Ang Lee's way of treating his guests was very simple, that was, he would serve all the delicious food and wine. No matter how much the guests could eat, he would just serve as many dishes as he could. The more food that could not be finished, the more the host's hospitality would be reflected.
Although this was a big waste, it was enough to show the host's sincerity. At least in the society of the Tang Empire, there was such an atmosphere, which was the atmosphere of waste. In a thrifty society, waste was very shameful. However, the Tang Empire was rich in resources, so no one would think that eating and drinking was a waste. Instead, they would think that it was a blessing. In fact, in any society with sufficient materials, no one would pay too much attention to frugality. Only the really poor would consider frugality.
Ang Lee had a lot of wealth. Even if he squandered money like water, it would not be a big problem. Naturally, there was no need to be frugal everywhere. This would make him seem stingy, and it would also make the guests feel bitterly disappointed. Only when there was an absolutely sufficient food supply could the guests feel at home. Only then could both the host and the guest enjoy themselves more.
In the last palace banquet, the Emperor had prepared a giant grouper weighing more than 50 kilograms for Ang Lee alone. Of course, such a big fish could not be finished. There were also many other dishes. In front of all the ministers were full of delicious food and wine. This did not include the ingredients that were taken away after a few bites. It could be said that the wine and food that each minister received at that palace banquet was enough for each of them to eat for a month. The waste rate was definitely more than 90%, which was a huge waste. However, the atmosphere of the banquet was also built on this waste. How to create a celebratory atmosphere was not in line with the momentum of the imperial family. In addition, the wasted ingredients would be consumed by the palace maids and eunuchs. In the end, the residue would also be consumed by some of the animals raised in the palace. In fact, it was not a waste.
It was the same for Li An when he entertained his guests. The leftover food would be immediately consumed by the guards, male and female servants of his residence. The leftovers would be the delicacies of the chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs. There was almost no substantial waste, especially for the few pigs that were reared. They would not refuse any leftovers and would eat as much as they could get their hands on.
Raising pigs would pollute the environment. In fact, a rich family like Ang Lee did not need to raise pigs at all. However, Ang Lee liked the pleasure of raising pigs. When he was free, he would go to the breeding area in the mansion. It was also a kind of pleasure of life. In this way, he could reduce the waste of food in the mansion.
Of course, the most important thing was the pleasure. Wasting a little bit of food in Ang Lee's mansion was a trivial matter.
If Ang Lee was in a good mood, he would cook for the guests in person. Of course, the guests must be easy-going people who could understand Ang Lee's behavior. For example, Guo Ziyi would never think that Ang Lee was degrading himself just because Ang Lee cooked in person. When the army was in trouble, as a general, he could even eat rotten rice and drink dirty water in the river. Therefore, why would he care about these things?
"Old Guo! I have recently developed a new kind of food. Today, I will cook for you personally. "
Ang Lee looked at Guo Ziyi and said excitedly.
"Oh, you are going to cook in person again? Can you teach me? I want to cook too!"
Guo Ziyi suddenly made a request like a child.
Ang Lee looked at Guo Ziyi and said with a smile, "Okay! Since General Guo really wants to learn, why can't I teach you? Besides, this dish is not very difficult to learn. You can learn it after one try. "
As a general in the army, Guo Ziyi didn't need to cook in person. However, in his early years, he had cooked. Only when one had done everything in the army could one truly understand the difficulties and importance of different kinds of soldiers. He didn't have the arrogance of general generals and liked to mingle with the soldiers very much.
"Wait, Assistant Minister Li, what is this? It looks interesting."
Guo Ziyi was attracted by a solar barbecue stove when he walked through a corridor.
Li An smiled and said, "Lao Guo, you're right. This is a solar barbecue stove. It is used to barbecue food. It is very useful. It can cook delicious food quickly even in the winter. Do you want to try it later? "
"Of course, I want to try it. This thing is interesting!"
Guo Ziyi looked at the solar barbecue stove carefully and said, "By the way, compared with the solar stove, which one is better?"
"The glass pipe can be sealed and kept warm. The effect is naturally better than the solar stove. However, it has its limitations. That is, it can only heat less food and it is inconvenient to boil water. It is right in front of you. Can't you see it, General Guo?"
Ang Lee said.
"It is almost noon. After learning how to cook, I will play with this. It must be very interesting."
There was a special light in Guo Ziyi's eyes.
