Chapter 177

A Yao didn't know that the moon watching and the bird's nest were inside. She was surprised that the maid took the tray and walked into the box. The heavy curtains fluttered. She vaguely saw the glittering steps of the woman inside. The maid could see it.

Probably some noble man.

In front of the box, several judges sat in a row. The maid passed by. The person on the edge smelled the taste and looked at the soup bowl, revealing a trace of surprise.

The maid half squatted and held the soup bowl in front of the long princess for a few seconds, so that she could see what was in the soup bowl, and then calmly got up and left - she had done the same before. It was a great honor for the cooks to read these dishes in front of the long princess, and only a few people and dishes came into her eyes.

"Wait, you put it here, scoop a spoonful and I'll try it."

The eldest princess made a noise to stop her from leaving. The maid first brought the chrysanthemum tofu to the case, carefully scooped it up and presented it.

Several chrysanthemums float in the clear soup. The golden soup bottom sets off the snow-white of chrysanthemums, and a medlar is dotted in the middle to show the stamens.

"I remember correctly. Your little apprentice only got one piece of tofu at the scene. One piece of tofu can make such chrysanthemums, just like a lotus out of water." The eldest princess said that she teased with chopsticks: "good idea and skillful hands."

The moon looked back and said, "the moon looked back and thanked the princess for her praise."

"Tell me how it's done."

Look at the moon and explain.

Chrysanthemum is cut with tofu. It is not as thin as hair. If you look closely, you can see that there are edges and corners on the edge of "petals". This is a knife dish, which is a great test of the chef's knife work. Cut the tofu longitudinally and horizontally without cutting it to the end, so as to ensure that the bottom can become a "calyx" when it is picked up and can drag up the petals. If the spacing of each knife is too sparse, it cannot bloom like flowers when placed in the water. If the spacing of each knife is so thin that the previous knife is cut, it will be chopped into Rong.

However, ah Yao's Thoughts on it were not only that. She cut a piece of tofu into four pieces, two of which were divided into two and turned into four small pieces. She then cut the large ones into cylinders, and then began to cut more than 30 knives vertically and 30 knives horizontally.

Take clear water and lift it away. Cut the top into petals with a knife in the water. Finally, drain the water, move it to the soup bowl, inject high soup at the edge of the soup bowl to avoid breaking the shredded tofu, and steam it in the pot.

The eldest princess looked like it, scooped out a whole chrysanthemum soup, blew away the heat and sent it to the entrance, chewed it carefully, then smiled and signaled that the maid could take the soup out.

The moon is tight in my heart, as expected.

The appearance and color matching of this dish are beautiful, but in terms of taste——

Tofu itself only tastes like beans. If you choose Tender tofu, you can taste tender and smooth. This knife dish can't make people have an appetite just by its appearance. Even if you eat it, it doesn't have much taste. It's all seasoned by the soup. The quality of the soup is very important.

And ah Yao's mistake is in this soup!

She could smell that the ham inside was not used well. The materials purchased in a short time could not be controlled by the cook, and the quality was inferior.

The maid went in for some time, and the judges outside talked one after another.

The spectators upstairs are also whispering:

"I remember the little girl correctly. I only grabbed a piece of tofu an hour ago?"

"It's her. That piece of tofu is made into chrysanthemums?"

"It's too far away. I seem to see it vaguely. She really made flowers of a piece of tofu and carved it with turnips. I know how to carve tofu?"

"It's nothing more than a knife dish. There's nothing strange."

"Since there are no rare knife dishes, why did that dish stay in it for so long?"

A Yao cheered herself up in her heart. When the maid came out, she gave the judges a bowl of soup and divided the chrysanthemum tofu.

They tried and asked ah Yao to wait.

The incense burner on the table used to record the time has been burned out. The dining eunuch checked the incense feet and announced loudly: "time is up - those who exceed the time are eliminated!"

No one in the kitchen hasn't finished yet.

The maid replied that the judges and the dining eunuch were satisfied and put down their big stones. This was the first time that the eldest princess came to watch the competition. Fortunately, there was no moth. Several people and judges began to comment and write down the brilliant dishes.

The participants who came to the competition had their own dishes, and they all had to strive to enter the four divisions and six innings. As for who the final colorful flowers fell to, it depends on the preference of the officials and husbands for those dishes.

When they worked out their ranking, ah Yao was summoned to enter the box.

"Look, it seems that the little girl has a promising future."

“……”

A Yao entered the box with the maid. She had been mentioned in advance. The person inside was the long princess. After entering, she saluted at the maid's sign.

"Please get up. This is not a palace. There is no need for complicated etiquette."

The person of the long princess is very good. Her voice is also good. It sounds very gentle. A Yao thought that she would follow good advice and get up. Before she looked up at the long princess, she saw the bird's nest behind her and the moon watching on her side.

What's going on?

The bird's nest is there, she can understand, but... What's the matter with looking at the moon? Wangyue doesn't return to the capital because of her sensitive identity and the old case of the former dynasty?

But neither bird's nest nor moon watching gave her superfluous eyes. She looked down at the ground. What could she do? A Yao can make up a lot of brain in an instant.

Princess Chang: "your chrysanthemum tofu looks good. Can you cut the tofu more finely? "

All the brain tonics have come to an abrupt end. Ah Yao takes back her thoughts and seriously replies, "Princess Huichang, you can. But at that time, people thought that if all the food was very thin, it would lose its original taste. The same is true of chrysanthemum tofu. There are more than 60 knives in it. If you look carefully, you can see the edges and corners. If you cut more than 80 knives, it will be like clouds and flowers, but in this way, it will have no appearance and no taste. "

"Can't even make a taste with high soup?" The long Princess asked again.

"It needs to be outlined into thicken to make a thick soup and give it another taste. The soup can be adjusted, but I don't hide it from the long princess. Presumably, the long princess can taste it. The taste of the soup is deficient and the materials are insufficient. Therefore, we can only think of ways from the ingredients to balance the lack of the soup with the taste of tofu. "

A Yao answered, and then quietly raised her eyes to look at the moon and the bird's nest. Master Wangyue, what do you think of my answer? Is it too honest?

However, the eldest princess is used to the delicacies in the palace, and the soup is often used in cooking. Whether it is good or bad, she can't hide it from her tongue.

"You little apprentice is sincere." The long princess looked back at the moon and said, "it's not like you at all."

"Princess Chang has sensitive taste buds. How dare you cheat." Said the moon.

Princess Chang and master Wangyue... Are they old acquaintances?

"Little girl, are you interested in cooking at my princess's house?"

Princess Chang suddenly turned her head and invited ah Yao.