Ancient Foodie Survival Guide Chapter 5
Translated by Serena Love
Edited
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 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’ in the backyard of Xiangyang's mansion[1]. 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 the introduction of hot pepper to China, cornel was one of the main spices to create spiciness in Sichuan cuisine.
According to the "Compendium of Materia Medica," cornel is pungent and bitter. The local people would pick 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 make the spicy flavor 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 with you?"
Mrs. Xiangyang held her hand and increased her strength a bit. After a while, she couldn't hold back, and complained, "You know, the few in the backyard just wanted to come to the front to greet you. It's fine for them to make trouble in the house for so many years, but they still want to get in front of you today. They really forgot their surname and their first name. The old foolish thing actually agreed. If I hadn't argued with him, I'm afraid they would have gotten what they wished."
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 backyard of the Xiangyang Mansion 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 was married to 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 they try, they will never be able to turn over and step on your head."
While entering the main courtyard and crossing the threshold, her figure suddenly shook and she almost couldn't stand firm.
Jiang Shuyao quickly helped her sit on a chair. "Mother, what's wrong?"
Mrs. Xiangyang momentarily slowed down, waved her hand, and said, "It's nothing."
The nanny next to 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 often wonder if there would be a day when my family business would fail. Of course, this would never happen. I have some talent in business and accumulating money, and there are more and more employees..."
Jiang Shuyao, "..."
“I want you to be you, my baby girl. You don't have to worry about money. For power, you have your aunt and cousin to support you, and your father, though that bastard can barely count. Come on, what I worry about most is your marriage. I’m relieved now that you 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 stepped forward and interrupted Mrs. Xiangyang to say something in her ear.
Mrs. Xiangyang, whose "health is getting worse and worse," shook off her sickly appearance just now, slapped her palm fiercely on the table. The tea, fruit, and pastry trays on the table flew up in the air then fell down on the table again.
"Okay, this group of skinless and faceless things dare to provoke me. See if I don't tear off their skin!" She stood up abruptly, yelling with full force and ignoring Jiang Shuyao who was sitting in front of her. Leading a bunch of maids, she rushed out.
When Jiang Shuyao reacted, 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 some side dishes for her. The rest..." Thinking of Mrs. Xiangyang's aggressive appearance just now, she really couldn't help much.
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 is not as good as a professional chef's, but she is knowledgeable. Even if she cooked every day, she wouldn't need to repeat the same dish for a year.
As everyone saw her skills, they were all surprised and confused. When the kitchen was filled with a rich fragrance of spices, everyone ignored the rules and whispered to each other earnestly.
Although there were only four guests and hosts, 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 the smell on you?" As soon as she approached, she smelled the faint smell of spices on Jiang Shuyao and couldn't help but frown.
Seeing that she wanted to lecture again, Jiang Shuyao quickly hugged her arm, "Mother, didn't you say that you have a bad appetite recently. Your daughter went to the kitchen and cooked a few dishes for you."
"You are thoughtful." Mrs. Xiangyang's tone became gentler in an instant. "With your intentions, everything you make is 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 this 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 and the spicy garlic fragrance was fully released.
The boiled fish fillet was served on plates, with a bright red oil floating on the surface. The color was clear. The bottom was filled with tender white fish, and the top was dotted with green onions. The strong color contrast stimulated people’s appetites.
"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 chopsticks. The tender fish fillet was coated with broth. It fell into a white porcelain bowl and swayed slightly with elasticity.
As soon as it entered his mouth, he experienced the fresh and slightly spicy taste. There is 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 the tongue to the throat.
The others watched Count Xiangyang eating without saying anything, picking up and putting several pieces in 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 curetsy 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.
Foods:
Boiled Fish Filet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmBjG35LXcs
