ATPnovel Chapter 49 Chive Boxes! Ahhhhh! My Chive Boxes!!
Chapter 49 Chive Boxes! Ahhhhh! My Chive Boxes!!
Chapter 49 Chive Boxes! Ahhhhh! My Chive Boxes!!
Su Mu's shouts came from the courtyard again.
"Grandpa! Three more are ready in this pot! Golden brown on both sides, thin crust and generous filling! Would you like another one?"
Upon hearing this, Li Yuan's impatience vanished instantly, replaced by a wide, beaming smile.
"Come on! Why aren't you coming!"
Li Yuan sprang up from the recliner, his movements so nimble that he didn't seem like a sixty-year-old man.
He turned and peeked through the crack in the door, shouting inside, "Add more vinegar! This old man loves spicy and sour flavors! Leave some for me, don't let those two girls steal it all!"
"Alright! I'll bring it out for you right away!"
Li Shimin's eyes lit up.
Send it out?
As soon as the door opens, I can take advantage of the situation—
However, the door did not open.
A hand emerged from the crack in the door, holding an oil paper package.
The oil paper package was steaming hot, and you could vaguely see a large, crescent-shaped dumpling inside, with golden tiger-skin patterns on the surface and pretty lace trim on the edges.
Li Yuan reached out and took it, the movement so practiced it was like a secret code.
"Erlang."
Li Yuan held the scalding hot leek pancake under his nose, took a deep breath, and said with a look of ecstasy, "You usually overwork yourself and have a lot of liver fire. Eating this will easily make you feel hot."
Li Shimin stared intently at the box.
Tiny oil bubbles were still bubbling up on the golden-yellow surface.
"Your subject—is not afraid of getting a sore throat."
Li Shimin's throat was dry.
"I'm scared."
Li Yuan took a big bite.
Click!
The golden, flaky crust burst open, revealing vibrant green chives and golden egg bits inside. An intense, irresistible aroma exploded in the air!
Li Yuan chewed with grease dripping from his mouth, mumbling a lecture as he ate: "As a son, one should understand the good intentions of one's elders. I am doing this for your health. Only an old man like me can stomach such coarse food."
You'd better go back now, stop smelling the aroma, it'll only make you hungrier.
Li Shimin hardened his fist.
The hands under the sleeves were clenched so tightly that the knuckles turned white.
Is this coarse food?
Then why are you eating so heartily?
And smacking his lips!
"Father, you—you really won't leave me a single bite?" Li Shimin's voice was tinged with grievance, even grief and indignation.
He's the emperor!
He owns the whole world, so why can't he eat this leek pancake?
Li Yuan stuffed the remaining half into his mouth in a few bites, patted the dough crumbs off his hands, lay back in his chair, closed his eyes, and began to hum.
"That's all. I didn't make much dough today, just this much. Hurry up and leave, you're blocking my sun."
Li Shimin stood there, looking at his father who was enjoying himself, and listening to the sounds of laughter and chewing coming from the courtyard.
"Sister! You have so many testicles! I want to trade with you!"
"No way! You've almost finished yours!"
"Su Mu! Is this aged vinegar? It's flavorful!"
He stood alone against the wall, hungry and under the scorching sun, only to be turned away by his own father with the excuse of getting his foot cut.
"well!"
Li Shimin was so angry that his chest felt tight.
"Since this is your instruction, Father, I—I take my leave!"
He abruptly flicked his sleeve, turned around, and left.
After taking a couple of steps, he was so angry that he turned around and kicked the gray wall of the imperial kitchen hard.
Bang!
A layer of dust fell from the wall.
My toes are sore.
Li Shimin's mouth twitched in pain, but he still had to maintain his imperial dignity, enduring the pain without crying out, and limped back.
Wang Dequan, who was huddled in the corner, was so frightened by the sight of His Majesty that he dared not even breathe and quickly went to help him up.
"His Majesty----"
"Don't help me up!" Li Shimin flung him away, his face ashen. "Back to the palace!"
We remained silent the entire way; the atmosphere was eerily tense.
