Sleuthing the Food of the Ming Dynasty
By @peppersandcream & @jiangququ with much much help from the Sleuth GC - this is a WIP :)
Extra shoutout to Jacy!
If anyone spotted some food we might have not recognized please message on Twitter - we’ll add! Weak for foodporn so let’s sleuth together a semi-cookbook for our hungry souls.
Recipes are listed below the image or in the title of the food - if there’s no link we are still looking for a reasonable recipe! Also some might be in Chinese but have been determined to make okay sense with google translate. Write-ups in English incoming, as well as more screencaps, markings to indicate main dishes (versus, say candies, of which there is a LOT) and adding the chinese names of everything we can.
Because the food includes screen caps and some references, there may be spoilers as you go, so be warned.
So far it’s in semi-chronological order, maybe purely fictional food or wrongly identified but
Friends, let’s eat!
Episode 1:
BBQ porkloin - UNSOLVED
Begins at 2:17
Ep 1 Opener! Meat taken from the back, from between the fourth and fifth ribs, with fat, lean, and tendon. Described as tenderized (beat with the back of a knife six times), marinated for 6 hours and rice wine added after 4 hours, served with plum sauce & secret spices from Guangling Food Notes (广陵食记） (this seems to be fictional cookbook).
This sleuth case Not Closed yet
Official Sleuth promo information lists a dish called 东记烤肉 - dongjikaorou which we suspect may be this? Dongji is the name of Aunt Dong/ Dong’gu’s restaurant. So maybe he was splurging on a special dish she only makes once in a blue moon?
Tanghulu 糖葫芦
12.30 Min - Candied Chinese Hawthorn -
Could I have found a more tasty looking screencap? Probably! Will I? No!
Episode 2:
Sui Zhou’s Special Noods - Partially Solved
I bet, Sui Zhou, I bet! I’m guessing its Zha Jiang Mian & Jacy suggested it might be 肉燥麵 aka 滷肉麵 ! Recipes found: Zha Jiang Mian & Taiwanese Braised Pork noodles
Sui Zhou’s described Eggtrick - If this holds up culinary who knows! Mix in egg whites while seasoning the meat, add yolks when meat sauce is halfway done.
Update: Pepps now tried Egg Trick on a different mince noodle dish - indeed very smooth mouthfeel!
Official Sleuth promo things list a dish called 肉臊面 which is as suggested above, so the dominant theory is that that’s the Dongjie restaurant common noodle food.
Wonton Soup 馄饨
Ep 2, min 12
Throw ya boy in prison & feed him Wontons when he shows you how BABIE he is.
Are you hungry, he asks? Are u joking??
Tremella and Snow Pear soup (银耳雪梨汤)
Ep 2 - 33 minute mark (34:18 for Viki) - First found family cookery! Great if you just got choked out/got a sore throat
Yin'er Xue Li Tang (Tremella and snow pear soup) Google translate works fine! This is the one!
Found earlier, would eat too
Pear Herbal Tonic Soup
Episode 3:
Sweet Potato 烤地瓜
Viki ver 17:08,
Sui Zhou, he just ripped a hot sweet potato in half for you, and you’re not gonna take it? Bruh.
We didn’t include a recipe because it’s just a roasted sweet potato… Qinzi recommends wrapping them in tinfoil and burying them in the ashes of an outdoor bonfire that has been burning for a bit. S’mores who?
Laobing (scallion flatbread) 烙饼
Viki vers. 17:12 is when you can spot that Tang Fan has it in his hands
Possibly also Shaobing, because it doesn’t give us a close enough look at what’s inside.
Pork Belly Noodle Soup
Ep 3. 25:25 - Dongji Restaurant noodles! No official recipe found but have fun with the following ingredients we see on screen: Pork belly, Scallions, chilies, garlic, bok choy (? - could be cucumber as well), thicker wheat noodles, soupish. The episode shows brief scenes of the noodlemaking + chopping the chilis/garlic/scallions, so those three and pork are a definite. I’m showing it cuz she deserves it.
Episode 4:
Mutton Soup 羊肉汤
Viki 6:05 - we don’t actually see it in the bowl. However, everyone’s eating it with spoons and not chopsticks, so I’d wager there’s no noodles, very brothy, everything nice and chopped. Later-episode food implications have us guess that this is sheep’s mutton.
Dong’er Pastry - UNSOLVED
Viki 14:08, grab screencap
It looks like a pastry? Not very flaky, but Tang Fan wipes his hands when he puts it down (doesn’t like it?? Boy, are you wasting that?) Dong’er breaks off a bit of it and loses it in the background of the Aha Goat Courtyard Confrontation tho.
Episode 5:
Youtiao 油条
Briefly seen in Ep 2 (Viki vers. 17:22 wherein Tang Fan talks about youtiao and solving cases as related) but good full frontal in Ep 5 (7:16 Viki version) - Tang Fan trying to move in with Sui Zhou
Photo stolen from the groupchat of Qinzi’s version!
