Chapter 88 Bamboo Rat
If there are not enough grass circles, they have to fill them up as soon as possible.
Nature has its own laws of development. When humans buy sheep and let them graze on pastures, they should return the amount of grass they eat.
This is what balance is.
Although it is after a natural disaster and no one is taking care of it, for the future of mankind and nature, humans should reflect on themselves and restrain themselves.
The two men separated and investigated the surroundings. Apart from the three grass circles they saw at the beginning, there were no other grass circles around.
The old man has not yet written out his plan for this year, and the two of them plan to add three more grass circles based on the plans of previous years.
To avoid the area where rhubarb was grazing, three areas were re-demarcated and fenced with wire.
Dahuang was already familiar with the fact that the area surrounded by wire fences was not for grazing. When he saw the area surrounded by wire fences, he led the flock of sheep away.
There was a cart in the hay room. Its old appearance showed that it had been used for many years, and the wooden wheel hub had become a little outward-facing.
Mu Xi readjusted it and used it to transport grass back to feed the sheep.
While Mu Xi was cutting grass, Zhao Yeqing planned to find some wild vegetables on the grassland to eat.
It’s hard to find wild vegetables now. The wild grasses in spring have grown old by summer, not to mention it’s so hot.
Zhao Yeqing found a patch of purslane. This wild vegetable is cold-resistant and drought-resistant, and grows wildly. With a little water, it can spread infinitely, and you can pick the tender ones at any time.
The sun was too strong, so she squatted and pinched two handfuls. When she stood up, she staggered.
I accidentally stepped on a gray vegetable.
Zhao Yeqing did not pick this vegetable and take it home, as it is easy to get a rash if you eat this vegetable and expose it to the sun.
Mu Xi shouted in front, and Zhao Yeqing responded loudly, ran over and went home together.
Dinner has been arranged.
A bamboo rat was caught in a trap near a water source in the morning.
Bamboo rats don’t drink water, but they like to live in cool and humid places.
This bamboo rat is very fat and has not lost any weight due to the hot weather. It may have stored enough food before and has been eating and drinking in its own hole every day to avoid the heat, so it has grown big and round.
It is two times bigger than the biggest rabbit in the house.
Zhao Yeqing had never handled bamboo rats before and was a little scared, so he chose to move the grass and let Mu Xi cook dinner.
By the time she finished moving the grass, Mu Xi had already dealt with the bamboo rats.
The outer hair is shaved off, and the skin is burned and then washed in water.
Looks like a little suckling pig.
The subcutaneous fat of bamboo rats is very thick, like jelly. When chopping it into pieces, you need to be steady, accurate and ruthless, otherwise the knife will slip.
Zhao Yeqing stretched out his hand and pinched it. "The skin is so thick, how long does it take to stew it?"
Mu Xi looked at the kitchen tools. Recently, he had brought back some newer and cleaner kitchen utensils from the village.
There is an old-fashioned pressure cooker inside.
"First simmer it in the pressure cooker for half an hour, then pour it out and make it into braised food."
In summer, she likes to eat dry vegetables. It's okay to eat soup occasionally, but it's too uncomfortable to eat it every day. If you eat it while it's hot, you will sweat before you finish it. If you eat it warm, the taste will not be good.
There are no onions at home, so I can only blanch them with ginger and wine to remove the fishy smell.
After blanching, Mu Xi heated oil in a pan, poured the bamboo rat meat in, and poured a circle of rice wine around the edge of the pot.
Stir-fry with a spatula. After a sizzling sound, most of the alcohol will evaporate. Then add hot water and star anise.
Pour into the pressure cooker and press.
After waiting for half an hour, the bamboo rat meat was almost cooked. Mu Xi released the air from the pressure cooker and took out the bamboo rat meat.
Heat the wok and stir-fry ginger and dried chili peppers until fragrant, then add the bamboo rat meat and stir-fry together.
Fry until the skin turns slightly brown and the fat under the skin dissolves, then add water, rock sugar and soy sauce and simmer.
This will take another two hours to cook.
Zhao Yeqing looked at the time. It was almost seven o'clock, so he went out and walked to the outside of the fence, looking up at the grassland to the west.
Within five minutes, a group of black figures were seen running towards home in the distance. It was Dahuang returning with his flock of sheep.
A few puppies were jumping outside the fence, waiting for their mother to come home.
Zhao Yeqing opened the sheep pen and the sheep entered the pen in an orderly manner.
She took out a piece of bamboo rat meat that she had prepared long ago and fed it to Dahuang.
This was what she specially left for the rhubarb as a snack after blanching it.
In the kitchen, after the meat was almost cooked, Mu Xi started to process the purslane.
After removing the old roots of purslane, wash it clean, boil water in a pot, add a spoonful of salt and a little oil, put the purslane in and blanch it for three minutes before taking it out.
After adding oil to the water, the purslane will remain emerald green and will not turn yellow.
After cooling, squeeze out the moisture, chop it into small pieces and then mix it with cold food.
Simply mix soy sauce, salt and a little sugar, and cover the purslane with a large bowl to prevent flies from flying in.
In the evening, when the sky is dim and the night is intertwined, there will always be groups of mosquitoes gathering together on the grassland.
Looking at the gray area, Zhao Yeqing got goose bumps all over his body. When it gets completely dark, they will disappear again.
During this period of time, she would rather endure the heat and watch Mu Xi cook in the kitchen than stay outside.
There is no electricity at home now, and they are reluctant to use candles, so they light the oil lamp left by the original owner. There is only one lamp, and they put the lamp wherever they stay.
Zhao Yeqing watched the time and steamed the rice, four large bowls in total.
The stove for steaming rice was made by dismantling the stove that was built when making cement. It was built with the dismantled stones, covered with a layer of mud, and placed in the kitchen as a small stove.
The stone that was chiseled off is a relatively thin sedimentary rock. After being calcined at high temperature, many cracks appeared on it. It is estimated that it will be scrapped after a few more uses.
The two plan to burn some bricks and rebuild a new stove soon.
When there were still ten minutes left for the meat to be cooked, Mu Xi opened the lid.
A rich meaty aroma spread.
Stir-fry for a few times, increase the heat, and when the moisture inside is dried up, you can start eating.
There is a saying, 'There are turtledoves in the sky and bamboo distillates on the ground.'
Bamboo distillation refers to bamboo rat.
Zhao Yeqing had heard of this a long time ago. They were also farmed in the city, but he had never eaten it before. He couldn't wait to grab a big piece.
The meat has been stewed until it is very soft and looks like braised pork elbow. When you take a bite, the skin is fat but not greasy.
The lean meat tastes like duck meat, but it is much more delicate than duck meat. There is almost no intact meat fiber left during stewing, and it melts away with a light twist of the tongue.
The braised dish is seasoned just right with a slight sweetness. Two dried chilies are added when stir-frying before serving to make the taste more layered.
Zhao Yeqing was amazed by the bamboo rat meat. He thought it was a creature like a mouse and was a little disgusted by it.
Unexpectedly, the one I caught was so fat, like a little pig, and I didn't feel any pressure at all while eating it.
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