Chapter 59 Salt and Pepper Potato Chips
Old Ma looked at the contents of the bowl and asked, "Are these ground with a stone mill?"
"Well, this is still for making pepper salt. It will taste great when sprinkled on potatoes later." Wen Zhenyi said as he took the freshly cut potatoes out of the soaking water and drained off the excess water.
"Yiyi, what are you doing with these potatoes soaking in water?"
"These potatoes are soaked in water to prevent them from turning black. You can put the peeled potatoes in water at home. I am putting the potato slices in water to remove excess starch. This way they will be crispier when I cook them later."
"What is starch?" Old Mrs. Ma was confused.
"Simply put, it's a sugar that plants use to store energy."
Old Mrs. Ma seemed to understand, but also seemed not to understand. Why did it feel so profound?
Gousheng's little nose twitched: "Sister Wen, your family is stewing meat today!"
Wen Zhenyi looked at him with a smile: "You have a really good nose. Did you bring all the bowls I asked you to bring?"
"Yes, it's in the basket."
Wen Zhenyi glanced at the people in the yard. Wen Yongnan and the others had already returned. "Brother, come here."
Wen Yongnan stood up and walked into the kitchen: "What's wrong?"
"I'll make a bowl of mutton offal soup and a plate of Fuqi Feipian for the kids. Please help me deliver it to their homes."
"Okay, what can I do for you?"
Wen Zhenyi took a look and said, "Please help me slice up the beef offal."
"Thin slices will do?"
"Well, thin slices will do. Put them separately in a bowl. I'll use them later."
Wen Yongnan didn't say anything and started slicing the braised beef offal.
The children at the kitchen door watched him cut the meat, their eyes never leaving the room, and saliva could be seen flowing from the corners of their mouths.
Wen Yongman felt helpless when he saw this: "You are all drooling."
Several children quickly wiped it with their sleeves and laughed: "It just smells good."
Old Ma looked at the children and said with some heartache, "In the past, ordinary people could only eat pork occasionally at home. Now the pigs are sick, and other meats are too expensive. We can't afford to buy them back to eat. It's just a pity for these children."
Wen Zhen nodded slightly: "This can't be helped. Mutton and beef have always been more expensive than pork. Now that the pigs are sick, the prices have actually increased a lot. Only these offal are still cheap."
"Is that why you do all this diving?"
"Well, it's just a treat for everyone."
Wen Zhenyi prepared the seasoning for the Fuqi Feipian and put it aside. He took out the children's bowls, cleaned them, and put the chopped beef offal into the bowls one by one, arranging them neatly.
Benben watched her put something into her bowl and said, "Sister Wen, what are you going to do?"
"These are for you to take back home and eat. We made a lot today, and if we can't finish them, they'll go bad. Can you help me eat some?"
"But Daddy said I can't just take other people's things."
Although Hu Zi wanted to eat, he also knew what he could take and what he couldn't take: "Yeah, my mom also said that you are not allowed to take other people's things casually."
Wen Zhenyi walked up to them and said, "I'll talk to your mother and the others about this later. It would be a waste if it goes bad. You can help me by eating some."
"But, my parents will be unhappy." Mantou nodded in embarrassment.
"Brother will take you home later and explain to your parents." Wen Yongnan said.
The children looked at each other, not knowing what to do for a moment.
Wen Zhenyi ignored them. She had indeed cooked a lot today. There was no refrigerator here, and the people at home really couldn't finish so much food. It would be better to just give these children a snack.
She saw that the water in the potato slices had been drained, poured oil into the pot, waited for the oil to heat up, poured all the potato slices into the pot, fried them until golden and crispy, then took them out and placed them in a bowl.
"Grandma, is the salt and pepper ground?"
Old Ma handed her a bowl of salt and pepper: "Can you take a look at it?"
Wen Zhenyi looked at the pepper and salt in the bowl. Although it couldn't be said to be very fine, it was still usable: "It's okay." After that, he sprinkled the pepper and salt on the potato slices, picked up the bowl and shook it gently to make the pepper and salt and potato slices more evenly distributed.
Old Mrs. Ma looked at the potato chips in the basin and said, "They smell delicious."
Wen Zhenyi took a piece from the basin and handed it to her: "Try it."
Old Mrs. Ma took a piece without hesitation and took a bite. With a crisp "crunch", she could smell the aroma of potatoes and the taste of pepper and salt. The combination of the two flavors made her want to suck her fingers.
The little ones outside the kitchen door stretched their necks out, staring at the things in her bowl with their eyes, almost ready to come up and snatch them away.
Wen Zhenyi turned around and looked at them: "Xiaoman, Ruier, take your friends to wash their hands."
Wen Yongman immediately pulled his friends to wash their hands and acted as a little supervisor, asking them to wash again if their hands were not washed clean.
Old Mrs. Ma reached out and took another piece: "This little snack is good."
"Grandma, if you guys are busy enough, you can make this and sell it."
"Let's take it one step at a time. You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry."
"That's right."
The children washed their hands and each of them had a bowl filled with cooled potato chips. "Sit in the yard and eat slowly. I'll take you back after you're done."
"Thank you, Sister Wen." Several children sat under the eaves, holding their bowls and smiling happily.
Ma Yushun ran to Wen Yongman and Ma Ruier and looked at the food in their bowls: "Is it delicious?"
Wen Yongman grabbed a piece of potato chips in his hand and ate it with relish: "It's delicious, so delicious."
Ma Ruier's face was full of happiness: "Potatoes can be so delicious."
Ma Yushun looked at the two of them and said, "Rui'er, let second brother have a taste."
Ma Ruier immediately hugged the bowl in her arms like a protective child: "Second brother, how could you steal your sister's things?"
"When did I steal your things?"
"You are now!" Ma Ruier said, blinking her big eyes at him.
Ma Yushun's face was full of black lines, and he was about to turn around and ask Wen Yongman for a few slices.
"Second cousin, I'm done eating." Wen Yong's mouth was full of potato chips, his words were slurred, and he handed him the empty bowl to look at.
Ma Yushun saw that there was not even a crumb in the bowl, only some oil droplets and some pepper and salt granules.
Ma Yuruo watched his brother being humiliated, a smile on his face: "Yushun, you don't know them yet. If you want to cheat food from them, you probably don't have the ability to do that."
Ma Yushun walked back dejectedly and sat down: "I just want to taste it."
Geng Ru looked at the food in their hands and said, "It looks delicious."
Wen Zhenyi also put a bowl of potato chips on the table in the yard: "Grandpa, Grandpa, you guys try it too."
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