Ancient Foodie Survival Guide Chapter 39
Translated by Serena Love
Edited by Azure
Chapter 39: Rice with Lard, and Braised Eggplant
Xie Xun chose to ride a carriage instead of a horse today because he feared spilling the soup in his food container.
When he arrived at the East Palace, Lin Cheng stopped him. In a daze, he said, "You brought soup today?"
Xie Xun said, "How did you know?"
"Look at you like this. Who wouldn’t notice?” Although Xie Xun usually walked very steadily, he was not so uptight. Even the corners of his robe did not move when he walked today. He was not much different from the famous lady, Ge Qingshu.
Of course, Lin Cheng didn't dare to say this. After all, his daily lunch depended on Xie Xun's mood.
He chuckled, while lamenting that Xie Xun's luck in marriage was so good. At the same time, he sighed, 'If I marry a wife, wouldn't my life be better?'
At noon, Lin Cheng sat obediently across from Xie Xun and looked expectantly at today's lunch box.
Xie Xun took a look first. Today's side dishes were very lavish.
In addition to yesterday's yellow braised chicken, there was also a brightly colored, meaty eggplant dish.
As he looked at the rice, a spoonful of solidified lard was on top. The lard was sprinkled with chopped green onion and soy sauce, and a pile of lard residue was on the side.
Lin Cheng frowned and asked, "What is this?" He was the spoiled son of the prime minister's family. It is normal for him to have never seen lard.
Xie Xun had traveled abroad and knew a little bit, "Lard."
Lin Cheng was surprised, "Lard on top of cooked rice? And it's still raw!"
Xie Xun looked at him like a fool. "Is lard raw?"
Although the Lin family hadn't liked pork since Prime Minister Lin's generation, Lin Cheng still knew that lard was used for cooking. 'Putting so much lard on rice...'
He sneaked a glance at Xie Xun's face, 'Oh, did the young couple quarrel?'
Xie Xun didn't know what he was thinking. He poured some water into the lunchbox and covered it with the lid. After a while, the water began to boil, and the steam slowly heated the meal.
As he uncovered the food box, the aroma of the dishes was overwhelming. Of course, the most attractive was the savory scent of the yellow braised chicken and the braised eggplant's sweet and sour aroma.
But Lin Cheng couldn't help but cast his gaze on the rice. The white and crystal lard had completely melted, coating the plump rice with a shiny coat of oil. Xie Xun mixed it with a spoon. Soy sauce, green onion, lard residue, and rice were mixed together. The color was light, but Lin Cheng was inexplicably curious about its taste.
Xie Xun also had some doubts about this lard mixed rice's taste, and tentatively took a spoonful into his mouth.
"How is it?" Lin Cheng looked at him, baffled.
It was hard to describe the deliciousness. It was obviously just simple lard on rice. It had a fresh and oily taste when the lard was melted into the rice--Perhaps because the chopped green onion had eliminated the greasiness. Alternatively, maybe because the soy sauce was fresh and had a special aroma. This simple way of eating gave him great satisfaction.
Jiang Shuyao specially made the soy sauce. It had a hint of sweetness and saltiness, and mellow scent, supplemented by lard's oily aroma. There was only one word that could describe it: Fragrant.
He chewed the lard residue with a "Kacha kacha" sound. Lard residue was precious in common people and children's eyes, but it was the first time for him to eat it. It was crunchy and a bit hard, but it melted away after a bite. The aroma spread in his mouth. The more he chewed, the more flavorful it became.
"Yeah." Xie Xun nodded. He took the task of trying this set of dishes as a serious matter. He slowly savored the taste and prepared to go back and report to Jiang Shuyao.
"Is it delicious or unpalatable?" Lin Cheng was anxious. The simpler the meal, the more curious he became. He raised his spoon and said to Xie Xun, "My spoon is still clean, can you give me a bite?"
The two were born in large families, and their dining etiquette was basically carved in the bones. But these days, lunchtime made Lin Cheng forget the rules. 'Anyway, whatever is extracted from Xie Xun's bowl is a treasure.'
