Lin Yan sat under the eaves with Yu Ge'er. Yu Ge'er embroidered a handkerchief, and he made small clothes for the baby in her belly.
I went to a cloth shop some time ago and bought some cloth, but I never had time to make it. Fortunately, I found some time to make it these two days. I made a few more small clothes for changing and washing, and also made more diaper rings, and prepared double for each.
"Brother-in-law, I'll make some clothes for my nephew, embroider some flowers or something." Yu Ge'er felt that it was time to show the results of his studies.
"I've torn off a lot of cloth. I really need your help. Otherwise, when the shop opens in a couple of days, I won't have time to do it." Lin Yan tied a knot at the end of the thread and bit it off with his teeth. He held up the small garment in his hand and looked at it from left to right. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it. It was so small and cute.
"Okay, I'll make two tiger-head hats in a couple of days. I estimate they'll be born around the turn of winter, so we need to be prepared."
"Just look at it, if you need anything, go buy it."
After making four small pieces of clothing in one afternoon, Lin Yan put everything away and put them back in his room.
"Brother Yu, I'm going to cook. Will you come over?" Lin Yan had never cooked the dishes he was making today before, so he wanted to ask Brother Yu to watch over him.
"Here I come!" Yu Ge'er put down his handkerchief and rushed into the kitchen.
Wash the meat bought today, put it all in a pot of cold water and prepare to blanch it. Brother Zhou said that adding some peppercorns would make it taste better, so Lin Yan bought a small bag to try.
Add scallion segments, white wine, ginger slices and peppercorns into the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Blood foam will float in the pot. Lin Yan scoops it into a bowl with a bamboo flute and pours it out after a while.
Chicken feet and wings need to be cooked twice, so after boiling out the blood foam, they can be taken out after boiling for a while. Chicken legs need to be boiled for a quarter of an hour until cooked through.
While the chicken legs were cooking, Lin Yan began to prepare the sauce. He chopped the onions, minced garlic, and red peppers, put them in a bowl, added soy sauce, aged vinegar, and hot sauce and mixed them well. Lin Yan also added a spoonful of chili oil. This chili oil was made by pouring hot oil over the chili powder made by Zhou Chunlan. Lin Yan made a jar of it and kept it for his father and mother to mix with the noodles when they cooked.
The sauce was ready and the chicken legs were cooked. Lin Yan took them out and put them in a bowl, planning to wait until they cooled down before tearing them.
He recalled the chicken feet stew Zhou Wanan taught him: first, chop off the nails of the chicken feet, then cut them in half, and then prepare the other ingredients.
Peel the carrots and dice them, and dice the onions. Since they didn't grow any at home, Lin Yan bought some at the market. He also bought some dried mushrooms from the sun, which he'd taken out early this morning and soaked in water. Now they were done, Lin Yan had Yu Ge'er rinse them thoroughly.
He chopped some more garlic, ginger, and dried chilies. Lin Yan searched the cupboard and found star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves.
Once everything is ready, you can start frying the chicken feet and wings. Put lard in a pan, heat the oil, add the chicken feet and wings and fry until the surface is slightly yellow, then set aside.
Leave a little oil in the pan and add ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, dried chili peppers, and Sichuan peppercorns. Then add onion and stir-fry until softened. Add carrots and mushrooms and stir-fry evenly.
Pour in the fried chicken feet and wings, add soy sauce and sugar, and stir-fry evenly to coat the ingredients with the seasoning. In order to make the color look good, Lin Yan added a little more soy sauce, which made Yu Geer grin, "Brother, is it salty?"
"No, we'll have to add water and simmer it later."
When the stir-fry was almost done, Lin Yan scooped two spoonfuls of water and poured it in, just enough to cover the ingredients. After boiling over high heat, he asked Yu Ge'er to remove a few pieces of firewood and turn to low heat to simmer for about fifteen minutes, until the ingredients were soft.