Li An naturally understood what was going on. What evil intentions was this guy harboring in his heart? He must have taken a fancy to the solar barbecue stove. However, Ang Lee would give one to Guo Ziyi at most. As for whether the army needed more, it was his own business. There would be a large number of solar barbecue stoves on the market soon. He could buy them himself if he had the ability.
Perhaps Guo Ziyi would apply to the imperial court to equip the border army with a certain number of solar barbecue stoves to meet the needs of cooking in the desert. However, this thing was mainly for leisure. Not only was it much more expensive than the solar stove, but it was also very fragile. Ordinary people could be careful when using it, but in the army, the equipment needed must be of high quality. This kind of fragile glass was really not suitable for large-scale equipment in the army. The army really could not afford such fragile treasures. Therefore, Guo Ziyi did not want to equip the army with this equipment. The imperial court would not agree. Therefore, unless he bought some with his own money, Ang Lee would only give him one solar barbecue stove at most.
"By the way, Assistant Minister Li, what are you going to cook? What are the ingredients? Tell me first! "
Guo Ziyi could not help but ask before he walked to the kitchen.
Ang Lee smiled and replied, "This dish is called Buddha jumps over the wall. It is a delicacy that I just developed. There are more ingredients. You will understand when you see it later."
This was not a delicacy invented by Ang Lee. It was obviously a top delicacy in the future. It was plagiarized by Ang Lee. However, this delicacy appeared later and definitely did not exist in the Tang dynasty. Therefore, even if Ang Lee said that he invented it, it did not matter. No one could expose Ang Lee. Moreover, it was just a dish. Who would care about these things?
In the future, Buddha jumps over the wall was also known as Mantan Chun and Fu Shou Quan. It was a famous dish in Fuzhou. It was invented long before the Tang dynasty. After all, in history, many ingredients and seasonings from America were introduced to Hua Xia. Therefore, it was possible to make Buddha jumps over the wall.
Just now, Ang Lee told Guo Ziyi that the preparation of Buddha jumps over the wall was very simple. In fact, he was deliberately lying to Guo Ziyi. How could such a top delicacy be made so easily? There were many processes involved. It was not an ordinary complicated dish.
First of all, in terms of ingredients, Buddha jumps over the wall was made from more than ten ingredients. It was made from abalone, sea cucumber, fish lips, yak skin glue, apricot abalone mushroom, flower mushroom, cuttlefish, scallops, quail eggs, and so on. In order to fully reflect the taste and characteristics of each ingredient, these ingredients had to be made into a dish independently. Then, they had to be gathered together, added with stock and Shaoxing wine, and simmered for more than ten hours. Only then could the taste truly reach its mellow characteristics.
Therefore, it was not easy to make 'Buddha Jumps Over The Wall Soup', and it was not something that could be eaten quickly. Guo Ziyi was making 'Buddha Jumps Over The Wall Soup' now, but if he wanted to eat 'Buddha Jumps Over The Wall Soup', he would have to wait until dinner time. Moreover, this was under the premise that it was done a few hours earlier. If Li An told Guo Ziyi about this situation, Guo Ziyi would probably be speechless.
Buddha jumps over the wall was originally called Fu Shou Quan. There were three versions of the origin of Buddha jumps over the wall. The first version was that in a certain year during the Tang dynasty, an official of Fuzhou's Official Qian Bureau invited Fujian's Chief Secretary Zhou Lian to a banquet. In order to curry favor with Zhou Lian, he ordered his wife to personally cook. He used Shaoxing wine jars to store chicken, duck, mutton, pig's stomach, pigeon eggs, seafood, and more than twenty ingredients and supplementary ingredients. He simmered the dish and named it Fu Shou Quan. After Zhou Lian tasted it, she was full of praises. When she asked about the name of the dish, the official said that the dish was named after the meaning of "good luck, good fortune, and longevity."
Later on, Yamen Chef Zheng Chunfa learned how to cook this dish and improved it. The taste was better than the original. When Zheng Chunfa opened the Juchun Garden Restaurant, this dish caused a sensation in Fuzhou. Once, a group of literati came to taste this dish. When the Fu Shou Quan was opened, the fragrance of meat filled the air. One of the scholars was intoxicated and triggered his poetic interest. He immediately recited, "When the altar opens, the fragrance of meat wafts all around. When Buddha hears it, he abandons Zen and jumps over the wall." At the same time, in Fuzhou's dialect, the pronunciation of Fu Shou Quan and Buddha jumps over the wall was similar. Since then, using the meaning of the poem, Buddha jumps over the wall became the official name of this dish. It had a history of more than a hundred years.
