Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 1925: Drinking together is more enjoyable
"Erjia's family is much better off this year. He has an older brother who works on the construction site with his father. Together they make 500 yuan a month. His mother digs mushrooms and dries fern sprouts. This year they also have a lot of income. They are much better off than in the past few years." Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "Speaking of which, it's time to distribute the quilts we brought back this time. I'll take you to visit their families tomorrow and let everyone meet the new English teacher at school. By the way, bring the quilts to them."

"What kind of English teacher am I?" Although Mai Xiaomiao said this, she was actually a little proud of this identity in her heart, and finally made Zhou Zhi laugh.

Dry-fried fish is a classic Sichuan dish. The specific method is to fry the fish first, and then cook it with sauce until it absorbs the flavor. When it is served on the table, there is only oil but no juice on the plate. The flavor of the sauce is absorbed into the fish meat, which is called dry-fried.

The reason why this dish is difficult to make is that it requires various basic cooking skills. In addition to knife skills, fire control, seasoning, and heat control, the requirements are actually very high. It is difficult to make it well unless you are an expert cook.

The fish should not be too big. A fish weighing about one kilogram is the most suitable size.

Many people fail when making this dish at the first step of frying the fish.

The trick to frying fish is to wipe the fish that has been seasoned with scallions, ginger and salt dry inside and out with kitchen paper or a clean towel. Heat the pan until it is boiling and then add a layer of cold oil. When the oil warms up, pour out the hot oil and then add a layer of cold oil again. This way the pan will not stick.

The next step is to fry the fish. At this time, the fire should be turned down. Do not turn the fish over after putting it in, otherwise the fish will rot. Wait until one side of the fish loses all water and becomes browned before frying the other side. This way, the fried fish will be intact.

Dry-fried fish must be served with crispy pork belly. After frying the fish, put the minced pork belly into the pan and stir-fry until the minced meat becomes dry and crispy small oil residues, then scoop out and set aside.

At this time, the oil in the pot has become a combination of meat and vegetable oil, and fish cooked with this kind of oil will always be delicious.

The next step is to stir-fry the ingredients. Put in the scallion segments and fry until they are charred to make scallion oil. Add pickled ginger and pickled chili peppers and stir-fry. Add the black beans and stir-fry to make red oil. Add a spoonful of sugar to season it. Add soy sauce and pour in the broth to make the sauce.

After the sauce boils, remove the burnt scallions and residue, and add the fried fish to cook.

After the fish has been cooked through, open the lid and add the fried pork belly crisps to reduce the sauce. When it is half reduced, add the scallions and cook until the sauce has dried up and the scallions are cooked through and well-seasoned. Pour a circle of vinegar around the edge of the pot and then you can remove from the heat.

It sounds simple, but each step has very high requirements. Of course, if each step is done well, the finished product will definitely be amazing.

Ya fish is a fish with fine scales. Zhou Zhi did not remove the scales when making this dish. The fish scales will become crispy and puffed after frying, and will turn into a colloid when it comes into contact with the sauce during the cooking process. In the end, there is no need to thicken the dish with starch. This is called "self-made starch" in Sichuan cuisine.

Compared to the braised Ya fish, the other dish, sauerkraut fish soup, is really too simple.

Take out the sauerkraut, chop it into pieces, squeeze it dry, and stir-fry it in a hot pan without oil. Stir-fry until the sauerkraut starts to become dry, then start frying it in lard.

Then add boiling water to make sauerkraut soup. After cooking for a few minutes, add triangular prawns, oxtails, loaches and other turtle-free fish and cook until done. Add salt to adjust the taste to the right level, sprinkle with chopped green onions and it is ready to serve.

Since the fish was to be served with soup, Zhou Zhi did not pour chili oil on the sauerkraut fish, but instead made chili paste as a dip.

Although Mai Xiaomiao has the potential to be a "broad-spectrum" foodie, he still cannot accept the taste of linalool oil and linalool powder, so Zhou Zhi can only add them to their respective dipping sauces.

