Under the guidance of Xu Fengde, Fu Jiezi walked into the largest house in Xuanquan, and was ready for a banquet here.

Unlike the fact that the officials and soldiers squatted beside the naan pit and chewed cakes and meat, the officials and men paid special attention to eating: laying banquets, celebrating sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial s

Music distinguishes between high and low, and etiquette distinguishes between high and low. Isn’t the essence of ritual and music just acts as a barrier on the ladder and separates different groups of people?

Fu Jiezi is located on the most noble main seat, facing north and south. Below her is a blue cloth-edged puppet banquet with a fine texture and a separate black lacquer table in front of her.

The rest of the people were divided into different places and knelt on a rectangular mat that could accommodate four people, and each of them shared the same case.

The officials of the envoys were in the Western Conference. Starting from the deputy envoy Wu Zongnian, the senior ones sat at the end, while the young ones were young and the young ones were at the end.

Su Yannian, Chen Pengzu, Xu Fengde and other local Dunhuang officials sat in the east seat as the "hosts".

On the table table were placed in turn, with wine spoons, ear cups for drinking, as well as utensils, bowls, daggers, chopsticks and other utensils.

However, the lacquerware in front of Fu Jiezi, which was very beautiful in black and red. There were only two sets of hangquan, which could only be used by distinguished guests. The rest were just pottery and unpainted wooden ware.

Wu Zongnian watched the soldiers deliver the dishes one by one, looking busy, but the order and order could still be seen from the placement of the vessels. He nodded slightly and said to Fu Jiezi:

"Mr. Fu, when I passed by Xuanquan when I went to the Western Regions, I noticed that the arrangement of Xuanquan is very consistent with the etiquette, but I went there too quickly at that time and didn't have time to ask."

Fu Jiezi is from Yiqu County, Beidi County, and an ordinary good son. He was an official in the army and participated in the second expedition to Dayuan. It took more than 20 years to get to where he is today.

Because he was born in the army, he did not understand these complex etiquette systems very well, but he looked very similar to the rules of placing meals at banquets by officials and nobles in Chang'an.

In front of him, from left to right, there were bone-shaped lamb chops, a large plate of fragrant juicy chicken, steaming rice with steaming rice, and wine on the far right. The seasoned vinegar and black sauce were placed closest, while the chopped green onion was the farthest.

The other people waited for the table and the food on the table was similar, but the portion was a little smaller, and the rice was not as fine as Fu Jiezi.

Deputy envoy Wu Zongnian was a civil servant who had studied Spring and Autumn and Etiquette. He did not miss any opportunity to show his cultural level, so he shook his head and thought:

"All the food is merging on the left and right. Food is on the left and soup is on the right. The onion and leeks are grinding, the wine slurry is on the right, the vinegar sauce is on the right, and the vinegar sauce is inside. Because vinegar sauce is always eaten, it is placed inside so that it can be soaked."

After saying that, he praised: "Looking at the nine houses in Dunhuang, in addition to the hanging springs, only the houses in Dunhuang can be placed like this. It is really not easy to be in this small wilderness. It seems that Xu Sefu is very polite!"

Xu Fengde, who was sitting opposite, quickly bowed: "The country man is just a little bit of words. He doesn't know any etiquette? The arrangement of these utensils and meals is arranged by the chef Xia Dingmao!"

"oh?"

Wu Zongnian was a little surprised: "Is there any wise man in the wild? Can you ask the chef to come and see him?"

Xia Dingmao came soon. He worked in the East Kitchen for a long time before he finished cooking. His head was wrapped with white gauze and his forehead was covered with sweat, which was very different from the secluded scholar Wu Zongnian imagined.

After hearing Xu Fengde talk about cause and effect, Xia Dingmao said: "The officials misunderstood. I don't even know the words, and I have never learned etiquette. These rules for placing tableware were taught step by step by step when the chef Yongren was a chef's home in Chang'an many years ago."

"So that's it." Wu Zongnian said: "Which noble family did you serve in the past?"

Xia Dingmao hesitated, for fear that he would say that it was Ren An's family now and would ruin Ren Hong's affairs.

Fu Jiezi saw that Xia Dingmao must have a hidden secret.

