The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1921-05-28
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Iced-HOt Dish
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By H. HOWARD cAwTHoRNE

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Hung-Ho, by the hardest of labor
end most economical living, amassed
hoard of several >hOusand, cash, and
took passage on q u-v!i-hoat for Van
cOuver whence he was mystoriously
transported to San Francisco. and
presently became my cook.
During an idle visit to the kitchen
the slant-eyed worthy mentioned the
battling quest which had caused so
many heartburnings and cue-stretch-
ings in China. At first l laughed
heartily at the ludicrOus tale, but my
laughter ended in a gasp of astonish-
ment as | suddenly realized that Hung
HO had put fortune within my grasp!
For numberless centuries, so he told
me In his flowery language. the Gu
| linary artists of far Cathay had
striven manfully, though in vain, to-
ward the acme of epicurean attain
ment, the iced-hot dish.
Since the unenlightened ages ira
| dition had existed in the East that the
| Celestial who shall concOct such
| toothsOme delicacy, having an ice-cold
middle part while hot, Odorous, and
steaming without, shall be assured an
exalted place in heaven, as well as
hOnors. palaces, and retinues of kOw-
towing servants during the remainder
of his stay on earth.
From the lord high purveyOr of
| lnIt 70 iuh
ness the dowager empress, down TO
the humbleSt cOokee in a chop suey
| joint, it had been the sublime goal Of
ali dreams and efforts among cooks.
When a Chinese cook is found dam
Cling at the end Of his cue from
bamboo beam in his workrOOm, 1t is
commonly remarked that Zi-An, big
| joss of the cook cult and jealous
guardian of the secret of the iced-hOt
dish, had claimed another victim.
Huag-Ho, crafty descendant of 40
generations Of chop suey mouse COOKS,
| had essayed at various times to elabo-
rate a pie or pastry that should at
| least approach perfection as nearly as
bad the productions of his honorable
|
ancestors.
/ had recently become interested in
an African development company own
ing vast tracts of land where grew
valuable woods, notably the tree from
which the well-known material called
vegetable ivory is obtained. From the
inner bark of this tree / had pre-
pared a unique substance which I
had named vegetable asbestos, prod
uct that resembled real asbestos as
closely as vegetable ivory does the
Tony mass of an elephants tusk.
| That is TO say, exactly. And, in ad-
dition, vegetable asbestos is edible.
/ was casting about for use TO
which the new food product could be
put, and Hung-Ho had given me the
clue to il. Thus, l hastily concluded,
1 was fairly on the road to millionaire
| dom.
| Securing from the refrigerator a
piece of ice the size of a walnut Gas
the cook books say), quickly rolled
IL in dough made with vegetable as
bestos and water, and passed it on to
my prince of pots and pans, who placed
ir in the center of preposterous as
semblage of unlike condiments, form
ing some famous Chinese dish.
Hung-Ho, who was now hopping
about and jabbering in a clownish and
unnatural display of emotion. popped
the cake into the oven. feared the
usually stolid Asiatic would go into an
epoplectic fit. so excited did he wax.
And really the occasion justified ex-
element. Should success crown my
endeavors, / could snap my fingers at
commonplace western millionaires and
join the esoteric circle of oriental
wealth and luxury.
Manifestly no trace of ice could re-
main unmelted within that steaming
loaf. and my expectations went up with
the fragrant, appetizing odor Of vege-
table asbestos that filled our nostrils.
With trembling hands Hung-Ho
seized the cake and deftly broke it in
halves. Nesting. within-mirabile
dictu-like a mandarin's diamond in
Its velvet case, lay the bit of glittering
| ice still the size of walnut! Success
was ours Or, rather, mine, for / did
not regard the Celestial as other than
a means to an end.
During the following day / made
arrangements to take long vacation
| engaged staterooms on the steamer
Manchuria, soon sailed for the Orient,
and obtained from my laboratory am
pie supplies Of vegetable asbestos to
| take with us.
Arrived at Picking. we found it ad-
visable not to attempt to exhibit our
discovery there and win the long-prom-
Used reward from the emperor himself,
| for western notions had latterly in
fected the imperial court to such an
extent that we were laughed at and
scoffed numerically when we present
ed our plea for an audience before
the Son of Heaven. Undaunted by
this early setback, we departed south
wafd for the province of Shan Tung.
A gloriously bright and serene mid
summers morning found us at the
gate Of the thrice-blessed city of Chin
fu-Hslen, blessed in being the natal
spot Of the sage Confucius, the IA
vored,abode Of N-An, chief joss of the
cult Of cooks, and the abiding-place