Chapter 238
Happy holidays always pass quickly. Su Miao is going back to Nancheng on the eighth day of the first lunar month. This time they want to bring back a special flavor, that is sour porridge.
Speaking of sour porridge, it is an indispensable ingredient for most families in Ning County!
Although it is not a must-eat every day, I always fry a bowl of it as a dipping sauce every time I eat duck. I can also make sour porridge with fish, sour porridge with pork tripe, sour porridge with soybeans and other delicacies.
Because the weather here is hot and humid and the summer is long, the Zhuang people have gradually developed a habit of eating sour foods. In addition to sour porridge, sour foods such as sour food and rice vinegar are also very popular.
In the difficult times of the past, living conditions were poor and food was coarse and difficult to swallow. The taste of sour porridge could stimulate the taste buds. With its addition, the originally bland food could be given a different flavor.
Unlike sour food, Ningxian sour porridge has a unique sour taste and a soft and delicate texture. No matter what food it is paired with, it can always produce a wonderful effect of complementing and enhancing each other.
The jar of sour porridge was always placed in the corner of the kitchen. They had wanted to take it with them several times before, but they always forgot about it when they went out.
When I came back this time, I found that the sour porridge in the pot had gone bad because I hadn't put rice in it for too long.
So the sour porridge she ate yesterday was something Su Miao asked for from the aunt next door. The aunt had several cans of it at home, so she just gave her a large bowl.
The small bowl left now can be used as a starter culture and taken to Yongcheng to make another jar.
After tidying up the house and closing the doors and windows, the father and daughter set off with their bags. They rented a car from Master "Sea Lion" and picked up Su Yu and Su Hui when they passed by Sujia Village.
Several people immediately got busy. First, they cleaned the house and the shop inside and out. Then they steamed and disinfected all the tableware and kitchen utensils in preparation for opening tomorrow.
When he finally had some free time, Su Miao suddenly remembered the jar of sour porridge. He hurriedly took it out and carefully placed it in a cool and dry corner of the kitchen.
Sour porridge is a fermented food, so like other pickled side dishes, the container must be clean and oil-free.
She brought up the jar from her home in Ning County, where she had already poured out the spoiled sour porridge. She rinsed it with warm water and heated it slightly to help the porridge dry faster.
After the inside of the jar was completely dry, Su Miao poured the remaining bowl of sour porridge into the bottom of the jar, covered it, and transported it to Yongcheng.
The bowl of bacteria at the bottom of the jar is the best fermentation agent. Now you just need to add rice into it.
There is no particular requirement for the rice you put into the pot. Most of the time, you can just add the leftover rice that has cooled down.
Yes! Let it cool down. This is very important. The rice must be cooled before adding it. Otherwise, the high temperature will scald the hard-working "bacteria" inside to death.
Su Miao asked his father to cook two more bowls of rice in the evening, because when putting the rice into the pot for the first time, he had to put twice as much rice as he had sown.
Next, it was all up to time. After a week, when Su Miao opened it again, the rice inside had become soft and mushy like a white paste, which meant it was done.
Today is the day for another big meal in the restaurant. Su Miao scooped out a small bowl with a clean and dry spoon. Another duck will not be able to escape tonight.
Because the fermentation in the jar is ongoing, after digging out some, you need to add some rice in tonight. Even if you don’t eat it normally, you still need to add new rice after the rice is fully fermented, otherwise it will easily rot and mold. The jar in Ning County went bad because the "probiotics" had not been given food for too long.
Yingzi and Jiang Fengyi had eaten sour porridge with fish once at Su's house and were very fond of the sour and fragrant taste, but it was the first time they had seen unprocessed sour porridge.
She came closer out of curiosity, then was attacked by the pungent sour taste. She quickly took a step back and said, "Miaomiao, is this the sour porridge we had last time? Why is it so sour?"
"Sister Yingzi, because this is sour porridge that has just been fermented and not cooked yet, the acidity will be reduced after it is stir-fried."
Jiang Fengyi also came over to take a look and asked, "It looks white, so it's probably not edible yet. But how can you judge whether this sour porridge is good without tasting it?"
"When we judge whether sour porridge is good or not, we mainly judge it by its whiteness and thickness. The whiter and thicker the sour porridge is, the better the quality is, and it tastes fragrant and sour."
Su Yuanzheng prepared to fry sour porridge in a wok. In fact, the method of frying sour porridge is very simple. Heat the oil in a wok, pour in the sour porridge, and then stir-fry continuously to prevent it from sticking to the wok. The most important step is to add salt in batches during the frying process, and you can also add water depending on the specific situation.
Stir-frying sour porridge also requires patience and the frying time should be longer, otherwise the heat will not be enough and the porridge will not be as fragrant when it comes out of the pot.
This is the simplest stir-fry method, and the flavor can be adjusted according to personal taste and the ingredients you want to pair it with.
Commonly used ingredients include garlic, gooseberry, soy sauce, sugar, etc., and the fried sour porridge is eaten with dishes as a dipping sauce and side dish.
In the afternoon, Su Yu took some time to go to the market and picked out a local duck and half a pig's stomach. Although pig's stomach is also an internal organ, it is considered a nourishing tonic in traditional Chinese medicine, so it is more expensive than meat.
The local duck can be simply boiled in water, and the pig's stomach should be cleaned, added with water, and cooked with a few slices of ginger and a small amount of rice wine. Cook until it is soft and can be easily pierced with chopsticks and then taken out.
After cutting into shreds, stir-fry with the previously processed sour porridge, and add a little shredded ginger and pepper to make it perfect.
The combination of sour porridge, local duck and pork tripe is irresistible. The simple cooking method retains the deliciousness of the meat and adds a hint of sour fragrance and fermented rice aroma. When you chew it, your tongue will have the illusion of having the aroma of wine.
Su Yuanzheng made two bowls of rice, one spicy and one non-spicy. Everyone preferred the one with chili peppers, which was appetizing and went well with rice. Even Su Miao ate an extra bowl of rice tonight.
In the evening, Su Miao divided the sour porridge into three pots and added new rice. After it fermented, there was a new specialty snack from Ning County on the Su Ji side dish table: sour porridge with soybeans.
The diners were once again amazed by Su Ji’s special dishes. Although Ning County is very close to Yongcheng, this is a food culture with strong local characteristics, which is rare in Yongcheng.
When I tried the first bite, I was caught off guard by the sourness and closed my eyes tightly, unable to control my expression. Then my lips and teeth began to water, and I wanted to take another bite. After two bites, my appetite was whetted and I ate the food more deliciously.
They already liked sour food, and were deeply fascinated by it.
However, the production is limited, with only one bowl available every day, and it is on a first-come, first-served basis. As a result, a group of diners came to Su Ji early to eat sour porridge and soybeans.
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