Chapter 87 Making Pickles
Finally, add an appropriate amount of water in the same volume ratio, throw in a little star anise, a few bay leaves and several other commonly used spices, mix them all into a large pot and heat until boiling to complete the entire preparation process.
Looking at such a carefully prepared series of ingredients, it is hard not to be curious: the dishes made with so many condiments must be extraordinary!
The taste is bound to be unforgettable.
You should know that current food resources are very scarce. Condiments like soy sauce usually require grains to ferment for a long time. The same principle applies to vinegar.
Therefore, the prices of these items are naturally very high.
Many poor families cannot even afford the most basic seasonings, and can only barely meet the simplest taste needs in their daily diet.
Under normal circumstances, one pound of ordinary table salt is enough to process about ten pounds of food.
However, even the lower quality coarse sea salt costs dozens of copper coins to buy; as for the more precious and delicate small crystal salt, it costs at least thirty or forty copper coins!
Moreover, the cost of soy sauce is almost as high as that of high-grade fine salt, and even the slightly cheaper aged vinegar is not much less.
You can imagine how expensive these seasonings are for ordinary people.
Take Zhang Sanbao's family as an example. The amount of soy sauce that the whole family can afford for cooking throughout the year will never exceed two taels.
Except for important festivals or large-scale gatherings, no one would easily touch that small bottle.
As for the chances of using vinegar, they are even rarer.
Unless there is an absolute need to add a bit of sour flavor to the dish, I will consider looking for other temporary alternative solutions.
Even though the current situation is not optimistic, Zhang Sanbao secretly made up his mind that if one day in the future he really has the ability to have more abundant and plentiful resources of various raw materials, he must make good use of everything he has seen and learned today, and try to replicate this super delicious unique seasoning recipe by himself.
At the same time, Zhang Sanbao silently swore to himself: No matter what happens in the future, no matter how rare and special the things he sees here are, or how delicious the food he tastes is, he will never reveal all this to outsiders.
The villagers were all talking about it, speculating that Zhao Chunhua's life might not be as comfortable as before.
They chatted with each other, their eyes full of curiosity and anticipation, as if they were waiting to see how the story would develop next.
Zhang Sanbao was not very clear about what kind of life Zhao Chunhua had lived in the past, but she was extremely envious of the life she was living now.
She thought that such a simple and fulfilling life was exactly what she had always longed for.
While Zhang Sanbao was immersed in his own reverie, Zhao Chunhua had already started to get busy.
She filtered out the residue and carefully took out the sauce she had just prepared and let it cool for later use.
Zhao Chunhua felt that she had not crossed any line in what she had done.
Although soy sauce and vinegar are indeed not cheap, this expense is still acceptable when you only have the opportunity to make pickles once or twice a year.
Today will definitely be very busy, without even time for a nap.
After making the sauce, Zhao Chunhua moved the charcoal fire from the small stove to the big stove and boiled another pot of hot water.
After completing these preparations, she sat back next to Zhang Sanbao and started picking beans together.
I have to say that Zhang Qin was really careful in selecting beans. Most of the beans delivered this time were perfect, with only a very few having slight signs of insect damage.
Zhao Chunhua carefully removed the insect holes one by one, and then after the water boiled, she scooped out half of it, intending to use it to bathe Goudan later.
Next, Zhao Chunhua poured the cleaned beans into boiling water and cooked them until they changed color slightly, then took them out and spread them flat on a large drying net to dry.
After all this was done, he gave Goudan a bath.
Looking at the child crawling happily on the bamboo mat, Zhao Chunhua was filled with emotion.
To be honest, she was a little envious of this carefree little life.
Unlike me, I still have many tasks to complete.
At around three o'clock in the afternoon, the woman who had just been met at the entrance of the village yesterday came to Zhao Chunhua's house with three strong helpers.
They came specifically to help move some newly purchased furniture.
Zhao Chunhua placed the things neatly according to the positions agreed upon in advance.
The bed was installed and carefully checked, and after confirming that there were no problems, the task was successfully completed.
Zhao Yunfeng had already paid the money for the furniture and the workers' wages in advance.
Zhao Chunhua wanted to know how much money she had spent, but the carpenter did not tell her directly.
Because her brother had specifically asked them not to disclose the specific amount.
So the carpenter just smiled and praised: "You have a very good brother."
Before Zhao Chunhua could ask further questions, the carpenter had already left impatiently.
He was afraid that if he stayed any longer he would become envious. Why couldn't he meet such a generous brother?
Since she was unable to ask for the specific price, looking at these new belongings, Zhao Chunhua could only silently admire her brothers even more in her heart.
She decided that she must be extra nice to them in the future.
Let's finish the work at hand first.
Wait until the sauce has cooled completely and the cucumber strips have been dried to the point where they will no longer drip no matter how hard you squeeze them and will not break when you bend them, then add the chopped ginger and a dozen peeled garlic cloves.
Then put the processed cucumbers into jars that have been made sure to be clean and free of oil or moisture.
Then pour in the prepared seasoning liquid. If you like spicy food, you can also add some fresh chili peppers.
After sealing tightly, fill the mouth of the jar with clean water to isolate air circulation.
The evening meal included unsealed pickled cucumbers that Zhao Chunhua had specially left out. This side dish looked attractive in color and had a crispy and tender texture.
She fried some chopped green onions and dried chilies to enhance the flavor, making the whole dish more delicious and tasty. Adding a bowl of rich and mellow corn porridge to it, it was a perfect combination.
Looking at Zhang Sanbao opposite him eating with gusto, it was obvious that he was very satisfied with the dinner prepared this time.
This scene was also an unprecedented wonderful experience for Zhao Chunhua.
Although Zhang Sanbao's family also makes various salty products as daily food, the types of pickles they make are relatively simple. They are mainly made from leftover crops in the fields, and the seasoning is simply salt.
In addition to simple pickles, they also try to make some kimchi and sauerkraut, which are relatively simple and easy methods and do not require too many complicated seasonings.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
