Go back to the valley to farm

Chapter 7 Pickled Fish

Chapter 7 Sauerkraut Fish
Putting the phone back into his trouser pocket, Li Junge started to open the sauerkraut jar and scooped out the sauerkraut.

Pickled cabbage, known as 菹 in ancient times, has its name in "Zhou Li". It is a method invented by ancient ancestors to preserve vegetables for a long time. It can be taken out and eaten in seasons when fresh vegetables are scarce. Later, it developed into a flavor food in various places. .

Sauerkraut is rich in vitamin C, amino acids, dietary fiber and other nutrients. In addition, it adopts the storage method of the dominant flora of lactic acid bacteria, and contains a large amount of lactic acid flora, which can regulate the digestive system of the human body.

For people in Shudu, sauerkraut has a salty and sour taste, crisp and tender taste, bright golden color, tangy aroma, appetizing and refreshing, can increase appetite and help digestion, and is an indispensable ingredient on the table.

The sauerkraut in Shudu is made from fresh mustard greens that come on the market in large quantities in autumn. First cut the whole mustard greens in half, then put them in the sun to dry them to [-]% dry, add salt, knead the inside and outside to get the juice, and cut each half of the mustard greens. Wrap a few mustard greens with fresh peppers, ginger slices, and peppercorns tightly into small handfuls, and put them one by one into the sauerkraut jar with a water edge, and then pour in the leftover pickled sauerkraut in previous years. Water, throw in some rock sugar, add some cold boiled water or mountain spring water for marinating.

The kimchi jars in Shudu are very distinctive. They all come with a rim, and water is usually added to the rim to ensure that the water level will always submerge the lid to isolate the air and play a good sealing role.The sauerkraut jar in Li Junge’s house is more than one meter high, and can hold dozens of catties of sauerkraut at a time. The chopsticks used to pick up sauerkraut are one meter long.

Making sauerkraut is easy to say, and every family in the rural areas of Shuzhou has it; it is difficult to say, because to make pickled sauerkraut neither salty nor bland, crisp and delicious, it must be moderately salted and sugared, dry and wet, and placed neither tight nor loose , it all depends on the experience accumulated over the years.

The sauerkraut in Li Junge’s family is all made by grandma herself. The old man’s pickling technique is a good handicraft from all over the world. The spring water from the back mountain of his own home is used, and the flavor is very delicious.

Li Junge opened the mouth of the altar, and a sour smell rushed towards him. He immediately felt the saliva flowing from his cheeks into his mouth. He smashed his mouth, took out two handfuls of golden sauerkraut, and quickly replaced the lid.

Open the handle of sauerkraut, let the leaves stretch out, wash them in clean water, tear the leaves into long strips along the veins, keep the stems as they are, and place them neatly on the chopping board. into thin slices.

After processing the sauerkraut, start to kill the fish. Cut open the big grass carp and wash it, remove the fish meat on both sides, cut the fish head in half, chop the fish bones into pieces, and then cut the two fish meat obliquely into thin slices, with the meat and bone each Put it in a pot and take it into the kitchen with sauerkraut.

Shi Sufen had just finished frying the fried garlic and sweet potatoes, and was starting the pot. Seeing this, she said to Li Junge: "Yaoer, you should taste the fish first, and my mother will not be able to handle it."

Li Junge said: "Okay." Sprinkle salt on the fish meat and fish bones, pour some cooking wine and pepper, grab a handful of minced ginger and throw it in, and beat two eggs, only use the egg white, and put the yolk aside for later Make scrambled eggs with tomatoes, then start scooping up the fish to glaze them.

After finishing all this, Li Junge sat at the stove door watching the fire, throwing a handful of firewood into it from time to time.I also grabbed a handful of dried chilies and roasted them on the stove.

Shi Sufen made a few more side dishes before starting to cook the fish.

Shovel a large piece of lard and melt it in the pot, then add ginger slices, garlic slices, and scallion white to fry the pot. After the aroma is released, pour the sauerkraut into it and stir fry, then add water, cover the pot and cook on high heat.

Open the lid after a few minutes, the smell of sauerkraut soup has filled the kitchen, then add the fish head first, then add the fish bones after it is half-cooked, cook for a few minutes and then take it out of the pot, leaving only the soup in the pot .After the soup is fully boiled, slide the fish slices in and cut it apart. After the fish soup is opened again, take it out of the pot, sprinkle with chopped green onion, throw a few green peppercorns, pour a small ladle of boiling oil on it, and a strong fragrance will come out. The sauerkraut fish is ready.

Shi Sufen carried the big pot of sauerkraut fish to the main room, and at the same time told Li Junge to turn off the fire and wash his hands to eat.

Li Junge covered the stove fire with ashes, closed the stove door, and poured a few ladles of cold water into the pot to warm it up for washing dishes later.

Pick up the dried chili from the stove. The chili has been baked until it is half dry and half mushy. Grate it with your hands and put it into a small bowl. Add chopped green onion, salt, and chicken essence, and take the small bowl into the main room. Put the small bowl Put it on the dining table and scoop a spoonful of pickled fish soup into it. This is the spicy sauce with unique flavor of pickled fish paste.

Li Siqi was squatting in front of the cupboard to pick out wine. In addition to some commercial wine, there were more than a dozen glass jars of sparkling wine, including various fruits, herbs, and snakes.

After picking for a while, he took out a jug of bright red wine, which was full of small dark red spherical fruits, and said: "The weather is also a bit hot. The wild plums in the mountains last year were good, and the plum wine soaked in it is just right for drinking now." .”

