SFS Chapter 155: Wild Little Pheasant
Chapter 155: Wild Little Pheasant
Night falls and the sun gradually sets.
Shen Zhiqiu also asked the men to cut a lot of thorns and put them around the edge of the cart. After all, this stone wall was not far from the stream, so they had to be fully prepared for overnight stay.
Although an opening was left in the middle door for their convenience, a fire would be lit through this opening during their rest time, so I believe that even wild animals would not dare to come in.
The women had already set up the stove and cooked four pots of pheasant.
There were four pheasants left, and Shen Youyou prepared to make beggar's chicken.
These pheasants were collected by the aunts and uncles, and the chicken feathers were also collected.
Shen Youyou smeared salt on the chicken, found some large leaves to wrap it, and then mixed some mud to wrap the pheasant.
She asked Brother Dabao to dig a hole in the ground, light a fire in the pit, put the wrapped pheasant in it, and when it was almost burned, she covered it with a layer of soil.
In order to cook the pheasant faster, a small fire was lit on the soil to heat it from both sides.
The little kids all surrounded Shen Youyou, because they knew that the food made by Sister Youyou was usually the most delicious and the best they had ever seen.
"Sister, what are you doing?" Shen Yuanbao asked first.
Shen Youyou was sweating profusely while working, and there was also a reason for roasting over a fire: "Make beggar's chicken!"
Shen Luming squatted beside the fire with his short legs and said, "Sister, is beggar's chicken the chicken that beggars eat?"
Shen Youyou nodded: "Yes, the beggar caught a chicken, but there was no pot to cook it, so he thought of wrapping the chicken in mud, burying it in the soil and roasting it. It didn't take long for the chicken to be cooked, so this chicken is called: Beggar's Chicken."
She didn't want to tell her younger brothers about stealing the chicken, because kids are young and ignorant, and this is a critical period for cultivating correct values.
In fact, Beggar's Chicken has another nickname, Fortune Chicken.
According to legend, when Emperor Qianlong was on a tour in Jiangnan, he accidentally wandered in the wilderness. A beggar took pity on him and gave him the "Beggar's Chicken", which he considered a delicacy.
Qianlong was very hungry, so he thought the chicken was very delicious. He finished the whole chicken in one go and even asked the name of the chicken.
The beggar was embarrassed to call this chicken "Beggar's Chicken", so he just called it "Rich Chicken". Qianlong praised this chicken highly.
The beggar later found out that the homeless man was the current emperor. Because of the emperor's words, the "Beggar's Chicken" became the "Rich Chicken" and has become popular ever since.
This also made this dish, which was not suitable for formal dining, become a formal dish and entered the dining tables of people in the previous life.
Shen Yuanbao thought: "Sister, can that beggar's chicken be delicious?"
Shen Luming also looked suspicious: "Sister, we have a pot, stewed chicken is also delicious, why do you want to make this?"
Shen Youyou looked mysterious: "You don't understand this, right? The most vulgar is the most elegant, and the more primitive the cooking method, the more authentic the classic dishes can be made."
The little kids were confused. What was their sister saying?
The pheasant pieces in the big iron pot were simmered over low heat, and waves of aroma wafted out.
The grandmothers put out bamboo bowls and chopsticks on the carts, and the aunts and uncles used large iron pots to steam yam and kudzu root steamed bread.
After Shen Youyou finished her work, she suggested to Li Jingshu, "Mom, there are not many yams left. I remember seeing someone use kudzu root powder to make red bean kudzu root cake.
Although we don't have red beans, we can add some wild vegetables. If you want to eat sweet, add some sugar; if you want to eat salty, add some salt.
The method is very simple. Add kudzu root powder and water to make a paste. Add the chopped wild vegetables into the paste and mix well. Pour the paste into a container and steam it. A wooden basin or barrel will do.
Steam it in cold water for about an incense stick of time, let it cool, take it out and cut it into pieces and eat it directly. It’s easier than kneading the dough and steaming the steamed bread like we do.”
The yams they dug were not as many as the kudzu roots. Even though they basically didn't eat any dry food this winter and only ate fish and meat, there wasn't much left.
Li Jingshu was also making steamed bread, but when he heard this, he turned around and asked, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Shen Youyou spread her hands and said, "There were no wild vegetables before. It would have been useless if I had said so earlier!"
"If you had told us earlier, we would have made all the yam into vermicelli and eaten the kudzu root cake directly. With the method you mentioned, we can eat it without adding wild vegetables."
Li Jingshu was helpless. His daughter had been living a good life for too long. Although she had suffered a lot along the way, she still habitually wanted to make the meals delicious rather than just eat until she was full.
Shen Youyou understood what her mother meant. She did not refute, but she did not quite agree. It was not like she had no food, so why should she suffer on the journey and even hurt her stomach.
Life was hard enough, and she always wanted everyone to have enough to eat and eat well.
If there is not enough food, we have to find a way. As long as people have brains and there is no drought, they will not starve to death.
In fact, the mother and daughter were both right in their ideas. The mistake was that they were born in different times. When Li Jingshu was a child in her previous life, her family was somewhat poor. At that time, every family was poor.
She ate steamed corn bread and coarse grain pancakes every day, so even when she became wealthy later and traveled through time to a period of natural disasters, her mind worked very quickly, and she spoke and acted according to the circumstances, thinking about saving food as much as possible while ensuring that everyone had enough to eat.
Shen Youyou has really been born in a honeypot. Although she likes to survive in the wilderness, she pays more attention to the quality of life when conditions permit.
If there are no conditions, just create them. How can people be suffocated by difficulties?
Shen Zhixia was afraid that her niece would be scolded, so she quickly interrupted, "It's not too late to talk now. We have a lot of food, including a lot of cured fish and cured bamboo rats, and even more kudzu root powder."
Li Jingshu didn't mean to scold her daughter, mainly because she had never scolded her since she was a child. She just asked casually, and when she heard her elder sister-in-law rushing out to protect her, she changed the subject:
"Hurry up and keep an eye on your beggar's chicken, don't let it get burnt later."
Shen Youyou thought that my mother's change of topic was too abrupt, how could it be unclear?
When it was completely dark, the stewed chicken was cooked.
There was no table in the wilderness, because they didn't bring the bamboo table, bamboo chairs, bamboo bed, or bamboo frame they had made in the cave. When they walked out of the cave,
Shen Zhiqiu also had the entrance of the cave sealed, so that wild beasts would probably not be able to get in. However, if the refugees saw it, they could remove the stones at the entrance and take a break.
There was also a note left by Shen Zhiqiu inside, which read: Temporary shelter, there are fish in the water on the second floor. If you leave, please seal the entrance of the cave and wait for the next destined person!
So everyone prepared their meals one by one and sat on the palm mats to eat.
There were also men who were not particular about details and just sat on the ground or squatted down to eat.
The little kids held bamboo bowls and ate the delicious stewed chicken. They also reminded Shen Youyou: "Sister, don't burn the beggar's chicken!"
He wants to eat but he doesn't say so, saying he's afraid the beggar's chicken will be burnt!
Shen Youyou had just taken a piece of chicken into her mouth and was thinking: This little wild pheasant with firm meat is really delicious when stewed in a big iron pot. It would be even better if there were some wild mushrooms.
After hearing what her younger brothers said, she thought it was about time, so she called out to brothers Erhu and Dabao and asked them to dig the hole for her.