Chapter 82 How can you not eat bamboo shoots in spring?
Throughout the Spring Festival, Lin Yao did nothing but eat and sleep, occasionally taking a stroll in the mountains, but spending most of her time resting at home, and her waistline unknowingly grew a size larger.
As early spring drew ever closer, Lin Yao pondered making a new spring outfit, but there were more pressing matters at hand. Spring rains fell in succession, and in the bamboo grove behind the mountain, bamboo shoots were growing rapidly, fueled by the dampness. She lived in the Jiangnan region, and spring felt incomplete without eating pickled bamboo shoots and pork belly, not to mention that these bamboo shoots could be pickled into a flavorful and delicious sour bamboo shoot dish!
Besides bamboo shoots, there are also plenty of mushrooms in the mountains in spring. The ground mushrooms I picked last autumn were made into a mushroom sauce, which was quite delicious, but it still couldn't compare to the taste of fresh mushrooms.
"Ah Yao, are we going to harvest as much as we can this time?" Grandpa Zhang asked.
Lin Yao nodded: "That's right. But the villagers can also keep some for their own consumption. Dried mushrooms can be stored for a long time, making them a good choice for stockpiling food."
Aunt Liu agreed wholeheartedly, "That makes sense. We can also pick some wild vegetables and dry them; they'll be very useful in famine years."
Upon hearing this, everyone knew they had another way to make money, and they all dispersed to go home and get their tools. Lin Yao watched their retreating figures and still called out a warning: "The mountains are dangerous, don't go too deep. Also, if anyone tampers with mushrooms or bamboo shoots to steal them, I will never buy their mountain delicacies again."
After giving their instructions, Lin Yao and her family also carried their tools up the mountain.
Today, the rain had stopped, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of the forest after the rain. Lin Yao took a few deep breaths, feeling relaxed all over. Lin Song imitated her, inhaling and exhaling forcefully, his belly expanding and contracting like a round balloon.
"Does A-Yao want to pick mushrooms and bamboo shoots?" Lin Cheng asked.
"No need for that." Lin Yao shook her head. Since she had already collected the produce from the villagers, she didn't bother to worry about it anymore. "Let's go pick some toon sprouts and bracken."
Upon hearing this, Lin Song's eyes lit up immediately, and he clapped his hands, saying, "Toona sinensis sprouts! I remember that my older sister's scrambled eggs with Toona sinensis were so delicious. Last time, I ate three bowls of rice in one go!" As he spoke, he subconsciously touched his little belly.
Lin Yao chuckled and patted Lin Song's belly, which had become even rounder due to the Spring Festival: "You little glutton, all you know is food. Look at your belly. You'll have to practice hard when you go back to the martial arts school tomorrow. But the toon sprouts really need to be picked while they're fresh. If they get too old, they won't be as tender." As she spoke, she took a small sickle from her basket. "Bracken fern grows on damp slopes, so watch your step when you pick it, don't fall. The toon tree is over there. Remember to only pick the tender buds at the top, don't break the branches. You have to leave room for the tree to regenerate."
The toon sprouts grew tall, so she entrusted them to Lin Cheng to pick. She then took Lin Song to pick bracken. The group worked hard all morning and carried a basket of wild vegetables home.
When they got home, there were already people in the yard weighing mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Liu Dazhuang, Zhang Ping, Zhang An, and the others were busy as bees. Lin Yao glanced at the bamboo shoots she had collected; they were still a little wet with mud, but very fresh. She picked out two and went into the kitchen.
In springtime in Jiangnan, how can you not eat Yan Du Xian (a traditional Chinese dish)?
She took a piece of leftover salted pork from the New Year's feast, scrubbed it repeatedly with warm water until the salt crystals on the surface melted away, and then cut it into thick cubes. She chose bone-in ribs with a perfect balance of fat and lean meat, cut them into pieces about the same size as the salted pork, and put them in cold water with the salted pork, adding two spoonfuls of cooking wine and a few slices of ginger. She then brought the water to a boil and blanched the meat. Once the water was bubbling and a layer of grayish-white foam rose to the surface, she removed the meat, rinsed it with warm water, and drained it.
Lin Cheng had already prepared the bamboo shoots, peeling off the outer skin to reveal the tender white flesh, and cutting them into chunks, which he then soaked in water. Lin Yao poured the bamboo shoot chunks into boiling water, added a little salt, and blanched them for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick to remove the astringent taste. After rinsing them in cold water, the bamboo shoot chunks appeared even more translucent and white, like jade.