-Qinzi note: I bought the mix from a store lol I am typically banned from deep-frying things more than once per season but I will update the doc when I attempt to make this all from scratch someday
Tang Fan’s… Concoction 白菜鸡蛋面汤饭.
No matter what you make, it can’t be as bad as that, right? So it’s in here to remind you that… at least you don’t disappoint Sui Zhou as bad as that
15:40 on Viki
It’s got white radishes and he calls it ‘Noodle and rice soup with cabbage and egg’. He cooked the soup, then added egg whites and cabbages to noodles and then added white rice…
Dong’er Freedom Noodles
Ep 5. 21 min mark - Celebratory Dong’er freedom meal
Seen: Wheat noodles, ginger, carrots, pork, brown mushrooms, eggs (beaten and then poured into a hot wok with oil), bok choy, bamboo shoots
Step 1: Make the noodles
Step 2: chop carrots, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, ginger, probably garlic (seen on table).
Brief zoom on slices of fatty pork (but not spotted in end result)
Step 3: make egg in wok, then after swirly but before they become scrambled eggs, add
Step 4 ingredients. I’d also wager there are sauces like soy sauce, but it’s not seen.
Step 4: Meanwhile, plate noodles with bok choy
Step 5: pour vegetables over noodles
Step 6: Profit
Sui Zhou’s put together in a hurry meal cuz Tang Fan ruined his kitchen so he ‘didn’t have many ingredients’, so this is a kitchen scrap meal aka DO WHAT YOU WANT
Mung Bean Soup 绿豆汤
35: 24 on Viki
Good enough for the prince, are we feeling royal today? *I would recommend leaving out the poison
Episode 6:
Nr 1 Scholars Candy 状元糖
Viki vers. 2:41 first mentioned, 14:44 Tang Fan holds it in his hand
Two names: 牛轧糖/niu ga tang and 状元糖/ zhuang yuan tang (Official Sleuth promo stuff/the dialogue calls it the latter) (a clear shot of the wrappers in ep 19 22:08)
This debate is what keeps us from linking the recipe in the title of this section, but here’s one anyway: Chinese Nougat
So I (qinzi) used this recipe to make some nougats and they turned out great! An easy snack that’s not too much work and not too sweet, either. Very good base to easily turn into different flavors or colors.
Tofu Pudding 豆花
Viki vers. 14:58
They go into a tofu pudding store. Like, just dedicated to tofu pudding. Wow. Jealous.
-note: find recipe
Golden Rice Cakes from Jiangxi
Found Ep 6 Min 26! No recipe found YET but background by Qinzi!
Viki vers. 24:44 is the chopping bit
Wood ear mushrooms, chili, garlic, scallions, big brick of yellow (rice cake presumably)
Also fully not believe that is the same dish but it’s presented as, texture and sheen are quite different. Edit: ok this is nonsense that can't be the same dish - according to Jacys mom second dish is pork with wood ears. Continuity error! Eat both!
Debate continues on rewatch - I (Qinzi) am beginning to think it may be the same dish, but the angles make the rice cakes look kind of funny. Don’t think there’s meat.
Episode 7:
Ji’an Rice Noodles 吉安米面
Ep 7, Min 02.35 seeing chilies & mushrooms (Chinese recipe)
(Found earlier, geographically incorrect I think but the ingredients seen match this recipe!)
According to Episode 8, although we don’t see the noodles, the owner says 凉拌米粉 - (liangbenmifen) is the most popular dish in town. https://home.meishichina.com/recipe-347011.html
These noodles are apparently made with 峡江贡粉 Xiajiang rice noodles, which according to Tang Fan “don't get mushy or broken even if they’re boiled or cooked for a long time”
Liaodong Duck
Viki 21:48 with a side of Ding Rong’s Hand and a gem inside
It’s a fancy duck.
Sides that the various leaders are eating looks like meat strips, lamb, small cakes, another meat (?), perhaps a tofu and an egg dish
Episode 8:
Yang Fu’s Good Time - UNSOLVED
Viki 18:59
A little feast, as a little treat
Longan berries, grapes, bean sprouts, ?? That’s all I got, send help. I really want to say there’s chunks of tomatoes but that ain’t right (also seen Ep 11 10:00… maybe).
Shaobing 烧饼
Viki vers. 26:45 or so.
These particular shaobing are round and thick and covered in white sesame seeds, unlike the recipe there, but we are working on finding one that is more similar.
Nice sesame breads by Qinzi cuz she is the best. (Qinzi note: I tried doing it again in Jan 2021 for more Sleuth-aligned shaobing rather than CQL-aligned and it didn’t work out as well… not sure what I did for the first version, but the second had all purpose flour instead of cake flour in the paste and it was not oily enough for spreading ((possibly in both of them lol)) and, well, cooking is a learning experience re: shape and time… behold below! A more successful version!)
@iseult_variante’s result using the recipe linked above! With the small change of Trader Joe’s ‘Everything But the Bagel’ mix, and advice to roll it thinner and use a little bit of water just before applying the seeds, her version looks really good and turned out well!
Really any type of 油饼/youbing is super jazzy and delicious.
