xymnovel Chapter 53 Treasure Chest Tofu! Tiger Skin Green Peppers!
Chapter 53 Treasure Chest Tofu! Tiger Skin Green Peppers!
Chapter 53 Treasure Chest Tofu! Tiger Skin Green Peppers!
Laughter and cheerful conversation filled the hall of my aunt's house.
Little Sizi grabbed another piece of shredded eggplant, crunching it loudly. Her little face glistened with oil as she squinted her eyes and muttered contentedly, "Auntie's amazing! This is even better than banana!"
As Lu Chen wiped her mouth, he chuckled and said, "Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."
Auntie looked at the little girl's greedy expression and laughed until tears welled up in her eyes.
Smash! Little Sizi took a big bite. Inside the golden skin was a pale green eggplant, and inside, the brown meat filling glistened with oil, and the juices were about to overflow!
Outside the canopy, Li Tai was practically drooling with envy.
"That little ox is eating so deliciously! I can almost smell the meat!"
"It's just eggplant, right? The Imperial Kitchen can make it tomorrow! Just add meat and fry it!"
Li Tai clenched his fists.
"Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready! Auntie's here! Little sister's here!" Eight-year-old Lin Qing, the little girl from Auntie's family, has returned.
My aunt's husband was following behind.
.....
Brother-in-law!
'
"Qingqing!"
My parents greeted my uncle.
"Let me see, where is Little Sizi?" Uncle came in with a smile.
"Uncle, look, this is Little Sizi. A little hero. He's eating." Lu Chen greeted him at the door.
"Oh! We have a little guest at our house today!" Uncle said with a big smile.
"Hmm?" Little Sizi wiped her greasy mouth, looking like a dazed tabby cat.
The little guy stared with wide eyes, unsure of what to say.
"Little sister!" Lin Qing squeezed through the doorway, holding up a giant ice cream cone.
"Sizi, this is your uncle, and your little cousin, Lin Qing. They all like you very much, don't they?"
"Hello Auntie~~ Hello Miss~~" Xiao Sizi greeted them somewhat unfamiliarly.
"Hello! Little Sizi! Eat up, don't be shy! Make yourself at home, Auntie's house is your home too, ah!" Uncle gently patted the little guy's soft back.
"Hmm! Thank you, Auntie!" Little Sizi didn't recognize her.
"Miss! What is muddy water?" Little Sizi was a little tempted.
"This is ice cream! Didn't my mom get it for you?" Xiao Qingqing asked curiously.
"No~" Little Sizi smacked his lips, his eyes fixed on Lin Qing's hand.
"I'll get it for you!" Lin Qing turned to leave.
"Qingqing, little sister can't eat this, it's too cold. You eat it yourself," Lu Chen stopped her.
"Oh, let's give the little girl some jelly. Lin Qing, hurry and get it. And get some other snacks too."
"Alright! My family has a big box of delicious food! It was specially prepared by my mom for my little sister." Lin Qing ran into the small house.
"Lin Qing, set the table for Dad, we're about to eat," Auntie instructed.
"They're here!" Uncle quickly laid out the tablecloth.
Lu Chen helped get the drinks and set out the chairs.
While the little ox remained still, the table had been completely transformed.
My aunt and mom started serving the dishes.
Goodness, all of this is delicious!
Several cold dishes.
There were boiled shrimp, cold mung bean noodles, pig's trotters, braised beef, lemon chicken feet, cold wood ear mushrooms, and preserved egg with tofu.
Hot dishes make for a more lively atmosphere.
Cola chicken wings, sweet and sour pork ribs, braised pork belly, sweet and sour fish, pineapple pork tenderloin —
My aunt brought out two new dishes with a big smile!
One plate contains square, pale yellow tofu cubes, pan-fried until slightly browned and puffed up. With a gentle cut, it reveals plump meat filling, green peas, and shiitake mushroom pieces, like opening a treasure chest, and the steaming aroma instantly fills the air.
"This is called 'Treasure Chest Tofu'!" The auntie proudly shook the plate. "There's a surprise hidden inside!"
Another plate of green peppers had tiger-stripe-like charred spots on their skin, with glossy sauce and minced garlic clinging to the wrinkles, and a spicy and savory aroma that hit the nose.
"Tiger-skin green peppers with a treasure chest, the perfect accompaniment to porridge!" she said, pushing the plate towards the center of the table.
Little Sizi's eyes widened, and he pointed at the tofu-like baby, shouting, "Box! Open it!"
Lu Chen smiled and picked up a piece for her. As soon as he cut open the golden skin, the juices mixed with the aroma of mushrooms wafted out. The little one took a big bite, panting from the heat, but wouldn't let go, mumbling, "Meat—there's meat in the box!"
The vibrations in parallel universes are becoming increasingly intense:
The Xianyang Palace of the Qin Dynasty.
Meng Tian stared at the filling oozing from the tofu, then clapped his hands suddenly: "Brilliant! This box conceals a weapon; if a secret message is hidden inside, who will discover it?"
Zhao Gao swallowed hard and muttered, "—I wonder how it compares to venison soup?"
The Imperial Kitchen of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Taizheng jumped up and down, urging the head chef, "Quickly replicate those eggplant fritters! Prepare plenty of oil!"
Amidst the flurry of activity, the treasure chest of tofu reappeared on the screen, and the cutting board crashed to the ground with a loud bang.
