Border Cook

Feng's husband died early, and she was a widow for many years, with no children.

She never remarried, but lived with her brother and sister-in-law from her husband's family. After her brother and sister-in-law passed away, she raised her two nephews until they got married.

The two nephews each had a wife and children. Feng didn't want to be an eyesore in front of them, so she simply took out her savings of many years, bought a small house, and lived alone.

I only go to help my niece-in-law when she is in confinement or taking care of the children.

Feng was an authentic elder, and her nephews and nieces-in-law were very filial to her. They would come to look after her from time to time and bring her some food and drinks.

Feng herself was also good at embroidery. She never stopped even at this age. She embroidered handkerchiefs, kang screens, purses, and embroidered shoes... She almost never had a moment of rest.

Apart from his daily expenses, he gave some New Year's money to his nephews and grandchildren, and used the rest of his earnings to care for the elderly and the poor.

It can be said that many families in difficult circumstances nearby have all received help from the Feng family to varying degrees.

Although this favor is just a simple bowl of porridge, a steamed bun made of two kinds of flour, or an old piece of clothing, it is a great favor to those families who are already facing hunger and cold.

It is the light that illuminates the way forward.

Therefore, Feng had a high prestige in the neighborhood, and many people respected her and listened to what she said.

Whenever a couple had a quarrel, a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law had a fight, or a father and a son had a fight, Feng would be asked to mediate and mediate.

Fortunately, it was Feng who spoke out against Ma's conspiracy, so everyone agreed with it, thus avoiding a lot of trouble.

Xia Mingyue respected and was grateful to Feng, and felt that it was only right and reasonable for her to visit her.

If you go to someone's house, you can never go empty-handed.

After much thought, Xia Mingyue decided to make some steamed dumplings.

Steamed dumplings from Shaxian snacks.

Shaxian snacks are very famous in modern society. They are spread all over China and even have many stores abroad. They also have a long history, which can even be traced back to the food culture of the Yellow River Basin during the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties.

Shaxian snacks are prepared using various methods such as steaming, boiling, frying, roasting, and pickling. They have inherited the traditional food culture of the Yellow River Basin, and also have the unique food genes of southern Fujian and Hakka food culture. The food they produce is even more diverse, covering rice, noodles, beans and other categories.

The chewy and delicious hand-beaten fish balls that Xia Mingyue had made earlier, as well as the juicy stuffed fish balls, are also a type of Shaxian snack.

The steamed dumplings that Xia Mingyue is going to make today are also one of the Shaxian snacks that people are familiar with in modern society.

Shaxian steamed dumplings are famous for their chewy, thin and transparent dough, salty and delicious non-greasy fillings, and willow leaf-like shape.

In order to achieve these three characteristics, you must first pay close attention when kneading the dough.

When kneading the dough, ordinary flour is not used. Instead, wheat starch, glutinous rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch are mixed evenly, then boiled in boiling water. After stirring evenly, wheat flour and a little peanut oil are added and kneaded into soft and smooth dough.

Choose pork with alternating fat and lean meat, preferably 60% lean meat and 40% fat. Chop it into pieces and add finely chopped carrots, diced mushrooms, diced black fungus, chopped onions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, rice wine, salt, and a little bone broth. Stir in the same direction until it becomes firm.

Roll the dough into long strips, cut into small pieces, and use a small rolling pin to roll it into evenly thick round pieces. Add enough stuffing, pinch the pointed corner at one end, and pinch out wrinkles along the left and right sides of the dumpling skin until the dumpling skin is sealed.

The dumplings pinched in this way have even wrinkles on both sides and are shaped like willow leaves, looking delicate and beautiful.

After wrapping the dumplings, put them in boiling water and cook them for about a quarter of an hour. The dumplings are placed on the plate one by one, like willow leaves or small ingots, and look crystal clear and very beautiful.

When you take a bite, you will find that the skin is thin, the filling is rich, and the gravy is overflowing, but it does not feel greasy at all. Instead, your mouth will feel full of fragrance and delicious taste.

Whether you eat it as it is, or dip it in some vinegar, or add a little chili oil, it is extremely delicious and you will never get tired of it.

Xia Mingyue originally wanted to let everyone have a taste of the first pot of steamed dumplings she made, but they were all eaten up in a blink of an eye, and people even shouted that they were not satisfied enough.

Fortunately, there was a lot of dough and meat stuffing, so Xia Mingyue called Jiang Zhuguo to help and started steaming the second and third baskets...

Above the courtyard, the smoke from the chimney, the steam from the kitchen window and door, and the aroma of steamed dumplings all mixed together.

This just caused the neighbors around at home to sniffle.

It smells so good, it must be that Madam Xia is making some fresh food.

The adults were already accustomed to this matter. After sniffing a few times, they continued to work on their own work.

The naughty child lay on the top of the wall of his own courtyard, looking in the direction of Xia Mingyue's house and sniffing the fragrance hard.

After feeding the bunch of greedy cats at home, Xia Mingyue packed up two large plates of steamed dumplings, put them in a lunch box, and went to Feng's house.

The Feng family lives in Sanfu Hutong next door, and their location is similar to Xia Mingyue's.

It only took Xia Mingyue a quarter of an hour to walk over there.

Feng was picking and washing the last batch of old cucumbers in the yard, preparing to mix the cucumbers with nepeta and cook a bowl of dumpling soup for a simple meal in the evening.

Seeing Xia Mingyue coming home, she hurriedly stood up and wiped it on her apron, "Madam Xia, why are you here at this time?"

"Come and see Auntie." Xia Mingyue said, "I made some new food today, and I just wanted to let Auntie try it to see if it tastes good."

"Just come and sit down. Why are you being so polite?" Feng stopped Xia Mingyue and pushed back the food box that she was about to put on the table in the yard.

"If Auntie doesn't eat it, then it means that my cooking is not delicious." Xia Mingyue squinted her eyes and smiled, "I'm afraid that others will laugh at me, Xia Ji, in the future."

"Well, now that you've put such a heavy accusation on me, I have no choice but to eat it." Feng was a little helpless.

"Yes, I have to eat it."

Xia Mingyue put the food box on the table, took out the steamed dumplings, and took out a pair of chopsticks from the food box and stuffed them into Feng's hand, "Aunt, eat it while it's hot. If the steamed dumplings get cold, they won't taste good."

Seeing that she couldn't refuse, Feng had no choice but to sit down and take a bite of the steamed dumplings.

The dumpling skin is thin and chewy, and the meat filling inside is very fragrant, and the gravy overflows with one bite...

“It’s delicious!”

Feng's praise came only after she had eaten three steamed dumplings in a row. (End of this chapter)