Chapter 45 Salt and Pepper Shrimp Seafood Feast!
Lin Yao sat on the donkey cart, swaying back and forth as she pondered the dishes she would prepare for tomorrow's housewarming party. They had eaten quite a bit of pork and chicken at home these past few days, and she was thinking of changing things up. As they approached the dock, Lin Yao's eyes suddenly lit up, and she quickly called out to Lin Cheng, who was driving the cart: "Brother, stop!"
Lin Cheng quickly pulled on the reins, and the donkey cart came to a steady stop. He looked at Lin Yao with a puzzled expression: "A Yao, what's wrong?"
Lin Yao looked towards the dock, where people were still coming and going, bustling with activity. Fishermen were busy unloading freshly caught fish and shrimp from their boats, and all kinds of aquatic products were on display. "Let's go to the dock and buy some fresh seafood to cook some new dishes for tomorrow's homewarming party!"
As the saying goes, "Those who live near the mountains live off the mountains, and those who live near the sea live off the sea."
Located in a coastal area, they have no shortage of seafood. The seafood sold at the dock, while not the most expensive varieties, is affordable and very fresh.
Lin Yao bought five catties of shrimp, planning to make them into salt and pepper shrimp. Just imagining the crispy texture makes one's mouth water.
She originally wanted to buy a few fish to make sauerkraut fish, but the price of sea fish was too high. Besides, the key to sea fish is freshness, and making it into sauerkraut fish would mask the original freshness of the fish, which was a real pity.
She thought that she could just buy a few grass carp at the town market later. Grass carp has tender flesh and is perfect for making pickled fish.
Lin Yao walked around the pier and was about to leave when she suddenly noticed a basket of oysters on a nearby stall.
Seeing Lin Yao's gaze fall on the basket of oysters, the stall owner knew a customer had come in and hurriedly greeted her warmly: "Young lady, are you looking to buy oysters? Unfortunately, all the large oysters are sold out, only the small ones are left. They were originally fifteen coins a pound, but I'll give you a discount on these small ones, ten coins a pound, how about that?"
Lin Yao then realized that people in this dynasty called oysters "small oysters." Thinking about it carefully, oysters and raw oysters are both animals in the Ostreidae family, and they do indeed look similar.
Seeing that Lin Yao didn't say anything, the stall owner assumed she thought the oysters were too small, so he quickly lowered the price, smiling broadly as he said, "Eight coins! Eight coins a pound, that's the lowest I can go. Fishing at sea is like risking your life for money."
Lin Yao was secretly delighted that the price could be lowered, and replied, "Okay! Making a living at sea is not easy, I'll take them all!"
Upon hearing this, the stall owner's eyes narrowed into slits with a smile, and he hurriedly said, "Alright, young lady, you're so generous! I'll weigh it for you right away." With that, he deftly moved the basket of oysters onto the scale. "Forty-eight coins in total, forty-five coins will do, young lady." Lin Yao took forty-five coins from her purse and handed them to the stall owner. Taking the bag full of oysters, she was overjoyed; oyster omelets were here!
Lin Yao was so happy looking at the large bucket of oysters on the donkey cart that she didn't even realize they had arrived in town. It wasn't until Lin Cheng was chatting with Xu Zhiheng, who was writing letters for people at a stall in town, that she came to her senses and quickly got off the donkey cart.
Xu Zhiheng exchanged a few pleasantries with Lin Cheng, then turned to Lin Yao, "Miss Lin, it's been a while."
Upon seeing Xu Zhiheng, Lin Yao remembered their earlier agreement to meet in town three days after returning from the prefectural city to discuss the bean curd skin. She quickly explained, "A few nights ago, there was a strong wind and rain. My old house was blown away by the north wind. I've been busy repairing the house these past few days and forgot about our agreement. I'm so sorry!"
Xu Zhiheng had previously thought that with Lin Yao's money-loving nature, she would never miss an opportunity to make money. He had wondered if something important had delayed her, which was why she hadn't set up her stall or come to the martial arts school to find him. He hadn't expected it to be because of this matter, so he said, "It's alright. Repairing the house is a big deal, so Miss Lin doesn't need to blame herself. Is the house repaired now?"
