Ancient Foodie Survival Guide Chapter 90
Tled by Serena Love
Unedited
Chapter 90: Mala Mix
Lian Liu and his brothers stood aggressively at the street food market entrance as if they were facing an enemy.
His arm was injured, and a white cloth was hanging on his neck, which did not match his heroic appearance. He stood there seriously, which looked a little funny.
"This is it?" A lieutenant glanced suspiciously.
Lian Liu nodded. Although he was puzzled, he tried his best to show disdain, "This is what that surname Lin told us. Huh, I wondered what kind of restaurant it would be?" He glanced across the street and saw very simple-looking shops on both sides of the road, "Our town's restaurants are much fancier than this place."
"Yes."
Lian Liu's injuries are not serious, but the emperor specifically told him to recover his injuries in the capital before returning to his post. The Lian family has a house in Beijing. It is reasonable to say that Lian Liu should stay behind the closed door to recuperate, but he didn't want to suffocate inside the house. He was agitated by Lin Cheng, so he ran to the street food market to see what Lin Cheng was so proud of.
The people who come and go to the market are all common people, and everyone is very relaxed. A few diners saw them, straightened their back, and had a nervous look.
Their skin color is the wheaten color that has been exposed to the sun all year round, and their faces are cold. Lian Liu and his men are not ordinary people at first glance. The diners subconsciously give way to them.
The soldiers following Lian Liu saw that the people were watching them, and they were a little worried, "General, why do they look at us like this?"
Lian Liu also gradually stiffened, "It won't be that you come in and have to pay first, right?" He smelled the glorious scent of food in the air and became more guilty, "No, they are not corrupt people, are they? Maybe they are uneasy and unkind and must be thinking of ways to cheat me."
What he said entered the ears of the diners next to him, who looked at him strangely. This man looks like a decent person. How can he say such bad words?
"This sir's remark is wrong. If you go around Beijing, you could find out about this street market. It is famous for its high quality and low price."
Lian Liu tried to make himself look less like a hillbilly and nodded pretendingly, "Ah, I just talked casually."
He quickly led his lieutenants to the street food market, and he was relieved after shaking off the man who talked to him just now.
Once they entered the street food market, there were more diners inside, and the aroma of the food also became richer and richer. Lian Liu and his men swallowed at the same time.
They look at each other, and in the end, Lian Liu made a decision. He raised his hand and pointed to the shop in front of him, "This one."
At this time, there are not many customers in the store, so there are still empty tables. Lian Liu and his party chose a table to sit down. As soon as they sit down, a waiter came over with a charcoal stick and paper.
"What do these guest officers want?"
Lian Liu learned the appearance of a noble son from the capital before. He pretended to say in a very skilled tone, "Do you have any signature dishes?"
The waiter was flabbergasted, "Guest, we sell Mala mix here. For the signature dishes, it depends on ingredients you add." He handed the menu to Lian Liu, "You can add meatballs, crab sticks, etc., and you can also add noodles."
Lian Liu looked at the menu. He didn't like reading since he was a child, and he barely knows how to read characters. Finally, he managed to read all the words on the menu, but when they are combined together, he didn't understand what they were.
[T/N: This is about the way Chinese are written, one word means a certain thing, but it means differently when combined with other words. For example, 猪下水 (Pinyin, Zhū xiàshuǐ) each word separately means Pig (猪), In (下), Water (水). However, these three words together mean "Pork Offal." If you took out the word "pig" (only 下水), it means "Launch."]
"What is the spicy sauce?" he whispered.
"I don't know."
Because he was afraid of looking ignorant, Lian Liu had to point to the menu and ordered a few randomly and said, "Well, that's it."
The waiter took notes and asked, "Four bowls?"
"Correct."
"What kind of flavor? We have slightly spicy; spicy; sour and spicy; sweet and spicy; sour, sweet and spicy..."
Lian Liu didn't recognize the word "spicy" and pointed one at random again.
The waiter nodded, then stepped back and got the order.
In a short while, four bowls of steaming hot and spicy mix were placed on the table.
