Chapter 83 The pickled bamboo shoots smell awful~

On the day the restaurant reopened, Lin Yao was full of energy. In addition to launching the pickled bamboo shoots and pork soup, she also wanted to make snail rice noodles! She was really craving it, and the pickled bamboo shoots she had made half a month ago were ready.

Pickled bamboo shoots are a love-it-or-hate-it dish; some people love them so much they want to eat them every day, while others hate them so much they feel like vomiting at the mere smell. This was back in ancient times when no one had ever tried pickled bamboo shoots. She planned to proceed gradually, first making some sample products, and then slowly opening up the market.

Jars of pickled bamboo shoots had already been delivered to their rented house in town, but Lin Yao only brought one jar to the shop today. As soon as the lid was lifted, a bold, spicy and sour aroma wafted out, carrying the pungent smell of fermentation, spreading through the air.

"What's broken? Why does it smell so bad?" Wang Xiaoyu covered her nose, her eyes anxiously searching around.

Wan Chunlai also put down the firewood he was holding and got up to help check.

Lin Yao quickly waved her hand: "Nothing's bad, it's just the taste of the pickled bamboo shoots."

Wang Xiaoyu leaned closer to smell it, then immediately covered her nose and took a few steps back: "Master, is this bamboo shoot still edible?"

"Why can't we eat it?" Lin Yao picked out a plate of pickled bamboo shoots. "It's just like pickled cabbage, it smells pungent, but it tastes delicious! I'll stir-fry some pork belly for you to try."

Wang Xiaoyu frowned, her eyes wide: "But this tastes ten times stronger than pickled cabbage! It smells like... like..." She didn't finish her sentence, but Lin Yao understood, simply smiling as she carried the pickled bamboo shoots into the kitchen. Once they were ready, they would understand the wonders of pickled bamboo shoots.

Lin Yao rinsed the pickled bamboo shoots twice with clean water, squeezed out the water, and cut them into thin strips. She selected three-layered pork belly with skin, sliced ​​it thinly, put it in a bowl, added half a spoonful of soy sauce and a little starch, mixed it well, and marinated it.

Heat the wok until it's red-hot, pour in the lard, and as soon as the oil starts to steam, add the pork belly to render out the translucent fat. Stir-fry until the edges of the pork belly curl up and turn golden brown. Push the pork slices to the side of the wok, leaving the hot oil in the center, and throw in two crushed garlic cloves and some dogwood. After releasing the aroma, immediately add the pickled bamboo shoot strips.

As soon as the pickled bamboo shoots hit the hot oil, their already rich aroma exploded even more intensely. Wang Xiaoyu instinctively shrank back, but was drawn back by another peculiar fragrance and didn't retreat far. The spiciness of the pickled bamboo shoots combined with the fatty aroma of the pork belly created a strange flavor that was both fragrant and pungent.

Lin Yao quickly stir-fried the bamboo shoots, frying each one in oil, then added the pork belly and stir-fried it together. She sprinkled in half a spoonful of sugar to neutralize the sourness, and finally drizzled in a spoonful of wine to remove any fishy smell.

"Want to try some?" Lin Yao picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and held it to Wang Xiaoyu's lips.

Although Wang Xiaoyu was initially repulsed by the pungent smell, she had witnessed the preparation process firsthand, and now it didn't seem so unpleasant. She steeled herself, closed her eyes, and opened her mouth. The moment her teeth touched the pickled bamboo shoots, she was pleasantly surprised by the crisp texture, her eyes widening in delight. Not to mention, the sour and spicy flavor mixed with the aroma of pork belly was a taste she had never experienced before! It didn't have the strange taste she had imagined; on the contrary, it was incredibly flavorful and would definitely go well with rice! She chewed a few bites, then turned and scooped out a large spoonful of rice, handing it to Master: "Master! Give me another big spoonful!"

Lin Yao smiled as she served the dish onto a rough porcelain plate. The pickled bamboo shoots mixed with glistening pork belly looked incredibly appetizing. Wang Xiaoyu shoveled rice into her mouth. She thought she had eaten plenty of good food while following Lin Yao, but this dish was truly amazing. She couldn't stop eating it, one bite after another. "It smells so good, it's even better with rice than braised pork!"

Seeing her enjoying the food, others also picked up their chopsticks to try it. They were immediately hooked and devoured the pickled bamboo shoots even faster than the meat.