Episode 9:
Racks and racks of mutton 羊肉
Viki vers. 17:04 and 40:11, for example. Man. They are just chowing down on lamb. Nice. Here is our recommended recipe: acquire mutton. Cook. Enjoy.
(As an aside, Qinzi recommends a powdering of cumin, black pepper, white pepper, red pepper, and chinese five spice over your lamb. Better yet, cut it into pieces and put it on a stick and cook over a charcoal fire after being seasoned. YES it turns it into the hailing-from-Xinjiang, now-popular-everywhere food Chuan’er 串儿 (pronounced chwahr) rather than racks of mutton, but. Hey! I’m helping!)
Episode 10:
Cloud Cakes 云片糕
Viki vers. 4:37
Once again we recommend leaving out one of the key ingredients that makes it special in Sleuth, for safety purposes.
It can be bought in an Asian supermarket, or made following the linked recipe with translation - we couldn’t find one with a lot of people definitively saying the recipe was over 80% effective most of the time, though, so keep that in mind.
Episode 11:
Wolf Peach 狼头 /Western Eggplant 西茄
Viki vers. 5:17
I say Tomato, you say historical inaccurate wolf peach
Or, as they say in modern Mandarin, 西红柿 - western red persimmon. They just sort of chow down in Sleuth, and in alignment with the spirit of this recipe collection, we also recommend that. (For more things to do with a tomato, consider cutting it into pieces and drizzling sugar on top, or making 西红柿鸡蛋 (tomato and egg) rice or noodles).
Tofu Dinner Party 豆腐
Viki 12:30ish is the regular block of tofu that Xue Ling just…. Bites into.
How long were they waiting for that tofu magical girl transformation… wow. Worth it though.
Basically ep 11 min 13 in mark is a feeaaaast!
Addition: Tofu party by amazing Weibo User - Weibo sleuthing by Qinzi
Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐)
Tofu Box/ Doufu Xiang 豆腐想
Thanks to Qinzi and Weibo! No recipe YET - but this seems fried tofu, stuffed with minced meat, onion, scallion & garlic - ginger mayhaps? Please try and tell us I want it so bad.
(Hakka stuffed Tofu - link)
Savory Tofu Pudding / Tian Xian Douhua 天线豆花
Looking in their bowls, they seem to have added cilantro too.
Wensi Doufu 文思豆腐
Tofu wanzi / Tofu balls 豆腐丸子
Also on the table was just fried tofu triangles.
Eight Treasure Congee 八宝粥
Episode 11 20:45 Dong’er makes this, sadly no visual available, but described!
Found by Qinzi - her reference pic!
Commonly made for the Laba festival, but really also any time you want, it’s a more sweet version of congee and while it has generally eight ingredients, those ingredients vary both according to region and what you have on hand. Picture is from the Xi’an version.
-Qinzi made this from a store bought mix (because I am far too lazy to source the ingredients and soak and whatnot, and also for science). Not very photographable (also I am not a photographer) but the taste is good for morning noon or night! A nice healthy fun dish that some recommend adding sugar to, just to balance out the ‘healthy’.
Osmanthus Cake - 桂花酥 gui hua su
The recipe is a maybe but the food is a definitely. (Brought from 桂顺斋 Gui Shun Dai - Viki translates this as Osmanthus Clear Store. It is a real pastry shop in Tianjin that specializes in halal pastries and has received several awards and accolades, though it was founded in 1924. And is not expressly famous for its osmanthus. Perchance a coincidence.)
Episode 13:
Red-braised Pork/Hongshao Rou 红烧肉
Viki vers. 29:41
And a tofu dish, as well as rice and some more side dishes I couldn’t make out. Dong’er is chomping into a big piece of duck). Just with her hands. Nice.
A Meal for Pei Huai
Viki 31:35 Although the only image we get is of Dong’er gnawing on some duck, here’s what he ordered.
福聚楼/ Fu Ju Lou/ Fortune Gathering Restaurant’s roasted duck 烤鸭子, stewed pork with brown sauce 酱焖耨肉 jiangmennourou, 水爆菜 shuibaocai quick-boiled vegetables, and four 芝麻饼 zhimabing, sesame cakes.
Fuju Lou also seems to be a real restaurant, albeit without much internet presence, just hints of it. Probably a coincidence.
Episode 16:
Family Mealtime (with Poem!)
3:33 on Viki
Looks like a bowl of rice, lengthwise-cut bamboo shoots, and a meat? Shouldn’t be chicken. So I’d wager pork. The meal is to be ‘fresh and light’. A plate of greens (steamed chinese broccoli? Probably given what the grandfather eats. ) is visible at 4:29, alongside what I’d wager is a vegetable medley with mushrooms, cabbage, and ?? something brighter. They also have 青笋汤 qingsun tang bamboo shoot soup (to nourish your lungs).
Corn Time
Viki vers. 9:06
It’s corn. A little cute! We recommend cooking it first.
