Chapter 97 Roasted Pork Rice Dumplings Can I... take liberties with you?
What's the best zongzi you've ever eaten?
For Shen Miao, the most delicious zongzi was the braised pork zongzi made by her maternal grandmother in her previous life.
My maternal grandmother's ancestral home was in southern Fujian, where she made traditional Fujian-style braised pork rice dumplings. She married and moved north when she was young, and never returned to her hometown after her great-grandparents passed away. So, in a northern region where jujube and white sugar rice dumplings were prevalent, she was the only person in the entire northern town who insisted on making savory rice dumplings every year.
With so many cooks in her family, they could make seven or eight different flavors of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) during a single Dragon Boat Festival. Shenmiao's father once made durian zongzi, and the smell lingered in the kitchen for days. Another year, her grandfather learned how to make spicy and sour pickled cabbage zongzi from a person from Quzhou. He even learned the extra spicy version, and that year, the whole family suffered from sore anus from the spiciness when they went to the toilet for two consecutive days.
Compared to these, Grandma's braised pork rice dumpling is not considered out of place.
But in Shen Miao's heart, the zongzi made by her grandmother, who was filled with homesickness, were still the most delicious.
In her previous life, Shen Miao was a mixed-race individual—oh, a mix of southern barbarians and northern barbarians. Although she was a mixed-race person who hadn't left China, she was far enough away.
This resulted in her having many northern eating habits; she loves beef and mutton, noodles, and stews, but she only shares the same preference as her maternal grandmother when it comes to zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). This made her grandmother love her from a young age, always holding her and rocking her, saying that Miaomiao is still the most like her grandmother.
She would hug her and teach her how to wrap zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) step by step. She would often be biased and wrap a huge braised pork zongzi for her, stuffed with two salted egg yolks and filled with countless dried scallops. If her other cousins tried to take some, their grandmother would hit their hands with chopsticks and not let them eat any.
Later, everyone in the family found out that whenever a giant meat dumpling the size of two fists appeared in the pot, it was reserved for her—"Miaomiao's Exclusive Dumpling".
My grandmother once said that she could watch her little girl sitting on the doorstep, holding a huge triangular rice dumpling in both hands and eating it, and she would never get tired of it.
Perhaps this is the reason why Shen Miao often can't help but make huge meals for Xiang Jie'er. She never tires of watching the chubby, adorable little girl with her hair in two buns, hugging and munching on huge food, eating with such relish and gusto.
Later, when she went to university, her grandmother would use vacuum packaging and cold chain logistics to deliver braised pork rice dumplings to her from afar. Even though Shen Miao had already learned how to make all kinds of rice dumplings by then, after her grandmother passed away, she became the only person in the family who still made braised pork rice dumplings, taking her grandmother's place.
She had never lived a single day in Fujian, but thanks to her grandmother, she learned to fry pork in vinegar, make five-spice rolls, wrap roasted pork dumplings, and make rice cakes.
Festivals carry history, and food carries emotions.
Sometimes, this feeling can last for a very long time because of food.
In this life, Shen Miao couldn't tell whether she was reminiscing about her past self or, like her grandmother, wanting to wrap all the beautiful memories of her life into a zongzi (rice dumpling).
Two days before the Dragon Boat Festival, Shen Miao began to seriously prepare the things for wrapping zongzi, taking it very seriously.
First, there are the bamboo leaves for making zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).
The most common leaves used for wrapping zongzi are broadleaf reeds, but in Bianjing (Kaifeng), reed leaves and banana leaves were also used. This is because reed bamboo was not commonly seen in Bianjing at that time. Reed bamboo can only grow in the humid and warm south, so the reed leaves in Bianjing were all transported from the south by canal boats, and were much more expensive than other leaves.
But Shen Miao still bought two baskets.
She's used to wrapping zongzi in reed leaves; the unique fragrance of the leaves after steaming makes the zongzi taste even better. Since she doesn't plan to sell them, she'll just give them to her neighbors and eat them herself, so she doesn't need to worry about the cost—she'll just enjoy them.