Back in the Liangyi Hall, Li Shimin plopped down behind his desk, his stomach rumbling loudly again.
The smell of chive boxes still seemed to linger in my nostrils, refusing to dissipate.
That crispy texture, that bursting with juicy flavor—even though I haven't tasted it yet, I've already imagined it a million times in my mind.
The more I think about it, the hungrier I get.
The hungrier I get, the angrier I become.
"Wang Dequan!" Li Shimin slammed his hand on the table.
"This old servant is here!"
"Go! Summon those useless bastards from the Imperial Kitchen!" Li Shimin's eyes flashed with a fierce light. "Tell them I want to eat that... chive pancake!"
"Whether they steam or boil it, they have to make it for me! It has to have chives! It has to have eggs! It has to have dried shrimp! And most importantly—"
Li Shimin gritted his teeth as he recalled that voice.
"It needs to be crispy! It needs to be crunchy! It needs to make a satisfying crunch with every bite!"
"If they can't make them, I'll stuff them all into the stove and burn them as firewood!"
Wang Dequan shuddered and scrambled out of the room.
Shangshi Bureau.
Liu Fengyu had just poured the returned bowl of mutton soup into the swill bucket and hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath when Wang Dequan rushed in in a flurry.
"Father-in-law, what is this again—"
"Something terrible has happened!" Wang Dequan wiped the cold sweat from his brow. "His Majesty wants to eat leek dumplings."
"Chives—chive dumplings?"
Liu Fengyu looked completely bewildered. "What's that? A box for holding chives?"
"Don't pretend you're so clever!"
Wang Dequan stamped his feet in frustration, "It has to be made of dough! It has to have chives, eggs, and dried shrimp! It has to be crispy! It has to make a crunchy sound! His Majesty said that if you can't make it, he'll throw you all into the stove pit!"
Liu Fengyu's vision went black, and he almost fainted.
Chives are considered a "heating" food, with a pungent smell, and have always been avoided in the palace.
Want it to be crispy too?
In the Tang Dynasty, the noodles were either soup noodles or steamed noodles. Where did the crispiness come from?
"What a tragedy!"
Looking at the basket of freshly delivered chives, Liu Fengyu was on the verge of tears. "Who on earth is giving us this problem?!"
The fire in the Imperial Kitchen burned bright red, turning half the sky orange.
Liu Fengyu gripped the rolling pin in his hand, and beads of sweat dripped down his forehead like a broken string of pearls.
"Listen up, all of you!"
Liu Fengyu's voice was hoarse from the stress. "His Majesty said it has to be crispy! It has to be crunchy! It has to have chives and eggs! And it has to be in a box! If we can't make it, this isn't the Imperial Kitchen, it's the outpost of the King of Hell!"
The imperial chefs looked at each other, their knives trembling.
"Lord Hou-yu, what is the meaning of this box?"
An elderly imperial chef in charge of pastry preparations frowned. "Are we supposed to fold dough into neat, square boxes?"
"Nonsense! His Majesty's word is law—it's a box, so it has to be a box!"
Liu Fengyu glared at him. "Round ones are called cakes, flat ones are called flats, only those with edges and corners deserve to be called boxes!"
Everyone suddenly realized what was happening, and then fell into a new round of despair.
Transforming limp dough into a angular, crispy box? That's harder than getting a rooster to lay an egg.
"Use a mold!"
Liu Fengyu gritted his teeth, he was going all out, "Bring me the rosewood mold used for making tribute pastries! The one with the square knot pattern! Roll the dough out thinner, brush on plenty of oil, and slowly bake it over low heat! Once all the moisture is dried out, won't it be crispy?"
'
For a time, the Imperial Kitchen was bustling with activity, chopping chives and beating eggs.
Although these imperial chefs had never seen Su Mu's bold and sweeping deep-frying method, they were, after all, top-notch craftsmen who served the royal family.
The cooking time was controlled very well.
The dough was rolled until translucent, the chives were chopped as fine as hair, and the eggs were scrambled until tender and yellow.
Fill with filling, put into the mold, and press firmly.
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