Chapter 105 Stir-frying is a custom in the northwest
Lin Anan leaned closer to the bamboo sieve and took a look. "What kind of spices is Grandma going to fry?"
Seeing that she was interested, Aunt Chu kept her in suspense, "Sister Lan said that the braised pork seasoning package you made is especially delicious. Take a look, can you tell the spice?"
Lin Anan also became interested. She grabbed a small handful, looked at it carefully, and then sniffed it. The rich and unique scent instantly permeated her heart.
"I really can't guess. It should be used for stewing meat, right? But the one made by my aunt has a stronger flavor and is better at removing the fishy smell. Could it be used for stewing beef or mutton?"
Aunt Chu kept praising her, "Yes, this is the spice for stewing mutton, but this is the ancestral recipe of the people of Yang County."
"I see."
"It contains bay leaves, cinnamon, star anise, peppercorns, and a little fennel and cardamom. The proportion is very important. If it's a little off, the taste will be wrong.
Put these spices together and stir-fry until fragrant, then stew the mutton. Wow, the taste is so fragrant that it can attract people's souls..."
Seeing that Lin Anan was interested, Aunt Chu actually told her the proportions of the ingredients one by one, without keeping anything to herself.
"Every time I come here, I always prepare some extra food. It's Chinese New Year, and neighbors come over to stir-fry some, which makes the place lively."
It turns out that what Aunt Chu said about having spices fried at home is also a custom in the Northwest.
Generally, if there is an elderly person with special cooking skills in the family, they will start cooking on the 28th day of the lunar year and invite the villagers to come and cook the ingredients.
The elderly will use their utmost skills to prepare a special dish, making sure that the portion is large and the taste is good, so that visitors can take a small portion away, as a way to add a dish to the New Year and bring good luck.
However, at that time, every household was poor and it was impossible to share even rice and flour with others, let alone meat and vegetables, so they changed to frying spices.
Spices in this era are cheap, and most of them are grown by farmers themselves, so they don’t cost much at all.
But if the spices are fried with good craftsmanship and people take them back and stew them with meat or something, the experience is completely different.
Of course, the villagers will not let the speculators suffer any loss, and usually bring gifts to their homes.
Lin Anan was listening with great interest. It was true that people are shaped by the land and water they live in, and all the customs were very interesting.
After a while, a neighbor's aunt shouted outside the door: "Aunt Chu, we are here."
Aunt Chu quickly responded and stood up to greet the guests.
Lin Zihuai had already followed Aunt Chu's instructions and moved the honeycomb coal stove to the front of the main hall, heated the iron pot, and also brought in several bamboo sieves with spices and placed them in place.
The spices are mixed and prepared according to ancient recipes. They are given away as gifts, but you won’t learn them in vain.
Several aunts and grandmothers came into the house one after another. Each of them brought a small gift, including eggs from their own homes, sweet potatoes from their own gardens, noodles from their own homes...
The room suddenly became lively.
Everyone was chatting casually, looking at the tape recorder curiously from time to time, their eyes full of novelty.
The song on the tape recorder was still playing. Chu Mingzhou indicated that it was okay. They were all neighbors, and it was okay for everyone to listen to it.
Chu Minglan consciously sat not far from the recorder and became a "caretaker".
One lady joked: "Captain Chu really loves his wife and bought her such a fancy thing."
Lin Anan smiled and nodded, "Mingzhou just bought it for me, it's really good."
After hearing Lin Anan's words, everyone praised Captain Chu for loving his wife.
Chu Mingzhou just smiled faintly, his eyes falling on Lin Anan from time to time.
Aunt Chu clapped her hands, attracting everyone's attention. "Okay, let's stop chatting and start cooking. I'll start first, so you all have to watch carefully."
After that, she took a brush dipped in rapeseed oil and brushed the iron pan back and forth a few times. When the pan was hot and smoking, she grabbed a handful of prepared spices and threw them in.
In an instant, a slight "crackling" sound was heard, and a rich fragrance suddenly exploded in the air and went straight into the human nasal cavity.
The aunts gathered closer, staring at the movement in the pot with their eyes wide open.
Aunt Chu held the spatula in her hand and slowly stir-fried the food, explaining as she did so: "When it's just put into the wok, the fire should be high to bring out the aroma."
An aunt nearby pulled her daughter forward and whispered to her, "Hurry up and take a look. If you can understand this skill, the men and children in your family will praise you to the sky."
The spices in the pot gradually became crispy and fragrant, and the color became darker and richer. Aunt Chu turned down the heat, stir-fried it a few more times, and then removed from the pot and served it in a large bowl on the side.
"Come, let's smell it, is this the right smell?" Everyone came forward to smell it, praising it non-stop.
Soon after, several other aunts followed suit and started frying the spices like Aunt Chu did. The house was filled with laughter and the aroma of spices.
After all, Aunt Chu is old, and it takes a lot of effort for her to stir-fry such a large pot of ingredients.
After someone changed, she sat down to rest, drink some water, and chat with the others.
Everything was fine. On the way, Lin Anan wanted to go to a public toilet, so Chu Mingzhou accompanied her.
During this time, Aunt Chu actually started arguing with someone. She was being pulled by several people at this time. She was so angry that her face turned red. She cursed at the two people opposite: "How dare you spread such rumors about a girl? Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning?"
Aunt Chu is such a good-tempered person and is always kind to others. How could she cause such a big fight?
Lin Anan was startled and hurriedly trotted forward.
The one confronting Aunt Chu was a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The husband's surname was Li, and they were neighbors who lived not far away. The men in their family were also in the army, and although they didn't interact much on weekdays, they were familiar with each other.
Aunt Li: "Aunt Chu, we didn't say that. We just heard it from others, but... this is true. Many people saw it. I didn't lie to you!"
"Bah! I know our An An very well. Who among you saw it? Come on, stand up and talk to us. You dare to spread rumors with just a little bit of your mouth. Be careful or I will report it to the leader and I will demand an explanation!"
Chu Mingzhou walked in with a cold face, and the people who grabbed Aunt Chu immediately dispersed.
"What's going on?"
Seeing Chu Mingzhou coming, the group of people suddenly fell silent...
Aunt Chu sighed heavily, and ran to Lin An'an and pushed her behind her, "An'an, Zihuai has taken the kids back to the house. You should go over there too and help keep an eye on them."
Lin Anan already had an idea in her mind. Someone must have been gossiping about her, which was why her aunt was arguing so fiercely with that person.
Lin Anan did not move. She gently held Aunt Chu's hand and gave her a soothing look. Then she looked at the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law with a calm expression: "Aunt Li, if you have anything to say, why not say it face to face? It will be embarrassing for everyone if we quarrel for no reason. I have never done anything wrong, and I have never let you down."
Aunt Li looked embarrassed, her eyes dodged, and she stammered, "This..."
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