Jiang Hongye's arrival was almost what Su Wan expected.
It is said that he is here to give advice on cooking skills, but in fact he is just looking around and getting to know the basics of all the cooks.
The only people who could be called cooks in the West Kitchen were the five senior palace maids, and the other palace people were just palace maids.
It shouldn't be so miserable, but it's because this western kitchen can't keep a good cook.
The five senior palace maids were all honest and loyal. They showed emotion on their faces and did their best to prepare dinner that night.
As for the taste?
Su Wan managed to eat a few bites, while Chunxiang, Xiaoyue and Yu Shu took a deep breath and tried hard to shovel the food into their mouths.
Anyway, at least the porridge tonight was not burnt, and they took out the fried eggs with peppers from the bottom of the western kitchen. However, since it was a big pot and my cooking skills were average, there were bound to be some problems.
Anyway, when Jiang Hongye and his group left, they couldn't hide the mockery in their eyes at all.
When she left, the five senior palace maids all looked unhappy. They had indeed brought shame to the west kitchen.
But the two chiefs who came over at the same time did not blame them. If they were good at cooking, they would not have stayed in the west kitchen.
At this time, I am just showing my level.
And the worse the Western Kitchen is now, the better it is for them.
When the Right Hand Master glanced at Su Wan, he saw her thoughtful expression and smiled subconsciously. Then he said to the eighty palace maids in the West Kitchen who were suddenly inspected and looked dejected, "Just focus on your work and don't worry about anything else."
But how can we ignore it?
The cooks around the powerful nobles all came over for "instructions", and in less than one night, the dark dining hall in the west kitchen became famous again.
Half the palace knew about this, and even the Saint asked a few more questions.
The powerful noblewoman, Concubine Jiang, smiled and said, "I have urged the female officials of the Imperial Food Department to deal with this matter. Deputy Prime Minister Xi has also made a promise that if the food in the Western Kitchen is still the same after three months, she will resign."
Without waiting for the Saint to frown, Imperial Concubine Jiang knew that this was too harsh on the official, and quickly continued, "But if you do a good job, I will allocate 100 taels from my own private treasury every month this year to improve the food in the western kitchen."
Imperial Concubine Jiang's promise was not just the one hundred taels, but also the monthly quota of food for the western kitchen, and she would not deduct too much from it.
These are the conditions negotiated with the Shangshi Division.
Originally, Imperial Concubine Jiang was somewhat skeptical. The Imperial Food Bureau came to negotiate terms several times, wondering if they had some backup plan.
But Jiang Hongye, the cook from her distant branch of the family, had gone to take a look. She saw that the palace maids in the west kitchen were old and young, including old palace maids who had not left the palace for a long time and young palace maids who were not as tall as the stove.
It is hard to describe the cooking skills of the five palace maids in charge of the kitchen.
That's why Imperial Concubine Jiang generously promised that if the western kitchen was renovated, she would give a subsidy of 100 taels and restore the western kitchen's share.
If the situation cannot be improved, Deputy Prime Minister Xi will resign immediately.
It seems that it is not she who is in power who is harsh, but Deputy Prime Minister Xi is greedy and deliberately wants high rewards, so he acts this way.
Sure enough, the saint nodded slightly after hearing this, but still said: "If you resign, you must be properly arranged and the Censorate should not be allowed to accuse you."
If she was an ordinary palace maid, it would be fine.
But the Deputy Western Prime Minister is also a female official of the sixth rank. She also went through the palace examination and the tests of the Shangshi Division and the Honglu Temple before she got the official position. It is not easy to dismiss her casually.
Imperial Concubine Jiang knew that the Saint was also cautious when he was an emperor and attached great importance to his reputation, so naturally he had to pretend to be generous.
Anyway, she couldn't give those things away, so she could leave the position of Deputy Prime Minister Xi to her own people. No one would point fingers at her about this matter anymore.
She has to control both the inner and outer palaces, otherwise how can she be called a powerful noble.
