Many years ago, there was a big cultural person who said a sentence, Yang Chuan thought that the old rascal said it very well: In this whole world, the one who is closest to the profession of a cook is the Qinglou woman.

The same is for the guests to see, called 'color', for the guests to smell, called 'fragrant', for the guests to lick the food, called 'taste', as the so-called, the color and flavor are complete.

The only difference between the two is that the ultimate goal of the chef is to make the guests come on an empty stomach and return with a full stomach; The ultimate goal of the Qinglou woman is to let the guests come with a full load and run out of food.

In a word, it is said: 'Chromophobia is also ......'

……

In the Han Empire, eating shabu mutton is actually a very popular thing, and every time winter comes, those wealthy families and magnates like to do it the most.

By the way, there are also drinking, music, and dancing.

It's almost Uncle Liu's sentence 'continue to play music, then dance', which makes Yang Chuan feel jealous when he thinks about it, and he heard that big Han dancers don't wear leggings, which makes him look forward to it a little.

As for eating, forget it.

The people of the Han Empire have good teeth, good stomach, and very tough bones, and they dare to stew and eat any dead donkeys, rotten horses, rats, and cats.

For this, Yang Chuan can understand that in a year of general hunger, people do not have high requirements for food, and pursue nutrition, oil and satiety.

As for whether there will be anything wrong with eating and whether people will die, it is secondary......

When Yang Chuan stepped down from Fengsui and began to handle the mutton shabu, the faces of the three Guanzhong men showed rich and satisfied smiles, and they were busy with the fact that they were eager to serve this young man as their own father.

Lao Cui Tou'er was also very busy, carrying water, chopping wood, according to Yang Chuan's requirements, hanging two green sheep on a wooden shelf, using an old knife to slowly cut the meat slices, with a wooden expression.

Yang Chuan was very leisurely.

He opened his bag and threw seven or eight condiments into the clear water soup, which was nothing more than some green onions, ginger, wild garlic, jujube, codonopsis, wild wolfberries and a little peppercorn, so that the soup kept a translucent state, but the aroma was already impressive.

The secret of shabu mutton is that the soup should be clear, the ingredients should be fine, the meat should be thin, the dipping sauce should be fresh and fragrant, and salt should never be put in the soup, which many people get wrong.

In Yang Chuan's view, the 'shabu-shabu' of the royal family and nobles of the Han Empire can basically be defined as a large stew, which is neither delicious nor exquisite, the fat meat is greasy and fishy, and the lean meat chews like firewood.

After making the consommé, he began to mix the oil bowl and dipping sauce.

This step seems magical, but in fact there is no skill, but it is just to prepare sesame oil, mutton fat, wild onion, garlic, coriander and other gadgets, and make them according to your personal taste.

Anyway, without tahini and millet peppers, this oil bowl dipping sauce basically has no soul.

As a chef in later generations, when preparing the dipping sauce of the oil bowl, he paid attention to the fresh fragrance and authenticity, and it was very distressing that it was 'difficult to adjust the mouth', which tested a chef's control and understanding of oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and sugar.

But in the Han Empire, there was just one word: heavy mouth is difficult to reconcile.

Heavy fat likes fat, heavy taste, and more salt, which is almost the essence of the food civilization of the Han Empire.

For this, Yang Chuan understands very well.

After all, in such a time of extreme material scarcity, many people are hungry and eating, even a pot of unpalatable bran rice and wild vegetable porridge is the most beautiful in the world, what do you pay attention to authenticity, deliciousness and Sven?

This special mother is bullying people.

Therefore, except for his own oil bowl dipping sauce, Yang Chuan personally mixed it, and the other people's 'dipping sauces' were all handled by them, anyway, excessive fat, salt, wild onions and coriander powder could not be eaten.

Yang Chuan just wanted to see through a bowl of dipping sauce what the four 'Guanzhong people' were right now, especially the 'old Cui Tou'er of unknown origin'.

It's a very subtle idea, but it's tried and tested.

As a qualified cook, in many ways, he is actually more like a charlatan, and there is always a bit of a 'reading countless people', such as what looks, feng shui, Qinglou bustards and half-hung readers, almost all belong to this category......

……

As a result, Yang Chuan soon saw the scene he was most worried about.

The previous three Guanzhong men were nothing abnormal, anyway, they just desperately put things in the oil bowl, mutton fat, butter, meat sauce, pepper, sesame oil, minced wild onions, coriander powder, whatever they wanted, they just didn't see it.

As for the green salt powder, the heavier the better, and it is estimated that it can scrap people.

