The food in each palace is changed every three months.
February, March and April are spring months, so this is the spring menu.
May, June and July are summer.
Normally, the list should have been changed in early May, but because the spring list that Su Wan had drafted was not used for too long, there was no need to change it.
But now it is almost summer, it is already May 13th, and from now on we have to follow the customs of the palace.
Although there is no explicit regulation, given the current situation of the West Kitchen, it would be better to change it as soon as possible.
To avoid the noble ladies from the inner palace coming to visit.
However, the written menu had to be handed over to Deputy Prime Minister Xi, and they could only start tasting the dishes after waiting for the approval of the head of the Shangshi Department.
The menu can only be officially changed after the food tasting is approved. It is estimated that it will not be implemented until early June, which is about the same time.
Su Wan only recently learned about the food tasting activity.
The last time she rushed into her post, it was also because of special permission. She must follow the rules in the future.
But no one was in a hurry. In fact, no one in the West Outer Palace complained that the dishes had not changed, because everyone had not eaten enough.
For example, the Baochaosi is in such a mess now that they haven't even finished the five-day menu. Now they are still accusing the general manager to the Censorate of colluding with people from outside restaurants to make the palace people uneasy.
Speaking of the Baochao Division, it is now in such a mess that it even affects other internal departments.
It is now May 13th. Logically, the heads of various departments should go to the powerful people in the inner palace to discuss the arrangements for each department in June.
Now there is no movement yet, and until May 15th, the inner palace has no time to deal with this matter.
It's obvious that the Baochaosi has not yet dealt with it.
Anyway, what Su Wan heard was that on the night of May 13, the palace people in the Baochaosi, under the instigation of someone unknown, actually went to the Censorate to file a complaint.
Although it was night, there were indeed people on duty at the Censorate.
When many palace servants arrived at the door of the Censorate, they became afraid. They were powerless and their words carried little weight. Although the Censorate loved to file complaints, they would not pay any attention to them, right?
We're already at the door, why don't we go back?
Anyway, with all this commotion, the manager must be scared.
Just when the palace servants from the Treasury Department wanted to turn around and leave, several people rushed out from the Imperial Censorate and asked about the situation. After hearing about what happened to the palace servants from the Treasury Department, the Imperial Censor on duty was filled with righteous indignation and shouted, "There is such an injustice in the palace. We will report it to the emperor and impeach him!"
With the support of the Grand Censor, the palace officials in the Treasury Department were at first incredulous, then ecstatic, and finally gradually became bolder, saying everything they could.
After this incident, they were forced to go to the western kitchen to eat, then they were not allowed to go to the western kitchen to eat, and then they were allowed to go again.
There is also collusion with merchants in Anqingfang.
Also, he often scolded the palace maids.
Even the words that the chief steward of the Baochao Division used to curse other stewards in private were spoken out.
I originally thought that the matter was over and that I could just give the chief steward of the Treasury Department a few warnings and he would give up.
Who knew that the next morning, many imperial censors would make reports to the emperor, and several officials from the Ministry of the Imperial Household would join in the discussion, and in the end, the matter would be linked to the noble concubine Jiang in the inner palace.
There were troubles in the previous dynasty and the harem. Although the saint did not take it as a big deal, as soon as he opened his mouth, Concubine Jiang had countless words to explain and countless things to deal with.
As for the manager of the Baochao Department at the center of the storm, it is a foregone conclusion that he colluded with merchants to seek profits.
There is no excuse at all.
It's not that he was dismissed directly, but all his bribes were confiscated, and he was fined one year's salary and transferred from the lucrative position in the Baochaosi.
There is a lot of chaos outside because of these things.
The western kitchen continued to prepare its dishes in an orderly manner.
Starting from May 13th, palace maids were sent to the west kitchen one after another.
The people who came were carefully selected by the head of the Imperial Food Department. They were all honest palace maids from ordinary families.
Su Wan finally understood why the palace people in the West Kitchen were so honest. Maybe it was the result of deliberate selection?
But if the people who come here are well-behaved, things will naturally go smoothly for them.
By May 20th, a total of thirty palace maids had arrived to fill the vacancies in the west kitchen.
The number of people in the western kitchen has also been reduced from 80 to 120, which is still short of the quota of 160.
