Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 529: Chinese Yam Steamed Egg Custard

After seeing Zhenniang off, Shen Yu asked for the overalls that were sent to him and put them on. He also put on a hat with a drawstring on his head like the other cooks.

After gathering a few strands of hair from her temples into her hat, she tied the strap on the back of the hat, washed her hands, and began to prepare breakfast.

Huai yam is a type of yam, which is much thinner and longer than the yam we eat everyday.

Not only can it be eaten, but it can also be used as medicine after processing. It is a very good ingredient for nourishing the body, strengthening the spleen and nourishing the stomach.

The yam that the young eunuch brought was thin and long, of excellent quality, and clean.

The dirt on it has been carefully brushed clean with a soft brush, and it can be used after being rinsed lightly with water.

The yam had been washed here, and the young eunuch had added cold water into the pot and placed the steamer in place according to Shen Yu's instructions.

Shen Yu broke the yam into small pieces of suitable length, spread them flat in the steamer, covered the lid, and told the eunuch to wait until the water boiled and then steam it for half an incense stick of time.

The young eunuch agreed, then skillfully turned on the fire at the bottom of the stove, lit the incense sticks for timing, and started steaming.

While Shen Yu was cooking, the four chefs were doing their own work, but they were all looking over here to see how Shen Yu was moving.

Seeing that Shen Yu didn't fry or stew the yam, but just washed it and steamed it, they were all a little disappointed.

There's nothing special about this.

Several people exchanged glances, and Chef Liu came over with a smile: "Miss Shen, I heard that you want to make steamed egg custard, but the Queen Mother is not a child, why would she want to eat this?"

Shen Yu knew that Chef Liu was a very stubborn person, and he would not be able to change his mind for a while. He was too lazy to argue with him and just smiled and said, "This will taste delicious and nutritious. The Queen Mother will recover faster."

"Huai yam is a medicinal ingredient when dried. It can be considered a medicinal food."

Although Chef Liu was good at cooking, he had never come into contact with medicinal food. He could only nod as if he understood and went back to work.

Shen Yu took four tiny eggs.

The eggshell is green, and the egg is only half the size of an ordinary egg. According to the eunuch next to it, this is a black chicken egg, and the price of this one can buy four ordinary large eggs.

Take a large bowl, crack the black chicken eggs into the bowl, add a small amount of mountain spring water, stir evenly with bamboo chopsticks, and leave it there for a while to allow the bubbles to overflow.

The Chinese yam is also steamed.

Open the steamer, take out the steamed yam with bamboo tongs, wait for it to cool down a little, use a knife to gently cut a vertical cut on it, and you can easily peel off the thin skin.

Take two pieces of peeled yam, put them in a large bowl, and crush them into yam paste with the back of a spoon.

Then use a fine mesh colander to sift the egg liquid into a large bowl containing yam paste, and then gently beat the egg liquid and yam paste until evenly mixed.

Put the bowl in the steamer, cover it with a large flat plate, and start steaming.

When steaming egg custard, you must control the heat and time well. If the time is too short, the egg custard will not be cooked through and will have an eggy smell. If the time is too long, the egg custard will become old.

Shen Yu instructed the young eunuch to slowly steam a cup of tea over medium to low heat.

When she was at home, she taught Zheng Sanniang how to steam minced meat and egg custard for Xiao Zhuzi. After several trials, they found that the best taste was achieved when the custard made from two eggs took a cup of tea to steam.

Now the black chicken eggs are small in size, and the amount of four eggs is about the same as that of two large eggs. It is estimated that if steamed for the same time, the steamed egg custard should not be much different.

While the egg custard was being steamed here, Shen Yu took a small pot and placed it on the small stove that was burning brightly.

Pour an appropriate amount of water and a little sugar into the pot, then add a spoonful of sweet soy sauce and a spoonful of bean paste. Since soy sauce and bean paste are salty in themselves, there is no need to add salt.

Dissolve the sauce in the pot, bring to a boil over low heat, then add a spoonful of thin starch and cook until the sauce thickens.

The young eunuch stared at the burning incense sticks, and when the steaming time came, he hurriedly called Shen Yu.

Shen Yu agreed and asked the eunuch to turn off the fire under the stove. He simmered the egg custard for a while before wrapping the edge of the bowl with a cloth and bringing out the steamed egg custard.

The steamed egg custard had a light fragrance and was as smooth as a mirror without any bubbles. Shen Yu felt very satisfied.

Just as she was pouring the cooked sauce on it, a palace maid who looked familiar came in and said, "Miss Shen, Aunt Zhen asked me to tell you that the Queen Mother has stood up."

"I want to ask if the steamed egg custard you made is ready. If it is, it can be served now."

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Aunt, you're here just in time. It's just been steamed. I'll go with you."

When the cooks heard that the Empress Dowager had gotten up, they hurriedly put the prepared breakfast into food boxes, called the eunuchs to serve the food in, and sent them to the warm room of Chunhui Palace in a stream.

Shen Yu calmly sprinkled some fried black sesame seeds into the egg custard with sauce, and sprinkled two strands of green onion as garnish, and then put the egg custard in the food box.

After the eunuch who served the meal picked her up, Shen Yu followed the palace maid who came to deliver the message, and the group went to the warm room of Chunhui Palace.

In the warm room, the empress dowager was wearing a loose robe. Her still thick hair was simply tied up in a bun, and a simple longevity hairpin made of red gold and inlaid with red gems was inserted in her bun.

She sat cross-legged on the kang, leaning against the pillow, with a slight smile on her slightly thin face, looking relaxed and leisurely.

Only the pair of exquisite jade earrings hanging on her ears, like a pool of green water, silently demonstrated the wealth of the royal family.

The Queen Mother looked at the eunuchs and palace maids busy setting the unchanging breakfast at the dining table over there, and frowned slightly, imperceptibly.

Just when he was about to ask Zhenniang, who was standing beside him, why Miss Shen hadn't come over yet, he looked up and saw Shen Yu coming in with a smile on his face, following Yao Zi.

She was wearing a pink dress, with bright eyes and a face full of vitality.

As soon as she came in, the whole warm room suddenly became three times brighter.

The Queen Mother couldn't help but curl up her lips, and said lovingly: "Miss Shen looks really good in this dress. Young girls should wear brighter clothes like this."

Shen Yu hurriedly squatted and saluted: "Her Majesty, thank you for letting Aunt Zhen send me clothes. This dress is very beautiful and I like it very much."

The Queen Mother smiled and instructed, "If you like it, wear more. Zhenniang, when you are done, go pick out a few brightly colored clothes for Miss Shen and send them to her Misty Rain Pavilion."

Zhenniang smiled and agreed.

The Queen Mother, like a little child, looked curiously at the food box carried by the eunuch who came in with Shen Yu: "What did Miss Shen prepare for me today? I am still waiting to eat it."