Li Junge took a porcelain bowl, took over the wine jar and poured out about four taels, adding some rock sugar to melt it.

The wild plum wine is only sour but not sweet. After adding rock sugar, it becomes sweet and sour. It also has a special fragrance of fresh red bayberry, which is very palatable.People who don't know how to be strong often drink too much without knowing it, and when the stamina surges up, they will be completely drunk.

Li Junge took out four cups, two large, two small, and added a small cup to grandma and mother, and the rest was shared equally between father and himself.

The family started eating.

Li Junge raised the cup and respectfully said, "Fortunately, my grandma is in good health, and my parents are also well. In recent years, I have always come and gone home in a hurry. It seems that I haven't been able to accompany you well after graduating from university. Quit the current job, prepare to take a break, and think about what you should do."

Li Siqi said: "Pi Wa, you are already grown up, and we don't understand what you are doing. You have to handle it yourself. Although we can't help you, we won't be a drag on you."

"In the past few years, you have been sending money to your family, which is more than other children in the village who go out to work, and we have been saving it for you."

"I'll give you the card tomorrow. You look at the flowers, but you still have to have a foundation. You're still young, and you don't even have a wife. You still have to do things."

Shi Sufen has always doted on her children: "You just said these things when Yao'er came back, and hurriedly pushed my son out and said, I think it's good to rest for a while first, and take care of your body first. What to eat?! Yao'er earns [-] yuan a month in Yuzhou, which is more than your old man earns in a year, so what if you take a break!"

Grandma also joined in the fun and said, "Why do I think my grandson has lost weight again this time, not as chubby and good-looking as I was when I was a child."

Li Junge has a black line on his forehead, and his health is so good that even though he does not dare to run around as a vegetable in Yuzhou, he still has to walk [-] meters on the treadmill every day.

Quickly said: "Hey, mom, grandma, I am in good health, mainly because I am tired. Yuzhou is very noisy. It is not as clean as ours. I am still not used to it."

Shi Sufen said: "That's right, our Lijiagou has beautiful mountains and rivers, and there are many long-lived old people in the village, with very sharp waists and legs. It was said on TV that the smog in the big cities outside is very fierce, and everyone wears a mask to cover them when they go out. They are all the same as the second brother, hahaha."

"Bang Lao Er" is the name of the bandits on the mountain in the past. When they go out to rob houses, they often wear a face scarf to prevent their appearance from being remembered. I didn't think of it when I was in Yuzhou. Thinking about it according to my mother's description, it's really funny.

Li Siqi said: "I just mentioned it by the way. Piwa has never let us worry about it since she was a child. I am relieved about this. Hurry up and eat fish and drink some soup." Alright, remember to go see fourth grandpa tomorrow, there are still a few uncles and elders who have to go, don't hang around outside for a few years and forget the etiquette."

Li Junge hurriedly said: "That's what it should be. You may have to leave a meal tomorrow, so leave me alone."

Shi Sufen said: "It's better to drink less wine, and spend more time with them to set up a dragon's gate, especially your fourth grandfather lives alone next to the ancestral hall. We don't understand what's in his head, and we can't put it in one place." Go, usually he only listens to us, but he is smiling and silent, now that you are back, you two college students can have a good chat."

The fourth grandfather and Li Junge's grandfather are blood brothers, and now they are the elders with the highest seniority in Lijiagou. He graduated from the Nanjing Institute of Education in [-] as an official college student.

When Li Junge was a child, he also followed his fourth grandfather to the junior high school at the age of 12, which is equivalent to half of his children.Therefore, Li Junge's family respected the fourth grandfather very much, and it was easy for others to say that the fourth grandfather must be the first to visit.

Li Junge immediately asked, "Is Fourth Grandfather 94 this year?"

The old people talk about the old age, so grandma said: "Brother is 95 this year, and he should have a big birthday in August."

Shi Sufen said: "Who's to say it's not? Sigh, brother Siyuan is not around, and even Junlou doesn't know if he can come back this year. His son and grandson are not around. No matter how lively it is, I won't be happy."

Siyuan is the son of the fourth grandfather, and Junlou is the grandson of the fourth grandfather. He went to the United States in the past [-] years and spread his branches there. Jiagou old house stayed.

Li Junge said: "If old uncle Siyuan can't come back, I will hold this big birthday at my house. Anyway, I will be in the village for the second half of this year. Then we will start and have a good time. By the way, the old man is still in good health." All right?"

Li Siqi smiled and said: "Your fourth grandfather's figure is unbelievable. Last spring, he went to Bifeng Mountain to shoot guns, and he made a rabbit weighing more than seven catties. Now everyone takes him seriously and forbids him to go up the mountain again." Ran."

Shi Sufen said: "Later, I stopped going up the mountain and went into the water instead. In summer, I have to swim four or five times a day in the Wuxi River. It's okay to catch fish and prawns. I'm very energetic."

Li Junge said: "That's good, I'll go see him tomorrow."

After dinner, the family chatted for a while, and then they rested.

Li Junge dragged a recliner by himself and lay down in the yard looking at the sky. In Lijiagou, where there is no light pollution, the sky is full of stars, each brighter than the other. A curved river of stars stretches from one end of the sky to the other. There are bursts of sound, insects chirping.

Surrounded by mountains, Lijiagou is quiet and serene.

Holding his teacup, Li Junge was in an extremely peaceful mood. Looking at the moon just emerging on the east mountain, a poem suddenly appeared in his mind: "The mountains are surrounded by the old country, and the tide beats the empty city to return to loneliness. The old moon in the east of the Huai River, the night Come back through the female wall."

(End of this chapter)