But this year the time for selecting palace maids has passed, and there are no more available people.
There are some female officials in power, but the Shangshisi will not use them.
One hundred and twenty is about the same.
As long as everyone gradually becomes proficient in the work at hand, it won't be too stressful.
However, when the Deputy Prime Minister went to the Shangshenjian to collect the people, he still said, "Sir, isn't the number too small? One hundred and twenty people have to prepare meals for fifteen hundred people."
The big fuss in the Shangbaojian was naturally nothing to do with the Western Kitchen. They were impeccable in this matter and even received praise from the saint.
But what follows is that the Western Kitchen will certainly be responsible for all the meals for the palace staff of the Baochaosi.
But there are only 120 people, how can they be responsible for so many things?
The head of the Imperial Food Department shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "You have been punished in the inner palace for some time. I am afraid you don't know the situation in the western kitchen."
The officer continued, "Su Wan's way of doing things is different from that of ordinary people."
"The cafeteria she leads seems to be more organized and less labor-intensive than other places."
"Nowadays, all departments are reducing staff. If she can accomplish that, it will be a good thing."
Starting from mid-April, the head of the Imperial Food Department became curious about Su Wan's way of doing things, and the more he watched, the more curious he became.
However, there were not many people going to the west kitchen to eat at that time, so the officer was a little unsure.
But as more and more palace maids came, Su Wan's method seemed to be more effective.
If Su Wan knew, she would definitely admire the female official's sharpness.
If she were to say it herself, there was nothing special about her. It was just that she had eaten in too many canteens and had seen too many canteens when she was in school.
This kind of large-scale, process-oriented modern canteen naturally pursues speed, convenience, cleanliness and deliciousness.
She only took out the superficial.
But the previous practices had already made the female official notice the difference.
In particular, the special condiment area set up that night for the beef bone noodle soup saved, without exaggeration, both time and manpower for the palace staff in the western kitchen.
Deputy Prime Minister Xi was a good executor. After hearing what her superior said, she stopped talking.
Then I heard the officer say, "Pass on my order and let Su Wan do whatever she wants. One hundred and twenty people will cook for fifteen hundred people. See if she has any ideas to make it easier for everyone."
The chief of the Imperial Food Department originally wanted to wait until the matter was settled before bringing Su Wan to his side.
But after thinking about it carefully, he changed his mind. It might not be a bad idea to let Su Wan stay in the west kitchen. The people in power would definitely know what she did. It would be better for her to stay in the remote west kitchen.
Su Wan's methods are not suitable for trial use in the North and South kitchens which have a large number of staff, but they can be tried in the West kitchen first.
If the Western kitchen is successful, we will gradually expand it here.
The chief of the Imperial Kitchen Department did not say these words, but Su Wan vaguely understood what he meant.
And he even let her do whatever she wanted?
What else is there to say!
She wanted to make a dinner plate!
She was fed up with the dilemma of cooking four dishes each time but having to fill two bowls or even one bowl.
Four carefully prepared dishes, just mixed together!
It may not matter to others, but only Su Wan feels distressed.
If it is made into a modern dinner plate, it will be convenient for serving food and easy to clean.
It will definitely reduce the workload for many people.
Don't underestimate this thing, it is actually a good item.
Deputy Prime Minister Xi didn't expect that as soon as she finished speaking, Su Wan handed her the finished drawing with sparkling eyes.
A rectangular square plate? The plate is divided into two parts, a row of four grooves on the top and a larger groove with a circular groove on the bottom.
Su Wan explained: "These four places can be used to place four different dishes."
"One for the staple food and one for the soup bowl."
"Four dishes and one soup, using only one plate, and you only need to wash this one plate!"
Deputy Prime Minister Xi looked at the drawings and gradually understood what was going on.
Indeed, Su Wan is right.
"When did you come up with this idea?" Deputy Prime Minister Xi couldn't help but ask.
"It's not what I thought. I just saw a restaurant doing it this way and thought it was great." Su Wan naturally would not take credit for it, as this was indeed not her invention.
The matter of the dinner plates has been temporarily handed over to the head of the Imperial Food Department. She will communicate with the Ministry of Internal Affairs to make a thousand of them first.
