It's best to add some pork to mackerel filling, but when Bonnie went there today, there was only a small piece of pork left, about an ounce or so. Bonnie bought it with tears in her eyes.
Grandma is very skilled at handling mackerel, so Bonnie has no opportunity to use her skills and can only learn from her.
First, clean the mackerel thoroughly, removing the internal organs and head.
Grandma held the fish in one hand and a knife in the other. Starting from the head, she made a horizontal cut along the fish bones to slice the fish into two pieces, then made a diagonal cut to separate the fish meat from the skin. Her knife work was swift and skillful.
Next, mince the cleaned fish meat with a knife, then add ginger juice while mincing until it is fine and even.
Grandma had Bonnie prepare the ginger juice in advance. She cut the ginger into small pieces, wrapped them in clean gauze, and Bonnie squeezed it hard to get the juice out.
Bonnie thought to herself, "Hasn't she become an automatic juicer?"
Bonnie chopped up another ounce or so of pork. Seriously, there wasn't even enough meat to stick to the cutting board.
Grandma chopped up some more chives she had brought from home, and all the ingredients were ready.
As for seasoning, Bonnie has given up, refused to learn, and went to scoop out noodles from a bowl.
Because she needed to deliver it to her neighbors, Bonnie scooped out two extra bowls of flour. "Grandma, there's a lot of flour this time. Can you tell me how much water to add? I'm not sure," Bonnie said, looking at the bowl of flour, unsure of what to do.
"Come on, I'll do it. You knead it vigorously in a bit." Grandma started adding water little by little, mixing high-gluten flour and cornmeal. Adding water is crucial; too much or too little won't work, otherwise the dough won't have the elasticity and the dumplings won't be able to be wrapped.
Grandma filled the water container, and Bonnie took it and started kneading the dough until it became smooth.
"Auntie, can I play by the door for a while?"
Seeing that his great-grandmother and aunt were busy, Da Bao felt bored and wanted to go out for a walk.
"Okay, don't go too far. After we finish eating, Auntie will take you to play on the small playground over there." Bonnie was worried that Da Bao would wander too far and not be able to find his way back. The family compound was very big, and Da Bao was still young.
"We won't go far, just by the door," Da Bao replied cheerfully.
A moment later, the sound of the gate opening could be heard. Da Bao sat at the door, watching the people coming and going.
Once the dough had risen, Bonnie and Grandma started making dumplings. Bonnie rolled out the wrappers, while Grandma filled them; the two worked together seamlessly and quickly.
"Uncle, you're off work?" Da Bao's greeting surprised Bao Ni; it was Gu Ye who had returned.
Bonnie peeked into the kitchen and saw Gu Ye come in carrying a lunchbox in one hand and Da Bao in the other. "Why are you back? Are you done with work?" Bonnie asked, puzzled.
"I'm not too busy today. Didn't you say Grandma was coming to help you plant vegetables? The team canteen is having stewed meat today, so I got a box of it," Gu Ye explained.
"You're in luck! We're making mackerel dumplings for lunch," Bonnie said with a smile.
"Are you done wrapping? I'll go wash my hands and we can wrap together. I can do it too." Gu Ye was eager to try.
"Go start the fire, we'll be done wrapping soon." Bonnie turned back and finished wrapping the last bit of dumpling wrappers.
Grandma went out to check on Da Bao, while Bao Ni and Gu Ye were in the kitchen boiling water to cook dumplings.
"Gu Ye, I'm planning to deliver a bowl of dumplings to the neighbors at noon as a visit. Is there anyone you need to be especially careful with, or anyone you don't get along with? If so, then I won't deliver to them." Bonnie said it like children who had a fight and wouldn't play together anymore.
"No, there's no such dirty talk between comrades. We always talk things out face to face. If all else fails, we can just have a match on the parade ground and that'll be it." Gu Ye looked at Bao Ni with amusement. This girl was quite on his side.
"Could I also have a go at those women?" Bonnie thought of those gossipy women. Could she beat them into submission and silence their chatter?
"You? Forget it, I'm afraid I'll have to go to the political department to bail you out." Gu Ye thought to himself, "Don't you know your own strength? Do you think you can just take action against someone like that? Don't you have any self-awareness?"
While the two were chatting, the water boiled; it was time to cook the dumplings.
Bonnie and Grandma made over two hundred dumplings. They cooked one pot first, otherwise they would stick together.
The dumplings floated to the surface, so I added water three more times before scooping them out. They were cooked.
"Put these on the table first, then cook the second pot." Bonnie instructed while scooping out dumplings. "Gu Ye, bring the dumplings from the steamer rack over and put them in the pot. I'll go deliver the dumplings."
Bonnie put dumplings into a large bowl, eleven or twelve in total. "I'll go to the first house on the right first, isn't that Battalion Commander Zhang's house?" Bonnie remembered that's what they said when they were gossiping.
“Yes, it’s Battalion Commander Zhang’s family, from the Second Regiment.” Gu Ye didn’t expect that Bao Ni knew quite a lot.
With a snap, Bonnie opened the door and left.
"Grandma, I'm going to deliver dumplings to the neighbor's house. Help Da Bao wash his hands. Dinner will be served soon."
Grandma Lin replied, "Slow down, don't burn your hands."
"Is Sister Zhang there? I'm Lin Baoni from next door, the family of Battalion Commander Gu."
Bonnie shouted, and someone actually came.
"It's the Gu family's house! Come in quickly, the house is a bit messy." Bonnie looked into the yard, where three children of different ages were gathered around the table, waiting for dinner.
"Sister-in-law, my grandma came over today and made some mackerel dumplings for you to try." Bonnie made it clear beforehand that her grandma made them, not she.
"I can't accept this, you can have the dumplings yourselves," Aunt Zhang said, pretending not to see the longing in the children's eyes.
"Sister-in-law, don't refuse. I still have to deliver dumplings to other people's homes. I'm just here to get acquainted with the place. Please take care of me in the future." Since Bao Ni had already said so much, Sister Zhang couldn't refuse any longer. She poured the dumplings into her own bowl, and Bao Ni took the empty bowl home.
Following the same method, Bao Ni delivered dumplings to Xiao Chaoyang's house and the house of Deputy Battalion Commander Zhu in the front yard.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
