For Kongming and the others, this was their first time watching the food of later generations from such an extremely close perspective.
Plump yellow soybeans were crushed, and what appeared next were all kinds of different things, with completely different appearances, making it hard to believe they all came from beans.
But it did not stop there.
Next, these things were separately tossed into iron woks, mixed with oil and paired with other ingredients.
Some were stir-fried with a small amount of oil.
Some were deep-fried in large amounts of hot oil.
Some were pan-fried slowly over low heat with a thin layer of oil.
In the end, plate after plate of beautifully presented dishes was served.
Jian Yong felt as if his nose could almost smell an alluring fragrance, though he knew it was an illusion.
But for Jian Yong, who normally loved food from all regions, the stomach he had just filled in the morning now seemed to be hungry again.
In the end, half in praise and half in sigh, he said:
"The chefs of later generations are practically divine."
"Turning ordinary beans into such immortal delicacies, I truly regret that I cannot taste them."
Everyone knew that Mr. Jian, who had always traveled tirelessly across regions, was truly moved this time.
But that was only natural.
Compared to these bean-based dishes, what they normally ate could already be called bland.
Not to mention those casually mentioned "eight great cuisines" from later generations, making it hard to imagine how many delicious dishes there could be.
Even without knowing the taste, many people in the hall could no longer quite hold back.
"Iron woks are easy. I will go have a blacksmith forge one later."
Ma Chao was the first to jump up and pat his chest, taking on the task.
There was no helping it.
Whether it was the mathematics discussed before, or the cooking techniques being shown now, both were enough to make his head hurt.
But as a true son of Yong and Liang, and someone who occasionally hunted, Ma Chao naturally had at least a bit of pursuit of fine food.
So he did not hesitate to take on the simplest job.
That way, if the strategists really managed to make stir-fried dishes, he surely would not be left out.
…
"At this moment, His Majesty must be regretting not summoning a royal chef to watch together."
Fang Xuanling said with laughing, trembling eyebrows to Du Ruhui beside him.
The two of them understood this young emperor extremely well.
If speaking of conquering the realm on horseback, he could be called peerless under heaven.
But when it came to governing the realm after dismounting, he relied more on humility and knowing how to employ talent.
At this moment, Fang Xuanling already clearly realized that if these soybean-related policies were properly formulated, then perhaps even the prosperous achievements of the Ming could be added onto the Tang.
What kind of grand scene that would push the High Tang to, Fang Xuanling found it hard to imagine.
Later generations often blamed the Tang for stripping Guanzhong of its vegetation and causing soil erosion.
If so, then simply promote soybeans and later-generation yield-increasing methods, and match them with soybean crop rotation.
Surely that could also allow the people of the realm to be well fed.
Li Shimin laughed loudly and said indifferently:
"With the divine paintings of Li De and Li Ben, letting the royal chefs look is just as effective."
And Yan Lide, who was highly praised by Li Shimin, was already so busy that he had no energy to respond.
During this segment showing soybean dishes, the screen switched scenes extremely quickly.
The dishes that appeared could also be called numerous.
If not for the brothers working in perfect coordination, clear division of labor, and near-photographic memory in a short time, Yan Lide could hardly imagine how he would manage to draw them all.
After praising the Yan brothers, Li Shimin was already excitedly looking ahead:
"This year we also have the merit of destroying Tuyuhun. When the various barbarians all come to congratulate the Tang, we will surely let you all know what is called the style of a flourishing Tang and Huaxia."
After later generations explained Emperor Wu of Han's New Year achievements, Li Shimin naturally did not wish to fall behind.
Imitating the model was easy.
As for military achievements, Li Shimin did not think he would lose to Emperor Wu in the future.
With such powerful military success as backing, the customs of the superior state would surely be gladly imitated by all the surrounding peoples.
[Lightscreen]
[From the twenty-sixth to the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, New Year customs across different regions are mostly similar, basically three items:
Stewing pork.
Killing the New Year chicken.
Steaming white flour buns.
When we talk today about the history of pig raising in ancient times, there is often a similar strange feeling, like tofu lacking records in Han and Tang official histories.
On one hand, the history of pig raising in Huaxia is extremely long.
As early as the Shang dynasty, pigs already held an absolute C position in sacrificial rituals.
In the Zhou dynasty, sacrifices were divided into great sacrifice and lesser sacrifice, commonly referring to the Son of Heaven's rites and the feudal lords' rites.
In both levels of sacrifice, pigs were indispensable.
Later, from Qin and Han through the Northern and Southern Dynasties, pigs were always the first choice in folk sacrifices.
And generally speaking, if ancient texts did not specifically note otherwise, then "meat" usually referred to pork.
From this, one can see how closely pigs were tied to ancient life.
On the other hand, whether ancient people actually ate pork is also a common modern debate, with both sides arguing endlessly.
But this debate is, to some extent, using today's sword to judge yesterday's officials.
From a historical documentation perspective, before the Song dynasty, pigs as livestock were valued more for their functionality than for their edibility.
For example, during Wu Zetian's time, there is a record of her nephew Wu Yizong riding a pig into battle to repel enemies.
Although outdated even for that era, it shows that pigs once even had the attribute of being mounts.
In addition, in Records of the Grand Historian, there is a title used to praise fierce generals, "Crow-Snout General," comparing fierce warriors to wild boars.
Most importantly, in ancient times lacking reliable waste-processing methods, pigs provided people with an additional option to continuously and effectively deal with household garbage.
For example, Mozi records, "On the city walls… every fifty steps there is a latrine, connected to pig pens below."
The word used there refers to pigsties.
As for the exact structure, there is no need to expand. A little imagination is enough.
From this function alone, it can also explain why elites before the Song dynasty generally disliked pork.
Another most important factor is that in ancient times, due to the lack of reliable fertilizer, for a very long period, pig manure was the simplest and most accessible primitive agricultural fertilizer.
In the early years after the founding of the nation, there was once a saying, "Raising pigs doesn't make money. Turn around and look at the fields."
In this respect, the role of pigs was strikingly similar to ancient times.
So when did pigs' functional role begin to change?
Without doubt, it was the Song dynasty.
Or more precisely, from the appearance of Dongpo pork.
The piglet castration methods that existed since the Han dynasty were developed during the Song, initially solving the problem of pork's gamey odor.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, people also began preliminary attempts to solve the problem of pigs not growing fat.
"Feeding hemp seeds to fatten pigs and salt to aid digestion" was one of the research results of that period.
After iron woks became widespread in the Song dynasty, the method of braising pork gave pork the label of deliciousness.
From that point on, the role pigs played in human society subtly changed.
By the Ming dynasty, the two pig-raising principles of "dry pens and full feeding" and "add less but feed often" were formally established.
At that point, pigs became humanity's tastiest friend.]