Chapter 80 Laba Congee and Eight-Treasure Duck
There were many things to do on Laba Festival, so Lin Yao left home before dawn.
When we arrived at the restaurant, the stoves in the kitchen were already burning brightly, and the first thing they did was to cook Laba porridge.
She laid out the ingredients she had bought in advance on the table, placing red beans, mung beans, lotus seeds, longan, peanuts, and red dates in white porcelain bowls, and then scooped out two large bowls of plump glutinous rice and millet.
"Little Fish, wash the red beans and mung beans clean." Lin Yao instructed as she picked up some glutinous rice and poured it into the earthenware basin, letting the water cover the rice grains. "This rice needs to be soaked for three hours beforehand so that it will be soft and sticky enough when cooked."
She then removed the bitter cores from the lotus seeds, placing them in a bamboo tray instead of discarding them, intending to let them dry properly in the sun. Lotus cores are cooling in nature and have the effect of calming the mind and soothing the nerves, as well as harmonizing the heart and kidneys. After processing the lotus seeds, Lin Yao began to pit and chop the red dates into small pieces, and instructed Wang Xiaoyu, who was standing nearby, to peel the longan and extract the flesh.
Looking at the dazzling array of ingredients on the table, Wang Xiaoyu couldn't help but ask, "Master, do we need to put in so many ingredients?"
"We need to make a big pot and send it to the martial arts school." Lin Yao smiled as she added well water to the large clay pot, first pouring in the soaked beans, then removing the firewood and turning it to a simmer.
Before long, wisps of white steam rose from the edge of the pot, and the aroma of beans mingled with the steam gradually spread.
Half an hour later, Lin Yao lifted the lid of the pot and saw that the red beans had been cooked until they were slightly split open. She then poured in the glutinous rice, millet, and peanuts, and gently stirred them with a wooden spoon against the bottom of the pot to prevent them from sticking.
"This porridge is only good when the rice oil floats to the surface." She then threw in red dates and longans. "The rock sugar should be added last; if you add it too early, it will easily burn."
The porridge in the clay pot gradually thickened, with various ingredients floating and sinking in it. Lin Yao ladled out the first bowl, let it cool to lukewarm, sprinkled some white sugar on it, took a sip, and felt the warm porridge with a subtle sweetness that warmed her from the tip of her tongue to her heart: "Not bad, let's sell it!"
Laba porridge is a traditional food for the festival, and many diners come here specifically to try it, so the porridge sells out very quickly.
But Lin Yao wasn't thinking about any of that right now. She had bought five ducks yesterday to make Eight Treasure Duck, which was a huge undertaking.
When Lin Yao carried the five plump ducks onto the cutting board, Wang Xiaoyu was astonished: "Master, when will this take you to finish?"
Lin Yao smiled wryly, "I bought too much in a moment of impulse yesterday." As she spoke, she first made a small cut on the duck's neck, and with a clever twist, she peeled off the whole duck skin. "This duck has to be deboned first, and the meat has to be on the skin, otherwise it will break when stuffing it."
She held the knife and traced its path along the duck bones, the blade scraping clean along the bone. In no time, a fat duck was reduced to a "bag" of flesh and skin, the skeleton lying intact to the side.
Wang Xiaoyu rarely cooks such delicate dishes. She tried to handle another duck like her, but panicked as soon as the knife tip touched the skin, afraid of breaking the skin.
Lin Yao patiently instructed, "Don't be afraid of puncturing it; the duck skin is quite tough. You see, cutting from the base of the wing is the easiest way."
As they spoke, the two of them finished processing all five ducks, poured them into warm water and rinsed them repeatedly until the water in the basin was clear.
"The next step is marinating." Lin Yao poured half a bowl of Shaoxing wine into the earthenware basin, sprinkled on salt, star anise powder, and a little soy sauce, then picked up the duck and rubbed it repeatedly to ensure that every inch of skin and meat was soaked in the seasoning.
