roccoschili Chapter 84 Good food needs time to mature!
Chapter 84 Good food needs time to mature!
Chapter 84 Good food needs time to mature! (Read at night, please be aware!)
Su Mu was immersed in the joy of the harvest when he heard these words and almost lost his footing.
He turned around, carrying the stinky fish, looking helpless: "This is called a strange fragrance; children don't understand."
"Scammer!"
Little Sizi's eyes welled up with tears. The smell was too strong, it hurt her eyes. "This is stinky! It stinks more than Dad's boots! It stinks more than the outhouse! Guoguo, have you not taken a bath for days?"
Su Mu didn't want to explain to a child who was only a few years old what amino acids or fermentation were.
He placed the fish on the cutting board and began to cut it.
"Whether it's a lie or not, you'll know once it's made."
With a swift motion, Su Mu made neat cross-shaped cuts on the fish's body. "Go wait over there upwind, don't get overwhelmed by the fumes."
O
Xiao Si hesitated for a moment, but her obsession with delicious food prevailed.
She shuffled along to the back of the big locust tree, the place furthest from Su Mu.
"If I make a mess, I'll tell my older sister that my husband has gone mad!"
The little girl pinched her nose and shouted.
Su Mu ignored her.
Heat oil in a wok.
The rapeseed oil was smoldering in the hot pan when he slid the foul-smelling mandarin fish into it along the edge of the pan.
Sizzle—!
Oil splattered everywhere.
The already strong stench was amplified to an even higher level by the high temperature.
The smell was so strong it was almost physically offensive; even the cicadas in the yard stopped chirping!
The front hall, the Liangyi Hall.
Li Shimin was sitting behind the dragon desk, sulking.
Although that old bastard Wei Zheng hasn't come to hurl insults these past two days, his silent protest is even more unbearable.
Adding to the heat, the memorials were filled with trivial matters, making Li Shimin feel a sharp pain in his head.
-
"Wang Dequan! Where have you been! Are you going to keep bringing out the meal until next year?"
Li Shimin threw the vermilion brush in his hand onto the table, and the ink splattered onto the memorial he had just approved.
No one answered.
Just then, a gust of wind swept through the hall.
Li Shimin's nostrils twitched.
What does it taste like?
At first, he thought it was the smell of sweat from not having showered for several days, but when he looked down and smelled the dragon robe, he only smelled incense.
Take another breath.
The nauseating stench was like someone shoving a mop covered in feces directly into your nostrils!
"presumptuous!"
Li Shimin suddenly stood up and kicked over the imperial desk in front of him.
"What's this taste?! Huh?! What's this taste?!"
He strode out of the palace gate and saw several eunuchs covering their mouths and dry heaving behind the pillars.
"Your Majesty—Your Majesty, please forgive me—"
"Speak! Is someone practicing witchcraft in the palace? Or is someone poisoning us?!"
Li Shimin's face was ashen; he had been on the battlefield and seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
But the smell was too strange; it didn't smell like the stench of a corpse, but rather like some kind of deliberately brewed poison!
"Back to——to your Majesty—"
A young eunuch knelt on the ground, his face flushed red, "It's—it's from the Imperial Kitchen—"
Is it the imperial kitchen again?
The image of Su Mu's lazy face flashed through Li Shimin's mind instantly.
OK!
A few days ago they were frying bugs, and now they're boiling poop?
My palace is the residence of the emperor; how can such filth be allowed to run rampant?
"Su Mu! You bastard!"
Li Shimin kicked open the broken wooden door.
The door swayed and screamed, and the stench that could blow a person's skull off seemed to have finally found an outlet, rushing towards them!
Wooden door: ?
Li Shimin couldn't hold back. Before he could vent his imperial anger, the smell made his stomach churn, and he almost ate all the thin porridge he had for breakfast!
He quickly pulled out a handkerchief and covered his mouth and nose tightly, his brows furrowed into a deep knot, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the center of the courtyard.
"Su Mu! You—you're being insolent!"
Li Shimin's voice was muffled, covered by a handkerchief, but his anger had not diminished at all.
"I have treated you well! I have bestowed many gifts upon you these past few days, what are you doing? Huh?"
"Are you complaining that it's not hot enough, or that I'm living too comfortably, and you're sending these rotten filth to disgust me?"
"vomit-!"
He became increasingly angry as he spoke, and his fingers trembled.
Wei Zheng in the imperial court was a tough nut to crack; he was always causing trouble for people.
I wanted to find some peace and quiet back in the palace, but it turns out there's someone here who cooks excrement!
I can't live like this anymore!
Li Shimin took two steps into the courtyard, and the smell became even stronger.
It wasn't just the smell of a latrine; it was the strange smell of fish that had been dead for several days, fermenting thoroughly under the blazing sun, mixed with the sludge from the sewer!
"Are you trying to provoke me? Is it because I didn't pay you last time?"
In the middle of the courtyard, Su Mu was facing the stove without even turning his head.
He tapped the iron ladle in his hand against the edge of the pot twice to remove the excess oil.
"Uncle, please step back a little."
Su Mu's voice was lazy, completely disregarding the Tang emperor's anger.
"This oil is hot; if it splashes on you, you'll get a burn. Don't try to scam me later."
"you"
Li Shimin was furious.
