Chapter Forty-Four: Paper-Wrapped Shumai
After finishing her meal, Yu Miaoyin opened another pomelo. She peeled it completely. When she was little, she would use these pomelo peels to make lanterns. She would cut a few triangles or carve out a few hearts around the peel, then light a candle or put a small nightlight in the center, and a very simple lantern would be made.
"The skin is a little bitter, don't bite into it." Yu Miaoyin helped peel off the skin, revealing the plump and glistening flesh. She handed it to Xiao Tangbao, "Try it, it'll cleanse your palate."
"It's sweet," Xiao Tangbao said, her mouth moving constantly. She liked the taste of pomelo.
Yu Miaoyin also tried a piece. The pomelo was very juicy. One bite and the sweet juice would overflow from her mouth. The flesh was also very chewy. After eating it, a faint pomelo fragrance lingered in her mouth.
"Here, I've peeled it for you, eat more," Yu Miaoyin said, handing the peeled fruit to Xiaotangbao.
Little Tangbao said with bright eyes, "Thank you, sister! Let's eat together, we want to share!"
“Okay,” Yu Miaoyin said.
The next day was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the small restaurant was closed for the day. Actually, other restaurants would have opened during the festival to make a lot of money. But Yu Miaoyin's restaurant was located near the high school gate, and all the small restaurants and noodle shops across from the school were closed; the students were on holiday, and so was she. Although her customers weren't limited to those from the high school, she also wanted to give herself a break.
But her biological clock still made Yu Miaoyin wake up at seven in the morning. Xiao Tangbao woke up even earlier than her and had already finished washing up.
"So early? Are you hungry?" Yu Miaoyin said, taking out mooncakes. "Would you like to eat some mooncakes to fill your stomach? I'll make you shumai today."
Upon hearing that there would be shumai today, Xiao Tangbao's eyes lit up. "I'm not hungry at all right now!"
"Okay, then let's save room for breakfast," Yu Miaoyin said. She believes that the day begins in the morning, and she loves to eat hot buns, dumplings, steamed buns, and noodles in the morning, as hot food gives her energy. However, she usually has to take Xiaotangbao to school and run her own shop, so she doesn't have much time to do these things. Today, she happened to have some free time, so she thought she would make some shumai to try.
Add some salt to the flour to increase its elasticity, then slowly add warm water while stirring. After stirring until it forms clumps, knead it into a smooth dough, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for a while.
The glutinous rice had already been soaked and was being cooked in a pressure cooker. While the dough was still rising, she diced the shiitake mushrooms, sausages, and pork. First, she sautéed the pork belly until fragrant and the fat was rendered, then she added the diced sausages and stir-fried them until fragrant. The salty aroma of the sausages and the rich, fatty aroma of the pork collided together, creating an exceptionally enticing fragrance.
Grandma Chen was watering her plants when she smelled the odor and lost focus for a moment, almost killing her own flowers.
Xu Ruian was still asleep when he suddenly smelled a wonderful fragrance, so strong that he almost fell over. After a moment, he realized it wasn't a dream; the fragrance was real, not fake. He quickly got out of bed, his mind still foggy, wondering, "Did Grandpa get another cheat code today?"
Unexpectedly, Grandpa was also staring outside like a statue, muttering, "This smells so good!"
After stir-frying the ingredients, Yu Miaoyin took out the steamed glutinous rice and mixed it with the stir-fried seasonings. The prepared fillings looked especially tempting.
"Sister, my mouth is watering, it smells so good!" Little Tangbao said, clinging to the edge of the table, her eyes shining brightly.
"We'll be able to eat it soon." Yu Miaoyin said, grabbing a ball of the mixed filling and setting it aside. Then she placed the filling in the middle of the rolled-out dough and wrapped it up like a bun.
The dough was rolled very thin, and even under the uncooked outer layer, you could still see the distinct grains of glutinous rice tightly packed together, plump and round.
Yu Miaoyin put the shumai into the pot to steam.
It would take a few minutes to steam until cooked, so Yu Miaoyin opened the door to let the air circulate. At that moment, Grandma Chen was doing stretching exercises at the door, and Grandpa Xu was gazing into the distance. The sounds outside were already as lively as birds chirping.
"Good morning, Xiaotang, you're up so early today?" Grandpa Xu asked, his eyes peering inside, his nose twitching slightly. As soon as Xiaoyin opened the door, the aroma of shumai became even stronger.
Xu Ruian also greeted Yu Miaoyin and Xiao Tangbao: "Hello, sister. Hello, little sister."
“Yes, I usually wake up around this time, I’m used to it.” Yu Miaoyin said, looking at Grandpa Xu’s expression and wanting to laugh a little.
"Grandpa, do you want to eat the shumai I made? I'll share some with you later."
Grandpa Xu admitted that he was really craving something, but he was too embarrassed to take anything from Xiaoyin. He waved his hand and said casually, "No, no, I'm just here to digest my breakfast. I really don't need anything."
After he finished speaking, Zhou Gui came back and said, "Dad, here's the rice noodle roll you ordered."
"I'm having rice noodle rolls today, so I'll save the shumai for you and Xiaotangbao. How could I possibly freeload? That would be too much of a burden," Grandpa Xu awkwardly corrected himself.
Yu Miaoyin made quite a lot of shumai. Before she made them, she had already thought about sharing some with Grandpa Xu and Grandma Chen's family.
"It's alright, I made plenty, you won't miss a bite," Yu Miaoyin said, and went back to the kitchen.
Zhou Gui said, "Xiao Yin is such a nice person."
