funbook-pk Chapter 32 Braised Pork Intestines
Chapter 32 Braised Pork Intestines
"We also bought pork fat, Jiaojiao. Since it's still early, let's render the pork fat first, so you won't be too busy by yourself." Before Song Jiaojiao could speak, Aunt Li took over the order.
"That's great! Luckily, Auntie is here, otherwise I don't know how long I would have to work by myself. It's perfect for separating the pork and rendering the fat as well. After rendering the oil, everyone can take the leftover cracklings home to eat. We can't possibly finish all of this," Song Jiaojiao readily agreed. With so many people around, it would be quicker to wash and prepare everything than for Song Jiaojiao and her friends to do it all by themselves.
Upon hearing that Song Jiaojiao had agreed, Aunt Li instructed her staff to get to work quickly.
Seeing that there was no room for her to intervene, Song Jiaojiao took out the offal she had bought in town and cleaned it. This offal contained not only large intestines, but also pig stomach and kidneys. These were things that were several times more expensive than meat in her previous life.
First, clean up any unexpelled feces in the large intestine by flushing it several times with water. Then, turn the large intestine inside out and wash it several times to remove any intestinal fat. Next, rub it clean with corn flour, salt, and a little white wine, and then rinse it with clean water.
After turning it over, add flour, salt, and white wine, knead it, rinse it with water, and finally add salt and vinegar. Unfortunately, Song Jiaojiao didn't find any vinegar, so she had to wash it again with salt. After washing it four times, it basically didn't have any smell.
The aunt felt heartbroken watching Song Jiaojiao wash the large intestine with flour, salt, and liquor. The offal was not only unpalatable but also had a strange smell. Wasn't this a waste of food?
Unable to hold back any longer, Aunt Lin exclaimed, "Oh dear, Jiaojiao, what are you doing? Flour and salt all at once!"
"Auntie, I'm washing the large intestines. This way, they won't have any smell and will taste better," Song Jiaojiao replied without stopping her work.
"This...this large intestine is delicious? Jiaojiao, I've bought this kind of large intestine before, thinking that since it's from a pig, it's at least some kind of meat, but it didn't taste good at all when I cooked it, and it had a strong odor. Do you have a different way of cooking it?" Aunt Lin looked at the large intestine that Song Jiaojiao had washed several times, and it seemed that the taste was a bit bland.
"Auntie, there's plenty of intestines here anyway, let's make this for lunch tomorrow. You'll see tomorrow." Song Jiaojiao looked at the large amount of intestines in the basin and thought that they should eat this for lunch tomorrow. There might not be enough for everyone, but there's still a pig's stomach.
"Alright, then I'll look forward to Jiaojiao's cooking tomorrow." Aunt Lin didn't say anything more, but she didn't have high hopes. She had never heard of anyone being able to cook offal so well.
By the time Song Jiaojiao had finished washing the pig's stomach, the aunties had also finished rendering the oil. Song Jiaojiao then gave each of them a bowl to take home before they all went home.
There was still some left at home, but Mu Xue wasn't as enthusiastic this time. After all, even the most delicious food gets boring if you eat it every day, except for potatoes.
Thinking about potatoes, I wonder if they still exist in this era. After all, it must be such a painful thing for a potato-headed person to never be able to eat potatoes again.
Song Jiaojiao went into the kitchen, put the large intestine and pig stomach into a pot of cold water, added ginger, scallions and white wine to remove the fishy smell, and asked Mu Qing to cook it over a big fire. Wang Hefan came back, ate his meal and went out, saying that he was going to check if there was any wild game in the traps he had set on the mountain, and also to chop some firewood.
After the water boiled, clean the large intestine and pig stomach, put them in the pot again with cold water, add the spices and chili peppers that Song Jiaojiao bought at the pharmacy, bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to low heat. Remembering that Wang Hefan had bought some pork belly today, I cut another piece of pork belly into the pot.
While the braised pork intestines were cooking, Song Jiaojiao took out the pork kidneys and processed them. She cut the pork kidneys in half and removed the white membranes. This is the key to whether the pork kidneys taste good and have flavor.
Cut it into flower shapes, wash it with flour and salt, and soak it in water again. I was supposed to use starch here, but unfortunately I didn't have any. I was thinking of making sweet potato flour after the sweet potatoes in the space were harvested and the house was built.
Before Aunt Li left, Song Jiaojiao asked her to bring some pickled vegetables the next day. Although there were no pickled chili peppers, pickled ginger would be a good alternative.
Once the pork kidneys were cooked, a fragrant aroma wafted from the pot. When Song Jiaojiao smelled this aroma, it was as if she had returned to the time when her grandparents slaughtered pigs for the New Year before they passed away. Back then, her grandmother would always braise the pork intestines. She always said it was because she was old and that braising them would make them softer. In fact, Song Jiaojiao knew in her heart that it was because she liked to eat braised food, so her grandmother always indulged her.
"Mom, it smells so good! It smells even better than chicken! What delicious food have you made?" Mu Xue was feeding the rabbits grass in the backyard when she smelled the aroma and stopped feeding them, afraid that if she waited too long, there wouldn't be any left for her to eat.
Mu Qing was cooking on the stove when she heard Mu Xue's words and nodded repeatedly. She never expected that the smelly offal would smell so good. If she weren't so shy, and if she weren't already a grown woman who couldn't be so impulsive, she would have asked her mother long ago.
"It smells good, doesn't it? This is the stuff you said smelled bad, the stuff you would never eat. Looks like I can only look at it today, not eat it!" Song Jiaojiao teased Mu Xue, raising her eyebrows.
"Mother, Mother, I was wrong. I should have trusted you completely. Anything that passes through your hands will definitely taste better." Mu Xue shook Song Jiaojiao's arm, pleading and flattering her at the same time.
Looking at Mu Xue, who had become much closer to her, Song Jiaojiao pinched her nose and said, "Alright, you won't be missing out on anyone else."
Seeing that the time was almost up, Song Jiaojiao lifted the lid of the pot, and the aroma instantly became even stronger. Luckily, Song Jiaojiao lived far away, otherwise, she didn't know how many of the neighbor's children would have been drooling with envy.
He used chopsticks to poke the pig's stomach and pork belly, and found that they could be easily pierced. He then asked Mu Xue to remove the firewood and scoop the pork into a large basin to soak, so that it would be easier for the flavors to penetrate.
Braised dishes naturally need to be paired with white rice, but unfortunately Song Jiaojiao didn't buy any refined rice, so she had to steam a pot of brown rice instead.
After the rice was cooked, Wang Hefan returned carrying firewood, along with a rabbit and a pheasant. Song Jiaojiao took the rabbit and pheasant and placed them by the well. She would clean them up after dinner, as she had bought a lot of pork today and needed to process at least half of it.
Before even entering the house, Wang Hefan could smell the delicious aroma wafting from the air. "Mom, what are you making? I can smell it even before I get home."
"Isn't this the offal I bought last time? I thought I'd clean it up and braise it all in one pot. Now that you're back, I can just stir-fry some other dishes and we can start eating." Song Jiaojiao said before heading to the kitchen to cook.
I stir-fried a vegetarian dish with pork cracklings, then picked out a section of large intestine from the basin, cut it into segments, and also cut a piece of pig stomach into strips and put it in a bowl with the large intestine.
Thinking there wasn't much pork belly, she scooped it all out and sliced it. She could braise some more tomorrow, and also braise some vegetables. After slicing the braised vegetables, Song Jiaojiao covered the pot with the lid to prevent stray cats or mice from carrying them away.