20demayo Chapter 186 Making French Fries and Hamburgers
Chapter 186 Making French Fries and Hamburgers
Inside the royal kitchen of the Nanzhao Kingdom's palace, smoke curled and the air was filled with the rich aroma of food.
Inside the royal palace of the Nanzhao Kingdom, the magnificent imperial kitchen was now brightly lit by the roaring fire, with thick smoke rising like clouds and the entire room filled with the rich, mouthwatering aroma of food.
Gu Liuli and Jia Xiaoyan, dressed in light and comfortable clothes with their sleeves rolled up high, revealing their slender and delicate wrists as white as mutton-fat jade, stood gracefully before the spacious stove. Their beautiful eyes sparkled with undisguised curiosity and anticipation.
Just today, these two quirky girls suddenly had a brilliant idea: to personally recreate modern delicacies—hamburgers and potato chips—in this ancient imperial kitchen. Gu Liuli smiled, turned to Jia Xiaoyan beside her, who was equally excited, and softly asked, "Xiaoyan, do you think we can successfully make hamburgers and potato chips that are exactly as delicious as modern ones?" Her beautiful eyes sparkled with eager anticipation, as if she couldn't wait to show off her skills.
Jia Xiaoyan patted her chest confidently and replied without hesitation, "Liuli, don't worry! We've studied this carefully for a long time, there won't be any problems! And look, the imperial kitchen has all kinds of ingredients, a dazzling array, plus all the chefs are highly skilled and have excellent craftsmanship, they'll definitely be able to provide us with a lot of help!" After saying that, she winked playfully at Gu Liuli.
Hearing Jia Xiaoyan's confident words, Gu Liuli couldn't help but smile, and the last trace of doubt in her heart instantly vanished. Then, after exchanging a knowing glance, the two immediately began preparing the necessary ingredients with great enthusiasm.
At this moment, however, the imperial chefs gathered around looked at each other, their faces filled with confusion and bewilderment. They simply couldn't understand why these two noble empresses would suddenly come up with such a strange idea. Despite their curiosity, the chefs remained respectfully in place, quietly waiting to see how the two empresses would proceed.
Gu Liuli walked to the shelf displaying ingredients and selected fresh flour, yeast, beef, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. She picked up a piece of bright red beef, examined it carefully, and nodded in satisfaction: "This beef is good, the meat is tender, it will definitely taste good for making hamburger patties."
Jia Xiaoyan was picking out potatoes. She picked up a potato and weighed it in her hand: "These potatoes are plump, perfect for making potato chips."
With the ingredients ready, Gu Liuli began making the hamburger buns. She poured the flour into a large bowl, added an appropriate amount of yeast and warm water, stirred it with chopsticks until it formed clumps, and then began kneading the dough by hand. The dough rolled in her hands and soon became smooth and elastic.
"Xiaoyan, come help me knead this dough for a while, it's quite elastic," Gu Liuli said with a smile, calling to Jia Xiaoyan.
Jia Xiaoyan came over and kneaded dough with Gu Liuli. The two chatted and laughed, and soon fine beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads.
"I didn't expect making a hamburger bun would be so much work," Jia Xiaoyan said with a smile.
“Yes, but that’s part of the fun,” Gu Liuli replied.
After kneading the dough, they placed it in a warm place to ferment. While the dough was fermenting, Jia Xiaoyan began to prepare the beef. She sliced the beef thinly and marinated it with salt, pepper, and light soy sauce, allowing the beef to fully absorb the flavors of the seasonings.
"Liuli, what do you think of my marinated beef?" Jia Xiaoyan held up a piece of beef and showed it to Gu Liuli.
"It looks delicious. It will definitely smell wonderful when it's fried." Gu Liuli praised with a smile.
Gu Liuli then sliced the potatoes into thin slices and soaked them in water to remove the surface starch. As she sliced, she said, "The key to making these potato chips is to wash off the starch. That way, they'll be crispy and fragrant when fried."
The chefs in the imperial kitchen watched attentively, offering suggestions from time to time. An old chef stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the oil temperature for frying is very important. The heat must be controlled well, otherwise it will easily burn."
Gu Liuli and Jia Xiaoyan listened attentively and kept the chef's advice in mind.
After a while, the dough had risen. Gu Liuli divided the dough into small pieces, rolled them into rounds, placed them on a baking tray, brushed them with egg wash, and sprinkled them with sesame seeds.
"Xiaoyan, look, these hamburger buns are ready, just waiting to be baked in the oven," Gu Liuli said happily, pointing to the hamburger buns on the baking tray.
Looking at the round and cute hamburger buns, Jia Xiaoyan smiled and said, "I really look forward to seeing them baked. They must be so fragrant and soft."
They placed the baking tray in the oven and set the temperature and time. Inside the oven, the hamburger buns gradually baked and turned golden brown, filling the entire kitchen with an enticing aroma.
