Chapter 552: Mutton Soup (3)
Chu Lian heard He Sanlang tell her in a hoarse voice, “Don’t go to the Ying Estate anymore.”
Chu Lian nodded. She shared the same sentiment.
Her mother had passed away a long time ago and her own father didn’t even like her, let alone Old Duke and Duchess Ying. She wasn’t the original ‘Chu Lian’ either, so House Ying was like a stranger to her. It would be better to have as little contact with them as possible in the future.
A rumble of hunger came straight from her tummy. Chu Lian turned around and looked at the chiseled profile of He Sanlang’s face. “Have you eaten your lunch yet?”
The corner of He Changdi’s lips lifted into a smile. “Why? Is Lian’er going to cook a meal for me?”
“That’s right. Is there anything that you want to eat?”
He Changdi was indeed hungry by now. He hadn’t noticed it earlier because he had been too worried about Chu Lian. The moment she mentioned lunch, the uncomfortable sensation of an empty stomach immediately returned.
He planted a gentle kiss on Chu Lian’s delicate cheek and said, “I’ll eat whatever you make.”
Chu Lian glared at him before pushing him away and hopping off the chaise. Once she pulled her embroidered shoes on, she immediately left the bedroom.
He Changdi was still a little worried after he thought about it. He called in Wenqing, who was on duty in the outer room, and questioned her thoroughly about the details of today’s incident again. Finally, he instructed Wenqing to keep a careful watch of Chu Lian in the kitchen and prevent her from secretly eating cold-natured foods.
Once Chu Lian entered the kitchen and spotted the ingredients placed on top of the chopping board, she instantly knew what she was going to cook.
Wenqing stared at Chu Lian intently, afraid that Third Young Madam would ‘accidentally’ pick up ingredients that were ‘cold’ in nature.
The handmaid was relieved when she noticed that Chu Lian was only picking up meat items: mutton, lamb leg bones, lamb chops, and various lamb organs. She relaxed enough to ask, “Third Young Madam, what are you going to make with these ingredients?”
Chu Lian smiled. “Mutton soup.”
Wenqing was slightly stunned by the answer. Mutton soup?
Did a simple mutton soup require that many parts of a lamb?
Chu Lian turned and began to give Wenlan instructions. “Prepare a basket of steamed buns and flower rolls. We’ll eat them with the mutton soup later.”
Whenever Chu Lian prepared meals herself in the kitchen, Senior Servant Gui would prevent any other maidservants from entering. Only Chu Lian’s handmaids were allowed to help out.
Although there were shops selling mutton soup now which were especially popular during the winter, the soup they sold didn’t taste good at all. The odour of the mutton was just too strong to make for a pleasant taste. Chu Lian had tried it once, but she hadn’t even been able to finish a single spoonful.
Mutton was considered a fairly high-grade meat in the Great Wu Dynasty. Most commoners could only afford to eat pork, chicken, or duck. Mutton cost three to four times more than pork, so ordinary families rarely bought mutton. They would only buy some during the New Year and other important holidays as an occasional treat.
The commoners’ method for preparing mutton and mutton soup was rather crude. The market price for mutton soup was also very high; a bowl of mutton soup was equivalent to several bowls of Yangchun noodles.
However, mutton soup could warm up the body. During the coldest days of the winter, a bowl of steaming hot mutton soup and a large piece of dry wheat pancake was a heavenly combination that even immortals wouldn’t refuse.
Thus, even though mutton soup was expensive, there was still a big market for it.
It had also been a long time since Wenqing last drank mutton soup. When she heard that Third Young Madam was going to make mutton soup, she could feel the anticipation rear its head within her heart.
Third Young Madam hadn’t made any new dishes since they had returned to the capital!
It actually wasn’t very complicated to make a delicious bowl of mutton soup. The recipe went something like this:
First, crack open some fresh lamb leg bones.
Next, stew the bones in a pot with mutton and lamb organs. Keep at a constant boil, letting the meat slowly cook. This method will allow the strong odour of the meat to be significantly reduced over time while simultaneously enhancing the aroma of the soup.
When the stew reaches a certain temperature, throw in the various seasonings. Optionally, add in some carrots to help get rid of the strong mutton smell.
Finally, remove the mutton and lamb organs, now fully cooked, and cut them into thin slices. Dip the slices back into the soup before serving to warm them up, and then eat together with the rich mutton soup.
This way, the mutton soup will be delicious and fragrant without the odour of the meat.