While the meat was stewing, Lin Yao put the bracken into boiling water to blanch it. Once the bracken softened, she took it out and soaked it in cold water, changing the water three times before draining it. She then cut it into small pieces and put it in a porcelain basin.
"Song'er, help me crush the garlic." Lin Yao said as she added two spoonfuls of soy sauce and a spoonful of vinegar to the basin, and then scooped a spoonful of homemade chili oil from the jar. This chili oil was made with dogwood, and although it smelled fragrant, it was not as good as real chili oil.
Lin Song ran over carrying a heavy mortar and pestle, which had already been filled with minced garlic. After training at the martial arts school for a while, he became stronger and always wanted to help his older siblings with their tasks. So Lin Yao always assigned him small chores, which he always did with great enthusiasm.
Lin Yao mixed the minced garlic into the bracken fern, stirred it well with chopsticks, and finally sprinkled on some chopped green onions and drizzled a spoonful of hot sesame oil, releasing an irresistible aroma. She picked up a piece with her chopsticks and tasted it, squinting her eyes slightly: "Mmm, sour and spicy, refreshing, just right to cut through the greasiness."
Well water was added to the clay pot, just enough to cover the bottom, and then it was placed on the fire. Once the water was slightly hot, the salted pork was added first, and it was slowly rendered over low heat until a small pool of lard accumulated in the pot. Then, fresh pork and blanched bamboo shoots were added. Lin Song stood on tiptoe and peered over the stove. He saw his older sister sprinkle some scallions and two crushed pieces of ginger into the pot, but no other seasonings. He couldn't help but ask, "Don't you need to add salt?"
“The salted pork is salty enough on its own.” Lin Yao gently pushed the ingredients in the pot with a long-handled spoon. “This soup is all about freshness. Adding too many seasonings will only overpower the flavor.” As she spoke, wisps of steam rose from the cracks in the lid of the clay pot, carrying the aroma of meat and the sweetness of bamboo shoots. Lin Song sniffed, his mouth watering.
While the soup was simmering, Lin Yao began to prepare the toon sprouts. She carefully washed the toon sprouts in clean water. After washing them clean, she blanched them in boiling water until they turned bright green, then immediately took them out, rinsed them in cold water, squeezed out the water, and chopped them into small pieces.
She cracked eight eggs into a bowl and whisked them well with chopsticks. She added a pinch of salt, then poured in chopped toon leaves and mixed. The wok was smoking hot; she poured in two spoonfuls of rapeseed oil, and once hot, she poured in the egg mixture. The eggs quickly expanded upon entering the wok, releasing a fragrant aroma of toon leaves that made one's mouth water. She quickly stir-fried the eggs with a spatula until they were golden brown and fluffy, then placed them on a white porcelain plate. The vibrant green toon leaves embedded in the golden egg pieces looked incredibly appetizing.
"It smells so good!" Lin Song leaned over and reached out to grab a piece, but Lin Yao gently slapped his hand away. "We'll eat together later." She put the plate on the stove and turned to look at the casserole.
The soup in the casserole was bubbling gently. Lin Yao stood by the stove, lifting the lid every now and then to check on it and skimming off the oil floating on the surface with a spoon. An hour passed, and the meat in the pot was stewed until it was tender and could be easily pierced with chopsticks. The bamboo shoots had absorbed the meat juices, and the originally clear soup had turned milky white, rich and fragrant.
"That's about it." Lin Yao turned off the stove but didn't open the lid immediately. "Let it simmer for another 15 minutes to let the flavors infuse more."
When the lid of the casserole was lifted again, a rich aroma filled the kitchen and wafted out into the yard, even attracting Lin Song, who was running in from the yard. Liu Dazhuang and the others, who were cleaning bamboo shoots and mushrooms, also took a deep sniff. The aroma made Liu Dazhuang feel even emptier. "It smells so good. I wonder what A Yao has made this time."
The food was quickly served. In the center was a large bowl of milky white pickled bamboo shoots and pork soup, with a plate of cold bracken salad and a plate of scrambled eggs with toon leaves on the side.
Lin Yao invited everyone to sit down and eat. Lin Cheng first took a sip of the braised pork and bamboo shoot soup, the delicious broth sliding down his throat. "Delicious!"