"Marinate for an hour so the duck meat can absorb the flavor." She hung the marinated duck up to drain and then turned to prepare the filling.
She had already soaked the glutinous rice while making Laba porridge, and now it was swollen. She poured it into a pot and steamed it. Then she diced lotus seeds, lily bulbs, fox nuts, peanuts, red dates, longan, chestnuts, and ginkgo nuts, mixed them with the glutinous rice, and drizzled two spoonfuls of lard over it and mixed well.
"This eight-treasure filling needs to be a bit oily to be fragrant." Lin Yao scooped up the filling and stuffed it into the duck's belly, pushing the duck meat towards the center with her hands as she stuffed, until the duck was plump and round. Then she sewed the opening closed with cotton thread. "If it's sewn tight, the soup won't leak out when steaming."
Wang Chunlai squatted in front of the stove adding firewood, watching her put the duck into the large steamer, and couldn't help but ask, "How long will it steam?"
"At least an hour and a half." Lin Yao added enough cold water to the pot. "The fire can't be too high. We have to use a low flame to steam it slowly, so that the aroma of the filling can seep into the duck meat little by little."
Before long, more and more steam rose from the steamer, and the rich aroma of duck meat mixed with the sweet fragrance of eight treasures wafted out from the gaps in the steamer.
Lin Yao lifted the lid of the cage to check. The duck skin could be easily pierced with chopsticks. She took it out and brushed a layer of honey water on the duck. "Finally, it needs to be deep-fried in oil to make the skin crispy."
As the hot oil bubbled, she carefully placed the duck neck into the pot, and the duck skin quickly turned a golden-red and translucent color.
Lin Yao used a slotted spoon to scoop out the oil, cut the cotton thread with scissors, and gently broke it open. The eight-treasure filling mixed with thick soup flowed out, and the glutinous rice was coated with the oily aroma of nuts and duck meat.
Lin Yao made two more eight-treasure ducks using the same method, and kept the remaining two simmering in hot water to eat together tonight.
Lin Yao packed the freshly fried eight-treasure duck into a food box. "Take this one, Ah Zhu, to Uncle Wu's house. I'm taking these two to the martial arts school."
Inside the martial arts school, Xu Zhiheng and Jin Yu were sharing the Laba porridge that Afu had just brought. When Lin Yao arrived, Bai Yi was walking out.
He was worried that Lin Yao would make Laba porridge and eight-treasure duck today, and that his father wouldn't let him go out after he got home, so he stayed at Xu Zhiheng's martial arts school. As long as he didn't go home, his father couldn't catch him.
Neither of them expected to meet here. Lin Yao asked, "What are you doing at the martial arts school, Young Master Bai?"
Bai Yi naturally wouldn't admit that he was staying here because of his stutter; he simply said vaguely, "I came to see Brother Xu."
"What a coincidence! I just made Laba porridge and Eight Treasure Duck for the children today. Young Master Bai, please join us," Lin Yao invited.
This was exactly what Bai Yi wanted. If he had known that Lin Yao and Xu Zhiheng were so close, he would have moved in with them.
The two entered the inner courtyard and saw the children lined up in two rows, each holding a small bowl. As soon as Lin Song saw everyone lining up, he immediately let go of Lin Yao's hand and went to the kitchen to get a bowl to join the line.
Lu Dazhi watched the children drink their porridge with a smile. When he saw Lin Yao arrive, he said to her, "I originally planned to have the martial arts school's canteen make Laba porridge, but I didn't expect Miss Lin to send some. This Laba porridge is more fragrant than any I've eaten in decades!" Seeing the food box in Lin Yao's hand, he quickly took it. "You've already sent Laba porridge, why did you bring something else? What's in here?"
Seeing that the children enjoyed the porridge, Lin Yao felt a great sense of accomplishment and replied with a smile, "This is Eight Treasure Duck, it smells delicious, but there's a lot of glutinous rice in it, so the children shouldn't eat too much." She took out a large round plate from the kitchen and placed both ducks on it.
