Stepmother Reborn: Dad, my mom hasn't hit me for three days

Early the next morning, the children planned to travel to the neighboring Damao, and Zhang Xiuhua and Li Jianguo also went with them.

Visa exemption corresponds to group tourist visa, they must go with a group. Individual transit is not visa-free.

Zhang Xiuhua has seen the most beautiful scenery in Damao and is not interested in the scenery here. She mainly wants to experience making bear paws.

Youcai didn't speak Russian, so once he got on the boat, he repeatedly asked Zhang Xiuhua to help him rent a kitchen so that he could cook.

Zhang Xiuhua agreed.

When they arrived in Damao, they first went to the hotel to put down their things, and then bought the things they needed at the market.

It was even colder here than in their county. There was also thick snow, and the sky and earth were covered in snow, like a white ocean. Because of the cold, there were almost no customers in the market, only merchants selling goods.

The price of meat products here is relatively cheap, and fur is relatively cheap as well, but the prices of fruits and vegetables are very expensive, and this is expensive compared to their county.

There are many honey stalls on the street, and Youcai just stared at them. Zhenzhen likes honey very much, especially the domestic honey which is hard to distinguish between real and fake, so he wants to buy some honey to bring back to Zhenzhen.

The honey here has different colors because of different varieties, so Zhang Xiuhua picked out the honey that can be drunk with water.

Zhuzhu saw a mushroom stand and asked Zhang Xiuhua, "Mom, why are these mushrooms in water?"

The mushrooms there are all sun-dried, and this is the first time she has seen mushrooms soaked in water. Of course, there are also sun-dried mushrooms here.

Zhang Xiuhua explained, "That's called salted mushrooms. It's the same as pickled vegetables."

It was the first time that everyone heard that mushrooms could be pickled.

"Mom, that's the bear paw." Youcai pulled Zhang Xiuhua's sleeve. When they came, they had already exchanged rubles, but they didn't understand the language when negotiating the price, so they were afraid of being ripped off by the other party.

Zhang Xiuhua bought three bear paws, two for Youcai to cook and one for Yaoyao to study its medicinal properties.

In addition to bear paws, Zhang Xiuhua also bought seasonings, such as oil, ginger, garlic, salt, wine, sugar, and onions. There were no light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, chicken essence, spices, and other seasonings here, so Zhang Xiuhua let Youcai come up with his own ideas.

Youcai is not afraid at all, "It's okay! I can still cook a good dish."

Zhang Xiuhua took them back to the hotel and talked to the hotel manager about renting the kitchen. She paid 200 rubles per hour and promised to clean the kitchen after use before the other party agreed to rent it.

Yaoyao also went along, not to cook, but simply to study its medicinal properties.

Medical books say that after the bear paw is cut off, it should be covered with mud and hung up to dry or dried over a low fire. After it is dry, the mud should be removed.

Her method is simpler than cooking with talent.

Everyone was bored and went into the kitchen to help.

Everyone gathered around Youcai. Zhuzhu felt that there was too much smoke from Youcai's place, so she circled around Yaoyao.

Yaoyao put the bear paws covered with mud on the fire to dry, and Zhuzhu asked her, "What disease can this medicine cure?"

Actually, Yaoyao studied Western medicine. She did this not for curing illness, but just wanted to see the ingredients in the bear paw and take it back for testing.

After hearing what Zhuzhu said, she flipped through the medical books. "The Rihuazi Materia Medica says it can protect against wind and cold, and improve energy and strength. The Yilin Zongyao says it can nourish qi and blood, dispel wind and remove numbness, and heal injuries. The Sichuan Chinese Medicine Annals says it can eliminate rheumatism and strengthen the spleen and stomach. It can treat spleen and stomach weakness, wind-cold-dampness and numbness, and other deficiency syndromes."

When Zhuzhu heard that it could cure rheumatism, her eyes lit up surprisingly, "Then you can give it to Dad. He was injured in the war before, and his legs hurt every time it rains."

When Li Jianguo heard Zhuzhu mention his name, he immediately came over and asked, "How do I take this prepared medicine?"

Yaoyao thought for a moment and said, "Just cook it and eat it."

Zhang Xiuhua didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Actually, the nutritional value is about the same as pig's trotters, right?"

Yaoyao nodded, "Yes! So pig's trotters are also known as a substitute for bear's paws."

Zhuzhu was very curious, "Our country prohibits the consumption of bear paws, why is it not prohibited here in Mao Zedong?"

"They have a limit on the number of animals they hunt, not unlimited hunting," Zhang Xiuhua explained. "Also, their land is vast and sparsely populated. Their area is larger than ours, but their population is much smaller than ours. So their resource consumption is very small."

After Yaoyao finished roasting the fish, she cut off some of the meat and skin to test it. She gave the rest to Youcai to cook.

Not to mention the terrible smell, except for Youcai, no one else could accept it and left the kitchen covering their noses.

It was two hours later before Youcai finally served the dish.

