Hometown pickle

It is impossible to verify the specific time when the working people in China began to make pickles, but there is a consensus that pickles should be the companion of ancient farming civilization and the accumulation of people's frugality consciousness.

People in my hometown are very skilled at making pickles, and they will choose to make pickles with different flavors in different seasons. Plain pickles became the main course on the table in the era of material shortage, and raised the old people who longed for food and clothing to spend the famine years. Even now, people still have a soft spot for pickles.

There are many kinds of pickles cooked in my hometown, such as common noodle sauce, soy bean sauce, stinky tofu that smells bad and tastes good, and soy sauce wheat with unique flavor among many members of the pickles family.

After the wheat harvest is finished every year, people should take advantage of the short slack season to catch up with the sun to dry the sauce. Bake pancakes with new wheat first. Even when food is scarce, people will bake some pure wheat pancakes to dry the sauce. Spread several layers of bamboo leaves or Toona sinensis leaves on the bottom of the porcelain basin, fold the new pancakes into a right-angle fan shape, and then spread a layer of leaves ... The average family will probably sun 15-20 pancakes for one year. 10 day or so, take out the pancakes with mildew spots to dry, clean the mildew spots with a brush, put them into a stone tablet and crush them, then put them into a porcelain basin, add cold boiled water and fresh peppers, add salt according to the ratio of salt to pancake powder of about 1: 3, stir and expose to the sun for one month. In the past, when there was no soy sauce, or when there was no money to buy soy sauce, everyone had dried soy sauce, which was the seasoning for cooking for one year and the best "companion" of green onions. As the saying goes, "If you want to be fat, onion rolls with sauce" fully illustrates the positive role of batter in stimulating appetite.

Compared with dry soy sauce, the production of soy sauce wheat is a little more complicated, and the production of soy sauce wheat is based on the principle of anaerobic respiration. Wash wheat and soybean separately, put them in a pot and cook them separately, and drain the water. In order to prevent the particles from sticking together, sprinkle wheat bran and rub it evenly, and simply dry it. According to the moldy process of pancakes mentioned above, the wheat grains and beans can be moldy. After about ten days, take it out and dry it, rub off the chaff and mildew, then mix it and put it in a pickle jar (preferably not more than 80% of the jar volume), add pepper, shredded ginger and salt, add cold boiled water, stir it evenly, seal it, and expose it to the sun for at least one month. When the soy sauce jar is exposed, it must be sealed with plastic sheets, and it should not be opened for one month, because at this time, the yeast is undergoing anaerobic respiration to decompose sugar and produce alcohol. If your curiosity urges you to open the jar, oxygen will enter immediately, anaerobic breathing will stop, and the grains of wheat and beans will rot quickly.

After the altar was opened, a thin layer of white film on the inner surface of the altar was removed, and it could be seen that the sauce wheat was golden and shiny, the granules were full, the soup was sticky and slippery, and the fresh and mellow flavor was mixed with the rich sauce flavor. Anyone who smells it will immediately feel the body fluid. Chop a few peppers and mix a few spoonfuls of soy sauce to eat pancakes, and you will be surprised at your appetite. If you have time, you can have a cup, a grain of wheat or a grain of beans, which will make you full of maotai flavor and memorable.

Anyone who opens a can of soy sauce wheat will usually give a plate of delicious food to his neighbor. In order not to make the umami flavor of the sauce wheat run away, it should be sealed in time after taking out a part each time. In order to facilitate carrying and long-distance walking, it can be placed in cans and glass teacups and given to distant relatives. I have been studying abroad for several years, and I bring a bottle every time I go back to school. My roommates in our dormitory say it's delicious, but people from all over the world say' we don't have it there'. One of my classmates asked me in detail about the making process and matters needing attention of soy sauce wheat, and made a careful record, saying that he would go home and make an altar. Later, the classmates were far apart, and I don't know if he did it. I think maybe he has forgotten!

Open the jar of soy sauce wheat and eat it in time within half a year, because the fragrance will be lost, the wheat grains will gradually darken and the taste will become stale. But at this time, you can scramble eggs with wheat in black sauce, put a few peppers and a few shallots, which has a unique taste and will make you hooked.

Kimchi is the crystallization of the Chinese nation's hard work and wisdom, a beautiful scenery of China's ancient food culture, a bright star in the long river of China's farming civilization, and a great creation of thrifty China people. Kimchi, I hope you will continue to live for the Chinese nation and make new contributions to the inheritance and development of traditional culture in China!

Editor's Note: Simple and true feelings, strong rural flavor, pickles in my hometown, and delicious food on the tip of my tongue. The author described in detail the beautiful scenery of China ancient food culture, which aroused our appetite and unforgettable memories. Say hello to the author!