Ancient Foodie Survival Guide Chapter 76
Tled by Serena Love
Unedited
Chapter 76: Cold Noodles and Iced Rice
After determining her future goals, the first thing Jiang Shuyao did was to tell Xie Xun.
Xie Xun had long expected that she would think this way, so he was not surprised but asked her, "What are you going to do next?"
Jiang Shuyao shook her head, "I don't know. I will slowly think about it. Now the most important thing is to run the street food market well."
Xie Xun agreed, "Alright."
"Then I guess I will go out often in the future, would you mind?"
Xie Xun smiled and said, "Why do you keep asking these questions? You know I won't mind."
Jiang Shuyao feels relieved. With Xie Xun supporting her, she can do what she wants with confidence and boldness.
Day after day, until the summer heat gradually disappeared, Jiang Shuyao improved the street food market flavor and added new types of food. At the same time, she constantly exchanged ideas with Lin-shi to confirm the next step.
Since the opening day of the street food market, business is booming every day. The food tastes wonderful, but the price is not too high. If you are on a tight budget, you can also find delicious, cheap, and filling food. Whether it is diners who were worried initially and dared not pay or those who just wanted to taste something new and did not have many expectations, they were all conquered by the food and atmosphere in the street food market. At night, the flow of people didn't stop. Even though the Lin family deliberately widened the street, the food market appears narrow.
Diners who pay attention to privacy will enter the store or go up to the second floor, and those who didn't care could sit on the wooden benches placed in front of the store and sit with strangers to enjoy the breeze and their shared love of eating.
Since Jiang Shuyao intends to expand the business, she will come to take a look every few days. However, Lin-shi, who used to visit every day, is getting heavier, and Jiang Shuyao didn't dare to let her come to the noisy and hot places. Lin-shi had to arrange two useful stewards to live in the inn located in the street and ask them all to obey Jiang Shuyao's arrangements.
The street food market has only been opened for more than ten days, and there are more tables and chairs in the street. Fortunately, Lin-shi has the foresight and bought the whole street, including the pavement at the end of the street, so you can see wooden stools and chairs laid out everywhere.
Jiang Shuyao walked through the crowd. She was born looking bright and generous. Dressed in a married woman's bun, she looked like a wife from a wealthy family. The diners couldn't help but look at her.
But this is the site of the Lin family. Ruffians who often hang around in front of other restaurants and stalls dare not come over, so for her, walking in the street food market is very safe, and there is no need to worry about harassment.
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Behind her was the housekeeper, and the diners only regarded her as a lady from the Lin family. They did not think about the eldest lady from Lord Xiangyang's family.
Some greedy old foodies come here every day, and they are familiar with Jiang Shu.
"The shopkeeper, hello." They sat on the bench on the side of the street, waited for the meal, and greeted Jiang Shuyao enthusiastically.
Jiang Shuyao felt strange before, but now she was used to it and nodded at them.
"Is the taste okay?" she asked, looking at a table of fresh-faced diners.
This group of diners are merchants who came to the capital to sell their goods, and they knew about this street food market after someone introduced them. They were middle-aged, so they had enough money to eat out. Now when they arrive at this street food market, they regarded eating as a joy.
"The shopkeeper is humble. I ran north to south, and I had tasted a lot of new food. But the taste like this, it is the first time for me. I enjoyed it very much."
Jiang Shuyao heard the words and smiled, "That's good."
She continued to walk forward, suddenly feeling something wrong.
There seem to be a few strange people in the crowded street food market. People said grace is born from one's heart, but these people shrink their heads, their eyes were dodging, and they were probing their heads. It seems that something is wrong.
Jiang Shuyao turned her head and signaled the steward, and he quickly let the Lin family's thugs quietly follow him.
Jiang Shuyao went around in every store, flipped through the ledger from a few days ago. She estimated the business situation and suddenly stopped at a store selling cold noodles.
"Do you think the food here is delicious?" A young man in silk clothing muttered to the companion next to him, "I don't think it looks reliable."
"I also think so. Look at this store. It's too narrow."
While they whispered, two people came downstairs and waved to them, "You can come up. A table is now free."
They reluctantly walked over there and said as they walked, "I still have to wait for a seat. This is the first time for me. Even Bazhenzhai never asked me to wait for a seat."
"I want to see how delicious it is."
"I don't know what they are thinking. They finally came out of the academy, but instead of going to the restaurant, they came here to eat."
Jiang Shuyao followed them upstairs, just because the two people who were shouting down the stairs just now are too familiar. Aren't they Xie Ye and Xie Hao from the first branch?
For some reason, she didn't think that the two of them would call their friends over to eat and drink because this is the street food market opened by the Lin family. The common people are very satisfied with the food in the market. But not sure what the noble sons and students who are accustomed to eating fine delicacies would say. If they are not satisfied, wouldn't it mean that Xie Ye and Xie Hao would lose their face?
