HLnovel Chapter 118 Pickled Vegetables
Chapter 118 Pickled Vegetables
As the saying goes, Light Snow pickles vegetables, Heavy Snow pickles meat.
After the beginning of the Minor Snow, some frost-bitten vegetables will be particularly sweet. This is also the time of great harvest. In order to survive the cold winter, people will pickle some freshly harvested vegetables to eat, which is called "pickled winter vegetables."
Let alone light snow now, the heavy snow has long passed. I had no time before because I was busy with so many things. Only now can I find the time to do it.
There are five kinds of cold vegetables, namely pickled soybeans, pickled snow vegetables, pickled sauerkraut, pickled radish and pickled mustard greens.
Yesterday, Shen Anyi ordered five large vats. The father and his two sons moved them twice before they were finally brought back. Lou Yuexin and Su Jinyue spent the entire afternoon cleaning them carefully.
After Xu Si finished making the lamb ribs, he gave instructions for everything and then rushed back to the previous shop.
After much thought, she decided to pickle them here. It would be a good idea to store the pickled vegetables in the storage room in the backyard, so it wouldn't take up much space.
"Aunt Cuihua, Aunt Zhao," Xu Si called out to the two people who were sitting and chatting with Lou Yuexin.
"Are you done with your work, Asi?" Cuihua looked up and asked with a smile.
"Yeah, I just finished my work. I guess I've been waiting for a long time."
"No, we just got here a while ago."
Cuihua originally thought that her family didn't like the pickled cold vegetables she made every year, and was considering whether to stop making them. Then, Li the butcher gave her a suggestion and asked her to learn from Xu Si.
They were just eating at home anyway, so it didn't matter whether Xu Si had any other plans for Hancai.
She came to ask specifically on Xiaoxue's day, but the other party didn't do it. Xu Si did tell her the method, but she was always afraid that she wouldn't do it well, so she made an appointment to do it together, and it didn't matter if it was a little later, so it was delayed until now.
As for Aunt Zhao, Lou Yuexin mentioned to her during a chat that she wanted to pickle winter vegetables. She had actually already pickled some mustard greens, and when she heard that Xu Si and the others were going to make five kinds, she was curious about the others, so Lou Yuexin invited her to come and see.
I informed her in advance when I passed by on my way home last night.
That is why these two people are gathered here today.
Cuihua has a cheerful personality and thinks she can get along well with everyone, but Aunt Zhao is too introverted. Even if Lou Yuexin tries to mediate, she can tell that their auras are not harmonious.
This is probably how i-people and e-people get along.
When Xu Si tied on her apron and was about to start working, Lou Yuexin and the other two all breathed a sigh of relief. It is said that three women can make a drama, but it was really difficult for them to do so.
The soybeans had been soaked last night. Xu Si scooped them into the pot with a colander and cooked them until cooked.
Take out the beans, drain the water, and pour them into a clean bowl while they are still hot. The next step was to put the beans in a warm place to ferment first, but she found it troublesome, so she skipped this step.
Add dried chili peppers, star anise, peppercorns, cinnamon and other spices to the water, then add salt and stir evenly, bring to a boil and simmer until fragrant, turn off the heat and cool, pour the beans directly into the water, stir evenly, then put them into a jar for pickling.
After a month, the beans will turn dark red and the soup will become thick and ready to eat.
Chop the snow vegetable prepared in advance, add salt and rub it until the juice of the snow vegetable comes out.
"Hey, just stop it." Lou Yuexin and Xu Si were rubbing together, and Cuihua and the other two also squatted down to help.
"What's the big deal? It'll be faster if we do it together. Besides, we're here to learn, so won't we be able to master it better if we get started?" Cuihua was not shy at all. Aunt Zhao beside her nodded slightly in agreement.
After rubbing it, you can put it directly into the tank. It usually takes 20 days to eat.
The most indispensable thing for northerners is pickled sauerkraut. There are many kinds of sauerkraut to choose from, including mustard greens, Shanghai greens, and cabbage.
She chose cabbage because it is cheap.
Xu Si said mischievously, "Aunt Cuihua, please watch how this pickled cabbage is prepared."
When she heard the name Cuihua for the first time, she thought of that meme, which was very popular, but she didn't know why it was popular.
"I'm watching," Cuihua responded even though she didn't know why Xu Si suddenly reminded her.
After drying the cabbages in the yard, several people gathered together to pick off the old leaves and stems, cut off the roots, and split them into four quarters for later use.
Boil water in a pot. After turning off the heat, blanch the cabbage stalks for 2 minutes, and then blanch the cabbage leaves for a few seconds.
Drain the water from the blanched cabbage, put it into a jar, add a layer of cabbage, sprinkle some salt, and finally press it tightly with cleaned stones.
Wash the green radish, cut it in half without peeling it, then cut it into finger-thick strips, put it in a basket, and dry it in the sun.
Xu Si explained, “This needs to be dried for three days, so it can’t be finished today. Let me tell you the next steps, which is to wait until it can be folded in half without any break and has a wrinkled appearance.
Then scald it with boiling water, scrub it after it cools down, and then dry it in the sun.
Finally, put it in a bowl, add chili powder, salt, pepper, white sesame seeds, and sugar, knead it evenly, and you can eat it within a day. "
"Oh, this is good. No need to wait so long. I'll try it when I get home." Aunt Li thought that her son loved eating radishes the most, so she made it for him.
The last one is mustard greens, which can be eaten as pickles with rice.
Several people sat in a circle and washed the mustard greens with a brush, then cut off the heads and roots with a knife and soaked them in clean water for several hours to remove the pungent taste.
At noon, Lou Yuexin and Xu Si invited Cuihua and the other two to have lunch here. They had worked for the whole morning and they couldn't let them go home hungry.
After soaking, take out and dry them, put them into the pickle jar, add a layer of mustard and sprinkle a layer of salt.
Xu Si shook his hands, which were a little wrinkled due to being soaked in water for a long time, and said, "Tomorrow, when the water in the mustard heads is drained out, add some boiled water to cover the mustard heads, and finally add an appropriate amount of white wine. Just press it down with stones like you would when making sauerkraut."