Chapter 138: The Role Of Soybeans
When Xiang Chuan brought out the Soy Pulp Pancakes, Xiang Qi was arguing with Lin Ming about “which is better, Sweet Milk or Sweet Soy Milk.” Xiang Qi didn’t like the slight bean smell remaining in Sweet Soy Milk, while Lin Ming wasn’t too fond of the taste of adding sugar to pure milk.
“If you don’t like Sweet Milk, then why did you drink it with me before?” Xiang Xue ruthlessly exposed her own partner’s hypocrisy.
“That was because I had no choice.” As soon as Lin Ming said this, he wiped away a tear of bitterness in his heart. Before Soy Milk appeared, the only things that could be called beverages were Juice, Milk, and the Fruit Milk mixed from the two. It seemed like three choices but was essentially two. Drinking Juice all day would make the mouth feel a bit sour, and Sister Xiang Chuan wouldn’t let the two drink only Juice for long periods, so they alternated between Milk and Juice. But the taste of lactose mixed with sugar was something he could never get used to no matter what!
“Are you complaining about the Sweet Milk my sister made?” Xiang Qi raised his eyebrows, and this expression was just like Xiang Chuan’s, making the three Ouyang Yating sitting by the dining table watching sigh that they were indeed real sisters.
“I never said that. Ah, Sister Xiang Chuan! Don’t listen to her nonsense!” Lin Ming was originally calmly retorting Xiang Qi, but as soon as he saw Xiang Chuan coming to the dining table with a serving plate and looking at them helplessly, he panicked and hurriedly explained.
Lin Ming had an innate understanding of the principle that you shouldn’t offend anyone, especially not the cook.
Xiang Chuan blinked her eyes, her gaze shifting back and forth between her sister and Lin Ming, and after a long while, she finally said: “This is pretty good.”
Before everyone could fall into confused contemplation, the pancakes served first caught their attention, mainly because the aroma was very enticing. Compared to the usual pancakes, they had a bit more of the fragrance just tasted in the Soy Milk. One bite, and there was an extra tender bean fragrance between the teeth, wrapping beef or melted syrup, making it even more flavorful and delicious.
Xiang Chuan originally thought of making some Fried Soy Pulp or similar dishes according to the recipe, but upon careful thought, the staple foods were only Buns, Steamed Buns, or Dried Noodles and other noodles. She had mostly eaten Fried Soy Pulp with porridge or rice before, so she wasn’t sure for a moment if it was suitable for noodles. Thus, she simply made some pancakes, delighting everyone. As for Fried Soy Pulp, she planned to figure out the recipe before trying it.
Watching everyone at the dining table start discussing the differences between the Soy Pulp pancakes and the original ones, Xiang Chuan recalled the recent discussion between her sister and Lin Ming.
This is pretty good. She silently repeated in her heart again.
Recalling the time just after arriving 30,000 years later, even picky modern people used readily available ingredients to make some (in her view) barely edible things. Friends and family accepted whatever she made without refusal, once making Xiang Chuan think modern people weren’t picky eaters. However, as the variety of food increased, everyone, like Lin Ming and Xiang Qi, developed preferences for the same type of food and would go back to select their favorites.
In Xiang Chuan’s view, this was a good trend, because having preferences meant that future food launches could have specific consumer groups to purchase them, creating a market, which was beneficial for 21st Century food entering the market.
—At the very least, it developed to the point where, when she went out to play with her sister, there was Milk Tea and Small Cakes as snacks!
Thinking this, Xiang Chuan took a big bite of a Soy Pulp Cake.
Mm, sweet.
On the fourth morning, the milk fragrance on the dining table was mixed with some bean fragrance. After much entanglement, Xiang Weiguo finally decided to bring Soy Pulp Pancakes and Soy Milk to the company—to use them to negotiate with the shareholders.
Previously, it had taken a lot of effort to convince the shareholders to agree to submit the application to the Agriculture Bureau to include Edible Mushrooms in ingredients and to develop related food. If not for the Class Competition live stream of Class Eight Grade One where the fragrant Stir-fried Chicken with Shiitake Mushrooms and Chicken Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms conquered the other government officials watching the live stream at the time, the establishment of the Edible Mushroom experimental field wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.
