mtl008 Chapter 10 Braised Rabbit with Chestnuts
Chapter 10 Braised Rabbit with Chestnuts
There was a hole in the outer edge of the chicken coop, but it wasn't a big problem. After a meal, Hefan could fix it and it would still be usable. The pigsty was fine, showing how much care the original owner had taken. Even the pig troughs were still intact, and there was a pit dug at the back of the pigsty specifically for storing pig manure, which is excellent for making fertilizer.
Song Jiaojiao checked and found there were no major problems; she could buy chickens tomorrow.
I went to the front yard and spread out the chestnuts, otherwise they would get stale tomorrow. I picked out the ones that had cracked open, and used a machete to split them open, and I got fresh chestnuts. The chestnut shells can be dried and used as fuel.
A moment later, the aroma of oil wafted from the kitchen. Seeing that there were enough chestnuts for tonight, Song Jiaojiao went to check on them.
"Big sister, is the oil ready?" Song Jiaojiao asked after washing her hands.
"Almost done, it'll be ready soon," the younger sister said, stirring the cracklings in the pot.
Looking at the golden fried food in the pot, Song Jiaojiao couldn't stop drooling, and the sound of swallowing saliva could be heard from the side.
Song Jiaojiao looked towards the direction of the sound and saw a trickle of liquid hanging from the corner of Mu Xue's mouth. She smiled and said...
"Little sister, wipe your drool, you're going to wet the firewood."
Mu Xue wiped her drool, staring intently at the oil pan, and said, "Mom, it smells so good."
Song Jiaojiao turned around and grabbed a bowl: "Big sister, that's enough. Drain the oil residue and sprinkle some salt on it."
Mu Qing didn't say anything, but deftly used a spoon to separate the cracklings. The golden cracklings were still steaming hot. Sprinkle some salt on them, and one bite was crispy and fragrant, absolutely delicious.
Song Jiaojiao picked up the fried pork cracklings, stuffed a piece into Mu Qing's and Mu Xue's mouths, and then called out, "He Fan, come and eat the fried pork cracklings."
As soon as she finished speaking, Wang Hefan came in. Song Jiaojiao quickly picked up a piece and handed it to Wang Hefan. Wang Hefan took it, took a small bite, and with a 'crunch,' a strong oily aroma burst in his mouth. Combined with the salt, the wonderful taste spread in his mouth, making it irresistible.
"Mom, Mom, this pork crackling is so delicious! It's the best thing I've ever eaten. I want more!"
Mu Xue looked up at Song Jiaojiao, her usually evasive eyes now sparkling with light.
"Go wash your hands before you eat. There's plenty more, but don't eat too much, or you won't be able to eat any more rabbit meat later."
Song Jiaojiao pinched Mu Xue's cheek and said, "Big sister, once you're done, you and little sister go wash your hands. I'll take care of the rest."
Song Jiaojiao poured out the oil from the pot, leaving a little in it. She then added the chopped scallions, ginger, and garlic to the pot and stir-fried them. When they were almost done, she added the rabbit pieces to the pot and fried them until the rabbit meat turned slightly yellow. She then added a ladle of water, covered the pot, and simmered it for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
While the rabbit was cooking, Song Jiaojiao took out some chestnuts to peel. Chestnuts were really delicious, but the skin was really hard to peel. After peeling for fifteen minutes, she finally finished. She opened the pot lid, poked the rabbit meat with chopsticks, and found it was a little undercooked. So she added the chestnuts and seasonings and simmered it slowly over low heat.
While waiting, Song Jiaojiao scooped out a bowl of corn flour, divided it in half with chopsticks, scalded one half with boiling water and the other half with cold water, kneaded it into a dough, opened the pot lid, pinched off a small piece of dough, flattened it into a ball in her hand and stuck it to the iron pot. After covering the pot with the dough, she rolled the remaining corn flour dough into a thin pancake and placed it on top of the rabbit meat, covered the pot lid and waited for ten minutes.
"Mom, it smells so good!" Mu Xue ran in from outside, excitedly exclaiming as she smelled the aroma.
"It smells delicious, doesn't it? I made a big pot today. Eat as much as you want, don't worry."
