Ancient Foodie Survival Guide Chapter 5
Translated by Serena Love
Edited by and unsaltedfish
Chapter 5: Mapo Tofu and Boiled Fish Fillet
Xie Xun had never smelled such pungent ‘food’ before and couldn't help but wonder out loud, "Is this even food?"
"Yeah!" Jiang Shuyao nodded triumphantly.
Xie Xun frowned and refrained from saying more. Jiang Shuyao curled her lips and closed the lid with a "patter" sound.
There was silence in the carriage.
Jiang Shuyao's mother was not considered to be of noble birth, but her ancestor worked with the founding emperor to reform the economy and became a well-known wealthy businessman. With the royal family backing them, the subsequent generations were even wealthier.
According to the maid Bai Zhi, Mrs. Xiangyang's appetite had not been very good and her body was getting weaker. To live well after marriage, her family's support was essential, so Jiang Shuyao wanted to hug Mrs. Xiangyang's thigh. She wanted to start from Mrs. Xiangyang’s diet, and hurriedly made this pot of cornel oil.
Mrs. Xiangyang didn’t have a health problem. It's just that she lost appetite when she was fighting with ‘Yingying and Yanyan[1]’ in the backyard of Xiangyang's Mansion. After several years of fighting, her appetite was no longer good.
As a well-known food blogger in her previous life, Jiang Shuyao had published several issues about ancient Chinese food, including one about cornel oil. Before China had been introduced to hot pepper, cornel was one of the main spices responsible for the spiciness of Sichuan cuisine.
According to the "Compendium of Materia Medica," cornel is pungent and bitter. The locals would harvest it in August, pound and strain the juice, add lime, and stir it to make "Ai You" or spicy rice oil.
When it comes to increasing appetite, Sichuan cuisine ranks first. With cornel oil, ginger, and pepper, you can create the spiciness of Sichuan cuisine.
The carriage stopped at the gate of Xiangyang Mansion, and Xie Xun got out of the carriage first.
Count Xiangyang and his wife had long been waiting at the door. When they saw Xie Xun, their faces brightened. Whenever they thought of this son-in-law, they felt an immense sense of pride, but also guilt for having ruined him.
Xie Xun felt that the gazes of the two were a little strange, but before dwelling on it, he turned to help Jiang Shuyao out of the carriage.
As soon as he turned around, he was stunned.
He saw Jiang Shuyao trembling while getting out of the car, appearing weak and pitiful like a willow, lightly ‘floating’ on the footstool.
Her eyes were misty and her eyebrows were lowered. She greeted in a voice as soft as a mosquito, “Father, Mother. Your daughter is back.”
Xie Xun's usually calm face showed a stunned look.
This wasn’t the same Jiang Shuyao who had been talking enthusiastically in the carriage. She was holding the jar tightly and not letting go.
Mrs. Xiangyang nodded in satisfaction when she saw her like this and stepped forward to hold her hand, "Yaoyao..."
Seeing her so well-behaved, Mrs. Xiangyang believed Jiang Shuyao shouldn’t have disgraced the Xiangyang Mansion and smiled confidently at Xie Xun, "The little girl is spoiled, Boyuan[2] bears a lot."
Xie Xun coughed lightly and resumed the appearance of a noble young master. He quickly agreed and walked into the mansion behind Count Xiangyang as they chatted.
Jiang Shuyao had spent some time with Mrs. Xiangyang before getting married. At a glance, she could see that her face was not very good, and asked with concern, "Mother, what's the matter?"
Mrs. Xiangyang tightened her grip on her hand, finally unable to hold back as she complained, "Just now a couple of the women from the rear courtyard tried to come up front to greet you. It's bad enough they’ve been stirring up trouble in our household all these years, but to try and steal the spotlight on the day you return—have they no shame? That senile old fool even agreed! If I hadn’t talked sense into him, they might’ve succeeded."
She had lowered her voice, but still could not conceal her irritation. Count Xiangyang couldn't hear it, but Xie Xun, who had extraordinary hearing, could hear it clearly.
Jiang Shuyao persuaded, "Mother, don't get angry. It's not worth it to be angry over such shameless people."
"Don't worry, I’m just angry, but they didn't gain anything good."
