Cute Wife Gourmet

Chapter 91 Homemade Chicken Essence
Ye Jiayao thought that it was Zhao Qixuan's treat again today, so she went up to toast after the dishes were ready, but she didn't expect Mu Qinchu and Wei Liujiang were also there.

"Li Yao, I was just looking for you. I have already got the ice ticket you mentioned yesterday." Mu Qinchu said enthusiastically, as if he was very familiar with Ye Jiayao.

Ye Jiayao's mouth twitched, as if she was smiling: "So fast?"

Mu Qinchu poked Wei Liujiang, and Wei Liujiang quickly took out a stack of ice tickets and gave them to Ye Jiayao.

This man, who had always been gentle and elegant in the original owner's mind, as elegant as Lanzhi and Yushu, was now in front of her with a flattering smile on his face, bending over and presenting the ice ticket with both hands.

I wonder what the original owner would think when he saw him like this.

Ye Jiayao took it leisurely and counted it: "Why is it only 500 kilograms?"

Mu Qinchu said: "It's not easy to get a thousand kilograms at a time. I'll get you another five hundred kilograms in a few days."

"No need!"

Helian Jing and Xia Chunfeng said it in unison.

Xia Chunfeng coughed twice and signaled Helian Jing to speak.

Helian Jing refused to give in and said, "Li Yao, tell me how much you need and I will get it for you."

Is it necessary to ask this "not clear" guy for help for such a trivial matter?

Xia Chunfeng took the opportunity to tease Mu Qinchu: "It's not a big deal, isn't it just a thousand kilograms of ice? You can't even handle this."

Mu Qinchu was so depressed that his face turned red, and he was so angry that his teeth were itching: You guys who just eat the food and don't do anything, it's easy for you to say, if you have the ability, just go and get it. Just for these 500 kilograms of ice, I had to get a good scolding before I could get it.

Ye Jiayao smiled. She certainly believed that Xiao Jing could get the ice, but this was extorted from Mu Qinchu, so she didn't get any advantage from that guy. She said, "Then wait a few days. However, this ice is for the birthday celebration of the old princess of the Helian Palace, so we can't delay it."

Mu Qinchu's heart sank. So this was the purpose. Then he would get the remaining 500 kilograms no matter what.

"It's been hot lately, so ice is in short supply. However, I will get it as soon as possible and will not delay the old princess' birthday banquet." Mu Qinchu hastily assured.

Zhao Qixuan signaled a nobleman sitting next to him to give up his seat and called Ye Jiayao: "Li Yao, sit down and have a couple of drinks together."

The young masters who didn't know Li Yao well were all amazed. Usually, they drank and had fun together seemingly casually, but the seating order was always very particular and no one dared to overstep their boundaries. Today, the main seat was occupied by Prince Jing, with Xia Chunfeng and Zhao Qixuan on his left and right. No one had an objection to this order, after all, they were of noble status, but Zhao Qixuan actually let the cook sit next to him. Wasn't it too weird?

The most shocked among them was Wei Liujiang. This Li Yao was undoubtedly the best chef and had such close relationships with a bunch of princes and lords. If one had not seen it with one's own eyes, one would have thought it was a fairy tale.

However, even more eye-popping things are yet to come.

Helian Jing kicked Zhao Qixuan and said, "Make way, Li Yao, come sit over here."

Zhao Qixuan was not annoyed at all and cheerfully gave up his seat: "Okay, Li Yao, you take a seat."

What's going on? Everyone is in a mess.

Seeing everyone's stunned expressions, Ye Jiayao walked over but didn't sit down. This position was too dazzling and she was afraid that her butt would get sores if she sat down. She just picked up the wine pot and poured a glass of wine for everyone, then filled a glass for herself, raised the glass and said: "Thank you all for coming. I toast to everyone and wish you all a happy drink and a happy meal."

After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp.

Helian Jing said: "Come on, everyone, drink up the wine in your cup."

Seeing that several important figures had drunk, there was no reason for the other minions not to show their support, and they all drank the wine in their glasses.

Ye Jiayao filled her glass again and toasted Xiao Jing this time: "Young Prince, thank you for your trust in letting me organize the old princess' birthday banquet. I appreciate your kindness. I toast to you."

Helian Jing frowned and said, "We are just friends, it's too formal for you to say that."

Ye Jiayao drank the whole wine, turned the cup upside down, and looked at Xiaojing with a smile.

Helian Jing had no choice but to do it.

For the third cup, Ye Jiayao wanted to toast Zhao Qixuan: "Brother Zhao, I have something to ask of you."

Zhao Qixuan said: "Please or no please, just tell me if you have anything to ask."

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "Then take it as your agreement. I'll tell you later."

After three glasses of wine, Ye Jiayao said, "Everyone, please feel free to come. I have work to do in the kitchen, so I'll excuse you now. I'll host you another day, and everyone should come!"

Helian Jing said disappointedly: "You are so busy, aren't there other cooks in the kitchen?"

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "But I'm the chef. Okay, you guys drink, I'm leaving first."

As soon as she went out, the sincere and enthusiastic smile on Ye Jiayao's face turned into a sneer.

Wei Liujiang, oh Wei Liujiang, if you knew who I was, would you vomit blood?

After the banquet, Helian Jing and Xia Chunfeng accompanied Zhao Qixuan to find Ye Jiayao.

They wanted to hear what Yaoyao wanted to ask Zhao Qixuan.

"What are you talking about?" Zhao Qixuan asked.

"Oh, I heard that you have business in the south, and I would like to ask you to help me get some coconuts from the south." Ye Jiayao said.

"Coconut fruit? That thing doesn't taste good? It has a bland taste." Zhao Qixuan wondered.

"I have my own uses."

"Okay, how much do you want?"

