I came back too late today, so Su Qingluan could only eat what was ready, and she couldn't choose. It wasn't that Yang's cooking skills were so bad, but the whole family, including Yang herself, believed that even if they used the same ingredients and seasonings, Su Qingluan's cooking skills were somehow better.
Of course, if Su Qingluan knew what her family was thinking, it wouldn't be surprising - even with the same ingredients and seasonings, there would still be many differences between the cooking methods of a professionally trained chef like her and ordinary people.
Even if we eliminate the objective inconsistency in stove conditions, the knife skills, heat control and even the precise proportion of seasonings will affect the final taste of the ingredients.
However, Su Qingluan believes that there is no need to compare the two. After all, as a chef, carefully honing one's cooking skills is like a soldier taking good care of his gun before going to the battlefield. It is completely different from the cooking skills learned in daily life to fill one's stomach. If one insists on comparing them, it is like equating "being able to comb hair" with "a hair-combing woman" and "being able to do needlework" with "an embroidery room worker."
Comparing amateurs with professionals, isn't that bullying?
Su Qingluan looked at the fried small fish in front of her, thought of the three fish "hanging" outside, and looked at Yang: "Mother, there are obviously three bigger fish, why did you cook these small ones first?" This kind of small fish, and it is a freshwater fish, is very small, and the largest is only the length of a finger. It is fried crispy and fragrant, but it is not very filling. It is okay as a snack to fill the teeth.
Yang smiled and shook her head: "You don't know, Daya, before you came back, our family never ate fish unless we were starving. Even in other families, few people would eat those fish."
Su Qingluan was stunned. She had heard from the villagers before that fish meat was not popular. It was not even as good as those shrimps that were good for filling the teeth.
She originally thought that it was because the water quality in Huaxi Village was average, which caused the fish in it to have a strong earthy smell, and the seasonings were generally expensive, so people naturally didn't like to eat it.
But now, the Su family has no shortage of money to buy spices for seasoning, and to be honest, the river water in Huaxi Village is clear, and it is winter when the fish meat is firm, so it really can't be "unpalatable", right?
"We didn't mean to not eat it!" Su Xuanhe complained, "The fish will have a weird smell that won't go away if you're not careful, and it can't be left out for long, so it'll go bad if you're not careful! What's more..."
Su Xuanhe glanced secretly at Yang who was looking at him with a smile, pursed his lips, and did not dare to say the most fundamental sentence - Yang's fish cooking skills were indeed very limited.
This is understandable, as cooking is a skill that relies on proficiency. Huaxi Village doesn't primarily rely on seafood, so fish and shrimp are considered "reserve food" for when there's nothing left to eat.
When you need to eat fish and shrimp, it is basically a time of famine.
At that point, basically as long as there is food, I would eat even tree bark and Guanyin soil. Who would care whether it tastes good or not, or whether it has thorns or something?
Therefore, no one has much experience in cooking and preserving fish. For example, Su Qingluan feels a little sorry now - the three fish have been "naturally air-dried and frozen" for a whole afternoon. When the fish meat thaws again, the taste of the fish meat will be destroyed after thawing at the microscopic level, so the fish meat is often no longer in strands, but in powder form.
Not only did the taste lose its freshness, but the earthy smell of frozen fish became even more pronounced. Su Qingluan's only comfort was that the three fish had been gutted and rinsed before being hung. Otherwise, if the gallbladder had frozen and ruptured, the entire fish would have a bitter taste, making it even harder to eat.
It was impossible to throw away those three fish. While eating the hot shredded radish meatball soup, Su Qingluan thought that it seemed that she would have to use some strong spices to cover up the earthy smell of the three fish tomorrow.
But before that—what to eat tomorrow morning?
You absolutely can't grill fish. Who wants to eat spicy and delicious grilled fish so early in the morning? I'm sure my younger siblings will have stomachaches again after eating it. And no one has the energy to spend half an hour grilling fish in the morning!
Is there anything I can just cook up and eat tomorrow morning?
Su Qingluan looked at the thin layer of snow falling on the terrace outside, and suddenly an idea came to her mind: "Mother, how about we cook wontons for dinner tomorrow morning?"
"Tomorrow morning?" Yang looked at Su Qingluan.
"Yes," Su Qingluan nodded, "Didn't you just say that there was some meat filling left for making meatballs today?"
Yang nodded: "That's fine. Eating some light wontons in the morning can warm your body and stomach." Then she looked at the sky outside and said, "But it's already late."
Su Qingluan looked at her brother and sister who were busy eating, and smiled slyly, "Don't we have two little helpers? Resting like this after dinner always makes you feel a little bloated. It's so dim now, and I can't let my brother study, and my sister can't go out to play in this weather. What if she falls?"
Su Xuanhe snorted: "I think you want to be lazy, sister... Ouch!"
Su Qingluan tugged at her brother's chubby face, gnashing her teeth in anger, "What do you mean by 'lazy'? Did I eat all those wontons by myself? Didn't you eat a single bite?"
"I was wrong, I was wrong! Sister, let go, let go, it hurts!" Su Xuanhe howled like a ghost.
"Brother, you always make me angry!" Su Xueyan shook her head like a little adult, then looked at Su Qingluan, "Sister, don't worry, San Ya will do more work later, so that I can rest earlier!"
In fact, Su Qingluan was very tired today, but the meatballs were very solid, and she also ate a lot of fried fish. After such a meal, and with pancakes as the staple food, if she went to bed directly on the bed, her stomach would probably be uncomfortable the next day, and she might even vomit food reflux in the middle of the night.
In her previous life, Su Qingluan was already afraid of getting sick, and she would never do anything that she knew was harmful to her body - not to mention that she had no choice.
It's really not worth it to harm your body just because you want to be lazy.
Since we decided to make wontons the next day, everyone got busy as soon as they finished their meal.
Su Qingluan had originally wanted to knead the dough, but seeing how tired she was, Yang asked her to chop the cabbage. Su Xuanhe and Su Xueyan cleared the dishes, while Su Guangfu went to the back to fetch a bottle of cold water from the kang—the whole family kept it warm this way, to avoid constantly soaking their hands in freezing water and developing illnesses.
After washing the dishes, Su Guangfu came back to see the two little ones lying in front of the chopping board, saying that they wanted to learn how to make wontons from their mother and sister.
Yang smiled and said, "It's quite difficult for you to learn how to make Yuanbao wontons."
Su Qingluan looked at her younger siblings and said, "If you really want to learn, there are other less 'troublesome' ways to wrap it."
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