Five stoves, five big iron pots, Zhen Jian operated by himself, walking back and forth, sweat slipped from his head, there was a special kitchen hand towel to wipe his sweat, because there were more dishes in each pot, Zhen Jian's stir-frying action was also wild, and the chefs who were carving the phoenix stopped their work and looked at him dumbfounded.
Zhen Jian took the time to look back at the progress of their carving, and found that they were looking at themselves, glaring and scolding: "You guys are very idle, right, hurry up and carve the phoenix!"
This is the finale!
” The cooks didn't dare to look at it for a moment, and hurriedly carved the phoenix seriously.
Soon, Zhen Jian shouted: "Prepare the plate!"
” The cooks began to put the dishes on the table, Zhen Jian first gave five pots, and then came to the table with the pots to serve the dishes, just one pot of dishes is divided into five portions, no more and no less.
The specifications of the welcome banquet are nine dishes, the number nine has a special meaning in ancient times, Zhen Jian has made five kinds of dishes, plus a hundred birds and a phoenix is only six, there are still three kinds of missing, Zhen Jian decided to make three more cold dishes, and immediately ordered the cooks to make cold dishes, and he put on the iron pot, open the fire and sauce, soon, the three kinds of juice are boiled, pour the cold dishes, it's done, eight kinds of dishes, plus a hundred birds and a phoenix, exactly nine dishes.
At this time, a chamberlain eunuch ran in and said in a loud voice: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked him to pass the meal in the banquet hall." ” Zhen Jiandao: "Okay, the dishes are all here, and there is a hundred birds and phoenix that is the final finale, and I will send it over later." ” The eunuch looked at the table full of dishes, nodded, and then asked the people outside to come in and take all the dishes away, each serving the same dish, and Zhen Jian reported the name of the dish.
As soon as the waiter left, the phoenixes of the five chefs were carved, and Zhen Jian said: "Okay, there is almost half a pillar of incense in the future, which is enough for you to make a hundred birds and a phoenix, you must do it well!"
He took off his apron, found a stool to sit down, drank saliva and rested for a while, he was really tired just now, and suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he thought of something. ………………………………………………………… At this moment, Ding Mian was standing outside the banquet hall, waiting for good news from the kitchen, but he didn't expect to see the eunuch with many people with dishes, he was dumbfounded, obviously there was only half a pillar of incense time, how did the kitchen make so many dishes, this is also incredible, he saw the dishes without carving, and suddenly his heart was settled, according to the regulations, the welcome banquet must have a carved cauliflower that reflects the knife work, in order to show Da Chu's superb cooking skills, but there was no carved cauliflower in the dish just now, he suddenly understood, The carving is the most complicated, it is impossible to do it in a short time, in this way, he has a balance in his heart, if the envoy knows, he will definitely find fault with Zhen Jian, if he pokes it out, he is afraid that Zhen Jian may be questioned.
In the banquet room, the prince and the princess sat in the right seat, with King Qi and the Duke on the left, and King Wei on the right.
The guests of the concierge house have always used ancient rituals, sitting separately, each person has a dining table in front of them, and each dish is given to each person, there are five of them, so each dish must be made five.
One dish after another was sent to everyone's desk, because the dish was just out of the pot, still steaming, when each dish was delivered, the waiter had to loudly report the name of the dish: "The hall is full of gold and jade - one clear and two white - the years are safe - one hand covers the sky - the demons dance wildly - there is an appointment ...... winter and summer" Some dishes look ordinary, but with a tall name, it feels like it has been immediately upgraded to a higher level, such as the golden jade full hall, which is actually tender corn kernels and saury balls; One is clear and two white is green pepper shredded potatoes; Sui Sui Ping An is a cold dish, patted cucumber with sauce; It is more bullish to cover the sky with one hand, a bear paw with bones removed; There is an appointment in winter and summer, and the name is related to Cordyceps sinensis; The demons are dancing, this is the famous dish of Zhen Jian Restaurant, garlic crayfish, look at the scary appearance of those crayfish, it's not the demons dancing.
Looking at the dishes being served, Princess Elizabeth exclaimed, and when all the dishes were ready, she exclaimed: "The dishes of Chu are really amazing, just smelling the taste, I feel very fragrant, and it is so beautiful, and the name is good." ” When the prince heard this, he smiled and asked, "Princess, is there no one in England?"
” Elizabeth shook her head and said, "No, we don't have so many delicacies in England, these things......
How to eat?
” The prince picked up the chopsticks and said, "You can eat with chopsticks." ” As he spoke, he put a grain of corn in his mouth with his chopsticks and showed the princess and the duke.
However, Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Wales picked up chopsticks and wanted to imitate the prince, but they found that they couldn't do it at all, and they felt very strange that the prince was so easy to use the chopstick, why was it so disobedient in their hands.
The princess and the duke tried hard, but the clumsy action provoked King Qi to laugh secretly, and the prince glared at him fiercely, and he forcibly held back.
At this moment, someone suddenly came outside: "His Royal Highness the Prince, the Protocol House has asked Zhen Jian to see you." ” The prince was stunned when he heard this, frowned and said, "What is he doing here?"
