Ordinary clear day

Chapter 71 Making Soup
Shu Ning directed the servants to put the Chinese New Year supplies that Zhang Bao brought back from the yamen into the ingredients room.Because there was not enough room for rice noodles, a servant piled up several empty bamboo baskets on top of the pile of baskets next to it. Unexpectedly, the things were not placed properly, and all the baskets fell down.The man was so anxious that his head was sweating, and he quickly packed his things.

Shuning's eyes were sharp for a moment, and she noticed a few stick-shaped objects behind the basket, so she stopped the servant and asked, "What's behind the basket?"

Hearing this, the man took out those few sticks and showed them to Shuning. It turned out to be sugar cane.Chun Xing looked at it and said, "That's right. When my wife was still in confinement, there were a few days when the weather was extremely dry. Sister Ah Yin asked someone to buy some sugar cane and carrots and came back, saying that they were boiled sugar water for drinking. The master and the girl both I drank it, but the weather turned cold within two days. This was leftover from that time.”

As soon as Shu Ning was reminded, she remembered it.This thing has been blocked by those baskets for the past month, so she didn't find it. Looking at it now, although it is a bit dry, it can still be eaten. It would be a pity to waste it.

At this time, a daughter-in-law came to her and asked her, "Girl, we are going to the market to buy chicken and duck dishes for the New Year. Since there is mutton, do you want to buy some big ingredients?"

Shu Ning said, "Of course I need it. In addition, I need to buy ginger, onion, garlic, various seasonings, and sauces. I also need to buy a large iron pot and two clay pots for the Chinese New Year." She paused and returned. Looking back at those few sugar canes, I already had an idea in my heart.

"I need to buy some more carrots, and if there are water chestnuts, I will also buy some. When I come back, I will pass by the pharmacy and bring me some medicinal materials." She said to the daughter-in-law, "Codonopsis pilosula, Beiqi, wolfberry and longan meat. For now Remember not to miss these things.”

Although the daughter-in-law was a little puzzled, she thought that the three girls had always had her reasons in doing things, so she agreed and went.

Chun Xing asked Shu Ning: "Girl, what do you want to buy those for? If you are cooking, what are you buying medicinal materials for?" Shu Ning smiled mysteriously: "I have my own uses, and you will know when the time comes."

Chun Xing had no choice but to stop asking.

Another daughter-in-law came to Shuning: "Girl, should those fish and shrimp be raised in a water tank, or should they be fried in oil and eaten slowly?"

Shu Ning was reminded by her, so she said: "Yes, quickly ask someone to raise them with water. Naturally, these aquatic products are better eaten fresh, and the fishy smell is too strong when they are dead."

The daughter-in-law was a little worried: "But the water tank is not big, if you put it in, wouldn't all the shrimp escape? It's better to cook it all."

Shu Ning said angrily: "Then put the shrimp and the bamboo basket into the water, won't it be impossible to escape? As for the fish, do you want me to teach you?"

The daughter-in-law blushed and stepped back.Chun Xing sniggered, and whispered to Shu Ning: "This Mrs. Zhang is most afraid of trouble. She must think it's troublesome to raise fish and shrimp, so she wants to persuade the girl to fry them all."

Shuning smiled and asked her: "Tell me, this fish is easy to handle, what are you going to do with the shrimp?"

Chun Xing thought for a while and said, "How about cooking prawns in oil? During the Mid-Autumn Festival, I saw this dish at the banquet in the capital. It shouldn't be difficult to make."

But Shuning shook her head: "There are a lot of fried food in the New Year, so it's boring. Why don't you try something lighter. I heard Ah Yin mentioned that the shrimps here are usually boiled, so let's cook boiled shrimp?"

Chun Xing asked suspiciously: "Bai Zhuo? Just boil a large pot of water and throw live shrimps in it to cook? Wouldn't that be too tasteless?"

