The Manchu and Han Banquets in Qing Dynasty

Compared with others, Zixiu is a little happier. Learning to cook is like learning other things. You need to keep in touch with new things to make progress, and you need to communicate with each other to know your own shortcomings.

The person who came to challenge was Mu De. Zaba introduced him as a cook who had traveled all over the world. He traveled to the Mongolian tribe last month and was immediately hired as a guest of honor.This time, when he heard that Zaba and the others were coming to the Qing Dynasty, Mu De begged to bring him along. He really wanted to see the skills of the imperial chef.

Mu De was not qualified to see the skills of the imperial chef, but it was different when he came with Zaba. As the representative of the tribute envoys, if Kangxi refused to grant his request, wouldn't it be too stingy?

In the end, the two sides hit it off and decided to hold a fair, just and open cooking competition, or in other words, it's called Doucai.The last time Doucai was held in the palace was a year and a half ago, and people have been obsessed with it for a long time since then. Now that a more grand Doucai is going to be held, everyone is very excited.

Needless to say, the representative of the Mongolian tribe is Mu De, but it is hard to say for Kangxi's side. There are so many royal cooks in the palace, who should be chosen as the representative?

The royal chefs had three candidates in their minds, one was Cheng Li, the other was Xue Song, and the third was Zixiu. Compared with these three, the cooking skills of the rest were all inferior.But there is only one representative, how should the three decide the outcome?

This matter was actually not that difficult, because the emperor already had the best candidate in mind, and he hoped that Zixiu would represent the Qing Dynasty to participate in the competition, both public and private.Now that the emperor had made the decision, the rest of the people naturally did not dare to object, so in the end the emperor appointed Zixiu to be the representative of the Qing Dynasty.

This Doucai is different from the last time. Last time, both parties only made one dish, and there were no regulations on the ingredients for the dish. This time, there are clear regulations.

There are three rounds of Doucai, the first round is tofu carving, the second round is roasted duck feet, and the third round is free selection of materials.As a result, two out of three rounds were adopted, and the judges were Kangxi, Zaba and a Portuguese envoy.Coincidentally, the Portuguese envoy was very proficient in food, so when Kangxi sent someone to invite him, he agreed without hesitation.

The match is scheduled for two days later. In these two days, the two sides can prepare some necessary things, such as cooking utensils and some special seasonings.

"Master, I...I'm a little nervous." Zixiu said shyly to Cheng Li in the dead of night.

He didn't feel this way the last time he fought with Xuesong Doucai. At that time, he didn't think winning or losing was too important. After all, he wouldn't lose anything if he lost.But this time is different, he represents the entire Qing Dynasty, if he loses, others will definitely say that the chef of the Qing Dynasty is not as good as a Mongolian tribe.

In that case, the emperor must be very sad.

In fact, he felt that Master was the most suitable candidate. No matter from which aspect, Master was better than him.But the emperor asked him to be a representative, and he couldn't refuse at all.

Cheng Li patted him on the shoulder and said, "Just treat it with a normal heart. Your current cooking skills are no worse than Master's. Master believes that you can do it."

Zixiu bit his lower lip and nodded.He suddenly raised his head and asked, "Master, do you know what the one hundred and ninth dish is?"

Cheng Li was startled, and asked with some doubts: "The one hundred and ninth dish? What is that?"

"No...it's nothing." Zixiu wanted to slap himself in the face. At this time, there was no such thing as a full banquet with one hundred and eight dishes.He was very depressed and didn't know when he would find out.

"Don't be nervous, just perform at your usual level." Cheng Li comforted again.

The next day, Kangxi asked someone to send Zixiu a set of kitchen utensils. This set of kitchen utensils was more complete and more exquisite than the one Rong Ruo had given him. Zixiu couldn't put it down. For some reason, he seemed to have more confidence.

He used this set of kitchen utensils to practice cooking in the past two days, in case it would be difficult to use. In order to allow him more time to adapt, Kangxi even spared him from cooking later.

The night before Doucai, Kangxi said softly: "Zixiu, don't be burdened, I trust you, you are the best cook in the world."

Zixiu smiled helplessly, and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not think so. However, I will win no matter what, and I won't embarrass you."

Kangxi kissed the corner of his mouth and said for a while: "Well, I believe in you, no matter what, I will support you."

With Kangxi's encouragement, Zixiu felt more pressured, but compared with before, he was also more motivated.Master is right, as long as you can perform at your usual level.

The weather for Doucai was very good that day, and the sun shone warmly on the body. The palace people set up viewing seats and Doucai field in Qianqing Palace. Zixiu was on the left, Mu De was on the right, and Kangxi and others sat on the opposite stand. Quietly waiting for the start of the game.

