pasture leisure

Chapter 75 Making Dumplings

Uncle Zhang Youliang’s skill in adjusting the stuffing is really first-class. After the beef is pounded, a pot of big bone soup is boiled out in a pressure cooker. The milky white soup is stirred into the beef stuffing several times, and then added Added some ingredients.

The aroma of stuffing has not started yet.

Zhang Chi had already started rolling the skin at this time.

"Hey, uncle, you really haven't let go of your skills," Zhang Chi praised casually.

Melika took a deep breath of the aroma, and praised: "It's so fragrant, this stuffing is one of the best even in China."

Zhang Youliang immediately waved his hands and said, "But I can't take this seriously. I'm far behind in making stuffing, not to mention better than others, even my master is still far behind."

"Your master? How well tuned it is!" Melika praised again.

Zhang Chi thought to himself: This little girl, why didn't I realize that she would do something like this again? Look, this is such an old beauty. She can chat better than Chinese people.

"It's a bit far from what I'm talking about. It started when I was fourteen years old. I started working as an apprentice in a restaurant, and my master was a chef...".

As soon as the past was mentioned, Zhang Youliang immediately regained his spirits.

Melika listened very enthusiastically, but Zhang Chi didn't know how many times he listened to it. He would talk about it when his uncle came to learn, or when he drank a little wine.

Auntie said to Zhang Chi at this time: "Don't roll it so small, first roll a basket of big ones, and combine your two leathers into one."

Zhang Chi stopped what he was doing, and asked, "Auntie, how big are those dumplings?"

Now Zhang Chi’s skins are big enough, about one or two per catty, and it’s estimated to be six or seven per catty, and eating at home is different from restaurants, and the bags are small and the money is calculated according to the number.

"Don't make dumplings first, let's make some potstickers first." Auntie laughed and said that she sat down at the table and pressed Zhang Chi's rolls together in pairs.

Zhang Chi rolled out the big leather and asked, "Why do you think of making potstickers again?"

"There are so many fillings, when we want to eat, wrap some pot stickers for you to take home, put them in the refrigerator, and fry them in a pan when you want to eat, it's simple and convenient," said the aunt.

Zhang Chi smiled and said, "Auntie, don't worry about my side. I'm fine with everything, just a refrigerator of beef."

"I can say whatever I want," said Auntie.

After all these words came out, Zhang Chi honestly started to roll out the leather.

Waiting for Zhang Chi to roll out one of the dumpling wrappers, Auntie sprinkled the big dumplings cut from another bowl on top of the stuffing, picked up a big dumpling wrapper, first scooped out some meat stuffing, and then added a spoonful of green onions Put the minced meat on the meat flame, and then began to wrap it up.

After a few pinches, a potsticker about ten centimeters long and three or four centimeters wide is ready.

Zhang Chi rolls, Auntie Bao, after a while Melika joins in, Zhang Chi is a bit late, not because Zhang Chi rolls slowly, but Auntie Bao is fast, and Melika has not lost the chain , so Zhang Youliang also took out a rolling pin, sat next to Zhang Chi and started rolling.

Zhang Chi is in charge of rolling alone, while the uncle rolls and wraps for a while.

"I didn't expect the dumplings to be so beautifully made," the aunt praised Melika.

Auntie is really not boasting. Melika’s bags are really good, better than many Chinese girls. A ten-centimeter-long potsticker has six or seven folds, and the distance between each fold is the same. After putting it down, the pot stickers sat firmly on the basket, and the standing edge was exactly one-third of the way, bent into a crescent.

Melika didn't show any overly proud expression, she chuckled and said, "I practiced it on purpose."

Didn’t Melika say that she’s a bit of a horny-headed person, and she has to figure out or learn what she’s interested in. That’s how she learned how to make dumplings. The foreigners who studied with her, except her In addition, no one can make dumplings to the same level as a Chinese.

"That's great, now some Chinese girls don't have your skills," the aunt boasted again.

"Where, where!"

Melika flung out the Chinese-style politeness.

After a while, Zhang Chi found that the basket was full, and asked his aunt, "Auntie, are you enough potstickers?"

Auntie stretched her head to look at the stuffing in the pot, and said, "Wrap some more, and finish wrapping your current pot of noodles."

"How many do you have to pack?" Zhang Chi laughed.

The aunt said: "Pack more, and put it in the refrigerator so it won't spoil."

"Potstickers are delicious when served with soy milk," Melika said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Youliang said, "Do you want to drink soy milk? Then I will make it now."

When the aunt heard it, she immediately said: "What are you doing now, and you will take the child with you when you go back."

Zhang Chi asked strangely after hearing this: "Can you catch up with this?"

To make soy milk, you need to grind the beans. It doesn’t take much effort to grind the beans, but the beans are all dry. If you want to grind them, you have to soak them beforehand. What kind of soy milk is made from unsoaked beans?

"I soaked the beans last night. Your uncle said that you like tofu, so he was going to make you a plate. Who knew that it was just in time for Melika to like to drink soy milk. I might as well make some for you to take away," the aunt said. .

