Siheyuan: From Being Called Shazhu

As for sauerkraut, even though every household in Northeast China had some in stock in the past because of the heavy snow in winter or the inconvenience in transportation, etc.

However, the accumulation methods of various families in Northeast China are not unified.

Some are pickled raw, which means they are directly packed into jars after being dried in the sun.

Some are pickled, which means they are dried in the sun, rinsed with boiling water, and then put into jars.

Some people don’t dry them in the sun, but directly boil them in water and put them into the tank.

Even whether to add salt and how much salt to add are different.

This results in each family’s sauerkraut having its own flavor.

Moreover, this thing is just like making soybean paste, full of metaphysics.

Even if the sauerkraut is made using the same method, in the same place, and at the same time, the taste of the sauerkraut may be completely different if made by different people.

Even if everything is the same, even if they were harvested by the same person, the sauerkraut from two jars may still taste two different things.

What do you think we should do with this thing?

When in doubt, think of quantum mechanics.

He Yuzhu is now also confused about how he should store sauerkraut.

The capital city is at a higher latitude than the two cities where He Yuzhu lived in later generations.

With He Yuzhu's superficial knowledge of geography, he could tell that the temperature in the capital city in winter would be higher than those two places.

Logically speaking, in order to prevent the sauerkraut from becoming rotten or smelly in winter, salt should be added.

But He Yuzhu is picky.

He can't get used to other people's pickled cabbage with salt.

I always feel that sauerkraut with added salt will taste hard.

Even in later generations, when He Yuzhu and his father opened a snack bar, the amount of sauerkraut they needed to store every year was calculated by tons. When He Yuzhu stored the sauerkraut, he would set aside a jar of it without salt for his own consumption.

why?

It’s because it’s difficult to make sauerkraut without adding salt.

Every few days, you have to check the water in the sauerkraut jar.

If you find that the water in the tank is becoming sticky, you need to change the water.

It is normal to change the water more than ten times in one winter.

If the water in the dozens of jars of pickled cabbage in He Yuzhu's snack bar in the future needs to be changed, how long will it take?

But things are different now.

600 kilograms of cabbage, but only in two large vats.

Where can I change the water?

No salt added.

He Yuzhu decided to cook it cooked without adding salt.

Anyway, Master Sun has a nanny and Xiao Li at home.

It is not necessary for He Yuzhu to change the water himself.

By then, if the sauerkraut really doesn't taste right, He Yuzhu can just blame it on the nanny and Xiao Li.

Anyway, everyone in Northeast China knows that you must not touch the jar of pickled cabbage and the jar of soy sauce. If you touch them, they will easily get stuck...

Just do it.

He Yuzhu took advantage of the fact that he got out of school early on Sunday and went to Master Sun's yard to pick all the cabbages that had been drying in the sun for almost a week.

Yes, that's right.

The first step in making sauerkraut is to pull out the wilted leaves from the cabbage, because some people don’t dry it in the sun.

It must be pulling.

It wouldn't be fun if you used a knife to cut it.

Pull out the wilted leaves, then use a knife to cut off the roots.

The next step is to boil water and put it into a tank.

But as he was pretending, He Yuzhu discovered a very big problem.

That’s 600 kilograms of cabbage, which, after being dried, watered, and pulled out, couldn’t even fit in two large vats.

It shouldn't be.

He Yuzhu has been storing sauerkraut for many years, can't he understand this?

"Ha, people from the Northeast, every family knows how to do it, but they don't understand how to install the tank, tut tut tut."

He Yuzhu ignored Master Sun's sarcasm.

He smoked a cigarette, frowned, and wondered what went wrong.

He Yuzhu finished smoking a cigarette but still didn't figure it out.

Forget it, He Yuzhu doesn’t want to think about it anymore.

Simply put the remaining dozen or so cabbages that had been squeezed (zhá, second tone, meaning it has been rinsed with boiling water, I don’t know how to say this in Mandarin, but this is probably the meaning) into the pickle jar.

and many more.

A dozen?

He Yuzhu immediately understood what went wrong.

The cabbage today and the cabbage in the future are not the same variety.

In later generations, when He Yuzhu was making sauerkraut, he used gaobangcai.

When a Chinese cabbage is just cut from the ground, it weighs at least 7 or 8 kilograms, if not kilograms.