These reed leaves, brought from the south, were dried for easy transport. Shen Miao soaked them overnight beforehand, softened them, and then boiled them in a pot for a while. After boiling, the fibers of the reed leaves become softer, making them easier to bend and shape when wrapping zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), less likely to break and leak rice, and easier to wrap zongzi of various shapes.
Moreover, the bamboo leaves become even more fragrant after being boiled.
The glutinous rice used in the zongzi is long-grain, high-quality japonica rice that Fuxing specially purchased. This type of glutinous rice has a chewy and firm texture after cooking, and it's not too sticky or soft, making it taste better. After buying the glutinous rice, it's first sifted through a bamboo sieve to remove any broken pieces, and then soaked for two hours.
Shen Miao then asked You Yu to soak the glutinous rice, as she was preparing to continue making braised meat.
Yu carried a large basin of glutinous rice, squatted down by the well in the water room, washed it three times in the blue stone trough, and then fetched well water to soak it.
After that, she focused intently on squatting by the big basin, grabbing handfuls of glutinous rice from the water and playing with them. She would grab a handful, hold it in her hand, and then put it back. She would count the grains of glutinous rice stuck to her palm, but she would get stuck every time she counted to thirty and then start counting again from the beginning. She never tired of it.
The pork belly I bought today was especially good.
Shen Miao personally went to Zheng Tu's stall to pick out the pork belly, which was three parts fat and two parts lean. She cut it into pieces the size of mahjong tiles, washed it with sorghum wine to remove the fishy smell, and then stir-fried it in an iron wok until the oil turned amber. She set it aside and didn't want to waste the oil, as she would need it later to stir-fry other ingredients.
After Shen Miao finished stir-frying the meat, she was attracted by the laughter and chatter of the children in the yard. She looked up and scooped out the kitchen window while scooping out spices.
Atao, Doukou, Aunt Gu, Granny Zeng, Aunt Fang, Aunt Liu, and Sister-in-law Nian, among others, came to her courtyard to give the young children in the alley a bath. It was a warm, sunny day, the sunlight as intense as midsummer; bathing in the sun in this kind of weather wouldn't feel cold.
The old osmanthus tree's branches and leaves shone with sunlight like scattered gold foil, and the slightly bitter fragrance of mugwort floated in the wind. Aunt Gu brought over a huge, dark iron pot from her house, big enough to boil a child, and built an earthen stove in the yard. She then began to boil bathwater made from calamus roots, agastache leaves, and mugwort.
The soup was simmered until it turned brownish, and the rising steam was filled with the aroma of herbs.
Bamboo curtains are used to separate the boys and girls. After the food is boiled, a few ladles of cold water are added, and the children are washed while it's still hot, supposedly to cleanse them of impurities.
The aunts' rough, strong hands scrubbed the children until they cried out and their skin turned red. Liu Douhua cried the most because her older sister was washing her. When she saw Liu Doukou coming with a water ladle, she immediately tiptoed back, trying to sneak out of the bathtub.
Before she could even lift her toes, Doukou grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her back like a little chick: "Why are you running? You need to be scalded to remove the toxins! Stand still!" As she spoke, she poured a ladle of brown medicinal soup over her head.
"It's too hot! Mother, Mother, come and see—" Liu Douhua looked up and started wailing.
Liu Doukou raised her hand, squinted her eyes, and threatened to hit the ground, saying, "If you cry again, I won't let you eat the zongzi later."
"It's really hot..." Liu Douhua glanced fearfully at Xiang Jie'er, who was also screaming under Aunt Gu's big hand. Seeing her friend in such a miserable state, she knew there was no way to escape, so she had no choice but to submit with tears in her eyes.
The pig-like cries of the Gu family twins nearby rose and fell. Gu's sister-in-law quickly pressed down on her younger brother's kicking feet, grabbed her brother's bare arm with her other hand, and hurriedly asked her sister-in-law, Tao, to help wash him.