Seeing that everyone liked it, Lin Yao took another reserved dish of stir-fried pork with pickled bamboo shoots to the front hall.

Sure enough, as soon as she appeared, a customer covered his nose and shouted to the waiter, "Is something here spoiled? Why does it smell so bad?"

Ah Zhu looked around but saw nothing unusual. The only thing he noticed was the shopkeeper carrying out a plate of stir-fried meat, and the stench seemed to be coming from the plate. He was at a loss for what to do.

Lin Yao naturally heard what the customer said and walked over to him in a few steps. The customer also noticed that the stench was coming from the meat she was carrying, and quickly covered his nose and moved aside. Lin Yao stopped next to his table and said, "This is stir-fried pork with pickled bamboo shoots, a new dish for our restaurant this spring. Although the pickled bamboo shoots smell bad, they taste delicious! Today is the first day of its launch, so I specially made a plate for everyone to try!"

The shop had regular customers, as well as newcomers. The regulars trusted Lin Yao's cooking skills, but the newcomers did not. Unfortunately, the one who had just complained about the stench was a newcomer who had come specifically to try it, but encountering such a "strange smell" on his first visit made him doubt the restaurant's reputation: "Shopkeeper, this is very strange! I thought your food was quite good, so why are you trying to fool people with this stinky stuff? It smells like it's spoiled, how can anyone eat it?"

Many people echoed his words. Lin Yao, however, remained calm, having anticipated this outcome. She picked up her chopsticks, took a bite, and said, "Gentlemen, please see, there's absolutely nothing wrong with this dish. This pungent smell is the unique flavor of pickled bamboo shoots. If you trust me, why not give it a try?"

"Manager Lin, give me some!" Xu Zhiheng raised his hand and called out.

Lin Yao looked in the direction of the sound and saw Xu Zhiheng and Jin Yu sitting at a table by the window, with a steaming bowl of pickled bamboo shoots and pork on the table. She quickly scooped up two large chopsticks of stir-fried pork with pickled bamboo shoots, put them in a clean small dish, and handed it to them: "Try it."

Xu Zhiheng picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, chewed it carefully for a moment, and raised his eyebrows slightly: "The smell is indeed strong at first, but it's sour, spicy, and crunchy when you chew it, with a strange sense of layering. Paired with pork belly, it's quite refreshing." He took another bite and ate it with the rice on the table. "It is indeed as Manager Lin said, a unique flavor."

Jin Yu, who was standing to the side, had been craving it for a while. He was a loyal customer of Lin Yao's food and hadn't had enough of it, so he begged Xu Zhiheng to order another serving.

With one person taking the lead, several regular customers were also tempted. Xu Mu had also brought his apprentice for the start-of-work meal, and seeing the new dishes, he happily joined in: "If Young Master Xu dares to eat this, I'll try it too!" He picked up a piece of pork belly and put it in his mouth. The fat of the meat mixed with the sour and spicy flavor of the pickled bamboo shoots was surprisingly not greasy at all. He immediately slapped the table and said, "Hey! This tastes amazing! Manager Lin, give me a plate of this, and two catties of wine!"

The scholar beside him hesitated before reaching for his chopsticks. He initially only took a small sip of the pickled bamboo shoots, but his eyes immediately lit up: "Sour with a hint of freshness, spicy with a hidden fragrance, it's perfect as a side dish." He was usually very particular about food, but now he couldn't help but take a few more bites. "Manager Lin, how are these pickled bamboo shoots made? They have such a wonderful flavor." As soon as the question left his mouth, he realized his mistake. Who asks a chef for a secret recipe? He quickly apologized.

Lin Yao didn't care much. Seeing that someone was supporting her, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and explained with a smile, "These are pickled with fresh bamboo shoots from spring. They have to wait for half a month before they can be taken out of the vat. The point is to appreciate the sour and fragrant flavor after fermentation."

Seeing this, the customers who had been questioning him couldn't suppress their curiosity any longer. The leader of the group coughed twice, "Since everyone says it's good, I'll try it too. If I don't like it, don't blame me for ruining the place." He picked up a bamboo shoot and put it in his mouth. After chewing it a couple of times, the disgust on his face turned into surprise. "Huh? This flavor is so unique!" he exclaimed, and hurriedly called to the waiter, "Quickly, give me a bowl of rice!"

