Speaking of vegetarian food, it has become a system in the Chinese cuisine, which shows how powerful it is.
There are also many vegetarian restaurants nowadays, and the vegetarian dishes there are all delicious.
To say it's delicious is no exaggeration.
Su Wan said it was delicious, so there was no problem with that.
Su Wan was not unaware of the fact that Deputy Nan Cheng had pushed Li Rongrong to follow the head chef just now, but what difference could there be? She had a good impression of Li Rongrong, and at this moment she was just nominating another person, and would not directly take her position.
With her temperament, she wouldn't get angry about such a thing.
The palace was so big, and the Imperial Food Bureau was also so big that it could easily accommodate two little palace maids.
So let's just let it go without talking about it any further.
She still wanted to know what the officer asked her to do with Suzhai.
The officer looked at her and smiled, then said, "There are some requirements for vegetarian food for this winter festival. In addition to the dishes listed in the vegetarian food record of the Imperial Food Bureau, you can think of some new and unique ways to eat it."
Vegetarian record?
Aunt Ping, who is in charge of the West Right Sealing, explained to Su Wan, "All dishes that are on the list will be recorded in the palace menu. Vegetarian dishes are one of them. The vegetarian dishes have been recorded since the previous dynasty until now, and more than a hundred vegetarian dishes have been recorded."
The dishes that Su Wan had cooked before had not yet been put on the list. One reason was that they had been cooked too shortly and had not yet been reviewed by the inner palace. The other reason was that the Shangshi Division was recently transferred to the Ministry of Rites, so the rules had to be reorganized.
If a dish you create is included in the palace roster, it will be recorded in the court records of Tianxiang Kingdom.
Not to mention being able to record the dishes you cook, even just looking at the list left by your ancestors is very nice.
By the time the meeting was over, Su Wan and Li Rongrong had another set of vegetarian recipes in their hands, three volumes in total. They took turns reading them and gained some understanding of palace vegetarian food.
But when Su Wan opened the Vegetarian Record, she was filled with questions.
It really is a vegetarian record!
Such as fried vegetables with tofu, steamed white rice with tofu, etc.
In short, it is the simplest vegetarian dish. The best ingredient is basically mushrooms, but they are just stir-fried mushrooms. There is not even the mushroom powder that is very necessary in vegetarian dishes.
And there is no recipe for corn, sweet potato and peanuts.
It is indeed a book from the previous dynasty. When the book was written, these crops probably had not yet been introduced.
Even now, only people in the Kyoto Imperial Palace eat more of them, and ordinary people are not very familiar with things like corn, sweet potatoes, and peanuts.
Su Wan had discovered before that many of the crops in this time and space had just been brought over. In this case, Kyoto must have been the first to taste them.
But I didn't expect that even the recipes in the palace were recorded here, and the cooking methods of many things were not written here.
But this is also because these recipes were written a long time ago and have not been revised yet.
After finishing reading the scroll of Winter Festival in the morning and The Vegetarian Record in the afternoon, Su Wan felt like she was floating as she walked, having finished all the books she had read in the past few months in one day.
But Su Wan soon discovered that this was actually the most leisurely period of time in recent times.
After that, she and Li Rongrong went around everywhere, either delivering messages or discussing ideas from various departments, and she and Aunt Yonglan, the head chef, were busy every day.
Therefore, the situation that some people had imagined, that Su Wan and Li Rongrong would compete with each other, did not happen.
Everyone is so busy, what is there to argue about?
As a result, the two sides became much more harmonious.
Li Rongrong was not as awkward as before, and was much gentler when she looked at Su Wan.
But Su Wan herself doesn't take these things seriously. What happens in the future is a matter for the future.
She didn't care where she was, and she even missed the quietness of the west kitchen.
The days of having nothing to do and cooking and eating roast lamb are gone forever.
After all, in addition to being busy with these chores, Su Wan is also writing vegetarian recipes privately.
Their leader is a very foresighted person. Since she mentioned vegetarian food, it was not just a casual remark, it must have some use.
It’s better to prepare in advance.
When Su Wan was preparing, she did not hide it from Li Rongrong.
