The outdoor temperature is getting lower and lower, and the lights in the house are dim, but it can give people the warmth of home.
In the outhouse.
Jin Xiaomei is chopping the minced meat, and Yang Yufeng is pounding the tofu. Today, Zhao Jun’s dinner is very simple, which is meatballs.
On the kang in the east room, Mrs. Jie Sun sat cross-legged on the east side of the kang table, Wang Meilan and the old lady sat on the west side, and Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu sat on the floor on four-legged and eight-pointed stools.
Li Baoyu did not interrupt during the whole process and listened to the four people discussing about finding a partner for Jie Chen and buying a house.
Seeing that the big clock on the wall was almost five o'clock, Wang Meilan got up and walked to the outhouse.
At this time, the meat filling was chopped and the tofu was mashed. Wang Meilan, Jin Xiaomei and Yang Yufeng began to mix the filling.
Divide the meat filling into three parts. One part is pure meat with minced green onions and minced ginger, seasoned only with salt, and stir the meat filling clockwise with chopsticks. When the meat filling makes a squeaking sound, it is called in the local dialect: the stuffing is called.
This means that the stuffing speaks for itself, indicating that it has enough flavor. At this time, add two tablespoons of starch to it and mix it into a thick paste.
For the second portion of meat filling, add chopped elm mushrooms, minced green onion, minced ginger, and salt, stir, and then mix with starch to form a paste.
The third portion of meat filling is mixed with mashed tofu. Of course, there are also a lot of chopped green onions, ginger, salt and starch.
At this time, there was still some mashed tofu left, and Wang Meilan added diced elm yellow mushrooms, diced carrots, and various ingredients and starch into it.
Just as Li Baoyu came out of the house, Wang Meilan asked him to go to the dish rack and take out the oil jar at the bottom.
Ladlefuls of bear oil were put into the pot. Wang Meilan and Yang Yufeng were on both sides of the pot. After the oil was warmed up, they grasped the meat filling with their hands. With the movement of their clenched fingers, the meatballs squeezed out of the tiger's mouth.
When he came out, Wang Meilan and Yang Yufeng bent the spoon and lowered it into the oil pan.
The moment it was put into the pot, there was a sizzling sound, oil bubbles appeared around the meatballs, and the surface changed color.
When the oil is at the right temperature, the meatballs will immediately rise to the surface of the oil when they sink to the bottom of the pot.
The two of them first made the meatballs. Halfway through, only Yang Yufeng made the meatballs. As for Wang Meilan, she took a spoon and poured hot oil on the oily meatballs.
When the surface of the fried meatballs was golden brown, Wang Meilan used a sieve to pick them up, weighed them up and down on the pot surface twice to control the oil, and then poured the meatballs into a large plate.
It's up to the people next to me to make croquettes while the children have already squatted by the stove.
The children in the Zhao family's house eat and drink well every day, which is relatively better. It's just that the oily food tastes delicious.
As soon as the plates were placed on the kang table, the four children immediately gathered around.
"Brother!" Zhao Na looked up at Zhao Jun and asked crisply: "Can we eat?"
"You have to wait a while." Zhao Jun smiled and said, "It's too hot."
Then, Zhao Jun turned to Li Baoyu and said, "Baoyu, hurry up and get some pairs of chopsticks."
After saying that, Zhao Jun shouted to the east room: "Jiang Nai, Jie Niang, come to eat meatballs!"
Xie Sun could no longer hold back for a long time. When Zhao Jun shouted, she was immediately ready to move.
But the old lady didn't go to the field, and she was too embarrassed to go over and compete with the children for food.
At this moment, Wang Meilan poked her head in from outside the door and called to them: "Aunt, sister, you two hurry up and eat while it's hot! We are still frying here, you don't care if we have enough to eat, what are we eating that won't make us full?"
"
Next, Wang Meilan and Yang Yufeng fried the meatballs stuffed with tofu. Jin Xiaomei just went home with two small helmets. One of the two helmets was filled with some meat fillings, and the other was filled with half of it.
A pound of soybean tofu.
When Jin Xiaomei got home, she picked up two more Chinese cabbages, cut them into leaves, and prepared to make a cabbage, tofu and meatball soup.
The meatballs in the soup are not too oily, so I just pinch them and put them in. The main purpose is to make them light.
At this time, in the west room of the Zhao family, Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu, the old lady, Xie Sunshi and four little girls had already eaten. They used their chopsticks to pierce a ball each time, brought it to their mouths and chewed it in circles.
The fried meatballs are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, so fragrant.
At this time, Wang Meilan came in with another big plate and said with a smile: "Come, try this, there is meat here."
"Daughter!" the old lady called to Wang Meilan: "You can eat too!"
"Let's eat." Wang Meilan said with a smile: "Me and Feng'er, we are rushing to fry and eat."
With that said, Wang Meilan put the plate on the Kang table and asked the old lady with a smile: "Is it delicious, Auntie?"
"It's delicious!" The old lady said with a smile on her face.
Wang Meilan went out and continued to fry meatballs with Yang Yufeng, followed by elm and yellow mushrooms stuffed with meat.
