"Liu Dadao! Why do you have so many questions? Just do whatever you are told. This is Doctor Huang. Haven't you heard of it before you got on the ship..."
It seems that Liu Dadao loves his job as a cook. Just for today's performance, he can be given a professionalism award. . :.
"Chief Jin... what are you doing? This is the big kitchen. Why did you bring the doctor in? We are not sick!"
"Ouch...you kid talks a lot of nonsense. Do you know this is an order from the head of state? Do you understand the order?" Jin Sanshun shouted with his eyes raised.
Liu Dadao is also a person who has seen the world. He has experienced the strong winds and waves in the Forbidden City. How can he be afraid of these Chinese officials? He said in a neither humble nor condescending manner, "Sir, if you want to talk about other things, of course I have to obey orders." , but when it comes to the kitchen, you have to listen to me!"
"My good sir, don't you look at what time it is on the clock now? It's past half past eleven, and all our dishes have been prepared, including cold dishes, hot dishes, and soups. It’s simmering over slow heat…”
"Everything is in order! If an amateur makes a mess at this time and ruins a few dishes... you can't afford to pay! We won't have time to cook anymore by then, and we are not gods..."
Jin Sanshun became angry as soon as he heard this, "Oh... the Yuan Dynasty can't suppress you anymore? I saved you once, but your tail is in the sky..."
He wanted to say it again, but Doctor Huang laughed, and pulled Jin Sanshun to signal him to stop talking, "Chef Liu, right? Don't worry, I won't ruin your dishes, I'm just here to give you four It’s just a soup with some ingredients..."
"Don't look at me like a cannibal. This secret spice is a secret recipe passed down from the head of state's family. If it weren't for a banquet with British dignitaries, the head of state would be reluctant to take it out..."
"Secret recipe? The secret recipe of the head of state's spices!" Liu Dadao was stunned.
Doctor Huang took out a palm-sized flat porcelain pot from his arms. The glaze was bright and the blue and white colors were vivid and lively. There was also a Chenghua official kiln mark on the bottom. Although it cannot be said to be a valuable antique, But it is no longer an ordinary item. It has been put down for more than a hundred years and it is still a good item that can be put on the auction house.
Liu Dadao did not dare to neglect the spices packaged in Chenghua porcelain, but he was still a little doubtful. "I have agreed to try it with a soup first. If it is ruined, I can still make up for it. Don't do anything wrong..." …”
"Chengchengcheng... I listen to you, what are the soups today?"
"Abalone stewed with loosestrife, mussels and shrimp soup, West Lake beef soup... and the secret hoof flower soup that Chef Liu Dayu is best at!" Without Liu Dadao opening his mouth, a Shandong cuisine chef next to him said loudly.
Doctor Huang tilted his head and thought for a while, "Are abalone and mussels overlapping? There is something wrong with your preparation of this dish in advance!"
"Hey, hey, hey... what are you talking about? You are picking on me when you come up!" Liu Dadao's eyes suddenly widened. "Commander Jin, listen, are you here to cook? You are not here to come." Is there something wrong..."
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Doctor Huang walking to the coal stove, reaching out to open the casserole, and immediately found the two soup dishes. Before anyone could react, there was a muffled bang on the porcelain bottle. The red cloth seal was pulled off, and a light brown powder was sprinkled into the soup.
"Oh, my ancestors... Didn't I tell you to 'make' one dish to try first? Why did you dish out two dishes at once! You have tricked me to death..." Liu Dadao and the evil guard who were guarding the food... He rushed forward like a dog.
Doctor Huang didn't conflict with him. He took a half step back and pointed at the two soups and said with a smile, "Mix it with a spoon. You can taste it and then settle the score with me..."
Liu Dadao rubbed his hands, glared at him, grabbed a wooden spoon and stirred it gently in the mussel and shrimp soup, then scooped up a spoonful of thick soup and carefully sucked it into his mouth.
At that moment, Liu Dadao seemed to have been struck by lightning. His eyes were rounder and bigger than the eyes of a cow. "This...this...what is this?"
After swallowing the mouthful of soup in his mouth, Liu Dadao shouted, "Tea, purified water..." The Shandong cuisine chef next to him quickly handed over a cup of Longjing tea and a cup of boiled water.
After gargling with tea and water, Liu Dadao took another mouthful of mussel soup. This time it was a full spoonful. After finishing the hot soup, he felt a happy expression.
He put down the spoon and rinsed his mouth, and then tasted the abalone stewed with loosestrife. The same shocked expression appeared, and the chefs around him were dumbfounded. "What's going on? What does it taste like? Let me have a taste..."
A group of people rushed over and stretched out their spoons to taste it. As soon as the thick soup was in their mouth, everyone exclaimed, "Fresh! My God, how can it be so fresh?"
Mussels and abalone, including shrimp, are famous seafood specialties and have always been precious ingredients for making soup. In the minds of these famous Manchu and Qing chefs, the soup made with these ingredients is the limit of umami. How could this be possible in the world? Is there any umami flavor beyond these ingredients?
In fact, ancient people could not rely on stock to extract umami. Broth made from chicken soup, pork bones, and seafood can be used to cook other ingredients to provide a special umami flavor.
According to the results of modern chemical research, the umami flavor of broth is actually the precipitation of glutamic acid in the ingredients, and the source of umami flavor is obtained from glutamic acid.
Doctor Huang finally succeeded, and mankind's first MSG was finally born in his hands. Xiao Letian added another important item to his money-making plan. This secret recipe earned more than tens of millions in Europe in the following decades. A lot of silver dollars.
"Give me, show me! Give me..." Liu Dadao rushed forward like a madman to snatch the porcelain bottle from Doctor Huang's hand, but Doctor Huang was so frightened that he hid behind Jin Sanshun as if he was protecting his lifeblood.
"Be careful, you be careful! This is a secret recipe passed down from the head of state's family. This bottle is worth at least 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver. Can you afford to pay for it if it's broken?"
"Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and bring the soup stock. I'll add a little for you. Then it's your job to cook with the soup stock!"
Liu Dadao excitedly raised his hands and bowed, "Sorry, sorry, I offended you so much just now! I'll just see if that's okay. I'll be more careful. Why don't you pour some for me..."
A handful of brown powder particles were sprinkled on Liu Dadao's palm. He lightly dipped his index finger in saliva and took a taste. The strong and substantial umami taste rushed straight to his brain.
Ancient people had never eaten MSG. Their taste buds were still very fragile and could not withstand the impact of MSG. Liu Dadao was so excited that he shed tears.
"Xiyi Huang...does this spice have a name? Can you tell me..."
Doctor Huang put away the porcelain bottle and said mysteriously, "Of course it has a name. This thing is called the 'source of freshness.' The head of state said that this is the source of the freshness of all things, the root of the freshness!"
"The source of freshness? The source of freshness...a good name, it is truly worthy of its name! Tell me, what does the head of state want me to do?"
Doctor Huang smiled and said, "It's very simple. Cook the dishes well and let our Duke of Newcastle be completely convinced... You can use the source of fresh food as you like, but if it doesn't work, you can just use poppy shells!"
"We must shock the Duke. In the future, our products will open to the European market, but we will rely on word-of-mouth promotion among the British aristocrats!"
