Chapter 151: Made into Powder
Her hoe accidentally cut the vine connected to the top, causing a cross-section of the rhizome buried below, which was white.
The cross section is not smooth, because the fiber content of the rhizome is relatively high, and the white rhizome fibers are not completely connected at the fracture.
"Mu Xi, come here quickly!"
She raised her voice and called out. Upon hearing that, Mu Xi threw the mustard greens in his hand into the backpack and ran over.
"Look at this, is it Pueraria root?"
Mu Xi was 80% sure at a glance, and reached out to pull off the fibers that were about to break and put them into his mouth to chew.
“It’s kudzu.”
He had learned this when he was studying herbal medicine with Zhao Yeqing's grandmother. Pueraria lobata is divided into Pueraria root and Pueraria powder, which are basically collectively called Pueraria root. Pueraria powder is a variant of Pueraria root. Unfortunately, he learned it when he was a child, and he can't remember much so far.
The two men picked up hoes and started digging.
Winter is the season for digging kudzu roots.
The kudzu root was quite large. The two men dug more than fifty centimeters into the soil but still couldn't get to the bottom.
When the whole kudzu root was dug out, both of them smiled.
“This has to be about a meter long, right?”
The whole plant of Pueraria root has four or five rhizomes. The small ones are like large sweet potatoes. Most of them are small, and only one is one meter long.
Mu Xi weighed them and said, "The small one is about five kilograms, and the big one is about twenty kilograms."
Pueraria root of this size is not very common, most of them are around ten kilograms.
This kudzu root must be more than two years old.
Zhao Yeqing was a little surprised. He picked up the smallest kudzu root and asked Mu Xi for the small knife he carried with him. He then peeled off the dirt-covered skin of the kudzu root, revealing the white inside.
She held it in front of her and took a bite. Pueraria root has a high starch content. The biggest feeling when it enters the mouth is the powdery feeling, and then you can taste the aroma of ginseng. After chewing the fiber in the mouth, spit it out.
A hint of coolness remains on the tip of the tongue.
"It's quite sweet, try it."
Zhao Yeqing put the Pueraria root in his hand to Mu Xi's mouth, and he bit the place where Zhao Yeqing had just bitten.
"This kudzu root is pretty good, not too much fiber."
It does not contain much fiber but high starch content, so you can take it back to make kudzu powder.
Zhao Yeqing thought so too. There were nearly 80 kilograms of Pueraria root here, enough to last for a long time.
Since there is a Pueraria root plant here that is more than two years old, there must not be only one. The two found several Pueraria root vines nearby and dug up one more to make up 100 kilograms, so they stopped digging.
Note the location of the remaining ones and come back next time. I took a bit too much today, and I won’t be able to make all the Pueraria powder if I take so much back at once.
Mu Xi put the Chinese mustard greens in his backpack into Zhao Yeqing's backpack, and kept the Pueraria root in his own basket.
Zhao Yeqing moved a smaller backpack to her side. It wasn't because she thought Mu Xi couldn't carry it, but she was afraid that the backpack would collapse.
When the two returned home, the dog was having a great time playing in the snow, and several holes of varying depths and extremely irregular shapes had been dug out on the ground.
There was not a single one that was not white.
Mu Xi took the things into the house. Zhao Yeqing called a few dogs over to shake off the snow on them. "In this weather, if you catch a cold, can you find medicine outside?"
It was enough to play for so long, so she drove them all back into the house to warm themselves by the fire.
In front of the fireplace, Huhu and Xuebing were lying motionless. In winter, the two were obviously not as active as in summer. They yawned from time to time while lying in front of the fireplace.
After locking the dog in the house, I returned to the kitchen to prepare the Pueraria root.
The mud on the kudzu roots had to be scrubbed clean one by one. After Mu Xi rinsed off most of the mud under the faucet, he poured hot water into a large basin and threw the kudzu roots in for a second wash.
The soil was washed away, and the lines on the kudzu root gradually appeared.
The skin is made up of circles, a bit like an oversized taro, but it is not shaped like taro.
Taro is round, but Pueraria root is more like sweet potato, with pointed ends.
Zhao Yeqing took a small stool and sat beside the basin, and the two of them brushed the kudzu roots together.
What I hold in my hand is a piece of loofah that has been used for a while. It is about to be scrapped. I found it in the vegetable garden at the foot of the mountain last time and have not yet processed it.
Last time, he brought back two loofahs, one of which was quite big. Zhao Yeqing was reluctant to use it to wash dishes, so he thought of removing the skin and then cutting the loofah into a flat surface, which could be used as a steaming cloth.
Breathable and non-stick.
The old loofah in my hand is almost scrapped after using this Pueraria root.
When Mu Xi started to peel the Pueraria root, Zhao Yeqing began to prepare the tools for processing the Pueraria root.
He took out the mortar that he had used to grind sesame seeds, cut the kudzu root that Mu Xi had peeled into small pieces and threw them into the mortar.
The cross-section of Pueraria root also has patterns, which somewhat resemble tree rings, but there are only two circles inside, and the circles are not round, and the lines are somewhat curved.
Mu Xi picked up the stone pestle and began to pound it hard until all the Pueraria root was crushed.
Only 80 kilograms of the 100 kilograms of Pueraria root are processed, and the rest is kept for making soup or processed as medicinal materials.
Mu Xi put the mashed Pueraria root on a gauze-lined winnowing basket, poured water on it, and rubbed it with his hands continuously to wash out the starch inside.
We take turns rubbing the starch while I water it. When our hands get sore, we switch.
By the time I finished rubbing the 80 kilograms of Pueraria root, the sky was slowly getting dark.
The water that is rubbed out is white with yellow. Pour all the water into a large vat, and then leave it to time to settle.
Mu Xi put the pot on the stove and started preparing dinner. Zhao Yeqing's hands were so sore that he didn't want to move, nor did he want to watch him move.
"Don't bother, just steam some buns and eat them."
The steamed buns also need some side dishes to go with the rice. Mu Xi said, "It's okay. I'll cook something. It will be done in no time."
Zhao Yeqing brought in the frozen steamed buns from outside and hung them on the eaves, yet he still had to worry that they would be eaten by sparrows that flew over.
She handed the steamed bun to Mu Xi and said, "When we have time, let's make a refrigerator."
She thought of using pure ice to make it, but that was a bit time-consuming and laborious. It should be possible to nail one with wood and place it outdoors.
Mu Xi nodded and put the steamed buns in the steamer. "It's all fine. If you want to make pure ice, you have to study it. Anyway, we have plenty of time now."
After saying that, he turned around and grabbed a handful of pickles from the jar behind him and washed off the salt on the outside with water.
"Whatever you want to fry, I'll get it for you."
"Small dried fish from the bag on the wall."
Originally, Zhao Yeqing thought it didn’t matter whether to have side dishes or not, but when Mu Xi wanted to stir-fry pickled vegetables and dried fish, she suddenly felt that the side dishes were very necessary.
The oil in the pot has been heated up. Mu Xi throws the dried fish in and fryes it until it is crispy. When the aroma starts to rise, sprinkle a handful of minced garlic and stir-fry for a few times. When the garlic turns slightly yellow, throw in the washed pickles.
When the steamed buns in the pot are done, the dishes are ready.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