Meanwhile, Jia Xiaoyan began frying the beef patties. She heated the pan, poured in a little oil, and placed the marinated beef slices in. As soon as the beef slices touched the hot pan, they sizzled and released a fragrant aroma.
"Wow, this aroma is so tempting, I can hardly resist!" Jia Xiaoyan said, taking a deep breath and savoring the scent.
Gu Liuli helped flip the beef patties to ensure they were heated evenly. Soon, the patties were cooked, golden brown, tender, and juicy.
"Xiaoyan, this beef patty is fried perfectly, it's sure to be delicious," Gu Liuli praised.
Next, they started frying potato chips. Gu Liuli took the soaked potato chips out and patted them dry with kitchen paper towels. Jia Xiaoyan poured an appropriate amount of oil into the pan and heated it to about 70% of its maximum temperature.
"Liuli, the oil temperature is about right, you can put in the potato chips now," Jia Xiaoyan said.
Gu Liuli carefully placed the potato slices into the oil. The potato slices instantly rolled and sizzled in the oil. In no time, the potato slices turned golden brown, becoming thin and crispy.
"It's a success! These potato chips look delicious!" Gu Liuli exclaimed excitedly.
They took the fried potato chips out, placed them on a plate, and sprinkled some salt on them. Jia Xiaoyan picked up a potato chip, put it in her mouth, and took a small bite. The potato chip made a crisp sound: "Mmm, it's so delicious, exactly the same as the ones I ate in modern times."
Just then, the hamburger buns in the oven were baked. Gu Liuli opened the oven, and a rich aroma of wheat wafted out. She took the hamburger buns out and placed them on a rack to cool.
"Xiaoyan, let's start assembling the hamburgers," Gu Liuli said.
They cut the cooled hamburger buns in half, added lettuce, tomato slices, cheese, and a seared beef patty, then squeezed on some salad dressing. A delicious hamburger was ready.
"Mission accomplished!" Gu Liuli and Jia Xiaoyan looked at the hamburgers and potato chips on the table, their faces beaming with pride.
"Liuli, let's try it!" Jia Xiaoyan picked up a hamburger, took a bite, and a satisfied expression appeared on her face: "It's so delicious, the taste is absolutely amazing."
Gu Liuli also took a bite of the hamburger and potato chips, and nodded in praise: "It is indeed very delicious. Our efforts have not been in vain."
The chefs from the imperial kitchen gathered around, and seeing the novel food, they couldn't resist trying it. They all gave a thumbs up, praising Gu Liuli and Jia Xiaoyan's culinary skills.
"Your Majesty, these hamburgers and potato chips are truly the finest of delicacies! I have lived most of my life and have never tasted anything so delicious." The chef exclaimed sincerely as he devoured the food.
"Indeed, Your Majesty, how did you come up with such an exquisite cooking method?" Another chef also looked on with great curiosity, eagerly looking at Gu Liuli and Jia Xiaoyan, hoping to get an answer from them.
Gu Liuli and Jia Xiaoyan exchanged a glance and then smiled at each other. Jia Xiaoyan then spoke softly, "This is a specialty dish from our hometown. We were in the mood to make it today so that you could all enjoy it together."
"Your Majesty, the cuisine of your hometown is truly unique and distinctive! We will certainly study it diligently in the future and strive to be able to make such delicacies as well." Upon hearing this, the chefs all nodded in agreement, expressing their great interest in these novel foods.
"That would be wonderful, of course. When I have some free time in the future, I will certainly teach you more methods for making delicious food." Gu Liuli smiled and readily agreed.
Just then, footsteps approached from afar. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Xiao Jingchuan and Jiang Liushen walking side-by-side into the imperial kitchen. Even before they got close, they could smell the rich, enticing aroma in the air, and their curiosity was piqued. They asked, "What are you all doing here so busily? How come there's such a fragrant aroma wafting out?"
Seeing this, Gu Liuli and Jia Xiaoyan quickly stepped forward with smiles and handed them the hamburgers and potato chips they had just made, saying sweetly, "Come and try the modern delicacies we made ourselves—hamburgers and potato chips."
Xiao Jingchuan and Jiang Liushen took the hamburgers and potato chips, looking at the novel food with some hesitation.
"Don't worry, it's delicious, try it!" Jia Xiaoyan urged.
Xiao Jingchuan and Jiang Liushen took a bite of their hamburger and potato chips, their faces showing surprise: "This taste... is amazing, we've never tasted such delicious food before."
"Haha, isn't it delicious! This is our masterpiece," Gu Liuli said with a smile.
"Liuli, Xiaoyan, you two are amazing! If this delicacy were to be promoted in the Nanzhao Kingdom and the Xijing Kingdom, it would definitely be a huge hit," Xiao Jingchuan said.
“Yes, then the people of our two countries will be able to taste this unique delicacy.” Jiang Liushen nodded in agreement.
Everyone sat together, enjoying delicious hamburgers and potato chips while sharing the joy of making the food. The royal kitchen was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.