But soybeans are different; this thing has no precedent! Moreover, this thing isn’t even categorized under ingredients, medicinal materials, or seasonings. To apply, there must be ironclad results. So originally, Xiang Weiguo planned to wait until his eldest daughter made their so-called “Soy Sauce” before submitting the application—after all, seasonings have higher value. But this plan didn’t last two days before it was disrupted by his eldest daughter’s sudden Soy Milk and Soy Pulp Cakes.
What does this mean? Could beans be used as beverages and ingredients? Even made into staple food like flour? Xiang Weiguo looked at the large pot of Soy Milk in his hand, thinking of the staple food ingredient market that might become turbulent afterward, his mind in chaos.
Ainuo, who was in the food business at home, had the same doubt. But as a Club Member of A Bite of China Club at the moment, he didn’t have as many concerns as Xiang Weiguo and chose to ask his Club President directly.
“Staple food… I saw in the information before that some ancient countries did use them as staple food, but because of some characteristics of beans, they weren’t the first choice for most countries.”
“Characteristics?” Everyone at the table who was eating Soy Pulp Cakes stopped and looked at her.
“That is, eating too much causes bloating.” Xiang Chuan was actually very hesitant about whether to discuss this topic at the dining table.
Oh—Everyone with some high school medical knowledge suddenly understood and hesitated whether to continue eating.
“Bloating?” Xiang Qi, who wasn’t a high school student, now had a big question mark in his mind.
“It means farting.” The precocious Lin Ming directly took over the topic, and unsurprisingly received a slap on the back from the blushing Xiang Qi.
Indeed, this wasn’t a topic suitable for breakfast.
“Cough cough, but beans are still excellent as side dishes.” Seeing the atmosphere at the dining table becoming increasingly weird, Xiang Chuan, as the instigator, felt a bit guilty and quickly changed the topic. “Soybeans have very rich starch and protein, so they are often used as side dishes paired with Rice and noodles.”
“What is a side dish?” This time it was Ouyang Yating who asked.
Not just Ouyang Yating, everyone had faces full of doubt.
Only then did Xiang Chuan remember that modern food directly mixes staple food and ingredients into liquid food and solid food, and with Production Escort Ships ensuring supply, there was no worry of food shortage, let alone the need for side dishes to pair with staple food.
Xiang Chuan, as a non-agriculture major, also had only partial knowledge in this area and could only share her own understanding: Side dishes mixed with staple food, mostly high-starch crops, can reduce staple food consumption and improve the texture of staple food. In Xiang Chuan’s impression, the most famous side dish was probably one of the protagonists’ must-kill divine weapons in various transmigration novels—Sweet Potato, because this thing was rare in ancient times. Beans, on the other hand, were common domestically, just lacking development.
Their common point was probably that eating too much causes bloating? Xiang Chuan silently complained in her heart.
However, this knowledge was indeed just “ingredient knowledge” for everyone at the dining table. If the Third Fleet, famous for agricultural products, had a staple food shortage, the other eleven fleets would definitely be greatly affected. So words like “adding side dishes due to staple food shortage to reduce consumption” were classified by everyone as “ancient people’s food culture.”
In fact, after the country escaped food shortages, these side dishes indeed transformed into other functional ingredients. Sweet Potatoes became roasted Sweet Potatoes, dried Sweet Potatoes, and other snacks, or directly made into Sweet Potato flour and other staple food ingredients. Soybeans were more often seen as ingredients for dishes, frequently appearing in stir-frying and soup dishes, and secondly transformed into seasonings like Soy Sauce, Broad Bean Paste, and Northeast Paste. Few people would realize their original side dish identity unless they often read transmigration novels or studied agriculture.
When Xiang Chuan got the soybeans, she didn’t plan to develop them in the side dish direction either. Beans—if not used to make Soy Sauce, stew soup, make Soy Milk, or ferment Tofu, that would be a complete waste.
……….Hm?
Tofu?
Xiang Chuan bit on the straw, sipping Soy Milk, as if thinking of something.
