xymnovel Chapter 52 Delicious Eggplant Sandwiches!
Chapter 52 Delicious Eggplant Sandwiches!
Chapter 52 Delicious Eggplant Sandwiches!
Swish, swish, swish! The wheels spun rapidly.
It only takes a few minutes to get to my aunt's house.
Her family lived to the east of Lu Chen's family; they were from the same village.
My aunt's house is just inside the village.
Click! The car stopped in front of Aunt's house.
My aunt's house had its gate wide open, and the yard was bright and clean, without a single blade of grass. My aunt was sitting in the hall tending the fire when she suddenly saw them.
"How many of you are back?" Auntie asked, lifting the firewood into the stove and quickly coming out, swinging her apron.
"Auntie!"
"sister!"
Lu Chen and his father each carried two large bags, while his mother held Xiao Sizi in her arms. The family entered the house in a grand manner.
"Why did you buy so much stuff again!" the aunt scolded. "How much can you possibly eat, with so many people in your family?"
"Auntie~~" Little Sizi called out sweetly.
"Oh! My little Siberian Rhinoceros! You are so beautiful!" Auntie reached out her hand, but unfortunately her hand was dusty, so she could only touch the little Siberian Rhinoceros with the back of her hand.
"Come in, come in quickly," the aunt greeted.
"Sis, what are you doing?" Mom asked as soon as she put the things down in Aunt's little house.
At the same time, she also took out a bunch of bananas and a few apples from inside.
It's more convenient for her to go to her aunt's house than to her own.
Over the years, my mother has been moving around between my aunt's house, my maternal grandmother's house, and the Lu family's house, going into whichever house she pleases.
Especially my aunt's family.
I eat at my aunt's house every three days and at my maternal grandmother's house every day.
This doesn't even include the extra meals.
They often took jobs from the Lu family and those other families.
However, my mom is also very generous and likes to share good things with everyone.
Furthermore, almost all of these relatives and family members work in Dad's system, making them even closer relatives.
My mom is the kind of person who "doesn't appreciate what she has" and always feels like she's not happy enough.
"Here, Sizi, have a banana." Mom handed each of them a banana.
"Big banana!" Little Sizi picked up a crescent-shaped yellow banana and rubbed it on her face.
"Oh, this child, he's so fond of bananas." The aunt said with a look of pity.
"I haven't had any bananas," the little guy said, blinking his big eyes.
Actually, Xiao Sizi ate it when she was a child, but that was a year ago, and she had long forgotten about it.
"Oh. How pitiful." The aunt pinched her little cheek. If she hadn't seen the scene, she would never have believed that this was a baby from an orphanage.
"Sizi, wait here, your auntie made you lots of delicious food. Here, have some fried skewers first." Auntie took a plate and grabbed two handfuls of golden-brown fried skewers.
This is a bean product, cut into diamond-shaped rolls, which are fried until golden and crispy. They're quite plump.
Auntie carried the plate of golden-brown fried "dried skewers" and handed it to Xiao Sizi with a smile.
The little one opened his eyes wide with curiosity, reached out his tiny hand to pick up a piece, and carefully took a bite—crunch! The crisp sound, accompanied by the aroma of soybeans, melted in his mouth. The little one immediately squinted his eyes and exclaimed in his childish voice, "Good!"
Lu Chen and his parents were amused by her appearance.
As she wiped her hands, the aunt said, "Don't rush, there are still eggplant fritters! I just fried them, just waiting for you to come."
As she spoke, she turned around and brought out a large bowl from the kitchen, filled with golden-brown, plump eggplant slices, coated with a thin layer of batter, from which the aroma of the meat filling could be faintly smelled.
My mom leaned over to take a look and exclaimed, "Sis, your cooking skills are getting better and better! The eggplant fritters aren't greasy at all!"
The aunt waved her hand: "These are all home-cooked dishes, you should eat more."
She patted Xiao Sizi's head again. "Sizi, the eggplant fritters are even more fragrant than dried skewers. Want to try some?"
Little Sizi nodded vigorously, holding up a half-eaten dried skewer, and mumbled, "I want it! I want seven eggplant boxes!"
Lu Chen's family sat around the square table at his aunt's house, their laughter filling the air.
In a parallel universe, people from all dynasties are craving it again!
Great Qin.
Inside the Xianyang Palace, Qin Shi Huang was scooping up a piece of stewed meat with a dagger when he suddenly stopped.
