Feng's husband died early and she was a widow for many years without any children.
She never remarried, but lived with her husband's brother and sister-in-law. After her brother and sister-in-law passed away, she took care of her two nephews until they got married.
The two nephews each had wives and children. Feng didn't want to be an eyesore, so she simply took out her savings over the years and bought a small house where she lived alone.
Only when the niece's daughter-in-law is in confinement or has no time to take care of the children, she can go over and help.
Ms. Feng, an elder, does things authentically, and her nephew and niece-in-law are also very filial to her. They come to take care of her from time to time and give her food and drink.
Feng herself is also very good at embroidery, and she never stops at this age. She embroiders handkerchiefs, kang screens, purses, and embroidered shoes... with almost no time to stop.
In addition to my daily expenses, the money I earn is used to give some New Year's money to my nieces and nephews during holidays. The rest is mostly used to care for the elderly and the poor.
It can be said that many families in difficult situations nearby have received favors from Feng to a greater or lesser extent.
Although this favor is just a simple bowl of porridge, a steamed bun with Erhe noodles, or a piece of old clothes, it is a great kindness to those families who are already facing hunger and cold.
It is the light that illuminates the way forward.
Therefore, Feng has a high prestige in the neighborhood, and many people respect her and listen to what she says.
Whenever a husband and wife are at odds, a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law quarrel, a father and son fight, etc., they will always ask Feng to come and try to make peace.
Thanks to the fact that Ma's conspiracy remarks came from Feng's mouth, everyone could agree with them and avoid a lot of trouble.
Xia Mingyue respects and is grateful to Feng, and feels that she should come and visit her, both emotionally and rationally.
And when you go to your door, it’s always hard to go empty-handed.
After much thought, Xia Mingyue decided to make some steamed dumplings.
Steamed dumplings from Shaxian snacks.
Shaxian snacks are very famous in modern society. They can be found all over China and even in many stores abroad. Its history is also long and can even be traced back to the food culture of the Yellow River Basin during the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties.
Shaxian snacks are made using various production methods such as steaming, boiling, frying, roasting, pickling, etc., which not only inherits the food culture tradition of the Yellow River Basin, but also combines the unique food genes and Hakka food culture of southern Fujian. The food is even more diverse, covering rice, pasta, beans and other categories.
The chewy and delicious hand-made fish balls made by Xia Mingyue before, as well as the juicy stuffed fish balls, are also a type of Shaxian snacks.
The steamed dumplings Xia Mingyue is going to make today are also one of the Shaxian snacks that people in modern society are familiar with.
Shaxian Steamed Dumplings are famous for their chewy, thin and transparent dough, salty and delicious fillings that are not greasy, and their shape resembles a willow leaf.
If you want to achieve these three characteristics, you must first pay great attention to the dough.
When making the dough, we do not use ordinary flour, but flour (wheat starch), glutinous rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch. After mixing evenly, boil the noodles with boiling water. After stirring evenly, mix again. Add wheat flour and some peanut oil and knead into a soft and smooth dough.
Choose lean and fat pork, preferably six lean and four fat. Chop it and add finely chopped carrots, shiitake mushrooms, black fungus, minced onion, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, rice wine, and salt. And some bone broth, stir vigorously in the same direction.
Roll the dough into long strips, cut into small pieces, use a small rolling pin to roll it into a thin and even disk, add enough fillings, pinch the sharp corner of one end, and pinch out folds left and right along the dumpling skin. Cook until the dumpling skin is sealed.
The dumplings pinched out in this way have even folds on both sides and are shaped like willow leaves, making them look delicate and beautiful.
Wrap the dumplings and boil the water for the steamed dumplings. It only takes about a quarter of an hour for the steamed dumplings to be ready. The steamed dumplings are placed on the plate one by one, like willow leaves or small ingots, and they look crystal clear and very beautiful.
When I took a bite, the skin was thin, the fillings were rich, and the meat was juicy, but it didn't feel greasy at all. It just felt fragrant and delicious.
Whether you eat it as it is, or dip it in some vinegar, or add a little chili oil, it is so delicious that you will never get tired of eating it.
The first pot of steamed dumplings cooked by Xia Mingyue was originally intended for everyone to have a taste, but they were all eaten in the blink of an eye, and they couldn't get enough of it.
Fortunately, there were a lot of noodles and a lot of meat stuffing. Xia Mingyue called Jiang Zhuguo to help and started steaming the second and third cages...
Small Courtyard In the sky above, the smoke from the chimney, the steam from the kitchen window and door, and the aroma of steamed dumplings were all mixed together.
It only made the neighbors at home sniffle.
It smells so good, it must be fresh food made at Madam Xia's house.
The adults have long been accustomed to this matter. After sniffing it for a few times, they continued to busy themselves with the work in hand.
The naughty child lay on the wall of his courtyard, looking in the direction of Xia Mingyue's house and sniffing the aroma vigorously.
After waiting to feed a bunch of greedy cats at home, Xia Mingyue packed up two large plates of steamed dumplings, packed them in food boxes, and went to Feng's house.
Feng's home is in Sanfu Hutong next door, and its location is similar to Xia Mingyue's home.
Xia Mingyue walked over and it only took a quarter of an hour.
Ms. Feng is washing the last crop of old cucumbers in the yard. She is preparing to mix the nepeta and cucumbers in the evening, and then cook a bowl of pimple soup for a simple bite.
Seeing Xia Mingyue come home, she quickly got up and wiped it on her apron, "Why is Madam Xia here now?"
"Come and see Auntie." Xia Mingyue said, " I also made some new food today, and I just wanted to let my aunt try it to see if it tastes good."
"Just come and sit down, why are you being so polite?" Feng stopped me. Xia Mingyue pushed back the food box she planned to put on the table in the courtyard.
"If Auntie doesn't eat it, it means the food I made is not delicious." Xia Mingyue squinted her eyes and smiled, "I'm afraid others will laugh at me, Xia Ji."
"Yes, you Now that you have been slapped with such a heavy label, why don't I eat it?" Feng was a little helpless.
"Yes, it won't work if you don't eat it."
Xia Mingyue placed the food box on the table, took out the steamed dumplings inside, and even took out a pair of chopsticks from the food box Putting it into Feng's hand, "Auntie, eat it while it's hot. If these steamed dumplings are cold, they won't taste good."
Seeing that she couldn't refuse, Feng had to sit down and put the steamed dumpling in her mouth. .
The dumpling skin is thin and tough, giving it a chewy texture when eaten, while the meat filling inside is extremely fragrant, and the meat juice overflows after one bite...
“It’s delicious!”
Feng’s compliment came after he ate three steamed dumplings in succession. (End of this chapter)