Lin Yao nodded and replied, "Thank you for your concern, young master. The repairs are almost complete. However, this whole ordeal has cost the family quite a bit of money. We're just thinking of getting the bean curd skin business up and running as soon as possible to make up for the losses."
Hearing Lin Yao say this, Xu Zhiheng burst into laughter, "Young Lady Lin is truly a woman of character!" This was the first time he had ever seen a woman so open about money, without any regard for what others thought; she was very straightforward.
Lin Yao felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this, realizing she might have been too greedy, and quickly changed the subject: "I wonder if you are free the day after tomorrow, young master?"
Xu Zhiheng put away his smile. "I'm very free. You can just come to the martial arts gym to find me."
Lin Yao nodded. Seeing that in just a few words, two more people had come to Xu Zhiheng's stall to write letters, she quickly said goodbye: "Then I won't keep you any longer, young master."
After saying goodbye to Xu Zhiheng, Lin Yao and Lin Cheng headed towards the market. Lin Yao bought three more grass carp, along with oysters and shrimp she had bought along the way, so they already had quite a bit of meat and vegetables.
These ingredients are good, but if we want to serve them to distinguished guests, it seems we are missing a main dish that can make a good impression.
After all, for farmers, nothing is more enjoyable than being able to eat meat to their heart's content.
Although she was tired of eating pork lately, she wanted to make sure her guests enjoyed the home-cooked meal. While Lin Yao was still hesitating between buying pig's trotters and pork belly, she saw Lin Cheng had already bought two catties of mutton from the mutton stall owner.
Lamb was a rare delicacy in this dynasty. Nobles and royalty revered lamb, and even commoners would serve it at banquets to demonstrate the host's status, naturally driving up its price. However, when Lin Yao heard the shopkeeper say 180 coins per catty, she was still taken aback. Good heavens, that was ten times the price of pork!
Lin Yao hadn't originally planned to buy mutton, simply because she didn't like it. But considering the special significance of mutton in this dynasty, she didn't stop Lin Cheng.
The house renovation held different meanings for the two of them. For Lin Cheng, the house's repair gave him and his siblings the confidence to stand tall in front of the Lin family, which explained why he wanted to buy mutton to celebrate.
Lin Cheng looked at the small packet of mutton carefully wrapped in lotus leaves. Although he felt bad about spending the money, he thought that his family had never tasted such a delicacy before, so he felt that the money was well spent.
~
The next morning, the three siblings got up early; they had quite a few dishes to prepare that day. Lin Yao had originally thought that since this was a home-cooked meal, she wouldn't trouble others, and that she and Lin Cheng could simply get up early to prepare it.
Just as they were preparing to wash the rice, Mr. and Mrs. Liu got up and insisted on helping. Lin Yao had no choice but to hand over the tasks of steaming the rice and washing the vegetables to them. Not long after, Wang Xiaoyu also arrived, and suddenly they had enough hands.
The first dish to be made today is a fish and mutton stew. Lin Yao led Wang Xiaoyu into the kitchen and immediately saw the crucian carp that Lin Cheng had already cleaned on the counter. The scales had been scraped off, the belly of the fish had been cleaned, and it was neatly arranged. This crucian carp was bought by Lin Yao yesterday after buying mutton, and it was very fresh, having gone around to the market on the west side of town.
"Ayu, slice the scallions and ginger." Lin Yao instructed as she picked up a cleaver and deftly sliced the crucian carp into even pieces, her movements fluid and graceful. Wang Xiaoyu agreed, turned and hurried off, returning shortly with the scallions and ginger, starting to slice them, her face full of excitement; she could learn a new dish again.
Lin Yao turned around and picked up the mutton. With a light touch of the knife, thin slices of mutton landed on the cutting board. Each slice was as thin as a cicada's wing, with clear texture. It's no wonder she was picky; there were just too many people and too little meat, making it expensive.