The younger brother insisted on washing with the boys instead of the younger one, and wanted to squeeze in with the younger one. However, since they were the youngest, Sister-in-law Gu had no choice but to give in.
Unexpectedly, halfway through washing, Abao suddenly sobbed and said, "My brother poured an extra ladle of water, so I have one less ladle!"
Sister-in-law Gu hurriedly said, "Alright, alright, I'll pour you an extra spoonful."
Ah Bao still insisted: "My brother's ladle is bigger!"
"Can I give you the big ladle?"
"No way!" The younger brother stopped crying and sat up. "I want a big ladle!"
"I want a big ladle too! We want the same one!"
"Where can I find you an identical ladle? Hurry up and wash it!" Sister-in-law Gu shouted.
After finally getting them washed, they insisted on having the same bath towels, dressing at the same time, and wearing exactly the same clothes. Once they were dressed, Atao gave them colorful silk ropes soaked in realgar wine. Abao wanted to wear it on his right hand, and Adi insisted on wearing it on his right hand as well.
Sister-in-law Gu said, "Men wear it on the left and women on the right, so you should wear it on your left hand."
"No, I want to wear the same one as my sister!" The younger brother refused, sobbing uncontrollably. His sister-in-law, Gu, found it hard to listen, so she relented and allowed him to wear it on his right hand as well. She was very worried: her brother wanted to imitate Abao in everything; he was so old, yet he still performed women's courtesies. What would become of him in the future?
After the two children finished wearing the silk cords, they carefully examined each other's cords, insisting that even the knots be tied exactly the same.
Atao silently wiped away her sweat and said sympathetically to Aunt Gu, "Raising twins is really not easy. Do they have to have the same things at home too?"
“You don’t know, everything was planned out today.” Sister-in-law Gu shook her head. “Not only did we have to dress the same and eat the same, but when we came back from outside today, we happened to see a troupe of acrobats. Abao saw the dog jump through the fire hoop, but Adi didn’t. Guess what? He had to go back and watch it again, otherwise he would have cried so hard that the sky would fall down.”
Atao tilted her head: "...Didn't Abao watch it twice?"
Sister-in-law Gu quickly covered her mouth: "Shh! Don't let my brother hear! That would kill me!"
Atao quickly made a gesture as if she were sewing her mouth shut.
“This is nothing.” Sister-in-law Gu sighed, then whispered desperately in Atao’s ear, “Do you know what my brother was upset about last time? He questioned me about why Abao didn’t have a penis, but he did. He cried and said he didn’t want the penis anymore, it was too cumbersome.”
Ah Tao choked on her own after hearing that.
After a while, all the children in the yard had finished washing up. They were each given a piece of candy and rushed off to play pebbling under the eaves. Everyone took their children's clothes home. Aunt Gu didn't have any children; she was just helping out. She also washed the clothes of the Shen family's children.
Before long, the clothesline was filled with still-dripping bibs, shirts, and trousers.
The shadows of the trees gradually shortened, the sun was almost at its zenith, and those wet little heads huddled together, slowly drying along with their clothes.
Shen Miao, with her sleeves tied, was almost ready.
She caramelized sugar with rock sugar and freshly rendered lard, and when the syrup started to bubble, she added a bowl of Shaoxing wine. As soon as the wine sizzled, she removed it from the heat. Next, she added water, soy sauce, fermented rice wine, and various spices. She then immersed the pork belly pieces, skin and all, in the braising liquid and simmered them over low heat for an hour. During this time, she paid close attention to the heat. Initially, she used medium-high heat to bring it to a rolling boil, and then, once foam appeared on the surface, she reduced the heat to a simmer.
Finally, reduce the sauce until it's thick but not greasy.
After the glutinous rice is soaked, heat the pan with lard, sauté the scallions until fragrant, then add the glutinous rice and stir-fry. Finally, pour on the thick, simmered braised pork sauce, allowing the rice and oil to fully blend. Each grain of rice should be coated with the amber-colored sauce, looking plump, rich, and glossy brown.
