Chang’an Small Restaurant Chapter 33 (Part 2)
Translated by Pure (ko-fi)
Chapter 33.2 The Evil of Hot Pot
Perhaps winter and hot pot were a perfect match, or perhaps the tastes of the people had been consistent for thousands of years, but all in all, the popularity of hot pot exceeded everyone’s expectations. It was so popular that late arriving diners often couldn’t eat it because there were no more hot pot cookers available, thus Shen Shaoguang hurried to have another batch of pots commissioned.
When she went to order the pot cooker, the craftsman told Shen Shaoguang, "In the past few days, someone came to have something similar commissioned."
Competitors? Shen Shaoguang smiled and asked, "How many did they order?"
The craftsman replied, "Five. From their appearance, they seemed to be servants of an aristocratic family."
Shen Shaoguang understood. Most likely a diner of hers found the product to be quite good, so they also wanted to have one to be eaten at home. Truly a rich one, knowing the expensive price, they actually ordered five on the first sitting.
The existence of copyright had yet to be recognized in this era. Moreover, hot pot was not her original creation, nor did she want to monopolize it, so Shen Shaoguang smiled and said, "You can make it for them."
The craftsman didn't refuse the other’s request, but he was aware that this miss was the owner of a tavern. This unique tableware had been created by her, and now it had been imitated by others; fearing that she would later obstruct, he gave her a forewarning to pacify her. Hearing her generous approval, the craftsman laughed, "Miss, you are magnanimously so."
Shen Shaoguang generously accepted the ‘good person’ label.
In fact, this copper blacksmith was not the only artisan that received a commission for hot pot cookers, but other copper blacksmith shops in the West City were also requested. People bought similar looking sketches, but what most were unaware of was that the size, height, stove chamber’s thickness, et cetera of the hot pot cooker had been slowly developed through careful trial and error. Although it looked like a simple gadget, if the details were not fully grasped, it would either not catch fire, or the fire would be easily smothered by the pot.
As for the diners who were lucky enough to obtain a suitable pot, they soon found out that the hot pot they ate at home was never as delicious as the ones served at Shen Indelible Tavern.
But of course! The pot was just the first step, okay? The soup base, seasonings, and the certain cuts of meat and sides were all particularly chosen...
Their tavern was always looking to develop innovative products! Shen Shaoguang continued to push out the old and bring in the new, striving to be the one that was always imitated but never surpassed.
Hearing Shen Shaoguang's famous modern quote, A’Yuan nodded with all her strength. Her Miss was truly omniscient. She was beautiful and kind-hearted, literate and astute; she cooked delicious food, was talented in painting, and even her words always made a lot of sense.
A’Chang shared a similar expression as he also nodded with a cheerful smile. Looking at the two, Shen Shaoguang suddenly remembered the videos of animals eating fruits side by side[1]...
Shen Shaoguang explained to the two, somewhat embarrassingly, "I didn't come up with this sentence, it was quoted from a book."
A’Yuan's eloquence has improved a lot now, "That's because our Miss is erudite."
The one who nodded vigorously was now A’Chang.
Yu San turned around and walked back to the kitchen with an impatient expression.
What else could Shen Shaoguang say? She could only be gratified of A’Yuan's increase in vocabulary had become larger. Erudite... so be it.
A’Chang was a new servant Shen Shaoguang had purchased the day before yesterday. Seventeen years old, short in stature, with a round head and round face. If he wasn’t so thin, he would have looked related to A’Yuan. A’Chang used to be a servant of a merchant, but when the merchant married a new wife, she sold off all the previous servants and maids. This included A’Chang, the servant who was in charge of gatekeeping and yard sweeping.
Shen Shaoguang dictated A’Chang to help in the kitchen, his new job was to help maintain the fire, chop vegetables, and wash dishes.
A’Chang was elated to learn of his new duty. "It's nearly impossible to get assigned to the kitchen!" Apart from being the personal servant of the Master or the young masters, and being the trusted aide for the noble ladies, for servants, the kitchen and the accounting room were the best jobs to be assigned to.
In A’Chang opinion, this kitchen was the best of all the jobs, better than personally serving the masters or waiting upon the accountant. There was no need to fear the rain nor sun, and during times of hunger, the people in the kitchen were one of the last to starve. Moreover, in such a weather, nestled by the stove, it would be even better if he could bury a taro in the ashes. My gosh, nothing could beat that!
His words gave Shen Shaoguang a craving, and she really went out to buy some; besides making Spun Sugar Taro, the rest were really roasted on the stove. The roasted taro were fragrant and soft, Shen Shaoguang led A’Yuan and A’Chang to eat around the stove.
Splitting the taro with her hands, the steam inside would instantly waft out. It burned her mouth as soon as Shen Shaoguang took a bite, but the more it burned, the more she wanted to eat it.
They all continued to eat until their mouths and hands turned black from soot.
Yu San curled his lips at the sight of the three ‘beggars’, his mood complicated, and not easy to express with words.
After Shen Shaoguang finished eating, she felt a little regretful. It's a pity that there were no sweet potatoes at this time, that’s true sweetness.
Although ‘Princess’ Yu San was unwilling to ‘join their wallow’, he was indeed blessed with culinary talent.
Shen Shaoguang was teaching Yu San to make clear broth.
Clear broth was a magical thing. It was as clear as water, but it was savory yet fragrant; it greatly differed from the thickness and opaque white of milky broth. It was akin to a beauty adorned with meticulous makeup and an unadulterated, natural pretty girl. However, such ‘natural beauties’ also took just as much time and effort dressing themselves up, after all they had to outsmart the human eye.
Yu San was taken aback when he was initially introduced to the concept of milky broth, he had never expected someone could simmer a meat broth until it was as consistently thick and white as milk. When presented with this clear broth, he felt even more miraculous— how could broth be so limpid!
Shen Shaoguang told him the story she had heard in her previous life.
"There was once a tavern chef who was renowned for his tofu dishes. He was invited to a nobleman's house to cook a vegetarian menu. Afraid to contaminate the feast with unclean and non-vegetarian things, the master of the house prepared every necessary material; the chief couldn’t even bring a kitchen knife or chopping board. The cook did as promised, with his two apprentices, and a white cloth towel over his shoulders, he came empty-handed."
"The vegetarian dishes, composed mostly of radish and tofu, were incomparably delicious. The master praised him endlessly and gave a generous reward."
Yu San looked at her.
"The secret lies in the white cloth towel. It had been soaked in clear soup. When he arrived in the kitchen, he wrung it into the soup, and used it to stew the tofu. It was naturally delicious."
Yu San frowned. "How big was the cloth towel to absorb enough clear broth for a banquet?"
"If it's over-saturated, it would drip around. If swaddled on the body, wouldn't the master notice the abnormality?"
"..." Shen Shaoguang didn't expect Yu San to be a closet logic-phile!
After a moment of contemplation, Shen Shaoguang said, "Actually, when I first heard this story, I only had one thought. That cloth scarf was draped over his shoulders, it touched the chef’s clothes, maybe even stained with perspiration and dust—it's quite dirty."
"..." This time, it was Yu San’s turn to become speechless.
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The author has something to say:
I heard this clear broth story from a chef. The background was around the time of the Republic of China, but I also made some modifications.
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Footnote:
[1] animals eating fruits side by side (排排队吃果果) - is the title of a children's song, but is also used in titles of videos where animals eating side by side- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3RTYwmRkUw
Foods:
BTW you can also have your own hot pot, this one is useable on an induction cooker - https://amzn.to/3G4EWTC
Spun Sugar Taro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_shjYo6GZSk
clear broth/ consommé https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54LMEWMFjF8