Pickled bean dregs is a specialty of Zongzi State. The Zongzi State was a tribal state established by the descendants of the Xia and Shang dynasties. It was isolated in a corner and attempted to restore the monarchy. Later, it was destroyed by Zi Kong, a famous general of the previous dynasty. Although it is still called the Zongzi State, it is actually just a county of the Great Chu.
Lin Dan didn't expect that someone knew about such a remote place, and even described in detail the production process of the local specialty. She couldn't help but look at the handsome man. The man looked at her and continued to eat his dry food.
The bacon slices in the pot have all been coated with a layer of pickled bean dregs. The rich oil continues to make crisp sounds after boiling and emits a rich aroma. Lin Dan retracted his gaze and said to the little girl squatting beside him, "You can pour the water now."
The little girl quickly poured the water in the clay pot slowly into the pot. As the water flowed together, the dish, which didn't look very good to begin with, became even more turbid. However, the pickled smell that rushed into the nose became much lighter, and instead the fragrance of the beans and the smoked aroma of the bacon were stimulated, bringing out the original flavor.
This change in smell was immediately blown away by the spring breeze and spread everywhere. The three men sitting not far away couldn't help but sniffing, and their originally dry mouths suddenly secreted a lot of saliva, and they were able to swallow the hard steamed buns smoothly without drinking water. But now when they look at the hard steamed buns, they feel like they can’t swallow them.
Lin Dan didn't care about some people's feelings at all. He seemed to think that the food in the pot was not delicious enough, so he added several seasonings and stirred slowly with a spatula. The soup was already boiling, bubbling with bubbles. The white vapor, carrying a domineering aroma, spread everywhere, attacking everyone's nose and taste buds.
The little girl swallowed her saliva and asked, "Master, the soup has been boiling for such a long time and you just added the peppercorns. Will it not be tasty enough?"
Lin Dan said slowly: "This is Sichuan pepper, not Sichuan pepper. Sichuan pepper tastes numbing, while Sichuan pepper tastes astringent. Cooking it for too long will make the food bitter, so it should be added later. The numbing taste of Sichuan pepper is actually more authentic than that of Sichuan pepper. There is no need to stir-fry it with oil. Just put it in boiling water and boil it for a quarter of an hour to stimulate the clear spicy taste."
The little girl nodded to show that she accepted the advice, and Lin Dan put the chopped bamboo shoots into the pot and cooked them for a while. Finally, he rolled up three or five washed wild onions and prepared to put them into the pot.
The little girl quickly grabbed her sleeve and asked in confusion, "Master, you once said that the most taboo in cooking is turbidity, why is your stewed bacon with pickled bean dregs so turbid? This dish already has a strong flavor, and you added this pungent wild onion. Don't make it so pungent that it will be inedible! I think the taste is good now and there is no need to add other seasonings."
Lin smiled at her and explained softly, "Do you remember the seasoning method I taught you? Strong-tasting dishes need to use the flavor enhancement method to highlight the richness of the dishes; light-tasting dishes need to use the flavor reduction method to highlight the freshness of the dishes; there are also mixing methods, flavor change methods, etc. What I am using now is the flavor enhancement method. I add the sour and spicy taste of pickled bean dregs to the smoked saltiness of bacon, and then add the spicy taste of Sichuan pepper. The sour, spicy and spicy tastes are slightly turbid. At this time, I add wild mountain onions, which add a slight sweetness, astringency and bitterness. In addition, the unique fragrance of wild onions is mixed with the pickled bean dregs. The strange smell of the dregs makes the dish layer by layer, and each layer adds flavor, which makes it a good dish. The so-called avoidance of turbidity does not mean that the less seasoning is used, the better, but that the more distinct the flavor is, the better, and the emphasis is on the layers, not the appearance. Moreover, the flavors can increase and decrease each other, the sour taste can reduce the saltiness, and the saltiness can increase the sweetness, which is also very wonderful. Therefore, when I stir-fried this dish, I never boiled the bacon in boiling water, because the sour taste of the pickled bean dregs will weaken the saltiness of the bacon, and the taste will be light if it is blanched in water. You should also pay attention to this in the future. "
As Lin Dan spoke, he put the wild onions into the pot and stirred it gently. The bean dregs soup, which had been a mess, suddenly turned white, red, and green. The colors became very beautiful, and an indescribable strong aroma spread all around.
The little girl slurped her saliva and exclaimed: "Master, you are really amazing! After adding the wild onions, the taste of this pot of soup is really different! The taste of the same pot of food has changed three times. If you hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have thought that you could do this."
Lin Dan chuckled and said, "Then let me test you, why do you put bamboo shoots in there?"
"Bamboo shoots and bacon are meant to be cooked together, so they taste better." The little girl had just started learning how to cook and was still in a confused stage.
Lin Dan patiently explained: "Pickled bean dregs and bacon are both pickled vegetables. Although they taste good, they have one biggest disadvantage, which is that they lack freshness. These bamboo shoots are used to enhance the freshness and make up for the lack of flavor. Try it. After adding the bamboo shoots, do you feel a fresh flavor on your tongue?"
Lin Dan scooped a little soup with a spoon and handed it to the little girl's mouth.
The little girl took a sip and immediately gave a thumbs up: "It's really delicious! Master, you made this dish come alive!"
Lin Dan smiled and shook his head, then shouted to the servants who were already drooling all over the floor: "Okay, everyone can eat now."