The other ingredients to be wrapped, such as dried scallops, dried shrimp, and shiitake mushrooms, were washed, soaked, and stir-fried with scallion oil until fragrant. Speaking of which, these large dried scallops have always been so expensive that people have to grit their teeth and stomp their feet to buy them. Shen Miao bought a pound, which cost more than three hundred coins.
The peanuts were also roasted separately and set aside. Originally, chestnuts were supposed to be added as well, but since good chestnuts couldn't be found at this time of year, they were omitted.
The salted egg yolks were prepared in the morning; they were bought from Aunt Li, and each one was salty, fragrant, and juicy.
That means the ingredients are ready.
The roasted pork, salted egg yolk, and other ingredients are all placed in separate bowls. There is a large bowl of stir-fried glutinous rice and a bowl of bamboo leaves. Arrange them in the following order: a spoonful of glutinous rice at the bottom, a salted egg yolk buried, a large piece of roasted pork, another spoonful of glutinous rice, other ingredients, and finally a spoonful of glutinous rice on top. This makes wrapping quick and easy.
Shen Miao carried all the prepared materials to the courtyard. Aunt Gu and the others also brought their own glutinous rice and fillings. The corridor was filled with basins of things. Several families sat around and wrapped them together, preparing to exchange them for different flavors later.
Shen Miao sat sideways, skillfully taking a softened bamboo leaf, folding it into a bucket shape with the veins facing outwards, and scooping glutinous rice into it, while listening to the aunties gossiping about trivial matters in the alley.
Whose wife is pregnant, whose chicken was stolen, whose loincloth drifted into the neighbor's yard... and then everyone asked Shen Miao about her marriage.
"Almost there, we've completed half of the six rites." Shen Miao wasn't embarrassed at all, and smiled as she used ramie rope to tie a series of knots around the corner of the rice dumpling.
When this was mentioned, she subconsciously glanced into the courtyard. Xie's father wasn't there, so she and Zhou Da went to the academy to pick up Ninth Brother and Ji Brother.
They should be on their way back.
"Oh my, our eldest sister's good fortune is yet to come!" Granny Zeng laughed. "Such a good family and a good husband are hard to find even with a lantern, and our eldest sister has come across them. Oh, I even ran into Ninth Brother's father the other day. What a handsome face, just like his son."
Aunt Gu burst out laughing: "Grandma, what you're saying is true. Ninth Brother and his father are cut from the same mold. How can a father look more like a son?"
"That's exactly what I mean. The father and son were standing at the entrance of the house in the west alley, and from behind, they couldn't recognize each other."
Sister-in-law Gu also said enviously, "Ah, if Gu Dalang could be born like Ninth Brother, I would be willing to marry him even if I were so poor that I had to sell my pants."
Shen Miao and her aunts burst into laughter. Aunt Fang even winked and nudged her arm with her elbow: "How dare you talk like that, you old woman? Be careful your eldest son hears you. If he gets angry, he'll make you unable to get out of bed at night!"
Sister-in-law Gu crossed her arms and sneered, "Oh, if he really has that ability, I'll have to set off firecrackers in front of my door for three days straight!"
Everyone burst into laughter, and Shen Miao couldn't help but laugh too, almost choking on her own saliva.
The conversation then became increasingly awkward, with even Aunt Gu whispering to Sister-in-law Gu about which clinic sold the tiger penis soup she often bought and whether it was effective.
Everyone laughed at Aunt Gu for wanting to have another child. Aunt Gu retorted confidently that she couldn't live a life of widowhood without having another child! The other aunties covered their mouths and laughed again.
Aunt Fang laughed, then added regretfully, "It's a pity that Li Tiaozi's wife went back to her parents' home, otherwise we would have had even more to talk about!"
Sister-in-law Gu agreed: "Of course! Do you remember? Last time, when Li's younger sister came, she said her new husband was a 'needle for embroidery,' and she came crying to her brother and sister-in-law for support, throwing a tantrum and demanding a divorce. Aunt Li described it so vividly, saying that her sister-in-law said she was so nervous in the bridal chamber that she closed her eyes, thinking it hadn't started yet. But when she opened her eyes, it was already over!"