"Hmm." Xie Xun pushed the lunch box in front of him. The two looked like children sharing their mother's loving lunch in kindergarten. After discussing, Lin Cheng dug out one-third of Xie Xun's rice.
Lin Cheng took a bite of the mixed rice, and his eyes widened momentarily.
It was not that he had never tasted the delicacies from the mountains and the seas. He had tasted top delicacies, but some flavors could not be made, even with fine ingredients and refined cooking methods.
For example, this lard-mixed rice was warm, and as he chewed, his mouth was full of flavor. The lard residue mixed with the salty and sweet taste of soy sauce, making it full of joy.
Lin Cheng suddenly sighed, "Do the farmers usually eat this kind of food?"
Xie Xun said, "This meal is not difficult to make, but it requires ingenuity, and the other is the soy sauce, which improves the flavor. Farmers should not be able to do this."
Lin Cheng nodded and asked, "So why did your wife suddenly wants to make this?"
Xie Xun replied casually, "The Lin family plans to open a restaurant."
"Oh-ah?!" Lin Cheng was still smacking his lips, savoring the remaining aroma from the rice, and said after a long time, "The Lin family? Your wife?"
"Exactly."
Compared with other thoughts, Lin Cheng's first reaction was to ask, "Do you agree?"
"Why would I disagree?"
The wives of the high-level households rarely cooked. At most, they would cook soup so that they would be called virtuous and considerate when serving their husbands. Cooking had nothing to do with noble ladies, which was why when Xie Xun said that Jiang Shuyao made his lunch boxes, Lin Cheng didn't believe it at all.
But now her craft had expanded to open restaurants, which was somewhat inexplicable.
"Are the recipes from the chef invited by the Lin family, or did your wife make them?"
"Of course, my wife made them."
Lin Cheng frowned, "So your wife is going to hand over the recipe she worked hard for to a chef, and then open a restaurant and sell food to the people instead of selling it to the nobles?"
"Yeah." Xie Xun didn't think there was anything wrong with it, and happily took a sip of yellow braised chicken soup.
Lin Cheng touched his chin and shook his head slowly. His tone was a little hesitant when he said, "This... this isn't right?" 'How should I put it, a little undignified?'
Xie Xun raised his eyebrows to look at him.
"The Lin family is the richest in the world. They don't need the money," Lin Cheng said euphemistically.
Xie Xun and Lin Cheng were born in distinguished families, but they had different experiences and ideas. Lin Cheng was a spoiled son and young master, but Xie Xun had been like an old man since he was young. He had never been spoiled even as was a child. When Xie Xun was ten years old, he worshipped the Prime Minister as his teacher then traveled with his master, which broadened his mind.
"It's not bad," he said. "Why do you think people are cooking food for?"
Lin Cheng said, "To eat."
"When people are hungry, they just want to be full. After they are full, they think of things other than fullness. You and I have never lacked any delicacies since childhood, and you still stare at my lunch box every day at noon. Let alone the people who are not particular about food?"
Lin Cheng didn't expect to answer this way. After all, he was not a stupid person, so it made sense. However, his look at Xie Xun became strange.
'Isn't doing business just making money? However, it is really rare to plan this business from the people's perspective without caring about the money.'
He sighed in his heart. He was very familiar with Xie Xun, so he said it straight, "I have heard and seen Jiang-shi's absurdity. I thought she was not worthy of you. Hey, not just me, the whole capital... Hehe, I didn't expect that after all that, I was too prejudiced."
Xie Xun made a hum from his nasal cavity, without changing his expression, "You have seen? Come and let me listen carefully."
"Haha." Lin Cheng laughed awkwardly. He was crazy to gossip about Xie Xun's wife in front of him. "My mouth slipped. I haven't seen it in person. It's just what people say. I'm ashamed, ashamed."