Song Jiaojiao lifted the pot lid, scooped the cornbread into a bowl, and gently picked up a chestnut with chopsticks, breaking it in half. Seeing this, Song Jiaojiao knew it was ready to be taken off the heat. She took a porcelain bowl as big as a basin and filled it with the braised rabbit meat with chestnuts, making a large bowl full.
"Big sister, Hefan, dinner's ready. Little sister, remember to bring your bowl and chopsticks."
Song Jiaojiao called out, and Wang Hefan came in and took the porcelain bowl from her hands. Mu Qing took the cornbread from the stove out, and Mu Xue followed Mu Qing into the main room with a stack of bowls and chopsticks.
Song Jiaojiao washed the pot with hot water, then scooped out half a pot of water to wash the dishes later.
"Mother, come quickly!" Mu Xue's impatient voice came.
Upon hearing this, Song Jiaojiao smiled and shook her head before heading to the main room.
Looking at the large bowl of rabbit meat and chestnuts, as well as a big bowl of corn cakes, Song Jiaojiao picked up a piece of rabbit meat with her chopsticks and said with a smile, "Let's eat."
Mu Xue took a cornbread, ate a bite of cornbread and a bite of meat, and said indistinctly, "So delicious, so blissful."
Wang Hefan looked at the yellow berries inside the rabbit meat, picked one up, and thought, "These are the chestnuts my sister was talking about?" He took a bite, and the soft, powdery texture, combined with the aroma of the rabbit meat, was incredibly delicious. How come he'd never discovered such a tasty food before? "Tomorrow, I'll gather them all," Wang Hefan thought, his hands moving faster and faster.
In no time, the rabbit meat on the table was completely devoured. Even the bowl that had held the rabbit meat was polished to a shine with a cornbread, as if it had been washed. Sure enough, this half-grown brat is going to eat his father out of house and home!
Seeing that everyone was so full they could barely move, Song Jiaojiao sat down at the table, holding her stomach, and said, "I'm going to town tomorrow. I dug up a piece of Polygonum multiflorum in the mountains today. I'll go to town tomorrow to see if any pharmacies will buy it. I'll also buy a few chickens so we can have eggs to eat. He Fan, I saw there's a hole in the chicken coop. Can you fix it tomorrow?"
“Okay, Mom, but you can buy chickens in the village. Grandpa Village Chief has about ten chickens, and he recently had a brood of chicks that are almost a month old. There’s a market in town tomorrow, and Grandpa Yu will be waiting for people at the village entrance in the morning. It’ll cost four coins to go there and back, and he’ll leave once the market is full,” Wang Hefan replied, rubbing his stomach.
“A few years ago, someone dug up some he shou wu in the mountains and reportedly sold it for ten taels of silver, but his didn’t seem to be as big as the one my mother dug up today,” Wang Hefan said after thinking for a moment.
"Mother knows, I'll ask around more tomorrow."
The next morning, Song Jiaojiao got up early, washed up, put on her basket, and went out.
As she approached the village entrance, she heard someone calling her.
"Jiaojiao, come quick, there's still a seat here." As she spoke, Aunt Lin squeezed to the side, making room for Song Jiaojiao.
"Hey, you're here, Auntie." Upon hearing this, Song Jiaojiao quickly stepped forward and sat down. Just as she was seated, the oxcart set off.
"Jiaojiao, are you going to the market too?" Aunt Lin glanced at Song Jiaojiao's basket and saw something wrapped in banana leaves, but she didn't know what it was.
"Yes, Auntie, I dug up some herbs in the mountains yesterday and was thinking of going to town to ask if any pharmacies would buy them," Song Jiaojiao replied softly, her eyes lowered.
"Herbal medicine," Aunt Lin said with a sympathetic look at Song Jiaojiao, and continued, "There are two shops in town, one is Nanshantang in the south of town, and the other is Huichuntang in the east of town. You can go and ask them."
"Okay, Auntie, I'll go ask her later what she's doing today," Song Jiaojiao said with a smile as she looked at Aunt Lin.
"We've saved up some embroidered handkerchiefs at home, and we're going to the market today to sell them for some oil and salt," Aunt Lin replied cheerfully.