Youcai pushed the cart into the room, and everyone gathered around and opened the lid to reveal two dishes: one was braised bear paw, shiny and palm-shaped, with a circle of sauce sprinkled on it, which looked appetizing. The other was first-class bear paw, cooked in soup, and the color of the bear paw was milky white. But it didn't smell very good.

Everyone took a fork and took a little bit. They first tasted the braised bear paw. It was soft and sticky, and chewy like pig's trotters. It was quite delicious.

But they didn't know whether to say something or not, and in the end, Baolin was the one who spoke directly, "If you hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have known that this was a bear paw. It seems to be no different from a pig's trotter."

The difference between the meat is not that big, especially the pig's trotters which are mostly fat.

Zhang Xiuhua feels that the braised method covers up the flavor of the ingredients. "If it's Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine, the flavor of the dish itself will be retained. But braised food doesn't work."

Li Jianguo smiled and said, "It's OK, it's delicious. If you want to taste the original flavor, you can try the stew, which should have the flavor of the ingredients themselves."

Everyone started to taste the bear paw again. It was indeed delicious, but it was full of fishy smell. It was very strong and pungent, making it difficult to swallow.

Zhuzhu couldn't stand the smell and vomited directly by turning sideways. This scared Youcai and he quickly patted her on the back.

Zhang Xiuhua felt that this was not a talent. "Didn't I buy you some ginger? Why is the smell still so strong?"

Is this a dish? It's clearly a dark dish. She doesn't want to try it either.

Youcai listened and took a fork to taste it. He almost spit it out after taking a small bite. He stared at the dish over and over again, puzzled, "I clearly used wine to remove the fishy smell and rinsed it with ginger beforehand. How can this be more unpalatable than pig's trotters?"

If you use the same method to cook pig's trotters, the fishy smell will be gone long ago.

"Rich people find bear paws more precious the less they have. The same is probably true. In fact, they are not delicious at all." Li Jianguo believes that if you are talented, there is no need to pursue rare ingredients. "Making the most ordinary ingredients taste wonderful proves your outstanding ability."

Zhang Xiuhua also nodded, "Many restaurants hire chefs, but usually don't let them cook big dishes, just the simplest ones - stir-fried shredded potatoes or water spinach."

Youcai nodded, "At least I finished it. I spent so much money on it."

Zhuzhu asked, "Mom, there are so many frozen fish here, and they are all so big. Should we buy some to take back?"

Zhang Xiuhua waved her hand and refused. "Frozen fish is not as delicious as fresh fish. We have ready-made fish in our village. No need."

She asked everyone to list the things they wanted to buy. After discussing for a long time, they still couldn't think of a single thing. Meat was cheaper here, but they couldn't bring meat across the border.

Youcai suggested going to eat Russian food to see what the difference is between it and Chinese and Western food.

"Okay." Zhang Xiuhua agreed immediately.

They went to a Russian restaurant and had a big meal, not the kind that ordinary people eat.

Zhang Xiuhua took charge and ordered some of the most famous dishes: borscht, charcoal-grilled sausage, Christmas roast goose, braised beef, black caviar, black bread and mashed potatoes.

When the red cabbage soup was served, Zhuzhu's eyes widened as big as bells. "Why is the color of this dish so red? Like blood?"

Although tomatoes are also red, they are completely different from this red.

"This is a soup made of beef, beets and sour cream. Would you like to try it?" Zhang Xiuhua took the initiative to taste it.

Others followed suit and started eating. Although the beetroot looked a bit bloody, it was rich but not greasy, and tasted moderately sweet and sour. The soup was rich, the beef chunks were paired with black bread, and it was delicious.

"People here like to eat sour food." Zhang Xiuhua laughed, "Many people in Damao I know can't eat spicy food. They don't cook, and the chili peppers are mainly pickled or minced to make chili sauce. This kind of spiciness is a cold spiciness, which is different from the spiciness of Sichuan cuisine."

Zhuzhu smiled and said, "We people from the Northeast can't really eat spicy food. People from Sichuan like spicy food."

When the caviar was served, everyone wanted to taste it. Because this dish is very expensive, many foreign restaurants regard this dish as a luxury and a symbol of upper society.

But after tasting it, everyone felt that "it's not worth the price."

No one thinks it tastes good anyway.

"Those foreigners hype it up. But it's actually gaudy and not worth the price."

Youcai smiled and said, "Its nutritional value is relatively high. It doesn't suit the taste of us Chinese people."

The charcoal grilled panchang, Christmas roast goose and braised beef taste very much in line with the Chinese taste, and the meat is very solid, all in large chunks, which is quite enjoyable to eat. The panchang is tender and fragrant, and the skin is crispy and chewy. The roast goose contains pickled mushrooms, apples, potatoes, and persimmons, which are roasted together and have a fruity aroma. Everyone eats it with relish. The mashed potatoes are also okay, without any special taste, and are quite greasy.

A few children agreed to come to Damao again next time, order more meat skewers and a glass of kvass, what a wonderful night.