Chapter 646: Loving Iron Man (2/2)

The golden yellow large prawns were now paired with the light green color of the ‘peacock’ neck. A delicate aroma wafted from the dish and the beautiful aesthetics of the dish delighted one’s eyes. With such delicious and tasty looking shrimp in front of a person, who would want to eat some boring cookies instead ah? Zhu Junyang stuffed the plate of cookies into the drooling Hou Xiaoliang’s hands, “These are gifted to you now!”

“Thank you, Master!” Hou Xiaoliang was exhausted and starving after spending a grueling journey on horseback following his master. Although Wutong had considerately given him a piece of jujube cake earlier, he had seen the tantalizing plate of cookies within his master’s hands. Furthermore, it was said that these were made by his future mistress. Thus, the jujube cake became tasteless in his mouth.

Everyone in the capital had acknowledged his future mistress’s culinary talents. However, he had never been lucky enough to eat any food personally made by her. He would have never had expected that his master would be so kind to bestow upon him a plate of chocolate sandwich cookies to him. Boo hoo...he was so touched. What should he do from now on? In the future, he needed to work even harder for his master in hopes that he would get rewarded with more delicious food to eat!

Naturally, Zhu Junyang had no idea of the thoughts that were running through his assistant’s head. He was currently stretching out a hand to pick up a golden-yellow fried prawn. He stuffed it in his mouth and tasted it delicately. Mhm~~~crispy on the outside while tender on the inside. Flaky and immensely tasty. This truly was the hallmark of his lass’s cooking!

“Oh right! What is the ‘Manchu-Han Imperial Feast’?” Zhu Junyang ate three large prawns in quick succession before he had the time to voice the question that had risen in his heart.

“Ah? Uh! Hm~~” Yu Xiaocao’s hands paused for a second as she pondered how to answer this question, “The Manchu-Han Imperial Feast, ah, is a type of legendary court feast that has been lost in the sands of time. This feast not only has the elegant qualities of imperial dishes but also has the refreshing qualities of local delicacies. It combines the tastes and qualities of both Manchu and Han culinary traditions. It’s considered one of the best feasts within our culture and has reached the pinnacle of culinary success. The entire feast has a total of a hundred and eight dishes. It contains sweet and savory dishes, vegetarian and meat foods, extensive and rare ingredients that are found in the deep mountains and frigid seas.”

Wow! A hundred and eight different dishes? Zhu Junyang’s eyes immediately lit up when he heard this detail. Didn’t that mean that once he married his little lass he would have such a delicious feast in the future?

“Wife, were the recipes for this legendary ‘Manchu-Han Imperial Feast’ recorded in that ancient scroll remnant that you had found?” Zhu Junyang considerately found a perfect excuse for Xiaocao.  Yu Xiaocao paused for a second and then lightly nodded her head, “Mhm! However, the scroll remnant is just a remnant, after all. I only know a few dishes that were used in that legendary feast!”

“It’s already amazing that you know how to make a few of these dishes! This prince’s little wife is truly the best among the best!” (Author’s note: Royal Prince Yang, where is your cold and aloof image now? Royal Prince Yang: Cold and aloof image? Isn’t this prince a loyal and loving dog in front of his wife ah?)

“Who’s your little wife? Looks like not even food can keep your mouth shut!” Yu Xiaocao rolled her eyes at him in a coquettish manner as she continued to prepare food.

Zhu Junyang sidled over and stuffed a fried prawn into her mouth. When he saw her chewing happily, he felt like this plate of ‘peacock prawns’ had become even more tasty.

“Wife, you are clearly this prince’s little wife, right? In about a year, you’ll be eighteen. Hasn’t our wedding date been set long ago ah?” Their wedding date had already been booked over a year ago. They had decided to get married at the start of spring next year, during the third month. At that time, the weather wouldn’t be too hot or cold, so it was perfect!

Zhu Junyang watched as Xiaocao concentrated on making delicious food for him. As expected, seeing Xiaocao fully focused made it hard for a person to stop staring at her. He gazed at her in an infatuated manner. Even the plate of large prawns in his hands wasn’t enough to draw his attention, “Wife, what are you making now?”

“I noticed that the kitchen has both meat and fish and remembered there’s a dish from the ‘Manchu-Han Imperial Feast’ called ‘Affection of the Dragon and Phoenix’, so I plan on making that!” Yu Xiaocao didn’t raise her head as she deboned and skinned the fish in her hands. She then expertly skinned and deboned some chicken breast before she thinly sliced both meats into slender slivers. Following that, the two meats were placed into two bowls and seasoned with some cooking wine and a bit of salt. After mixing it up, she then placed the two meats into some egg white and corn flour.

“Wife, this name is quite nice! However, when you take this dish outside this residence, it’s better to find a different name. Otherwise, certain people would use this name as an excuse to attack our reputations!” Zhu Junyang had just come back triumphantly and didn’t want some jealous officials to find anything to bring him down in front of the court.

“Okay! Then I’ll change the name, I’ll call it——Loving Iron Man!” Yu Xiaocao also felt the ‘Dragon and Phoenix’ in the name of the dish was a bit too eye catching. Although the emperor wasn’t someone who was that petty, she was afraid that there would be nitpicky jealous officials who would take it as a point of contention against her and complain endlessly.

“Wife, this name is very good! It sounds like this dish was named especially for this prince!” Wasn’t he the perfect example of a ‘loving iron man’ ah? He was such a manly man but in front of his little lass, he acted like a gentle and loving person instead.

“However, this dish looks to be quite cumbersome to make! In the future, you should have the chefs and cook maids make such complicated dishes!” Zhu Junyang didn’t want his little lass to work so hard. Cooking was quite difficult sometimes and his wife was supposed to live a leisurely life. She wasn’t there to be his personal chef. In the future, she shouldn’t have to do so much work if she didn’t want to!

[1] Manchu-Han Imperial Feast - a grand banquet held sometime in the Qing dynasty. One of the grandest meals ever documented in Chinese culinary history, the banquet reportedly consisted of 108 dishes served in six meals over the course of three days.