Chapter 212 Greenhouse
After buying meat, vegetables, rice, flour, parchment paper and tung oil, the two came to the horse farm.
There is a shop at the entrance of the horse farm that sells horse manure and cow manure. There are both fresh and dried varieties, and the prices are very cheap. You can buy five pounds of fresh cow dung for one penny.
There are quite a few people coming to buy horse and cow dung. The city is different from the outside world. If you want to cook, you either have to buy firewood or charcoal.
Both of them were very expensive, so some people turned their attention to dried horse and cow dung.
These things can also be burned and are quite durable. They are cheaper than firewood, and the dried horse and cow manure has almost no smell, making it easier for people to accept.
Sang Yu didn't want the dried ones, so he bought thirty kilograms of fresh cow dung, put it in a basket and asked Sang Xingjia to carry it home.
After returning home, the thick parchment paper was coated with tung oil and then pasted along the bamboo frame layer by layer, making it tight, careful and thick.
Fresh cow dung is evenly spread in the dug pit and sprinkled with sulfur powder to promote fermentation.
After finally pasting up the doors on the side, the two simple greenhouses are completed.
As for the effect, we have to wait until a night passes and go in to feel the temperature tomorrow morning to know.
The next morning, Sang Yu got up very early and jumped up as soon as the rooster crowed.
I casually put on my coat and opened the door. A cool breeze blew in my face and the weather was getting colder.
She tightened her clothes and walked towards the shed.
When I got closer, I found that there were four figures squatting next to the shed, two big and two small. They were the Sang family father and son and two children.
"...What are you doing squatting here?"
It was hard for her to understand why she was squatting outside the shed so early in the morning without sleeping.
"Yu'er, you're awake. Come quickly, open the door and see if it's warm inside." Seeing her, Sang Yongjing immediately greeted her happily.
"You've been waiting here just for this? Why don't you go in by yourself?" Sang Yu was speechless. There was really no need to wait for her to come. She could just go in if she wanted to.
"We don't understand these things. What if we make a mistake and damage the greenhouse? Come here and check if it's successful."
Sang Yongjing pushed her forward. He had been waiting outside the shed for a long time, waiting for Sang Yu to come and inspect the results.
Unable to refuse, Sang Yu could only reach out to open the door.
As soon as the greenhouse door, which was only wide enough for one person to enter by bending over, was opened, a warm air mixed with the smell of fermenting sulfur hit me in the face.
How should I describe this smell? It cannot be said to be not smelly, but it cannot be said to be particularly smelly either. After the fresh cow dung is sprinkled with sulfur powder, the odor becomes much lighter and the sulfur smell becomes more prominent.
"Wow, it's so warm in there!"
At some point, Sang Xinghao reached a hand in from the corner of the door, felt the warm air inside, and let out a sigh.
Sang Yu looked back and saw that everyone behind him was full of curiosity and anticipation. He couldn't help but laugh: "Come in one by one and feel it."
She stepped out and let them take turns entering while she went to check another greenhouse.
The temperature in the two greenhouses is obviously much higher than that outside. There are still some water droplets hanging on the thick parchment paper coated with tung oil inside the greenhouse. It seems that the greenhouses are very successful.
After visiting the greenhouse, Sang Xingjia suddenly said, "Little sister, I have a question."
"Hmm? Go ahead."
"This cow dung won't last long, right? Do I have to buy fresh cow dung every two or three days?"
It turned out that he was worried about this. Sang Yu smiled faintly: "No need, just turn it over every other day and pour hot water on it. It can last for ten days."
If she really had to buy fresh cow dung every two or three days, she might as well just use charcoal to heat it, which would be much easier.
"That's good, that's good."
Sang Xingjia said it twice in a row. Obviously, he didn't want to go to the city to carry cow dung back every now and then. Not to mention the smell, the amount alone would make him very tired.
The temperature during the day is not too low now, it will only be a little colder in the morning and evening. At noon, you have to open the greenhouse door for ventilation.
After finishing the important task that had been weighing on his mind, Sang Yu finally had time to research some new snacks.
When he gave Liu Mao the konjac before, he had mentioned that there were now imitators of skewers everywhere in the city.
In addition, the weather is getting colder and many people don’t like to eat cold food, so business is not as booming as it was at the beginning. I want her to help me come up with some ideas.
Sang Yu had anticipated this and had even mentioned it to Liu Mao. He was not surprised, but after experiencing the scene of the sudden popularity and money pouring into his wallet like water, he felt a little lost for a while.
Sang Yu has a solution to this problem. Since cold food has become unpopular, she can make some hot food. Oden, which relies solely on the soup at the bottom of the pot for flavor, is a replica of skewers.
Previously, she had not tried making oden due to limited funds and uncertainty about the local people's acceptance.
But now she can let Liu Mao sell skewers and oden at the same time, catering to both those who can eat spicy food and those who can't.
Speaking of spicy food, there is another thing that is very popular in winter - hot pot.
Just imagine, in the cold winter, even the breath you exhale is covered with white mist. At this time, having a bowl of piping hot spicy hot pot to remove the coldness from your body, how wonderful it feels.
However, Sang Yu always felt that Shizhuyu could not achieve the spicy and delicious taste of hot pot that makes people want to eat more. The cold pot skewers were just okay, but the taste was not good after heating.
The ingredients for oden are much less than those for cold pot skewers, and the only ingredients that can be used are vegetables and meats that are easy to cook and soak up the flavor.
Sang Yu did what he thought and started to get busy.
There are three main points to oden: the broth base, the simmering technique, and the umami ingredients.
The soup base is made by simmering chicken bones and pork ribs over low heat for one hour. The golden oil on the top is skimmed off, leaving only the clear soup.
Then fry the crucian carp until both sides are golden brown, wrap it in gauze and put it into the previously prepared broth and simmer it over low heat to add richness and flavor with the fish fat.
Finally, add dried scallops, kelp, dried shrimps, and small dried fish to allow the umami substances to penetrate into them, and a pot of clear and delicious base soup is ready.
The white radish, which is essential for oden, must first be peeled and shaved, then cut into thick pieces about three centimeters wide, and scored with crosses about one centimeter deep on both sides. Then cook with cold water and rice for forty minutes.
All other ingredients that are stewed in the base soup must be cooked in water in advance.
After the ingredients are prepared, put them into the pot in layers, first add the white radish and eggs, then the konjac and fried soy products, and finally the green leafy vegetables.
When simmering, you need to strictly control the heat to keep the soup noodles at a level where only fine bubbles are bubbling.
After cooking, soak it for an hour to make the dish more flavorful. You can also prepare some dipping sauce.
Sang Yu felt that the essence of oden lies in the original flavor of the soup base and ingredients, and adding dipping sauce would overshadow the original flavor, so he simply didn't make the dipping sauce.
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