Xie Xun heard this inevitably and accelerated his pace. The Xiangyang Mansion's backyard was indeed as absurd as rumored, and Mrs. Xiangyang also sounded very different from an average mistress.
"Well, of course, Mother, you are the best." Jiang Shuyao knew that Mrs. Xiangyang had regularly fought with several concubines in the backyard. As long as Count Xiangyang didn’t die, Mrs. Xiangyang would continue to have to deal with them. It probably started to become entertaining after so many years.
There weren’t many people in Xiangyang Mansion, and only Count Xiangyang entertained his son-in-law in the front yard. Jiang Shuyao and Mrs. Xiangyang went to the backyard hand in hand.
Mrs. Xiangyang's face brightened as soon as she stepped into the backyard. At this moment, Jiang Shuyao, who had married Xie Xun, was her pride and joy, and those fairies who always jumped out to provoke her were all nestled quietly in their yard.
She sighed with emotion, "Yaoyao, my mother's anger from so many years has finally been released. No matter how much they try, they'll never be able to look down on you."
As she crossed the threshold of the main courtyard, she suddenly faltered and almost fell.
Jiang Shuyao quickly helped her sit on a chair. "Mother, what's wrong?"
Mrs. Xiangyang momentarily slowed down, waved her hand saying, "It's nothing."
The nanny beside her stepped forward and explained, "Madam has a lack of appetite these few days. Since the young lady got married, she has only eaten two or three bowls of porridge."
Jiang Shuyao knew that her appetite wasn't very good, but she didn’t expect it to be so serious.
She looked at Mrs. Xiangyang with concern. Mrs. Xiangyang's heart warmed, and she gently touched Jiang Shuyao’s head, "Yaoyao, your mother has not suffered much in her life. My family is rich, the wealth accumulated by my ancestors would last for generations. No matter how much I spend in my lifetime, it will never run out. But I often can't sleep and wonder if there’d be a day when my family's business would fail. Of course, this would never happen. I have some talent in business and accumulating money, and the amount of employees are increasing..."
Jiang Shuyao, "..."
“I want you to be you, my baby girl. You don't have to worry about money. If you need power, your aunt and cousin can support you, and your father too, though that bastard can barely count. But what I worried about most was your marriage. I’m relieved now that you've married well." Mrs. Xiangyang's tone became more gentle, "Mother's health is getting worse..."
Jiang Shuyao's heart became anxious again.
At this moment, a maid hurried over to the nanny and said something. The nanny then stepped forward to whisper something in Mrs. Xiangyang’s ear.
Mrs. Xiangyang, whose "health was getting worse and worse," shook off her previous sickly appearance and slapped her palm fiercely on the table. The tea, fruit, and pastry trays on the table flew up in the air and then fell back down again.
"This group of skinless and faceless things dares to provoke me. Let’s see if I tear off their skins or not!" She stood up abruptly, yelling with full force while ignoring Jiang Shuyao who was sitting in front of her. She rushed out while leading a barrage of maids.
By the time Jiang Shuyao had regained her wits to react, they were long gone from the yard.
"Miss?" Bai Zhi called out softly when she saw Jiang Shuyao frozen in place for a long time.
Jiang Shuyao regained her senses, unable to laugh or cry, and shook her head helplessly, "Let's go to the kitchen."
Bai Zhi blinked, "Huh?"
"Mother has recently lost her appetite. All I can do is make her some side dishes. The rest..." Thinking of Mrs. Xiangyang's aggressive appearance just now, she really couldn't be of much help.
Bai Zhi nodded and followed her to the main kitchen. The maid had already brought the cornel oil.
Jiang Shuyao quickly scanned through the ingredients in the kitchen, thought of two Sichuan dishes, rolled up her sleeves, and started cooking.
Everyone around her was frightened and at a loss.
"What are you doing in a daze? Go back to work," Jiang Shuyao said.
The usual activity in the kitchen resumed, but countless eyes occasionally looked at Jiang Shuyao, fearing that she would accidentally destroy the kitchen.
