Return To 1977 Chapter 254: Vegetarian stuffing

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After lunch, unexpectedly, Wang Yunlin went home half a day early.

This is because the shoe factory where she works is a large collective and the management is not so strict, not to mention that the majority of the employees are old women. Everyone was thinking about home, and they all got together during lunch. The factory director couldn't suppress it and couldn't save face, so he took the holiday early.

So naturally, the old lady was so happy that she went directly to the kindergarten to "liberate" her grandson in advance, and then returned home happily with her child.

Needless to say, the family will become lively once this little one is added to the family. What's more, the child's grandma gave another special instruction for the New Year, "Whatever!"

This means that the three hundred and sixty days of "standing as you stand and sitting as you sit" have been completely released, and Hong Junman can now roll around in his dirty old cotton clothes.

Hong Yanzheng and Xu Manli haven't come back yet, and without their parents present, the situation can be imagined. Hong Jun was so happy that he turned into a little lunatic, jumping up and down, as if he was playing "Sanchakou". Roll and beat.

It didn’t take long before I got tired of it. As the saying goes, "Girls love flowers, boys love firecrackers." So he pestered Hong Yanwu and asked his third uncle to set off firecrackers with him.

Seeing that the snow was thick outside, Hong Yanwu gave him a better suggestion.

"Are you stupid? You don't even know how to play. With such good snow, why don't we build a snowman? What kind of cannons should we set off..."

After hearing this, Hong Jun was so happy that he jumped into the air. Then he happily accepted the suggestion and followed Hong Yanwu and Chen Liquan to play in the white courtyard.

Not long after, Ling'er, the little granddaughter of the Ding family, was also picked up by Old Ding. Seeing that they had rolled the snowball as big as possible, she happily joined in for this rare fun.

As for the families in the east courtyard, they are also busy with their own activities. The adults started preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner. Bian Jiangong and Su Jin went to watch a movie on the street, while Su Xiu and Hong Yanru, who were afraid of the cold, were cutting window grilles together in the house.

To say that the two girls are really ingenious, they can do things like "magpies climbing plum blossoms", "two dragons playing with pearls", "peacocks in full bloom", "goddess scattering flowers" and all kinds of flowers, plants, insects, fish and birds. Patterns, there is nothing they can’t do

Just like that, two hours later, when Hong Yanwu and Chen Liquan took their two children to build two snowmen, one big and one small. The two girls also cut out window grilles and pasted them all over the glass windows of the Hong family and the Su family. The rest is enough for the Bian family and the Ding family.

Coincidentally, at this moment, not only Wang Yunlin's dumpling fillings had just been mixed, but Hong Yanwu's eldest brother and sister-in-law also got off work early and came in at the same time.

For this, Wang Yunlin instantly became happy, indescribably happy. Because this also means that all the Hong family members are gathered together, and they can start the most important activity of New Year's Eve early, making "Wuguang dumplings".

Don’t forget that making dumplings during the New Year is a common custom among northerners. Everyone knows that “dumplings” and “Jiao” are homophonic, “子” means “子时”, and eating dumplings means “Gengsui Jiaozi”. . But in fact, few people know more about the evolution and details of this traditional food. Especially the dumplings that are a custom in Beijing.

For example, the word "和" for noodles and the word "jiao" for dumplings also mean getting together, so dumplings also symbolize reunion and joy. For another example, because dumplings resemble ingots, they also have the auspicious meaning of "bringing in wealth and treasure".

And when making dumplings, you have to pinch them along the edges with your hands, making sure that the fillings are not exposed. This not only prevents the "wealth" in the dumplings from being exposed, but also the "luck" from running away. There is an additional folk saying about this, which is called "pinch the villain's mouth". The purpose is to avoid slander and prevent villains from being slandered.

In addition, in the old capital, due to the influence of the bannermen, the official name of "boiled dumplings" was always called "boiled dumplings", and it was gradually changed to "dumplings" after the Republic of China. And one of the biggest differences between the old days and today is that no matter whether you are poor or rich in Beijing, the dumplings on New Year's Eve must be made with vegetarian fillings and no meat or fish at all.

This is not for anything else, but because dumplings were used to worship gods and ancestors at that time, and were called "god-pleasing dumplings." At the same time, it also means to seek "purity and peace throughout the year" and to reflect the need for self-discipline and purification of the soul in the new year.