Everyone was astonished. Li Si pointed at the light screen in astonishment: "Your Majesty, this thing—deep-fried food! How can it be so golden and plump?"
Ying Zheng squinted and examined the food closely, especially noticing the crisp sound as the little ox bit into the eggplant fritter. He couldn't help but put down his dagger and spoon, sighing softly, "I usually eat mostly stewed or boiled food, I never knew that oil cooking could reach such a level—the culinary skills of later generations have become so refined!"
Datang.
In a tavern in Chang'an, Li Bai was drinking heartily with his friends when his poetic inspiration suddenly waned, and he stared wide-eyed at the plate of crispy fried eggplant fritters.
Du Fu, sitting at the next table, couldn't help but peek over and exclaim, "Brother Taibai, this dish is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, like eggplant slices stuffed with meat and then fried? I've never seen it prepared this way before!"
Li Bai, regaining his senses, looked up to the sky and exclaimed, "Wonderful! If I could have this flavor to accompany my wine, I would gladly compose another three hundred poems!"
The Great Song Dynasty.
While pondering new dishes, Su Shi, a scholar from Lingnan, saw an eggplant box displayed on a screen and exclaimed, "This should be called the Golden Box!" Its crispy outer crust and succulent interior perfectly embody the essence of "crispy on the outside and tender on the inside."
Turning to the cook, he urgently ordered, "Quickly bring me the eggplant and minced meat! I want to try making this!" Shen Kuo, standing nearby, frowned and muttered to himself, "The oil temperature control is so precise, not a speck of blackening or burning. Has the art of fire control in later generations reached a state of perfection?"
Ming Dynasty.
When Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma were having a meal, they witnessed this scene. Empress Ma smiled and pointed to the screen, saying, "I see that child is eating with great relish, which reminds us that there may have been similar practices among the common people, but with different names."
Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the simple dishes on the table, shaking his head like a fan: "Using so much oil is too wasteful. How can we common people eat this all the time? It's as wasteful of oil as frying tofu! Let's splurge when we have more money!"
Qing Dynasty.
Inside the imperial kitchen, Emperor Qianlong was inspecting the dishes on the table when a light screen suddenly appeared. He stared at the eggplant box for a long time, then turned to the imperial chef and asked, "Does the imperial kitchen know how to make this?"
The imperial chef broke out in a cold sweat: "Your Majesty, while the fried eggplant with meat is indeed available, the batter is so thin and evenly coated, and the color is uniformly golden. This servant—"
—This still needs further consideration.
Emperor Qianlong gave a soft hum, made a mental note of it, and resolved to order someone to develop it.
Inside the aunt's house, everyone was completely unaware of the shockwaves emanating from Wan Chao.
Little Sizi held a frittered eggplant in both hands, taking a crunchy bite, her cheeks bulging as she mumbled, "So fragrant! Crispy on the outside, sweet and juicy on the inside, and so tender!"
Lu Chen smiled and wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth. Her father then picked up a piece of eggplant and handed it to Si Zi, saying, "Li Qiu, look at my sister's cooking skills, they're absolutely amazing."
"That's right!" Mom got up to help serve the porridge, and the hall was filled with the warmth of the meal.
The Imperial Palace of Chang'an, Tang Dynasty.
As Li Shimin was discussing state affairs with his ministers, he suddenly saw a light screen appear on the side of the palace, showing a family sitting around enjoying golden and crispy eggplant boxes.
Especially when Xiao Sizi bit into the eggplant box with a crunching sound and a face full of happiness, Li Shimin suddenly stopped speaking and stared at the light screen with piercing eyes.
Upon seeing this, Fang Xuanling exclaimed in a low voice, "Your Majesty, this dish appears to be made by wrapping meat in eggplant slices and deep-frying it. The fact that it's fried so plump and evenly is truly ingenious!"
Li Shimin slowly got up and walked closer to the light screen to take a closer look. He saw that the eggplant box had a thin, golden skin with no burnt bits, and the meat filling inside had a faint aroma.
He recalled that although the palace meals were usually plentiful, they were mostly steamed, boiled, or roasted, and he rarely saw such exquisite oil-cooked dishes.
After a long silence, he stroked his beard and sighed, "I always thought that all the delicacies in the world were confined to the palace, but now, seeing this eggplant fritter," he realized that the culinary skills of later generations had reached a state of perfection. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, oily but not greasy, it can be enjoyed even by ordinary people—is this the scene of a prosperous age, not my lifelong wish?"