"Seeing that you are busy, you still want to make tofu. If I want to eat it, I can just go to the Chinese supermarket and buy some," Zhang Chi said.

"It's made in a factory over there. I prepare old stewed tofu here. The taste is different. The old stewed tofu has a special bean flavor when eaten. The factory method is not good, and it's a bit less interesting," said the aunt.

Melika asked, "Is there any difference?"

"Oh! Of course there is. The difference is not small. The factory method uses gypsum, and we use old brine to make it ourselves. The taste is different."

After finishing speaking, Auntie started to tell Melika how to make tofu with natural brine, which is called a smallpox.

The two women said that Zhang Chi and Zhang Youliang, uncle and nephew, were listening.

Zhang Chi is fine, Zhang Youliang and Gu Ying are very happy today, because since the eldest son left, the younger son ran around in a hurry, after Zhang Chi left, the shop has not been so lively for a long time, Although a young man who delivered food was newly recruited, this guy is only a part-time worker, and he doesn't talk much about people. He works hard, but he really doesn't know how to chat.

Now that Melika likes to listen to her talk so much, and her nephew is here, and everyone is making dumplings lively together, the old couple feel really happy.

Everyone worked together, and the dumplings were naturally made quickly. Before you knew it, a basket of dumplings was made.

"I'll cook dumplings for everyone."

The matter of making tofu is almost the same, the dumplings are also made, Gu Ying decided to cook dumplings for everyone.

Standing up, picked up the basket, and walked to the back kitchen, leaving Zhang Chi and the others to continue making dumplings in the front hall.

There were only a few dumplings in the new basket when someone opened the door and walked in.

Seeing the people coming in, Zhang Youliang said with a smile: "Spencer, I came here a little early today, more than half an hour early."

The person who came in was a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in denim and riding boots on his feet. After entering the door, he saw Melika and couldn't help being stunned for a moment, probably thinking in his heart: Where did this beautiful girl come from.

Spencer was stunned for a moment, then came back to his senses, walked to the table where he often sat, took off the cowboy hat on his head, raised his legs, and put the hat on the table.

"I have business tonight, and the hay of the pasture is being transported to Birmingham," Spencer said.

"That's not close."

As soon as he heard about the place, Zhang Youliang said immediately.

Spencer said: "There is no way. The purchase price here is too low. Now the live cattle are only [-] dollars. If they are transported there and sold, they will earn more."

"Dropped again?"

Zhang Youliang was a little bit tongue-in-cheek, just now he said three yuan and forty-five cents, but now the kung fu has dropped a few cents.

"That's right, our BOSS is thinking about not continuing to raise cattle next year, and now we can hardly make any money in one year," Spencer said.

Zhang Chi didn't believe this nonsense. Indeed, he couldn't make much money from the book, but if various government subsidies were included, he would definitely make some money.

It’s just that the cattle sellers are willing to count the money. Of course, it’s purely the income from selling cattle. Shouldn’t the government give it for nothing? How can it be counted as the money earned?

All ranchers think this way, including Zhang Chi.

"Have you added a new menu? There are dumplings, give me a plate."

Americans are quite familiar with dumplings, but what they eat are all produced in factories. Many Chinese restaurants also sell these things. Handmade dumplings?That dumpling is expensive in the past.

Zhang Youliang said with a smile: "I wrapped it myself and didn't plan to sell it. You can try it when it's cooked."

The beef brought by Zhang Chi cannot be sold, because Zhang Chi has not passed a quarantine inspection here, and you can’t sell the food that has not passed this inspection, let alone meat products, even vegetables without a license. of.

Of course, once in a while, it’s okay if you don’t get caught, but once you are caught, these people will not be lenient in the punishment, and one punishment is enough to make you feel bad for several years.

So Zhang Youliang will not take this risk. Selling the dumplings made by himself can only be given away. If you don’t make money, there is no problem. Of course, you have to pay for it if you eat someone’s stomach.

However, the beef sent by his nephew is unlikely to have any problems, so Zhang Youliang was relieved a hundred times.

While talking, Gu Ying came out with cooked dumplings.

There were only two dishes cooked first, one was placed on the table behind Melika, and the other was served in front of Spencer.

"Thank you!"

Spencer picked up the chopsticks, picked up the dumpling and was about to put it in his mouth.

"Don't! It's hot!"

Seeing that Spencer was about to eat dumplings one bite at a time, Gu Ying immediately stopped him.

"There is soup in it, if you eat it like this, you will burn your mouth to bubbles," Gu Ying said.

Zhang Youliang’s stuffing has a lot of bone broth in it, so when the stuffing is mixed, it looks like a meat paste, and it can hardly hang on the wall of the pot, and it becomes a semi-liquid state.

This kind of stuffing is wrapped in the skin, and when it is cooked, the soup will naturally be thick, just like eating Xiaolongtangbao.

(End of this chapter)