Imperial Concubine Jiang smiled and handed tea to the Saint, obviously very satisfied.
However, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, Jiang Hongye will have to go and take a look, and also keep an eye on the north and south kitchens. They cannot be allowed to send anyone over there.
In her mind, Su Wan, who was not even as tall as the stove, was sleeping soundly at the moment. Her dreams were filled with shredded chicken clear soup noodles with two poached eggs on the side.
Jiang Hongye will come again the next day, but she will definitely not arrive at the west kitchen early tomorrow morning.
So her small stove in the morning can still be used.
After having porridge and green pepper and eggs made by the head palace maid tonight, Su Wan thought she could make up for it by having some hot shredded chicken clear soup noodles.
And she felt that within a few days, the food in the western kitchen would really begin to change.
Early in the morning, before the palace maids in the outer palace got up, the kitchens in the inner and outer palaces were already busy.
Su Wan arrived earlier than them, and did not go to the big kitchen, but went to a remote small kitchen. She had promised Yan Pei, a young man from Guandi Temple, yesterday that she would make shredded chicken clear soup noodles for him, and she must not go back on her word.
If you do it early and secretly, no one will find out.
In Su Wan's opinion, shredded chicken clear soup noodles is also a quick dish.
The ingredients are very simple, shredded chicken, noodles, green vegetables, chives, and some seasonings.
Yesterday I saw the black-clothed young man Yan Pei who liked onions, so it was okay to add it.
First, cut the prepared chicken breast into shreds according to the muscle texture. Chicken breast does not have much oil, so the soup noodles made in this way will taste more comfortable.
After shredding, marinate with a small amount of seasoning, whether it is rice wine to remove the fishy smell, or cornstarch, and use a small amount of salt. Mix well and set aside for later use.
Then start kneading the dough. There are many kinds of dough.
The dough for pancakes should be soft, the dough for dumplings should be medium, and the dough for noodles should be hard and chewy. Just kneading the dough is a science.
Speaking of which, my original family was a white-collar family.
However, compared with Su Wan, she is probably still a little behind. The knowledge about dough kneading that Su Wan learned are the essence passed down to later generations.
Su Wan added an egg when kneading the dough to make the noodles more chewy and smooth.
Mix the flour, eggs and water evenly, then knead it into dough with your hands. Su Wan is not very strong, but fortunately she knows how to use her strength skillfully. Soon the dough has a smooth surface, which is better than the dough kneaded by many old chefs.
The kneaded smooth dough was put aside to start rising, while Su Wan continued to make a list of ingredients.
She has already known what ingredients the western kitchen has been allocated in the past few days, so she can start deciding on the recipe today.
Set the menu for ten days at a time so that you can be prepared every day.
This way work can be done in an orderly manner.
After 25 minutes, the dough has risen. Continue kneading the dough and rolling it into sheets. Fold the sheets and sprinkle dry flour on them each time to prevent sticking.
The last step is to cut it into noodles and shake it slightly, and the pure handmade chewy hand-rolled noodles are ready.
Su Wan’s calculation was accurate, it was just the right amount for two people.
After the noodles are cooked, continue to cut the ingredients into small pieces, such as scallions and ginger, and try to cut them into strips about the same length as the shredded chicken.
The key to noodle soup lies in the small ingredients, the fresher the better.
Wait until the oil pan is slightly hot, put the scallion and ginger in, and fry them on low heat. Without waiting for the scallion and ginger to change color, also pour in the marinated shredded chicken.
Then add the usual small amount of soybean sauce, stir-fry everything until fragrant, and immediately add boiling water.
Put it in boiling water. If you like light taste, you don’t need to add salt. When the noodles are almost cooked, add the chopped fresh vegetables and beat in two eggs.
When this big bowl of noodles comes out of the pot, there are two beautiful poached eggs at the bottom of the bowl, with chewy hand-rolled noodles on top, and then shredded chicken and vegetables are evenly arranged on the noodles, and the soup in the pot is poured on top.
