novel-bin Chapter 18 Plum Sauce Ribs
Chapter 18 Plum Sauce Ribs
Lin Yan caught two rabbits on the mountain and picked some green plums from the plum tree she had forced to ripen. Then she put everything into a large iron pot and returned to the thatched hut.
Li Xiaocao and Lin Yu had already gathered the firewood and quickly came to greet Lin Yan when they saw her return.
"Lin Yan, did you manage to borrow it? Why don't we go back to eat? There are too many people here, it's not convenient to cook."
"Don't worry, I borrowed it and even bought some meat from them!" Lin Yan smiled at Li Xiaocao.
"Wow, you were only gone for a short while, how did you manage to get so much stuff!" Li Xiaocao looked down at the large iron pot in Lin Yan's arms, which contained layers of bowls and plates, a piece of pork rib, and two rabbits.
"Is this from a villager's home?" The villagers of Gezhuang Village don't usually eat meat, so how could Lin Yan buy such a large piece of pork rib?
"I bought these ribs in town the day before yesterday, I haven't eaten them yet, and I just caught the rabbit."
"Wow, you managed to catch a rabbit! That's amazing! My brother went hunting in the mountains before, but the animals there are very quick, and he didn't catch anything!" Li Xiaocao thought of her older brother's experience and thought Lin Yan was incredible!
"What should we eat?" Li Xiaocao and Lin Yan were close and not shy with each other, so she prepared to help with the cooking.
"Okay, let's make some pork ribs with plum sauce, stew some rabbit, and catch two fish to make soup." Lin Yan started working on her plan as soon as she finished.
Lin Yu was in charge of starting the fire. He built two simple stoves with stones by the river, lit them, and put two large iron pots on them. One pot was used to simmer fish soup, while the other was used to cook ribs and rabbit meat.
Lin's mother went to the river to wash the green plums. She was going to make green plum jam, so she needed to scrub the green plums with salt first. Li Xiaocao cleaned the rabbit, and Lin Yan went to the river to catch two fish.
First, use a dagger to scrape off the scales of the fish, remove the internal organs, and cut it into sections. First, put oil in a pot, fry the fish, add water and boil, then add scallions, ginger, and salt to taste. This will make the fish soup white and not fishy.
Then, in a separate pot, pour the washed green plums into the pot, add water to cover them, and cook the plums until the skin cracks and the flesh softens, then remove them from the pot.
Drain the water from the pot, add rock sugar in a 1:1 ratio, and simmer without adding water. Continue simmering until the fruit pulp and pit separate and the color turns amber, then transfer to a bowl.
Next, cut the ribs into small pieces, blanch them in water to remove the foam, then drain them. Empty the water from the pot, dry the pot, add the ribs, and fry until the fat is rendered and the surface of the ribs changes color slightly. Then add Shaoxing wine and soy sauce, stir-fry a couple of times, and add water to cover the ribs.
Then add two spoonfuls of cooked plum sauce, cover and simmer for half an hour. After the sauce has thickened, stir-fry a couple of times and it's ready to serve.
The aroma of pork ribs mingled with the sweet and sour scent of plums, making everyone working salivate with enticing mouthwatering smells.
"Yan'er, what are you making? It smells so good!" Lin's father and the others stopped what they were doing and looked at Lin Yan.
"Spare Ribs~! Bao Jin, Bao Quan, Da Shu, you're all having lunch here later!" Lin Yan called out to them.
"Yes, it's already noon, time to eat! Xiaoshu, you can all eat here later, Yan'er's cooking is delicious!" Lin's father had been busy all morning and only then remembered about lunch. He told everyone to stop what they were doing and have a drink of water and rest for a while.
"Spare ribs! That won't do!" Li Shu exclaimed in surprise, "Let's go back and eat!" Spare ribs are delicious, but there's not much meat in them, and they usually can't afford to buy them. Eating from someone else's place is even worse.
“Yes, Uncle. Let’s go home for dinner and come back this afternoon.” Lin Baojin also said that they felt that Lin’s family had just separated from their household and hadn’t received anything yet. They were having a hard time right now, so how could they stay at someone else’s house and eat meat?
"I'm really grateful that you came to help me. This place is far from the village, and I can't let you go home hungry! Eat here!" Lin's father said firmly.
"You guys eat here, brother. I've made enough for everyone," Lin Yan replied with a smile.
Seeing this, the three of them stopped refusing, after all, the pork ribs in Lin Yan's bowl were so delicious and tempting to them!
Li Xiaocao had already cut the rabbit meat into large chunks. Lin Yan washed the pot and dried it, then poured in oil, scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers from her space and stir-fried them until fragrant. Then she added the rabbit meat and stir-fried it until the meat tightened. She added water, then salt, sugar, and soy sauce to taste, and simmered it for a while before serving.
"Dinner's ready!" Li Xiaocao called out loudly to everyone!
Lin Yu brought out the ribs, Xiao Cao brought out the stewed rabbit, and Lin Yan brought out the fish soup. Everyone gathered around the table and couldn't help but swallow hard.
On the table were glistening, amber-colored pork ribs with plum sauce, a large bowl of tender and juicy rabbit meat, and thick, white fish soup. Large steamed buns were placed beside them.
"Didn't you say it was pork ribs? Why is there rabbit meat and fish too?" Li Shu asked timidly. His family didn't even have this much meat for Chinese New Year.
"Lin Yan caught the rabbit and the fish! Pretty impressive, huh!" Li Xiaocao boasted to her brother. Her brother couldn't hunt, but she and her sister were! Tsk!
"Amazing!" The grown men couldn't help but exclaim.
"Eat quickly!"
After a busy morning, the group was treated to such delicious food that they couldn't help but wolf it down. Li Shu had initially thought he shouldn't eat too much, but it was just too tasty, and he couldn't control himself. Everyone ate faster than the next. Soon, the food on the table was completely gone, and after a few sips of fish soup, all the fatigue from the morning vanished, leaving them feeling incredibly comfortable.
"Sis, these ribs are so delicious! Really! They have a sweet and sour taste, it's so unique! How did you make them?" Lin Yu finally managed to ask.
"The secret is what I fed you yesterday!" Lin Yan winked at him!
"Yesterday? You mean the green plums? There were green plums in this?" Lin Yu had a vivid memory of the sour green plums from yesterday.
"It's plum sauce. It's made by simmering plums and sugar together. It has a sweet and sour taste. You can add it to stewed ribs or other meats!" Lin Yan explained.
"Plum sauce ribs!" This is really delicious. Let's try making it next time, brother!" Li Xiaocao excitedly suggested to her brother.
"Your parents won't let you buy pork ribs..." Li Shu pursed his lips. They really were delicious, and the price wasn't unacceptable, but could Xiao Cao really make them?!
After eating and drinking their fill and resting for a while, the group got back to work. The mud walls had been repaired and the thatch had been laid. Next, they had to fix the thatch to the roof. The four men worked together, two passing the thatch and two fixing it in place, and they finished quickly.
The group then built a stove in the partitioned small kitchen, so that the Lin family could cook their meals in the future.
The thatched hut looked much cleaner after being tidied up. The weeds in the open space had been cleared away, and the thatched roof was golden and shiny. The thatch was laid out densely, so as long as there was no storm, there was nothing to worry about.
After finishing their work, the group said goodbye to Lin's father and went home.
Next up is the furniture in the house, but since Mr. Lin is a carpenter himself, he'll add it gradually!