Shu Ning already had a plan in mind: "Just make the dipping sauce, mix the cooked minced garlic, ginger, and green onion with local soy sauce, add a little lard, put a little chicken broth or broth, and bring to a boil in a pot. Then mix some minced raw garlic and put it in a large bowl for later use. When the boiled shrimps are on the table, put some dipping sauce in a small dish, and eat the shrimps after ordering the dipping sauce. This way you won’t be afraid of losing the taste.”

Chun Xing thought it was really good, so she said: "A few days ago, Sister Ayin taught me to make local boiled chicken, and also to make dipping sauce. I think it is very similar to this. Why don't you make more. When eating chicken And use it?"

Shuning nodded: "Yes, just go ahead."

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For the New Year's Eve dinner on the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, two dishes that Shu Ning asked to cook were very popular.One is braised mutton with carrots, water chestnuts and sugarcane stewed in a clay pot, and the other is boiled fresh shrimp.

Zhang Bao especially loves mutton.He said: "Mutton is also a common food. It is usually cooked with a lot of ingredients. I have been tired of eating it for a long time. I didn't expect that now I don't need a lot of ingredients. With only these few vegetarian dishes, the meat is more sweet and refreshing. .You learned this from Ah Yin?"

Shu Ning evaded the important point and said lightly: "Does Ama like it? Then eat more. Although the winter in Guangzhou is warmer than that in the north, it is still cold. Eat more mutton to warm your body." Giving the juicy meat to his father, Zhang Bao took the bowl with a smile and ate it.

Tong Shi said: "I like this shrimp better. It's light and light. It's better than the fried one. But this ginger and spring onion dipping sauce is very delicious. It can be used for shrimp or chicken, and it doesn't It's too salty, so let's use this method when making dipping sauce in the future." She said the last sentence to Chun Xing, and Chun Yao complied.

Shu Ning was very happy, the two dishes she thought of were approved, which made her more determined to cook more delicacies.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the Liu sisters came to pay New Year's greetings, and the topic was all about the newborn child.Shuning greeted them and went to the kitchen.There was still a bit of mutton, and she decided to try another.

Today she is going to cook by herself.

The Codonopsis ginseng, Beiqi, Qizi and longan meat that I asked people to buy before finally came in handy.Shu Ning washed all these herbs, and asked someone to help cut the mutton into small pieces, then set up the pot, threw the mutton and herbs into a big stewing pot, and then put it into the pot filled with water , Cover the lid, and stew the soup.

What is used now is firewood, unlike modern gas stoves that can be used, so we can only feel the heat.Fortunately, Shu Ning had observed Ah Yin's cooking of stew before, so she roughly knew how long it should be stewed and how to control the heat.

After the soup was ready, she had some bowls filled, and then she asked a daughter-in-law to put it on a tray and send it to her mother's room.

Entering the room, I saw Mrs. Tong sitting at the table talking with Mrs. Liu, while Mrs. Liu was standing next to Youche, hugging the baby and teasing him.Shuning said: "Shuning made a soup today, please eat it with Erniang and the two aunts." Then she asked the daughter-in-law to put the soup on the table.

Da Liu smiled and said to Shuning: "Miss Shu is really capable, now she even knows how to cook?" Tong said with a smile: "How can she? She was just talking by the side, and the work is done by the people below."

Little Liu was still reluctant to let go of the child. Her elder sister took a look at Tong and said, "Come here quickly, girl. You've been hugging her for an hour, aren't you tired? You should return the child to his mother. "

Little Liu was a little embarrassed when she heard the words, so she said to Tong: "I lost my mind for a while. I really like this child so much that I forgot sister Tong. It's a crime." Then she gently put the child into Tong's arms .

Tong Shi was not unhappy when she hugged the child, and said with a smile: "I am also a mother, so I naturally understand your heart. This child has been hurt by so many people, and I am too happy. How can I blame you?"

Little Liu's eyes were red: "When I left my Xiaobao, he was just this old. When I saw this child, I couldn't help but think of him."

