Ancient Foodie Survival Guide Chapter 85
Tled by Serena Love
Unedited
Chapter 85: Crab Roe Sauce
The group of people started off in a light carriage and only stopped intermittently until midday.
Today is the first day. Everyone did not eat dry food but ate meat as much as possible. They all carried meat pastries. After a while, when they reach the official road, they can only eat dry food if there is no resting post nearby.
Someone set up a pot to boil water, and Lin Cheng approached Xie Xun's side. Seeing Xie Xun take out a sandwich, he asked curiously, "Is this what your wife prepared for you?"
Xie Xun nodded.
Lin Cheng didn't speak anymore. He ordered two cups of hot tea and sat down next to Xie Xun again.
Lin Cheng took a bite of the pancake he brought. Although they were baked early in the morning, they were a bit dry. He picked up a tea cup, took a sip, looked on his side, and he saw Xie Xun opened the oil paper in his hand.
Lin Cheng looked at the food in his hand, which looked like steamed buns. The outer layer was white and soft, with green vegetables and crimson patties inside, which looked very strange.
He watched Xie Xun take a bite, and sure enough, the outer layer was soft and moist, not at all dry and hard like the pancake he has.
Is it a bun? But steamed buns will also dry out.
Xie Xun ate a few bites of sandwiches and felt Lin Cheng's gaze. As his gaze swept around, he felt itchy on his face. He said helplessly, "You eat. Why are you looking at me? Hurry up."
Lin Cheng nodded and nibbled the pancake and said vaguely, "I eat, I eat."
"Kacha" He took a bite of the cake and chewed vigorously, staring straight at the sandwich in Xie Xun's hand. His expression looked a bit hideous.
He ate one more bite, but this bite is even drier. It is very hard to chew, and even his eyebrows are being used to bite through it. His expression is even more hideous, as if he will come over to take a bite in the next second.
Xie Xun, whose scalp was numb when Lin Cheng is staring at him: ...Can anyone eat like this?
He looked around helplessly and surreptitiously opened his baggage. He took out a bamboo box inside and whispered, "There are some unfilled ones here. My wife said that as long as it is sealed, it will not dry out and can be preserved longer." He planned to save it later, but it can't be helped.
He unpacked the oil paper wrapping in the bamboo box, took out two pieces of toast, and handed them to Lin Cheng, "Don't let them see." It's not that he is stingy, but there are so many people. If one piece for one person, his box will be empty in one meal.
Lin Cheng nodded and sneaked into the bushes on the side of the road.
The toast is evenly sliced. Lin Cheng placed it on the tip of his nose, and there is a strong milk fragrance. The taste of baked goods has a sense of happiness. It is sweet and long-lasting, giving people an illusion of warmth.
Lin Cheng took a bite, and sure enough, the toast was soft, the inner layer was moist with a milky fragrance, and it was not dry at all. There was no need to force swallow it with tea. He chewed slowly and felt the milky and wheat fragrance on the tip of his tongue. The scent was haunting. After swallowing, there is still that fragrant and sweet aftertaste in his mouth.
Lin Cheng ate secretly. After eating, he squatted in the grass for a while. He was waiting for the sweet smell in his mouth to dissipate, for fear that he would be caught when talking to people, and the secret food Xie Xun gave him must be shared with everyone.
Brothers, I'm sorry. We share the blessing and the difficulties, except for food.
He squatted behind the grass, and someone was passing by. He felt strange and shouted, "Lin Cheng, what are you doing? Squatting in the grass for so long?"
Someone dragged the caller away, "Stop talking. He must be doing his business. How embarrassing that you have to shout."
Lin Cheng: ...
Just rushing all the way, on the third day, the toast was completely eaten. Xie Xun's stock only had a few tubes of sauce left.
Everyone hurried for three days and decided to rest at the inn for a good night's sleep. In the inn, there was no need to gnaw dry buns. After a group of people took a bath in the inn, they let the inn serve a few good dishes to prepare for a big meal.
Although everyone is from extraordinary backgrounds, they are not picky people. After eating dry food for three days and then eating warm meals, they feel everything was extremely delicious.
However, the chefs at the inn have limited skills and can't stir-fry. Their cooking method is mainly boiled, and they made some boiled meat and stews. After everyone's hunger is gone, they gradually feel that the food was not really delicious.
Xie Xun struggled a bit, but he took out the sauce and asked the cook for a bowl of plain noodles without salt.
Everyone was still eating stew with steamed buns. Hearing what he said, it was inevitable that they were curious. They all turned their eyes to Xie Xun.
Soon the plain noodles were brought up. Xie Xun opened a bamboo tube containing the crab paste and picked out a spoonful with his chopsticks.
To be honest, everyone was a little disappointed when they saw him took out a small bamboo tube. After all, they had seen Xie Xun brought a different kind of food box every day, went to his house to freeload the hot pot, and went to the street food market to eat the food clean. However, now Xie Xun only took out a small bamboo tube.