He changed the subject and tried to stretch out his chopsticks to pick up the yellow braised chicken, but Xie Xun blocked him.
"No." Xie Xun said coldly.
'Huh! Let people have a good show.'
The people around them turned around. They didn't hear what the two talked about, but the "no" was extremely clear.
'Hey, Lin Cheng is the prime minister's grandson, but he rushed to other people's lunch boxes for food every day. It looked like something was wrong.'
Although they were also greedy, they were not cheeky enough to freeload food.
Xie Xun looked up, and everyone turned their heads in the blink of an eye. But when they quietly peeked at the movement, their eyes were about to fall out.
'Xie Boyuan seems a little angry?'
Although they couldn't see anything from his ice sculpture face that had remained unchanged for thousands of years, everyone felt that Xie Xun was unhappy.
'Uh... just this attitude and tone, it is no different from my little nephew who just started studying at home.'
Lin Cheng was stunned. "But there are so many. Give me a piece."
Xie Xun blocked him again.
"No." He uttered the word neatly.
After Lin Cheng understood Xie Xun's thoughts a bit, he looked at him grievously.
Xie Xun lowered his eyes, but his expression was unchanged. "You can't eat meat."
'Okay, this is a punishment for talking too much.'
Lin Cheng obediently apologized, "I really have no morals. I ate the meal cooked by your wife and said something offensive about her. I hope that Bo Yuan will not take it to heart. I meant no harm to your lady."
Xie Xun ate a few mouthfuls of rice, and Lin Cheng was scared off by his cold face until his forehead was about to sweat. The latter seemed to have acknowledged him with a slight hum.
How could Lin Cheng dare to be presumptuous? He quickly scooped a small spoonful of braised eggplant into his bowl.
The braised eggplant had a bright red color and a thick and juicy flavor. The eggplant was cut into large pieces and fried. The skin became a light golden color, which looked like meat at a glance.
Lin Cheng smelled the familiar sweet, sour and salty taste, and suddenly thought of the fish-flavored pork that day. It immediately opened up his appetite. He stuffed a piece of braised eggplant into his mouth.
The inside of the eggplant was soft and hot; only the skin was a bit chewy. The fried skin fully absorbed the sweet and sour sauce and soaked until it was a bit soft. The sweet and sour taste exploded in his mouth. It was a bit salty and suitable to eat with rice.
He hurriedly took a big mouthful of rice into his mouth. The sauce was rich, and with the soft fragrance, it was just right. The eggplant was cut into thick pieces and retained its own delicate flavor.
He nodded as he chewed, "This eggplant taste is not much worse than meat."
He poured the dark red sauce over his rice, stirring it in with care. The thick, savory sauce cloaked the pristine, crystal-clear grains, infusing each bite with a fragrant richness that lingered on his lips and cheeks. The balance of salt was perfect, yet it carried a subtle sweetness, a touch of tang, and a faint, teasing spice. Even with nothing but the rice and this sauce, the dish was undeniably delicious.
Lin Cheng finished eating the rice, and then he remembered the business, "By the way, Bo Yuan, when will your wife's restaurant open? Where is it located?"
The people around them raised their ears after they heard what Lin Cheng just mentioned. Then they played, "You see me, and I see you."
Xie Xun said, "I don't know. It is my wife's family business. How can I know the details?"
Lin Cheng pouted his lips, and the colleagues who eavesdropped around them put down their disappointed ears.
Xie Xun ate the delicious food in no hurry, and said in a flat tone, "I'm just trying the dishes for my wife casually."
'...That's it?'
When everyone smelled the mouth-watering fragrance of the dishes throughout the room and saw the rich and delicious dishes in front of Xie Xun, they chuckled in unison.
In the afternoon, a little palace lady who worked in the dining room was washing chopsticks. She said, "Huh?" with surprise, then whispered to her little friend next to her, "The master officials' teeth are so good. Look at these bamboo chopsticks. They actually bit them until they left teeth marks."
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Fragrant Eggplant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_muR08_fhT4
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