It is particularly worth noting that there is a difference between the traditional concepts of "meat" and "fishy". "Xingy" only refers to big fish and meat, while "meat" refers to pungent plants with the prefix "grass", so onions and garlic cannot be placed in dumpling fillings.

Having said this, you will also know that you can actually eat meat-filled dumplings on New Year’s Eve. This custom has a history far earlier than the founding of the People’s Republic of China. In the end, the lack of materials during the disaster years and the mandatory "old things out and new things in" campaign were the main reasons for the trend to be promoted.

However, when it comes to traditional vegetarian dumpling fillings, they are actually no cheaper than meat fillings and are quite troublesome to make. Because even though it is a vegetarian stuffing, it still incorporates the Beijing people's concept of "never getting tired of fine food and fine food". If a wealthy family pays attention to it, it is even more delicious than minced meat.

For example, carrots must first be grated into shreds with a mat, then blanched in boiling water, dried and then chopped. Chop the Chinese cabbage with a knife, add a little salt to squeeze out the water, then wrap it in a drawer cloth and squeeze out the water.

Other dried foods such as mushrooms, yellow flowers, fungus, and vermicelli should naturally be cooked first and then chopped carefully. You can also add some finely chopped winter bamboo shoots, gluten, and dried white tofu.

In addition, the mixed vegetarian stuffing must also be added with crushed "Pai Cha" and "饹馇Box'er" (鹹馇Box'er) is a famous snack in Beijing, with mung bean noodles as the main raw material and filled with vegetarian vegetables. , shaped like a box, crispy and delicious.) Or cut into fried dough cakes and fried dough sticks, in order to make the vegetarian stuffing taste soft and moist without being lumpy.

When these main ingredients are ready, you can roll sesame seeds into sesame salt, add soy sauce and vegetable oil, and stir into a vegetarian dumpling filling that is salty, delicious, and moderately greasy.

Under circumstances like this year, the Hong family has plenty of meat and supplies. Wang Yunlin thought that the New Year's Eve dinner, which was all big fish and meat, would be too greasy, so eating dumplings with vegetarian fillings that were refreshing and soothing was the best way to change it. So she chose to restore the tradition and mixed a pot of exquisite vegetarian stuffing according to Lao Ling'er.

Of course, when the stuffing was served, it inevitably caused some confusion and criticism. Hong Yanzheng and Hong Yanwen both complained a little, saying, "Mom, why is there no meat in the stuffing? Is this too vegetarian?"

Only Hong Yanwu could appreciate the excitement. He praised it and praised the vegetarian stuffing for being well mixed. He said that this was in line with the principles of scientific diet and would definitely taste better than meat stuffing.

Wang Yunlin was so happy that she praised the third child for being knowledgeable and understanding of her mother's heart, and then she told everyone her intentions. However, this inevitably made Hong Yanzheng and Hong Yanwen a little jealous of their younger brother, and they began to criticize him as a "flattery".

Under Wang Yunlin's urging, soon the whole Hong family washed their hands, stood or sat around the Eight Immortals table and started kneading noodles, rolling out dough, and starting to open bags.

In fact, there are only two differences in the specific production procedures of Chinese New Year dumplings. A person who pays attention to dough cannot use a knife, but must use his hands. The other is a "specific program". When making dumplings, the whole family has to put coins and dates into the stuffing.

This is a tradition in Beijing. When eating dumplings, whoever bites the money means good luck for the year. If anyone bites a date, it means good luck. This content is both festive and entertaining, and everyone is willing to eat a few more dumplings just for this reason.

Not to mention, spending the Spring Festival with his family again after decades apart, Hong Yanwu now understands very well why his mother must gather the family together to make dumplings together every year.

Because this step is so important. This not only reflects the unity and harmony of the family, working together, but also the process of everyone communicating together. No matter how big the knot was in a year, most of it was healed in this warm and joyful atmosphere.

As for children, they are not boring either. Although they can often only help adults knead a few dumpling skins that are not very good, and they can't sit still, and they will easily get bored after being there for a long time. But don’t forget, dough can function as a toy.

For example, Hong Yanwu and Hong Yanru were just like their mothers used to coax them. They taught Hong Jun and Ling'er how to knead small animals with flour dough, and then waited for them to knead the drums before helping them bake them on the stove hoop.

So the two children played with great interest all the time, and no one made a fuss. When the dumplings were almost done, they also had all kinds of little rabbits, little hedgehogs, little ducks, snails, turtles...