600 jin, but only about 60 pieces.

But now, all Master Sun brought over were cabbages.

One piece weighs at most 5 or 6 kilograms.

600 kilograms, more than 100 dried.

You should know that although the weight of cabbage is the same.

However, the volume of more than 60 beads and more than 100 beads is different.

This has resulted in the current situation where the two large vats cannot hold 600 kilograms of vegetables.

oh~~~

Mistake, mistake.

Forget it, just treat it as pickled cabbage.

Although, He Yuzhu is used to eating raw pickled cabbage.

After Master Sun brought a small jar, He Yuzhu put the remaining dozen or so cabbages and carrots into it.

The reason they leave it out is that they are afraid that the sour radishes will affect the taste of other pickled vegetables.

Yes, that's right.

After Master Sun asked someone to make a small jar, He Yuzhu stopped pickling Chinese cabbage and started to pickle sour radishes instead.

Anyway, He Yuzhu is the "chef" now, and whatever he says is the final word.

Of course, it would be better if there wasn’t Master Sun’s ridicule.

Finally, knead out the Chinese mustard greens and stuff them into the jar, and also put a few reserved cabbages, carrots, mustard greens, cucumber leaves, small eggplants, small peppers and so on into the jar.

There are also some prepared pickles that Master Sun specially prepared for the pickled red vegetables that we can eat next year (I don’t know what the scientific name of this thing is, it seems to be a kind of mustard, maybe the stem or the root, but it’s not pickled mustard).

Sprinkle salt on each layer and the pickle jar is ready.

As for the dried green radish, forget it, it’s too late today, so I won’t make it.

Master Sun, who had been longing to eat dried radish, didn't say anything.

But unexpectedly, before dawn the next morning, Master Sun called He Yuzhu.

"As for that, Master, it's not even 5 o'clock yet."

He Yuzhu yawned and complained weakly.

"Just finish it early so you can be more peaceful."

Well, this is the only excuse the old man has, what else can He Yuzhu say?

Just do it and it's done.

There are actually two ways to cook dried radish.

One is the easy way.

First cut the green radish into thick slices, then cut the slices into strips, press them with salt, and when the radish strips start to sprinkle water (sà, fourth tone), take them out and dry them.

There is another method, which is a little more troublesome.

Just like He Yuzhu now, cut the green-headed radish into straw rinds, then press the whole thing with salt, wait until it is sprinkled with water, take it out and dry it for storage.

As for those who don't know how to cut the straw raincoat and still want to use it to dry in a straw raincoat shape, you can refer to Master Sun.

The old man stood there staring blankly, unable to get started, and became anxious, insisting that He Yuzhu teach him.

This thing can’t be called knife skills, but it’s almost there.

He Yuzhu had no idea what to do, so he could only teach Master Sun a trick.

Take two chopsticks and hold the green-headed radish.

Because there are chopsticks stuck underneath, the knife in your hand cannot cut the radish.

As long as you cut it thicker, it won't break easily when you cut the other side of the radish.

Finally, after the master and apprentice worked for a whole morning, and later with the help of Xiao Li and Yu Shui, all the green-headed radishes were cut and pressed with salt.

"Almost done, Master. Let's wait until tomorrow. I'll come over after school tomorrow night to take care of the follow-up."

He Yuzhu washed his hands and stretched.

This thing is really not troublesome, but it hurts your waist.

"Okay, I'll wait for you to do it tomorrow night."

Although Master Sun didn't do much, he was called 54 after all, and he was very tired.

"You know what, there isn't much work to do, so he's quite busy."

"Brother, when can we eat?"

The rain now can really help with the work, but after the work is done, it will make you more cautious.

"Soon, about 20 days or so. After 20 days or so, it will be almost ready to eat."

To be honest, He Yuzhu was not sure either.

Does anyone know the exact difference in temperature and sunshine between Beijing and the Northeast?

Anyway, according to the principle of "everything beyond Shanhaiguan is considered south", it should be almost dried in more than 20 days.

"By the way, Zhuzi, how do you eat that bag of leaves?"

Speaking of food, Master Sun remembered the wilted leaves and fallen cabbage stalks he pulled off when making sauerkraut last night.