I need to explain here that if there are 1,500 people eating, it does not mean that 1,500 sets of tableware need to be prepared. After all, not everyone eats at the same time. Even if the palace servants eat, they are divided into groups and the dishes need to be washed constantly.
For a canteen that seats 1,500 people, preparing 700 to 800 sets of food is enough and can be used in rotation.
Tableware is still a minor detail to others for the time being.
Many people are looking forward to Su Wan’s food tasting in the small kitchen. The summer menu is enough to make people drool just thinking about it.
But when Su Wan was about to go to the small kitchen to try the food, the matter at Baochaosi was completely settled.
I heard that even people in power were implicated, saying that she did not govern strictly and had lost a lot of face.
The chief steward of the Baochaosi was also replaced directly, and the deputy chief steward was promoted directly to the position of chief steward.
Su Wan was a little confused when she heard this. She had never heard of the deputy general manager's name before and didn't know what he usually did.
Yu Shu and Xiao Yuechunxiang beside them also looked at each other in bewilderment.
Yes, so many things have happened in the Baochao Division recently, and this deputy general manager seems to have disappeared. He neither aided the evil nor cheered for it, but he was the one who benefited in the end.
Such a person must be no simple person.
Su Wan was about to say something when she heard a commotion outside the west kitchen and the voice of the eunuch guarding the gate of the Treasury Department.
"The Treasury Department recently got some black summer plums, and thought it would be best to make black plum soup to relieve the heat, so I brought it to the West Kitchen to try."
"It's just a gift from the Baochao Division. Please accept it."
Black plum?
These are the black plums that just fell this year.
The Baochaosi gave a huge gift.
Now see, the Baochao Division has fallen into chaos so quickly, I am afraid that the former deputy general manager, now the chief general manager, has also contributed a lot.
So as soon as the matter was settled, I came to give gifts and express my gratitude.
Not only did he show goodwill to the Western Kitchen, but he also appeased the palace people in the Baochao Division.
Su Wan chuckled and said, "No matter how you fight, it has nothing to do with their west kitchen."
Accept the black plums that are offered to you.
A few days ago, she made iced mung bean soup, and today she made black plum soup to relieve the heat. The sour and sweet black plum juice and sour plum soup made her drool just thinking about it.
Pick some hawthorn, tangerine peel, licorice, and some mint leaves.
Start cooking some icy cold sour plum soup now!
When the people in the west kitchen saw Su Wan starting to cook, they immediately followed to help. They had discovered last time that Su Wan’s way of making mung bean soup was different from others.
The sour plum soup she makes must be very good.
Why do we need so many spices to make sour plum soup?
Su Wan smiled: "We'll know in a moment. If there's no tangerine peel in the sour plum soup, it won't taste good."
You can actually make this drink at home, and you can adjust it to be more sour or sweet according to your taste.
I watched Su Wan put black plums, hawthorns, tangerine peels, licorice, dried flower petals, and summer mint leaves into the water to wash away the dust.
Don't wash it too much, just take it out and soak it in a large pot. After soaking for less than quarter of an hour, you can add water and put it on the stove to start cooking sour plum soup.
As the saying goes, first burn three overlord fires, then burn three ghost lamps.
The same goes for sour plum soup. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat. Do not lift the lid frequently during the cooking process. Add rock sugar after 15 minutes.
In the past, rock sugar was extracted from pure sugarcane juice and had a slightly yellowish color. This kind of rock sugar had a stronger sugarcane flavor and tasted better when used for making soups or porridge.
You can also taste the taste at this time. The amount of rock sugar is also related to the taste of the black plum. If the cooked black plum is too sour, add more rock sugar.
But it would be better if the canteen food was lighter in taste and more suitable for most people's tastes.
It doesn't take much effort to do these things. While Su Wan is making the sour plum soup, she still has time to prepare the ingredients for the summer recipe, without delaying either task.
Finally, the sour plum soup is served, cooled and then placed in the ice cellar.
Ice cubes in summer were not uncommon in the Tianxiang Kingdom. They had long mastered the method of making ice in summer. Even many restaurants in the capital had ice benches and ice tables available, not to mention the imperial palace.
As everyone watched the sour plum soup being delivered to the ice cellar, they worked even harder.
Hurry up and work! You can drink iced sour plum soup after you finish your work!
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