She first heated the iron pot, poured in a little pork, and then slowly put the sliced mutton into the pot along the edge. With a "sizzle", the mutton collided with the hot oil, and the aroma of the meat was released. Lin Yao sniffed and found that there was no mutton smell. No wonder they say that sheep that grow up eating grass do not have a mutton smell.
The mutton quickly changed color in the pot, and Lin Yao gently placed the cut fish pieces into the pot, where they intertwined cleverly with the mutton.
At this moment, the aroma in the pot becomes increasingly complex, with both the rich flavor of mutton and the fresh aroma of fish, blending together to create an intoxicating fragrance.
Lin Yao poured in a ladle of water, and soon the pot began to bubble. The stove fire licked the bottom of the pot, and the water quickly boiled, with white foam rising to the surface. Lin Yao handed the ladle to Wang Xiaoyu, asking her to skim off the foam.
Wang Xiaoyu took the water ladle, stood in front of the pot, and smelled the delicious aroma of the soup up close. She inhaled deeply, as if trying to inhale all the fragrance into her stomach, and couldn't help but exclaim, "It smells so good!"
Lin Yao smiled and said, "Don't rush, it needs to be simmered slowly so that the flavors can blend together."
After speaking, she sprinkled the chopped scallions, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and other seasonings into the pot one by one. The spices added to the pot, making the original aroma even richer and more complex. Lin Yao then scooped a spoonful of wine into the pot, and the aroma of the wine spread in the pot, not only cleverly removing the fishy smell of the fish and mutton, but also adding a unique mellowness and sweetness to the whole dish.
Lin Yao handed the fish and mutton soup to Wang Xiaoyu and went to make salt and pepper shrimp herself. Salt and pepper shrimp is simple to make, and the most important thing is the salt and pepper seasoning.
Making salt and pepper is not difficult; it simply involves grinding Sichuan peppercorns and salt into powder.
Lin Yao took out the leftover peppercorns from the newly built cabinet and found a small jar of salt.
She placed the mortar and pestle on the stove, poured in the peppercorns and salt, and began to grind them slowly. As the pestle turned, the peppercorns and salt rubbed against each other, making a soft crackling sound. In no time, a unique aroma of pepper and salt filled the air.
Wang Xiaoyu, standing to the side, sniffed hard, her face full of doubt: "Master, what's that smell? It smells strange, but I've never smelled it before."
As Lin Yao ground the salt, she explained to Wang Xiaoyu, "This is salt and pepper; we'll need it to make salt and pepper shrimp later."
Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaoyu moved closer to Lin Yao, staring at the contents of the grinding mortar, and asked, "Salt and pepper? How did Master come up with the idea of adding them together?"
Lin Yao patiently explained, "This salt and pepper seasoning is not my own invention; it's a condiment that I heard merchants on the ship mention."
The merchant said that pepper salt is made by grinding Sichuan peppercorns and salt into powder, and using it to cook makes the dishes taste exceptionally good!
As for who invented salt and pepper, she didn't know, so she simply considered it a product of the wisdom of the working people. Wang Xiaoyu nodded as if she had found a treasure, her eyes still curiously watching Lin Yao's movements.
Lin Yao increased the grinding speed, and soon the peppercorns and salt were turned into powder. She shook the grinding mortar to make the pepper and salt more even.
Next, she poured the cleaned shrimp into a bamboo basket to drain, and then poured oil into a hot wok. When the oil was about 70% hot, she carefully slid the shrimp one by one into the wok. The shrimp still had some water droplets on them, and when they entered the wok, they splashed up tiny specks of oil, and the shrimp quickly turned red and curled up.
Lin Yao quickly stir-fried the shrimp with a spatula until they turned golden and crispy. She then used a slotted spoon to remove them and drain the oil before returning them to the pan. She sprinkled a small handful of salt and pepper on top and continued to stir-fry until the salt and pepper evenly coated the shrimp.
The aroma of sesame, salt, and shrimp blends together, creating an irresistible fragrance that makes your mouth water.
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