I read an article before going to bed-fried rice and coke tablets. Among them, fried rice reminds me of fried rice in my hometown. Mr Wang Lao's hometown is Gaoyou and Zheng Banqiao's hometown is Xinghua, both of which are in Jiangsu. It's not surprising that there is fried rice. My hometown is a small town in Hubei, and the old man's hometown also has fried rice. So, fried rice is still a very popular food!
The thought of fried rice reminds me of my childhood. Because no one will do it now, it has already been done in the workshop.
In early winter, when my mother sees the sunny weather, she will start to cook rice. Take out a big barrel-shaped instrument from the utility room-named "Zheng Zi" and soak it in the water. Brush inside and out with a bamboo brush several times. Because this Zheng Ziping is rarely used in peacetime, there is always a thick layer of ash in a small corner of the utility room. Wash it to reveal its true colors. This time, it seems to be doing an annual event-steaming glutinous rice.
My mother lit a fire in the stove and burned my face hot. I like watching by the fire. Because there are fragrant sweet potatoes buried under the firewood ash! Greedy, I can't help but want to fish them out with tongs, for fear that they will be burnt into charcoal with such a prosperous torch and there will be nothing to eat. At this time, my mother will stop me. Zheng Zi is driving SAIC. Don't stir the fire. The sweet potato is not ripe yet. I was stunned by her voice, so I didn't dare to rummage any more, and my heart was swollen because she was "not ready". A big bubble appeared on Zheng Zi, who was sealed with plastic film. The steam inside is very white, and the hot air drilled in the small gap next to it has been rising. Looking at the steaming air, I stood by the fire, waiting for the glutinous rice and baked sweet potato to cook quickly.
When the meal was ready, my mother put the whole Zheng Zi upside down on the prepared bamboo mat and opened the chopsticks. The whole yard smelled of sticky rice. She didn't forget to give me a bowl. I don't need to eat vegetables when I eat glutinous rice. Just chewing rice makes my mouth feel sweet. After eating a small bowl of glutinous rice, I don't want to eat any more, and I have to save room for baked sweet potatoes!
It takes only three or five days for the wind and the sun in winter to turn glutinous rice grains back into rice grains. Mother went to the edge of the vegetable garden and cut some thorns to make brushes, and took out a bag from the cupboard in the utility room. This bag contains river sand used for fried rice last year. Pour the sand into the pot, stir-fry it with a brush for a certain time, grab a handful of dried glutinous rice and throw it down. If you continue to fry glutinous rice grains, they will become big and white, as if they were enchanted. When I was a child, I especially loved watching my mother and grandmother stir-fry rice seeds. It's amazing to see them use the Vitex brush to change the white rice seeds. Grab a handful of hot rice, stick out your tongue and have a crispy rice. I saw pangolins eat ants on TV, and that's how they eat.
When the fried rice is completely cool, it will be packed in plastic bags and sealed, which can be kept for half a year. What about six months later? It's already done. During the transplanting season, parents went to the fields early, grabbed a bowl of rice, soaked it in boiling water with some sugar and lard, and drank it up in a few minutes. Although simple, it can resist hunger for a while.
When I was a child, I liked to put a few handfuls of fried rice in my pocket and eat it while playing. Very pleasant. It's just that sometimes you pack too much and play too crazy, so it's easy for rice to fall to the ground and it will explode when you step on it. Adults say you can't step on rice, or it will thunder. After hearing this, I stopped stepping on it and left it on the ground for the chickens who came to feed.
In the twelfth lunar month, my mother will make some fried rice into sugar cakes. Weigh some sesame sugar (like maltose) and add oil to melt it. Pour the fried rice into the pot and stir well. Take it out and put it into a box mold for compaction. Pour out and cut into strips. Wait for it to cool before cutting it into pieces. Sugar cake is ready. Teacher Wang's book says that there are circles (happy groups), and there are circles in our country, but my mother always cuts circles into squares. No one will bother to do this now, they all go to the market to buy ready-made ones. The light and sweet ones bought are greasy, unlike those made at home, which can eat several pieces at a time. I haven't seen Fangfang's cookies for years.
If I hadn't read this book, I would have forgotten that there are fried rice seeds in my hometown.