The mushroom is a fungus unique to the Changbai Mountains. It is delicious and can be eaten stir-fried, stewed or any other way.
But the locals like to use it for stuffing.
These elm yellow mushrooms were collected by Yang Yufeng from the mountains in August and September. When they grow, they appear in clusters on the trunks of trees.
After picking them back, Yang Yufeng took the tenderest ones and dried them. Then she soaked them in water and ate them still delicious.
As plates of meatballs were served, Yang Yufeng slowly poured the oil from the pot into a basin filled with oil.
Wang Meilan entered the east room, placed the panel on the Kang table, opened the quilt covering the basin, and pulled out the basin underneath.
There was cooked noodles here. Wang Meilan took a look after opening the basin, then turned around and opened the drawer of the standing cabinet next to her, and took out a piece of butter paper from inside.
Wang Meilan held the butter paper in one hand, grabbed a piece of noodles from the basin with the other hand, and dropped it on the butter paper.
This piece of noodles is the noodle starter!
This thing is called noodles in some places and old noodles in others. Anyway, there are countless names across the country.
But to put it bluntly, it is equivalent to yeast powder in the future. Without it, dough cannot rise.
Therefore, every time you make dough, you must set aside a piece. When you use it next time, boil it with water, and then use this water to knead the dough and make it rise.
It's winter now, so Wang Meilan took out a piece, wrapped it in butter paper, and kept it in the freezer outside. When it was time to use it, take it back in advance and defrost it in the house, and then mix it with water.
There is no refrigerator these days. If you want to store it for other seasons, just put the noodles in a bowl, then put it in the dish rack and let it dry in the shade. Add water when you need to use it.
Northerners love to eat noodles, especially at this time, white noodles, two-sided noodles, corn noodles, steamed buns, flower rolls, steamed cakes, steamed buns, and pancakes are all inseparable from the noodles.
The piece Wang Meilan wrapped in butter paper was to be frozen outside for storage. In addition, she also put a piece in a small bowl and placed it in the dish rack for steaming dry food tomorrow.
At this time, Wang Meilan grabbed some white noodles on the panel, then pushed the basin up, lifted a corner of the basin with her left hand, and scooped out the noodles from the bottom up with her right hand.
After kneading and rolling the dough, Wang Meilan rolled the dough into a dough and brushed it with oil. A little salt was added to the oil in advance. After brushing, she rolled up the dough from one end and cut it into pieces with a knife.
At this time, Yang Yufeng finished cooking and came in to wait for Wang Meilan.
At this time, there is still a little oil in the pot in the outer room, just waiting for the cake to be put into the pot.
I saw Wang Meilan cut out twenty-five dough balls, and then she pinched both ends of one dough ball with her hands, clockwise with her right hand, and counterclockwise with her left hand. She twisted both hands together, and then placed the tightly twisted dough in the palm of her hand.
After pressing it with both hands, a dough pancake will be formed.
This is to bake the dough cake until both sides are golden brown, the cake is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the inside is layered and flavorful.
Wang Meilan pressed out the dough cakes one by one, and Yang Yufeng shipped them out two at a time. But there could only be six cakes in the bottom of the pot at the same time. When Wang Meilan finished pressing all the dough balls, Yang Yufeng didn't have any cakes in the pot.
Finished baking.
Wang Meilan came out of the back room and said to Yang Yufeng: "Feng'er, burn four last ones, five big ones."
In fact, no matter what you cook, the heat must be just right. It won’t work if it’s raw or old.
Once the dough pancake is baked until golden brown on both sides, it should be placed on the edge of the pan, like a large pancake, and allowed to stay on the edge of the pan for a while.
In this way, no matter how thick the cake is, the inside can be cooked through without affecting the taste and preventing oil from immersing in it.
Otherwise, if you keep baking it on the bottom of the pot, both sides of the cake will turn black. Although it is not mushy, it will become harder and harder as it is baked, and it will no longer be crispy.
"I know, old aunt." Yang Yufeng smiled and said, "My brother is happy to eat like that."
"Yeah." Wang Meilan nodded with a smile and said, "He's across the road."
The meaning of "Gulu" is almost different, but it is a derogatory term. If you don't eat the golden, crispy and fragrant cakes, but eat the ones that are hard and hard to bite, isn't this "Gulu"?
But Zhao Jun likes that kind of food. He has had bad teeth since he was a child, so he likes to eat that kind of chewy food.
Seeing that Yang Yufeng also knew Zhao Jun's taste preference, Wang Meilan smiled lightly and said to her: "Feng'er, you bake this cake, I'll put it on the table."
After saying that, Wang Meilan stepped into the west room.
At this time in the west room, the four little girls had already left the table.
Since the little lynx was weaned, they have lost a lot of fun. It just so happened that there was another little black bear in the house, and the little girls found new fun. Wang Meilan was busy in the afternoon and did not take care of it at a glance. The little black bear was taken away by Zhao Hong and Zhao Na.
I fed Li Xiaoqiao until I vomited milk.
The old lady and Li Baoyu also put down their chopsticks and chatted with Zhao Jun. Zhao Jun held a chopstick in his hand with half a meatball stuck on the head.