Mrs. Liu quickly stopped her: "You are confused again, what kind of horse urine is it under the big festival?"

Shu Ning also went up to hold her hand and said, "Little Aunt Liu, Shu Ning made such a good soup, why don't you just try it out of shame?"

Xiao Liu hurriedly wiped the corners of her eyes, pulled Shu Ning to say something, suddenly saw her hand, and said in surprise: "Eh? Did you really cook it yourself? Why are your fingers red? "

After hearing this, Mrs. Tong put the child back in the car, and walked over to look at it. Shuning smiled indifferently and said, "It's nothing, I didn't use the knife, and Chun Xing was there when the fire was burning, but it touched the side of the pot and it burned a little bit." Just go back and get some medicine."

Tong Shi looked at her fingers and saw that they were only a little red, so she was relieved.Da Liu smiled beside her and said, "Sister Tong is really blessed. Her daughter knows how to wash hands and make soup for her parents at such a young age. She is really filial and capable."

Tong Shi smiled, then went back to the table and sat down, tasted the soup: "It tastes good, but this taste... Did you add the medicinal ingredients?"

Shuning nodded and said: "I added some Codonopsis pilosula, Beiqi, wolfberries and longan meat. The recipes I read in the book are best for stewing meat soup. Ama and Erniang both Busy, people have lost a lot of weight, my daughter can't do anything else, so it's okay to make soup."

Tong Shi smiled softly, and said: "Emiang knows you are filial, so try again in the future, but be careful." Seeing Shuning nodding, she took another sip of the soup and said: "The heat is still a bit off, let's stew more It will be fine in half an hour."

Mrs. Liu drank half a bowl and said: "This is very good. According to me, even a teenage girl may not be able to do it. You can be content."

Tong Shi just smiled and said nothing.Xiao Liu also liked it very much. After drinking it, she asked Shuning how to make the soup: "We also have mutton at home, and we will cook it when we go home. Let my uncle's family also try the good soup."

Shu Ning told her all the ingredients and cooking method, and Tong Shi laughed and said, "See, you can do it. Your little Aunt Liu is just flattering her face, but you really mean it."

But Xiao Liu said: "I'm telling the truth, this soup is really delicious."

After a while, it was almost noon, and Mrs. Liu was about to leave, and Mrs. Liu looked at the little baby again.Mrs. Tong smiled and kept the meal, but Mrs. Liu said: "Your family must have dinner at home at noon. It is inconvenient for us to stay. We might as well go back earlier, so that we can play with our little nephew." Then he pulled the little one away. Mrs. Liu left.

At noon, stewed mutton soup became a dish on the dinner table.Zhang Bao naturally praised him greatly and drank two full bowls.Seeing that he liked it, Mrs. Tong told the kitchen to buy mutton tomorrow and cook it again, but told Shuning: "Let them do it, and you don't do it." Shuning had no choice but to agree.

When the old doctor Chen came to pay New Year's greetings on the fifth day of the new year, the house was making soup.After smelling it, he also said that this soup is tonic and it is good to drink, but it is not necessary to always make it with mutton.He said: "The same is to use the four kinds of medicinal materials, pork bones, or black-bone chickens, or pigeons. The soups are all good tonics. Just make it every few days, and you don't have to drink it every day." Tong Shi agreed and ordered to go down.

The old man heard that this soup was originally made by Shuning, so he asked her which book she learned from.Where did Shu Ning know what kind of book it was, but it was just done before time travel, so she presumed that she couldn't remember clearly, it seemed to be a miscellaneous book borrowed from someone else's house.Old doctor Chen twirled her goat's beard and said, "Forget it, if Miss Shu is interested in these herbal diets and tonic soups, feel free to come to me." Hearing this, Shu Ning was overjoyed and hurriedly got up to thank her.

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This soup is my favorite, but it is only drunk in winter. Interested readers, please do not cook it in hot weather.

(End of this chapter)