Sui Zhou & Dong’er Crying Hours - PARTIALLY SOLVED
Look our bro & sis are sad - also these are Dong’er’s FAVORITES so let’s pay attention cuz she was traded for a bag of millet which she will now tell us about :’(
Winter Melon Soup with Meatballs
Thanks Sui for the Veg Identification Sleuth :)!
Begins 12:07 on Viki.
It’s got garlic (chopped well), winter melon, meat (probably beef) , and I think Sui Zhou sprinkles a bit of salt on top. Plus coriander/cilantro, as evidenced from the picture.
Steamed Pork Belly - 蒸五花肉
Viki 12:15
Thank you so much to a contributor whose name we didn’t catch and whose email we don’t want to just post willy-nilly on a public doc for solving this one!
The linked recipe is mostly bilingual, although it doesn’t have exact word for word translations, so you’ll have to pay attention.
Lotus Root with Sticky Rice (Nuo Mi Ou) 糯米藕
(12:18 on Viki)
Recipe found (pics on recipe website not a great match but the shots on the Instagram of Red House Spice do match!):
Also on the table looks like a plate of steamed greens and something else (two bowls and six plates total ((Viki vers. 14:56 and Viki 13:01 we can see five of them)). The bowls both clearly have ladles. They look red, pink (probably the nuo mi ou), red again, and green, and behind the bowls (on Sui Zhou’s side) is another vegetable dish, looks like greens and egg/mushroom at 13:27 (Viki) that he takes from. And the mystery meat looks like it’s behind the bowls for most of the scene too.
Dong’er Snackbox
Viki vers. 16:22. Osmanthus cakes I presume + Chinese almond cookies or walnut cookies + the green yellow snack? Wawa says pretty sure it was a green tea mooncake - green tea filling but regular/yellowish outside - no recipe yet! + Niang Gao ? - Might be in here as well
The green ones she’s actively eating are probably 糯米糕 /nuomigao, mung bean cakes? It’s up to debate/science, altho sleuth promo materials list mung bean cakes for sure.
Hotpot 火锅
Viki 20:23
Hotpot! idk probs a better description somewhere but hey - serve for loved ones only! (That’s not actually a rule, we just like eating with people we like).
For hotpot, the basic/usual ingredients are thinly sliced raw meat (beef/mutton/pork/whatever), some kind of tofu (skin or chunk), leafy greens (bok choy, chinese broccoli, cabbage, whatever you want), mushrooms of some sort (long, short, wide, whatever) and most styles include a dipping sauce used to cool the food before you eat it (most restaurants have a variety of options, but it usually includes a base - sesame paste or chili oil or store-bought - some green onions, cilantro if you want, idk I put peanut butter in that thing). Plus noodles, which usually go in last, after everything else has sort of wound down. Also a recommended strategy if you’re using a split pot is to put the cabbage in the least spicy section, since it definitely will soak up all the flavors.
In the show, they’ve definitely got cabbage and chinese broccoli (Pei Huai and Tang Yu efforts plus a leafy green at Viki 20:18 that I ((qinzi)) am pretty sure is not chinese broccoli but also I’m pretty sure isn’t spinach, if anyone can identify that, that would be cool), potato slices and sesame sauce 麻酱 according to Tang Yu (good, that’s the best kind), and according to the picture, tofu, mushrooms, and meat. But the in-scene shots did have like four different bowls of leafy greens lol. The meat isn’t named, but I’d reckon beef and mutton.
They use the sort of hotpot that you put charcoal (? well, Tang Fan does, but Wuyun also chops wood, idk enough about it all) in the middle, but modern hotpot is done a variety of ways! Beijing-style is to have your own individual mini pot, usually the table has warmers built in, for example, or there’s the pot set in to the table, or yeah, you can get one of the ones that they use (except usually there is a fire gelatin or a heater underneath) or a classic tabletop hotpad or tabletop gas burner.
Hawthorn Balls 山楂丸
Viki 21:46
Although they’re quite literally called hawthorn balls/pills by Tang Yu, I don’t know the difference between them and just… plain hawthorns. TCM, huh. Beyond my ken.
Anyway, she’s like, right though. Even though you might feel super full after eating, I’ve always found that after eating fruits after a meal, you’re not too full. Or maybe I pass the point of suffering? Who’s to say. Can’t speak to hawthorns specifically tho.
Episode 17:
Wang Zhi Snackbox
Ep 17 min 38 (Viki 38:44) I think I’m seeing Pumpkin pancake, Sesame balls & Mungbean cake
Episode 18:
Peanut Crunch Candy 花生酥
Viki 7:13
A terrible gift for a nephew (in this case).
Happy Baby Pig - UNSOLVED
Viki 31:19
The pig is probably not happy but everyone else is. I don’t know any words to describe the way this is cooked, so I’ve marked it as UNSOLVED. It looks roasted, but I just feel like there’s a better term. Anyway it’s the only thing on the table.
Episode 19:
Sesame Candy 芝麻糖
Viki 11:50
Dong’er’s sugar candy (acquirable from street sellers - usually just sugar made into fun shapes like shadow puppets) visible first! Then a little bribe because they’re both smart. 13:11 the candy is visible in Dong’er’s hand.