No matter how fragrant the porridge is, it can't compare to the appeal of meat dishes. As soon as the Eight Treasure Duck was brought out, everyone's eyes were drawn to the two plump, glistening ducks, and even the Laba porridge in their hands seemed less delicious.
Lin Yao counted that there were eleven children present, and four adults including herself. She divided the duck meat and filling according to the proportions and, like a cafeteria aunt, scooped them into the bowls of the children who had finished their porridge.
When Songmi was given out, Lin Yao specifically told her not to eat too much today, lest she get indigestion again. The little one was so hungry that her mouth was watering. Lin Yao agreed to everything she said, just wanting to eat this sweet duck meat as soon as possible.
After a lot of fuss, the little ones finally had their fill. Once they were full, they ran off to the playground to play, and only then did a few of them get a chance to rest.
Xu Zhiheng served Lin Yao a large bowl of Laba porridge, then sat down next to her with his own bowl and started drinking. The group had been busy all morning, especially Lin Yao, who had been working since early morning and was starving. She drank two bowls of porridge before she felt better.
I originally thought my child had a small appetite, and one duck would be enough, but I didn't expect that such a small child would have such a huge appetite, like a glutton. Only half of the two eight-treasure ducks are left.
Lin Yao gently sliced open the golden-red duck skin with her knife, revealing the dense filling inside. The filling was still steaming, "It was just warmed up on the stove, it's still hot." She picked up a piece of duck meat with the skin on with her chopsticks. The duck skin was so crisp that you could hear a soft crackling sound, but the meat underneath was so tender that it was dripping with oil. Mixed with sticky glutinous rice, she put it in her mouth. The hot filling made her tongue tingle, but she couldn't bear to let go.
Xu Zhiheng picked up a piece of duck leg meat, and the moment he bit through the crispy skin, a burst of hot air carrying a sweet aroma rushed out. The eight-treasure filling inside was incredibly soft, and the aroma of glutinous rice mixed with the aroma of lard melted between his lips and teeth: "This eight-treasure duck can't be left uneaten, otherwise that greedy girl Xiaomi will definitely steal some again."
Jin Yu was happily gnawing on the duck skeleton, the meat shreds between the bones soaking up the aroma of the seasoning. He said, "This Eight Treasure Duck can't be left uneaten; I can finish it all by myself."
After Lin Yao finished eating, she went to the training ground to play "Eagle Catches Chicks" with the children.
Zhang Dashan had played games like Hammer Ball and pushing a jujube mill, but he had never heard of this game. He considered himself the king of children and had played almost every game, but this was one he had never heard of before. He asked, "What is Eagle Catches Chicks?"
Lin Yao picked up a twig and drew circles on the ground. "One person is the eagle, one is the mother hen, and the rest are chicks. The mother hen opens her arms, and the chicks take turns tugging at the hem of the person in front of her. If the eagle catches the last chick, the caught chick is temporarily out of the game. The round ends when all the chicks are caught."
Zhang Dashan understood the rules and his eyes were full of eagerness. He immediately stood up and said, "I'll play the eagle."
In the first round, Lin Yao played the role of the mother hen. She spread her arms to protect the children behind her. The children had never played this game before and nervously clung to the clothes of the person in front of them.
"Ready! Go!" With that shout, Zhang Dashan began searching for a breakthrough.
The remaining children hid behind Lin Yao, following her in a game of cat and mouse, shouting excitedly.
Laughter reached Xu Zhiheng and his group. Lü Dazhi let out a burp and exclaimed, "Miss Lin is a kind-hearted woman."
Xu Zhiheng didn't speak, but quietly watched Lin Yao playing with the children not far away. The warm winter sun shone on her, gilding her with a golden halo, and her hair ribbon fluttered in the wind with her movements, graceful and lively, making him momentarily lost in thought.
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