boiling oil over the fish head.
"Sizzle—"
The hot oil quickly coated the chopped chili peppers, making a loud sizzling sound, and the entire courtyard was filled with this stimulating and intense aroma.
Xu Milu picked up her chopsticks and gestured for Yin Wenjiao to try it. Yin Wenjiao took a small bite, her eyes lighting up with delight.
"It's truly extraordinary! The meat on the fish head is incredibly tender, with hardly any bones. Although the chili peppers are spicy, they're also very appetizing. I've been suffering from this summer heat these past few days, and the only thing I could manage to eat was the pastry that Sister Rice made the other day. This fish head is so delicious! Sister Rice, you have excellent cooking skills!"
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