” The guard said, "He said he had come to deliver cutlery to the princess and the duke." ” Princess Elizabeth's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she hurriedly said, "Invite him in." ” The guard looked at the prince, the prince nodded, and the guard immediately went out to spread the word and let Zhen Jian in.
Zhen Jian entered the banquet room, only to see him holding a sandalwood tray, in which were placed two spoons and two small forks sharpened from wood, Zhen Jian stood still and said slowly: "Your Royal Highness the princess, the lower officials are worried that Her Royal Highness the princess is not used to using our Da Chu's chopsticks, so he specially sent spoons and forks to the princess and the duke." ” When King Wei saw the two wooden forks, he immediately frowned and said, "It's nonsense, you sharpened this fork yourself, such a simple thing, you dare to send it to stain the princess's eyes!"
” Unexpectedly, Princess Elizabeth said happily: "It's better for Zhen Jian to understand us English, so let's take it quickly." ” Zhen Jian went up with the tray and put the spoon and fork in front of the princess and the duke respectively, and even after the duke got the tableware, he said with a smile: "Thank you."
This is one of the few Chu Chinese dialects he knows.
King Wei was so annoyed when he saw this, why did he think something bad, the princess and duke of England thought it was very good, the English people were really weird!
Zhen Jian actually thought of the tableware problem temporarily, he was just about to sit down and rest in the kitchen, and suddenly thought that Westerners don't know how to use chopsticks, so he asked those chefs, how to solve the tableware problem when foreign guests from other countries came in the past, and the chefs replied that there is no tableware problem for foreign guests from other countries, they either know how to use chopsticks, or they are ......
Grasping it with his hands, Zhen Jian was speechless, it seems that many countries around Dachu do have the custom of eating with their hands, but there is no such custom in the far west.
So he found two spoons, sharpened two wooden forks with a knife, and hurriedly sent them to the princess and the duke, now he has to try to do his best work, in the protocol, it is not easy to be promoted, but if even the foreign guests praise him when they see the emperor, then he is considered a meritorious service, and he has a chance to rise, he has a big plan, and he must not stay in a ghost place like the protocol all the time, it is simply a waste of time.
The princess got the spoon and the fork, and was as happy as a child, and of course she was not very old, only seventeen years old.
The princess tasted a bear paw first, her eyes suddenly widened, and after swallowing, she exclaimed: "Wow, it's so delicious, Zhen Jian, are you making these dishes?"
” Zhen Jian nodded and said, "Back to Her Royal Highness the Princess, it was all done by the lower officials." ” "It's delicious, you're amazing."
The princess was pleasantly surprised, and she kept saying that she had tasted several dishes, and every time she tasted a dish, she let out a burst of exclamation, and then praised it.
King Wei snorted coldly on the side: "Is this a princess, it's like a turtle in the countryside."
He casually took a small piece of cucumber and stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it, and suddenly felt very delicious, especially the taste of the sauce was particularly good, and the taste of the cucumber complemented each other, which was much more delicious than the palace kitchen.
At this time, he had to look at Zhen Jian in surprise, and secretly wondered in his heart: "His cooking skills are far better than the imperial chefs in the palace, where did he learn such powerful cooking skills?"
” The princess picked up a shrimp with a fork, suddenly looked at Zhen Jian, and asked, "I've seen this thing in England, and this can be eaten?"
” Zhen Jian smiled lightly: "You can eat it, and it's delicious." ” The princess asked, "How to eat?"
” Zhen Jiandao: "Peel off the shell and eat the meat at the tail, it's delicious." ” King Qi smiled at this time: "Your Royal Highness Princess, I will show you."
He picked up a shrimp, unscrewed off the upper body of the shrimp, and habitually put the upper body of the shrimp in his mouth and sucked it, and then began to peel the shell of the tail again, and after peeling it, put the meat of the shrimp tail in his mouth.
The maid behind the princess stepped forward to help the princess, and the funny thing was that the princess did the same by sucking the action, and King Qi couldn't hold back his laughter, holding back a little uncomfortable.
After eating a shrimp, the princess couldn't help but praise: "It's so delicious, Chu is really a magical country." ” At this time, the Duke of Wales spoke, but what he spoke was English, and the prince couldn't understand it, Princess Elizabeth helped him translate, and said: "The Duke of Wales said that someone came to Da Chu a long time ago, saying that Da Chu is very rich and powerful, and the food is also very delicious, he didn't expect it to be so delicious, he is very glad that he came to Da Chu this time, and he has gained a lot of knowledge."
The prince said modestly: "Where, if you go to England alone, you must feel that you will also feel that you have gained a lot of knowledge." ” King Qi said at this time: "In fact, hundreds of years ago, not long after the founding of our Chu State, Da Chu at that time was not too rich, and the food was not as delicious as it is now, but a few years ago, Zhen Jian opened a restaurant in Shaoxing and Beijing, and he created countless delicious dishes, which played a great role in the progress of our Da Chu's cuisine. ” Princess Elizabeth looked at Zhen Jian with a smile when she heard this, and said, "This time we came to Chu State, it is our luck that Zhen Jian can receive us. ” Zhen Jian made a gentleman's salute and said, "It is Zhen Jian's honor to receive Her Royal Highness the beautiful princess." ” King Wei rolled his eyes disdainfully and muttered, "Sycophant." ”