When they first entered the palace together, Li Rongrong gave her a piece of cake, and Su Wan naturally did not forget it.
It might be a little awkward now, but it hasn't gotten out of hand yet.
Li Rongrong looked at the vegetarian menu that Su Wan listed and said, "But I've been making steamed red vegetables since I was a child, so I don't know much about vegetarian dishes."
Su Wan smiled: "If you can make vegetarian dishes taste like meat, then you can use your skills in making red vegetables."
Su Wanke was not joking.
In later generations, vegetarian dishes can be cooked to look like meat.
The taste is not bad at all.
However, such more complex seasoning is not easy to make and requires deep processing of the ingredients.
But being difficult doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
What's the point of trying?
After all, they work in the palace's kitchen, so they have no shortage of food. Given such a good opportunity, they would definitely give it a try.
Li Rongrong nodded, and suddenly felt that even though she was three years older than Su Wan, she actually listened to her opinions a little bit.
But Su Wan was just making suggestions and didn't directly tell anyone to do anything, nor was she arrogant. It was as if she was just expressing her own ideas and then asking for her thoughts.
No wonder many people prefer to contact Su Wan first when communicating with various departments during this period.
He said that talking to Su Wan made him feel comfortable.
Li Rongrong had to admit that Su Wan, who rarely spoke, had such ability.
She was obviously older than Su Wan. Not to mention cooking, the two of them had never competed with each other, but when it came to speaking and doing things, she was far inferior to Su Wan.
Although Aunt Nan Cheng did not say it, she implicitly meant the same thing.
While she was distracted, Su Wan had already started writing the word "eggplant box".
There are many possibilities for making eggplant into a vegetarian dish. Its dense texture can easily absorb flavors, and it can also be easily made into meat.
It will be delicious whether steamed or baked.
However, in the vegetarian diet, not only fishy food but also meaty food is not allowed, especially foods with strong smells such as onions and garlic.
Otherwise, make some garlic eggplant, which is absolutely delicious.
There are many categories of vegetarian dishes.
In Su Wan's time and space, there were Sujingzhai and Xiangxingzhai.
In addition, vegetarian meals vary from place to place, and the cooking methods are also varied. As long as Su Wan knows what the local monks like, she can prepare the types of food they want in advance.
However, Su Wan always felt that the monks of Tianxiang Kingdom should not have so many taboos. There is no fixed rule as to what they should eat and what they should not eat. It all depends on the development of each dynasty.
So if you want to know what to eat and what not to eat, you can go and ask the deputy director of the Imperial Household Department.
Some people also think that the deputy general manager of the Imperial Household Department, Master Wei Jun, is not a true believer in Buddhism, otherwise would he have dinner at night for the food prepared by Su Wan?
In fact, it is useless to find a devout Buddhist for this matter. You should find someone like Master Wei Jun who "believes in Buddhism" just for the sake of studying his hobbies.
Regardless of whether they are sincere or not, devout or not, he has a better understanding of their preferences, which makes it easier for him to prescribe the right medicine.
When Su Wan found the deputy chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, it turned out that this chief steward knew the preferences of the monks in the inner palace very well, and also knew the preferences of their disciples.
These people do not eat meat, but they also have strong appetites and are never tired of eating fine food.
Even if it is a vegetarian meal, it must be prepared to be extremely exquisite and delicious.
Therefore, there was a kitchen in the inner palace that prepared vegetarian meals for them. If the meals were not cooked well, they could be punished at any time.
This is the reason why the small vegetarian kitchen in the inner palace lives in fear every day.
If the Shangshisi followed the winter sacrifice team, and these monks did not eat the meals in the small vegetarian kitchen, they might also go to the Shangshisi for meals.
By then, the small vegetarian kitchen will surely breathe a sigh of relief, but the Shangshi Restaurant will be in trouble.
If you don't do it well, you will probably end up like the vegetarian kitchen. The better ones will be fined their salaries, while the worse ones will be directly punished with a beating.
Su Wan raised her eyebrows when she heard this.
These various religions, without thousands of years of blood and tears, are indeed somewhat troublesome.
Thinking about the Buddhism of her time and space, it is dedicated to doing good and encouraging people to be kind.
