Chapter 36: Performing Fried Rice Noodles
The youngest son of the Lin family was preparing to cook dinner for his parents, which attracted the interest of everyone in the East Courtyard.
There were few entertainment activities these days, not to mention televisions, there were not even many radios. After dinner, ordinary citizens would either go to the entrance of the alley to chat or make babies with their wives.
So any gossip would spread throughout the city immediately.
Look, Lin Sanqi is ready to show off his skills and let everyone see what authentic Guangdong fried rice noodles look like, and the yard is suddenly surrounded by people.
Many people were holding a bowl of rice or a steamed bun, and looked curiously at Lin Sanqi who was arranging the dishes.
Fried rice noodles is the simplest Cantonese snack. To put it simply, it is similar to fried noodles and fried vermicelli in the north.
But it is not easy to fry it well. If you are not careful, it will easily become a lump or the rice noodles will be broken into pieces. It is a great test of the heat and the chef's basic skills.
Guangdong people are characterized by their love for fine food and their love for delicate delicacies. The same is true for fried rice noodles. This simple snack has a lot of ingredients.
There were plates of food and ingredients on the table: beef, rice noodles, kale, bean sprouts, salt, cooking wine, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, starch, sugar, shacha sauce, and oil.
The simplest ingredients and condiments in 2013 were amazing in 1959, and many of them were almost unavailable in the city.
For example, beef, oyster sauce, and sugar.
These are all "high-end ingredients" and to put it bluntly, they are not for ordinary people to eat.
Only Mr. and Mrs. Lin Kucan, who are from Huadu, understand that the most difficult ingredient to buy is precisely the most humble rice noodles.
They have been in the capital for 10 years and have never seen this thing. They don’t know where the youngest son got it. It must not be easy.
Ma Dazhuang was stunned, and suddenly felt that the steamed bread in his hand was no longer fragrant:
"Wow, what's wrong with the Lin family? We already boil vegetables in salt water, but their family actually has so many ingredients?"
Matchmaker Lin also felt distressed, as if the food on the table belonged to her:
"That's right! Such good meat, such white vermicelli, and so much sugar and cooking oil. What a sin! Lin Sanqi has ruined them all!"
The people in the yard were talking and discussing at once.
As for the source of these ingredients, no one doubts it. After all, everyone knows that Lin's father is a famous Chinese medicine doctor. His monthly salary is four or five times that of others. What can he not afford to eat?
Compared with the pessimism and secret hatred of outsiders, Lin Kucan is actually very pleased.
What could be happier for his parents than a young son preparing a meal of authentic hometown snacks? This is filial piety.
What’s more, these ingredients were all obtained by my youngest son himself, so he can play with them however he wants.
Jin Caifeng was a little anxious, afraid that her son would waste such precious food, and was busy helping her younger son.
Lin Sanqi first cut the beef into thin slices, then added sugar and marinated for 15 minutes, drained off the excess juice, then added cooking wine, starch, and peanut oil, mixed well, and marinated for another 15 minutes.
Everyone in the yard stared at the beef being marinated, wishing they could snatch it and eat it raw.
Lin Sanqi underestimated the desire for meat in this era.
Then Lin Sanqi blanched the kale and bean sprouts in hot water and prepared to stir-fry the rice noodles.
The characteristic of fried rice noodles is high heat and high oil. It is impossible to do it with high heat because it is a coal stove after all, but it is still possible to do it with high oil.
Lin Sanqi picked up the oil bottle and poured half of it in under the gaze of everyone. After thinking for a while, he felt that it seemed a little less, so he poured another half bottle of oil in.
This action made Jin Caifeng feel distressed, but everyone was watching, and she couldn't offend her youngest son, so she could only keep silent.
But the neighbors around didn't care. Hou Daya's eyes widened:
"Fuck, this kid from the Lin family is having a hard time!"
Matchmaker Wang was so distressed that she jumped up and down: "Oh, that's too much! He poured out three ounces of oil in one breath. How can you go to such lengths?"
Lin Sanqi chuckled after hearing this:
"Not too much, not too much. Stir-fried rice noodles need a lot of oil to make them delicious. If you don't have oil, you might as well make vermicelli soup."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Sanqi had already poured the rice noodles in. The coal stove had been turned to the highest setting. When the fire was at its strongest, a "sizzling" sound instantly erupted.
No matter what ingredients you use, as long as you stir-fry them over high heat and high oil, the aroma will immediately waft out, making the onlookers drool again.
After stir-frying the Lin Sanqi several times, add chopped green onions, light soy sauce and salt in turn, stir-fry a few more times, then remove from the pan and put on a plate.
Hou Daya's saliva flowed out uncontrollably. She wiped it and asked:
"It's ready already? The color and aroma seem a little off, but it's fragrant, so it should taste good, right?"
Everyone nodded repeatedly.
Without even looking up, Lin Sanqi picked up the oil bottle and poured another two ounces of oil into it: "We're not even there yet, we're just getting started."
Jin Caifeng and several women screamed:
"Oh, this damn kid, why did you pour so much oil again?"
Lin Kucan whispered to his old colleague and neighbor Wu Houxin, "Fried rice noodles need to be fryed three times. Today we're going to use up all the oil we've saved for six months, haha."
Wu Houxin was also secretly surprised to see so much oil being used:
"Old Lin, why don't you stop your silly son? If your family eats this meal today, you won't see any oil beads for the next six months."
Lin Kucan didn't take it seriously: "Let's eat first. Maybe I'll have it again tomorrow. This is what they call drinking today and worrying about tomorrow."
"Oh, you old man thinks things through. It seems that you must have made a lot of extra money on the side, so you don't have to worry about running out of oil."
Famous doctors receive some consultation fees for their medical services. This has been a rule since ancient times and is not prohibited even in the new society. After all, this is a normal exchange between doctors and patients.
Lin Kucan did not argue. He was just too lazy to explain. He was not really stupid.
I heard that the youngest son had meat buns, fried dough sticks and sesame cakes for breakfast, and fried beef rice noodles in front of everyone in the evening. This shows that the youngest son must have his own secrets.
As a father, he just needs to help cover up and let his younger son have a reasonable explanation to the outside world where the money and food come from.
So don't underestimate anyone, everyone has his or her own wisdom.
After Lin Sanqi heats the oil for the second time, quickly add the onions and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, then pour in the blanched kale and bean sprouts, and add some salt and chicken essence.
At this time, the fragrance in the yard became stronger.
Hou Daya looked at Lin Sanqi as if she were an idiot. "You used so much oil just to stir-fry two vegetables. Did the Lin family steal the oil?"
(End of this chapter)
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