"Xiaoya, come and learn from me."
After finishing their meal and seeing Widow Liu off, Zhiyin began soaking the crayfish in water with salt, waiting for about 20 minutes until they expelled the filth.
Then he took a small crayfish and taught Xiaoya how to prepare it.
Xiaoya couldn't help but swallow hard as she looked at the ferocious-looking, struggling crayfish, but she still mustered up the courage to grab it.
Curious, she held the crayfish by its hard shell and claws and asked, "Sister Yinyin, can we eat this crayfish? It's so hard! I've seen it before, but I've never dared to catch it."
"There's a pond not far from my house, and there are lots of them there too. I'll catch some for Sister Yinyin tomorrow!"
"That's right, it's edible."
The friend nodded excitedly, "This is a real treasure!"
"I'll make it for you to try when I have the chance."
Upon hearing the last sentence, she looked at Xiaoya's innocent and naive face and instantly smiled, "Okay, Xiaoya, then thank you in advance."
"It's nothing! I'm really happy to be able to help Sister Yinyin!"
Xiaoya's eyes were almost crinkled with laughter, and she was full of energy.
"Come on, we should clean the crayfish first."
"Then cut off the claws, cut off the shrimp head, and then remove the shrimp sac. But be careful not to cut the opening too big, or the shrimp roe will fall out."
Zhiyin patiently taught Xiaoya step by step.
Not only Xiaoya, but Yao Yulin and Zhihua also found it very novel and couldn't help but follow along and learn.
Is that so?
Xiaoya has a great memory and is very smart; she almost instantly clicked with her soulmate.
"Yes, Xiaoya is great. Then you see, the crayfish has three tails. Grab the middle tail and you can pull out the shrimp vein. Finally, pinch the shrimp dumpling and pull gently, and the shrimp gills will come out."
"That's it for one crayfish!"
"Just clean the rest one by one, just follow the same steps."
"Did you remember that? If you forget any step along the way, you can ask me."
After speaking gently, Zhiyin smiled and looked at the crayfish in Xiaoya's hand. Meeting her expectant yet nervous gaze, she took it directly.
"That's right, that's exactly it!"
Hearing the praise from a kindred spirit, Xiaoya breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes filled with the joy and happiness of being recognized.
Zhiyin then looked at the snails beside her, "And these are snails. First, you have to soak them in clean water for half a day to let them purge the mud and sand, then wash them four or five times to clean off the mud, and then cut off their tails..."
"However, this is not easy to clean properly for now, so let's leave it for later. You can focus on the crayfish first."
After all, she sells to regular customers, and cleanliness and hygiene are the most important things. She doesn't want anyone to eat dirty snails.
"OK."
After Xiaoya finished speaking obediently, she began to quietly prepare the crayfish.
Zhihua, worried that Xiaoya would be bored, studied beside her while chatting with her intermittently.
"Yinyin, are you selling crayfish tomorrow? Are you still selling sticky rice?"
"Are you still selling potato chips? I've already started frying them."
Yao Yulin sat to the side, rubbing her sore hands, and asked curiously.
Zhiyin smiled and said, "Of course we should sell them. We still have so many potatoes at home. After selling them for a while longer and earning more money, we'll buy a shop."
Actually, what she was hoping for was that during this time, it would be great if someone would be willing to pay her for the recipe for sticky rice or potato chips.
That way you can have an extra source of income.
"That's pretty good."
…
After Xiaoya cleaned the crayfish, it was already quite late. After seeing her off, Zhiyin and Yao Yulin and the others went to sleep.
The next morning, Zhiyin got up very early, and Yao Yulin also got up to help her prepare glutinous rice, sharing her burden.
For a connoisseur, all that's needed is to wash the snails, and then start heating the oil in a wok.
Heat the oil, add the crayfish and stir-fry for two or three minutes until they change color, then remove them from the oil.
Add dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, bay leaves, scallions, ginger, garlic, and salt to the oil in the pan and stir-fry. The pan should be on the salty side so that the flavors can penetrate better.
Once a rich aroma is released, add homemade chili sauce and stir-fry until the oil turns red, then add the crayfish.
Next, add soy sauce and wine to enhance the flavor and remove any fishy smell. Stir-fry a few times, then add water, cover the pot, and cook for about ten minutes.
"Wow, sister, it smells so good!!"
Zhihua sniffed the air, trying to get a better smell of the slightly pungent, yet slightly alcoholic, spicy crayfish. She was practically drooling.
"Haha, you little glutton, do you even know how to eat this?"
Zhiyin couldn't help but laugh when she saw that Zhihua and Yao Yulin both had the same eager and curious look.
Actually, she was also really craving them. "Wait a bit, let me stir-fry the snails, and then we can eat them together."
Having said that, he couldn't wait to start stir-frying snails.
Soon, the fragrant and spicy snails, which smelled delicious and were incredibly addictive, were also ready to be served.
"Eat the shrimp claws first, peel open the shrimp head to eat the shrimp roe, and finally peel open the shrimp shell to eat the shrimp tail."
With a smile and eagerness, Zhiyin peeled the shrimp in her hands while teaching the two how to peel shrimp correctly so that the meat inside could be used to the fullest extent.
"As for the snails, oh dear! I should probably use some toothpicks first!"
After finishing a crayfish, Zhiyin's eyes closed comfortably. Just as he was about to eat some snails, he realized he didn't have the tools.
He immediately found two more pairs of chopsticks and began to use a knife to shave it into thin pieces, bit by bit.
It was quite difficult. It took Zhiyin about ten minutes to whittle two pairs of chopsticks into about a dozen toothpicks. Since they were whittled by hand, they weren't very fine, but they were still usable.
“Draw, Mom, this snail is easy to catch. Just use a toothpick to pick up the meat inside, roll it up, and it will all come out.”
While explaining and demonstrating, Zhiyin also put snail meat into her mouth.
His eyes immediately narrowed. "Delicious, delicious, so flavorful!"
"As expected of me!"
Zhiyin was very satisfied with her cooking skills and gave herself a huge thumbs up without any hesitation.
Upon hearing this, Zhihua, who was completely captivated by the spicy and numbing aroma of the crayfish and was frantically showing off her meat, nodded vigorously.
"Sister, you're amazing! It smells so good! The crayfish meat is so tender, fresh, and unique. This is the first time I've ever eaten such delicious meat!"
Zhihua was hissing and praising wildly, her mouth already red from the spiciness.
But she just couldn't control her flamboyant style.
Yao Yulin couldn't help but nod repeatedly in amazement, "Sigh, I never thought this ugly thing could taste so good."
"What a pity! I missed out on so much before!"
She couldn't help but feel sorry for them, and at the same time felt that they were very foolish in the past, preferring to gnaw on tree bark rather than eat these strange and unusual things.
However, it's likely that if they weren't kindred spirits, they wouldn't know how to eat it, since the shell of the crayfish is quite hard.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
