Abandoned the Immortal Cultivator, returned to his hometown to farm and sing

Chapter 1228, Section 1217: Big Pork Knuckle

We're chatting right now.

The door to the private room opened, and a middle-aged man dressed as a chef walked in carrying a large plate with a large bowl on top.

The food has finally been served.

When Old Liang saw the visitor, he was delighted.

"Ruan Hetai, why are you serving the food?"

That name sounds familiar; it's someone connected to Master Liang.

Nguyen Hoa Thai placed the plate on the table first.

Then he laughed and said, "Master Liang, I knew right away that you guessed the question correctly and got a Baihua Jiangtuan fish."

"How dare you talk like that? What nonsense! I, Old Liang, rely on my real skills." Old Liang feigned anger.

Ruan Hetai chuckled, "Good, good, that's impressive. Now tell me about the intricacies of this dish."

As he spoke, he lifted the large bowl.

A cloud of white mist rose, carrying the aromas of meat, soy sauce, wine, Sichuan peppercorns, and a subtle blend of medicinal and smoky notes.

A symphony of aromas and a harmonious blend of flavors.

It smells so good.

Moreover, it's domineering and intimidating, gurgling and drilling into your nostrils, making it impossible not to smell it; the more you smell it, the more you want to smell it.

Ah, it smells like food.

It evokes a deep longing for fat in the taste.

I just ate a full twenty-one dishes.

My stomach is not only full, but also half full.

But looking at the giant pork knuckle lying quietly in the thick, dark brown broth, shaped like a mountain...

The pork skin is translucent amber in color, the fat trembles slightly like solidified fat, the lean meat is distinct yet not loose, the caramel coloring on the surface gleams like satin under the light, and even the sauce attached to it has long "golden threads," making it a beautifully presented pork knuckle.

Saliva was still dripping from my mouth, hunger was burning fiercely in my stomach, and every cell in my body seemed to be groaning and crying out, "I want to eat! I want to eat!"

It's like I didn't eat anything just now...

At this point, what's the point of talking? What's there to be particular about? Let's eat first and then we'll talk about it.

Old Liang didn't answer Ruan Hetai at all, nor did he introduce or explain each dish before it was served, as he had done before.

When the mood strikes, they can tell you everything from the place of origin to the cooking method to the background anecdotes, without ever going through it all.

This time, he was even more excited, so much so that he grabbed his chopsticks and went straight to the plate, picking up everything, skin and all, fat and lean meat, this huge lump.

Because the piece was too big, they even used a bowl to catch it.

"Hey, you sneaky little thing." Old Hou had been holding back his drool, eagerly waiting to hear the story.

As a result, they saw that Old Liang had taken direct action.

He cursed and then immediately took a bite with his chopsticks.

From that moment on, everyone else couldn't wait any longer, and they started wielding their chopsticks so fast that it was like raining food onto the braised pork knuckle.

If you can't reach it, just stand up.

Luckily, the pork knuckle was big enough that after eighteen people took a round, there was still a little bit left, enough for each person to have two chopsticks.

This piece of pork knuckle, when held between chopsticks, trembles at the slightest touch, exhibiting both remarkable elasticity and tenderness.

It's quite amazing, somewhere between soft and mushy, and in addition to its color, aroma, and taste, it also has a tactile quality.

Many people couldn't wait to put it in their bowls and just stuffed it into their mouths.

This pork knuckle.

It initially feels chewy and slightly sticky upon entry, but upon contact with the teeth, it transforms into a paste-like gel, enveloping the rich broth and sliding down the throat.

With your upper and lower teeth gently touching, the skin has a slightly chewy texture, and the caramelized aroma of sugar and the fermented salty and savory flavor of fermented bean paste bursts forth between the skin and fat.

It felt like chewing on a piece of breathing amber.

The translucent fat resembled solidified fat, tender yet not mushy.

With a press of the tongue, a rich, fatty aroma, a complex fermented flavor of fermented black beans, spices, and fine wine oozes out, making it the ultimate interpretation of rich yet not greasy.

The oil has long been transformed into a mellow aroma during the long baking process. It melts in your mouth but leaves a lasting fragrance, leaving only fragrance and not greasiness, as comforting as the warm winter sun.