It is different here, which is normal. Even if it is a religion, it will have many branches. Who knows what the saint believes in? Maybe it is just under the name of compassion, but what they actually do is not compassionate.
No wonder the chief of the Imperial Food Department had to prepare in advance, otherwise the winter festival would have been a hassle.
The ingredients that Su Wan wrote down were just the vegetarian dishes that could be used so that she already had an idea of how to cook them.
However, the disciples of those monks may not necessarily come to the Shangshisi for meals, so preparing them now is just to be on the safe side.
The chief of the Imperial Food Department meant the same thing; they did not want to curry favor with the monks in the inner palace.
There is no benefit for them in the Shangshi Division to curry favor with others. They just need to do their own job well and not get involved in other matters.
Su Wan's guess was correct. When the head of the Imperial Food Department held another meeting, he asked everyone for their opinions. Knowing that everyone had made preparations, he put the matter aside for the time being.
There's no need to take credit for any new vegetarian menu; now all I have to do is prepare it.
The more you seek credit, the more trouble you will get into.
Those troublesome people have too many things to do, and who knows what they might do wrong, which would lead to disputes.
The next busy period will still be mainly the winter festival.
When the Western Kitchen came into contact with various departments, it also impressed many government offices.
In particular, the Neiguanjian, who is rarely encountered, has appeared before. When something happened in the Internal Affairs Department and rotten food was buried, he directly reported the matter to the saint. His attitude at that time was impartial and fair.
This is also related to the identities of these officials in the Internal Affairs Bureau.
Their official positions were only of the fourth or fifth rank, and they were in charge of supervising the various government offices within the province to see if there were any violations of rules.
But if you only mention the official position without mentioning the identity, that would be rogue. Officials who can serve in the Imperial Household Department are basically royal relatives and people with royal blood.
Therefore, the supervision of all matters major and minor in the palace was handed over to them.
This winter festival, we want to offer sacrifices to our ancestors as well as to heaven and earth, so naturally they have their own business.
Su Wan communicated with the officials of the Imperial Household Department and found that they were all dressed luxuriously and were lazy in their work. Fortunately, they kept their words and were quite generous in their work.
The winter festival is roughly divided into three parts.
First worship the ancestors, then worship the country, and finally worship the heaven.
The eunuchs were mainly responsible for offering sacrifices to ancestors in the Taimiao. Su Wan went there several times and figured out their ideas.
That is to be grand and solemn!
What? This is a lot of money? Find a saint, the treasury is not theirs.
They are also a very interesting group of people.
But from what they said, most of them were probably dissatisfied with the Saint but just didn't say it out loud. However, there were not many people with outstanding abilities in the Internal Affairs Bureau.
It would be fine if most of them did not have outstanding abilities, but the fact that all of them were of average level is really thought-provoking.
But as soon as she thought of this, Su Wan felt that this had nothing to do with her!
Even if it troubles Mom, it should be Xie Pei's trouble.
Speaking of Xie Pei, I said before that I should avoid him, but now I don’t need to avoid him at all. The two haven’t seen each other for four or five days.
All I can say is that whatever you think comes true.
Su Wan had just come out of the west kitchen and was about to continue to the Shangshenjian when she saw Xie Pei standing not far away.
In other words, there are indeed few people in the West Outer Palace, and many palace servants have been transferred away recently to take care of the winter festival, so there is nothing for him to do here.
When Su Wan approached, a thought flashed through his mind.
He's not going to tell me that he's going to be very busy for a while and that's why he's not showing up anymore, right?
Just like the time before.
As expected, Xie Pei opened his mouth and said, "I will be very busy before the twelfth lunar month, so I will not come to the Guandi Temple."
Su Wan blinked and tried to pretend she knew nothing: "Okay."
Xie Pei paused, feeling something was a little strange: "Don't worry, I will still take care of your aunt."
Speaking of this, Su Wan quickly said, "No need for this. I asked Wei Jun and Zhuo Hui to help me. I have troubled you for a long time. It would be bad to trouble you again."
Wait until you finish saying this.
The two looked at each other, Xie Pei narrowed his eyes slightly, and after a while he said: "Okay, then there is no need."
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