Zhou Zhi thinks this dish is also a great match with pickled fish, and this view is also shared by Lao Chi Ri, Tu Liang Zhi, and Gillie Abi.

Seeing that Lao Chi Ri brought out the jar of corn wine again, Lu Hui and Hao Chunwang who came in were so scared that they waved their hands again and again: "It's no use, we can't come, how about we drink Gan Gan wine today..." "We can drink Gan Gan wine at any time. Elbow Zi made delicious dishes today. We would be sorry for his kindness if we don't have a drink..." Tu Liangzhi coaxed him, and Zhou Zhi was trying to get himself into trouble.

However, Zhou Zhi was only going to try it out today. He had a strong reason: he had to build a new system in the evening, which was also a national project and could not be delayed.

Mai Xiaomiao nodded repeatedly while holding the bowl full of braised Ya fish, indicating that this was true.

"There is a sword hidden in the head of the Ya fish." Zhou Zhi explained the characteristics of the Ya fish to Mai Xiaomiao at the dinner table: "Come, you also get a fish head, and I will teach you how to find it."

In fact, if you want to play with the sword of the Yayu, it is best to make fish soup. After frying or cooking like dry-fried fish, the sword of the Yayu will lose its flavor and has lost its value for playing with.

However, there was no problem in getting the admiration of the "inexperienced" Mai Xiaomiao. After a short while, Mai Xiaomiao followed Zhou Zhi's example and took out a small bone from the fish head. He then made a complete sword body, hilt and guard, exactly the same as the precious sword.

"It really is!" Mai Xiaomiao feels that he can gain a lot of strange new knowledge every day: "Why is this?"

"There's no reason for this, it's just a coincidence. For example, there's a place in the hairy crab that looks like a small arhat, and the pharyngeal bones in the body of the big black fish that are used to crush the shells of screws can actually be picked out for fun," Zhou Zhi said. "As for whale whiskers and narwhal teeth, they have been used for many years."

"Longmenzhen needs to set up medicine and sell medicine, and you have to go down with a cup of wine in front of the door..." Old Chi Ri came to Zhou Zhi again after a round of wine: "Xiao Miao is not picky at all, she eats everything, what a good girl! How about you come with us?"

Mai Xiaomiao happily picked up the sake cup: "Well, Grandpa Chi Ri, Elbow and I wish you good health and happiness every day!"

Old Chi Ri looked at Zhou Zhi, then at Xiao Miao, and laughed, "Okay, if you two toast together, Grandpa will like it even more!"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

After dinner, the two finally got down to business and went into the study to start remote logging in.

It was late autumn and the weather was a bit cold, so Zhou Zhi renovated the study room by adding a computer desk on the left side of the door. Behind the desk were two swivel chairs, and behind the swivel chairs was a wooden table with an electric tea table for making tea, as well as a lacquer treasure box filled with melon seeds, peanuts, pine nuts and other nuts, as well as some candies.

People can sit on a swivel chair and work by facing one end, and enjoy by turning 180 degrees.

"Your study is so beautiful..." Mai Xiaomiao still has trouble expressing the Chinese word "elegant", but the layout of the room makes her feel very comfortable.

Whether it is the various wooden furniture around, the iron stove and copper kettle on the table, the primitive and simple porcelain, or the exquisite lacquerware, they all give people a feeling of peace and tranquility. When you come to this room, your mind seems to be different.

"Whatever happens, read it piecemeal, and when the time comes, do it yourself." Mai Xiaomiao looked at the couplets Zhou Zhi made on the wall: "Elbow, did you write this? I discovered another talent of yours!"

The calligraphy was signed with just two simple characters "Zhouzhi" and two seals, so it was not difficult for Mai Xiaomiao to recognize it.

Zhou Zhi knew that Mai Xiaomiao didn't know calligraphy, so he smiled and said, "I was forced to practice calligraphy when I was a child. I'm just so-so."

"It's beautifully written! What do these two sentences mean?"