The cold noodle shop's shopkeeper also followed upstairs and asked Jiang Shuyao if she has any orders.
Jiang Shuyao asked him for a small table.
After she sat down, the noble sons and students over there were already in a mess.
"How come it is only cold noodles? No meat?"
The waiter explained, "Guest, if you want to eat meat, there are skewers, fried skewers, stew, fried chicken, etc., nearby. I will bring the menu. You could order here, and we will send people to the nearby shop to buy it."
This statement is unconventional. Everyone looked at each other and wanted to be said something, but at this moment, criticizing seems mean, so they had to agree.
After looking at the menu, everyone was dumbfounded.
There is too much food on the menu. There is a large stack of paper and a wide variety, but the point is that they don't see anything that they have tried before.
The waiter said, "All the meat and fish items are here. The next few pages are for cold drinks, including shaved ice, fruit tea, iced rice, etc. You pick slowly."
At this time, all the criticism is gone. The most critical young man in silk clothing cleared his throat and said, "Well, it seems that they still put a lot of thought when creating food, but there are too many categories. I don't know if they can maintain the taste."
Xie Hao became impatient, "Okay, you don't want to eat it, don't eat here."
The other person didn't care about him, "I'm just talking about it, why are you so angry."
The atmosphere was a bit stiff. Xie Ye came forward to calm them and said, "Let's order first. I recommend fried skewers. Which one do you want? Well, you can also order these grilled skewers... Forget it. Just put order various skewers for all of us."
The waiter wrote down the orders and stepped back, leaving the table of people waiting awkwardly. No one said anything.
Xie Hao couldn't help but whisper to Xie Ye, "Obviously, we brought them to a good place, but these group of people are reluctant. It's annoying."
Xie Ye's face remained as usual, and he was not annoyed, "Why bother to speak? Wait until the food is served. The argument just now will be pointless."
The cold noodles are served first. The noodles are steamed and left to cool. The bean sprouts are at the bottom, topped with soy sauce, spicy chili oil, vinegar, garlic water, etc., and sprinkled with salt, pepper, chives, and cucumber shreds.
The porcelain bowl is filled with a large bowl of light yellow cold noodles, tender white garlic, brown-red sweet soy sauce, bright oily pepper, emerald-colored cucumber, and chopped green onion. The colors are simple but not monotonous. It smells complex: sour, sweet, numb, spicy, and fragrant, which can arouse people's appetite even in summer when people usually have no appetite.
After mixing well with chopsticks, the flexible cold noodles are evenly coated with the sauce. The roots are brown and shiny with red oil, which looks much more delicious than the usual hot soup with noodles.
Everyone moved their chopsticks in silence. Because it was cold, so there was no need to blow to prevent being scalded. They picked up large chopsticks of noodles and put them in their mouth. The first impression is a completely new cool feeling, and then the sweetness of sweet soy sauce, the spiciness of oily pepper, the hemp of pepper, the pungency of garlic, and the sourness of vinegar. It swept the tip of the tongue and instantly awakening the taste buds. A rush of energy rushed into their forehead, and the appetite was awakened.
Cold noodles are chewy and distinct. Because it is alkaline noodles, it has a mellow aroma of alkali. Red oil chili pepper is spicy but not dry. Compared with spiciness, it is more fragrant. The sweet soy sauce is made with brown sugar, star anise, cinnamon, licorice, and other spices. It tastes spicy and fragrant, and there is a slight aftertaste in the fragrance.
Cold noodles are very simple. Except for the noodles, the only extra side dishes are cucumber shreds and bean sprouts, but this simple taste is refreshing enough. The soft noodles are mixed with crisp bean sprouts, and there is a soft crunchiness with every bite.
The bean sprouts are slightly bitter and sweet, and the cucumber shreds are fresh and tender. It instantly scrapes away the traces of oil and strong flavor in the cold noodles and red oil, leaving only the sour and spicy fragrance—no need to wait or be careful. They could roll up large chopsticks and chew in big mouthfuls. The appetite that was tortured by heat for a long time was finally saved at this time.
At this moment, iced rice came up. Porcelain white bowls are piled with colorful ingredients. Glutinous rice is white and plump, white fungus is transparent and soft, red date slices, raisins, taro balls, watermelon, chopped peanuts, and candied fruit are stacked together. It is colorful, and crystal clear ice is floating in the water—sweet scent mixed with cold air rushing towards the face.
"Why is rice soaked in cold water, and it is actually served with candied fruit?" The picky person talked again. But he just enjoyed the cold noodles, so this time he just sighed and didn't dare to say more.
When he eats it, he knows why. The fruit fragrance and the candied fruit's sweetness melted into the ice water, turning into a refreshing beverage. Glutinous rice is not a staple food at this time but a dessert. It is soft and sweet. When soaked in ice water and served with ice, it has a bit of tenacity. It is cold and springy. The rice is fragrant and has a proper sweetness. When it is eaten cold, it made the heat disappeared.
