Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 949 Stewed indiscriminately

Xiao Hong asked Chen Hui, "Chen Hui, where were you when you were a child?"

Chen Hui said, "I went with my dad. I've been to quite a few places. I spent a relatively long time in Longjiang. Otherwise, my studies wouldn't have been so bad. I kept changing schools, so it would be strange if I did well."

An old man with a cigarette between his fingers came out of the convenience store: "Xiaowei, Xiaohui, Xiaohong, are you off work?"

The three men called him "Grandpa," and Xiao Hong asked, "Is business good, Grandpa?"

The old man smiled and said, "It's still better than farming, it's quite good. Would you like something to eat?"

The older generation used to coax children by giving them snacks. Back then, everything was scarce, and even a piece of candy was a rare treat.

The three men laughed and shook their heads, saying they didn't want to eat. Xiao Hong said, "Hey, grandpa, do you have any canned meat? Not luncheon meat, but the kind with soup."

The old man turned back to look at the shop and said, "Yes, I have several kinds, but I don't remember where they're from. Do you want one? The one with the tin box from Shanghai is better. I'll get it for you." He then turned and went into the shop.

Xiao Wei asked Xiao Hong, "Do you want to eat canned food?"

Xiao Hong said, "It feels like it's been so long since I've had this. I just suddenly remembered it."

Chen Hui said, "I still prefer canned fish. No matter how you cook meat, it can't taste as good as fresh meat, right?"

Xiao Hong said, "They each have their own flavor. Can steamed potatoes and eggplants be the same as stewed ones?"

Xiao Wei said, "Canned food is steamed at high temperatures, so the taste is indeed different. I used to only eat canned fruit a few times a year, and I could never even think about meat or fish. Xiao Hong's family is better off, and they have eaten meat and fish, but I have never actually eaten any."

Chen Hui said, "I used to eat this all the time when I was a kid, but I rarely eat it now. Now that you mention it, I'm actually craving it. I'll buy two cans of fish." He then stepped into the convenience store.

Canned food was still the mainstay of grocery stores in those days, unlike later when almost no one ate it anymore.

A little while later, the old man came out with five cans of meat, and Chen Hui brought out two cans of fish. Chen Hui said, "Xiao Wei, the old man doesn't want any money."

Xiao Wei went over and said, "Sir, you should still calculate the amount and take the money. This is a business transaction, and you have to follow the rules. Even if you're just taking things home, it's best to keep a record and put the money in there. That way, the final account will be accurate. Anyway, in the end, it's all yours."

The old man said, "Why should I charge you for the cans of food you eat? Take them."

Xiao Wei said, "That won't do. We can't be short of money. We can't break the rules. Come on, I'll do it. I've never worked with this equipment before."

The supermarket checkout machines at that time were very rudimentary, with a nine-inch black-and-white screen and a DOS cursor system. Barcodes were not fully implemented in China until June 1992, and many products still did not have barcodes and required manual input of codes in the store, which was quite troublesome. However, to people of that era, it seemed quite high-tech.

Enter the code, click confirm, the result is displayed on the screen, and the drawer for storing change pops open automatically.

Back in 92, canned food was still considered a high-end commodity. A can of braised pork cost six or seven yuan, and a can of Merlin luncheon meat cost eleven yuan, which was quite expensive.

After paying, the three said goodbye to the old man, picked up the canned food, and walked into the yard. When they got to the gate, they saw Chen Xiao and Geng Hui talking in front of the garage with their children in their arms. The two little ones had their legs in their mothers' arms, leaning forward, touching each other's faces and patting each other's heads, saying things that were hard to understand.

When Chen Xiao saw Xiao Wei and the other two approaching, he glanced at them and asked, "What are you doing? Buying so many canned goods."

Xiao Hong ran over to tease the two children: "If you want to eat it, just buy it. I'm craving it."

Chen Xiao shoved Xiao Xiao Hui into Xiao Hong's arms and said, "Eat up. What's so good about this junk? Are you short of meat? People say that sausages and canned meat are full of pork with rice, and they'll make you grow a belly full of worms."

Xiao Wei asked, "What are you two doing standing here?"

Geng Hui said, "Let's take a walk and let the kids get some fresh air."

The group walked together toward the main building.

Xiao Wei's mother, Aunt Wang, and the cook were preparing dinner. Xiao Wei put the canned food on the cutting board, turned it around, and said, "Okay, I'll make a stew. It's been a while since I've made one. Mom, do you have any spare ribs?"

Xiaowei's mom said, "Yes, you can use it. Once you've done this, you don't need to do that anymore. It's all food anyway."

Xiao Wei asked, "What are your plans?"

Aunt Wang stood up to wash her hands and said, "What else can I do? Stew some potatoes or radishes."

Xiao Wei said, "Never mind then, I'll just make a mixed stew."

The cook laughed and said, "These days, the names of the dishes are really strange. Stir-fry is whatever, stew is whatever. I wonder who came up with these names."

Xiaowei's mother said, "That's right, it's just a hodgepodge, a jumble of random things all stewed together."

Xiao Wei found a stew pot, filled it halfway with bone broth, turned on the stove, and then took a small bowl to get a few potatoes, some green beans, a few eggplants, five or six green peppers, and two tomatoes. He washed them and set them aside. He chopped some scallions, sliced ​​some ginger, smashed a few cloves of garlic, and threw them into the broth. He also wrapped some peppercorns and star anise in cheesecloth and put them in, then put the lid on.

I found a small bowl, chopped some finely chopped green onions and garlic, and prepared chopped cilantro.

The ribs are already prepared and cooked, so they can be used directly.

Light another burner, put a wok on it, add some oil, and stir-fry the washed green beans. Once the beans change color, add some soy sauce and a spoonful of bone broth. Once the broth boils, turn off the heat and pour the green beans and broth from the wok into the stew pot.

He took a small spoon and used it to scoop the potatoes into the pot piece by piece. He tore the eggplant and peppers by hand, and first tore the tomatoes open, squeezing the juice into the pot. Then he chopped them up with a knife and put them in. After the soup boiled, he added salt, soy sauce, a little sugar, and then the ribs.

There are no special requirements; meat is fine too.

Potatoes and eggplants should be cut with a knife as much as possible. If you must cut them with a knife, soak them in water for a while afterward, otherwise the cut surfaces will turn red and have a rusty taste.

Once the pot was boiling vigorously, Xiaowei brought over a can of braised pork, cut open the tin, poured the contents into the pot, turned down the heat, and covered it. He then let it simmer on a low flame; the longer it simmers, the better it will taste, as long as it doesn't dry out.

Generally, simmering for half an hour to forty minutes is sufficient. Add enough broth at once and reduce it slowly. Do not add broth or water during the process.

If using fresh pork ribs, you need to cook them first. Once the ribs are cooked, you can add the vegetables directly to the soup without taking them out.

Once the broth has thickened, add chicken bouillon or MSG, pour in the prepared chopped green onions and garlic, stir well, turn off the heat, transfer to a bowl, sprinkle with chopped cilantro, and a traditional stew is ready.

Adding canned meat will make the stew richer and more flavorful. If you like it spicy, you can add some dried red chilies to the broth at the beginning.

The rice was already served, and the dishes were almost cooked. Xiao Wei brought the stew to the table, and Xiao Hong sniffed, "It smells so good."

(End of this chapter)