Winter food fireworks
Like thousands of ordinary mothers living in rural China, my mother lived an ordinary life, thrifty and busy, and kept the housework in good orderWhen he was young, he was a good hand at farm work in the village, and needlework was even more ingenious.
In her later years, my mother spent almost a whole year in her spare time, and made a huge pair of "Ten Thousand Horses Galloping" cross-stitch, which made me marvel at my mother's dexterity and persistence!
My mother's cooking skills are also very good, and she likes to study food when she has nothing to do. I have eaten pancakes, dumplings, rice cakes, sesame candy ...... that my mother madeAlthough it is not as exquisite as what is sold in the market, the family also eats with relish. These became part of my memories of my mother.
Every New Year's pass, it is the agricultural season, in the hometown of the countryside, every household begins to make a variety of New Year's snacks (commonly known as New Year's goods) one after another. My mother is no exception, as the head of the family, she leads the family to make a variety of rich and delicious New Year's snacks and ......This kind of atmosphere and scene of a family going into battle to work and do things is warm when I think about it now!
1) Tofu meatballs.
In our Jianli area, tofu balls are an indispensable dish for banquets, and they are also a must-have dish for the New Year. The main ingredients are: tofu, rice, chives and pork with a mixture of fat and lean. The main ways to eat it are steamed meatballs and fried meatballs, which are also good ingredients for hot pot. Steamed meatballs with fresh marinade make the taste even more amazing!
b) Stir-fry rice sugar.
The production process of fried rice candy is relatively long, and it can only be made during the leisure time of the New Year, and basically every household will make it. The finished fried rice candy is generally placed in a jar and can even be eaten for more than half a year. The main ingredients are maltose and glutinous rice, but nuts and other ingredients can also be added. An alternative way to eat is to brew fried rice candy with boiling water, which can be used to satisfy hunger.
c) Sausages. Although sausages are common in the market, they have a very different taste from those made in our hometown. There are no colorings, no flavors, no preservatives, and other messy things, and the sausages made in my hometown can be said to be original. Its main raw materials are pig intestine and pork. The main way to eat it is steamed and stir-fried with celery.
4) Dried fish. Dried fish is also a pickled product that must be made in our hometown at the end of the year, and the fish selected are all large and heavy silver carp. You don't need to add anything, just marinate it with salt for two or three days, and then take it to the sun for five or six days, and the whole natural and delicious dried fish without any additives is ready. I like to eat steamed and dried fish the most, so much so that I chew the soft bones carefully and swallow them.
5) Bacon and bacon chicken.
In our hometown, it is indispensable to slaughter chickens during the New Year, generally two or three, and dozens of catties of pork will cost money to buy. Fresh chicken and pork are definitely not finished, and the rest is used to marinate bacon and bacon chicken. Compared with the Sichuan and Guizhou areas, the production of bacon and cured chicken here is much simpler, no need to roast and no need to smoke, after marinating for three or five days, directly take it to the sun to blow the sun, and the bacon and bacon chicken will become.
6) Glutinous rice cakes. At the end of the year, every household has to make glutinous rice cakes, and making rice cakes is a laborious physical work, so it is generally done by neighbors and neighbors together. To put it simply, it is to put the cooked glutinous rice in a large stone groove, and the adults take turns to operate the big wooden hammer and smash the glutinous rice in the stone groove vigorously, and the master turns over and shrinks into a ball of glutinous rice with the rhythm of the wooden hammer. When the time comes, the glutinous rice in the stone trough is taken out and placed on the cutting board, and after cooling, it becomes a round shape. It is then cut into long strips with a knife and needs to be stored in a jar filled with water. There are many ways to eat glutinous rice cakes, mainly steaming, frying, roasting and frying, etc., I like to eat roasted glutinous rice dumplings the most, and the rice is the most fragrant ......
7) Rice dumplings.
Rice dumplings are a special snack in our Jianli area, and it is estimated that there are no other places. The production process is also very cumbersome, requiring the cooperation of a family. The main ingredients are rice and filling, which is rich in ingredients, such as carrots, dried tofu, garlic leaves, shiitake mushrooms, pork, etc. (these ingredients have to be chopped). The rice is first ground into flour, then steamed, and then kneaded into a hollow semicircle by hand, stuffed with the cut filling, and then kneaded into a full circle. A complete rice dumpling is done. It is mainly eaten in steaming, roasting and frying. The dumplings grilled over the fire taste fragrant, burnt, and crispy.
With the change of the times, people's lives are getting better and better, and the food that used to be eaten only during the festival is now readily available in the market, and you can get it at any time when you want to satisfy your cravings.
But this kind of handicraft, passed down from generation to generation, will never disappear in our hometown, because the family is happy, and the warm atmosphere of making New Year's snacks by hand is always irreplaceable.
Now, the 2024 New Year is approaching, and I will never have the opportunity to taste the various New Year's flavors handmade by my mother again in my life