A big bowl of shredded chicken clear soup noodles is ready.
There were two small bowls next to it, which belonged to her and Yan Pei, a young disciple from Guandi Temple.
A simple and hot noodle soup, garnished with green vegetables and tender white chicken shreds.
There are also nutritious and delicious eggs underneath.
It can be said that the nutrition is really comprehensive!
Su Wan moved quickly and cleaned up the kitchen, then carried the bowl of noodles to Guandi Temple.
The utensils in the palace are indeed easy to use. The lid of this large bowl fits tightly, so there is no need to worry about the soup spilling.
But the noodle soup is too heavy.
Su Wan's arms were sore from walking from the kitchenette to the Guandi Temple.
Before Su Wan stepped into the door, she felt something light on her hand. It was Yan Pei, a little disciple who was a head taller than her, holding up the food box.
Although he was thin and not that tall, the heavy food box was nothing to him.
Yan Pei walked in front, and Su Wan followed behind. When they reached the coffee table, she met Yan Pei's eyes.
Yan Pei pointed at Su Wan's forehead and said, "There is flour."
When Su Wan was looked at by such a boy, her face turned red subconsciously, and she hurried to wipe her forehead, but there was a little flour on her sleeve. She wiped off the flour on her forehead, but there was still a lot on her chin.
The Su Wan of the past would definitely not do this, but she is smaller now and even has to stand on a stool to knead the dough.
Su Wan was too embarrassed to wipe it again and changed the subject again: "Let's eat. Breakfast is important."
But before she could deliver tribute to the statue of Guandi, Yan Pei had already replaced the daily tribute for her, so she didn't have to do anything at all.
After Yan Pei placed the offerings, he lit the incense, but before the aroma of the incense started to rise, he smelled the aroma of noodle soup behind him.
I said yesterday that I wanted to make shredded chicken clear soup noodles.
Whose clear soup noodles taste so good?
Yan Pei looked back and saw Su Wan obediently serving two bowls of noodles, obviously waiting for him to eat.
Yan Pei paused with his hand that was holding the burning incense, and walked to the low table as if nothing had happened.
Because it is a table in Guandi Temple, it is only one foot wide. It is fine if one person sits on it, but it seems a bit crowded for two people.
But Su Wan is small in stature, so it is surprisingly suitable for her to sit next to Yan Pei.
"Try it, it should be delicious." Su Wan said seriously.
Yan Pei nodded slightly, his expression looking relatively calm, but the swiftness of his fingers actually gave away something.
The hot shredded chicken clear soup noodles were in front of him. Yan Pei subconsciously picked up a noodle and put it in his mouth. It was the most chewy and smooth noodle he had ever tasted.
You have to know that before his mother passed away, he had eaten a lot of delicious food, and the small kitchen in the inner palace prepared different meals every day.
But no imperial chef’s noodles can reach this level.
If only the noodles were well cooked, that would be fine, but the delicious soup that comes with it makes the taste of this bowl of noodles even better.
The shredded chicken has a meaty aroma, the seasoning is just right, the green vegetables are a suitable foil, and the noodles are chewy and easy to eat.
All the ingredients are so harmonious and perfect.
One point more is too much, one point less is too little.
Although pasta may look simple, it actually tests the chef’s skills.
Even the cooking time is perfect.
Even considering the time it takes for the noodles to be carried from the small kitchen to the Guandi Temple, they are not as soft when they come out of the pot. This journey makes the taste even better.
Yan Pei drank up all the soup from the shredded chicken clear noodle soup and swallowed the poached egg with the last sip.
This meal seemed simple, but it made him feel extremely comfortable before he finished it.
Yan Pei looked up at Su Wan, who was still eating noodles seriously. His expression was inexplicable, but there was a rare curve at the corner of his mouth.
Does this little palace maid have any special ability to make such delicious food?
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