Chapter 238: Chapter 198: Recipes
"So, what gift would you like?"
In Shengping Square, Chang’an City, under Li Leqing’s supervision, Chai Chai was reciting the Shangqing Linggan Chapter, bobbing his head.
In the next room, Li Ang rubbed his hands together and asked He Fanshuang. Chai Chai had successfully passed the re-examination thanks to his Qi Sensing Realm cultivation and He Fanshuang’s help, so Li Ang felt he absolutely had to thank her.
He Fanshuang put down the paper and pen in her hands and asked indifferently, "Why ask me directly?"
"I don’t know what gift would be best, so I thought I’d just ask you. Uh, do you mind?" Li Ang answered truthfully.
He Fanshuang, like him, was a distinguished student of the Academic Palace and had a rather cold demeanor. Give money? She doesn’t lack it. Give jewelry? She always wears the same jade hairpin, with no intention of changing it. Give books? She can buy ordinary books herself, and the unconventional ones forbidden for borrowing from the Book Collection Pavilion aren’t easy for me to get.
"I don’t mind, actually." He Fanshuang nodded. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Do you still have any Qingming Fruit from last time?"
"Qingming Fruit?" Li Ang shook his head. "I ate all that was left, and the winter bamboo shoots are gone too."
Yu Country had no refrigerators to speak of. The only two reliable food preservation techniques were the immensely space-consuming underground ice rooms and expensive Frozen Talismans. Saltpetre ice-making could only produce small amounts of ice cubes and wasn’t practical as a refrigerator, so food was generally prepared in the quantities it would be eaten.
"Do you have any other food?" He Fanshuang showed Li Ang the book she was holding, saying calmly, "I’ve been looking at a Chang’an snack recipe book, trying to improve my culinary skills."
She did indeed love cooking. As a cultivator, she could use telekinesis to remotely control ingredients and kitchen tools, making it extremely convenient to cook without her hands needing to touch anything.
Other food... Li Ang pondered. Many recipes from his memories of the Otherworld weren’t usable or were inconvenient to make here. There were no chili peppers, no potatoes, no pumpkins, no onions, not even chicken powder or MSG. Thinking it over, the food with the simplest ingredients that He Fanshuang might like would probably be... desserts?
Li Ang’s eyes lit up. Though he didn’t know why, it seemed that in his memories from the Otherworld, he was quite the baking enthusiast, with a wealth of information on bread and cakes. Cookies, toast, cheesecake, tiramisu...
Li Ang sifted through the recipes and quickly decided on the dessert to make: doughnuts.
He prepared eggs, flour, yeast, white sugar, water, salt, and butter (obtained by shaking milk to separate the fat). He mixed all the ingredients except the butter and kneaded the dough. When gluten films formed, he added the butter and continued kneading. Then, he let it ferment at room temperature, cut the dough, rolled it into balls, covered them with a damp cloth for a second fermentation, and once that was complete, he fried them in oil, let them cool, and dusted them with powdered sugar.
"What smells so delicious?" Li Leqing and Chai Chai followed the scent into the kitchen. Seeing Li Ang and He Fanshuang by the stove, they immediately put their hands on their hips, feigning anger. "Hey! You two are sneaking food behind our backs?!"
What does she mean, ’sneaking food behind their backs’... Li Ang rubbed his temples, speechless, and placed the plate of doughnuts on the table. "They’re freshly made. Want some?"
"Of course." Chai Chai unabashedly picked up a doughnut between two fingers, popped it into her mouth, and her eyes instantly lit up. "Hmm? This tastes a bit like a twist, but much softer. And it’s really sweet."
Twist, also known as food twist or twist tool, is a traditional fried dough food made with flour and oil, its history dating back to the Cold Food Festival during the Spring and Autumn Period and resembling fried noodles in shape.
"It’s so strange. It comes out of the fryer, but it isn’t oily at all when you eat it." Li Leqing, imitating a hamster, gently pinched the sides of the doughnut with both hands and ate slowly. "It feels more like Jianfeng Xiao."
Jianfeng Xiao is another type of fried snack. It’s made by kneading glutinous rice flour with honey, sweet wine, and sugar, then pressing the mixture into thin sheets, baking, and air-drying them. Before eating, it’s briefly fried in oil—a dessert favored by nobles.
"I’ll try one too." He Fanshuang also picked up a doughnut. After taking a gentle bite, she nodded involuntarily. "Very tasty."
Hmm... it’s alright, I guess. While He Fanshuang and the others enjoyed their treats, Li Ang was still somewhat dissatisfied. In Yu Country, the commonly available flour is all-purpose, which isn’t ideal for bread and dough. A mixture of high-gluten and low-gluten flours would be best.
However, this experience also stirred Li Ang’s desire to cook. He went on to make several more desserts, including a whipped cream fruitcake using a chiffon cake base. By using local ingredients and making do with simple methods, the cream cake he produced wasn’t much different from the ones in his memories. Surprisingly, it was quite delicious.
Could it be that besides being a surgeon, I’m also the youngest top-tier chef in history? Li Ang rubbed his chin, thoroughly puzzled.
While Chai Chai and the others were enjoying the cake, they kept praising Li Ang. "This cake is quite tasty too! By the way, where did you learn to make these desserts?"
"I came up with them myself by looking at old recipes," Li Ang casually fabricated. "One recipe said that the ancestor of pastry-making was Zhuge Kongming. He invented ’sour filling,’ which is what’s in buns. Besides buns, he also invented cakes. And, according to the recipe in ’Qimen Dunjia,’ whenever it was his birthday, he would stick a lit candle on a cake to celebrate and extend his life. But because the cake was so delicious, Wei Yan secretly ate it on the Wuzhang Plateau, causing the candle to go out."
"???" Li Leqing looked perplexed. "Wait, what kind of recipe describes things in such detail? And isn’t the Wuzhang Plateau where the Marquis died? That sounds a bit ominous, doesn’t it?"
"I don’t know. That recipe book was very old; it’s probably a story made up by later generations. After all, it also asked why Liu Bei didn’t go to mourn when Zhuge Liang died, questioning if there was an irreconcilable conflict between the sovereign and his subject." Li Ang waved his hand, brushing off the question.
"What’s that delightful smell?" A hearty voice approached from the distance.
Everyone looked toward the door. Li Leqing, startled, raised her eyebrows. "Brother?"
The visitor was a tall young man with a rather dark complexion, his trouser legs rolled up, carrying a hoe like an old farmer. He had a friendly smile on his face, and his straw sandals were caked with mud. It was none other than the Crown Prince of Yu Country, Li Si.
Following Li Si was another figure dressed like a farmer: the Left Spring Palace Middle Officer and former Academic Palace Patrol, He Fanshuang’s brother, He Siping.
"Just came back from the fields. I’ll put the tools here." Li Si placed the hoe in the corner. As the Crown Prince of Yu Country, he, like the other princes, had to personally participate in farming activities on the outskirts of Chang’an City during the busy agricultural season. His skin was considerably darker than it had been at the New Year.
"Hmm? Risheng is here too." Li Si waved his hand, stopping Li Ang from bowing. When he saw Li Ang and Li Leqing standing side by side, the amusement in his eyes deepened.