Episode 20:
First Meeting Meal
Chongyang Rice Cake
Viki vers. 1:39
Replace the dried fruit from the video with flowers we are getting there!
The key is, according to the boss, getting the right ratios of glutinous rice and polished round-grained rice, pound them together (cooked) with a wooden pestle for many hours. Also add glutinous rice milk.
The joke’s on us because in the full shot (see below) it does NOT look like this picture, it has been pre-cut (hence why he was able to grab a bit so easily), has LOTS more on top, and a darker edge.
Heaven Ham and Duck 神仙鸭
2:47 on Viki
- described as pure decadence meal I would say (aka LOOK HOW RICH WE ARE) - there is a visual but its just floating duckheads - could add but didnt look tooo appetizing so maybe later if a true recipe was found)
Sounds like; http://www.ezhejiang.gov.cn/2016-08/01/c_54478.htm - No recipe yet!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBSUF9CtHhY video on it
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%A5%9E%E4%BB%99%E9%B8%AD baidu link about it
The soup must be slightly boiling, the smell light and delicious, the ham red and rich, the duck tender and fatty, the soup ‘rich oyster white’.... I’m so hungry.
Other Dishes - UNSOLVED
Full shot is at 1:57 on Viki
Next to the Rice Cake in its close-up is a chicken/bell pepper/mushroom/green vegetable (maybe a cabbage?) - looks like the sort of dish you just put together in a wok with little sauce, keep it simple. Above it is a duck dish, that’s all I can tell. But sleuthing determines the rice cake close-up and the in-scene are Different, so.
12 o’clock is ???
1 o’clock is, I want to venture, leafy long greens and chilis. Which long greens? I don’t know I don’t eat my vegetables.
3 o’clock is possibly head cheese
5 o’clock is ??? Something gelatinous, I want to say pork fat on a bed of big-leaf greens and carrots. Heck, maybe it’s liver.
6 o’clock is… looks to me like carrots, mushrooms, and pepper strips
7 o’clock duck
9 o’clock the Flower Cake
11 o’clock a chicken dish, I would suppose.
It appears that similar dishes show up in Ep 22 3:40 meal.
Servant’s Meal
Viki 3:35
We don’t get a clear shot, but there’s at least: chicken drumsticks, a bowl of wood-ear mushrooms, a clear-noodle dish with chilis, and what’s either nuo mi ou or shrimp lol. That’s all I can make out for now. Included for side-dish ideas.
Discussion Dinner
Viki vers. 21:40
12 o’clock is a tofu/peanut mix maybe? Is that CORN?
1 o’clock is .. shrimp? Or head cheese?
5 o’clock is ??? meat or liver?
6 o’clock is definitely shrimp
7 o’clock, I’d wager is duck meat
11 o’clock is duck heads, probably braised
Center is meatballs, probably Lion’s Head (above) and steamed fish (below)
Sui Zhou’s Mutton Soup 羊肉汤
Ep. 21 min 27 (28:26 on Viki)
Note that this mutton is goat mutton! It’s the same word (in casual use) in Chinese.
Spotted carrot & ginger too so probably Mutton Carrot Soup!
Contains definitely pepper since he throws it in Tang Fan’s face - do this to dinner guests for added effect.
Shot has… leafy greens, mint, bell peppers, onion. Add mutton and ??? radishes? Something white to boiling water. Later, ginger and carrots. Grind white sesame seeds and pepper and add when the soup smells delicious.
Episode 22 (gasp) tells us that for goat mutton, you need to simmer it with the skin and the bone marrow with the ingredients (well, ‘these ingredients’ which could be different ones but we assume the same?). Alas we don’t get to see Wuyun and Duo’erla’s version.
Episode 23:
Boiled Eggs 鸡蛋
Viki vers. 10:18
Step 1. Put egg in boiling water Step 2. Profit for dinner or profit to reduce swelling
Roast pig
Viki 14:20
Recipe for this luxurious meal eaten by your favorite corrupt officials to be found here
I do have a small thought that it may be a goat, but honestly I cannot tell.
Episode 24:
Prison Meal UNSOLVED
min 17 (Viki 17:58)
It seems like just left is fresh sliced vegetables like carrots and (?) cucumber, while the right is chicken chunks with chili, probably lightly flavored with soy sauce
Father-Son Meal
Viki 19:50ish
I estimate potato slices (maybe egg?), a duck, glass noodles with chilis, wood ear mushrooms, at least one soup (I think one bowl is rice). there’s definitely crispy cong you bing (could be green onion-added shao bing) (23:48).
Note to self: zoom in on 24:18, see what I can make of that
Mantou for Ideas 馒头
Viki vers 30:42
Mantou! You can’t go wrong with mantou. Whether you eat it plain or with honey/nutella/jam/stuffed with something/deep-fried until golden and served with sweetened condensed milk or let it take you on a journey… Mantou is great.
Episode 26:
Wang Zhi’s Comfort(ing) Noodles
Ep 26 min 04 , overhead shot at 4:46 Viki vers.