When they were thinking about it, they saw Xie Xun using his chopsticks to pick up a large piece of yellow-orange and oily crab roe sauce.
The crab roe sauce is delicate, and regardless of the full orange color, it seems that there is no meat in it. When he put it on the noodles, the crab oil soaked into the noodles. The white and light plain surface is dyed with a light yellow color.
The main ingredient of the crab roe sauce is a fresh crab. When it is mixed with the hot noodles just out of the pot, the rich flavor of crab roe suddenly rushes to their faces—mixed with the rich and mellow aroma, which is very attractive.
The noodles are covered with delicate crab paste. As soon as he tasted it, the rich crab aroma immediately dyes his lips and cheeks. Because it is only mixed with plain noodles, the plump crab essence was not tainted. It is soft and silky. The more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes. You can't bear to swallow it.
Just showing the appearance can make people salivate, and the colleagues sitting next to Xie Xun suddenly felt that the meat in their hands was not delicious.
Usually, when he eats lunch, everyone is embarrassed to ask for a bite. Now that the food is not good, and Xie Xun only brought a small tube of sauce made by his wife, they are even more embarrassed to ask him to give a spoonful.
Everyone stared at Xie Xun's noodle bowl, chewing the stew with a fishy taste in their mouth, watching him stir the noodles, watching the noodle enter his mouth, watching him chewing...
Xie Xun couldn't stand it anymore. When he looked up, everyone looked away.
He doesn't know how to cook, but thinking about Jiang Shuyao's instructions, the sauces could be used over rice or noodles, and it should be okay to dress up a dish.
He thought for a moment, took out the mushroom sauce, and said, "My wife said that this sauce tastes the saltiest. If you don't mind, I can try to mix it with this plate of stew?"
Everyone didn't understand the magic of over-rice sauce, but they had extraordinary trust in Jiang Shuyao's craftsmanship. They nodded quickly.
Xie Xun used chopsticks to pick out a few large chopsticks of mushroom paste. He stirred it a little and mixed it thoroughly with the stew. The soup also had a thick texture. After he put the mushroom paste in and mix it, and the thick soup was immediately stained with reddish-brown color. After he stirred, the original faint stew suddenly has a new salty and fresh flavor.
As soon as Xie Xun retracted his hand, a pair of chopsticks, which couldn't wait anymore, reached out over the stew. It squeezed a piece of meat vigorously and took it away.
The stew is soft and melted in the mouth. The mushroom sauce's strong umami flavor removes the meat's fishy smell, leaving only the meat flavor. The chopped mushrooms have a clear taste and are very tough. They are mixed with the stew and are full of saltiness. Fresh mushroom pieces are stained with a meaty taste. The more you chew, the more enjoyable they become.
The meal suddenly becomes delicious all at once. Let alone mixed with meat, the sauce mixed with vegetables, noodles, rice, even if it is dipped with steamed buns, it is all delicious.
It turns out that there is no need for any exquisite ingredients. You just need a tube of sauce.
Xie Xun looked at a group of people who looked like withered eggplants in the past few days. He did not have any selfish thoughts. They ate vegetables every day, took a tube of sauce, and scooped a few spoonfuls to dress it up. Everyone stopped eating rice or noodles and asked for steamed buns directly. Steamed buns dipped in sauce are a perfect match.
When they arrived at the destination, everyone had eaten Xie Xun's sauce all the way. Although it was quite inappropriate, they couldn't help their tongue and couldn't control it.
The embezzlement case of the river embankment is very serious. The emperor sent the crown prince to train him. The local officials wanted to please the prince, but they were afraid that he would not like it. After all, the common people would see what they do when they patrol the river embankment. The more difficult their situation look like, the more it reflected their worries for the people. Even if they deliberately look dirty and tired, they have to show the emperor's worried heart.
The local officials greeted the prince from a distance and saw the prince and his group, but they were not looked as tired as they thought. They heard that when Prince Wu rushed to visit the locust plague area, he can't eat or swallowed anything. In just a month, everyone lost weight. Isn't it just for a show?
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But when the crown prince is here, it looks like they served delicious food and drink along the way like normal. So it seems that they don't have to pay attention to those things anymore.
However, the prince was not as exquisite as they thought. He did things harder than they did. When inspecting the embankment, the group of people held their trousers, and their feet were full of mud. They didn't mind it at all and were busy taking care of business.
Young people can survive working like this, but old people can't. They thought they could rest when the prince came, but they didn't expect to be more tired.
The people who repaired the river embankment saw the crown prince and his officials fulfilling their duties energetically and even followed them at night to guard the river embankment. They were very moved and even more motivated. Everyone made concerted efforts to strengthen the long river embankment little by little, and the progress was unexpectedly fast.