These people's expressions are even more rigid than when they could not read the menu, "What is this?"
Mala Mix or Spicy Mix is a bit similar to Mala Tang. It contains various ingredients, except that the Mala Mix has no soup, and the main seasoning is sesame sauce. According to the diners' choice, you can choose from sweet, sour, and spicy flavors. It contains meat, vegetables, and noodles. The ingredients are rich, the colors are colorful, the mellow and thick sesame sauce is evenly wrapping the ingredients. It looked bright with some red oil, and the taste is thicker than Mala Tang.
Such a big bowl of mishmash, it looked novel, also smelled novel. Lian Liu and his men can't help but worry about whether it would be too expensive.
After the waiter left, they hesitated to move their chopsticks.
As they stirred in the spicy mix, the thick sesame paste brings out a fragrant and spicy aroma. With the sweet and sour taste rushing to the face, it is really a big deal.
The thing about using many ingredients in one dish is, each ingredient absorbed the juice from other ingredients, and the taste is stronger. Also, it added a layer of colors to make the appearance better. For example, a piece of dark green kelp wrapped in bright sesame paste dotted with sesame seeds and shimmers slightly with red oil. It looks very attractive.
Lian Liu grew up in Northland. He has not eaten seafood in his life, let alone kelp. The kelp's skin is slightly crispy and slippery, and the texture is very solid. It has the taste of the sea, but the slightly weird fishy smell is suppressed by the spicy and sweet taste, leaving only a strong umami.
He picked up another vegetable, which can absorb the soup better than kelp. The vegetable leaves are soaked in the flavor, and it is heavy. His first bite is full of the taste of sesame sauce, chewy and crispy, but the sesame sauce is delicate but domineering. The mellow fragrance fills his lips and cheeks everywhere. The tip of his tongue feels slightly numb and spicy, but because of the sweetness and sourness that improved the flavor, he subconsciously ignore the stimulation brought by the spicy taste. Only addiction is left. Until the end, he can taste the freshness of the vegetables in the aftertaste.
Lian Liu was completely stunned. This... When I came in just now, some diners said it was "good quality and low price." It must be the scheme from that surname Lin. How could such delicious food be cheap?
But he immediately put aside his idea, tasting is the most important thing.
Fishballs are springy, full of umami flavor; meat intestines are crispy, soft and waxy inside, and the noodles are the soul. It is filled with a delicate taste and meat flavor; wide and chewy; tender and smooth. It is full of sauce, bouncing on the teeth and on the tip of the tongue, and chewing is very addictive.
They ate the large bowl of dishes slowly, and most of it was consumed when they were busy tasting. The remaining sesame sauce and noodles at the bottom of the bowl wrapped together and made it thicker.
At this moment, the noodles have soaked soft, full of the sauce, and a bit soggy. When stirred with chopsticks, it will make a sticky sound. They picked a large chopsticks of noodles, which wraps all the thick sesame sauce remaining on the bottom of the bowl.
At this time, they have to open their mouth wide, stuff it into their mouth, and chew slowly with a puffed cheeks. This resulted in the strongest sesame sauce flavor, as if it is not noodles but pure sauce. With every bite, they can feel the mellow aroma reverberating in the mouth. The soft noodles are easy to chew, but they are not too soft. Together with the sesame sauce, they felt a very satisfying sense of happiness.
Lian Liu and his party ate the noodles at the bottom of the bowl clean and still wipe their chopsticks around the bottom of the bowl to ensure that every bite of the sesame sauce was taken.
When they finished eating, they looked up with great contentment and saw a lady standing in front of them, looking at them weirdly.
Her brows and eyes were heroic, and she was neatly dressed. Her figure was upright and confident, unlike those beautiful ladies in the capital.
Lian Liu has enjoyed eating, but his worry has not been let go. He fears that the shopkeeper will come to squander his money.
He swallowed, trying to act not like a hillbilly entering the city, "Well, treasurer, please checkout."
