Thanks to her good friend Ajiu, Zhao Shu can also cook a few decent dishes, and she can name a few famous dishes from all over the world.
After Bi Qiao sent someone to fetch a doctor, Zhao Shu went to the kitchen.
"Princess, what dish would you like to make? I'll prepare the ingredients, and you can just cook it. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on it, it definitely won't spoil."
Bi Qiaozhong began to think of a way out for Zhao Shu. As long as she held the spoon and made a token gesture, she could make it look like she made it herself.
The dishes were the same, but this time they represented the princess's affection for the prince, so Bi Qiao dared not be careless.
Zhao Shu smiled, but didn't answer. She glanced at the ingredients in the kitchen and already had a plan in mind.
The food culture in Dayong is far from developed, and many dishes have not yet been developed. Zhao Shu has tasted all kinds of modern delicacies, so why would she be willing to compromise?
The poet Fan Zhongyan wrote: "People coming and going on the river only love the delicious perch. Look at that small boat, appearing and disappearing in the wind and waves." This is about the delicious perch. It's a pity that it was caught too early. Perch are even fatter and more delicious in autumn. Oh well, I'll make perch soup for my father today.
There were four cooks serving the two masters of the Prince's mansion, Zhao Shu and Prince Yong, and four assistants. They were all standing by with their heads down. They didn't take Zhao Shu's words to heart, but they didn't dare to show it on their faces.
In the Prince's residence, Zhao Shu was always far more ruthless than Prince Yong.
Bi Qiao was overjoyed. Whether the princess could make fish soup or not didn't matter at all. As long as the princess could recite poetry, that was enough. She didn't care who Fan Zhongyan was.
"Hurry up and kill the fish, the princess wants to make fish soup." She immediately ordered.
The cook, Granny Qin, looked up at Bi Qiao, then at Zhao Shu, and said nervously, "Your Highness, Miss Bi Qiao, this fish soup has a muddy taste and doesn't taste good. Would you like to change it?"
Bi Qiao is also someone who can't cook. She is the head aunt, so why would she need to cook? Upon hearing that it has an earthy smell, and since Lord Wei will also be drinking fish soup with the prince soon, wouldn't it damage the princess's reputation if the fish soup doesn't taste good?
After analyzing the pros and cons, Bi Qiao felt that making fish soup was not suitable. "Princess, how about we try something else?"
Zhao Shu found it amusing, but shook her head firmly. "It's alright, Granny, please kill the fish first. If it doesn't taste good, it's not your fault. I, the princess, keep my word."
Granny Qin dared not disobey Zhao Shu. She was trembling with fear, afraid that Zhao Shu might sell her if she was unhappy, since she had sons and daughters waiting for her to support them.
She glanced at Bi Qiao with a troubled expression. Bi Qiao was also anxious, but seeing Zhao Shu's determination, she didn't dare to persuade her and didn't respond to Granny Qin.
Granny Qin, her face ashen, personally slaughtered the fish. She was very skilled, removing the scales and gutting the fish in no time. Zhao Shu did not look away, and the surrounding maids secretly gasped in amazement.
The princess is indeed fierce; she's not even afraid to kill fish. You know, most young ladies would be so frightened by stepping on an ant that they would go to the Buddhist hall to copy Buddhist scriptures for three days to appease the ant's spirit.
"Granny, remove the fish's belly, gills, and small scales. Check if there's a black membrane in the belly; if so, remove it too."
The maids and servants in the kitchen glanced at Zhao Shu furtively. Had the princess been to the kitchen? She had never been before, so how would she know these things?
They dared not ask, and in their hearts they had already prepared an excuse for Zhao Shu: the princess often went to the palace to serve the Empress Dowager, and perhaps she learned it there.
After Qin Mama removed everything Zhao Shu had said, she looked up at Zhao Shu.
As the head chef of the Prince's mansion, Granny Qin's skills were comparable to those of the head chef of the best restaurant in the capital. As a craftswoman and a master chef, she actually disliked being told what to do.
At this moment, Granny Qin was both afraid and angry.
She looked up at Zhao Shu, but Zhao Shu didn't look at her. Instead, Zhao Shu stared at the area between the fish's tail and gills, pointing to a line between the gills and the tail, and said, "Granny, take this line out."
“Princess, I am powerless to redeem this servant. Removing this thread would require cutting off this piece of flesh, which would be unsightly.” Granny Qin felt that her skills had been offended, and even if the person was the princess, she would not be happy.
The princess can sell her, beat her, and scold her, but she cannot offend her craftsmanship!
Zhao Shu knew that craftsmen, especially master chefs, all had their tempers. In modern times, some master chefs would only cook one dish a month, and even then, it depended on their mood.
She didn't mind, after all, she couldn't win people's hearts yet.
"Can't I? I'll try." She picked up the knife beside her.
"Princess, Princess, don't hurt yourself, be careful." Bi Qiao, standing beside her, truly felt Qin Mama's predicament. Enraged, she pointed at Qin Mama and shouted, "Qin Mama, whatever the princess says goes! Why all the nonsense!"
Including Granny Qin, all the kitchen maids and servants panicked; the princess had actually picked up a kitchen knife…
Zhao Shu spends most of her time cooking in modern times, and this time she doesn't mind using her skills to subdue these kitchen maids and servants.
She made a cut under the gills and tail of the fish with a knife, pried it open, revealing a line, and then gently patted it with the knife to slowly pull the line out.
“There really is a line,” someone whispered.
Bi Qiao was also stunned. She didn't expect the princess to actually pull a thread out of the fish. "Princess, you are amazing. I didn't even know there was a thread on the fish."
Zhao Shu washed her hands and said to Bi Qiao, "Now you know, don't you?"
"Princess, what should we do next?" Bi Qiao had already decided that if the princess wanted to make it, she should make it. If it didn't taste good, they could have it remade and then say that the princess made it herself.
"Who has the best knife skills at cutting tofu?" Zhao Shu asked.
A little maid following behind Granny Qin said in a low voice, "This servant...this servant...cut well."
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