Chapter 89 Late Autumn Pickled Vegetables
We moved a few small vats to the back room. If the winter isn't too cold this year, the pickled vegetables will be pickled in the back room.
If the indoor temperature is too high, the pickled vegetables will easily rot.
Let's start with the simplest one.
Wash the cucumbers, peppers, green beans, and radishes thoroughly and let them air dry.
These vegetables need to be pickled in a small jar; they're the ones we brought back from someone else's house last time.
Place the chili peppers and green beans at the bottom, cover them with a layer of salt, and then cover them completely with cucumbers and radishes.
Then pour in boiled and cooled water, just enough to cover the vegetables, but not too much.
Place a clean, large stone on top to weigh it down. Don't add too much salt. This way, you can pickle a jar of sour vegetables. I like sour food.
I pickled two small vats in total. This method of pickling produces vegetables with their own natural flavor, which is sour and crunchy.
It can be chopped up and eaten directly, or used to make braised noodles, or even used to make dumplings, stews, stir-fries, etc.
Then pickle some more complex pickled vegetables with a rich, savory sauce flavor.
Cut the cucumber spirally with a knife without cutting it all the way through, sprinkle with salt, put it in a gauze bag, weigh it down with a stone, and squeeze out the water.
Cut the radish into small pieces, add salt, put them in a gauze bag, weigh them down with a stone, and squeeze out the water.
Wash the green beans, celery, and scallions thoroughly and let them air dry.
These don't need to be cut into sections. After marinating, cut them when you want to eat them, otherwise they will be too salty if cut into sections.
After pressing the radishes and cucumbers to remove excess water overnight, they can be pickled the next day.
Pour some oil, a lot of soy sauce, half a bottle of aged vinegar, some MSG, and some sugar into an electric cooker and bring it to a boil over high heat.
Let it cool after boiling.
Place the prepared vegetables into a small jar, fill the jar with water, and then pour in the cooked sauce.
The sauce seeps into the gaps between the various vegetables, and after a small bowl of sauce is poured out, it just covers the pickled vegetables.
Place a small stone on top and then cover it with plastic wrap.
Three small jars of pickled vegetables were neatly arranged against the wall of the back room.
The celery yield is plentiful, and there's still some left. I'm planning to make another batch of pickled celery.
I learned this recipe from my mom, and it's delicious.
Remove the celery leaves and cut the celery into small pieces.
Pour a small amount of oil, soy sauce, and vinegar into a pot, bring to a boil, then add celery and stir-fry continuously.
At first, a lot of water will appear in the wok when you stir-fry the celery. After all the water has evaporated, the celery will turn brown.
Then add the whole bag of barbecue seasoning and continue to stir-fry.
Once the celery pieces turn into sticky little chunks, the pickled celery is completely cooked.
Take a small piece of the cooked celery pickles and chew it.
It has a slightly crispy texture, but is mostly soft and tender, with a rich aroma of barbecue seasoning and celery.
The mushy pickled vegetables are perfect for eating with porridge or in rolled pancakes.
The amount of pickled celery was small, so it was put directly into a small jar, sealed, and stored in the back room.
The weather is starting to get a bit cold now, so these pickled vegetables shouldn't spoil.
I also pickled the last two boxes of eggs I had saved up at home into salted eggs.
Wash all the eggs with clean water, then roll them in alcohol and put them in the yard to dry.
After sun-drying for half a day, flip it over and sun-dry the other side for half a day as well.
Boil a pot of water, let it cool after boiling, add a lot of salt and stir to make salt water, then put it into a small earthenware jar for later use.
Once the eggs are dried, gently place them one by one into a brine vat and pickle them for 30 days until the salted eggs are ready.
After finishing all this, it was already December, officially the start of winter.
In the morning, I put on my thick cotton-padded trousers and coat, put a large pot of water in the iron pot, and started heating the kang (a heated brick bed).
Once the water in the pot has cooled down, prepare it for the piglets and chicks.
Now the piglets and chicks eat the same food: two scoops of cornmeal, one scoop of bran, and three scoops of hot water mixed into a large bucket.
The chicks add two scoops of the food, and the rest is poured into the pigpen, where the piglets can eat it all.
The weather is getting colder and colder. I wonder if the soapberry tree outside the yard can survive the winter.
I found some old clothes and wrapped them around the tree, then tied them tightly with rope, hoping this would protect the soapberry tree and help it get through the winter safely.
After finishing all this work, I'll go home and cook a delicious bowl of noodles with gravy.
First, add some salt to warm water, knead it into a dough, and let it rest.
Cut a piece of meat off the pig's leg and cut it into small, fine pieces.
There are two small stoves, one for boiling water and the other for stir-frying meat sauce.
Pour oil into a wok, sauté chopped green onions and garlic until fragrant, then add minced meat and stir-fry continuously.
Once the meat has developed a rich aroma, add some soybean paste and thirteen-spice powder, stir-fry until the sauce is fragrant, then add a spoonful of water.
Once the water has mostly evaporated, it's ready to be served.
The water boiled quickly, so I rolled the dough into a thin sheet and then cut it into noodles that were 5 millimeters wide.
Add the vegetables to boiling water and cook until they float. Then add a large handful of lettuce.
Take it out after one minute.
First, fill a large bowl for yourself, and then put the rest in the pot to soak.
Add a large spoonful of gravy to the noodles, stir it slowly at the table, and then slurp it down.
He finished the whole bowl in no time, and his head was covered in sweat.
Back in the kitchen, I lifted the pot lid and found the remaining noodles and broth soaking together, already quite thick.
Put all the noodles into the iron tray, pour in half of the meat sauce, stir well, put a small bowl of it in the tray, and put the rest on the ground.
Calling over his little brothers, Xiao Gua and Xiao San and Xiao Si, the four dogs huddled together, heads close together, and soon finished eating.
The remaining small bowl was reserved for Sang Biao; if it comes back at night, it can be given the food directly.
Sure enough, around seven or eight o'clock in the evening, Sang Biao returned.
As if by magic, I brought out a small bowl of meat sauce noodles from the back room and handed it to Sang Biao.
Sang Biao didn't stand on ceremony and finished the meal in three bites. After finishing, he leisurely strolled away.
The third and fourth mistresses, used to being wild, followed Sang Biao to the mountains.
Around 7 p.m., I felt sleepy and fell asleep on the warm kang (heated brick bed).
I was woken up in the middle of the night by Xiaogua's dog barking.
I was planning to take a nap, but I ended up sleeping until now.
My little one was playing in the yard, and I forgot to put him inside when he went to sleep. Now he's calling for me outside, and I'm a little worried.
Most people assumed it was a pack of wolves, as they occasionally came outside the yard to drink water.
However, we cannot let our guard down.
I quietly dressed, grabbed my stun gun and compound bow, and crept into the windshield.
After observing for two minutes, I saw someone climbing over the wall.
Little Melon stood in front of the courtyard gate, head down, fur standing on end, barking at the two of them.
I started to get nervous, my hands and feet turned cold, I started to break out in a cold sweat, and my heart started pounding wildly.
This is the first time I've actually been attacked by a criminal after living alone for so long.
There were three people in total. I originally wanted to stay at home, but my little one was still outside.
Seeing that there was a dog in the house, the thugs cursed and walked towards Xiaogua with sticks in their hands.
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