The old fritters officials who wanted to be lazy and perfunctory could only suffer with the prince and his party. Everyday physical exhaustion was enough, and they could only eat steamed buns. After a few days, they were so hungry that their feet were weak and wobbly.
[T/N: "Old fritters" is a mildly disrespectful term for people who are slick and cunning. The logic is an old or stale fritters is more greasy than the freshly cooked one.]
On the contrary, the officials on the Prince's side are still full of energy. Although there is dirt on their bodies, there is no sign that they would let go.
When they arrived at the restaurant at midday, the local officials looked at the big bamboo cage full of steamed buns again, their eyes rolled over, and it almost took their breath away.
However, the prince and his party had no complaints. They lined up obediently to clean their hands, and one by one, they took two big buns and left happily.
Xie Xun took out the bamboo tube and said solemnly, "There is not much left."
The crown prince said, "At this point, everyone should save a little bit. Whoever does the most things today can eat an extra spoonful."
The others nodded and looked serious.
"Reduce the amount. We still have a long way back."
"Yes, don't be greedy."
The common people looked from a distance and saw that these nobles were all dirty, eating white steamed buns in their hands and seriously discussing something. At first glance, they were worried about the disrepair state of the river bank. When the crown prince first arrived, the people hated corrupt officials. Even if they weren't greedy, no officials regarded common people as human beings. Everyone made trouble and yelled various things. But now they see His Royal Highness and the future members of the court. They learned that people are not the same. Not all officials have no conscience.
They remembered that the river embankment was broken by the flood last night. The people who were strengthening the river embankment looked like they were about to be washed away. However, two nobles with martial arts rushed to rescue them quickly. The people felt that if they are the member of the court in the future, they have hope for a wonderful day.
The crown prince and his group do not know the thoughts of the people.
As the highest-ranking person, the crown prince assumed the responsibility of dividing the sauce.
"Yesterday, Bo Yuan and Lin Cheng rescued five people. They deserved to get two spoons of crab roe sauce. Does any official have objections?"
"No," everyone replied in unison.
Lin Cheng twisted his wrist yesterday, but his action of stretching his steamed buns did not stop at all, "Yes."
A spoonful of plump yellow-orange crab roe sauce was applied on the big white steamed bun, and Lin Cheng couldn't wait to put it in his mouth. The delicious-to-the-extreme crab scent gave him a satisfied look. It was so fresh and fragrant that he couldn't bear to chew it. It was wonderful when the crab paste was slowly dissolved in his mouth.
The local officials who were sneaking at the back looked at Lin Cheng's expression and looked at the buns in their hands.
Are you serious? The Lin family is wealthy, and these East Palace bureaucrats are the future emperor's close ministers. What delicious food hasn't been eaten before? You actually show that look when you are eating a steamed bun? That is a steamed bun, right?
After the prince divided the sauce, the group of people formed a big circle, gnawing on the buns.
Suddenly, the unexpected happened. An assassin from nowhere came over to thank them, pretending to be the common people. When he knocked his head to the ground, he suddenly took out a sword from his cuff and stabbed towards the prince. The guards were standing a little farther away and did not have time to rush over. The first responder was the officials of the East Palace surrounding the prince.
These people were all noble sons who had been trained since childhood. They responded quickly and turned around to deal with the assassins.
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They did not carry any heavy weapons, which led to a disadvantage. Fortunately, someone has a sword. The situation was reversed, and the assassins fell one after another.
A martial artist rushed forward, and his partner, who had never practiced martial arts since childhood, stood with the prince. When the other assassins were about to be dealt with, a sword suddenly stabbed from behind. The weaker companion was surprised. After he caught his breath, he saw that the sword was pointed directly at the crown prince.
When he was shocked, he subconsciously threw what was in his hand.
He saw the tube of minced meat sauce made a beautiful arc in the air, and the spicy oil sprayed everywhere, gradually squirting the assassin's face unceremoniously.
The pain of spicy oil in the eyes was like plucking the eyes. The assassin cried out in pain, instinctively covered his eyes, bent down, and kept wailing.
Xie Xun and the others rushed to subdue the assassin.
The weaker companion yelled, "It's over!"
Everyone followed his gaze. The empty bamboo tube fell pitifully on the ground, and the minced meat sauce was completely spilled in the ground.
Everyone was shocked.
"We have to rely on this sauce for half a month! How could you lose it!"
"Which one was lost! Is it the crab roe sauce?"
"Let me see. No, not the crab roe sauce."
"What's the matter with you! How come you lose the sauce? Didn't you hold it properly when it was handed over to you?"
The person who threw the sauce tube: "Uuuuu."
The assassin was stepped on his back, and his eyes were stinging and painful. When he heard the conversation which didn't put him in their eyes, he felt myocardial infraction: Can you give an assassin the necessary respect? This is a daunting and dangerous profession!
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