Li Tai clutched his feet and cried out in anguish, "Even a rhinoceros can eat tofu—but I, the king, can't even get a bite of tofu?!"
A small courtyard in Bianjing.
Su Shi shook his head, holding the half-finished eggplant fritters: "The eggplant fritters aren't even finished, and another dish has arrived!"
Suddenly, he spotted the tiger-skin green peppers and his eyes lit up: "The green peppers are wrinkled like tiger stripes, and the sauce seeps into the seams—this is tiger amber pepper!" He grabbed a brush and frantically wrote down the recipe, splashing ink all over Shen Kuo's face.
The kitchen of the Yingtian Prefecture government office.
Empress Ma pointed at the light screen and smiled at Zhu Yuanzhang: "See that? Hollowing out tofu and stuffing it with filling—it's economical and looks presentable!"
Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the tofu stuffed with meat filling, counting on his fingers: "This box is enough for an ordinary person to eat vegetable porridge for three days—wasteful! Utterly wasteful!"
The Imperial Kitchen of the Forbidden City.
The imperial chef, trembling, presented the green peppers and begged for forgiveness: "Your Majesty—the tiger-skin pattern is truly difficult to control; it takes ten batches to make one plate—"
Emperor Qianlong sneered and flicked his sleeve: "The eggplant fritters are burnt, the green peppers are charred black—raising you would be better off raising a rhinoceros!"
Inside the hall, Xiao Sizi was holding a half-eaten treasure chest tofu, with sauce dripping down her little hand and onto her sleeve.
The aunt hurriedly grabbed a handkerchief to wipe it, but the little guy dodged away.
She tiptoed and brought the tofu to her aunt's mouth: "Auntie, open the box! It's sweet!" The golden corn kernels mixed in with the tofu stuck to the doll's fingertips, looking like they were coated in honey in the warm light.
Little Sizi stood on tiptoe, stubbornly holding the half-eaten treasure chest tofu to her aunt's lips, the corn kernels coated in meat juice trembling on her fingertips.
Auntie's heart softened, and she gently took a bite from the baby's hand. The hot filling mixed with the aroma of beans melted on her tongue.
"Is it sweet?" Little Sizi's eyes shone like stars.
"Sweet! What Sizi gave me is sweeter than honey!" Auntie smiled, her eyes filled with warmth, and then used a handkerchief to wipe her oily little hands.
Lu Chen picked up a piece of tiger-skin green pepper with his chopsticks and put it in Xiao Sizi's bowl: "Try this, Auntie's 'Tiger Soul Pepper'!"
The sauce trapped in the wrinkles of the green peppers seeped into the white rice, and the aroma of garlic and spiciness filled the air.
Little Si curiously poked at the charred tiger-striped skin, and as soon as it bit off the tip, it hissed and gasped, its little face scrunching up like a bun: "Fire! My tongue is on fire!"
The adults at the table couldn't help but chuckle.
Mom quickly fed her a sip of chilled orange juice: "Tiger skin peppers are for adults, you little rascal, go gnaw on a chicken wing!"
"No!" The little guy gulped down half a glass of orange juice, sticking out his tongue and exhaling, but as if bewitched by the chili peppers, he reached out to pry at the green peppers in the bowl. "Tiger Tiger—Sizi must subdue it!"
The commotion in the parallel universe suddenly exploded—
Smoke billowed from the imperial kitchen of the Tang Dynasty. Li Tai, his face covered in soot, raised a plate of charred eggplant boxes and roared, "It's done! My 'Golden Jade Eggplant'!"
The imperial chef cautiously took a bite, his expression freezing: "Your Majesty—the filling...the filling is raw—"
"Pfft!" The image of Xiao Sizi guzzling orange juice due to the spiciness flashed across the screen, and the plate in Li Tai's hand crashed to the ground.
In the Imperial Kitchen of the Forbidden City, a royal chef kneels, holding a celadon plate: "Long live the Emperor! This humble servant has poured hot oil over green peppers, creating the illusion of tiger stripes!"
Emperor Qianlong glanced at the wilted green peppers on the plate, then compared them to the glossy, crisp tiger stripes on the screen, and his cold laugh was like an icicle: "Looks like nothing but a ghost! Go to the cold palace and peel radishes!"
The sound of the porcelain plate shattering startled the sparrows flying from under the eaves.
Inside a small courtyard in Bianjing, Su Shi, holding a burnt iron pot, laughed wildly: "Trying to look like a tiger instead of a dog? Brilliant! These scorch marks are just like splashed ink landscape painting!"
Shen Kuo silently wiped the ink splatters from his face, but his brush swiftly wrote: "Green peppers curl up when they come into contact with hot oil because of the shrinking effect of heat."
Inside the hall, Little Sizi finally overcame the spiciness and finished half of the tiger-skin green pepper. A fine sheen of sweat appeared on his nose as he proudly held up his empty bowl: "Brother! Tiger was eaten by Sizi!"
Lu Chen smiled and wiped her sweat. Suddenly, her uncle magically produced a bowl of milky white fish soup: "Little General, you've worked hard subduing the tiger. Come and have a sip of this Milky Way Warship Soup!"
The tofu in the soup is like a small boat, carrying tender fish slices that float on the surface, while scallions are scattered like stars on the soup.
The little ox pounced with a "whoosh," its tuft of hair bobbing with the movement—