The lady heard him speak, and her brows frowned slightly, "You don't look like a person from Beijing, listening to your accent."
Lian Liu was immediately unhappy. Is his accent that heavy?
"What's wrong? I, we also have a lot of delicious food there, for example, for example, uh... what, lamb soup is delicious, and roasted wild boar..."
The lady interrupted him, "Are you from the North?"
He was a little surprised, "Can you still hear it?"
The lady smiled and said, "Yes, because I am also from the North." At this point, she looked down slightly. Half nostalgic, half lonely, "What sort of delicious thing lamb soup and roasted wild boar are."
Lian Liu didn't want to listen to her, but he didn't dare to brag in front of this lady.
Zhou-shi raised her head and saw them with dark skin and bright eyes, and felt nostalgia for Mobei, "Have you been on the battlefield?"
Lian Liu felt proud and replied subconsciously, "Yes."
There was a friendly smile on Zhou-shi's face. Who knows what she was thinking, but her eyes looked at them with a hint of relief, "Waiter, give these little brothers some more bowls of spicy mix and some rice rolls from next door. Let's also get a handful of pancakes or something and put it on my account."
Lian Liu was confused and didn't understand what was going on. Zhou-shi was already about to leave. Halfway through, she turned her head and pointed to Lian Liu, "He is injured and can't eat spicy food."
After the waiter went downstairs, Lian Liu reacted and hurriedly stopped Zhou-shi, "Eh, this lady, what do you mean to charge it to your account?"
Zhou-shi turned her head and smiled indifferently, "It's rare to see young people from the North. Please let me treat you a meal." She added, "You won't be able to eat these when you return to the North." As soon as she exited, Lian Liu was taken aback.
Despite Lian Liu's shouts behind her, she went downstairs neatly.
Out of the shop, Zhou-shi stood quietly on the side of the street, watching the people coming and going in the street food market. The diners all smiled, happy and contented. There are businessmen who come here after a busy day to treat themselves with food, there are old gluttons who specialize in soothing gluttons, and some husband who takes their family to play and greet... Their figures gradually overlapped with the figures of the people in Mobei, who had been blurred in her memory.
She trembled in her heart, and there was a strange noise in her heart. She looked towards the North and whispered softly, "Back in the north..."
*
Although Xie Xun's fever has retreated, the stab wound on his chest was not healed. After a dose of decoction, he fell asleep deeply, and his injury gradually improved.
Jiang Shuyao entrusted all the business affairs to Zhou-shi, and didn't think about food anymore. She kept looking after Xie Xun's wounds every day.
Xie Xun felt very uncomfortable with this and persuaded her, "I just had a small injury. It is not a major problem. You don't have to trouble yourself."
Jiang Shuyao shook her head, "No. I worry about you. I'd better stay."
Xie Xun instinctively wanted to say something polite but quickly restrained himself with reason. He bit his lip, not letting himself speak.
Although it sounds hateful, he wanted Jiang Shuyao to stay with him more.
Jiang Shuyao saw him biting his lower lip and thinking that his wound was painful. She asked nervously, "What's wrong? Is it uncomfortable?"
As she spoke, she was about to lean over. Xie Xun thought that he had been lying in bed for a day, feeling bored and sweating. He hadn't cleaned himself. He was afraid that he had a smell, so he quickly avoided her, "Don't come over!"
Jiang Shuyao knew that this is his cleanliness problem. She usually calls a young servant to come in and help him wipe his body several times before, but today she decided not to get used to this.
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"You're just lying on the bed. How can you wash up twice a day? You could catch a cold or damage the wound. It is not worth it."
Xie Xun loves cleanliness, but his biggest reason to keep clean at this time is not because he is uncomfortable, but because Jiang Shuyao is by his side. He must be clean and tidy.
It's just that this thought can't be explained. He raised his eyes to look at Jiang Shuyao and quickly moved away.
Jiang Shuyao didn't pay attention to his small movements and sat down on the side of the bed, "Just bear it. I will call someone before you go to bed at night to wipe your body, and now drink the medicine first."