Seeing this, Liu Dazhuang also ladled himself a bowl. After a busy morning, this bowl of soup made it all worthwhile. "Just smelling it in the yard made my mouth water, and this soup is indeed extremely delicious!"
"Drink as much as you like, there's plenty!" Lin Yao had just had a bowl too, and it did taste good, but she preferred the sour and spicy cold bracken salad, which she ate with gusto, one chopstick after another.
After lunch, Lin Yao began processing the bamboo shoots. Some of the harvested bamboo shoots would be transported to the shop to make pickled bamboo shoots with pork and bamboo shoots, while the rest she wanted to make into sour bamboo shoots. Spring was also the peak season for river snails, not to mention that the village was near a stream, so there were plenty of river snails to be had.
With pickled bamboo shoots and river snails, she could finally make the snail rice noodles she'd been longing for! Lin Yao felt delighted just thinking about it.
Liu Dazhuang and his group piled the bamboo shoots they had collected that morning in the corner, reaching about half a person's height. These bamboo shoots were specially selected for their robust size; the husks were bluish-purple, and if you pinched the flesh with your fingernail, you could leave a deep mark. Such bamboo shoots are juicy and tender, making them perfect for pickling.
"To make pickled bamboo shoots, you have to sun-dry them until they're half-dry, so they don't spoil easily." Lin Yao chopped off the tough, old parts of the bamboo shoot roots, and gently peeled off the bright green husks from the top down to the root, revealing the bamboo shoot flesh, which carried a refreshing grassy fragrance. Lin Song squatted down beside her to help pick up the bamboo shoot husks, stacking the intact ones together: "Sister, what can we do with these husks?"
"We'll use these to line the bottom of the jar later to keep out moisture," Lin Yao said without looking up, cutting the peeled bamboo shoots into strips about two fingers wide. She deliberately separated the tender sections near the tips from the thicker sections at the roots, "After they're pickled, the tender ones will be sour enough to stir-fry directly, while the thicker ones are suitable for stewing meat."
Lin Cheng moved a bamboo tray and placed it on the drying rack in the center of the courtyard. Sunlight filtered through the clouds, casting dappled patterns of light on the tray. The two brothers arranged the bamboo shoots one by one on the tray, and Lin Yao instructed them not to stack them, but to make sure that each shoot was exposed to the sun.
Lin Song stood on tiptoe and placed the tenderest bamboo shoots on the top layer: "Hurry up and dry them, hurry up and make them sour, I want to eat stir-fried chicken giblets with sour bamboo shoots." Although he had never eaten this dish before, just hearing his older sister talk about it made him look forward to the sour, spicy and crunchy taste.
As the sun began to set, the bamboo shoots became slightly wrinkled and less moist to the touch. Lin Yao gathered the bamboo shoots into a large basin, rinsed off the surface dust with clean water, drained them, and then poured them into a large earthenware jar. The jar was used for pickling vegetables last year, and the inner wall still bore faint traces of salt. Lin Cheng had scalded it several times with boiling water, and it was still warm with steam.
"The key is this jar of old sour water." Lin Yao carried a small jar out from the corner of the kitchen. The moment she lifted the lid, a sour and spicy aroma wafted out, carrying a fermented smell. She poured the old sour water into an earthenware jar, added well water to the jar, just enough to cover the bamboo shoots, sprinkled in two handfuls of coarse salt, and stirred it well with a long wooden stick.
Looking at the large amount of coarse salt, Lin Song asked curiously, "Do we need to put in this much salt?"
"You need to add more so it won't spoil easily." Lin Yao used a clean stone to weigh down the bamboo shoots to prevent them from floating up, oxidizing, and getting moldy. "Too little salt will make it smell bad, and too much salt will make it too salty. It has to be just right so that the water tastes a little too salty." As she spoke, she spread the bamboo shoot shells she had saved in the morning on the mouth of the jar, then covered it with two layers of breathable cotton gauze, and finally gently weighed it down with a ceramic lid.
"How long do we have to wait before we can eat?" Lin Song squatted down by the vat, even bringing his nose close to smell it.
Lin Yao smiled and ruffled his hair: "It will take at least half a month. It's ready when bubbles appear in the jar and the sour aroma becomes stronger." She pointed to the drainage groove on the edge of the jar and said to Liu Dazhuang, "Remember to add some water to the groove every day to prevent it from spoiling."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