"This thing doesn't break easily. If it's convenient, the more the better. Can I get a few hundred?"

Zhao Qixuan readily agreed: "If it's inconvenient, you can ask for as much as you want. There happens to be a fleet heading south tomorrow. I'll give the order."

Ye Jiayao was overjoyed and said, "Thank you in advance."

Helian Jing said, "Yaoyao, if you have any problems in the future, just look for us. There's no need to look for that unclear person." Unclear? Ye Jiayao thought about it for a while before realizing that he was talking about Mu Qinchu. He smiled and said, "I was just blackmailing him. I just wanted to trouble him."

Xia Chunfeng laughed out loud, interesting, this Li Yao is really interesting.

Helian Jing was relieved, and said to Zhao Qixuan: "I just don't like that guy. I won't come if he comes in the future."

Zhao Qixuan said awkwardly: "I also met him on the way."

After the three of them left, Ye Jiayao also got off work and carried a large bag of things back to Aunt Jiang's house. Tonight she was going to make a very important seasoning...chicken essence.

Chicken essence is a very common and commonly used condiment in modern times, but it had not appeared in this era.

It was Jiang Li who opened the door. Seeing that she was holding something in her hand, he quickly took it and shouted loudly inside.

"Mom, the Third Madam is back."

Aunt Jiang came out of the kitchen: "Madam, have you had dinner? I made dumplings."

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "I've eaten at the restaurant, you guys eat, Ah Li, help me carry the food to the kitchenette!"

"Hey!" Jiang Li responded and left.

Jiang Yue ate the last dumpling in two or three bites and ran out: "Madam San, do you want to cook?"

Ye Jiayao said: "Yes, if you have nothing to do, come and help."

"It's okay, it's okay. Mom, I'm going to help the Third Madam." Jiang Yue said happily.

Aunt Jiang sneered: "Go, girl, learn from the Third Madam."

Jiang Li consciously went to chop wood and make a fire.

Ye Jiayao washed her hands and took out two stone mortars. She gave one to Jiang Yue and said, "Crush that bag of rock sugar into powder."

"Hey!" Jiang Yue happily took the job.

Ye Jiayao processed the chicken herself. She tore the chicken breast that had been cooked and drained at noon into thin strips with her hands, removed the tendons, and pounded it in a stone mortar until it was finely minced.

While Jiang Li was lighting the fire, he was thinking about when to show the mold to the Third Madam.

Ye Jiayao put the pounded minced meat into a plate, shook it with chopsticks, and added a little ground salt in batches until the saltiness was moderate. She also took out the green onion, ginger and mushrooms, chopped them into small pieces, and put them into the earthenware jar.

“Is the pot hot?”

Jiang Li came back to his senses and nodded, "It's already hot."

"Put more salt at the bottom of the pot," Ye Jiayao ordered.

There were no ovens in that era, so the only way was to use this primitive method: put salt at the bottom of the pot and then put a clay pot on it to bake.

Stir-fry after baking for a while and continue baking until the moisture is completely evaporated and the chopped scallions, ginger and mushrooms are dehydrated and become crispy small particles.

Next, bake the shredded chicken until it becomes soft, then mix all the ingredients together and continue pounding until it becomes powder. Finally, add a little powdered sugar and mix well.

Ye Jiayao put some chicken essence on her fingertips and tasted it. Hmm...it was delicious. The first time she made chicken essence at home, she was successful.

"Third Madam, what is this?" Jiang Yue asked curiously.

Ye Jiayao smiled mysteriously: "This is my secret seasoning, you are not allowed to tell anyone else about it."

If this thing gets out, it will definitely cause a stir in the food industry.

The brother and sister nodded solemnly: "We won't tell anyone."

Ye Jiayao put the prepared chicken essence into a dry jar and sealed it. She gave the rest to Jiang Yue: "Give it to your mother. When you cook or make soup, add a pinch of it. Remember, only a small pinch, and add it right before serving. It will taste especially delicious."

"Really? That's really good stuff." Jiang Yue held it carefully, afraid of spilling it.

"Well, find a jar to put it in and keep it away from moisture, otherwise it will be difficult to use." Ye Jiayao reminded.

Jiang Yue nodded repeatedly: "I'll go find the jar now."

Ye Jiayao looked at the jar of chicken essence on the stove and felt very happy. This was her secret weapon. Whether the old princess' birthday banquet would be a success depended not only on ice cream mooncakes and crystal mooncakes, but also on the chicken essence which was a very important factor.

"Third... Madam Third, I have made the mold." Jiang Li said hesitantly.

Ye Jiayao was stunned for a moment: "So fast?"

Jiang Li nodded: "It's done."

Ye Jiayao was overjoyed: "Bring it here for me to see."

Jiang Li had kept the mold in his arms and quickly took it out and handed it to the Third Madam.

Ye Jiayao saw that the mold was very delicately made. It was small and could be opened and closed. When she opened it, the carvings inside were exactly what she wanted.

"My mother is making dumplings tonight, and I took a batch to test them out. Would Third Madam like to see how they turn out?" Jiang Li wasn't sure whether Third Madam would like them. She kept saying that they wanted to be delicate, so he made them small and delicate. But when they were done, he felt they were too small.

"Yeah, if you want to see it, go get it." Ye Jiayao was just looking for something to try.

After a while, Jiang Li came back with the dough.

Oh my god, it's so delicate and cute, that's what she wants! The big mooncakes make you feel full just by looking at them, only small and delicate ones like this can arouse people's appetite.

"Ali, you have such a skillful hand. I like this mold very much. I have four more drawings. You can make the remaining four according to this size." Ye Jiayao couldn't let go of the mold as she played with it.

Jiang Li smiled naively and scratched his head. He thought, as long as the Third Madam is satisfied.

(End of this chapter)