Chapter 1368 - 1295: Equal Favor for All
The palace feast’s biggest concern is cold dishes. Fortunately, it is autumn now, and the weather is warm. When the inner court first prepared the menu, Zhao Hanzhang stated that she hoped her subjects could eat well at the palace feast.
The palace feast is essentially a company gathering. It’s rare for the boss to be generous, so naturally, the best dishes must be prepared for the feast.
While music and dance are essential, the dishes are even more so, especially during times when most people cannot eat their fill or eat well.
Not every official has the wealth to dine at Taotie Building.
Upon Zhao Hanzhang’s order, the Imperial Kitchen racked their brains and even went to Taotie Building to seek advice, eventually presenting three menus.
Wang Hufeng and Ting He first picked through them and made amendments before submitting them to Zhao Hanzhang for review.
Zhao Hanzhang spent half the night discussing with Fu Tinghan, considering the food they both enjoyed.
"What I like to eat, the military generals will like too. What you like to eat, the scholars with mild tastes will surely like as well. Therefore, one menu only needs to satisfy you and me, and it will basically satisfy them."
Therefore, the menu was meticulously selected.
To ensure the dishes could be served quickly without being prepared too early and going cold, Fu Tinghan specially had a room added to the Imperial Kitchen, equipped with a table heated with fire dragons underneath.
Cooking and heating produce heat that warms the water on the tail stove, which has special made boilers with two side panels.
Once the water boils, open the left panel, letting the boiling water flow into the pipes.
The pipes lead to the adjoining room, where prepared dishes can be placed. The table is warm, and the dishes on top remain warm for five to six hours.
Most notably, after flowing through the room, the water can return outside. Fu Tinghan had galvanized iron pipes made and cement pipes poured to guide the water out, allowing hot water to flow from the taps.
Members of the Imperial Kitchen can use hot water to wash vegetables and meat.
If it weren’t too costly to renovate the palace, Fu Tinghan would want to bring hot water into the palace for dragon heating and showers.
Winter in Luoyang is still too cold, and having a fire dragon would be much more comfortable.
Steamed lamb, steamed deer tail, roasted duck, roasted goose, along with braised pork, simmered bamboo shoots, red and white meatballs, longevity fish, and Peony Yancai.
The palace maids carried the dishes in one after another, elegantly and orderly. The serving was swift and tidy, each dish steaming hot, immediately stimulating appetites.
During the coronation ceremony, everyone controlled their diet starting in the morning, fearing something indecent might occur mid-ceremony.
Although they could change clothes outside the palace after the heaven-worshiping ceremony, they dared not remove anything more than a few pieces of biscuits tucked in their sleeves, ready to nibble in case of hunger.
It can be said that everyone ate cold food throughout the day, and suddenly seeing steaming dishes, none could resist the urge, hunger stirring within.
Zhao Hanzhang was hungry too.
Every dish on the table was to her liking. If not for the limited table space, budget, and current resources, she would want a portion of every dish mentioned.
Everyone was hungry but did not dare move, instead looking up at Zhao Hanzhang, hoping she would deliver a speech quickly so they could eat.
Zhao Hanzhang chuckled, picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a bite of rice and said, "I know everyone is hungry, so without further ado, let’s eat."
The officials laughed aloud, cupped their hands in response, and eagerly picked up their chopsticks.
Zhao Hu saw two newly served dishes he had never seen before, golden and seemingly alike, yet served on different plates.
He observed for a while, then picked a piece of meat from the left plate and looked at Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang initially wanted to eat the meatballs but, catching his gaze, thought for a moment, shifted her chopsticks to pick a piece of roast duck, dipped it in the sauce beside, and put it in her mouth.
Zhao Hu, upon seeing this, quickly learned to dip in sauce first before eating.
The golden skin was crispy as it entered the mouth, yet the meat inside was tender and juicy. When combined with the sauce, it was both salty and slightly sweet, very delicious.
Zhao Hu’s eyes brightened.
He then picked another piece from the other plate, looked at Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang was helpless and reluctantly picked a piece of roast goose, lightly dipped it in another dish of sauce...
Zhao Hu followed suit, and the taste was different again. While the outer skin was similar, this piece of meat wasn’t as tender as the previous one, yet not greasy. Paired with the somewhat sweet and sour sauce, it was another unique taste.
The officials, not being fools, had been paying attention to the emperor and naturally saw the interaction between the grandparents, promptly following their example to eat the dish.
Ji Yuan, being more straightforward, after tasting, called a eunuch and asked, "These two dishes have different textures, what are they called respectively?"
The eunuch bowed and replied, "Imperial Attendant, this is roast duck, and this is roast goose, both prepared with recipes provided by Your Majesty."
These dishes were made following the Guangfu method. Zhao Hanzhang had tried them several times during trial cooking, and with it being the eighth lunar month now, the ducks were the most succulent, making the roast duck the tastiest.
Having attended to Zhao Hu, Zhao Hanzhang finally picked up the meatball she had been longing for.
These were meatballs, where meat and flour were mixed in an optimal ratio, with some spices blended in, perfectly suiting Zhao Hanzhang’s taste.
Fu Tinghan found them a bit dry, thinking they lacked tenderness, but the meat was firm, which Zhao Hanzhang loved, along with her mother, Mrs. Wang, and Zhao Erlang who wasn’t in Luoyang.
Their family of three enjoyed this texture.
Zhao Hanzhang suddenly remembered something and glanced over, sure enough, Mrs. Wang had already finished two meatballs, seemingly still craving more.
Zhao Hanzhang then split a meatball and picked only half, looking at Ting He.
Ting He stepped forward, carefully carrying the bowl over to Mrs. Wang.
Mrs. Wang was delighted, glanced at her daughter, and finished the half meatball.
Fu Tinghan then gave the two remaining untouched meatballs to Fu An.
Fu An was about to serve Zhao Hanzhang when Lai Qing, with keen eyes and quick reactions, stepped ahead to take them, engaging in a silent contest, ultimately winning and forcingly handing the bowl to Zhao Hanzhang with a flattering smile, "Your Majesty, these are from the Imperial Consort."
Zhao Hanzhang paused, glanced at Lai Qing, then nodded.
She turned to look at Fu Tinghan seated not far away, asking him, "Which dish do you think is the best?"
Fu Tinghan replied, "They are all good, but Peony Yancai is the best."
Zhao Hanzhang nodded, glanced around, then used a communal chopstick to pick up some simmered bamboo shoots and had the rest sent to the long princess.
Then she picked up some fish meat with the communal chopsticks and had the longevity fish sent to Zhao Song, leaving the remaining roast duck to Zhao Hu...
Every important minister was attended to, and seeing Tuoba Yilu enjoy braised pork, she picked a piece before sending the rest to his table.
Ah, being an emperor is truly tiring, having to spread grace equally.
Zhao Hanzhang ultimately placed one of the two meatballs in a bowl and had it sent to Prince An.
Amidst the bustle, musicians from the music workshop came forward to perform, with female musicians presenting music and male musicians offering dance. Zhao Hanzhang watched the two performances, her gaze passing through them to look at the nearby Tuoba father and son.