He says these rice noodles made him less homesick when he was little, rice noodles from Guangxi. Dong’er is probably eating a bowl of delicious Guilin Rice Noodles (Guìlín mĭfěn)
-he does use the word 米线 (mixian) tho, as just a linguistic note, but it’s the same
The table has: the noodles with probably bok choy, tofu squares, something else even bigger (larger tofu? mushrooms?) and the side additions of chili, scallions, cilantro, and ?? one more thing I can’t make out.
Therefore, we guess that it is Guilin mifen because these noodles are 1. Old (in historical origin) 2. Famous 3. Not as brightly colored as other famous Guangxi noodles. Could these noodles be like local specialty ¯\_(ツ)_/ noodles or a recipe like his mother made, so not Guilin? Sure. But can we share that recipe for you? No since we don’t know it.
Episode 29:
Huanyi Gift - UNSOLVED
Viki 7:37
The bitchiest snacking you ever did see is of a “¯\_(ツ)_/¯ cake?”
Ice Noodles (Leng Mian) 冷面
Seen in Ep 29 min 18
Ice Noodles (Leng Mian) - ditch the tomato probably -
otherwise fantastic cold noodles; Cold Skin Noodles (Liang Pi)- don’t quite match up if you look at the noodles + not actually royal ice but go eat them anyway I would say - just don’t steal ice from the emperor
Eaten with shao bing and baozi, and what looks like carrots, cucumber, and sauce, assembled separately and then mixed together.
Episode 31:
A Meal for Understanding UNSOLVED
Ep 31 min 16
WELL IF YOU INSIST
Ep 31 min 16 (Viki vers 15:57) - I’m seeing carrots, beef - this is served boiling on the table - very right vegetable, is this winter melon too? - Contains bamboo shoots too! Also Sui Zhou gestures with what looks to me like a long strip from a cauliflower.
Donggu once again being the MVP of restaurants by having a beautiful array of options, including this, which is on a small fire, so nowadays I’d bet you’d want it just off the stovetop or on an electric heater. They eat it with chopsticks and shallow, wide bowls, but also have regular bowls nearby them too. And a tea jug.
Episode 32:
PTSD Breakfast Spread UNSOLVED
Ep 32 min 4 (3:01 Viki)
The quintessential breakfast: some mild terror, some reflections, your family, and oh, food too.
Congee for sure (although it could also be xizhou, which is like congee if you add a lot more water and also nothing else to the congee. When you look in your bowl, you shouldn’t see the rice. GREAT to dip/soak your youtiao in). Youtiao and baozi are there too.
These things I am less sure about: a clear noodle spicy vegetable dish (not actually clear with cooking), and some sort of low orange vegetable. At 4:40 Viki, Duo’erla is playing with a food that is short and noodle-thickness.
Youtiao 油条 & fresh soy milk
Steamed stuffed buns (bāozi, 包子)
Mala Duck Blood
at 4:26
Mysterious red cube item, might be pickled? might be potentially Mala Duck's Blood? Seems to track since it might be eaten for breakfast - no recipe found yet but also seems like this might be impossible to eat outside of China due to international export law. Eat when there.
Celebratory dinner - PARTIALLY SOLVED
Cooking begins at 19:31 Viki
Marriage fish “By your side” 相濡以沫鱼
A closer translation here by Vinnie
Present to couples! The fish give a kiss! (smells like romance to me!) (It’s trout) (plus green onions, and uh, tofu?) Just steam it I guess.
Ep 32 min 21 (21:20 Viki) -
Egg into wok w/ oil and cook into omelet-like. chop wood ear mushrooms, tofu (fried outside tofu, you can find it in asian stores if you don’t want to make it yourself) peppers (of the spicy kind, not the bell kind - red and green), and the egg you made into thin strips. Add oil, the tofu and the wood ears to your wok, let cook for just a bit, then add egg and peppers. Season as desired. (I’d say add some sesame oil or soy sauce to the oil imo, not need to add powdered spices)
Okra salad (秋葵)
Salt & Pepper Squid (椒盐鱿鱼)
Nix was proper eagle eyed, that looks like scored squid on the left!
Salt & Pepper squid seems like a matching recipe.
There is also tofu at 21:34, although I’m not sure myself what the toppings/sauce is.
Plus there is a center soup/noodle maybe dish. At 21:38 Tang Yu gives Tang Fan a dish that is not pictured… Looks like bamboo shoots, thin slices of pork maybe, and something dark.
Also at 21:42 Viki, Pei Huai is offering Cheng’er a chicken head, so chicken is somewhere on the table. Maybe in the Okra Salad photo on the right? Lmao later Sui Zhou is passing it to Xue Ling. classic.
It also looks like at 22:03 they have kung pao chicken and a light green vegetable in strips… once again qinzi’s ‘doesn’t know names of vegetables’ curse strikes again. It’s possibly cucumber.
Episode 33:
Connecting the Dots Noodles - UNSOLVED
(not their official name) 32:49 Viki
Relatively little broth, relatively little sauce on the noodles - I’d bet these are lengmian/cold noodles too, with carrots for sure, probably cucumber and other summery vegetables.
