Su Qingluan finally took out the two pieces of chicken breast and duck breast that she had left behind, and first cut them into even-sized pieces. Then she turned to Song Bo and asked, "Do you have a knife specifically for chopping stuffing?"
The one she is using now is a cow-ear knife. Although it is sharp, the blade is relatively long and is more suitable for "cutting". If you want to chop meat, this kind of knife will require extra effort because the blade is relatively light.
The backs of the knives used for chopping meat and bones are relatively thick, and the weight of the knives is also relatively heavy, which can make the action of "chopping" easier with the help of their own weight.
Mu Xingzhi's family was naturally well-off, and they had all sorts of handy kitchen utensils. Although his life appeared simple, Su Qingluan observed him from a distance, and she could tell that Mu Xingzhi's standard of living was quite different.
So in this small mountain village where few people could afford fine iron knives, when Su Qingluan wanted a knife for chopping meat, Song Bo not only brought her one, but also two.
In a sense, just based on these two knives, Mu Xingzhi can be said to be "rich in money."
"Madam Su, here are only two thick-backed knives that are barely suitable for use. Which one do you think is more suitable?"
Su Qingluan didn't hesitate and took both knives. She used the front half of the blade to press into the neatly cut meat cubes, while the back half of the blade hung high in the air like a raised tail.
From a distance, the two knives looked like two shoes standing on tiptoe, stomping their feet constantly with their toes.
Not only are they similar in appearance, but the sounds are also similar, making a "dong dong dong" sound, like continuous and hurried footsteps.
Su Qingluan moved quickly, and because she only used half of the blade, it was not very strenuous. In a short while, the diced chicken became minced meat.
Using the same method, minced duck meat was made again. Su Qingluan even turned around to look at Song Bo, who was peeling crab meat with some skill. He was a little excited and said, "Didn't you want to know what a soup is? I'm going to start making soup now. Would you like to come and see it first?"
Song Bo was really curious, so he came over to see what "Sweeping Soup" was.
Su Qingluan used a colander to scoop out the prepared broth, including the spice bag, chicken, duck, pickled bacon and other ingredients, leaving only the turbid light yellow broth inside.
Then, Su Qingluan poured the minced meat, which she had painstakingly chopped for half a day, into the broth bit by bit. After a while, clumps of froth formed by the minced meat floated on the surface of the boiling broth. Su Qingluan carefully skimmed off the clumps of minced meat with a long-handled wooden spoon, and the broth gradually became clear and transparent.
The next step is to add salt to adjust the taste and adjust the heat to a level that just prevents the broth from boiling - after all, if it boils, the clear broth will become turbid again after a while.
Song Bo watched from the side in amazement: "So this is called 'sweeping the soup'... Then what other uses does this used chicken and duck mince have?"
Su Qingluan shook her head: "Their function is to absorb the tiny particles in the soup that make it cloudy. Once they have completed this task, they can be thrown away."
"What about the chicken and duck that have been cooked all night?"
"...Maybe you can smoke it with tea leaves and sugar later?" Su Qingluan said uncertainly - after all, after being boiled all night and half a day, the chicken and duck meat had become so soft and rotten that they had no shape or form. They did not have any chewy feeling of "meat". Instead, they melted in your mouth like tofu. Su Qingluan herself did not like this taste very much and felt that it was too fine and fragmented.
But it is not ruled out that some people with bad teeth like it?
Although she was joking around, Su Qingluan's hands did not slow down at all - after all, if she was a little slower, the originally clear broth would boil again.
Su Qingluan first took a small amount of clear broth, put the several cabbage hearts that had been cut into shapes and taken out while waiting for the pot to boil, put these cabbage hearts into another small casserole, and poured the broth over the tops of these cabbage hearts.
Of course, these cabbage hearts cannot be boiled over high heat, but can only be simmered slowly over low heat, otherwise the leaves on the edge will easily fall apart.
At this time, Song Bo finally finished peeling the last crab. He breathed a sigh of relief as if he had completed some extremely difficult task. "Oh my God, this feels more tiring than embroidery."
Su Qingluan looked at the old man's weathered face and strong physique and couldn't help laughing when she heard this. "Song Bo, what are you talking about? Have you ever embroidered flowers?"
Song Bo's eyes widened when he heard this and he turned around: "How come you haven't embroidered it before? I was... cough cough!"
Perhaps he suddenly realized that it was not easy to talk about the content related to "embroidery" itself, so Song Bo suddenly stopped and kept silent.
Su Qingluan felt that she should be more understanding at this time, for example, to change the topic. So she asked, "Song Bo, I see that the fish in the basin is very fresh. Is it silver carp?"
Song Bo obviously didn't want to continue the topic of "embroidery", so he nodded immediately: "This silver carp is very fresh, and the meat is very tender, but it is rare."
Su Qingluan sighed: "Although Huaxi Village is close to the river, this is the first time I have seen such a big silver carp."
Song Bo smiled and said, "That's something you don't know, Madam Su. The river in Huaxi Village is upstream and has very thin branches. When the water flows downstream, the aquatic products will naturally be more abundant."
Su Qingluan suddenly realized: It turns out that these crabs and silver carp were obtained in a proper way.
This is no wonder—in an era when transportation was difficult and even sending a letter took at least a month, fresh seafood naturally relied on the terrain. Don't you see that even the emperor in the Forbidden City, if he wanted to eat any sea fish, he would have to pickle it.
Song Bo helped with most of the most time-consuming task of peeling crab meat. Su Qingluan felt that there was no particularly difficult or tedious process, so she asked Song Bo to take a rest.
Of course, she had a reason for asking people to go out - it was already noon from morning until now, and Su Qingluan had not eaten anything except a little food to fill her stomach in the morning.
Of course, both Mu Xingzhi and Song Bo came to ask her if she needed anything, but Su Qingluan politely declined.
It’s not that Su Qingluan is aloof - there are actually a lot of ready-made food in the kitchen, so there’s no need to bother others to prepare it specially!
After all, there is no chef who doesn’t steal food!
...even though I was just using the leftover scraps to make myself a snack.
For example, Su Qingluan tore the chicken and duck meat used for the soup into thin strips, smoked them with tea leaves and sugar in an iron pan for a while, and then made small dough with cold water, fried them in an iron pan until both sides were golden and crispy.
Then take two leaves from the outer part of the cabbage heart that you peeled earlier, cut them into thin strips, fry them in an iron pan, add a little seasoning, and wrap them in a roll with the bacon.
After eating and drinking her fill, Su Qingluan rubbed her stomach contentedly and looked at the crab meat beside her: Well, the next dish is...
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