Chapter 44 (Sour and Spicy Boneless Chicken Feet (Part 1)...)
After eating the beef, Yan Qiushu said goodbye to Xue Jiahe.
There were no children around, so she didn't take a carriage to go back, but walked back directly. Now the temperature was starting to rise, and it was a good time to exercise after staying at home all winter.
By the way, take a look at this ancient street scene.
The place where they had eaten before was not a very prosperous street. When they walked out and came to the main road of Kyoto, standing directly there, they could personally experience its spaciousness.
In order to accommodate various carriages and even armies, as well as parades and visits from other countries, this main road was built very wide. It takes quite a while to walk from here to the other side of the street.
This is also the place with the largest flow of people. All along the way, there are various shops standing tall.
As she looked, Yan Qiushu discovered that there were so many lanterns on the street, all of them beautiful.
She asked before she could react immediately.
Shui Yu smiled and said, "Tomorrow is the 13th, the Lantern Festival is about to begin. There will naturally be a lot of lanterns. Girls can go out tomorrow night and the 15th night. During the Lantern Festival, many people will come to play. There will be no curfew, and it will be bustling all night long. The street can also be used by vendors."
Yan Qiushu suddenly realized, it was the Lantern Festival.
She didn't pay much attention to time in her life, and she had been staying in the Xiao Mansion before, so she didn't notice it.
Since it’s the Lantern Festival, of course I have to buy some lanterns.
Yan Qiushu turned and went to a lantern shop, where she picked out some lanterns with small animals in them. Since there were so many, she had them delivered directly to the Xiao Mansion.
After shopping, she spent the money wisely and bought some snacks to take back.
As soon as she returned to the mansion, the children who had not yet gone to school seemed to have heard the news and quickly came over, chattering around her and asking her, "Why did you take so long today?"
"Did you eat anything delicious?"
Yan Qiushu handed them the snacks and said nostalgically, pretending to enjoy herself, "I had a very, very delicious beef noodle. The noodles were really tasty. The soup was also delicious, and the beef was also delicious. I also bought you lanterns. Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow will be the Lantern Festival..."
"Wow!" The children opened their mouths wide.
Among them, Ah Heng was the most amazed. He envied Yan Qiushu and the others for being able to go out freely.
Wan'er was the first to pull Yan Qiushu and beg, "Sister Shu, I want to go too!"
"I've been there. It was the last Lantern Festival. My uncle was at home and took me there." Dongdong raised his chin proudly.
In return, Ah Heng asked, "What is the Lantern Festival like?"
Dongdong scratched his face and his voice suddenly became much softer: "...I forgot, I just remember there were a lot of people and a lot of lanterns."
Wan'er said regretfully: "I didn't go, I was afraid..."
Last year, Wan'er was six years old. Dongdong was rarely at home, and her brother went back to the Shen family. She was not as cheerful as she is now.
Xiao Pingsong was the calmest. As the oldest, he had experienced many things countless times, such as the Lantern Festival: "I've been there a few times. The Lantern Festival is really fun. There are lantern riddles, food for sale, and performances..."
Yan Qiushu didn't know either and just watched eagerly.
The boy spoke more seriously: "I guessed two lantern riddles at a stall before and got two lanterns!"
"Brother, you are so awesome!" Wan'er said with starry eyes, holding her face.
Dongdong nodded continuously.
Yan Qiushu also admired him: "I'm sure I can't do it. Then this time when we go out to play, guessing lantern riddles will be left to Pingsong. I hope we can bring back a few more lanterns."
"Okay, okay..."
Dongdong and the others nodded repeatedly and were discussing something.
Ah Heng whispered, "I won't go."
Dongdong was shocked: "Why?!"
The fair and slightly chubby little boy smiled embarrassedly: "I don't want to go..."
But those words just didn't have enough strength.
But it is true that on days like the Lantern Festival, the streets are crowded with people, and if you are not careful, it would be easy for someone to snatch a child.