He has been traveling between the frontiers for many years, so he is very clear that in the four counties of Hexi, except for the several waves of immigrants organized by Emperor Xiaowu, who later arrived one after another, no one with innocent family backgrounds?

Either the family of officials who were associated with Prince Wei during the witchcraft disaster, or the people of the county and state who committed crimes, exiles, and lost their ranks.

Fu Jiezi's subordinates also had such people, such as Sun Shiwan from Zhangye County, who was a villain who had crippled people after drinking and exiled from Longxi to Zhangye, and later joined his mission.

Lu Jiushe, the translator of Jiuquan County, specially took smuggling objects for people and walked in the Western Regions, so he had so many kinds of Wushu. After being caught by Guan Duwei, he begged to make meritorious service and atone for his sins...

People in the border are not filial sons and grandchildren, and they all move to the border for their sins. Everyone has a story that cannot be humane. Therefore, Fu Jiezi's subordinates should be strict when they should be strict, and when they should be lenient, they should be lenient when they should be lenient, and they will not pursue minor mistakes.

At this moment, Xia Dingmao scratched his head and answered like this:

"The senior official is not that I refuse to answer, but just said it in the words of the assistant official Ren Hong..."

He smiled and said, "You are very beautiful to eat chickens, so why should you know a hen?"

...

The hall was quiet for a moment, and then Fu Jiezi's laughter rang out.

"This is a simple statement, but it makes sense."

If an egg is delicious, why do you have to know the hen that lays the egg? Fu Jiezi thought about this and said with a smile:

"Mr. Wu, there is no need to ask this Xia Chushou anymore. Let's try how the 'chicken' on these tables tastes."

To be honest, Wu Zongnian was talking about the gift for a long time, and Fu Jiezi had long been impatient. The dishes in front of him looked familiar and unfamiliar. Although the mutton was still mutton and the chicken was still chicken, it was different from what I saw in the past. When I smelled the fragrance, I could only watch it and couldn't move for a long time. Are you annoyed?

Wu Zongnian stopped disappointed, and everyone finally picked up the chopsticks and had a meal. Because Fu Jiezi asked someone to remove the wine on the grounds that he was about to leave tonight, and there was no need to raise a glass to push him. Everyone aimed at the meal on the desk and ate very seriously.

Today's dishes are indeed different from other restaurants' same recipes, and they are so delicious!

There is no need to say much about the roasted lamb chops baked from the naan pit. The outside is burnt and tender on the inside. Compared to the twenty or thirty people outside, seven or eight people in the hall can eat enough, which is very satisfying. When they eat until they are in a deep state, Fu Jiezi, Su Yannian, and even Chen Pengzu got it right.

Only Wu Zongnian was a little reserved as a scholar. He slowly cut meat on the chopstick with a knife, and then chewed it slowly with chopsticks.

Although the mutton is good, Fu Jiezi, who has always liked to eat chicken, prefers the plate of chicken: a whole chicken is chopped into pieces and cooked, it looks oily and tender, and has a unique taste in the mouth, which is different from the ordinary stewed pot...

Only Xia Dingmao knew that this dish specially ordered by Ren Hong was to first put the pepper, ginger and garlic into boiling oil to stir-fry until it was browned, then add a little vinegar and green onion, and simmer over low heat. After the chicken tastes lightly numb, it is not only fragrant and delicious, but also has a thick soup, which is perfect for serving!

When the meat is almost done, mix it with some long and thin steamed cakes, absorb the thick soup and put it into your mouth. It is really large in quantity and tastes good.

"Xu Sefu, Xia Sefu, the last time we ate was called 'Sand onion Stir-fried Chicken'. What is the way to cook this chicken?" After Feng Juan Canyun finished eating, Su Yannian from the east was still unsatisfied and asked.

Xu Fengde looked at Xia Dingmao at the end of the east seat. The chef's husband touched his mouth and smiled and said, "Big plate of chicken!"

In fact, when Ren Hong first taught Xia Dingmao this dish, he was reluctant to admit that it was a large plate of chicken: there were no dried chili, green pepper, no potatoes, no star anise, cinnamon, and even sugar. He could only use Xia Dingmao's own pickled bean paste to color, and he always felt that the taste was a bit bad.