"Daddy—Ah Ye is so fierce—"
A small head with two buns peeked out from behind the big locust tree.
Little Sizi pinched his nose out of shape with his two chubby little hands, let out a muffled cry, and his big eyes were full of fear, both of his father's anger and the pot that was emitting strange fumes.
When Li Shimin heard his daughter's voice, his anger subsided slightly, but his face remained dark.
"Rhinoceros, come here! Stay away from that filthy thing! Be careful not to catch the plague!"
Su Mu ignored the interaction between the father and son; all his attention was focused on the pot in front of him.
The large iron pot was smoking.
That was real hot oil.
On the cutting board, a mandarin fish, its body gleaming with a dark green sheen and smelling so foul that even flies would avoid it, lay quietly.
"Put it in the pot!"
With a flick of his wrist, Su Mu slid another rotten fish into the pot, close to the edge.
Sizzle—!!
Immediately afterwards, a stench ten times stronger than before exploded out along with a plume of rising white smoke!
Li Shimin felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and almost fainted.
"Su Mu! Today I am going to punish you for your first crime." Before he could finish speaking, Su Mu's hand gesture changed.
He wasn't flustered and let the fish fry in the oil until the skin was slightly browned and wrinkled before flipping it over.
Another sizzling sound!
Immediately afterwards, Su Mu grabbed a bowl of condiments that had been prepared beforehand.
Finely chop the pork belly with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, and sprinkle it into the pot.
The originally simple fried flavor was suddenly mixed with the savory aroma of pork cracklings.
Then came ginger slices, garlic cloves, and a few of the reddest dried chilies picked from the bag of chilies the system had just given us.
boom!
The flames suddenly shot up three feet high, licking the bottom of the pot.
A miraculous thing happened at that moment.
The original nauseating stench actually began to change under the influence of high temperature and spicy spices!
It still stinks.
But within that stench, there was a strangely savory hint of freshness.
It's a rich, mellow flavor produced when fermentation reaches its peak and proteins are broken down.
It's like aged wine; when you first open the jar, the aroma is so strong it makes your eyes water, but the aftertaste is wonderfully fragrant.
Li Shimin was in the middle of a heated argument when his nose suddenly twitched twice.
He couldn't bring himself to curse anymore.
This taste—something's not right.
I felt nauseous and wanted to vomit a moment ago, but the hot, spicy smell of cooking oil entered my nose and the churning in my stomach subsided.
Glug!
Li Shimin blushed and subconsciously covered his stomach.
What happened?
Am I hungry?
Looking at this pot of swill that looks like boiled excrement, I'm actually hungry?!
Su Mu didn't even look at him. He flipped the large ladle in his hand, added cooking wine, and then poured in a large spoonful of soy sauce.
Finally, pour in half a ladle of water.
Cover the pot.
"stew."
Su Mu uttered a single word, took a step back, and casually pulled off the towel from his waist to wipe his hands.
Once the lid was put on, the strong smell was suppressed, with only steam sizzling out through the gaps in the lid.
But this flavor is even more enticing.
It's a complex aroma that blends oil, chili, garlic, and that unique fermented umami flavor.
"Pork—it doesn't smell bad anymore?"
Little Sizi stopped pinching her nose, let go of her hand, and sniffed hard with her little nose.
She emerged from behind the tree, her short legs shuffling as she tentatively made her way to the stove.
"It smells a little nice—"
Li Shimin also removed the handkerchief covering his mouth and nose.
He stood there, unsure whether to leave or stay, his expression incredibly complex.
"What kind of sorcery is this?!"
Li Shimin pointed at the pot, his tone less angry and more confused, "It smelled so fishy just now, how come it got so bad after being put in the pot—"
"This is called turning the rotten into the miraculous."
Su Mu draped the handkerchief he was using to wipe his hands over his shoulder and glanced sideways at Li Shimin.
"Uncle, cooking is like life. Some things smell bad, but that's just the surface. You have to give it the right heat, the right time, and the right ingredients. Once the heat is right, even something that smells bad can become delicious."
Li Shimin was taken aback.
These words sound like they're giving me pointers?
For some reason, Wei Zheng's rigid old face reappeared in his mind.
That old scoundrel Wei, isn't he just a stubborn, stinking rock? He criticizes me in court every day, making me lose face, and his words are horribly offensive.
But think about it carefully, every time he said something, wasn't it ultimately for the good of the Tang Dynasty?
Li Shimin stared at the steaming iron pot, lost in thought.
"Take it off the heat!"
Su Mu estimated that the time was about right and lifted the pot lid.
Whoosh!
White steam rose into the air, and the domineering fragrance instantly swept through the entire backyard.
The broth had thickened to a glossy red and clung to the fish.
The fish skin had an enticing reddish-brown color, garnished with a few red chilies, making it look incredibly appetizing.
Su Mu grabbed a handful of fresh green garlic leaves and sprinkled them on the ground.
Red fish, white garlic cloves, and green garlic leaves.
It no longer resembles the dead fish from before.
Su Mu put the fish into the large, rough porcelain plate, placed it on the broken wooden table, and then served two bowls of white rice.
"Alright, stop trying your luck."
Su Mu tapped the rim of his bowl with his chopsticks and looked at Li Shimin.
"Didn't you say this place is filth? Uncle, dare to try a bite?"
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