Huichuan preserved vegetables
Huichuan preserved vegetables
Huichuan winter vegetables combine four flavors: fragrant, sweet, salty, and spicy, making them uniquely flavorful.
Furthermore, because winter vegetables are semi-dried pickled and fermented products with moderate moisture content, they have the advantages of not drying out in spring, not rotting in summer, not getting moldy in autumn, and not freezing in winter, and are thus known as a seasonal delicacy.
Huichuan preserved vegetables actually originated from something quite ordinary: they were made from local small walnut-patterned cabbage leaves.
Dear readers, as we mentioned earlier, Lijiapo planted 300 mu of cabbage this year. 100 mu of the land was planted with "Jiaobai", a specialty of Shandong Province with a planting history of 1,000 years. The other 100 to 200 mu were planted with local specialty small walnut-patterned hemp leaf green.
When making winter vegetables, select thin-stalked, fine-textured Ma Ye Qing (麻叶青), remove the outer old stalks and the green leaves on top, and cut them into small pieces about 1 cm wide and 1.2 cm long.
These chopped cabbage stalks need to be laid flat on reed mats to dry in the sun, absorbing the winter sun's warmth. Once they are half-dry, they can be stored away for the next step of processing.
Crush the garlic into a paste, add salt, and mix these two seasonings evenly with the semi-dried bok choy pieces. Pack the mixture tightly into a jar, seal the jar, and then leave the rest to time.
After half a month of natural fermentation, the preserved vegetables are ready to eat.
However, at this time, the preserved vegetables are slightly yellowish-white in color and have a rather thin texture.
If it undergoes natural fermentation over a winter, when the jar is opened again, the winter vegetables will be golden in color, fragrant, slightly sweet, and slightly spicy.
When the time comes, take a freshly steamed white steamed bun, tear it in half, put a piece of preserved vegetable in it, take a bite, and the taste can only be described in one word: amazing!
According to the "Huichuan County Annals", during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, there were already hundreds of winter vegetable workshops inside and outside the ancient city of Huichuan County. The business was booming, and the jarred winter vegetables produced were sold at home and abroad.
From the Qing Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, many merchants who traded winter vegetables used the Baiyang River, which runs through Huichuan, to load the vegetables onto ships and sell them north to the Beijing-Binhai area and south to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
In 1936, Huichuan winter vegetables won a quality product award at the Paris Exposition.
In 2018, the winter vegetable making technique of Huichuan County was selected as a representative of the intangible cultural heritage projects of Zhao Province and exhibited at the China Grand Canal Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Center.
The descendants of Yifengyuan rebuilt the factory and produced Shanquanyong brand winter vegetables, which later became popular throughout the country and were exported abroad, generating hundreds of millions of yuan in profit every year.
But now...
Liu Changhai raised a question, "Xiangdong, you mentioned making canned pork. Although we've never eaten it before, it sounds pretty good. But what about preserved vegetables? Every household knows how to make them! We only eat preserved vegetables when we're out of other vegetables. Will we be able to sell them?"
At this time of year, people are often hungry and lack oil in their diet. Winter vegetables, similar to pickled mustard greens with spices, are something that only poor families eat.
Li Chang muttered, "No, that's not it. When stir-frying or making soup, adding some preserved mustard greens really enhances the flavor. Also, when making bowls, we use preserved mustard greens as a base. My dad said there used to be a famous dish called 'Stir-fried Two Winters,' which was made with preserved mustard greens and winter bamboo shoots as the main ingredients."
Li Xiangdong had eaten "Stir-fried Winter Vegetables" in his previous life. That dish was yellow and white, with an elegant color, crisp and tender texture, and a fragrant aroma. It was a famous dish in the Jiangzhe region.
"Uncles and elders, although we are poor now, we still love to eat meat. But who knows, in a few years or a decade or so, when we get tired of eating meat, we might just like to eat some refreshing pickled vegetables!"
"Not to mention the distant ones, just look at Liubiju Sauce Shop in Yanjing City, and Yifengyuan in Huichuan, aren't they both producing small pickled vegetables?"
Li Tang chimed in, "That's true. Liu Bi Ju's business is booming, but it's a pity that our local Yi Feng Yuan has gone out of business."
Li Chang's eyes lit up. "Back then, all the winter vegetables used in restaurants and hotels in Yanjing were supplied by Yifengyuan. Their winter vegetables had a secret recipe, and the flavor was exceptionally rich."
Li Xiangdong had no idea about these things; it turns out there was a secret recipe!
No wonder the rebuilt Yifengyuan was able to quickly establish itself in the pickle industry by leveraging the Shanquanyong brand!
Li Xiangdong was particularly interested in this. "Uncle Chang, do you know the secret recipe for Yifengyuan's pickled winter vegetables?"
Li Chang shook his head. "How would we know their secret recipe?"
Everyone laughed, then chatted about other things before the meeting adjourned.
Stepping out of the brigade headquarters, the winter night air was crisp and dry, and a few stars were clearly visible against the dark sky. If you looked closely, you could see the stars twinkling.
Li Jin, with his hands behind his back, coughed violently twice; the sound was so loud it seemed like he was coughing up his lungs.
A cough interrupted Li Xiangdong's train of thought. "Dad, don't keep your pipe in your hand all the time. Look at you coughing!"
As she spoke, she gently patted Li Jin on the back.
Li Jin felt comforted by his son's thoughtfulness and said with a smile, "Smoke less, smoke less!"
Then he asked, "Son, do you really want to sell winter vegetables?"
"More real than real gold!"
"Well, I do know a little about Yifengyuan!"
Li Xiangdong's voice perked up, "Oh, please tell me!"
"Let's talk about it when we get home!"
......
In Li Jin's house, Li Zhen, Li Ping, Li Jiabao, Li Yan, Zhang Huan, Zhao Sufang, and Li Lan were sleeping on the kang (heated brick bed) in the east room.
Li Jin and Li Xiangdong are now sleeping in the west room.
Since Li Weijun's wedding, Li Lan has never left again after bringing her daughter back.
It wasn't for any other reason; it was Li Ying who brought it up. Li Lan hadn't had any more children since giving birth to Zhang Huan.
Zhang Yusong, the eldest brother-in-law, lost his mother early, and his father remarried. His stepmother's son had two sons shortly after getting married.
Don't even mention Zhang Yusong's father's favoritism. Before the two brothers got married, their stepmother secretly favored the younger son. Now that the two brothers are married and have children, the old couple finally have a legitimate reason!
You only have one daughter, so won't the Zhang family line continue with our two precious grandsons?
Don't be fooled by Zhang Yusong's silence in front of his father and stepmother; at home, he's quite capable, taking his anger out on his wife and daughter when he's drunk.
When Zhang Huan was six years old, the phrase he heard most often was, "Why aren't you a boy!"
"Did you take my son's spot?"
"I've wasted my time naming you Huan, why don't you give me a different younger brother!"
To insult Li Lan, one would say, "You barren hen, you're just occupying the toilet without doing anything!"
"I'll beat you to death sooner or later, and then I'll find a virgin to give me a son!"
Then he got drunk and beat Li Lan, leaving her covered in bruises.
At first, Li Lan couldn't stand it. When Zhang Yusong hit her, she fought back, and the two fought to a standstill, resulting in both of them being injured.
Later, Zhang Yusong figured out a secret: whenever Li Lan fought back, he would hit Zhang Huan!
As time went on, Li Lan stopped fighting back for the sake of her child.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com