The founding emperor of the dynasty was extremely capable. He built a water conservancy, reformed commerce, established shipping, and promoted imperial examinations... However, this emperor wasn’t well-known for food. Before the founding of the dynasty, cooking was just boiling with water. After the founding of the country, cooking with a wok was just invented. The emperor had a light diet, which led to the light and flavorful dishes of the current era.
Jiang Shuyao's craftsmanship wasn’t comparable to a professional chef's, but she was knowledgeable. Even if she were to cook every day, she wouldn't need to repeat the same dish for a whole year.
Everyone was surprised and bewildered when they saw her skills. As the kitchen began filling up with the rich fragrance of spices, everyone ignored the rules and whispered to each other earnestly.
Although there were only four people, the dishes were still rich and exquisite. After Mrs. Xiangyang cleaned up the annoying people in the backyard, she ran into Jiang Shuyao, who was following the serving maids to the hall.
"What's this smell on you?" As soon as she approached, she smelled a faint trace of spices on Jiang Shuyao and couldn't help but frown.
Sensing an impending lecture, Jiang Shuyao quickly hugged her arm, "Mother, didn't you mention that you‘ve had a bad appetite recently? Your daughter went to the kitchen and cooked a few dishes for you."
"How thoughtful of you." Mrs. Xiangyang's tone became gentler in an instant. "With such intentions, everything you make is sure to be delicious."
Although Mrs. Xiangyang was touched, she knew her daughter. The first thing she did when she arrived in the yard was to order the serving maid, "Put the dishes made by the young lady in front of the master."
Count Xiangyang was talking to Xie Xun about the northern region. Hearing this instruction, his brows twitched and he turned to look at Mrs. Xiangyang.
Mrs. Xiangyang couldn’t let Jiang Shuyao lose face in front of Xie Xun and said, "Knowing that I have a bad appetite recently, Yaoyao made two dishes especially. She is very filial."
Count Xiangyang laughed and turned to face Xie Xun and said, "Haha, Yaoyao has always been virtuous and filial."
Xie Xun's expression didn’t change, and he nodded in agreement.
Count Xiangyang had spoken, so even if Jiang Shuyao made poison, he had to take a few bites and compliment the food.
The maidservants entered with the dishes and uncovered the lids smoothly.
The dish placed in front of Count Xiangyang was uncovered, and an unfamiliar spicy and fresh scent spread instantly. The overwhelming spicy fragrance made people swallow their saliva subconsciously.
Jiang Shuyao introduced, "This dish is Mapo tofu, and the other dish is boiled fish fillet."
The characteristics of Mapo tofu are spicy, crispy, fragrant, hot, and tender. The tofu cubes of uniform size were piled together, the sauce was bright red, and the green onions were scattered throughout. At the center were minced pepper, minced garlic, and chopped green onions. After it was plated, hot oil was poured, allowing the spicy garlic fragrance to be fully released.
The boiled fish fillet was served in a deep ceramic dish, a layer of vivid red oil gleaming on the surface. Beneath it lay tender, snowy-white fish, topped with a scattering of bright green scallions—the vibrant contrast alone was enough to whet the appetite.
"Father, would you taste it?" Jiang Shuyao looked at Count Xiangyang expectantly.
In any case, both the appearance and aroma could be considered top-grade. Count Xiangyang picked a piece of fish with his chopsticks. The tender fish fillet was coated with broth and swayed slightly as it fell into a white porcelain bowl.
As soon as it entered his mouth, he experienced the fresh and slightly spicy taste. There wasn’t a fishy smell at all, but rather a unique flavor. The hot fish fillet intensified the numbing sensation, and warmth spread from the tip of his tongue to his throat.
The others watched silently as Count Xiangyang continuously put piece after piece into his mouth. After a while, he painfully proclaimed, "Very good."
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Footnotes:
[1] "Yingying and Yanyan" literally translates to "orioles and swallows" and refers to a large number of concubines, or in some cases, prostitutes.
[2] Boyuan is Xie Xun's courtesy name - A courtesy name (字), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. Courtesy names served a formal and respectful purpose. In traditional Chinese society, using someone’s given name in adulthood was considered disrespectful among peers, making courtesy names essential for formal communication and writing.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtesy_name
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Foods:
Boiled Fish Filet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmBjG35LXcs