Kangxi sat in the middle, with Zaba and Portuguese envoys on the left and right, and concubines, ministers, and envoys on the two sides. There were many court ladies and eunuchs standing behind them. The scene was very grand.

Zixiu glanced at Kangxi calmly, and then smiled slightly.

The host came forward to tell the rules of this competition. Since cooking is time-consuming, there is only one competition a day. Today is the first day, and the competition is tofu carving.Since the competition is about knife skills, the judges only need to check who is better at carving.

The host introduced the two contestants and the three judges. Afterwards, a eunuch brought a large piece of square tofu to each of them. The tofu was tender and milky white, and looked very comfortable.

Tofu carving, even people who don't know how to cook, knows how difficult it is. Tofu is soft and will be destroyed if you are not careful. However, such a large piece of tofu must not be easy to carve.

With the sound of gongs and drums, everyone's eyes widened.

Standing next to Cheng Li from afar, his face was full of eagerness, not because he didn't believe in Zixiu's skills, but because of the atmosphere, he had never seen Zixiu carving tofu before, so he was nervous and looking forward to it.

Zixiu and Mu De made a gesture of invitation to each other, then picked up their knives and concentrated on carving.

Zixiu swung his big knife, and directly cut off a large piece of tofu. Under the blank eyes of everyone, he swung his knife a few more times, and carved out the large shape of the thing to be carved.

Afterwards, he changed into a willow leaf thin knife, and carved it bit by bit according to his thoughts.

Over there, Mu De's movements are similar to his. They always build the big shape first, and then carve it in detail.The movements of both of them are like flowing clouds and flowing water, and they look very beautiful.

Zixiu's serious appearance is rarely charming, and his whole body seems to radiate light, which draws people's attention to him.But he didn't notice it himself, he took a carving knife and modified the shape one by one.

Tofu is no better than carrots. When carving tofu, you have to work hard every time you cut a knife. As time goes by, he has entered the realm of forgetting both things and me.In his eyes, there is only the carving knife in his hand and the tofu in front of him.

Half an hour passed, an hour passed, and an hour and a half passed... The audience who were originally excited were gradually showing fatigue at this moment, but watching the tofu take shape little by little, they began to look forward to it again.

The viewing seats are some distance away from the Doucai seats, and the tofu is white, so everyone can't see clearly what they are engraving.

Zaba suddenly said: "Your Majesty, who do you think will win out of these two?"

Kangxi looked away from Zixiu, glanced at Zaba and asked, "What do you think?"

Zaba laughed and said, "Both of them have their own merits, it's hard to say without seeing the final result."

Kangxi said: "That's right, but I have confidence in my royal chef of the Qing Dynasty."

Zaba laughed a little awkwardly, he naturally hoped that Mulder would win, and Mulder was recommended by him no matter what.But he also knew that they were now on the territory of the Qing Dynasty, and their chances of winning were very small.The Qing emperor will definitely judge his cook to be the winner, and everything depends on what the Portuguese envoys say.

After two hours passed, the host announced that it was time for the game. Zixiu and Mude stopped at the same time and put the carving knife aside.

Because tofu is fragile, the sculptures cannot be moved, and the three judges can only go down to see them.The three of Kangxi walked down the steps one by one to watch their works.

The three of them went to Mu De's side first, and Mu De respectfully introduced: "The name of this dish is 'Crystal Great Wall', Your Majesty, and the two envoys, please have a look."

Kangxi took a closer look and found that the name of the crystal really lived up to the fact that the Great Wall winds down from the high mountains, with lush forests on both sides, and the whole Great Wall looks very majestic.

Zaba said "OK", and the Portuguese envoy nodded with a smile.

Next came Zixiu's carvings. Zixiu introduced: "This dish, my servant, is called 'Splendid River Mountain'." He touched the top of the mountain lightly with a knife, and a trickle of water slid down like quicksilver.

The three of them opened their eyes wide. This is really a veritable river and mountain.The trickle from the top of the mountain slid down and converged at the foot of the mountain. If you look closely, you will find that it is actually a river. The river is sparkling and seems to be moving.

"Excellent!" The Portuguese envoy praised.

Kangxi glanced at Zixiu with satisfaction, and said: "What a picture of 'Splendid Rivers and Mountains', it really shows the beauty and beauty of my Qing Dynasty."

Even Zaba had to admit that this pair of "Splendid Rivers and Mountains" is better than the "Crystal Great Wall".

The results of the first round are self-evident, Zixiu's "Splendid Rivers and Mountains" won!

Several judges returned to their seats, and in order to show justice, the ministers also got the opportunity to visit.Everyone was amazed at the skills of the two, and did not believe that tofu could really carve such a magnificent scene.

Cheng Li smiled proudly, he was ashamed of Zixiu's move, and Cong Yuan's admiration for his master immediately rose to a higher level, his eyes were full of envy.