But when it came out of the pot and Ren Hong tasted it, he had to admit that although the ingredients were not as rich as those in later generations, he had already made the essence of Xinjiang cuisine:

That is, it is large in quantity, delicious in taste, generous and simple!

“This is too…”

Wu Zongnian was thinking about the name of this dish, and always felt it was strange and didn't know what to say.

"A good reputation." Fu Jiezi admired it very much.

"It's simple and clear, there's no need to beat around the bush. This is what food should be like on the sidelines."

"Mr. Fu has tasted it!"

Xia Dingmao felt very happy to meet his confidant and left the room and said:

"The same is true for Zhi Zuoren Hong, who teaches me to make this dish!"

Fu Jiezi narrowed his eyes: "Oh? How did he say it?"

Xia Dingmao said: "Ren Hong said that although this dish is delicious, it is neither refined nor delicate."

He raised his head and saw Fu Jiezi's face sweating profusely and the gravy on the corner of his mouth, and smiled and said, "It's even more indecent!"

"So, it is by no means a dish of Confucian scholars and scholars!"

Xia Dingmao bowed to Fu Jiezi and said:

"And it is the general's food!"

...

Ren Hong always felt that two thousand years later, Jiangnan cuisine and Northwest cuisine are completely different styles.

The dishes in Jiangnan and the Magic City are exquisite, and they completely inherit the ancient cultural people's "eating fine stews and fine stews". They are a bit like Liu Yong's poems, only combining seventeen or eighteen girls, holding red teeth boards, and singing "The willow bank, morning breeze and waning moon".

Northwestern cuisine is another style: the dust is flying in Qinchuan for 800 miles, and 30 million Qin people yelled at Qin Opera, holding a bowl of bearded noodles and making fun of them, and muttering without a pinch of spicy food!

There is no distinction between good and bad, but the difference in eating methods implies the character of a region.

Time goes forward for two thousand years, and it is still the northwest of the frontier. The same scene is the same. The generals on the expedition and the waiting garrisons hurriedly passed by the postmen, and there was not much spare time waiting for the kitchen to make exquisite side dishes and chew them slowly.

They only need to use large amounts of water and fill the tube, and the salt smell will be more important. After all, the northwest is strong and they have to sweat a lot every day!

Therefore, Ren Hong's summary is really perfect for the taste of the old corps in Fu Jiezi!

"General Zhiyao, well said!"

Fu Jiezi was just shocked to this statement.

In Fu Jiezi's opinion, it is a waste of time to hold so many banquets and tables in Xuanquan today.

You should sit cross-legged on the ground, holding a plate of "big plate of chicken" and eating it with the wide and soft steamed cakes!

After eating, I wiped my mouth and smashed the plate, and it was time to take my soldiers to do big things with my sword!

He patted his slightly erect belly and smiled, "I still need to go on the road today. I can't drink alcohol to make a big deal, but for this sentence, I can at least eat one more chicken!"

At this time, half of the banquet was left, and there were only bones left on the table, and the chicken and steamed cakes on the plate were eaten up, but Fu Jiezi still felt that it was not enough.

Xu Fengde immediately clapped his hands: "Get the naan!"

Several soldiers came in with a basket of freshly baked naan, which clearly stated: "Eat whatever you want, please be enough!"

Both are delicious foods in the Western Regions, and naan and large plate chicken are also perfect. Xu Fengde and Xia Dingmao demonstrated how to eat them for Fu Jiezi and others: dip the naan into the leftover juice of the large plate chicken, and you can eat them all.

The roasted mutton and chicken that I just now praised, although Fu Jiezi praised her, that's all. He traveled all over the Western Regions and ate more strange foods, some of them tasted good. Could it be that they would have to be fryed every time?

But only when I saw the baked naan, after taking a few bites, Fu Jiezi's eyes became brighter and brighter!

"Is this Hu Bing?"

After Wu Zongnian tasted a piece, he felt it was too dry and unpleasant, so he nodded and said, "It is indeed very similar to the Hu cakes in Zhubang, the city of the Western Regions."

Su Yannian added: "But it is much bigger than Hucai and has a much better taste. Could it be... Humao?"
To be continued...