Episode 35:
Zui Xiang Lou/ Drunken Hometown Restaurant’s Duck 醉乡楼
9:45 Viki
So obviously you’ve got the duck, yeah. Beijing duck is nowadays usually eaten with steamed tortilla-esque cakes with doubianjiang sauce and vegetables, and you dip the skin in sugar. This is shuangya tho. they’ve got what looks like niangao and other meats? Note to qinzi self, come back to this
Episode 36:
Radish Brick
Big thanks to Wawa for the recipe sleuthing.
19:53 Viki version
The recipe calls for salt, turmeric and white pepper, I would leave this out for Sleuth authenticity. Maybe also just don’t eat this lol (or at least not Sui Zhou’s variant, absolutely do eat a tasty version)
Chef Dong’er’s Time to Shine- UNSOLVED
Starts at 24:53 Viki version
She buys eggplant, radish, carrots, and napa cabbage at the market, then at home has a bowl of ginger, pulls meat (chicken?) with what looks like chopped lamb. Puts them in a bowl together (so.,.. It might not be chicken/meat?), and blends an egg to pour over, the better to roll it into balls and cover with flour before dropping into a wok with bok choy (and presumably oil). Adds salt and anise (?) or peppercorns. Bam. Fun soup.
Serves with a scrambled egg/bean sprout plate, what looks like a plate of mushrooms and other vegetables, a plate of just bean sprouts, and three other plates I can’t make out.
Episode 38:
Glazed Chicken Over Rice
10:32 Viki version
There isn’t really a great shot of this, but it’s chicken. And rice. Also looks like there is bok choy. (qinzi note find easy recipe)
He’s Trying Dinner - UNSOLVED
24:38 Viki
Cured meat (is that the word?) (fatty) - becomes bacon, leeks, hot peppers (cut widthwise), bamboo shoots, maybe sliced radish? I can’t tell what the upper right thing is at 24:30. Cook the meat and the myster-to-qinzi item together in a wok with oil, stirring often, adding probably sesame oil and soy sauce to darken it as well as the leeks and peppers and ginger. Garlic is probably added too.
Chop cilantro, bamboo shoots (possibly ginger), hot peppers cut lengthwise, and sliced tofu strips. Cook together.
Do note that Dong’er… didn’t seem to have a great time eating it. Idk girl it looked good to me.
Episode 40:
Toss a vegetable at your sleuth, o valley of plenty- UNSOLVED
Sorry for the name, I couldn’t resist.
Table shot at 26:27 Viki vers.
Tang Fan 24:12 Viki complains that the oil temperature is too high for frying the fish (Dong’er instructed to keep basting the fish with oil)
Pig knuckle 24:34 Viki vers. Marinated for four hours - Tang Fan complains it is too plain.
Sheep’s stomach 25:27 Viki - Tang Fan complains that Sui Zhou should dip it in boiling water and then immediately remove it. Sui Zhou disagrees.
There’s also duck’s blood (potentially, when we solve it) served, a plate with wood ear and probably radishes, a really interesting dish where it looks like there’s half of a hollowed-out pumpkin or other orange squash piled high inside with cubed stuff. Everything decorated cute with flowers and leaves.
Episode 41:
Sui Zhou teaches Dong’er Red Braised Pig Trotter
Ep 41 min 11 (starts 12:02 Viki vers) - (food a bit of a guess, but pig feet & caramelized sugar seems to track)
Carve lines on the foot to allow more flavor to enter. Then, drizzle the caramelized sugar over it. To a wok with hot oil, add three ingredients (I can’t quite make out what they are but I’d guess mushrooms, green onions, and bean sprouts? One is brown, one is white, one is green, so…), then more … oil? Then add the trotters, chopped into pieces. Let cook. Tang Fan cites a taste of honey.
Episode 44:
Dong’er & Wang Zhi Wontons 扁食
Begins at 5:10 Viki version, Cooked shot at 5:53 Viki version : I’m not crying you are - Wontons are a wish for a family reunion indeed
So, interesting fact, she doesn’t use the word that is commonly used for ‘wontons’ - Dong’er says ‘bianshi 扁食’ instead of ‘huntun 馄饨’ I (qinzi) have only heard it being used by old people in my home village where they speak a dialect, so. Wild stuff.
Ingredients: green onions and ground pork confirmed. I would also add like, chopped cabbage or other stuff, but you can’t go wrong with just those two. In my (qinzi) opinion, they’ve just made boiled jiaozi, not wontons, but like, that’s me. It’s shaped like you can fry them too, rather than the packets that soup wontons are in.
*Note: Sleuth promo material (see below) also lists chestnuts 栗子 listed which we don't have. Re chestnut: idk probably easiest to buy it on the street lmao
Need to find episodes/times for:
Cong You Bing (scallion pancake) 葱油饼
It has been spotted but where? I forgot - let’s eat
Dan Dan Noodles (担担面)
Nice street noodles (grab a screencap still!)
