Chapter 153 Liangpi and Crystal Zongzi
The weather is getting hotter and hotter. A rack was built above the well, and it was covered with loofahs. They had just bloomed and formed fruit, and it would probably take another ten days or so before they could be eaten.
Su Ruojin said to the small plant climbing near the corridor, "Little Prince, in three years, I will treat you to grapes."
Three years? Zhao Lan thought, he would be sixteen and the young lady would be eleven, what would that be like? He got up from the recliner with great interest, crossed the patio, and walked to the well. The sunlight was blocked by the lush loofah vines, and it was cool and shady.
He looked at the short grape vines that were clinging to the small support and trying to grow upwards. It looked like in two or three years, they would provide shade for the well platform.
"Anything else?" He also wanted to plant grapes in his own yard, and when the fruits were ripe, he would invite the young lady to come over and eat them.
Su Ruojin shook her head. "Next spring, I'll ask Father Feng to bring them to you. How many do you want?"
"A few more."
"good."
Seeing that the two had almost finished their conversation, Lu Dani stepped forward and reminded them, "Second Madam, it's time to eat."
"Okay!"
The weather is hot, and in addition to various foods made with locust flowers, Su Ruojin also made jelly and cold noodles. When they are put on the table, it feels cool and pleasant. In addition to locust flower dumplings, Zhao Lan eats the most cold noodles.
Liangpi is thin and transparent, with a sour and spicy taste, making it especially suitable for consumption in summer.
How to make the cold noodles transparent? The Su family has never passed on this technique to outsiders. Zhao Lan likes to eat it, and Shuangrui has never asked for it. Su Ruojin plans to add this cold noodles to the barbecue stall tomorrow and teach Shi Liu the technique of washing noodles.
“So should we reduce the amount of barbecue?”
"Yes." Su Ruojin said, "In May and June, it's not too hot, so people don't have much appetite. We can reduce the heat-inducing barbecue and serve appetizers like cold noodles, which can also give diners around who are tired of barbecue a sense of freshness."
When mixing the cold noodles, you can add salt, vinegar, sesame paste, chili, cucumber shreds, bean sprouts, garlic juice and seasonal vegetables according to different tastes. It is estimated that many people will eat it.
After eating and digesting the food, Zhao Lan did not leave in a hurry. He sat in the corridor, either taking a nap or playing with Su Sanlang, as if today was a day off.
The Dragon Boat Festival is coming, and Su Ji Breakfast Shop has already served various kinds of rice dumplings.
Northerners like sweet rice dumplings, while southerners prefer salty ones. Su Ji’s breakfast has all kinds of flavors.
This year, Su Ruojin did not use the rice dumplings from the shop. Instead, she taught Lu Dani how to make them at home. The rice dumplings she made were the delicate crystal ones. In addition to eating them with her own family, she also gave them to neighbors, friends, Su Yanli's immediate superior, people close to the Su family, and so on.
While Zhao Lan was taking a rest in the corridor, Su Ruojin led Ding, Lu Dani, Mao Ya and others to gather around a wooden barrel to make rice dumplings together.
She chattered more and gave more instructions, but did little to wrap the dumplings. Most women are dexterous and skillful. Ding and Lu Dani wrapped the dumplings quickly and well, and in a short while they had made several flavors.
One kind of crystal rice dumpling is a Cantonese alkaline rice dumpling, which is clear yellow and translucent, and looks beautiful and textured. Su Ruojin added red bean paste in it, and it was sweet and chewy after being cooked. It was so sweet and sticky that you couldn't stop eating it after taking a bite.
Another type of crystal rice dumpling is made with tapioca rice. Although this thing is only available in later generations and is also called sago, it is a specialty of Indonesia. However, some tapioca rice is made from cassava flour and wheat starch. It is a processed rice that is shaped like pearls and is often used in making porridge, soups and snacks.
We don't have things like those from foreign countries, but we have tapioca flour and wheat starch. In April, Su Ruojin started preparing for the Dragon Boat Festival and made a lot of tapioca.