"It's time to eat! Hurry and bring the bowls and chopsticks!" The people who had gathered around quickly served their rice and dishes as quickly as possible and started to eat. There was a chorus of clinking sounds from chopsticks hitting bowls and dishes, as well as the slurping sounds of food being rolled up by tongues and the gulping sounds of food being swallowed. Everyone ate so eagerly that they looked as if they had been hungry for days.
The little girl ate until her forehead was sweating and her cheeks were red. She couldn't help but sigh, "Master, since you got sick, we haven't had a full meal for a long time. We are used to eating the food you cook, so eating anything else is really tasteless."
Lin Dan rubbed her head with a doting look in his eyes. He ate a few bites and then got in the car and lay down. She hasn't recovered from her illness yet. Because of the smoke and fire just now, her throat started to hurt again.
The two sturdy men sitting not far away could no longer swallow their steamed buns while Lin Dan was cooking. They stretched their necks to look into the big pot. Even the cold-hearted leader couldn't help but look in several times, and swallowed the steamed buns slower and slower. When Lin Dan began to describe the seasoning method of this dish, he could no longer eat the steamed bun. He simply threw away the water bag and pricked up his ears to listen.
Lin Dan's voice was slow and gentle, and her choice of words and sentences was very vivid and vivid. Even if you couldn't see the food in the pot clearly, just by listening to her description and then smelling the food, you could imagine how wonderful this pot of pickled bean dregs stewed with bacon tasted. When the servants began to scramble for food, this imagination became reality, causing the three men's stomachs to rumble like drums, their mouths to salivate, and waves of hunger to attack them.
"Damn it, I can't stand it anymore!" The sloppy strong man wiped the corners of his shiny mouth fiercely with his sleeves.
"With such a big pot of food, do you think they can finish it?" another strong man asked hopefully.
The handsome man did not answer, but his phoenix eyes stared at the big pot uncontrollably, his Adam's apple moving slightly, as if he was swallowing saliva.
The three of them were silent for a while, and saw the people over there putting their chopsticks into the pot one after another, picking up bacon and bamboo shoots, bamboo shoots and wild onions, and finally scooping out the bean curd dregs soup to mix with the rice. They suddenly couldn't sit still.
"Zhao Laoliu, go ask them if they have any extra food, and we can buy some with money." The sloppy man poked his companion with his elbow.
Zhao Liu cursed in a low voice: "Why the hell don't you go?"
"Didn't I just scold that boy? I also want to save face!"
"Luo Tietou, if you want face, I don't want it?" As soon as the words fell, a gust of wind blew the rich aroma of food over. The spicy, sour and spicy flavors mixed with the smoked and salty bacon gave you a satisfying feeling before you even put it in your mouth. It was simply fascinating!
"Damn it, I don't want this face anymore, I'm going to go and ask!" Zhao Liu immediately threw away his face and ran over with two taels of silver.
The servant who had been ruthlessly rejected and mocked by the two men before took great effort to lift his face from the bowl and rolled his eyes and said, "How can we not finish such a small amount of food for the six of us?"
"Can't we just buy it with our own money?" Zhao Liu took out two taels of silver and smiled very flatteringly. The firewood keeps burning, the soup keeps boiling, and it smells so delicious! As soon as he got close to the big pot, he could hardly walk and his saliva kept flowing.
"No." The servant walked around him to the pot, scooped out a few slices of bacon, some bamboo shoots and wild onions, and shoveled them into his mouth, not having time to talk.
Zhao Liu stared at his shiny mouth with a pitiful expression.
As if he felt that his subordinate was somewhat embarrassed, the handsome man ordered in a deep voice: "Come back."
Zhao Liu looked at the servant's rice soup, then looked at the boiling pot, and then returned reluctantly. The three of them picked up the water bags and filled them with water. They were full of water without knowing why, and their mouths felt even more tasteless. After sitting for a while, each of them urinated, and the water they drank was immediately gone. The three of them became even hungrier, and their eyes turned green as they stared at the big pot.
The servant felt uneasy at the stares from the men, and could not help thinking: We will go our separate ways tomorrow, and these three people may be of use in the afternoon and evening, so why not give them some alms? So he scooped out the remaining meat slices and soup with a spatula, put them in a large bowl, and said loudly: "There is still some stew left, do you want some?"
"Yes, yes, yes, thank you very much, little brother!" Zhao Liu, who was feeling uneasy, ran over as fast as he could. Although the other two tried their best to cover it up, their Adam's apples still moved uncontrollably.
The soup that is boiled to the end is the essence. The bacon is already cooked and the bean dregs are half-melted. It doesn't look very good, but the taste is amazing. Break the steamed bun into a bowl and put it in the bowl to absorb the juice, then take a big bite. The dry and hard taste will be immediately replaced by the soft, sour, salty, spicy and fragrant taste, which makes you want to swallow your tongue.
The three grown men were huddled together with their heads touching each other. Each of them held a piece of steamed bun and dipped it in the soup. They also put the bacon between two pieces of steamed bun and ate it eagerly with big mouthfuls. At the end, there was a little soup base left. The handsome man glared at the other two, and they didn't dare to move. They watched with tears in their eyes as their leader broke the steamed bun into pieces and threw it into the bowl, then ate it all up in gulps.
When Zhao Liu returned the bowl, the surface was all red. It was because the bowl was too clean, even shinier than one that had been washed with water.
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