Chapter 228: Yuanyang Hotpot
Su Ruojin didn't know that Zhao Lan's people had followed her out. She went to the shop to buy pens and ink. After buying them, she went straight to Zhao Lan's hotpot.
Why go to his hot pot restaurant today?
The peppers that Zhao Lan gave her have gradually matured, and the doorman helped to dry them. She has saved quite a few and took out the dried seeds, enough to make a hot pot. When she went out this morning, she took the dried peppers with her and went directly to the hot pot restaurant to season her food and have an authentic hot pot.
Whether it is hot pot base or dipping sauce, chili peppers are used.
There are many ways to make hot pot base. The recipes and steps vary depending on the region and personal preferences.
The most common default is Sichuan style hot pot base.
The preparation method is to chop the bean paste into small pieces and use it as the base for frying the seasoning, pour in vegetable oil and heat it, add ginger, garlic cloves, green onion knots, etc. to sauté the fragrance, then add the soul of the hot pot - chili, turn to low heat and simmer slowly. In the meantime, add spices such as star anise, cinnamon, fennel, etc., until it is cooked into the flavors.
Originally, Su Ruojin only prepared one pot, but when she was preparing the dipping sauce, Princess Yuehua came.
Since her eldest daughter said she couldn’t eat spicy food, she made a double hotpot, one side was spicy and the other side was not.
When Princess Yuehua heard that Su Erniang was personally preparing hot pot side dishes in the kitchen, she was very curious and followed her to the kitchen to see how she prepared the pot for lunch.
Whether it is mutton or beef, hot pot restaurants have everything, and the chef's knife skills are also excellent. The slices are very thin and placed in ice, which is no different from eating hot pot today.
Su Ruojin made the dipping sauce herself, using sesame paste, soy sauce, chives, shrimp oil, cooking wine, chili peppers, etc.
When blending, first add cooking wine, shrimp oil, soy sauce, and chives, stir evenly, then add soy sauce and sesame paste, stir clockwise with a spoon, and finally, add an appropriate amount of chili according to each person's tolerance for spiciness.
The seasoning mixed in this way can be stirred evenly, and because the liquid is put in first and the solid is put in later, the bowl will not stick when stirring. Since Zhao Lan has a strong taste, Su Ruojin specially added some vinegar to his small dish, which makes it sour, spicy and refreshing.
Su Ruojin didn't like spicy food very much, so she hardly added any dogwood or Sichuan peppercorns.
As the prepared hot pot soup base is boiled for longer and longer, its aroma and spicy taste spread in all directions.
Princess Yuehua, who was standing at the kitchen door, couldn't help but sneeze several times, "Yawn...Yawn..."
The eldest maid was angry and wanted to teach someone a lesson, but Princess Yuehua stopped her, "Ajin, I'm going to the private room first. It's hot in the kitchen, so come over quickly."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Su Ruojin also prepared the sauce and asked the waiter in the store to move the dango hotpot soup, ingredients, and side dishes to the private room that Zhao Lan had specially reserved for her.
When she came out, she met Su Yanzu again at the stairs.
An hour ago, they had just had tea together in the teahouse.
When an uncle and nephew meet, the main thing is to smile at each other, and everything is said without words.
Su Ruojin looked at Princess Yuehua who was walking upstairs. She was graceful, dignified and elegant. Anyone with normal thinking would choose a woman like this, right?
She extended her hand to invite the elder to go up the stairs first.
Su Yanzu smiled slightly, and without being polite to his niece, he went upstairs.
Su Ruojin looked up at her uncle and the princess who were going upstairs. They looked so well matched. Perhaps they were waiting for time, or perhaps it was a turning point.
She sighed secretly and asked Chun Xiao beside her, "Has the young prince arrived?"
"not yet."
Zhao Lan hadn't arrived yet, but Su Ruojin was not in a hurry. She didn't want to go up and become a light bulb. She was just about to find a place to wait for Zhao Lan, but she didn't expect him to arrive.
"Ajin——"
"Brother Jin, are you busy?"
Zhao Lan was suspended by the new emperor and had no official work. He shook his head and said, "I'm not busy. I have someone planting winter wheat. It will take about three days for you to reply to my letter."
“No hurry.”
The waiter brought fresh greens and pea sprouts, which looked appetizing.
Su Ruojin smiled and went upstairs with Zhao Lan, saying as they walked, "Brother Jin, today's hot pot is very special."
Zhao Lan had a smile on his face. He had long legs and big steps. He deliberately slowed down to wait for the young lady, bending over, "You'll see how special it is soon." Looking down at the young lady, he was full of boyfriend power and was as warm as he could be.
Growing up together as childhood sweethearts, the relationship between them must be extremely sweet.
In Zhao Lan's private room. The last time they ate here, Su Yanzu refused to come along. This time, they finally sat down at the same table to eat.
After Su Yanzu finished his ceremony, he wanted to stand aside, but Yuehua asked him to sit down. He sat down as she asked, respectful and silent.
Princess Yuehua seemed to have gotten used to it and did not feel the atmosphere was oppressive at all. In fact, every time Su Yanzu got closer to her, she would be happier. She never wasted her energy. Like Jiang Taigong, she sat patiently by the river with a fishing rod without a hook, waiting for her destiny to finally arrive.
Zhao and Su, a pair of young lovers, opened the door of the private room while chatting and laughing. The atmosphere inside and outside the room was completely different, and the mood of the two lovers became increasingly depressed.
"Aunt, I won't disturb you while you eat." Zhao Lan was ready to leave. He didn't want to eat at the same table with his young elders. It would feel weird.
Princess Yuehua came out after hearing the servant report that Su Yanzu had dinner with his niece. Unexpectedly, the young lady came straight to her nephew's hot pot restaurant after coming out of the pen and ink shop, so she followed.
Today, she and Zhao Lan were the two light bulbs, mainly because she made a couple hotpot for lunch.
Zhao Lan was a little surprised that the young lady wanted to stay. He smiled slightly, and the two of them entered the private room together and saluted Princess Yuehua.
"Alan..." Yuehua stretched out her hand and gave her nephew a light support.
Hot pot for four people.
It was really awkward at the beginning.
But when Zhao Lan's taste buds were amazed by the novel ingredients, he didn't care about the subtlety between his aunt and the chief historian, and asked Su Ruojin doubtfully, "Is the spicy flavor this time made from the potted fruit I gave you?"
Su Ruojin smiled and gave a thumbs up, "Brother Jin is so smart, you guessed it without me saying anything, amazing."
The young prince Zhao, who was praised by the young lady, didn't know whether he should cry or laugh, but the taste was indeed good. "Although they are both spicy, they are really different from dogwood. Dogwood is spicy and pungent. The spicy taste of today's soup base is neither spicy nor numb, and it tastes good."
Haha, she knew Zhao Lan would definitely like it, and said with a smile, "Next year, we will plant all the seeds we collected this year. I estimate that we will need several acres of land."
Princess Yuehua couldn't stop talking when she saw her nephew eating.
Where is the elegance and etiquette? Is this still the nephew who follows the rules?
Su Ruojin saw the princess watching them eat spicy food while sitting alone, as if she was watching a live food show.
"Your Highness, this half is made with bone broth. It's not spicy. Try it."
Princess Yuehua nodded slightly, and the maids and servants immediately came forward to serve the dishes and bring towels, working in an orderly manner.
Su Ruojin: ...
Well, she was meeting a real princess. Being served meals was not something she was used to, but she was born to live this way and was a true royal aristocrat.
She found that Su Yanzu was much quieter than before.
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