Chapter 63 Tasting Ancient Foods
Once home, Jiang Zhi transformed into an octopus.
With one hand washing pig intestines, the other marinating the meat filling, and the third preparing tools... he was practically in eight different places at once, extremely busy.
Pig small intestines are arguably the most difficult part to prepare, no matter how you look at it. Therefore, this was the first thing Jiang Zhi tackled.
She first boiled a kettle of water, mixed it with the cold water from the morning to make warm water, washed her hands, then tied her hair up high with a headband before starting her work.
When she first transmigrated, Jiang Zhi was broke and had to make herself some pig-killing powder. Therefore, she was quite skilled at cleaning intestines.
She first rinsed the intestines several times with the warm water she had just used to wash her hands, slightly dispelling the slightly fishy smell that wafted to her nose, and then took scissors and began to cut off the grease on top.
This step is probably the most difficult part of making sausages. As a result, Jiang Zhi had to endure the smell that kept wafting out while patiently squinting and cutting away the sticky grease that was attached to the surface bit by bit.
There's no way around it; if this step isn't done carefully, the casing will tear right there in the end.
After the grease on top was finally cut off, Jiang Zhi was almost at her limit. She first picked up the water that had slowly turned from boiling to warm water and poured it directly onto her intestines. After confirming that some of the mucus on top had been washed away, she started soaking in the warm water.
She ran out of the kitchen with her head down before daring to raise her head and take a few deep breaths, only then did she feel the smell in her nasal cavity slowly dissipating.
But at the same time, she also noticed that she really did have that aura emanating from her...
When Jiang Zhi finally mentally prepared herself again, she slowly walked into the kitchen. The mucus on her small intestine had gradually decreased after being soaked in water, but she still needed to rub it slowly with coarse salt.
Fortunately, Jiang Zhi had just breathed some fresh air and prepared herself mentally, so she could barely bear it.
Afterwards, Jiang Zhi soaked the small intestine, which had already been cleaned of mucus, in rice water for a while, then blanched it briefly in boiling water, and finally wiped the surface dry. The processing of the small intestine was now almost complete.
*
The treatment of the small intestine is now complete.
Jiang Zhi quietly went into the bathroom, took the bath soap—a toiletries she had gotten used to using these past few days—and thoroughly scrubbed herself clean from head to toe before quietly changing her clothes and coming out.
Because she was making sausages this time, she didn't dare to wear anything particularly pretty or clean. She only wore a light gray undergarment underneath, with a close-fitting jacket over it for warmth, and a gray ruqun underneath. It wasn't particularly eye-catching, but because Jiang Zhi had fair skin and was a clothes hanger, it made her look even more arrogant.
As Pei Ye mixed the meat filling, his eyes lit up when he watched Jiang Zhi emerge from the ground.
Jiang Zhi, however, didn't care about any of this. As she walked over, she rolled up her sleeves and took a look at Pei Ye's filling preparation.
While Jiang Zhi was cleaning her intestines, she had already seasoned Pei Ye's meat. Pei Ye just needed to follow her instructions and put the ingredients in one by one.
But, after Jiang Zhi finished everything on her side, she took a shower and then came over to take a look: Pei Ye had only finished half of his task.
However, Jiang Zhi was initially blinded by the stench and didn't understand at first. After thinking it over for a moment, she realized what was going on:
If Jiang Zhi's task was a psychological test, then Pei Ye's was purely physical. Forty pounds of meat—an ordinary person couldn't even lift it; they had to use two carrying poles to carry it in two baskets.
Even if you don't need to lift the meat when mixing the filling, it doesn't mean that this thing is easy.
After all, mixing most of a bottle of Shaoxing wine, a sufficient amount of soy sauce and salt water, the white parts of two scallions, the juice from three gingers, and the remaining Sichuan peppercorn powder into the meat, and then mixing it until it becomes sticky, is indeed a huge undertaking.
However, although Pei Ye had not finished the huge project, when Jiang Zhi went over to take a look, he had already completed three-quarters of it.
He had already divided the meat and seasonings into four portions each, and then kneaded the seasonings into each portion one by one, stirring until it became sticky. At this point, three of the four portions had been prepared.
Jiang Zhi originally wanted to go over and help, but she was stopped in her tracks by Pei Ye's voice, which seemed to foresee the future even though he didn't look up.
"Don't come any closer, or we'll both have to go back to take a shower again! I'm almost done too!"
*
When Jiang Zhi finally received the seasoned minced meat, she could see the fine beads of sweat on Pei Ye's forehead and the muscles in his arms that were particularly prominent from exertion, thinly covering his arms and looking clear and beautiful.
Like—
Having already prepared the funnel and small intestine with both hands, Jiang Zhi, sitting on the bench, looked up and before she could even blink, this beautiful sight came into view.
She subconsciously thought of the kind of "male bodhisattvas" she had seen on various online platforms in her previous life, the kind that she found most attractive: slim when dressed, muscular when undressed.
She almost swallowed loudly, but ultimately reason prevailed, and she restrained herself from this lecherous behavior. She pursed her lips, forced herself to lower her eyelids silently, and did not continue to look at the person.