As for the second version, it was a custom in Fujian. On the third day after the wedding, a new daughter-in-law had to personally cook and show off her cooking skills to serve her in-laws. Legend has it that a rich family's daughter was spoiled and did not know how to cook. On the eve of her wedding, she was extremely worried. Her mother took out all the delicacies in the house and made all kinds of dishes. She wrapped them in lotus leaves and taught her how to cook them. Who would have thought that the young lady would forget the method of cooking? In a moment of desperation, she poured all the dishes into a wine jar, covered it with lotus leaves, and put it on the stove. The next day, a strong fragrance wafted out and the whole family praised the dish. This was the origin of Buddha jumps over the wall, which was cooked with eighteen dishes in one pot. It sounded so real.
As for the third version, it was said that a group of beggars carried clay pots and went around begging for food every day. They poured all the leftovers they begged for together and cooked them. The steam was steaming and the fragrance filled the air. When the monks smelled it, they could not resist the temptation of the fragrance and jumped over the wall to eat heartily. There was a poem as proof. The fragrance of meat wafted all around. When Buddha hears it, he abandons Zen and jumps over the wall.
This version was quite interesting. It showed that this dish was so delicious that even the monks could not resist the temptation. It showed how delicious it was.
"There's a new kitchen here. It wasn't here the last time I was here."
Guo Ziyi followed Ang Lee into the kitchen and looked around curiously.
This kitchen was indeed newly built. Moreover, the specifications were much higher than the previous one. It was just that the area was smaller. This was the kitchen that Ang Lee personally cooked. Other chefs were not qualified to use it casually. Most of the most precious ingredients in the residence were stored here.
However, every time Ang Lee personally cooked, there would be other chefs who would come over to help. At the same time, they would also learn some skills. Slowly, these chefs learned how to cook the dishes that Ang Lee designed.
"Wow, quail eggs. This is good stuff. The taste is not bad."
Before the dishes were even cooked, Guo Ziyi had already stuffed several quail eggs into his mouth and ate them in big bites.
Ang Lee said, "General Guo, don't be anxious. These quail eggs are the ingredients for making Buddha jumps over the wall. If you eat them, you won't be able to cook this dish. These are also the ingredients for making Buddha jumps over the wall."
"Wow, a single dish requires so many ingredients. That's too much! Let me see. Sea cucumber, abalone, shark's fin, dried scallop, fish lips, turtle skirt, deer tendon, pigeon egg, duck belly, fish maw, scallop, pigeon, pork ribs, razor clams, ham, pork belly, lamb elbow, hoof tip, hoof tendon, chicken breast of a retired hen, domestic yellow beak duck breast, chicken gizzard, duck gizzard, mushroom, and a few more that I don't even know the names of. "
Guo Ziyi's eyes were wide open. He felt that the dish that Ang Lee invented was really amazing. There were actually so many main ingredients, and naturally, there were even more supplementary ingredients. There were sliced ginger, scallions, cinnamon, steamed scallop, shao wine, winter bamboo shoots, monosodium glutamate, water hair fish lips, rock sugar, pork tripe, premium soy sauce, gold abalone, pork bone soup, pork hoof tip, cooked lard, and clean duck.
Not only did a dish have so many main ingredients, but there were also so many supplementary ingredients. This was quite rare. With so many precious ingredients, if the dish wasn't delicious, then it would be a waste of these delicious ingredients.
"There are so many ingredients. It's at least 15 kilograms! How long will it take to finish? "
Guo Ziyi looked at the ingredients and condiments and asked.
Ang Lee smiled faintly and said, "To be honest, General Guo, it normally takes ten to ten hours. If you're in a hurry to eat, ten to eight hours is also fine."
"What? It takes that long?"
Guo Ziyi's eyes were wide open. He felt that he had been tricked. After pausing for a moment, he said, "It will be midnight in ten to ten hours. Assistant Minister Li wants me to stay the night!"
Originally, Ang Lee just wanted to provoke this old man. He didn't expect that this old man would ask to stay the night. This made him a little surprised. However, this old man wasn't a bad person. Staying the night wasn't a big deal.
"If General Guo is willing to stay the night, that's naturally the best. My residence recently bought a new maid. How about she warm your bed?"
Ang Lee teased.
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