Dreaming of Lion Rock: Recipe in Hand

It is the harvest season again. The golden rice ears sparkle in the sun, covering Lion Rock with a new yellow coat, full of hope and joy.

It was still summer vacation, and Chunni took Xiazhi and Qiuguo, who had grown into thin bamboo poles, to the fields to harvest rice.

Donglin followed his friends up the mountain and had fun. Chunni didn't care.

This year, we raised fish in the rice fields, so the team leader didn't allow us to release water. Otherwise, it would be much more convenient to walk in the fields with water.

But women and children did not ask for water to be released because of this inconvenience, because everyone was looking forward to a good harvest of fish in the rice fields. Like last year, every household got a dozen fish as thick as four fingers, and they could sell the extra fish to meat processing plants and breeding farms. Why not?

Therefore, the villagers of Lion Rock were delighted to see the fish jumping out of the water from time to time.

"My fellow men and women, watch your step and don't step on any fish! They are not fish, they are our production team's gold nuggets. We will distribute the money to each household after we sell them!"

Yang Anzhang's voice could be heard from far away.

"it is good!"

"Get it!"

"..."

Echoes came and went.

If the fish is stepped on, it won’t be sold at a good price.

In order to eat the fresh and tender rice fish, the villagers were very alert and harvested the rice tirelessly.

Chunni had already adapted to the work, swinging her sickle quickly and cutting the rice. Sweat slowly flowed down her young face and fell into the water, creating light splashes. She did not feel tired, this kind of work with hope was very enjoyable.

Thanks to the hard work of the villagers, all the rice in Lion Mountain was harvested and was waiting to be dried, paid as public grain, and then distributed to every household.

God is particularly kind and the sun is shining brightly. Within two days, the moisture on the rice will evaporate.

Drying the rice takes time. The villagers have gone through the hard work of the autumn harvest and seem to be tireless and energetic. At this moment, they are concerned about whether the fish in the field should wake up!

"In the south there are fine fish, which are swarming. The gentleman has wine, and the distinguished guests are entertained with joy. In the south there are fine fish, which are swarming. The gentleman has wine, and the distinguished guests are entertained with joy..." A fish with many images swims out from the Book of Songs, and swims in the rivers, lakes, and seas, in the rice fields, and blends into the vast realm of heaven and earth.

Catching fish in the fields is full of wild joy.

Naughty children and young adults with a childlike innocence, with bare chests and wearing shorts, jumped into the paddy field and pounced on the swimming rice fish.

The older women pointed at the men in the fields and told dirty jokes, making the unmarried young men and women who were watching the fun blush.

The young girls and wives were shy and stood by the ridge, not daring to go forward, fearing that they would see something they shouldn't see. However, they didn't know that their shy and timid appearance made the group of women laugh.

The elderly grandparents looked at the fish jumping up in the fields and gave instructions with great enthusiasm.

"Oh! You fool, you caught the fish and let it run away."

"Baoqi, the fish is nesting at your feet, you can see it clearly!"

"Xiazhi, what's wrong with your fish net? Why do you always cover the rice stalks?"

"..."

Chunni pulled Donglin hard, not letting him go to the fields and cause trouble for his brother and uncles.

Yang Anzhang smiled brightly as he entertained the leaders of the county's breeding farms and meat processing plants. They wanted to turn a basket of rice fish into the God of Wealth of Great Unity!

The fish were frightened and fled in all directions. Some jumped out of the water and were caught by the quick-eyed and quick-handed young men; some hid in the rice stalks and needed the guidance of people on the shore to catch them.

The slippery fish was not easy to catch. If one was not careful, the fish would escape and jump into the mud. At this time, exclamations, shouting, running, and snatching sounds spread across the field. The people on the shore were so excited that they wanted to roll up their trousers and catch it themselves.

What a wonderful scene of people leaping for joy.

How can one not be fascinated by it?

Rice fish does not refer to a single type of fish, but rather fish raised in rice fields, mostly carp, common carp, silver carp... Due to the constraints of growth time, the largest of these fish is only as wide as the palm, and the smallest is only two or three fingers wide.

The fish to be sold must be larger and more symmetrical, so the villagers can only get small fish weighing about one kilogram.

Even so, the villagers were happy. The fish they caught themselves would surely taste better when cooked.

Rice fish grows up eating raindrops, rice flowers, and insects, and has a fresh and sweet smell.

Chunni's family got a small half bucket, and they were already making plans in their mind.

Rice fish is a gift from the fields to hardworking humans. It does not require any cooking skills. Just put it in the pan while it is fresh. You can fry, stir-fry or steam it. The sweetness and plumpness of the fish will satisfy you.

Chunni's favorite cooking methods are braised and steamed. The braised fish is rich in oil and sauce, fresh and tender. The steamed rice fish does not have so many seasonings, and you can enjoy the freshness of the fish itself, which is still delicious.

"Let's steam two today and braise them tomorrow." Xia Zhi killed the fish skillfully and gave Chunni some advice.

Chunni doesn't care, she loves both braised and steamed dishes.

But there were too many fish, and they would die if they were kept for two more days. Chunni came up with a plan.

"Put the fish for tomorrow's braised fish into the bucket and kill the other fish!" Chunni instructed Xiazhi.

Xia Zhi did not ask how to deal with the situation later, and took Dong Lin to the river neatly.

Dong Lin is not young anymore and he needs to learn to do some housework.

Qiu Guo stayed at home, watching Chun Ni pickle the fish with salt, scallion, ginger and rice wine, and asked curiously: "Sister, are you going to pickle the salted fish? But isn't it a pity to pickle the rice flower fish with salted fish?"

Chunni replied: "Yes and no. You will know later." While she was talking, her hands did not stop moving.

Chunni came up with the idea of ​​raising rice fish after being inspired by a well-known food program in her previous life.

Rice flower fish is not from Sichuan, but from Xiangxi. People there racked their brains to keep rice flower fish longer. They first cleaned and cut open the rice flower fish, and put it in the sun to dry the surface moisture. Then they stuffed glutinous rice flour or millet flour into the fish belly, smeared pepper and salt on the fish, and sealed it in a jar. Soon, a jar of sour fish with tender and plump meat and bright color will ferment.

The sour fish has the tenderness of fish meat, the softness of glutinous rice, the numbness of peppercorns, and the spiciness of chili peppers. Chunni couldn't help swallowing her saliva.

Since she likes this, Chunni thought of a new way to make money.

Just do it if you think of it!

Chunni went to the supply and marketing cooperative without stopping, and together with Xiazhi, they carried several large earthen jars back home.

I also went to the villages and bought a lot of rice fish.

With the help of her younger brother and sister-in-law, Chunni made a lot of sour fish. Now everything depends on time and let it ferment slowly.