vrcanaries Chapter 413 Cutting until my hands cramped
Chapter 413 Cutting until my hands cramped
Not to mention the children, even the adults were impatient to wash them. Some of them were as big as a thumb, some as big as a big toe. It was not comfortable at all to hold them in their hands and wash them.
The same thing happened to Zhou Guo when she was cutting snails. Among so many people, she was the only one doing the cutting. She had cut half a basket of snails, but more and more snails were thrown into the basin. It seemed that she would never finish cutting them. If the snails were not so delicious, she would not make this dish. It was simply torturing herself.
By the time all the children were complaining about being tired, the adults were feeling sore in the backs and dizzy, and Zhou Guo's hand felt like it was about to break while holding the scissors, the several pots of snails were finally washed and cut.
At this time, the steamed buns have been steamed, the other dishes have been prepared, and the soup has been cooked. The only hard dish left is Zhou Guo!
That’s right, today’s main dish is snails!
The vegetarian dish is stir-fried leeks with bean sprouts, and the soup is made from the bones that were just chopped today.
Zhou Guo fetched the processed snails from the water and washed them many times before putting them in a colander.
After washing snails for the whole morning, the people smelled their hands and almost fainted. They found them stinky even more than a cesspool. They didn't know if the snails would taste really good after cooking. They had been washing them for the whole morning.
They all squatted by the pot and didn't leave, even the little radishes crowded around.
Zhou Guo took out a small piece of ginger, garlic, onion, star anise, cinnamon, pepper, and perilla.
The pot was heated up and the snails were put in. There were so many of them that half of the pot was full. She waved the spatula, turning them over and over, and the snails made a rustling sound in the pot.
Everyone was confused. "What's the point of this? No oil today? Don't we usually put more oil when we stir-fry vegetables?"
"Shh, if you don't understand, just read on and you'll know, don't talk.
The pan was getting hotter and hotter, and Zhou Guo stir-fried the snails faster and faster. Slowly, the caps on the snail heads fell off, one or two at a time, for a whole pot and half a pot. When most of the snail caps had fallen off, they were served.
Wash the pot and pour in oil. When the oil starts to smoke, add onions, ginger, garlic and star anise and stir-fry until fragrant. Put the snails into the pot and stir-fry. Take the wine gourd of the old man who is drinking tea on the side and pour some wine into it.
With a bang, a flame a foot high rose from the pot.
"Huh!" Everyone took a step back at the same time. They had been cooking for decades, but had never seen a pot catch fire.
A woman said in a panic: "What should I do? Water the plants!"
Someone else calmly said, "Hey, why are you panicking? Zhou Guo wasn't panicking at all, but you are the first one to panic."
Zhou Guo kept stirring the food with a spatula. The flame gradually went out, and was accompanied by an aroma that he had never smelled before. It made his stomach so hungry that he had no mind to work.
The old man just came back from under the big tree at the entrance of the village. He was thinking about drinking a cup of tea, but now he didn't want to drink the tea. He was swaying by the pot with his hands behind his back, looking at the half-filled pot of snails. He couldn't believe that the fragrance came from them. It must be good wine. After sprinkling some in, even this stinky thing became so fragrant!
Add soy sauce, vinegar, salt and pine mushroom powder, stir-fry evenly, pour in half a pot of water, add perilla, stir, cover with lid and start stewing.
This will make the aroma stronger.
Everyone couldn't help but wonder: "How can this be called eating snails? It smells almost like meat. How can it be so fragrant? There is no such fragrance when it is cooked as meat."
Zhou Guo thought to herself: Of course it smells good. She put in all kinds of spices such as onions, ginger, garlic, etc. She was reluctant to put them in when she cooked meat before. The snails have a strong fishy smell and must be suppressed with heavy ingredients.
When the water in the pot is almost dry, open the lid, stir-fry a few times, cook over high heat until the sauce is reduced, serve in a large bowl, sprinkle with chopped green onions, and a large bowl of delicious fried snails is ready.
She smiled and said, "This is today's main dish, please don't dislike it."
Everyone shook their heads, "No problem, no problem."
Who would dislike something so fragrant? Why didn't the ones they made before taste like this? They smelled fishy and stinky.
Each family took their portion back home.
There was still half a basin of snails left, which was enough for everyone to eat.
Zhou Guo scooped out a large bowl and left it for Zhou Mai and Zhou Mi.
Zhou Xing put the toothpick she had sharpened earlier on top and said, "If you can't suck it out, use this small stick to pick it out."
Everyone nodded. They didn't expect it to be so thoughtful that even the small signature slips were prepared.
The old man couldn't wait, so he took a bowl first, scooped half a bowl of bean sprouts and half a bowl of snails, took two steamed buns, sat at the table and started eating.
Everyone took half a bowl, and when everyone had finished, there was still one bowl left in the basin, and probably two bowls left. We picked up a lot of snails this time!
Zhou Guo happily picked up one and sucked it. It came out with a light suck. It was very tasty, salty, fresh and fragrant, tender and chewy, but lacked some spiciness. But to be able to make it like this was something she had never dared to imagine!
After eating one, the old man took a wine glass, poured wine in it, drank the wine happily and ate a snail, looking very satisfied.
Everyone sat together and after eating a meal, they couldn't help but look at Zhou Guo with admiration.
"Hey, girl from the Zhou family, how did you make these snails? We have made them before, but the ones made by the wives at home were smelly. How come yours smell so good?"
"It turns out that the snails in the water are also good things. Unfortunately, we used to feed the chickens when we picked them up. Who knew they would taste like this after being cooked? I can't feed them to chickens anymore. I can't eat them myself. The taste is no worse than chicken, don't you think?"
Everyone nodded and said vaguely yes while smoking.
Zhou Guo said, "It's nothing special. Snail meat has a strong fishy smell, so you have to be willing to use seasoning. If you use the right seasoning, it won't smell fishy. If you want to learn, I'll tell you after dinner, and you can make it yourself when you go back."
When everyone heard that it was seasoning again, they sighed and laughed, "Well, that's not necessary. The seasonings you use are too expensive, more expensive than meat. We can't afford them. It seems that we can only feed the chickens."
Everyone was silent. They couldn't afford it, so they just had to eat as much as they could. It was not easy for them to eat something like this.
Zhou Guo didn't say anything more. Aniseed is not cheap and she rarely has the time to use it.
No one spoke for a while, only the sound of sucking conch shells could be heard, followed by a sigh of satisfaction after the sucking.
Zhou Su ate without raising his head or using chopsticks. He first picked up a snail and put it into his mouth, sucking it once. Then he sucked out the meat inside, chewed it and swallowed it. He then sucked the shell again before he finished the snail.
Zhou Gu was eating happily and asked Zhou Su, "Xiao Su, where did you get the snails? Have you got them all? Or should we go get them after we finish our meal? This little bit is not enough for us!"
Zhou Guo hurriedly stopped him, "Hey, big brother, you haven't even finished this meal yet and you're already thinking about the next one? Listen to me, if you eat too much of something, it won't taste good. Just like the delicious pine mushrooms, if you eat them for many days in a row, you won't want to eat them anymore. Wait a few days, then try again, it will taste even better then."