Zhao Jun had to lift this half of a meatball for a long time before he was full. This was to prevent Mr. Xie Sun from being embarrassed to eat.
After all, Xie Sun was the only one still eating in her mouth. She felt that since arriving in Yong'an Village, she had lived a very fulfilling life every day. This kind of fulfillment was something she did not have when she was at home.
When Wang Meilan came in, she caught up with Xie Sunshi and stuffed half of the meatball into her mouth. While chewing, she said vaguely: "I'm not going to eat it. I'll eat later."
Hearing what she said, Zhao Jun smiled and stuffed half of the meatball into his mouth. Seeing Wang Meilan come in, Zhao Jun asked: "Mom, set the table?"
"You don't need to." Wang Meilan waved her hand and said, "You and Baoyu, you two put on your clothes and go to the courtyard to see your aunt."
After saying this, Wang Meilan added: "Your aunt has a hard time carrying that big basin herself."
"Hey!" Zhao Jun responded, and he and Li Baoyu put on the cotton monkeys and walked out.
As soon as the two brothers came out of the house, Jin Xiaomei, who happened to be next door, was carrying a big basin, kicked the door and walked out of the house.
"Mom!" Li Baoyu ran to the wall, turned over and took the big basin from Jin Xiaomei's hand.
This basin is filled with more than half of the cabbage, tofu and ball soup, which is exuding a fragrant aroma.
Li Baoyu carried the basin to the wall and raised it. Zhao Jun took it. Li Baoyu hurriedly climbed over the wall and went to the door to open the door for Zhao Jun.
As soon as the three of them entered the house, the dogs outside started barking. Zhao Youcai, Li Dayong and Lin Xiangshun who were at work came back.
Today, Lin Xiangshun's daughter-in-law, Xu Chunyan, returned to her parents' home with her son. Wang Qiang's family didn't come because they had visitors. His eldest uncle and second uncle came, but they had nothing else to do, they just came to check on themselves.
Why hasn’t my sister returned to her parents’ home recently?
Therefore, the Zhao family's dinner today included six people including adults and children. Wang Meilan did the math and decided not to set a table in the east room, but only placed a round table on the floor of the west room.
Then let the four drinkers Zhao Youcai, Li Dayong, Li Baoyu, and Lin Xiangshun sit around the kang table. As for Zhao Jun, who did not drink, he ate at the round table with the women and children.
Refreshing meatball soup, served with sourdough bread. Every now and then, I bite into a croquette. This meal is simpler than before, but it is hot, meaty and vegetarian, and everyone who eats it is extremely comfortable.
After they had finished drinking and eating, everyone went back to their homes. Zhao Jun sat on the edge of the kang in the west room and soaked his feet. Wang Meilan came from the east room and put the little lynx in his arms.
Zhao Jun rubbed the little lynx's head, and the little guy squinted his eyes and rested his chin on Zhao Jun's arm.
It hasn't grown too much yet, and it still looks a little cute, but Zhao Jun knows that lynx mature quickly, and he is afraid that by next spring, this little guy will be able to hunt pheasants, rabbits and other small mountain birds.
But if you want to take it out, you have to train it well, otherwise it will be lost within five minutes of going out.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! When Wang Meilan returned to the house, the two little girls were asleep. Zhao Youcai was also in bed. At this time, he held his head in his hands, pillowed his hands, and looked at the shed
, I don’t know what I’m thinking about again.
"What..." Wang Meilan called him in a low voice, and Zhao Youcai turned his head and pronounced "Hmm".
"Your provisions..." As Wang Meilan said this, she saw Zhao Youcai's face darken. She lowered her voice and said with a smile: "My son told me to go up the mountain tomorrow and give it to old boss Xing."
Zhao Youcai glared at Wang Meilan and said angrily: "What are you doing for him?"
"Then why are you keeping it?" Wang Meilan asked doubtfully, "We usually don't eat it either."
Big pancakes are great for chewing up the mountain. They are simple and convenient and do not need to be baked over a fire.
But if you eat it at home, it can't compare to a hot meal. Especially what are the conditions at home? The big pancakes can't compare to yeast pancakes and fried steamed buns.
So the two women discussed giving those big pancakes to Xing San. The old man was in Lengchang, and the conditions were not as good as those at the bottom of the mountain. Besides, he had to go anywhere every now and then, so he just happened to have some of these with him so that he could eat them in the mountains.
"Why don't I eat?" Zhao Youcai said, "I have to go up the mountain in two days?"
"Haha..." Wang Meilan, who was unbuttoning her cotton-padded jacket, laughed when she heard that he was going up the mountain.
Although she didn't say anything, her laughter made Zhao Youcai feel very unhappy!
"No!" Zhao Youcai took his hands out from under his head, sat up all of a sudden, looked at Wang Meilan and asked, "What are you enjoying?"
Wang Meilan smiled and waved her hands, but her deep laughter still couldn't stop, "Hehehe..."
"I..." Zhao Youcai became angry with shame, turned around and pulled the light cord, and the room instantly fell into darkness. Then Zhao Youcai went down and pulled the quilt over him, leaving only Wang Meilan who was groping on the kang in the dark.