In no time, the stir-fried pork with pickled bamboo shoots in the small dish was devoured, and many people began to inquire when the dish would be officially available for sale. Lin Yao smiled and said, "Today is just a tasting. Starting tomorrow, stir-fried pork with pickled bamboo shoots, as well as snail rice noodles with pickled bamboo shoots as a seasoning, will be on the menu. If you like them, please come early tomorrow."

Besides pickled bamboo shoots, the most important ingredient in making Luosifen (river snail rice noodles) is river snails.

It's springtime now, and the river is teeming with snails. However, most of the village's able-bodied men are out planting in the fields, leaving mostly children behind. Although the river in the village is shallow, it connects to a tributary of the Minjiang River further in, where the water becomes much deeper. She couldn't bear the thought of a child drowning while trying to catch snails.

Lin Yao returned to Linjia Village and, together with Liu Dazhuang, gathered the village children to tell them about exchanging snails for money. The children were overjoyed to hear that snails could be exchanged for money. They usually loved catching fish and shrimp in the stream, and in the spring they also collected snails, but the adults in their families said that snails had little meat and were difficult to process, so they were unwilling to cook them. Therefore, most of the snails they collected were just thrown around as pebbles.

Seeing the children happy, Lin Yao felt cheerful and reminded them, "The more snails you catch, the better, but be careful and don't go into the deep water."

Liu Dazhuang, standing to the side with a stern face, said, "That's right, I'll guard the back of the stream. If anyone dares to go deeper, Ayao won't take their snails."

The children nodded repeatedly, eagerly promising not to break the rules. Seeing that it was about time, Lin Yao let them go and catch snails.

The children, like freed foals, ran towards the stream, carrying bamboo baskets and small buckets. The spring water was just above their ankles, and sunlight shone through the surface, revealing groups of snails clinging to the pebbles.

"I found a big one here!" Erzhuzi shouted, holding up a snail the size of a thumb. Xiaohua, standing nearby, wasn't having it, and shoved her bamboo basket in front of him: "Look at mine, they're all this big!"

The children squatted by the stream, their little hands groping in the water. Some children, finding their hands tired from squatting, simply took off their straw sandals and jumped into the water, rolling their trousers up to their knees, splashing water everywhere.

Liu Dazhuang stood under the old locust tree on the bank of the stream. He saw a boy take two steps into the deeper water and immediately coughed, "Goudan! If you take another inch forward, you can forget about getting paid today!" The boy was so frightened that he quickly shrank back, slipped, and fell into the water, which made his companions burst into laughter. He was not angry, got up, wiped his face, and continued to dig for snails in the same spot.

Lin Yao sat on the blue stone by the stream, watching the children's figures with a smile that never left her lips.

A little girl with pigtails ran over carrying a half-full bucket of snails, looking up at her and asking, "Sister Ayao, is this enough?" The bucket was piled high with snails, some still slowly wriggling. Lin Yao helped her pour some water out of the bucket: "That's enough. If you collect another half bucket, you can exchange it for five coins, enough to buy two pieces of candy." The little girl's eyes lit up, and she plunged back into the crowd with the bucket.

By the time the sun was directly overhead, the children's bamboo baskets and buckets were full. Some of them couldn't fit any more, so they tied the corners of their clothes into pockets, and walked back with their little bellies sticking out, their trouser legs dripping wet, but their faces beaming with smiles.

Liu Dazhuang checked each basket one by one, and when he saw that someone's basket contained small stones, he frowned and picked them out: "Ayao wants clean snails. If you mix anything in next time, I really won't accept them." The child nodded hurriedly and frantically picked out the impurities.

Lin Yao and Liu Dazhuang poured the snails into three large wooden basins that they had prepared beforehand. The moss and mud on the snail shells shimmered in the sunlight. She gave each child a copper coin, and the children happily ran off clutching the money.

Normally, freshly caught snails need to be kept for two days to purge the sand, but tomorrow many people will definitely come to try it, so Lin Yao wants to take advantage of this wave of publicity to make snail rice noodles a well-known brand. Lin Yao rinsed the snails twice with clean water and added enough salt to the basin, "This salt water will help them purge the mud and sand from their stomachs more quickly."

Liu Dazhuang moved some wooden planks over to cover the basin to prevent stray cats from causing trouble at night: "I'll keep watch over it tomorrow and let the kids continue to catch them. I guarantee there will be enough for your shop."

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