Lin Yan closed the lid and sat down to rest. Yu Ge'er followed suit, holding his chin with both hands and staring at the stove. Lin Yan chuckled, "We have to wait. Let's simmer the rice first."
Yu Ge'er finally came to his senses and smiled sheepishly. Lin Yan wasn't idle either, he stood up and started ripping the chicken leg into strips, not throwing away the bones, storing them in a bowl to use for soup and noodles tomorrow.
After the chicken legs are torn, pour in the previously prepared sauce and mix well. Finally, sprinkle with a handful of chopped green onions and coriander, and you're done.
Yu Ge'er looked at the prepared hand-shredded chicken curiously. He had never eaten it before.
"Brother Yu, the rice will be cooked soon. Put this dish in the steamer to heat it up."
Yu Ge'er agreed, and while Lin Yan wasn't paying attention, he quietly took a piece and quickly stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed it, and his eyes lit up instantly. It tasted so good!
Lin Yan also wanted to make some vegetable soup. The family had harvested a crop of mustard greens, which can be grown year-round and used to make sauerkraut. However, the pot was empty at the moment, so Lin Yan washed the greens and placed them in a dustpan to drain.
Zhao Shiyun went to the mountain to chop firewood again. As he came down the mountain carrying two bundles of firewood, he saw smoke rising from his house in the distance. He smiled slightly, thinking that Yan Ge'er must be making something delicious, and he could not help but quicken his pace.
When he thought it was almost done, Lin Yan lifted the lid. A fragrant and spicy aroma rushed in, and he quickly stepped back to hide. "Brother, is it ready? Is it ready?" Yu Ge'er asked repeatedly, unable to bear the aroma.
"It's almost done." Lin Yan first picked up a small piece of carrot to taste the saltiness. He added too much soy sauce just now. If the taste is good enough, there is no need to add salt.
"It's still a little bland." Lin Yan added salt and stir-fried it for a few times. Seeing that the juice was almost reduced, he sprinkled in a handful of chopped green onions.
Lin Yan particularly likes the aroma of chopped green onions. It feels like the aroma comes out instantly as soon as chopped green onions are added.
After serving the chicken feet, Lin Yan cleaned the pot and quickly made the mustard greens soup, beating an egg for seasoning. The rice was ready, too. Yu Ge'er placed a cloth on the rice and took out the hand-shredded chicken. It was juicy and red, and looked very appetizing.
The three people in the courtyard put down their work, washed their hands and prepared to eat without waiting to be called. When Lin Yan and Yu Ge'er brought out the dishes, the three of them sat down in a row.
Lin Yan couldn't help laughing, and Yu Ge'er laughed even more, making Zhao Qiming and Li Yuemei feel embarrassed.
"The aroma of this dish is so overpowering that I can't help it." Li Yuemei couldn't help but make amends.
"That's right, I couldn't help but eat secretly in the kitchen. Yu Ge'er couldn't help but explode. Zhao Shiyun rolled his eyes, "Okay, you eat secretly." Yu Ge'er stuck out his tongue at him.
The family sat together, looking at the chicken feet stew and hand-shredded chicken on the table, all with anticipation. Zhao Shiyun took a bite of a chicken wing, savoring it carefully. "Brother Yan, these chicken wings are so delicious, fragrant and spicy, soft and tasty."
Lin Yan smiled a little embarrassedly, "It's OK as long as it tastes good, eat more." Yu Ge'er also picked up a piece of hand-shredded chicken with chopsticks, chewing and mumbling, "The hand-shredded chicken made by my brother-in-law is also great, the sauce tastes just right." Zhao Qiming and Li Yuemei also picked up their chopsticks and kept praising it.
Lin Yan also particularly likes the chicken feet stew. The chicken feet and chicken wings are stewed until they are soft and tender, and they fall off the bones with just one bite. The carrots are also soft, tender and sweet.
Everyone ate with great enthusiasm, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. The family swept away all the delicious food on the table, still savoring the spicy flavor and looking forward to Lin Yan's next new dish.
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