The dish in front of me was in a semicircular shape, upside down in the bowl, steaming away. There was a faint sweet aroma of rice wine emanating from it, but it was not strong. That was because the glutinous rice flour wrapped in the outer layer had been fermented in a jar and was more sticky, so it locked in the aroma of the inner layer.
Weiyuan Hou used chopsticks to peel off the outer layer of glutinous rice flour, and a unique smell hit his face. Not only did he become stunned, but even the crowd watching made an unbearable commotion. It's because the aroma is so strong, a combination of the aroma of wine, herbs, marinade, meat, and a very light aroma of soy sauce. The aromas are layered on top of each other, but it doesn't seem messy at all. Instead, it deepens other people's desire for food.
What is delicacy? Dishes that are colorful, fragrant and delicious are called delicacies. The dish made by Lin Dan looks plain and smells ordinary, but when you peel off the glutinous rice on the outside and let the tightly locked aroma come out, the dish seems to have a soul in an instant.
The emerald green ice jade meat slices have been soaked in the marinade, and the thinner parts have been stained slightly red, looking like delicate petals. The fat in the meat is forced out little by little by the heat and seeps into the bright brown glutinous rice flour, making the two ingredients stick tightly together. There is meat in the flour and flour in the meat, which is very tasty.
Weiyuan Hou picked up a piece of icy meat wrapped in glutinous rice flour and took just one bite before his eyes widened in astonishment. There was no other reason. The meat slice had really absorbed the wine just as Lin Dan said. Taking a bite was like drinking a glass of wine, full of mellow wine aroma. This piece of meat is more like another container for wine than a food ingredient, but it is full of the tenderness of meat, and has the aroma of marinated sauce and soy sauce, giving it an extremely rich taste. The glutinous rice flour wrapped in the outer layer also has a unique taste. It is originally used to make Liao Zao. It is semi-fermented and is softer, more sticky and sweeter than ordinary glutinous rice flour.
Sweet, salty, sauced, and brewed flavors blended together in the mouth, but they could not conceal the aroma of wine that became stronger the more one chewed. After it went down the throat, there was no burning sensation at all, but instead a warm feeling in the stomach... Lin Dan actually fulfilled such a bizarre request. She used her skillful hands to turn the wine into a dish, and the taste was wonderful. Weiyuan Hou couldn't help but glance at the other person, and finally picked up some cold bean sprouts.
Bean sprouts are also soaked in Liao Zao, which is mixed with a little bit of pepper and sesame oil. When you bite off the stems, the wine that flows out has a plant aroma, which is very fresh and refreshing.
Marquis Weiyuan drank alcohol at every meal. Often, after only two bites of food, his stomach would be filled with alcohol and he would fall into a deep sleep. The emperor asked him to return to Beijing to recuperate, but he became thinner and thinner because of this reason. Now, his subordinates couldn't help showing delight when they saw that he was willing to sit down and have a peaceful meal, and that he seemed to have a very good appetite.
He took one chopstick after another, his eating manners were very elegant but not slow. In a moment, he had finished half of the plate of steamed pork with glutinous rice wine and rice flour, and only a little juice was left in the dish of bean sprouts. The other diners stared at him intently and swallowed their saliva. Damn, Shopkeeper Lin's cooking skills are too good. I thought the braised pork she made was the best, but I didn't expect that the steamed pork with rice flour is even more delicious than the braised pork. I can only smell and look at it, but I can't eat it. This is simply the cruelest torture in the world.
Gulp, gulp, the sound of people swallowing saliva rang out in the hall. Others couldn't hear it, but Weiyuan Hou, who was very powerful, heard it clearly. He looked up at the guards he brought with him who were trying their best to pretend to be serious, and turned to look at Lin Dan: "Give each of my subordinates a plate of steamed pork with rice flour."
"I'm sorry, my lord. I only brewed one jar of Yang Linfei and there was only one piece of meat, and now you've eaten it all." Lin Dan waved his hands helplessly.
"Wine should be brewed one jar at a time, but you only brew one jar at a time. Why are you so stingy?" Weiyuan Hou pulled a long face, but his tone was much gentler.
"My Lord, I am a cook, not a winemaker. I make wine just for fun, not to sell it." Lin Dan answered neither humbly nor arrogantly.
Marquis Weiyuan squinted his eyes and looked over. Seeing that there was no sign of worry on her face, he felt helpless. The meal was so delicious and suited his taste so well that after eating it once, he wanted to eat it again, again, again, countless times, but he didn't dare to offend the chef.
"Forget it, forget it. Give them each a pound of braised meat. You must have that, right?"
"Yes, brothers, what would you like to eat? I have braised pig's trotters, braised pig ears, braised pork belly, braised chicken, braised duck... The vegetarian options include braised tofu, braised lotus root slices, edamame... There are many flavors, including spiced, spicy, hot and sour, sweet..." Lin Dan patiently greeted a group of guards. These people, who had looked ferocious and aggressive just now, now all smiled brightly and swarmed to the door to look into the earthen jar with greedy expressions.
Tang Jiu then left Lin Dan, walked to sit opposite Weiyuan Hou, picked up the chopsticks and picked up the food.
Weiyuan Hou quickly held up his chopsticks and sneered, "Order yourself if you want to eat."
Tang Jiuli ignored him and changed direction to continue picking up food. Weiyuan Hou continued to surround him. The two of them used chopsticks as swords and fought back and forth for dozens of times. In the end, they got really angry and were about to roll up their sleeves and start a fight.
