"Reporting to Consort Cheng, Consort Cheng prefers salty food, Noble Lady Xiao prefers sour and spicy food, and Noble Lady Qi prefers sweet and sour food." The two cooks were quite familiar with the tastes of the ladies in Yonghe Palace.
Lanqin understood and then asked, "Granny, is there any ready-made cooked food in the kitchen?"
The cook quickly replied, "Yes, we have marinated chicken and duck, as well as braised eggs, pig's trotters, pig's ears, pig's tongue, pig's heart, beef tongue, and beef." All these cooked foods were prepared in advance, otherwise, it would be too much to handle when the masters ordered meals.
Upon hearing this, Lanqin already had a plan. She said to Xiuzhu beside her, "Please go back and tell Mother that Lanqin is going to make noodles for everyone. A bowl of comforting noodles in the morning will put you in a good mood all day."
Xiuzhu quickly performed the curtsy and went back.
Lanqin was planning to prepare a meal that was ahead of its time, according to the tastes of the ladies. After all, her mother-in-law wanted to test her skills today, and also to show off her daughter-in-law's abilities in front of Consort Cheng and Noble Lady Xiao.
Alright, then our classmate Lanqin must satisfy the psychological needs of her mother-in-law, Consort De.
The two cooks exchanged a glance, as if to say: what's so special about noodles? They've been making noodles for over a decade. Lanqin had tasted noodles from this era; generally speaking, they were rather bland, similar to Beijing-style fried sauce noodles and some other noodle dishes with toppings.
"Granny, could you please cut a few of the best pieces of duck meat from the breast and thigh areas and marinate them in honey? Also, please cut some beef, beef brisket, pig ears, pig tongue, and pig heart, making sure to cut them very, very thinly. You don't need too much. Do you have some cilantro?" Lanqin said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, the two cooks immediately stopped arguing. Since they weren't being asked to do the work, but rather to assist, what else was there to say?
Lanqin then found some tender rapeseed and some shiitake mushrooms in the kitchen. She washed them herself, peeled off the leaves from the rapeseed one by one, and sliced the mushrooms thinly.
Soon, all the meat Lanqin had ordered was ready. She also asked for some spices and chili peppers, which were chopped and prepared. Meanwhile, they started blanching the vegetables.
Meanwhile, Xiuzhu returned to Consort De's bedchamber to report that Lanqin had prepared noodles for everyone's breakfast.
Consort De was indeed somewhat disappointed and said, "The three dishes she made yesterday were a little different. I wonder if she can make something different today."
Consort Xiao said, "We've eaten plenty of noodles, with all sorts of toppings, and they all taste the same."
Consort Qi continued, "It's our good fortune to be able to taste the Empress's daughter-in-law's food today, so we mustn't be picky about her later."
Consort De smiled and glanced at the two noble ladies a few times, then looked at Consort Cheng and said, "Have you ever heard of this thing called Luo Han Guo?"
Consort Cheng read it aloud once, then looked at the two noble ladies and asked them if they knew it, but they both looked completely bewildered.
"I wonder why Your Highness suddenly asked about this? What is it, a fruit?" Consort Cheng asked in return.
Granny De quickly interjected, "Yesterday, the concubine recommended a folk remedy for treating a sore throat to Your Highness, which included this monk fruit. This old servant has never heard of it before, and Your Highness is unaware of it either."
Consort Cheng said in surprise, "It's really good that the secondary consort also knows medicine. As the saying goes, it's a blessing to have a doctor in the family. Although there is a doctor in the Fourth Prince's residence, it's good that you know medicine yourself. In case there's a problem, you can help out."
Consort De smiled and said, "She only knows a few folk remedies; she's hardly a doctor."
Consort Cheng smiled and replied, "In short, I think the Consort is a sensible child. The Fourth Prince loves her so much, there must be a reason for it."
As they were talking, they heard the sound of flowerpots hitting the bottom outside, and it was getting light.
There were four palace maids carrying large red and black trays, each containing a large porcelain bowl covered with a lid.
Lanqin followed the head maid out. After the four palace maids lined up in a row, Lanqin walked in front of them and said to Consort De, "Your Majesty, Your Highnesses and Noble Ladies, please move to the side hall for breakfast."
Consort De rose, and everyone else followed suit, moving together to the side hall and sitting around the dining table according to their status.
"Place the noodles in front of Her Majesty and the noble ladies as I instruct, and make sure you don't put them in the wrong places," Lanqin said to the palace maids who were helping to serve the noodles.
The palace maids looked around and then walked to Consort De, Consort Cheng, Noble Lady Xiao, and Noble Lady Qi in turn, placing the bowls of noodles in front of them and then lifting the lids.
Consort De looked at the bowl of noodles in front of her, never having seen such a "topping" before. Consort Cheng felt the same way; the two noble ladies also looked at their noodles with surprise.
They looked at each other again and realized that all four bowls of noodles were different.
When Xiuzhu returned to report, Consort De assumed that she would make some noodle soup, but she didn't expect that she would make something different, which showed that Consort Niu had put her heart into it.
"Mother, I heard that you like sweet things for breakfast. I specially made this bowl of honey-glazed roast duck and cloud noodle soup for you. The noodles are very chewy, and the roast duck has a slightly sweet taste. Eating them together with the noodles is a unique experience." Lanqin first introduced the noodle dish in front of Consort De.
It turned out that Lanqin had made a Hong Kong-style noodle dish for Consort De. Simply put, it involved marinating roasted duck in honey for a while, then deep-frying it in oil to bring out its unique aroma. This is the characteristic of Hong Kong-style roast meats. The noodles themselves were nothing special, served with greens and sliced mushrooms.
"What about mine?" Consort Cheng asked impatiently.
"Consort Cheng prefers salty flavors, so I didn't drizzle it with honey, but I specially added small shrimp to enhance the savory taste. The other ingredients used are the same as those used by Mother," Lanqin said.
Lanqin then looked at Consort Xiao and said, "Lanqin has learned that Consort Xiao loves sour and spicy flavors. Therefore, Lanqin specially made this sour and spicy noodle dish, which includes slices of beef, beef brisket, beef heart, pig ears, pig tongue, and pig heart, along with chili peppers, vinegar, cilantro, and garlic leaves. I hope Consort Xiao will like it."
Consort Qi said to herself, "Mine looks similar to Consort Xiao's, except I didn't put in as many chili peppers, right?"
Lanqin smiled and nodded.
Although Consort De hadn't eaten yet, she was undoubtedly very satisfied with Lanqin's arrangement. She had specially prepared noodles that were similar to those for Consort Cheng, while making different ones for Noble Lady Xiao and Noble Lady Qi, taking care of their different statuses. It was quite pleasing to the eye and also catered to their individual tastes, fully respecting everyone's feelings.
"I'm getting quite impatient, but, girl, what about yours?" Consort Cheng asked with a smile.
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