Lumomo, the nostalgia left on the taste buds

The New Year is approaching, and my mother has started making steamed buns early. The most delicious and best-stored steamed buns in winter are stove steamed buns. Make enough steamed buns to last throughout the twelfth lunar month and the first lunar month, and put them in a big vat without affecting the taste at all.

The tool used to make stoved steamed buns is an iron pan called "銊".

The lid is also made of thick iron in a round shape. The top is made into an arch with iron wire and set up like a yurt, and then a layer of mud is applied on top to make it look like a kitchen.

When making, add fire to the top and bottom so that both sides of the dough are evenly heated. The resulting buns will be golden and crispy on both sides and very delicious. In distant memory, when I was very young, my family would make this kind of steamed buns on the eve of the Chinese New Year, also called "New Year steamed buns".

For a long period of time later, perhaps due to the impact of the new culture and new changes, everyone gave up this way of making steamed buns. The only use of "銊" During weddings and funerals, they are used to wash dishes.

In the past few years, my parents and neighbors, uncles and aunts have sorted out the "grain" again and made it again. I started making "roasted steamed buns"

Because I was preparing to eat them during the Chinese New Year, I made several times more noodles than usual. My mother started making five or six oversized plastic pots. It's full of noodles and they are lined up on the long table, which looks really spectacular.

My mother is a person who is passionate about life. She doesn't neglect every ordinary day, let alone every festival. When that festival comes, she will always do what she should eat and do according to the regulations, whether it is a busy day or a grand occasion like the Chinese New Year. We made preparations for the festival early. When we were young, although life was very difficult and we couldn’t afford the fish and meat we have now, we could still make the food we had at home. . Just like steamed buns, you can also name them: plain steamed buns, flower rolls, fried pot helmets, dry food, and steamed buns; fried pancakes, dumplings, and beef ribs. Ba, somersaults. Listening to them makes people think a lot, not to mention that they are all placed on beautiful plates on the table.

Speaking of steamed buns, it is the highlight of the year. Because we are preparing for the New Year, we are very careful when doing it. And because the "銊" is a big thing, one or two people cannot handle it, so it requires the cooperation of several family members to complete it every year. Several families do it together, for two or three days in a row.

In the past few years, my father has prepared firewood in advance. It is burned with firewood so that the skin of the steamed buns will not be burnt and the insides will be burnt. The heat must be controlled. Generally, it will be cooked in about twenty minutes in one pot.

Several men sat around and "cooked" the steamed buns. "Next to it, there was a wine pot on the vent above. Several people were chatting about the mountains from all over the world. The bright red flames reflected their dark cheeks. Due to the roasting of the fire and the effect of the alcohol, everyone's face There is a bright red color on the surface.

And the women’s job is to make the dough into dough. This is the time to test whether a woman is good at tea or rice. The saying: "The beaten wife kneads the dough" refers to the skill of kneading the dough.

A plastic basin as big as this can hold about thirty kilograms of dry flour. For part of the dough, use hot water to combine the dough and dry noodles. This process is the most tiring and requires the most effort. If the noodles are not mixed well during this step, it will directly affect the shape and appearance of the buns. Taste.

I volunteered to make noodles for my mother, but when the bowl of noodles was ready and met my mother’s requirements, I felt so tired that my neck ached and my arms were weak. I really can't imagine my mother and those aunts repeating this heavy work every year. Although they usually cook less, they are all used to getting together to make steamed buns with firewood, so a large pot at a time is essential.

When all the noodles are ready, mother puts in an appropriate amount of edible alkali, cooking oil and a small amount of beer and kneads the basins of noodles again until they look soft and smooth. until it is no longer sticky in your hands.

Then they started making steamed buns. They took out a portion of the noodles from the basin, gently kneaded them into long strips on the chopping board, and then used their hands to shape the noodles into evenly sized dough pieces.

My mother, who never saves time when doing these things, specifically told me not to use a knife to cut them, saying that it would affect the taste and appearance. Then my mother poured an appropriate amount of green oil into a large bowl, put in some turmeric powder, stirred evenly and pressed it on top of the dough with a spoon. She said that the buns baked in this way would be golden in color and make people appetizing just by looking at them.

Put the dough carefully made by the mothers into the "griddle" that is just under the heat. When it comes out of the pan twenty minutes later, it will be golden and crispy buns, exuding the unique flavor of wheat and rapeseed oil. The fragrance is mouth-watering.

After a night of cooking, every family will make several boxes of steamed buns. There are many people that my mother cares about, including her two daughters, one son, the relatives and friends behind her daughter, and the relatives and friends behind her son. Everyone has to share a few, so my family does a lot every year. And what she said repeatedly was, while I can still move, I will cook and eat for you. When I leave that day, you will not think about it.

Every year, because of my busy work schedule, I rarely participate in the production process. But this year, when I participated in the entire production process, I realized how arduous and vast the work was. As the saying goes, if you don’t raise children, you don’t know your parents’ kindness. It wasn’t until this moment that I discovered how much care and love there is for their children in their parents’ daily work.