Thinking of the spicy and refreshing cold dishes, Tian An really couldn't wait a moment.
He rushed into the kitchen as soon as he got back from town.
Dried chili powder, white sesame seeds, peanuts, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, green onions, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, salt, sugar. I bought all the ingredients I could find in town.
It's a pity that onions didn't exist back then, so we had to use shallots instead. Fortunately, the oil extraction technology here is very mature, otherwise it would be very troublesome.
Tian An first washed and soaked the cinnamon, bay leaves, star anise and other spices in clean water. Then he sliced the ginger, tied the green onions into knots, and crushed the peanuts.
I found another large bowl and poured in white sesame seeds, chili powder, salt, sugar and crushed peanuts and mixed them evenly.
Heat oil in a wok until it is 70% cooked, then add all the star anise and spices. Once the star anise is fragrant and the scallions and ginger slices are dry, remove all the star anise.
Tian An first scooped a spoonful of refined sesame oil into the chili powder and stirred it evenly. Then, he let Mangzhong stir the chili while he poured in the remaining sesame oil. He could stop stirring when the oil was no longer too hot.
With this big bowl of fragrant chili oil, making cold dishes or eating noodles is much more convenient and delicious.
There was a tofu shop at the entrance of Shangba Village. Tian An estimated the time and gave Mangzhong money to buy six pounds of tofu.
The two of them cut the tofu into thick slices as thick as a pair of chopsticks, fried them in hot oil until both sides were golden brown, and then cut them into small thin slices after they cooled down.
Some of the tender fern moss that Chunxi picked last night has been brought back, and the Grain in Ear has been processed and soaked in water.
They cut the bracken into sections and sliced the spring bamboo shoots. They also prepared ginger and garlic water, coriander, and scallion slices.
Simply use a large pot to pour bracken, spring bamboo shoots, and tofu slices into it, add the prepared seasonings, and finally drizzle with fragrant and spicy chili oil and mix well. A large pot of cold-mixed spring bamboo shoots, bracken, and tofu slices is ready.
The red and green aromas were enticing, and Tian An and Mangzhong each tasted a little. The spring bamboo shoots were crisp and tender, the fern moss was delicious, and the tofu slices were spicy and flavorful. It was simply delicious.
Tian An kept the food for himself, thought about it, divided it into four portions, and sent the rest to the cafeteria.
Of the four portions, one was delivered to the village chief's home by Da Niu, one was delivered to the clan leader by Tian An, and the remaining two were delivered to the two clan elders by Chen Feng and Xiao Kang.
These elderly people have helped me before, so it’s only right that I send them some snacks.
When Daniu arrived at the village chief's house, he was having dinner.
As soon as Daniu entered the main hall, the village chief greeted him, "Daniu! Sit down and eat!"
Daniu bowed and said, "No, Village Chief, An An made some new food. I'll bring some for you to try."
As he said that, he put the plate on the dining table.
Looking at the cold dishes on the table and smelling the spicy and fragrant aroma, several people started drooling.
The village chief picked up a young bamboo shoot, put it in his mouth, chewed it and swallowed it. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he picked up a piece of fern moss and a piece of tofu with his chopsticks and ate them.
The look of enjoyment on his face made his grandson, who was staring at him closely, anxiously ask, "Grandpa, is it delicious?"
The village chief nodded, and his little grandson couldn't wait to pick up a big chopstick and put it into the bowl.
The village chief picked up another bamboo shoot and said, "Daniu! What is this? It looks a bit like a bamboo shoot!"
Da Niu said, "They are bamboo shoots, the black ones are fern, and the other ones are tofu slices."
The village chief's eyes widened. "Bamboo shoots? Ferns? And tofu? Can they be made so delicious? You're not kidding me."
Da Niu said: "It's mainly because An An did a good job." He looked a little proud!
The village chief's interruption had already eaten half of the salad. His son had only taken a bite with his chopsticks, and most of it went into his grandson's stomach.
The delicious cold dishes stimulated everyone's taste buds. The family immersed themselves in eating and forgot about the big beef next to them.
Da Niu frowned and looked at his own plate, then looked at the people who were eating hard, sighed and left.
After the village chief and his two grandchildren finished their cold dishes and rice, they realized that Daniu had already left. Looking at the plates on the table, they decided to wait for the old woman and her daughter-in-law to return them when they got to work the next morning.
The village chief's wife and daughter-in-law have been working in the workshop since Tian An recruited workers.
The refugees who worked were not paid, but were provided with three meals a day. The workers recruited from the village were paid, so they were only provided with lunch and had to eat breakfast and dinner at home.
In the cafeteria, everyone ate heartily because of the new dishes. If the meals were not rationed, everyone would have eaten several more bowls of rice. A single meal would have probably required an extra hundred kilograms of food.
After finishing their meal, Tian An and his companions were busy preparing bamboo shoots and fern moss. Seeing the bamboo shoots and fern moss being carried into the yard in an endless stream, Tian An had no choice but to call in the cooks in the canteen to help.
They worked all afternoon, their backs nearly breaking, before they finished cooking the mountain of bamboo shoots. But it was almost time, and the cooks had gone back to the dining hall to make dinner. With fewer people around, the bamboo shoots and bracken moss piled up again.
Tian An estimated that there were probably about 800 to 900 kilograms, so he asked someone to inform Chun Xi not to dig for the time being, as the bamboo shoots and fern moss could not be kept overnight, so he should come back and process them first and continue digging tomorrow.
It must be said that it was another night of burning the midnight oil! Several daughters-in-law from the homestead came down to help and worked until midnight.
Before she'd slept for two hours, Tian An was busy in the kitchen again. Waiting for the chef to taste test the food was too much trouble, so she decided to make the salad first and give it to him later. She also made what she had promised Qin Yalan.
The kitchen is next to the warehouse. Chunxi and Mangzhong got up to check when they heard some noise in the kitchen.
Seeing that it was Tian An, he said, "Miss, why didn't you call us when you had something to do? You just went to bed in the middle of the night, and it's still dark. And you have to go out and sell fern moss and bamboo shoots later. How can you bear it?"
Tian An smiled indifferently and said, "You guys didn't go to bed until midnight either. I'll just take a nap on the ox cart later."
Chunxi and Mangzhong helped while saying, "Miss, we are servants. How can servants sleep while the masters work?"
Tian An looked at her and smiled, "You have never been servants to me, but family members."
Hearing Tian An's words, the two were stunned, their eyes gradually turned red, but their hearts were warm. Knowing that their daughter was not a hypocritical person, they did not say anything, but worked harder.
Chen Feng, who had also heard the noise outside and rushed over to check, looked up at the sky with red eyes. Family? He had family again. How wonderful.
The three of them worked much faster together. By the time the rooster crowed for the first time, a large bowl of salad was ready. They divided a plate and placed it on one side, while the rest was put into the pot and prepared to be sent to the Qin family later.
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