Chapter 420: Doctor Pei Retires
That's it.
The days passed quickly and it was already the end of September.
It's autumn.
They saw off Liu Weiguo and Yang Hongping's family at the dock. The new political commissar had not arrived yet, so they had to wait a little longer.
After a series of work handovers, Doctor Pei Jun finally unloaded the burden on his shoulders and became just an ordinary retired old man.
However, he did not leave the island.
That was what Zhou Chongshan said to Jiang Rou one night.
At first, Doctor Pei's entire family joined the revolution. The war was brutal, and Doctor Pei's wife and son both died on the battlefield, leaving Doctor Pei alone.
This is also the reason why he has been reluctant to leave the barracks for so many years.
For a man without a home, the barracks is his home.
Doctor Pei treats every soldier as a family member and a relative.
Now that he is retired, he has to leave "home".
After listening to this, Jiang Rou felt sad and uncomfortable.
She asked softly, "Where will Doctor Pei go next? Is he going back to his hometown? Does he still have relatives there?"
Zhou Chongshan shook his head. "I have no relatives anymore. Old man Pei said that anywhere is home. This island is pretty good. He likes it and wants to stay."
The other side of this sentence is actually full of sadness.
The world is so big, but there is nowhere to go. It is better to stay on this island where seabirds live and treat it as home.
The army assigned me a house, and I was surrounded by familiar people, which made it feel cozy.
After retiring, Dr. Pei Jun made a request.
That means having a meal at Zhou Chongshan's house.
Doctor Pei's original words were: "It is said that the girl is a good cook and often brings you meals. I saved your life from the battlefield. I finally retired gloriously. Why don't you treat me to a meal to celebrate?"
Zhou Chongshan agreed and told Jiang Rou.
Jiang Rou nodded, "No problem, I will definitely make a sumptuous meal for Doctor Pei to eat his fill!"
Zhou Chongshan said, "Wife, I'm going to trouble you again."
Comes with a sticky kiss.
The nightlife after autumn begins.
The weather is getting cold, so we need to cover ourselves with a quilt to hide the spring scenery.
…
The next day.
In order to entertain Doctor Pei, Jiang Rou had to make good preparations.
Let’s start with the ingredients.
What a coincidence.
When Jiang Rou was going out, she saw some villagers carrying shoulder poles filled with taro that they had just dug out of the ground.
There is plenty of rain on the island, and the taro grown there is big and round, each one weighing at least three or four pounds.
The taro was just dug out and was very fresh. Not only was there soil on the taro, but also green taro stems and big leaves.
【Taro picture】
The leaves of taro are a bit like lotus leaves, large and emerald green, and can be used as umbrellas on rainy days.
When it is not raining, there will be drops of sparkling water hanging on it.
Looks particularly tender.
In addition to big taro, there are also small taro, each of which looks similar to an egg.
From the moment Jiang Rou saw the taro, she had an idea in her mind and decided what to make for dinner today.
——Taro dinner.
Firstly, taro is a seasonal vegetable and is at its best when it is in season.
Secondly, no matter how it is cooked, taro tastes soft and sticky.
Doctor Pei is an elderly man with somewhat bad teeth, so it is best for him to eat something soft and sticky.
Jiang Rou used a grain coupon and an oil coupon to exchange for a lot of taro from the villagers.
There are big taro and small taro.
When the villagers carrying the shoulder poles saw such a good opportunity, they not only happily agreed to the exchange, but also helped deliver the taro directly to Jiang Rou's home.
After a few exchanges, the other party became happy and Jiang Rou was spared the trouble.
As it was getting close to evening, Jiang Rou started preparing dinner early.
First things first: taro chicken.
Taro chicken is a Chongqing dish with a slightly oily and spicy taste.
Jiang Rou made some minor adjustments, changing it to a slightly spicy taste, making it more suitable for family consumption.
First, wash and cut the free-range chicken raised at home, add a little cooking wine and pepper, and marinate for later use.
Heat oil in a wok, add a few Sichuan peppercorns and sauté until fragrant, then pour in the marinated chicken.
Stir-fry the chicken until slightly charred.
Next, add the beaten garlic, dried chili peppers, and a spoonful of fermented black bean paste.
These ingredients are only secondary, the most important soul ingredient is - a piece of hot pot base.
The hot pot base is made from butter, which has a strong aroma and is mixed with various spices, which can greatly save the time of seasoning in daily cooking.
Even if you are a novice in the kitchen, you can make delicious meals as long as you have a piece of hot pot base.
What’s more, Jiang Rou is a good cook.
It also makes full use of the function of hot pot base to cook the food.
After the hot pot base comes into contact with the oil at the bottom of the pot and is initially sautéed, you can add water.
Add water quickly until it covers all the chicken.
First bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for a full thirty minutes.
After that, you can add taro and coarse salt to taste.
The second stewing also takes thirty minutes.
The first stewing is to make the chicken tender.
The second stewing is to allow the taro to absorb the soup and become soft and tender.
A red and fragrant taro chicken is ready.
【Taro Chicken with Pictures】
During the stewing process of taro chicken.
Jiang Rou was also busy making the second dish: steamed pork ribs with taro.
The ribs used are small ribs, which are first cut into lengths of three or four centimeters, and then washed in flour water.
Flour water has a certain adhesion and can absorb the dirt on the ribs.
After washing, drain the water, add a small amount of golden garlic sauce, cooking wine, and cornstarch to season and marinate.
This process takes about fifteen to twenty minutes.
During this time, Jiang Rou washed a large, round taro.
Cut off the outer black skin of the taro to reveal the pink and glutinous taro flesh.
Then cut into small cubes of 2cm x 2cm.
Jiang Rou is good at cutting, and each piece of taro is square, and when put together they look like they can be used to play mahjong.
Before steaming the taro, fry it lightly with a little cooking oil.
Fry the small square pieces of taro until both sides are golden brown.
Then place them one by one on the bottom of the plate and lay them out flat.
After doing all this, the ribs are already marinated.
Then put the marinated spareribs on top of the taro and start steaming.
The two ingredients are stacked together and cooked at high temperature. The fat in the upper ribs contains the flavor of the garlic sauce and seeps down drop by drop.
All of it is absorbed by the taro at the bottom, giving the ordinary taro a rich aroma.
The taro itself has been fried once and then steamed at high temperature until it becomes powdery. It tastes crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and is full of meaty flavor.
The taste is so soft, sweet and melt-in-the-mouth. Just thinking about it makes people drool.
【Steamed spareribs with taro illustration】