After making sure everything was crushed and mixed evenly, I ladled it into a large basin and, like the aunties and wives here, sat cross-legged on the kang (heated brick bed).
Grab a handful of red bean paste, put it in your hand, and roll it into a ball slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball. The key is to gradually tighten and squeeze it during the rolling process, and then put it in an empty bowl on the side.
This also prevents the package from falling apart before we even start wrapping it, or from being crushed by the top later, which would be quite a mess.
Miss Jian had never done this before. This was a complete copy from the book, and with the advice she received from Third Grandmother a few days ago, she was quite satisfied. It was her first time doing it, and there was no waste. It was pretty good.
Clutching it in my hand, with a tablet I dug out of the base still on the table, playing my favorite movies and TV shows, ah, simple and beautiful, isn't this life pretty good?
As a beginner, I was slow and my hands were not yet skilled. By bedtime, I had only managed to squeeze out half of the bean paste, leaving more than half a basin of loose bean paste.
I was too lazy to cook anymore. Boiling bean paste would burn too much firewood, and the kang (heated brick bed) was still too hot to sit on. So I simply took out a bowl of old-fashioned hot and sour noodles from my storage space and ate it with the sweet bean paste. Surprisingly, I ate my fill.
I glanced at the basin; the kang (heated brick bed) was warm, so the dough was rising quickly. It had already risen in the middle of the afternoon.
Today's ordeal has been exhausting. I'm all warmed up on the heated kang bed, and this bowl of hot and sour noodles has warmed my stomach, so I don't want to move at all.
I simply packed everything up at the base and went to sleep!
Go to bed early and get up early.
I got up at around 7 a.m. the next day, washed up, and continued working.
Perhaps because I am more efficient in the morning, by nine o'clock, when the sun was up, I had finished the last simple bean paste filling.
I had just brought over the risen dough, and before I could even reach for it, there was a knock on the door, accompanied by shouts.
"Jian Zhiqing, Jian Zhiqing,"
Simple and helpless, she got up and went out to open the door. Li Yanlin and Zhao Di entered and asked,
"Why are you staying home so obediently today?"
I simply rolled my eyes.
"It's not like I'm never home. How did you all end up here?"
"I've been thinking about that pot since early this morning, so I thought I'd come over and let you know. Let's get together tonight."
"What's wrong? You guys had nothing to do during the day?"
Li Yan waved her hand.
“The three of us have moved into one room now, so firewood isn’t so scarce in winter. Tan, the educated youth, was packing his things, and we didn’t want to keep an eye on him, so we came out.”
"Perfect, perfect," Jian Dan said, embracing the newcomer as they entered the house.
"Perfect timing, I'll come and help."
"Sure, no problem, but what did you do this time?"
She was stunned as soon as she entered the room. Even the usually quiet Lin Zhaodi took a few quick steps and rushed to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Did you make steamed buns?"
On the small kang (heated brick bed), there was a large bowl of freshly made bean paste, and next to it was a large bowl of fermented sticky dough, which was golden yellow.
A large curtain made of sorghum stalks was placed on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and several more stood by the wall. It was clear that Jian Dan had made ample preparations.
Lin Zhaodi could tell at a glance that this was a child who worked at home. Look at how skilled she was: taking off her coat, smoothing her hair, washing her hands, getting on the kang (a heated brick bed), and sitting cross-legged. Her movements were so smooth that Jian Dan and Li Yan were stunned.
"Aren't you coming up? Hurry up, the more people, the faster we can pack."
"But Jian Zhiqing, why didn't you call us when you had work to do? How long are you going to finish wrapping this huge bowl of noodles by yourself?"
Jian Dan went back to the kitchen to add some firewood, then sat back down on the kang (heated brick bed). Li Yan also sat on the kang, and the three of them stood together.
The kang (heated brick bed) wasn't big, but it was enough for people to squeeze in and squeeze together.
When she encountered someone she knew well, Lin Zhaodi became more talkative.
"How do you want it frozen? Freeze it raw like this, or steam it first and then freeze it?"
This is something that someone from out of town really doesn't know the answer to; she humbly asked for guidance.
What's the difference?
"When the bamboo mat is full, take it out and it will freeze completely in two or three hours. After knocking it off, you can put it directly into a bag or a large vat and leave it outside or in the woodshed. When you want to eat it, just pick out a few, put them on the bamboo mat and steam them."
It's also convenient to cook them. After wrapping them, you can steam them directly on a large bamboo mat, then put them outside to freeze. Once frozen solid, they can be easily broken into pieces of different sizes by dropping them, making them easy to store.
However, the raw one cannot be subjected to heavy pressure or placed in a warm place, as it is easily crushed. It is also prone to cracking if exposed to too much wind.
If you want to steam more at once, that's fine too. Use some corn husks from the middle layer—they're clean and large—and wrap the bean buns two at a time upright. Arrange them in groups like this in the pot, and two batches will be ready in the time it takes to steam one batch. Plus, they're easy to handle after freezing; the two buns from each corn husk will automatically stick together, making them easy to store in pairs.
Jian Dan and Li Yan were both stunned.
Simple is something she has never experienced before, but she always feels like she's experiencing life firsthand.
"I didn't know you knew how to do this. I was planning to try it myself, and if it didn't work, I would go to Third Grandma and ask her to teach me."
But Li Yan was completely convinced.
"How do you know so much? Do you make steamed buns at home too?"
Lin Zhaodi's hands moved very quickly, and the dumplings she made were perfectly round and looked very appealing.
"It's not difficult. You'll know once you try. There's no technical skill or experience required, and it's not tiring at all. It's all about experience."
My family used to buy some sticky rice cakes during Chinese New Year a couple of years ago; my dad likes to eat them.
Kidney beans are easy to get, but the glutinous rice flour is expensive and the coupons are scarce. We only make some during the Chinese New Year to satisfy my dad's craving.
In rural areas, making bean buns is a tradition that begins with the Lunar New Year.
The two friends gave heartfelt praise.
"You're amazing!"
Lin Zhaodi smiled shyly and asked, "Simple?"
"Are you planning to put it in grain sacks or in large vats?"
Simply put, I'll just put it in my space.
"I'll put them in the jar. But I still need to mail some to my sister and uncle, so I guess there won't be many left. I'll just put them all in anyway."
"If it's for mailing, I think it's more convenient to use a familiar one. After all, it's very likely to get crushed along the way, right? Raw food is just not as durable as cooked food."
I didn't know, but I happily accepted the suggestion.
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
With an experienced person leading Li Yan, a semi-experienced one, and Jian Da, a complete novice, things progressed quite quickly, albeit with some lighthearted banter.
"This stuff is really filling. If you eat it in the morning, you won't be hungry until the afternoon."
To put it simply, it's because it's filling, and because glutinous food is hard to digest.
The two laborers naturally needed to be fed, so there was no need to go to any more trouble. The freshly cooked sticky rice cakes were sweet and glutinous, and the bean filling was also very fragrant. Paired with a pot of egg drop soup, Li Yan and Lin Zhaodi ate to their hearts' content.
This meal featured rare treats like steamed buns and eggs, and the two of them were incredibly energetic, working against the clock. Jian Dan was stunned when she returned from the kitchen.
"You two, take it easy. This isn't about earning work points, why are you working so hard?"
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