When Chen Zhiyao returned home, she saw her grandmother squatting in the yard, diligently cleaning the scallops that she had picked out before leaving.
Hearing familiar footsteps, the old lady turned around with a smile, "You're back. Are these scallops for drying dried scallops?"
Grandma Chen always had a kind and warm smile in her eyes and brows, which made people feel like they were bathed in a gentle breeze.
"I noticed we didn't have many dried scallops left at home, but we happened to have some scallops, so I dried some of them."
Chen Zhiyao nodded obediently, put down what she was carrying with light steps, and then came over to help.
As for the duck and pork offal used as bait, there's no need to refrigerate them; a stronger flavor will be more effective.
Chen Zhiyao rolled up her sleeves and squatted down like Grandma Chen, diligently washing the sand off the scallops.
Dried scallops are delicious, but they are troublesome to make.
The first step is to use a knife to open the scallop, which is also the most difficult step.
Use a thin blade to pry open the scallop a little at the opening, then run it around the perimeter to split the entire scallop in two.
Open the scallop
It looks simple, but it's actually quite difficult to operate, and it's easy to cut your hand.
This scallop meat looks quite large, but not all of it is usable.
Remove the dark-colored clam meat around the edges, leaving only the small white cylinder in the center.
The prototype of scallops
Actually, the part that was removed was still edible. Chen Zhiyao took a clean small bowl and put the excess part aside.
Stir-fry with green and red peppers, minced garlic, and a little minced meat, and it becomes another amazing dish to eat with rice.
A scallop looks quite big, but there isn't much meat inside. After removing the outer layer, there's even less meat left, just the little bit of adductor muscle.
It took the grandfather and grandson about an hour to extract all the meat from the scallops, which weighed over ten kilograms.
The scallop meat that was taken out just covered the bottom of the basin, weighing only a little over a pound.
Scallop meat
In the market, even the cheapest, second-grade dried scallops cost 100 yuan per jin (500 grams), while the more expensive ones can cost several hundred yuan.
Scallops are cheap, but dried scallops are quite troublesome to prepare and shrink a lot in size.
There's a reason why dried scallops are so expensive.
The prepared scallop meat must first be cleaned thoroughly to remove the sand inside.
After cleaning the scallop meat, it can actually be sun-dried directly.
However, they usually add an extra step: scalding the dried scallops with hot water to set their shape, which makes the dried scallops look even better after drying.
Shaping
Chen Zhiyao laid the blanched scallop meat flat on a flat bamboo basket.
There wasn't much scallop meat, just enough to fill a bamboo basket.
If the weather is good, the dried scallops will be ready in a few days.
Sun-dried scallops can be used to make porridge or soup, and they taste especially delicious.
Grandma Chen especially likes to use dried scallops to make winter melon soup and chicken soup.
Sun-dried scallops
(The photos are from different batches, so there may be some differences in quantity and color. Just make sure you can see the difference, don't be too picky (●'?'●).)
Although the dried scallops outside have just started to dry, there are still some dried ones left at home, and Chen Zhiyao wants to drink scallop chicken soup now.
The little girl suddenly turned her head, her bright, sparkling eyes staring straight at the old woman:
"Grandma, let's make chicken soup with dried scallops this afternoon. The remaining dried scallops are just enough."
Grandma Chen remained calm and composed, her face bearing a gentle, warm smile like a spring breeze.
“Okay, call your grandpa and ask the old man to catch a hen.”
"Of the first batch of hens we raised, two haven't been laying eggs much lately, so we'll kill one to make chicken soup."
"Okay, okay, old hen soup is the most delicious!" Chen Zhiyao nodded her head vigorously, her tone very cheerful.
The hen, which is over two years old, may be too tough to chew, but it's absolutely delicious when used to make chicken soup.
Chen Zhiyao took a nice afternoon nap. When she woke up, Grandpa Chen and Grandma Chen had already cleaned the old hen.
Grandma Chen then handed over the task of making the soup to Chen Zhiyao, the little glutton.
Cut the chicken into large pieces, add red dates, longan and goji berries, and put them all into a large earthenware pot.
Next, Chen Zhiyao washed the iron pot next to her.
Put a little oil in a pot, then stir-fry the dried scallops until golden brown, and then put them into an earthenware pot to simmer together.
Stir-fried dried scallops
After starting the soup in the earthenware pot, Chen Zhiyao took out her phone and saw that it was only 3 o'clock, not yet time for the tide to recede.
Just then, her older cousin texted her, saying he was going fishing at sea this Saturday and had reserved a spot for her.
Upon seeing the message, Chen Zhiyao immediately perked up and quickly sent a voice message asking:
"Brother, what time are we leaving? Is it at the village dock or the town dock?"
Within two seconds, a message arrived:
"We'll depart from the town's dock at 6 o'clock, and I'll pick you up around 5:30."
"Okay, okay, what should I bring?" It was Chen Zhiyao's first time going out to sea to fish, and she was very excited.
"There are fishing gear and bait on the boat, and lunch is served. Just bring yourself with you."
"I'll bring my own fishing tackle, and I'll also bring a few pounds of shrimp." My family owns a fishing tackle shop, so we have plenty of all kinds of fishing gear.
Soon, Chen Feng's cheerful voice came through the phone again, "Okay, you decide what to do."
"Let me tell you, I've been incredibly lucky lately. I caught a nearly 20-pound croaker on the breakwater," Chen Zhiyao said, starting to boast again.
"I saw your previous post on WeChat Moments. You're really amazing, little girl. Keep it up tomorrow, I believe in you!"
The brother and sister joked and teased each other for a while before Chen Zhiyao put her phone away and got up to tidy up the cage.
The broken floor cage from this morning has already been repaired by the skillful Yan Shuting.
Chen Zhiyao lined up the 12 fish traps in a row and then brought over the things she had bought that morning.
After sitting for most of the day, these things, which weren't very fresh to begin with, became even more invigorating.
Chen Zhiyao took a sniff and almost vomited.
Ah Huang actually liked the taste. The little guy wagged his big tail and jumped around her feet, almost tripping her.
Chen Zhiyao, annoyed that Ah Huang was in the way, helplessly took out two pieces of duck liver and tossed them to the greedy guy.
Two cages were placed for each of the following: duck liver, pig liver, pig intestines, pig lungs, and small miscellaneous fish.
The last two traps contained a mixture of various baits.
Chen Zhiyao really went all out this time; she spent tens of yuan just on these baits.
When I left, the chicken soup in the pot was almost ready, and the whole house was filled with a rich aroma.
Ah Huang, drooling, stood waiting expectantly at the kitchen door.
Chen Zhiyao divided the 12 fish traps into two groups of six.
Moreover, the bait inside every two sets of traps is exactly the same.
Pig intestines, pig lungs, pig liver, duck liver, small miscellaneous fish, and mixed bait.
Chen Zhiyao placed the first set of traps into six large water pits.
The remaining group was placed on the coral reef.
She made over two thousand yuan today, and since she was in a hurry to get back to drink chicken soup, she had even less interest in going beachcombing.
After setting the fish trap, Chen Zhiyao happily went home to drink soup as the sun set.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com