newbobooks Chapter 164 Fried Matsutake Slices
Chapter 164 Fried Matsutake Slices
“…What is this?”
"It looks like a garlic pounder."
"No, it looks like a pestle. It looks pretty nice, but you can't eat it. Guoguo, why did you pick this up? And you picked up half a basket. It would be better to pick up half a basket of pine mushrooms instead."
The Zhou family members were talking about this thing at once, but no one recognized it.
The old man looked around, but the light was dim and he couldn't tell what it was.
Li said, "Throw it away. We have never seen this thing before."
Zhou Guo quickly held the basket in front of him and said, "Don't throw it away. These are all good things. Wait, you will know when I bake them."
As he spoke, he broke off a piece of bamboo from the edge of the tattered basket, washed it, took a matsutake mushroom and began to scrape it from head to toe little by little, scraping off all the dirt on it and placing it in a large bowl.
The people around him were confused and asked, "What are you doing?" Zhou Dacang had a lot of question marks on his face.
Others also wanted to know what this was doing.
"Scrape off the mud." Zhou Guo scraped without raising his head. "This thing can't be washed with water. If you wash it with water, the fragrance will be reduced. You have to scrape off the mud little by little like this to preserve its original fragrance to the greatest extent."
"…Really? Is it so amazing?"
Zhou Xing was eager to try it out, so she also broke off a small piece of bamboo and imitated her to scrape it little by little.
"Is this really edible? I've never seen it before. Sir, you are well-informed, have you seen this thing?" Zhou Dacang asked worriedly.
The old man shook his head, then nodded, "I haven't seen it, but it feels familiar."
When everyone heard him say this, they felt relieved.
"Hey, since you have seen it, it must be edible. You have traveled a lot and have seen a lot, so you must have forgotten everything. But it doesn't matter, as long as it is edible. I am just afraid that this thing is poisonous. I don't want to survive while fleeing, but die from this thing in the end. How unfair that would be!"
After Zhou Dacang finished speaking, the other members of the Zhou family nodded in agreement. He really touched their hearts. They really didn't dare to eat anything like this as they had never eaten it before.
The old man frowned and racked his brains, but he couldn't figure out where he had seen this thing before. He thought he would just wait and see after eating it. His disciple was so sure, and although he didn't know if it would cause diarrhea, it would definitely not kill people.
Zhou Guo and Zhou Xing scraped away half of the basket in one breath by the firelight.
She used bamboo sticks to cut the scraped matsutake into thin slices. She cut two or three slices, about a dozen slices in total, estimating that each person would have one slice. She put the pot on the stove and put the matsutake slices in one by one.
"It looks nicely presented, but how can it be delicious without anything on it?" Zhou Gu frowned.
Everyone nodded again. Yes, they had never seen anyone cook wild mushrooms like this. They would probably get burnt in a short time.
"Yes, Guoguo, if there is no oil, you can pour some water in it. If you dry-cook it like this, won't it have a burnt smell?" Zhou Xing reminded. If the fire is too high, it will burn after a while.
"Put the oil in later. Do you have some oil at home?" Zhou Guo stood by the pot with chopsticks in his hand, not raising his head, staring at the pot intently.
Zhou Xing quickly said, "Yes, there is still a little left. I'll go get it."
After a while, a large bowl was brought in, with half a bowl of oil still in it.
Zhou Guo took the half bowl of oil and was stunned. "Is this the oil we used for frying in Yunli County last time?"
"Yeah, what's wrong? We've eaten a lot along the way." Zhou Xing thought she complained that there was not enough oil. She had used a lot in recent days, so she had to eat sparingly, otherwise no matter how much oil she had, it would not be enough.
"No, quite a lot." At that time, only two large bowls of oil were boiled. After such a long time, there was still about half of it, so she had to use less. Seeing that the matsutake slices in the pot were almost done, she turned them over, dipped a little oil with chopsticks, and rubbed them along the edge of the pot. Under the roasting of the fire, the matsutake slices made a sizzling sound and curled up the edges one by one. She saw that it was almost done, so she pinched some salt with her fingers, sprinkled it on each one, then took it out of the pot and put the slices into the bowl one by one.
"Come, try...try it?" She raised her head while holding the plate, and saw everyone staring at the bowl in her hand with their mouths open without blinking...the Matsutake slices in the bowl?
Some of them even drooled.
She wondered why there was no sound for such a long time.
The old man was the first one who couldn't help it. Without even using chopsticks, he stretched out his right hand, picked up a piece, and stuffed it into his mouth immediately without caring about the heat. He grimaced from the heat and said, "Hiss, hmm, fragrant, fresh, tender, delicious, delicious, delicious! I, I want another piece." He said many words in one breath, and then hurriedly picked up another piece and stuffed it into his mouth, his eyes shining with the food.
Everyone had never seen him like this before, so they quickly took turns to eat a piece. In the blink of an eye, the matsutake slices in the bowl were gone.
Before Zhou Guo could come to his senses while holding the empty bowl, they had already eaten the Matsutake slices.
"It's delicious and fragrant, just like meat. No, it's even better than meat." Zhou Gu licked his lips and kept savoring the taste.
"What is this? It smells so good?" Zhou Dacang asked Zhou Guo.
Zhou Guo didn't answer. She sat down again holding her empty bowl resignedly. She saw that there were so many slices that everyone should get one, but she, the chef, didn't even get half a slice. God knows how hard it was for her to endure while frying the pan. Her saliva was almost flowing into the pot.
Alas, her piece was eaten by the master. Well, let’s fry it again.
"Hey, let me do it, let me help. Slice it, right? Still using this bamboo stick to cut it? Let me do it." Zhou Dacang snatched the bamboo stick from her hand and began to slice the remaining matsutake mushrooms.
Zhou Xing rolled up his sleeves and said, "I'll fry it. I'm quick at this and it's not difficult."
Zhou Mai and his friends washed a few more bamboo strips and began to scrape the remaining matsutake mushrooms in the basket. Such delicious stuff, which they had picked up for free in the mountains, must be eaten to their heart's content, since it was free anyway.
The old man stood by the pot without moving. This thing was one of the best foods he had ever eaten in his life. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten something so delicious.
Seeing them gathered around the pot in a lively atmosphere, Mrs. Li smiled. This thing was indeed delicious and free. They could eat it all if they wanted. It wasn't a big deal to waste a little oil. The children hadn't been so happy for a long time.
Zhou Guo didn't have to do anything. She happily waited by the pot with her hands folded. This time she must grab a piece. The sizzling sound of the roasting accompanied by the diffuse aroma of matsutake mushrooms made it a perfect feast. Her saliva almost flowed into a river in her mouth.
The fragrance filled the entire yard. Fortunately, there were no neighbors nearby, otherwise the fragrance would have made many people cry.
After an agonizing wait, finally, as the salt was sprinkled, the second pot of Matsutake slices came out of the pot.