Completely different, is the old Cui Tou'er's eating method is very exquisite, only a few drops of sesame oil are mixed in the oil bowl, sprinkled with a small pinch of minced wild onions, coriander powder and green salt, and a few seasonings are also tasted.

Then, add half a spoonful of piping hot mutton consommé to the bowl and start shabu-shabu.

Yang Chuan casually glanced at it, and found that none of the old thief's teeth were white, and even the gums looked very full and ruddy, where did he look like a bad old man?

In addition, when he picked up a piece of fat mutton cut by Lao Cui Touer with chopsticks, and gently soaked it in the hot soup, he saw it in the dim light of the foreign oil lamp, it was as thin as a cicada's wings, almost transparent.

This old thief's knife technique is so terrifying?

Yang Chuan quietly soaked the mutton, with a happy and satisfied face, stable and peaceful, just like a wanderer who had returned to his hometown for many years, devouring a bowl of longevity noodles rolled by the old lady with peace of mind.

His heart gradually sank, and his back began to feel a little cold: "Who is this old Cui Tou?" ’

Such a master, why did he come to the beacon of the stone barrier to be some kind of bullshit? and pretended to be an unkempt and wooden-looking fool, who is this acting for?

This is clearly 'a pig pretending to be a tiger', so I don't know who I want to bite?

There are all kinds of indications that this old thief is definitely from Chang'an City, or simply from the palace, there is no doubt about this, and Yang Chuan's biggest concern also happens to be this.

Who's big? Or, embroidered messengers?

It should be an embroidered messenger.

In the Han Empire, the embroidered messenger was equivalent to the brocade guard of later generations, not only supervising hundreds of officials, but also acting as a supervisor, scout, secret agent in the army, etc., Yang Chuan vaguely felt that something was wrong......

"I heard that our Han army won a great victory and captured millions of cattle, sheep and horses."

"There's a fart, give you a cow?"

"That's right, Liu Che is not as good as his Lao Tzu, so he is just a little skinny."

"What about begging him, when I go to Jiuyuan City next time, I will first tear two feet of cloth for the White Widow and sew a pair of crotch pants is the most serious."

"Two-foot cloth sewn crotch pants can cover her ......"

The magnates and scholars of the Han Empire paid attention to 'eating without saying anything', which was basically useless to these rough Guanzhong men, even if it was mutton shabu, they couldn't stuff the mouths of a few people.

Listening to the sassy words of the three of them, Yang Chuan grinned and laughed so hard that he couldn't get into meat.

Old Cui Tou'er was also laughing, and he coughed a few times very cooperatively, although his expression was still a little wooden, he looked more innocent than Yang Chuan.

"Young Master Yang, are you thirteen years old this year?" Old Cui Tou'er suddenly turned his head and asked.

"After the New Year, it should be fourteen." Yang Chuan nodded.

"Listening to your accent, it seems to be a native of Longxi, have you ever been married?" Old Cui Tou'er slowly soaked the mutton, and seemed to sigh a little, "I was requisitioned to the border at a young age, and this world is not good." ”

Yang Chuan's face did not change, but he said in his heart; 'Okay, so that's what happens?' ’

"There are military rations to gnaw on, there are green mutton shabu, do you say this world is not good?" Yang Chuan dropped the chopsticks in his hand and said with a wry smile: "Compared to being a slave in the Qiang tribe, after returning to our Han, even if it is a good life for the kid to eat bran vegetables." ”

"Oh? You've ever been a slave? Old Cui Tou'er seemed a little surprised, and looked up at Yang Chuan's eyes, "In Henan or Mobei?" ”

"Western Regions, Ruoqiang." Yang Chuan smiled bitterly.

There are some things that cannot be hidden, but it is better to 'explain' honestly, so as not to become a handle for people to pinch in the future.

What's more, his background is innocent, except that he has a humble status and has been a slave, what can he not say?

Therefore, he told some of the experiences and bitterness of being a slave very calmly, with an indifferent expression, as if he was telling someone else's story.

The three Guanzhong men sighed when they heard it, and the old Cui Tou'er also shook his head and sighed, and on his pale and bluish old face, every wrinkle seemed to exude a sense of pity.

Then, he patted Yang Chuan's thin shoulder and said softly: "At the age of six, he became a slave, poisoned and killed 375 Qiang Huns at the age of twelve, gave the Huns the Khan of the day, and returned to Dahan at the age of thirteen to be a beacon;

Young Master Yang, your cooking skills are good. ”