Chapter 16 Chen's Five-Word Motto for Lamb Stew: Stew it a little longer...
Seeing that Chen Mian seemed not to understand what she was saying, Yu Xiaoyue shook her head and sighed.
Ah well, let the young people do what they want.
The busy days flew by, and the pickers on the farm gradually packed up and left.
Some went back to their hometowns to get married, while others went to work on farms in other places.
Now only Chen Mianmian and Yu Xiaoyue are left on the farm, and they are drying the last batch of goji berries.
Every day, I turn the goji berries in the drying room over in order at a set time, and when the weather is nice, I take them out to dry in the sun.
"The goji berries this year are of excellent quality, perfect for cooking," Yu Xiaoyue said with a satisfied smile.
"I'm going to make you one of my specialties, astragalus and goji berry pork rib soup. The secret is to add our own goji berries."
Yu Xiaoyue praised Chen Mian, "This soup can not only boost your immunity, but also beautify your skin!"
Chen Mian: Is it really that magical? It sounds like it contains Chinese medicinal herbs, will it really taste good...?
Yu Xiaoyue took out the spare ribs she had bought the day before and asked Chen Mianmian to help wash and drain them.
He then rummaged through the depths of the cupboard and found a bag of astragalus and codonopsis, which he then added to a pot and stir-fried until they turned yellow and became hot.
Then transfer both herbs to a pressure cooker, add water and bring to a boil to fully release their aroma.
After cleaning the ribs, Yu Xiaoyue heated the wok, poured in oil, and stir-fried the ribs until they were completely dry, removing the bloody smell.
Add the pork ribs and ginger slices to the boiling astragalus and codonopsis soup, add a little rock sugar, cover and simmer over high heat for half an hour.
While waiting, she took out a handful of red dates and goji berries, washed them in advance, and cut the red dates in half and removed the pits. When the soup was almost ready, she added the red dates and goji berries.
Finally, add a little salt to taste. The whole pork rib soup has a faint medicinal aroma, but the taste is not pungent.
The soup itself has a sweet and refreshing taste. Drink the soup first, then eat the ribs and red dates.
Chen Mian didn't particularly like medicinal cuisine, always finding it somewhat sour and bitter. But surprisingly, this soup actually had a slightly sweet taste overall.
After drinking it, her whole body felt very warm, especially her lower abdomen. She drank two bowls of soup in a row.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaoyue smiled and said, "Drink slowly, no one will take it from you. If you like it, I'll stew it for you again next time."
Chen Mian nodded obediently, picked up a goji berry, and put it in her mouth to chew.
This is a new habit she's developed recently: occasionally chewing on one or two dried goji berries, which she feels tastes almost the same as raisins.
After lunch, the two continued drying goji berries in the yard. Yu Xiaoyue had recently bought two new deck chairs and placed them in the yard.
The two of them lay on the bed, one on each side, basking in the sun and chatting occasionally, looking incredibly content.
The warm autumn sun shone on her, making her feel increasingly lazy, and Chen Mian was almost asleep in her drowsy state.
"Guli, are you home? I'm coming in!" Accompanied by a familiar voice, Ayili pushed open Yu Xiaoyue's door with one hand, carrying a leg of lamb in the other.
She finally finished her son's wedding a while ago, but recently she has been busy with other things and hasn't had a chance to attend to it.
This trip was specifically to give Yu Xiaoyue a thank-you gift, to express our gratitude to her and Chen Mian for their help at the wedding banquet.
Aili handed the leg of lamb she was carrying to Yu Xiaoyue, saying, "Here, it was freshly slaughtered today, as fresh as dew on a rose."
Yu Xiaoyue smiled helplessly, "Why are you being so polite with me? I'll definitely ask you to come and help me when my son gets married."
Ayili insisted, "We have to give and take. You helped me, so I'll help you. You don't raise sheep, so when Ji Yu gets married, I'll bring you the sheep from my farm."
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaoyue raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "With my son, I don't even know when he'll be able to find a wife."
Ayili: "Don't worry, I heard he went on another blind date the other day. Maybe he'll be back with a beautiful girl soon."
Yu Xiaoyue exclaimed in surprise, "How come I didn't know he went on another blind date? When did this happen? How do you know better than me?"
Chen Mian: I've run into them twice already.
Ayili recounted that she heard it from the butcher when she went out to buy mutton; he said it was his neighbor's daughter.
"When I heard that, I thought, 'He's in his twenties, handsome, and works as a policeman at that police station. Isn't that your son?'"
Yu Xiaoyue complained to her son, saying that he no longer even tells her about blind dates.
Ji Yu was also wronged; he had absolutely no desire to go on blind dates anymore. They were pointless and a waste of time.
As a result, when he went to a meeting at his superior unit last week, he was noticed by another leader.
This leader pestered him for several days, insisting on introducing him to his classmate's daughter.
Leaders: With Ji Yu's qualities, everyone would like him, so of course I have to make the first move.
Left with no other choice, Ji Yu had to agree.
However, the city has recently attached great importance to the case of that theft gang and has arranged for them to conduct a city-wide investigation.