Just two days ago, when they went to the fried chicken restaurant to show their support, Yan Qiushu brought a lot of people with her, and she didn't dare to take them for a long walk on the road. Even if there were many guards, the other party would still have a great chance of successfully launching a sneak attack by making a feint to the east and attacking in the west.
But she couldn't bear to leave the child alone at home, and she couldn't do it.
Suddenly an idea struck her, and she said, "How about we take a carriage?"
All four children looked over and asked, "Why are we riding in a carriage?"
Yan Qiushu smiled and said, "I also want to set up a stall and have people come over to guess the lantern riddles. If they guess correctly, I'll give them a portion of popcorn. If they guess wrong, they can buy it with money. Of course, I need a carriage to do that."
"Guess the lantern riddles?"
“Set up a stall?”
“Selling popcorn???”
After three exclamations, pairs of clear eyes were filled with surprise and joy, and the three of them said in unison: "This is OK!"
So interesting!
This was a huge surprise for a kid who had never done business before.
In the past, they were the buyers who bought things, but now their identities have changed. They set up stalls, selling popcorn and letting others guess riddles. It’s fun to think about it. Xiao Pingsong understood what it meant better and his face turned red.
Yan Qiushu looked at the silent boy and said, "Heng, come along too. I need a little helper to carry the things."
Ah Heng couldn't believe it at first and pointed at himself.
After the woman in front of him smiled and nodded, he was still a little nervous: "Can I go?"
"Of course you can, but you can't get off the car." Yan Qiushu spread her hands and looked at Xiao Pingsong and the others: "You all have to behave yourself, otherwise I won't open this stall and will just go home!"
"Of course!"
Wan'er's head was noisy like a woodpecker. This new thing in the stall was so interesting!
Fortunately, with Sister Ashu accompanying her, she dared to play even though she was timid.
Yan Qiushu added, "This is my plan, but whether it will succeed or not still depends on your grandmother, Madam Xiao. There will be a lot of people at the Lantern Festival, and it will be very dangerous. If you're not careful, your children might be secretly taken away, so we need a lot of people to protect them. This is a very troublesome matter. If that's not possible, then we can just celebrate the festival at home, okay?"
The four children looked happy and said in clear voices: "Okay!"
The mobile stall was something Yan Qiushu had just thought of.
It is difficult to cause large-scale casualties in crowded places. With the protection of a carriage shell, there is basically no possibility of taking the child in the chaos, unless the carriage is also destroyed. However, there will be many casualties and it will be difficult to implement, not to mention that the Lantern Festival will be strictly managed, with patrols throughout the entire process.
If there are guards from the Xiao family around to protect them, the children can see what is happening outside the window when they buy things, and can also communicate with people outside by guessing riddles, then the Lantern Festival experience will be perfect.
However, this is just Yan Qiushu's idea, and the details need to be discussed with all the parents.
In order to increase the success rate, Yan Qiushu decided to make some delicious food and send it over!
As soon as this proposal came out, it immediately attracted everyone's approval: "Yes, yes!"
"Sister Shu, what's that delicious?"
Xiao Pingsong coughed lightly: "Aunt Yan, Pingsong can help."
Yan Qiushu looked at the group of people. Although they were young, the youngest was five years old and could really help a lot. She smiled and said, "Make chicken feet."
Dongdong's eyes lit up: "Is it the chicken feet from the braised food shop?"
Yan Qiushu smiled and said, "No, but it's also very delicious."
As long as it tastes good, Dongdong is satisfied.
However, the first step in making chicken feet is to have chicken feet. The Xiao family has almost never eaten chicken feet, and the big kitchen doesn’t have them, so they have to go to the farm to get them. By the time they come back, it’s already late.
For this reason, Yan Qiushu simply had someone cook some beef and ate some at will.
Although the food was not as delicious as the beef in the store due to lack of ingredients, it was still very delicious when prepared by Yan Qiushu. After eating, they started to get busy before it got dark.
The first step to cooking chicken feet is to blanch them.