Cool resources/info
Mouthfeel, sights, sounds and smells of recipes from Imperial China
The Food and Cuisine Cultures of the Ming Dynasty
Recipes through the Dynasties: How Chinese Food and Food Culture Changed over Time
(Thanks Wuwa, for these!)
Chinese Cooking Demystified Youtube Channel
The Chairman’s Chow recipe collection in simple recipes (sometimes slow chinese)
Webshops
Depending a bit on where you are etc but we’ve sometimes couldn't find all ingredients we wanted/needed to cook along due to lack of easily accessible Asian grocery stores (location, 2020/2021 #stayhome reasons,or that (1) one thing)
So small compile here:
Yachao.de* EU (Germany based, within EU reasonable shipping fees) - Ya girl Peppers swears by this, great for fresh and frozen(!) within DE tho
Dajiangyou.eu* EU (Germany based, within EU very reasonable shipping fees) - Happily tested by in the Sleuth server
Weee! US, North America - has come recommended
Orientalmart.co.uk (UK based) - Not tested
* Websites offered only in Chinese, but if you can’t read this - open the websites in Chrome and run Google translate, search for the characters of the product you want which is often mentioned in the recipes and hit the search function on the website tadaaaaa!
- if anyone in any other country can recommend a delivery service or webshop, tell me I’ll add!
(shoutout to @newteaoldpot for the two EU based webshops recommendations!)
Sleuth promo material
These pics of Kuan Hong doing a livestream show with a sign in the back from “Suitang Restaurant”, all prices determined by Tang Fan
We found this in Dec so amazing find 🙌 (most of the doc was compiled July/Aug 2020 so THIS CLEARED STUFF UP)
Also I'm begging on my knees, anyone who finds where I can get this poster...
Side snacks and brief foods
Just for my (qinzi) completionist tendencies, here is a list of foods and such that didn’t really make the cut of being like, This Is A Dish or Notable Snack. Providing them for maximum jazz hours though.
Dong’er Misery Oranges 14:30 on Viki… they didn’t really need to be included but if you’re ever eating oranges and you eat too many… think of her
Ep 17 9:38 - moon cakes and persimmons (hachiya) on the table but uneaten lol
Ep 21 30:42 Xishan pears mentioned, not shown.
Ep 23 13:50 Sui Zhou snacks on shelled peanuts
Ep 25 16:26 the Emperor’s report: xiangmi 善 (fragrant rice) for dinner, breakfast is 八宝馒头, donkey head ‘as usual’ with a small cup of ‘autumn dew wine’ 秋露白, and some slow-stewed pear soup 小吊梨汤 but he didnt like it bc there was too much wolfberries
Ep 26 20:54 sui zhou’s congee
Ep 27 13:09 science snack for pei huai (bean sprouts and mantou at least)
Ep 35 8:40 Xue Ling munching on a pear
Ep 38 15:30 brief flash of breakfast (baozi, xizhou, nuts or something lol, and ginseng soup)
Ep 42 21:35 fruit spread for dignitaries (grapes, canteloupes, lvdougao, oranges, apples, peanuts, persimmons?)
Ep 47 3:01 disguised hotpot. Looks like the same spread from before (tofu, leafy greens, mushrooms, noodles, meat, etc).
Ep 47 18:26 ish - peking duck eaten properly (with wraps)
Qinzi notes to self for adding later-
Pre-ep 20 mention of “9th lunar month peanut brittle” (18? 19?)
yunhe first spread (? check) duck. liver? head cheese at 3. chili at 1
ep 22 2:38 spread
Ep 1 2:09 what say
Ep 1 6:51 candied fruit? Should it be included? 果脯 - sun-dried candied fruit
Ep 3 25:11 sign for a congee shop
Ep 4 40:51 Pan da-ren is reading a Culinary Delicacy Recipes book - real?
Ep 8 28:50 or so - include the prison slop for laffs?
Ep 18 37:45 - a table full of desserts
Ep 20 15:50 the dessert
Ep 20 26:07 wtf is 一杯雪顶 - an Ice-top? Apparently served in a teacup because he wasn’t startled at its appearance, only taste.
Ep 21 5:20 rice and vegetables.
Ep 21 27:47 gui hua tang
Ep 22 9:06 evil friends dinner
Ep 26 10:30 the fakers rescue a 雪花饼 - has some other words on the sign
Ep 26 22:52 gratitude meal - sliced chicken/carrots/potato, dish of bok choy (with pine cones is what it looks like lol), something with orange meaty veggies and peanuts?, something with dark meat like blood or something
Ep 26 26:36 meal in huanyi, HEAPED
Ep 28 6:02 fire roasted chicken
Ep 28 9:30 brothel plate
Ep 31 31:47 brothel plate
Ep 34 14:52 noodles for patience
Ep 41 bixia and general gao’s meal I have no idea, no clear shots, alas.
Ep 43 28:29 Mutton ribs.
Ep 45 14:41 breakfast at home
Ep 45 30:14 spread for ministers
Ep 48 38:37
-sunflower seeds?