Lin Dan took the time out of his busy schedule to shout, "Glutinous rice is sticky and difficult to digest, so don't eat too much in the morning. My Lord, half a plate is enough for you. If you eat too much, be careful of stomachache later."
Weiyuan Hou's stomach had long been damaged by alcohol. When it wasn't hurting, he looked normal, but when it hurt, his abdomen felt like it was being cut by a knife, and he broke out in cold sweat, in extreme agony. Hearing this, he was slightly stunned. By the time he reacted, Tang Jiu had already taken away the remaining steamed pork with rice flour.
"You bastard..." He slammed his chopsticks on the table and slowly rolled up his sleeves. But at this moment, Lin Dan came over with a bowl of porridge and a plate of red and white cubes, and said softly: "If you are not full, drink some porridge. It is best to drink porridge in the morning."
This porridge is not an ordinary porridge, but a porridge made with milk soup that has been simmered overnight. It contains tender chicken and pork elbow meat, mixed with finely chopped shepherd's purse leaves, which are white with a hint of green. It looks very beautiful and tastes particularly rich.
Tang Jiu's complacent mood was instantly shattered, and he said in a deep voice: "Hurry up and eat, this is pheasant soup, it is said to be made by Peng Zu, it is known as the best soup in the world, very nourishing to the stomach."
Weiyuan Hou's ugly expression eased slightly. He took a sip of the porridge while it was hot, and his eyes immediately brightened up. He had to admit that drinking a bowl of hot, thick porridge in the morning was like a baptism for his seriously ill body.
"What is this? It smells strongly of alcohol." He pointed at the small plate next to it with his chopsticks. The Yongding Marquis’ family are all foodies, so just ask them if you have any unfamiliar food.
Tang Jiu really knew, "This is fermented bean curd, also made with wine."
Weiyuan Hou tasted a small piece and was immediately conquered by the unique flavor. He finished a bowl of porridge with fermented bean curd in a flash, and his expression was full of satisfaction. His guards also ate with their mouths drooling, and kept giving thumbs up to praise Shopkeeper Lin's good cooking skills.
Three quarters of an hour later, Marquis Weiyuan placed a pure gold ingot on the table and walked away contentedly with a group of guards. Halfway through the journey, he seemed to remember something, so he turned back, caught those gangsters who had quietly escaped, pressed them in front of the door of the hometown restaurant, and severely broke their legs.
"Manager Lin, take a look. I have already helped you get rid of these little flies. Your jar of Yanglin fertilizer..."
Before Weiyuan Hou could finish his words, Lin Dan spread his hands with regret: "That jar of wine needs to be brewed for at least another half a year before it can be drunk. Now that it has been taken out before March, it is already ruined. If the Marquis wants to drink it, he has to wait another half a year."
The gentle and kind expression of Marquis Weiyuan froze slightly. He stared at Lin Dan and gritted his teeth. In the end, he was helpless with her. He could only shout to the guards: "Let's go, follow me to suppress the bandits!" If it weren't for those bandits who were destroying things indiscriminately, he would not have been bullied by a little girl.
Lin Dan shook her head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, then walked into the store and continued cooking noodles, ignoring the gangster lying on the ground. She seemed to have a mild temper, but she seemed to lack some emotions, so how could she have any sympathy for these people? Tang Jiu sent a few people to carry the gangster away to avoid delaying the business of the store.
"Lin Dan, this is your father's relic." He took out a yellowed book from his arms and explained, "Even if Marquis Weiyuan didn't shout it out, I was going to tell you the truth today. I recognized you the first time I saw you." It was Lin Dan who taught him that a person's character is far more important than his ability, and it also made him fall into deep regret and self-blame. So even after ten years, he has never forgotten this stubborn little girl. He always wanted to know how she was doing. How far could she go if she refused everyone's help?
It turns out that Lin Dan can go very far, farther than he imagined.
“Thank you, Prince.” Lin Dan took the book and flipped through it, and found that it was a cookbook, which was exactly the second half of the Yan family cookbook that her father had added back then.
Tang Jiu explained, "This is what Yan Langqing asked me to give to you. She took the first sixty pages of the Yan family recipe book and hasn't cooked the dishes your father invented in these years. This is your father's legacy, and it should belong to you."
"Have you never cooked the dishes invented by my father?" Lin Dan repeated, his smile turning cold.
Tang Jiu thought the smile was a little strange, and was about to explore it when Qin Erniang came over and said hesitantly, "Shopkeeper Lin, you just said you would make me a portion of Qianzhou-style braised meat. Do you still want to keep your promise?" Everyone else was scared away by Weiyuan Hou, but she stayed behind bravely for a few bites of food.
"Yes, please wait a moment." Once facing the diners, Lin Dan immediately put away his fake smile and turned back into the gentle and patient shopkeeper Lin.
Qin Erniang secretly glanced at Tang Jiu and felt a little scared. She also knew this person. He was the eldest son of the Yongding Marquisate. He had just won a battle and was transferred back to the Ministry of War by the emperor. His sister was the most favored imperial concubine in the palace. There was no queen above her, so she was extremely powerful.
This restaurant is truly amazing, all the people coming and going are big shots. Fortunately, I didn't offend Manager Lin to death. Just as she thought of this, she saw a man and a woman walking in from the door. Their facial features were very similar, so they should be siblings, followed by several servants. Coincidentally, Qin Erniang also knew the man and shuddered involuntarily.
Shopkeeper Lin's place is really full of hidden talents. Here comes another noble person who you cannot mess with!
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