Put the chicken feet in a pot with cold water, add onion, ginger, garlic and a little wine to remove the fishy smell, then take them out and rinse them with cold water to make the skin and flesh of the chicken feet tighter and more chewy. At this step, the process becomes complicated.
All four children tried their best to hold the small scissors and carefully followed Yan Qiushu's instructions to cut the chicken feet from the top. Shui Yu and Aunt Xu took over and took out the bones.
The wet nurse who was serving the four children was terrified, fearing that they would hurt themselves, but seeing that the little ancestors were having fun, she didn't dare to say anything. She just stood beside them and stared at them intently.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly.
After the chicken feet are deboned, they become a little soft without the support of bones. In order to disinfect them, they are rinsed with hot water again and then placed in a large bowl. At the same time, add minced garlic, chopped green onion, chopped ginger, chili oil, pepper, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and other seasonings. Then pour in cooled boiled water, stir evenly and mix it into every part of the chicken feet.
Finally, cover and let it sit overnight.
When the lid was put on, the child who had been helping for a long time felt his shoulders slump, his face full of fatigue: "It's finally done."
“Cooking is so hard!”
"Yes, Sister Ashu, thank you for your hard work." Wan'er nodded with lingering fear and came over to hug Yan Qiushu.
Seeing this, the other children followed suit.
Yan Qiushu was a little tired at first, but after being hugged like this, she immediately smiled and her tiredness seemed to disappear.
She patted their heads one by one, and when she finally got to Xiao Pingsong, they weren't that familiar with each other yet. But when she saw the boy blinking at her, her heart softened. She reached out and patted his shoulder, saying in a slightly trembling voice, "Go back to sleep. It'll be ready to eat after breakfast tomorrow."
“Okay!”
Following the clear responses, the children left one after another, exhausted but full of expectations.
This time, they made the dishes themselves!
It must be delicious!
The next day.
Yan Qiushu had just finished eating and hadn't even wiped her mouth when four children came over one after another.
He said he came to pay his respects to her.
Under Xiao Pingsong's leadership, the etiquette was acceptable, but after the ceremony, everyone just looked at him hesitantly without saying a word.
Yan Qiushu pursed her lips and smiled: "It's ready to eat. Let's take it over to your grandma to eat first."
"Okay!" the four children said in unison.
Xiao Pingzhou was a little embarrassed after he finished speaking. He had been playing with his younger brothers and sisters these days and had become a little childish. But soon, when he saw the delicious food Yan Qiushu brought out, he sniffed.
A sour and spicy fragrance made his mouth water just by breathing it, and he suddenly felt that his expectations were justified.
The chicken feet that were white and tender yesterday have now turned light brown. They lie close together in the bowl, and the soup just makes the tips of the chicken feet appear, making them appear looming. As the chicken feet are picked out one by one, you can see that the boneless chicken feet are still particularly soft and elastic and shake.
It was a completely different feeling from the previous braised chicken feet. The latter seemed to be boneless with just one bite, while the former made his teeth tremble with bite.
"Gurgle!" Xiao Pingsong watched, and because he was close to it, he swallowed his saliva because of the sour and spicy taste.
At this time, the three children were also looking at it eagerly, and no one spoke. The sound was slightly obvious, and Yan Qiushu heard it. When she turned around, she saw that the honest little boy had a red face.
She was speechless and picked up a chicken claw for each person: "Let you try it first."
"Thank you, Aunt Yan." Xiao Pingsong smiled innocently and quickly put the food into his mouth.
Sure enough, it was spicy as soon as I took a bite.
Just as the tongue felt a little irritated, it quickly tasted a strong sour taste, which reduced the spiciness, and finally salty and sweet tastes. The mixture of multiple flavors refreshed Xiao Pingsong's lips and tongue, which had just had a light breakfast.
The chicken feet are quite crunchy when chewed. The smooth chicken feet themselves have a great taste, and the chicken feet tendons are particularly tender and crispy. Without bones, they are very delicious...
Still wanting more!
A chicken foot went down his throat unknowingly, and Xiao Pingsong found that this simple taste not only did not appease his appetite, but made him want to eat more!!!
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