Mom's taste - dried vegetables and meat

A few days ago, I posted on WeChat the dried vegetable meat I sent to my daughter. Several sisters asked me to write down how to make the dried vegetable meat.

When writing about dried vegetables and meat, we must first talk about the origin of dried vegetables.

Dried vegetables should be made by every household in our south. In the past, rural housewives would pickle, dry and dry fresh vegetables that were too much to eat or difficult to preserve. Like dried radish. Dried cowpeas, dried bamboo shoots, dried plums, dried bracken, etc.

The dried vegetables we use to make dried vegetables and meats are prunes. The cooking method of Jinhua dried vegetables is different from that in Shaoxing. Jinhua is not called plum dried vegetables, just dried vegetables. I remember when I was a child, every autumn and winter, my mother would always bring the ripe mustard, also called nine-headed mustard. Cut it back from the vegetable field, wash it, dry it for a day, and then pile it in a ventilated and cool place. For four or five days, double it every day to prevent the vegetable pile from heating up and deteriorating until the vegetable pile turns yellow-green, and then wash the vegetables. , let it dry until it is half dry, and then start pickling the pickles. At this time, my mother would always bring a basin of hot water, help me wash and dry my little feet, then put a layer of dried vegetables in a large tank where pickles are placed, sprinkle a layer of salt on them, and hug me Put it into the vegetable vat and let me step on it, and I realized that this was really helping the adults work. I always stepped on it very hard with my feet and had fun in it. When the vegetable juice came out, another row was lined up. Layer the vegetables, sprinkle with salt, and step on them again. Repeat this until the vegetables are all covered. Tread the four corners firmly and the vegetable juices will submerge all the vegetables. Then sprinkle a layer of salt on top and use a clean dishwasher. Press the stones, and then use a large sieve to cover the mouth of the cylinder to prevent dust from falling in.

In February or March of next year, when the pickles that have been pickled for two or three months are fully cooked, they start to be dried. As long as the weather is fine, my mother will use the bamboo pole at home to dry clothes. Use a bamboo fork to hold up the golden and translucent pickles, tear them into strips, tie them into bundles, and ride them on the bamboo poles to dry. Whenever you do this work, the aunties and aunties next door will come to help, and we little devils I would circle around the basket and sieve, specializing in eating the mustard hearts torn off by the adults. The salty and fragrant mustard hearts make my mouth water even now thinking about them.

After drying it for the first time, put it on a basket to steam until soft, and then dry it again. Repeat this until the color is bright red and the aroma is fragrant, then put it in a jar and seal it. Nowadays, every household cooks less and the methods are simplified. Fresh vegetables are chopped directly, soaked, sun-dried, steamed, sun-dried again, and put into the jar.

There are many ways to make dried vegetables and meat, basically stir-fried or steamed.

Let’s talk about stir-frying first: buy good pork belly, cut the meat into thin slices, heat the pot over high heat, pour a little salad oil into the pot to moisten the pot, so that the fried meat will not stick to the pot, and then pour Add the chopped pork belly and stir-fry until the meat turns golden brown to boil out all the oil in the meat. Then add some chopped garlic and red pepper, pour in a little cooking wine, a little light soy sauce, and a tablespoon of sugar. Let it simmer for a while, then add the dried vegetables and stir-fry. The amount of dried vegetables to add is up to your personal preference. Once the dried vegetables are fully absorbed by the oil, it will be ready!

For steamed dried vegetable meat, pig front leg meat should be used. Dice the meat, mince the garlic, and Thai pepper, then chop the dried vegetables, meat, garlic, and Thai pepper together. Add cooking wine, sugar, and a little light soy sauce. Don't chop it too much. The dried vegetable meat chopped in this way can be steamed alone, or steamed with tofu, and can be made into dried vegetable meat buns, flower rolls, or dried vegetable pancakes.

The stir-fried dried vegetable meat is fragrant, while the steamed dried vegetable meat is soft and flavourful, each has its own merits. In short, dried vegetable meat is a very good side dish. The most important thing when making dried vegetables and meat is to add sugar and make it slightly sweet so that the taste is not stiff.

Don’t underestimate this dried vegetable meat! The hard-working Chinese mothers have used these humble dried vegetables to send many students from poor families to higher education institutions, and they have trained many scientists and academicians! Wanderers who are wandering abroad, do you still remember the dried vegetables and meat from your hometown?