Everyone laughed nonstop.
For some reason, the way the rice dumplings were wrapped became increasingly yellow, leaving even someone like Shen Miao, who prided himself on having seen the world, speechless with astonishment.
How come... she seems to be the one with the most feudalistic thinking!
However, had she been reinstated as married by the neighbors? Otherwise, why would she suddenly be hearing so many lewd remarks... Shen Miao realized this with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
Fortunately, just as the rice dumplings were finished being wrapped, the sound of a donkey cart came from in front of the door. The wheels rolled over the bricks and stones, which were tinged orange by the twilight. The Qilin, which had been squatting on the threshold swishing its tail, suddenly saw the people on the donkey cart, meowed, and darted out.
The aunties and grandmothers, whose conversation was becoming increasingly inappropriate for children, immediately straightened their posture and pretended to be reserved, talking seriously about what to eat that night and whether it would rain tomorrow.
After exchanging their zongzi with the zongzi from each family, the aunties also left with zongzi in hand as Xie Qi walked in carrying the cat.
Xie Qi slowed his pace unconsciously as he entered.
In the Shen family's courtyard, an unnamed wildflower was in full bloom by the corner of the wall, a few petals scattered on the blue brick ground. The sweet fragrance of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves floated in the air, mixed with the scent of newly hung mugwort on the porch, and the setting sun that filled the courtyard, like a warm cloud drifting in the yard.
Xie Qi felt so comfortable that he almost sighed.
He didn't know when it started, but whenever he stepped through that door, his heart would feel incredibly at peace.
His shoulders were still covered in dust from the road. He subconsciously tugged at his tightly buttoned collar, put the cat down, and then patted his clothes.
Then his gaze fell on the figure sitting under the eaves not far away, and he couldn't look away.
The newly hung bamboo curtain under the eaves was half-rolled up, falling onto the cuff of the woman's moon-white shirt. She lowered her head and put the wrapped rice dumplings into a winnowing basket one by one. The white jade hairpin inserted diagonally in her hair cast a small halo of light on the side of her neck.
With his fingers slightly curled, Xie Qi stepped forward uncontrollably and said softly, "Let me help you lift it."
Shen Miao looked up, smiled, and handed him the winnowing basket: "Okay, carry it inside. We'll cook it for dinner tonight."
Xie Qi seemed to be burned by her smile, and quickly lowered his head, carrying a basket of zongzi, his ears red as he walked into the kitchen.
Upon seeing Madam Shen, he was initially overjoyed, but then he quickly recalled what had happened in the alley earlier, and he became somewhat hesitant to look at her.
He was too ashamed to talk about it... but he dreamed about that day every day while he was in the academy.
In the kitchen, Tang Er had already prepared a large and deep earthenware jar for cooking zongzi. Chen Miao first burned pine firewood until the bottom of the jar turned white, then added water, put in the zongzi, and then added three copper coins. When the copper coins were boiling in the water and made a sound, the firewood could be removed, and the zongzi could be slowly simmered using the residual heat of the stove ash.
Some people steam the zongzi in a steamer, while others prefer to boil them.
Shen Miao belonged to the latter group. Moreover, she used the old traditional method of "three boils and three rolls" taught by her grandmother: when the water in the pot first boils, press down a few stones to make the rice dumplings sink to the bottom, add cold water to make them float to the surface when it boils a second time, and repeat this process three times to ensure that the rice grains are cooked through but not mushy.
The rice dumplings cooked this way have no hard center, and the glutinous rice is very soft and sticky. After cooking, take them out and soak them in cold water for a while. Once they are no longer too hot to handle, they can be peeled and eaten. If you have a pressure cooker, they will cook very quickly; nowadays, they need to be cooked slowly for almost an hour.