Xu Changxing, rubbing his hands together, said, "Yes, yes, we can eat shumai again today. I'm so hungry!"
Zhou Gui tapped Xu Changxing on the head with a rice noodle roll, "You're such a sweetie, always thinking about food. Doesn't Xiaoyin get tired of making this?"
Grandpa Xu agreed, saying, "We shouldn't accept things from Xiaoyin without having done anything right."
"Why don't you send me over to wash the dishes? I can help her out," Xu Changxing said. He would do anything for food.
Yu Miaoyin lifted the lid of the pot. The shumai inside were already steamed, piping hot, and the aroma of glutinous rice mixed with the fragrance of meat and mushrooms wafted up, with a savory scent faintly permeating the steam. After steaming, the shumai's skin was almost transparent, revealing the distinct grains of glutinous rice sandwiched with diced sausage and mushrooms. The outer skin was translucent, and the glutinous rice inside was so plump it seemed about to burst open…
"It smells so good! I'm so hungry, sister!" Little Tangbao was also very excited.
Yu Miaoyin took out a few and gave them to Grandpa Xu and the others, saying, "Here, these are some shumai for you, not many."
Grandpa Xu's eyes widened in amazement. Just looking at the glossy, plump appearance, the thin skin and generous filling, so translucent it looked like a cicada's wing, and the aroma wafting into his nose, made his mouth water.
"Xiaoyin, I really don't know how to thank you enough. I'll give you money. You always bring things to our family, and we can't accept such kindness!" As he spoke, Grandpa Xu reached out to give Yu Miaoyin some money.
"Really, there's no need for that. You've all taken good care of me and Xiaotangbao. I'll remember it all."
Xu Changxing quickly raised his hand and said, "Xiaoyin, if you're ever too busy running your shop, I'll help you. I'm happy to be your assistant. Thank you for the shumai!"
Xu Ruian quickly added, "Me too! I can wash dishes at home, and you can ask me for help too, sister."
"Okay, thank you all," Yu Miaoyin said. She had only given her four shumai, but it felt like she had saved someone's life.
After delivering the first batch, Yu Miaoyin also delivered some to Grandma Chen's house. Grandma Chen said that Yiling's parents hadn't come home yet, and she only needed two, and the rest could be given to the children. She couldn't take more.
After making some excuses, Yu Miaoyin didn't insist any further.
On the way back, Xiao Tangbao asked, "Sister, do you think they'll envy me?"
"What do you envy?" Yu Miaoyin asked, somewhat puzzled.
"I envy you for having an older sister who can cook such delicious meals." Little Tangbao held Yu Miaoyin's hand. She loved her older sister so much; her older sister was the best older sister in the world.
Yu Miaoyin handed her the slightly cooled shumai. She thought about it and thought it might be true, after all, she also thought her cooking was delicious.
"Is the shumai delicious?" Yu Miaoyin asked her.
Little Tangbao took a big bite, and the soft, chewy shumai sank in half, revealing the glutinous rice and filling inside. The glutinous rice was soft and sticky, and you could see the diced sausage and shiitake mushrooms mixed in, all of which had darkened in color. An even richer aroma wafted out from the bite.
Her mouth was moving, one side of her mouth puffed out like a little hamster, and she kept nodding as she ate, "Delicious, delicious, everything you make is delicious, sister."
She really loved this siu mai; it was oily and moist, the glutinous rice was very chewy, and the sausage bits and shiitake mushroom pieces inside were all coated with the aroma of oil.
Yu Miaoyin also tried one. The salty and savory flavor overflowed from her lips and teeth. The texture was exceptionally firm. The diced shiitake mushrooms and sausage pieces inside added a new texture to the shumai, making it very flavorful.
Grandpa Xu's family didn't even want to eat rice noodle rolls; instead, they each carried bags of shumai like precious antiques. Grandpa Xu carefully took a bite, first tasting the subtle aroma of the outer skin, which was chewy, followed by the soft and sticky glutinous rice with its fragrant steamed aroma. The diced Chinese sausage was savory and fragrant, the oil soaking into the glutinous rice, adding a touch of richness, and the unique aroma of the diced shiitake mushrooms blended in, spreading out with the salty and savory seasonings. The flavors were layered, perfectly balanced, and left a lingering aroma in the mouth after eating.
He couldn't bear to take a big bite, afraid that he would finish it too soon. Grandpa Xu took small bites one by one. In the end, he bit his own finger. He blamed himself for eating too seriously. After finishing the shumai, Grandpa Xu felt empty.
Xiao Tangbao especially loved eating shumai. She ate several, and by the end, her belly was bulging and round.
The two leaned back in their chairs, where an animated cartoon was playing, and a children's song was playing: "Delicious food, awesome, awesome, awesome."
Little Tangbao hummed along, "Delicious food, awesome!"
The lyrics also include the line, "Delicious food is like the sun, shining on our growth..."
Xiao Tangbao nodded in agreement. After watching the episode, Xiao Tangbao's belly seemed to have shrunk a little. Yu Miaoyin thought she was so cute, like the little lambs in the cartoon.
"Little Tangbao, your older sister is going to the market. Do you want to come with me?" Perfect, it'll help you digest your food.
“Go! I’m so happy doing anything when I’m with my older sister.” Xiao Tangbao immediately jumped up and tidied her hair.
The two went out together, and when they were almost at the entrance of the small restaurant, Yu Miaoyin clearly heard two voices—
"Why aren't they here yet? If they wait any longer, I'm going to beat them up."
"Me too... Where did our boss go? Waaaaah, I miss her so much!"
Yu Miaoyin paused and looked towards the small restaurant.
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