He worked the night shift again last night, and after only a short nap this morning, he went to bed without tidying up, his beard unkempt.
And as expected, he was rejected by the girl again.
On the other side, after listening to Ayili recount Ji Yu's blind date story, Chen Mian couldn't help but chuckle, wondering when Officer Ji would finally find his true love.
Seeing the worry on Yu Xiaoyue's face, she took the initiative to comfort her, "Aunt Yu, don't worry. With Brother Ji's looks, job, and character, he'll bring you a beautiful daughter-in-law sooner or later!"
Besides, Ji Yu shouldn't be that old. It's just that the people he's meeting on blind dates haven't gotten to know his good points yet.
Maybe in the future, if someone can spend more time with him, they will see his good points and come to like him.
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaoyue looked at the young girl beside her. Chen Mian and her silly son were really alike. The two of them clearly had feelings for each other, but they just couldn't click.
She then shook her head; she couldn't do anything about her son. She would wait for Lao Ji to return from his studies in the capital and then have him talk to their son.
I wonder who Ji Yu took after. She didn't inherit any of her good qualities. Is it so hard for her to find a partner? Back then, she fell for Ji Feng the moment she saw him.
Ji Feng: Of course my son looks like me.
Ayili chimed in, "Why don't you let Ji Yu attend more dances? There are so many pretty girls in Xinjiang, he'll surely find one."
Yu Xiaoyue remained silent. Did you think I didn't let him go last time? He went and only stayed a few minutes before coming back.
Yu Xiaoyue: "Oh, never mind, let's not talk about this anymore. How are you going to eat the lamb you brought? Are you going to grill it?"
"I'm getting a bit tired of eating barbecue lately and I'd like to eat something lighter."
Ayili was also a little worried when she heard this. How else could they eat the mutton? They usually roasted the whole leg of lamb.
Seeing this, Chen Mian volunteered, "Let me make this for you. In my hometown, there's a classic way to cook mutton called mutton soup with bread. It's made with this leg of lamb, and I guarantee you'll want more after you eat it!"
After saying that, she went to the kitchen to prepare. Ayili then lay down in the rocking chair outside.
Two middle-aged women closed their eyes and lay lazily in the sun, occasionally exchanging a few words. If you listened carefully, they were still complaining about their son and husband.
Even if a woman has her own career like the two of them, after getting married and having children, she still has to be busy with her family. Before her son gets married, she worries about his wedding, and after he gets married, she has to take care of her grandchildren...
In the kitchen, Chen Mian first washed the lamb leg, removed the meat from it, and then used a cleaver to cut the bone.
The prepared bones and meat need to be blanched in water first, and after changing the water once, they should be brought to a boil over high heat.
The soup should be made by adding ginger slices, cooking wine, and scallions, and simmering them to make a rich broth.
Because the entire process requires boiling over high heat, enough water must be added beforehand.
While the mutton soup was simmering in the pot, Chen Mian took out some flour, added a small amount of water, and kneaded it into a rather stiff dough.
Cover and let the dough rest for half an hour. Then roll the kneaded dough into a thin sheet. Cook in another pan until both sides are lightly browned and about 70% done.
After the pancakes are cooked, you can cut them into strips with a knife or tear them into pieces by hand.
Yu Xiaoyue and Ayili could smell the enticing fragrance from afar and couldn't resist coming in to take a look.
Chen Mian: "For mutton soup to taste good, it needs to be simmered for at least another hour until the soup turns completely milky white."
Chen Mian: High-end soups often only require the simplest preparation method, which is to simmer for a sufficient amount of time.
As dusk fell, everyone had already collected the goji berries from the yard, and the mutton soup was finally ready.
However, it seems that they accidentally made a little too much, and the three of them couldn't finish it.
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaoyue waved her hand and said, "It's alright. If he can't finish it, I'll call Ji Yu back tomorrow and give him some to eat too."
Ji Yu: Thank you for asking me to eat leftovers, you're such a loving mother.
Chen Mian added salt and pepper to the pot, then added the prepared flatbread and simmered it for a few more minutes.
A famous Northwest dish, mutton stew with bread, is ready. The meat is tender, the soup is rich, and the aroma is irresistible. It has an extremely rich flavor and an unforgettable aftertaste, making it a favorite among the people of Northwest China.
While waiting for the soup to simmer, Chen Mian also made chili oil. A spoonful of chili oil poured over the mutton soup made it bright in color, fragrant but not spicy.
Pick up a piece of flatbread and mutton, put them in your mouth together, and add a clove of garlic—it's incredibly delicious.
Ayili ate until her forehead was slightly sweaty, and she kept praising, "Oh girl, this soup went down into my stomach like hot water, and now I'm as strong as an ox!"
"I'll make this soup in advance when it's time to pick cotton in a few days."
Chen Mian: "? Has the cotton in northern Xinjiang reached maturity already?"
A note from the author:
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Little Cotton: Do all people from Xinjiang use tildes in their speech?
Aiyili: Oh my god~ Isn't my Mandarin standard enough?
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