r18novel Page 482
Page 482
Actually, these ingredients can be dried and ground into powder to make a simple flavor enhancer, but since Chu Caiwei brought so many ingredients, we can be a little extravagant.
Following Li Chang'an's instructions, the cooks boiled the shiitake mushrooms and kelp separately in a large pot, then squeezed out all the liquid with cheesecloth. If the liquid was not thick enough, they boiled it until it was thick enough.
Then, the juice will solidify into a solid, which can then be ground into powder.
As for sea cucumbers, they are simply washed clean, dried on a tile, and then ground into powder.
Song Qing watched silently. The ingredients and methods were nothing special. Could they really make a flavor enhancer?
"It smells quite fresh..."
Just as the baking business was in full swing, a guest arrived. This guest was a regular at Li Chang'an's residence.
"Li Chang'an, what are you doing!"
Princess Lin'an, dressed in a fiery red dress, swayed her hips curiously as she entered the backyard.
She craned her neck to look at the nearly dried sea cucumbers on the kitchen tiles, and the seaweed sauce and mushroom sauce being cooked separately in two large pots.
The kitchen was filled with a strong umami flavor and the fishy smell of sea cucumbers, leaving the princess, who never cooked, looking completely bewildered.
What Lin'an noticed was that Chu Caiwei, who was busy inside, was somehow in Li Chang'an's kitchen!
She had mentioned to Consort Chen the idea of making Li Chang'an her husband, but no one else knew about it except Huaiqing, who had spies everywhere in the palace.
"Chu Caiwei, what are you doing here?"
Chu Caiwei turned to look at Lin'an and said, "Greetings, Your Highness. Li Chang'an is teaching me alchemy, and I will soon be able to advance to the rank of alchemist!"
Seeing Chu Caiwei's jubilant expression, a sense of crisis arose in Lin'an.
For Lin'an, Fu Xiang was a woman from the Jiaofangsi (a type of entertainment institution), and if Li Chang'an really liked her, there would be no problem in taking her as a concubine in the future.
But now that her mother-in-law doesn't approve of her marriage to Li Chang'an, there's nothing she can do if Li Chang'an gets too close to other women.
Li Chang'an knew what Lin'an was thinking when he saw her pouting lips.
"Lingyue, why don't you play shuttlecock with His Highness?"
When she saw Xu Lingyue take out a shuttlecock with colorful feathers, Biao Biao's attention was instantly diverted; she really was still a child at heart.
"Lingyue, what is this?"
Xu Lingyue respectfully replied, "Your Highness, this is a shuttlecock made by the young master. Playing shuttlecock regularly can make your waist slimmer and your legs longer..."
Xu Lingyue is now able to converse naturally with the princess, and she doesn't feel as much pressure facing Lin'an as she does when facing Huaiqing.
She told Biao Biao what Li Chang'an had said, and Lin'an immediately became interested. She believed that her beauty was no less than Huaiqing's, but she was a little shorter and had a smaller bust.
The two women started playing shuttlecock, their slender waists swaying and their long legs swinging back and forth in front of Li Chang'an.
Biao Biao's fiery red dress fluttered, exuding energy. She seemed to have good core strength and was a promising athlete—a true nightclub queen who could dance all night long.
The only regret is that the skirts of that era were too conservative, and they were worn with pants underneath.
Li Chang'an has already decided that starting tomorrow, Xu Lingyue will not be allowed to wear trousers under her skirts.
Finally, after a whole day of hard work, the three jars of flavor enhancer were ready.
The mushroom powder and kelp powder each fill a small earthenware jar, while the sea cucumber powder is less than a quarter full.
Song Qing and Chu Caiwei smelled the fragrance emanating from the jar and were filled with curiosity about its actual effects.
The cook started preparing dinner, and Chu Caiwei went to help with three jars, presumably to test the effect of the flavor enhancer.
Song Qing then pulled Li Chang'an aside and asked him all sorts of questions, mainly about how he came up with the idea of using these ingredients to enhance the flavor.
Fifteen minutes later, a scream came from the kitchen!
"Ahhh! I did it!"
Then, Chu Caiwei ran out of the kitchen, her little mouth still bearing traces of the delicious food she had eaten.
"Li Chang'an, I love you to death!"
As Chu Caiwei walked, she shouted, which startled Biao Biao so much that she kicked the shuttlecock onto the roof. She turned around in alarm and saw Chu Caiwei rushing excitedly towards Li Chang'an.
"Bar!"
Chu Caiwei's fragrant lips landed directly on Li Chang'an's face.
"Li Chang'an, does it smell good?" Chu Caiwei didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all.
Li Chang'an smelled the delicious aroma of the food emanating from his face, but before he could even say anything, he heard Biao Biao's voice, which sounded as if she had lost her parents.
"Chu Caiwei, shut up! Let go of Li Chang'an!"
Chapter 290 Song Qing: Follow Xu Qi'an's path! Make him have nowhere to go!
