NFBE Chapter 289: The Big Axe in Front of Lu Ban
Chapter 289: The Big Axe in Front of Lu Ban
Su's mother had her back to the two of them, her upper body trembling slightly as she rolled the dough. She pinched the dough with her left hand and used the stick with her right hand. In no time, a round dumpling skin took shape in her hands.
Zhao Xiaojing had finished mixing the stuffing long ago and was staring at Su's mother's actions without blinking, in amazement.
She knows how to make some noodles, but people from the Central Plains are not considered to be good at it. The only thing she is good at now is soup dumplings, which she learned to make for the sake of favorability.
But seeing how skillfully and smoothly Su's mother rolled out the dough and made dumplings, it was clear that she had already surpassed the normal level of people here.
You should know that Zhao Xiaojing's family used to eat dumplings, but they had never rolled the dough themselves, let alone made round dumpling wrappers. They all bought square wrappers from the vegetable market and directly made them into Yuanbao dumplings.
At that time, every household in Yangcheng ate dumplings this way, including relatives. This led to Zhao Xiaojing's indifference and incomprehension of dumplings eaten during festivals when she was a child. Aren't they just thin dough wrapped with stuffing? The dough often broke and the stuffing leaked out of the pot.
It was not until I went to school and ate northern dumplings on the street that I realized how deep my misunderstanding of dumplings was after I was amazed by them.
But misunderstanding aside, they still had to go home and continue eating the thin dough used to make stuffing in the vegetable market. After all, the skill of rolling out dough needs to be cultivated. Not only does Zhao Xiaojing not know how to do it, but Zhao Xiaojing's mother, third aunt and other relatives also don't know how to do it.
Zhao Xiaojing patted Su Yuchen who was in a daze, and when she came to her senses, she motioned for her to take the twenty or thirty pieces of wrappers that Su's mother had already rolled out and wrap them. While wrapping, she admired Su's mother's skillful movements from time to time. "Auntie, how do you roll the dumpling wrappers so well? No one in our place can roll this kind of round dumpling wrappers."
"Oh, what I make is nothing. Chenzi's grandmother's dough is the best. Her grandmother also said that we sisters were born with the wrong environment and couldn't be taught to roll. Her grandmother's rolling pin is like boxing under a well - she has profound skills. I can't compare with her." While Su's mother was talking, she rolled out three or five more dough sheets and piled them aside.
"Is grandma from the north?" Zhao Xiaojing asked curiously.
"Yes, we are from Henan Province. We are very good at making noodles. We escaped from famine here. We were scolded for being born in this place and being so unlucky that we couldn't even use a rolling pin properly." Mother Su said with a smile.
"I'll take you to my grandma's house tomorrow, and you'll know once you eat it. I can't stop thinking about my grandma's hand-rolled noodles. They're so chewy." Su Yuchen muttered aside.
Zhao Xiaojing nodded excitedly, looked down, and couldn't help laughing out loud.
"What are you laughing at?...Hahaha!" Su Yuchen followed Zhao Xiaojing's gaze and also laughed.
When Su's mother heard the noise, she turned her head and immediately smiled into slits, "Oh my god!..."
I wasn't paying attention to what the three of them were saying just now. They were chatting while doing their own things. Now I looked down.
On the dustpan, the dumplings made by Zhao Xiaojing and Su Yuchen were clearly separated. Su Yuchen made northern big-bellied dumplings, and had already made six of them, with one still in her hand. The ones made by Zhao Xiaojing were in some strange shape, like ingots with long skirts. They looked very awkward, and she had just finished making three.
"It turns out you are so good at making dumplings!" After laughing for a while, Zhao Xiaojing looked at the dumplings made by Su Yuchen in amazement.
"So you don't know how to make dumplings!" Su Yuchen looked at Zhao Xiaojing's ugly dumplings in surprise.
"I taught her dozens of times. If she doesn't make it well again, I will punish her! Xiaojing, make another one so I can see how you do it." Su's mother stopped rolling the dumpling skins and stood by the table holding a rolling pin.
"This is how I used to make square dumplings. My family always bought skins from the market to make this kind of dumplings, so I only know how to make this kind."
Zhao Xiaojing smiled embarrassedly, reached out and took another piece of wrapper, scooped a spoonful of stuffing with a small spoon and placed it on the halfway point below the waistline of the dumpling wrapper. Then she turned the lower wrapper up, pinched the opening, turned it up again, pinched the opening, folded both sides of the dumpling wrapper in half, and pinched them tightly. A twisted ingot-like dumpling with a skirt was formed.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Ouch! I can't take it anymore..."
Su's mother and Su Yuchen laughed again. Seeing that they were laughing happily, Zhao Xiaojing couldn't help but laugh too.
"Wow, are you guys having such a good time making dumplings?" Father Su came in from outside with a dark face. It would be bad enough if the mother and daughter brought the guests and abandoned him to sit alone in the main room, but why are they laughing so happily here?
"Dad, look!" Su Yuchen picked up Zhao Xiaojing's dumplings and showed them to his father.
"Oh, who made these big thick-skinned wontons?" Father Su said while staring at the dumplings, trying not to laugh.
The three of them laughed.
After Father Su washed his hands, he also sat on another bench, took the skin on his hand, and stretched it in front of Zhao Xiaojing, "Come on, Xiaojing, I'll teach you!"
"Oh my, you're so impressive. After all these years, you finally got one!" Su's mother had just finished demonstrating to Zhao Xiaojing the correct way to make Yuanbao dumplings and big-bellied dumplings. Seeing Su's father showing off, she put down the dumplings, stood up and waited to watch.
"Of course I am. Usually, you and your daughter both look down on me when I help out with small favors. But today it's my turn to show off my skills! Come on, Xiaojing, learn from me." Father Su picked up a small spoon and measured the fillings two or three times. He skimmed off the fillings in the spoon and scooped it up again before filling the center of the dumpling skin.
Seeing how slow Su's father was taking, Su's mother and Su Yuchen looked at each other and rolled their eyes. They continued to watch in silence, and Su Yuchen even stopped making dumplings.
Zhao Xiaojing watched Su's father's actions, scooped a spoonful of stuffing similar to Su's father's, skimmed off a little bit of the stuffing, and filled the center of the dumpling skin with the stuffing.
"Right, you measured very accurately." Father Su smiled, folded the dumpling wrapper up and down, placed the dumpling between the bases of his thumbs, then spread his thumbs outward and pressed the center with his fingertips, "Then close it, just press like this! Easy, right?"
"...Simple." Zhao Xiaojing said against her will as she looked at the dumplings made by Su's father, which were obviously not as good as the ones made by Su's mother, nor as good as the ones made by Su Yuchen.
With Su's mother's demonstration in front of her, Zhao Xiaojing seemed to be learning from Su's father. Her hands unconsciously imitated Su's mother's more standard movements, closing and pressing.
A dumpling that looks more stylish than the soft and ugly dumplings made by Su’s father was created!
Su’s father:……
"Hahahaha, Dad, why don't you go pick up Third Grandma!" Su Yuchen couldn't help but pound the table and laugh.
"Oh my god, teaching your apprentice will make you starve to death, right? What do you call this? Waving an axe in front of Lu Ban - you are asking for humiliation!" Su's mother wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, laughing uncontrollably.
When the laughter gradually died down, Su's mother took action again and corrected Zhao Xiaojing's technique of making dumplings and the authentic way of making Yuanbao dumplings. Zhao Xiaojing gradually got the hang of it, and Su's mother returned to the chopping board and continued to roll out the dough.