Now he couldn't complain about anything anymore, so he quietly shut up.
When the skewers came up, everyone was even more amazed by the rich and spicy charcoal flavor. Just now, they thought that they should eat something cold and drink some ice in summer, but now they think it's best to eat meat. Spicy, salty, and oily, they feel refreshed. This is great!
When a group of people ate heartily, they heard someone next door talking loudly about the street food market.
They pay attention to food, so everyone listened with ears upright.
Then the big guy couldn't hold back any words.
"They said just now that the Lin family opened this place?"
"The Lin Family? The Lin Family is in the Fuyang Mansion, but isn't this here..."
Everyone turned their heads to look at Xie Ye and Xie Hao, "This place was opened by the Lin family of Miss Jiang?" Xie Xun didn't know how crazy Jiang Shuyao back then, but people like them are clear. Since they fell into the water that year, this group of people will walk around in a circle whenever they hear the woman was at a banquet.
Gossip is the nature of human beings, and they cannot avoid being vulgar. As soon as Jiang Shuyao was mentioned, they began to resent her again. They were lamenting about Xie Xun's bad luck. The amazing talented Xie Xun, who was a third place in the imperial exam, finally married an idiot.
Xie Hao and Xie Ye were uncomfortable, and they were about to quarrel with them. The picky son who had just spoken first said, "We are now in the happiest place in the world, don't force me to beat you!" If they give the owner some bad words, how do you come to eat in the future?
Everyone was most afraid of this powerful classmate. They reluctantly shut up, but they did not link these delicacies with Jiang Shuyao.
Seeing this, Xie Ye said helplessly, "These foods, no... to be precise, all the food on this street was all made by my third aunt."
Everyone was stunned when they heard his words and burst into laughter immediately.
"Funny, really funny."
"There is so much food on this street. If one person created it, it would take until the year of the monkey to figure it out. Don't fool us."
[T/N: "it would take until the year of the monkey" basically means it would take forever.]
As they were talking, they suddenly stopped.
Jiang Shuyao walked out from behind the screen. Her eyes swept over them.
Recalling her craziness back then, all these stubborn students was shaken, and they shrank into the corner.
Xie Hao and Xie Ye didn't expect Jiang Shuyao to be here and heard their classmates talk about her. They greeted her, "Third aunt."
"How does it taste? Does it suit your preference?" Jiang Shuyao asked.
Everyone nodded awkwardly, "Okay, very good."
She was relieved, "That's good. It seems that there is no big problem with taste." Only when the common people and the nobles like it, the recipes can be considered qualified.
After she finished speaking, she turned and went downstairs. Just when she reached the top of the stairs, Xie Xun suddenly came up from downstairs.
The academy students just saw Jiang Shuyao and can't react for a while, but when they saw Xie Xun, they could immediately recognize that he was the third master of the Xie family who they had admired for many years.
Seeing Xie Xun's cold face, they sighed in their hearts. Hey, his eyes are a bit resentful... eh?
The cold-faced Xie Xun walked quickly to Jiang Shuyao. He lowered his head, and suddenly a cloud-like smile appeared on his face, "I came here because I heard that you are here. How is it today? Tired? Is there anything to improve?"
Jiang Shuyao shook her head, "It should be all good now."
Xie Xun helplessly, "I have told you, your cooking skills are superb. Why do you have to worry that it is not suitable for diners?"
"Why? But after we are improving the taste the first few times, everyone said it was better."
Although Xie Xun was afraid that she would be tired, he felt that she was shining all over when she looks for excellence and progress in cooking. His eyes became softer, and his tone was so gentle when he said, "I know you like to think about food, and you like cooking, but don't tire yourself."
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Jiang Shuyao nodded and stepped down the stairs.
Xie Xun hurriedly followed her while stretching out his arms to help, fearing that she would slip and fall.
The wind of summer night suddenly sounds so noisy.
Everyone from the academy felt the wind was chaotic, staring at the scene in front of them dumbfounded.
Are they blind? How could the third master of the Xie family treat Miss Jiang like this? What about the grudge? This is obviously a pair of loving and beautiful people.
Even more frightening is that Xie Ye and Xie Hao might lie, but Xie Xun will never lie.
So, the food they eat really made by Miss Jiang?
Xie Hao looked at each of them dumbfounded, with unbelievable expressions and flushed faces. He shook his head and exclaimed, "Aren't your faces so hot and painful? Hey, I felt the same way that day."
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[T/N, I can't find any English speaking video for the "Iced Rice", but it looks like this:
Iced rice is a traditional famous snack in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province. So it belongs to Fujian cuisine. The dish was born in the 1980s and originated in Fuzhou's Changle District. It evolved from Fuzhou's traditional shaved ice, and it is a summer dessert for people in Fuzhou.]
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