Xie Xun curled his lips unwillingly, trying to refute, but was afraid to make Jiang Shuyao unhappy.
Seeing that Jiang Shuyao was about to lean over to feed him the medicine, his awkward and careful thinking sprung up again. He quickly raised his hand and said, "I'll do it myself."
He raised his hand too violently this time. He moved his wound, his hand which was about to touch Jiang Shuyao's wrist crooked, and the medicine bowl was suddenly overturned.
The hot soup spilled on his chest, causing him to groan.
"What's the matter with you!" Seeing this, Jiang Shuyao didn't care about other things and quickly leaned over to check the bandage on his chest.
He was injured on his chest, and his robes were only loosely tied. After pulling off the collar, the bandage inside was exposed.
At this time, the white cloth had been stained with the brown soup, and Jiang Shuyao was so scared that she quickly asked, "Is it hot?"
She was so close, and Xie Xun didn't dare to breathe anymore, so no answer was possible.
Jiang Shuyao saw that he stopped talking and quickly took the scissors to cut the dressing open. The wound could become pus if it got wet.
Xie Xun held her down, "Don't move."
Across the clothes, her palms felt warm and soft, and Xie Xun dared not move anymore.
She was very careful when she cut the cloth, but because she was afraid of hurting Xie Xun, she got very close, so close that Xie Xun could feel her breath from her nose.
When she lowered her eyes, her eyelashes trembled, and she was very focused.
Xie Xun peeped at her silently, and heat climbed from his neck to the base of his ears. His face gradually turned red, and even his eyes were moistened and brighter by the heat.
However, she moved too carefully. She cut the bandage, glanced at it, and touched it, fearing that one mistake would accidentally hurt his wound.
This was extremely tormenting for Xie Xun. He wanted her to hurry up but didn't want her to leave.
He gradually wandered. If he had known this would happen, he would have someone come in to help him wipe his body and comb his hair while she was out decocting his medicine.
At this moment, Jiang Shuyao began to cut the inner layer.
Her fingers hooked the edge of the cloth, and her fingertips slid across his skin, making Xie Xun stiff with a slightly numbing itchiness.
Jiang Shuyao felt his tightness, and the anger from Xie Xun overturned the decoction by making troubles had disappeared. She softened her tone and asked, "Is it painful?"
When she raised her head, her gaze fell into Xie Xun's eyes.
She lowered her eyes to look at him. The tails of his eyes were slightly pointed. The arcs were beautiful. The eyelashes blocked his clear eyes, which were wet and shiny. He looked a bit wronged.
Jiang Shuyao was hit by his beauty, raised her chin, and kissed him. She coaxed, "Sorry, if I offended you."
Xie Xun was initially confused. He said nothing and did nothing but was kissed by her again. He suddenly became even more dizzy. His mind was numb, and he didn't know what happened.
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Jiang Shuyao babblingly explained, "The imperial doctor also said, telling you to heal your wounds, don't move around. You will move the wound if you wipe your body twice a day. How long will it take to heal if you toss around?" She finished cutting the bandage again, then gently pulled the cloth and removed the white cloth strips surrounding him.
Because she didn't dare to let Xie Xun move, she could only step over Xie Xun into the bed to get the cloth strips behind him diagonally. Unexpectedly, Xie Xun bent his leg. She didn't pay attention, was suddenly tripped, and fell on the blanket.
She hurriedly got up, "Did I press your wound?" She didn't finish her words, felt around, and was furious, "Who is so careless, putting a dagger on the bed--" When she said this, she reached out and touched... something.
"Hmm." Xie Xun, who had bent his legs as a cover, let out a painful grunt, and Jiang Shuyao stopped immediately with fright.
She was in a panic and didn't react, but now seeing Xie Xun's face flushed and embarrassed, there is nothing she didn't understand. She quickly continued her action of taking off the bandage and slipped away embarrassingly, "I call someone to come in and help you change the dressing."
As soon as she left, Xie Xun wailed and fell into the bed. He held his wound and gritted his teeth in pain.
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