Sago has the effects of warming the middle and strengthening the spleen, treating weak spleen and stomach, and indigestion, and it also has the function of restoring the natural moisture of the skin. It is a favorite of women.
After the tapioca pearls were cooked, Su Ruojin would make some tapioca pearls soup for her family every now and then. It was sweet, sticky and refreshing, and everyone loved it. Today, she used it to make rice dumplings. When they were peeled open after being taken out of the pot, they were so crystal clear that they looked like works of art. How could she bear to eat them?
In the evening, the sun gradually sets, the sunlight loses its heat, and gently sprinkles on the roof and eaves, and falls on the green plants in the yard, adding a gentle color.
After waking up from a nap, Zhao Lan slowly opened his eyes. A gentle breeze blew and the rosy glow of the sunset shone on his face, casting a layer of warm color on his beautiful face. He looked as if he was floating in the air, not like a real person.
Su Ruojin was so busy that she couldn't move her feet. When she saw Shuangrui coming to fetch water, she asked, "Is your master awake?"
Shuangrui smiled and nodded.
She quickly peeled five small rice dumplings as if presenting a treasure, and placed them on a white porcelain plate and brought them out, "Little Prince, are you hungry? Have some snacks!"
Wake up in a good mood.
Zhao Lan seemed to be assimilated by Su Yanli. With a gentle smile on his face, he enjoyed Shuangrui washing his face and wiping his hands, while watching the young lady put the colorful little dumplings on the small table next to the recliner.
“Why is it transparent?”
The young lady seemed to be waiting for him to ask this question, and she asked back proudly, "Guess?" Her little face was playful, cute and very lively.
"Is it the same thing as rice noodle rolls and cold noodles?"
Su Ruojin shook her head. "That's chengfen, this is made from tapioca starch."
Zhao Lan looked at the small, long rice dumplings, with various colors oozing out from the middle: green, pink, egg yolk, purple, and black.
The green one, Zhao Lan knew it was vegetable juice, "What juice is used for the pink one?"
"Red Amaranth juice." This one is the most beautiful among the five colors, very eye-catching, and is also Su Ruojin's favorite.
"Oh." As he spoke, Shuangrui had finished helping his master wash up and left. Su Ruojin quickly used a bamboo stick to pick up a small pink rice dumpling and gave it to Zhao Lan, asking him to try it quickly.
The little rice dumplings were really small, and Zhao Lan swallowed them in one bite. They were not only sweet and sticky, but also very chewy, which made him particularly addicted. He ate all five of them in one breath. Some were filled with date paste, some were filled with red bean paste, and some were filled with taro paste. Each one was sweet and delicious, so delicious that he couldn't stop eating it.
He still wants to eat.
A pair of beautiful eyes between peach blossoms and phoenixes looked at the young lady earnestly, as clear and greedy as Su Sanlang's.
Su Ruojin: ...He is obviously older than her, so he is not her younger brother!
She deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Young prince, it's hard to control you. Besides, it's time for dinner, so eat first." After saying that, she left with the unquestionable aura of a patriarch, but in fact she was secretly patting her chest, thinking that the young man's lethality was great, and that young aunt could handle it.
Stay away from the evildoer immediately.
Zhao Lan lowered his head and smiled, dispelling the endless gloom like a warm little puppy.
After dinner, Zhao Lan took away all the rice dumplings that the Su family had made in the afternoon, forcing Su Ruojin to make them again.
Cheng Yingzhen was worried, "If we send it to the Fan residence, Mrs. Fan will probably ask for more."
"But there is not much tapioca pearls left." It will be too late to catch up.
Su Ruojin originally wanted to keep some of the tapioca pearls for making soup, but now she had to wrap them all up. There were not enough tapioca pearls in the rice dumplings, so she wrapped more alkaline rice dumplings, which were crystal clear and beautiful.
Zhao Lan brought the rice dumplings she had brought from the Su family and did not return home first, but went to her aunt's princess residence.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