"Your Highness Lin'an, don't worry, you'll get to eat it too."
Chu Caiwei was still immersed in savoring the food when she ran back to the kitchen.
Lin'an blushed instantly. What did he mean by saying she could eat it too? A princess would never kiss a man in public; it was too improper!
But Biao Biao's attention was diverted again, "Wow! It smells so good!"
As Chu Caiwei brought out two simple home-style dishes—one of stir-fried winter bamboo shoots with pork and the other of stewed lotus root with pork ribs—Lin'an unconsciously swallowed.
Princess Lin'an, who was used to eating delicacies in the palace, never expected that the ordinary dishes would smell so delicious.
Chu Caiwei squatted on the ground, feeding slices of meat into her mouth one after another, her eyes gleaming with greed.
"Li Chang'an, you should try some too!"
Li Chang'an took a bite of the lotus root slice that Chu Caiwei had picked up for him, and he was quite satisfied with the result. Although it was still not as good as real MSG, it was much more delicious than the dishes of this era.
"Caiwei, I want to eat meat."
Li Chang'an, who had been fed several pieces of lotus root in a row, could no longer bear it.
Chu Caiwei is a good girl in every way, except when it comes to delicious food, she becomes oblivious to her own family and friends. She only puts the meat slices into her own mouth, and only gives Li Chang'an lotus root slices.
"But I'm still growing."
Li Chang'an sighed helplessly, "You're already sixteen or seventeen years old, it's too late to eat papaya every day."
With Chu Caiwei's current celebrity-level cute face, Li Chang'an felt it wasn't impossible.
"Lin'an, come quick! If you don't eat soon, Caiwei will eat you all!"
Having given Lin'an a way out, Lin'an snorted and ran over, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and with lightning speed, grabbed a slice of meat.
Then, just as he was about to put it to his own lips, he changed his mind and fed it to Li Chang'an instead.
Then, Lin'an swallowed hard, smiled sweetly, and asked, "Lord Li, is it delicious?"
"Delicious." Li Chang'an nodded in satisfaction. "The meat is good, and the meat from Lin'an is good too."
She raised her head and glanced at Chu Caiwei, only to see that Chu Caiwei was still feeding Li Chang'an a slice of lotus root, her sense of insensitivity was unusually strong.
Then, Lin'an also took a bite of the meat slice, and her peach blossom eyes immediately sparkled with starlight.
"It smells so good, it's amazing."
It's just MSG; even a princess like her wasn't entitled to enjoy it before.
No wonder it is said that farmers in later generations ate better than emperors in ancient times.
Soon, the two dishes that had just come out of the pot were devoured by Lin An and Chu Caiwei, leaving Xu Lingyue only able to watch with envy.
Afterwards, Song Qing walked out of the kitchen, rubbing her stomach, seemingly unaware of how much she had eaten.
He squatted down in front of Li Chang'an with an excited expression, "Brother Li, the powder condensed from ordinary food is so miraculous!"
"We've now refined three types of powder. If we combine them in different proportions, they should have different flavor-enhancing effects!"
Li Chang'an looked at Song Qing with approval, "Brother Song, you truly deserve to be called the strongest alchemist. This idea is feasible. Moreover, if Caiwei wants to promote its flavor enhancer, it needs to consider different target audiences."
"Sea cucumber powder is the most expensive, followed by kelp powder and shiitake mushroom powder. Different proportions of these can be combined to create MSG at different price points, making it more affordable for the general public."
Song Qing nodded vigorously, "Alright, alright, I wonder if I could borrow Brother Li's kitchen so I can guide my junior sister in selecting the best recipes."
"Senior brother, you should go back. Refining MSG is no different from cooking. It's not as complicated as your alchemy. I can do it myself."
Chu Caiwei directly rejected Song Qing's guidance, causing Song Qing's passionate expression to instantly collapse.
For Song Qing, who loves exploring new things, how could she miss out on the development of such a new product?
"Junior sister... if there's anything you don't understand, I can help you."
Chu Caiwei shook her head, "No need, Li Chang'an will help me, there are so many servants here."
Song Qing pleaded, "I can help with the fire and washing the tiles..."
"Oh dear, senior brother, when did you become so fussy? You should hurry back to alchemy."
Hearing Chu Caiwei's firm refusal, Song Qing turned to Li Chang'an expectantly and said, "Brother Li, what do you think..."
Li Chang'an guessed that Song Qing had many ideas about alchemy and his thinking was rather divergent, and Chu Caiwei was afraid that her senior brother would interfere with her.
“Caiwei, let Brother Song stay, but he won’t interfere. If he wants to try anything, let him do it himself after you’ve finished developing your ideas.”
Chu Caiwei stroked her chin and thought for a moment before saying, "Alright then, Senior Brother Song, you're not allowed to bother me!"
Song Qing instantly switched to lapdog mode, "Okay, okay, I'll listen to my junior sister."