If this piece of fatty meat can be saved until winter, it will surely bring a bountiful harvest of happiness. And the wine, it seems, is yellow wine.

It's Shaoxing wine!
Very, very good Huadiao wine!

The lean meat is soaked in the sauce, becoming tender and juicy without losing its freshness.

When you bite into it, you can see the brownish-red broth seeping through the fine shredded meat, which is salty and savory with the refreshing taste of dried tangerine peel, the spiciness of cardamom, and the crispness of bean sprouts.

But what's even richer is the mellow sweetness of Shaoxing wine, the subtle numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns, and the warmth of spices released layer by layer, penetrating deep into the very marrow of the body.

This pork knuckle is salty and savory at its core, with a lingering sweetness as its soul.

The spiciness of fermented broad bean paste is tempered by caramel coloring, the fermented freshness of fermented black beans provides a base, and the aroma of Shaoxing wine lingers in the throat.

It settles smoothly in the stomach, leaving a lingering aftertaste like the echoes of an ancient well...

A large bite of braised pork knuckle extinguished the raging hunger, soothed the groans in the body, and calmed the saliva in the mouth.

I'm satisfied!
At that moment, Old Liang suddenly waved his hand and said, "Waiter, give me a bowl of rice."

waiter……

This time, instead of waiters, the chef came to serve the food.

Ruan Hetai said to Old Liang in an annoyed tone, "We have rice, seventy-eight a bowl. Do you want some?"

"Yes!" Old Liang answered without hesitation, as if he didn't care about the price at all.

But then he pointed at Nguyen Hoa Thai and cursed, "You little bastard, you're utterly wicked."

The others' eyes lit up when they heard this: "That's right, braised pork knuckle with rice!"

That would be incredibly awesome.

A braised pork knuckle deserves to be served with rice!

They all hurriedly put down their chopsticks, waving and shouting, "Me too! Me too!"

It was just a joke, but everyone took it seriously.

Ruan Hetai quickly apologized, "I was just joking. How can you charge for rice? It was a free gift."

After saying that, he opened the door, went out, and greeted everyone.

Not long after, the real waiter came in, carrying a basin...

"Lueyang high-altitude cold-water rice, please enjoy."

Jiweilou does not use rice from Northeast China.

With the Tianhan Granary right here, how can we use rice from other places?

Tianhan has many kinds of rice, each with its own characteristics.

For example, fragrant rice is used to make baked rice; black rice is used to make porridge; green rice is used to make bamboo sap porridge; and Tianhan rice is used to make noodles.

For example, the rice eaten plain is made from slightly sunny, cold-water rice.

This type of rice grows on terraced fields at an altitude of over 1,000 meters deep in the Qinling Mountains of Lueyang County.

The growing environment has a large temperature difference between day and night (about 10-15℃), a humid mountain climate, and soil rich in trace elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. It is also a natural "green oxygen bar".

Following the traditional planting methods of the Di and Qiang people during the Qin and Han dynasties, they adopt a natural growth cycle of "soaking the fields in cold water in winter, sowing in mid-spring, and harvesting in late autumn," and are irrigated with mountain spring water, with only one harvest per year.

The rice produced here has long, slender, translucent grains with a bluish-green color and a delicate texture, resembling pearls, hence its other name, Pearl Fragrance.

Due to the harsh conditions and low yield, the planting area is only over 500 mu, and the annual output is only 400,000 jin.

It's mostly consumed locally, and its reputation outside the local area is not well-known.

Even in the Tianhan urban area, very few people know about it.

Fortunately, thanks to Lao Zhou from the agricultural technology station, who traveled to every village in Tianhan, this excellent rice was finally unearthed from the mountain valleys.

Jiweilou was put to use first.

Although Pearl Fragrance has "fragrant" in its name, its aroma is not as strong as that of Fragrant Rice.

It just has a glutinous rice aroma.

The steamed rice is fragrant and sweet, with a moderate stickiness, a smooth texture, a lingering aftertaste, and a soft yet elastic consistency.

It's a perfect match for the equally tender and springy roasted beef knuckle...

(End of this chapter)