Then he also brought over the bowl containing the meat.
*
Once out of sight, Jiang Zhi naturally didn't see the slightly disappointed look on someone's face. But if she had, she probably would have guessed what that person was thinking.
That person isn't even trying to hide anymore!
However, this misfortune turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Jiang Zhi. Perhaps in order to avoid her slightly reddened earlobes, she was able to concentrate more on the enema.
She had already tied a knot at the end of the small intestine she was holding. The remaining steps were to keep filling it with meat filling with a spoon, and after confirming that it was evenly distributed, tie it into the shape of a sausage, about the length of a finger.
Jiang Zhi was quite experienced in this matter. In no time, she tied the stuffed sausage skin into four or five sections with hemp rope. Of course, at this time, Jiang Zhi did not forget one thing.
Without even looking up, she simply took a small wooden skewer from the stove and casually pricked the sausage casing twice.
This is also a habit of Jiang Zhi's. Anyone who has made sausages knows that you absolutely can't leave holes in them, otherwise the air inside won't be able to escape and they'll just explode.
Jiang Zhi learned to prick holes in sausages about every four or five sections. This rhythm was just right for her; she wouldn't forget which one she hadn't pricked because there were too many, nor would her hands get tired because she pricked too few...
………
*
While I was thinking about all sorts of random things, the sausage filling was slowly completed as the sun went down.
When she finally finished, Jiang Zhi could barely straighten her back. Although making sausages was just a physically demanding task, it required a lot of physical strength. Jiang Zhi, who had been sitting for a while, naturally felt aches and pains in her back and waist for quite some time, and even felt like she had lost all feeling in her buttocks.
She straightened up, gently and repeatedly pounding her back and waist with one hand, while bending over to stretch her muscles and move around a bit.
At that moment, the sky was still clear and blue, and although there was no sunshine, the wind still carried a slight warmth of midday.
Jiang Zhi simply hung the sausage up a bamboo pole placed in the yard.
She thought she would put it away when it rained.
*
After a busy morning, Jiang Zhi was too lazy to cook lunch, so she simply took a bowl and swaggered over to Yan Mo's house for a free meal.
I experienced the everyday dishes of ordinary people in this era—taro and wheat rice, stir-fried bamboo shoots and chives, and stir-fried radish shreds.
Yan Mo probably hadn't expected Jiang Zhi's arrival, so she didn't cook many dishes and was a little embarrassed.
Jiang Zhi, being rather oblivious, didn't notice anything amiss; her mind was entirely focused on the dishes on the table.
Even someone like Jiang Zhi, who is quite knowledgeable about food, wouldn't dare say that she knows everything about the food of this era.
After all, a thousand years have passed in between, and countless wars and conflicts have occurred. Not to mention recipes, how many royal recipes have been lost?
Moreover, even if the techniques were not lost, Jiang Zhi never dared to say that she could do them all.
For example, this taro and wheat rice dish—Jiang Zhi had never even heard of the name before. She only learned the name from Yan Mo, who had just brought out the rice.
But for Jiang Zhi, her advantage lies in her sense of taste. She only needs to taste it to know how the dish is made: barley rice, taro, and perhaps a few slices of ginger cooked together.
Cook until the taro is soft and the barley grains can stand upright with chopsticks. Then, remove the remaining water, take out the ginger slices, and finally turn the heat back on to cook it a little drier. That's how it looks now.
Stir-fried white radish goes without saying; it's one of Jiang Zhi's signature dishes.
Even after taking a couple of bites, Jiang Zhi only wanted to offer suggestions to Yan Mo, such as adding some lard when boiling the radish or adding some dried shrimp when removing it from the heat, which would further enhance the flavor of the white radish.
That stir-fried bamboo shoots with chives was a dish that was very familiar to everyone. It was a vegetarian dish that Jiang Zhi personally liked very much. Apart from the fact that the flavor was a bit strong, the other two ingredients were perfectly balanced, and then there was a touch of the unique numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns.
Therefore, these three vegetarian dishes were surprisingly to Jiang Zhi's liking, who had spent the whole morning preparing pork!
Therefore, she ate with great relish!
Seeing how she ate, Yan Mo's slight guilt disappeared, replaced by a sense of satisfaction.
After all, peer recognition is more important than anything else!
*
In the days that followed, Jiang Zhi lived a very comfortable life. Every day, she would get up early to set up her breakfast stall, still selling the same few dishes. Word of her customers gradually spread. Then she would go to the Wang family's place to write down the recipes, and then walk the dog with Pei Ye to get some exercise.
Then, he would occasionally stroll through the market and buy whatever he needed. Afterward, he would go home and sometimes have a meal at the Pei family's house, but most of the time, he would cook some stir-fries at home, such as steamed eggplant, pumpkin and pork ribs, and he even tried to make Dongpo pork himself!
The taste was simply amazing; even Jiang Zhi felt that her life was incredibly wonderful!
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Author's note: I forgot to mention, I'll be updating daily this week! [Please] Please don't let me become overweight.
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