When Shen Miao put the rice dumplings into the earthenware jar, Xie Qi spontaneously sat down on the small stool in front of the stove and silently helped Shen Miao stir the ashes. This surprised You Yu, who was washing the dishes, who was stunned—where was she sitting?
She's the one who tends the fire! Just as Youyu was about to make a sound, Atao swept in like a whirlwind, grabbed Youyu and said, "Come with your older sister, I'll put a five-colored silk ribbon on you, so that you can stay safe and sound after wearing it."
After saying that, he glared at Tang Er and Fu Xing. The two men immediately felt a chill run down their spines. One of them suddenly said he was going to make felt threads, and the other muttered that he was going to check out the shop. They both hurriedly left.
Yu was also confused and was dragged out by Atao.
“Silly girl, the lights in the kitchen are bright enough, we don’t need each other anymore, do you understand?” Atao walked out, holding Youyu’s arm tightly, and whispered to her, but Youyu couldn’t understand, and just stared at her blankly.
"Alright, alright, I'll tie the rope for you."
Atao carefully tied five-colored silk ropes around Youyu's neck. Beside her, Xie's father also hung five-poison sachets around the necks of the Shen family's cats and dogs, and even the donkey chewing licorice in the donkey shed was not spared. He patted the donkey's neck with satisfaction: "Colorful silk ropes, may people and livestock be safe and prosperous."
Only Shen Miao and Xie Qi remained in the kitchen.
Shen Miao also moved a chair over and sat down next to Xie Qi, watching the fire in the stove.
Steam swirled between the beams and pillars of the kitchen, then drifted between the two of them. In the hazy mist, Shen Miao felt as if her sleeve had been tugged. As soon as she turned her head, a burst of hot white steam hit her face, making it warm and damp.
Immediately afterwards, she was held in someone's arms in the thick fog.
Soft strands of hair brushed against her shoulders, tickling her neck, but the arms holding her tightened their grip.
“Ah Miao”.
His voice, carried on the rising, humid steam, seemed to be adorned with the moisture of spring.
"The frivolity you taught me... I think I've learned a bit of it..."
The remaining charcoal in the stove crackled and popped, the earthenware pot bubbled and boiled, and the sounds of cats chasing and dogs barking echoed from the yard. But all this noise only made the kitchen seem quieter. Shen Miao could hear Xie Qi's voice, soft as a whisper, nestled against her shoulder:
"Can I... have sex with you again?"
Half an hour later, the sky had turned gray, and all the lights in the courtyard were lit.
But... my wife and Ninth Brother haven't come out yet.
Ah Tao couldn't resist the urge, and finally pretended to be passing by on her way to pick something up from the shop in front, casually glancing into the kitchen.
She immediately spotted Madam Shen.
She stood with her back to the window in front of the stove, calmly lifting the lid of the earthenware jar.
The braised pork rice dumplings are ready.
The aroma of bamboo mingled with the scent of meat wafted out, and the bamboo leaves of the rice dumplings picked up by long chopsticks had turned a dark blue-green from boiling, while the hemp ropes, soaked with oil, became translucent. Madam Shen remained remarkably calm, even slowly and methodically selecting one and peeling it open.
The string was cut open, the bamboo leaves were unfurled, and the rice dumpling was pried open from the middle with chopsticks. The glistening rice grains wrapped around the trembling amber-colored fatty meat, and the red oil from the salted egg seeped into every grain of glutinous rice, making one's mouth water with its aroma.
Surprisingly, savory rice dumplings are quite delicious... but...
Atao's heart felt as if it had been scratched by a Qilin's claw; her attention was completely elsewhere. She quickly tiptoed and glanced down again. To her shock, she discovered that Ninth Brother looked perfectly normal too!
He also sat on a small stool with his back to the window, his legs bent, holding a pair of fire tongs in his hand, clumsily tending the fire for Madam Chen.
The fire in the furnace shone directly on him, and from behind, he seemed to be surrounded by a halo. Atao couldn't tell whether his ears were reddened by the firelight or were burning hot.
Atao touched her chin, and thought, "Hmm... something's not right."
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