"How do we eat it? Don't we have rabbits in the compound? We can give it to them to feed the rabbits. Or, if the logistics department has chickens, ducks, geese, etc., we can give it to them as well."

He Yuzhu didn't know why Master Sun asked this, and the question came out naturally.

However, seeing Master Sun's distressed face, He Yuzhu came to his senses and changed his words.

"Hey, this is just a small amount, it's not even enough to pay for the journey. How about I squeeze some for you (or boil some water) and save it for dipping sauce. And the rest can be used to make some big stuffing?"

(Da xian er, pronounced as erhua, refers to steamed buns or dumplings with vegetarian fillings in some areas.)

You know what, after hearing this, He Yuzhu, who hadn’t eaten big-stuffed food for a long time, felt craving for it.

"Okay, Master, take that bag to the factory. When we get there, you give me a note and I'll go to the kitchen to get some vermicelli and dried shrimps, and some lard. I'll make some stuffing for you at noon."

"Brother, I want to eat too."

When He Yushui heard that there was food, he hurriedly held He Yuzhu's hand tightly and looked at Master Sun eagerly.

"Uncle~~~~"

"Okay, okay, eat it all. At noon, wait until your brother has packed everything, and I'll ask your brother Li to drive you to school."

Before He Yuzhu could say anything, Master Sun, who always spoiled children, nodded and agreed.

At this time, He Yushui naturally let go of He Yuzhu's hand and ran into Master Sun's arms.

"Well, thank you, sir. Love you."

However, he still looked at He Yuzhu.

"Brother, please pack more, otherwise my classmates may not get enough."

"You."

He Yuzhu smiled and touched Xiao Yushui's head.

The next day, He Yuzhu got home from school at Wudaokou in the evening, and Xiao Li drove over to pick him up.

There's no other way. It's almost 9 o'clock now. When I get to Master Sun's place, I have to add water to the sauerkraut jar.

This is also the benefit of accumulation.

Cooked food is not like raw food. Once it is put into a jar, it needs to be pressed down with stones for a few days. Only when water has submerged can water be added.

There is no need to use accumulated knowledge. For someone like He Yuzhu, two days of pressure will be enough.

When he arrived at Master Sun's side, He Yuzhu took a look at the jar of sauerkraut placed in the corridor.

Sure enough, the cabbage that was originally sticking out has now been pressed down a little.

What are you waiting for? Add some water.

Friends who have added water to a sauerkraut jar should have a deep understanding of adding water to a sauerkraut jar.

Don’t look at the jar, it’s already full of cabbage.

But there is a lot of empty space.

It is no problem to put 7 or 8 buckets of 5-jin water into a large tank.

One tank holds 7 or 8 barrels.

Now, He Yuzhu has two large tanks and one small tank.

More than 20 buckets of water were enough to exhaust He Yuzhu and Xiao Li.

It's not tiring, it's tiring.

Especially nowadays, the handles of buckets are still made of thick iron wire or thick steel wire, which is tight on the hands.

After going through thirteen pieces in a row, the water in the sauerkraut jar finally came out.

It's almost 11 o'clock.

But He Yuzhu still couldn't rest.

He also needs to boil a pot of warm water.

Taking into account the water produced by pressing the radishes over the past two days, he still had to fill the pickle jar.

This one will be here soon.

Although Master Sun doesn’t have a kitchen at home.

However, the last time Master Sun asked He Yuzhu to make smoked sauce, He Yuzhu had already asked someone to build an earthen stove in front of Master Sun's house.

This time, the fire was lit and it was just enough.

By the time the pressed radishes were hung up to dry in the sun, it was almost midnight.

"This winter storage is really busy."

He Yushui, who had been helping out nearby, sighed in tiredness when he saw He Yuzhu and Xiao Li finally tidy up and stand at attention.

"Where is this?"

Master Sun is from Northeast China after all, and he is in charge of logistics.

He knew a lot about winter storage.

"We can eat in the canteen, but we only get these to satisfy our cravings. We haven't prepared the real winter supplies, such as cabbage, radishes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, and green onions. Besides, we have collective heating now. Your brother still has to get coal, and ordinary people still have to prepare firewood."

"Wow, that's a lot. I don't have to do anything in the winter."

Xiao Yushui had never been exposed to these things before, and was shocked when Master Sun told her about them.

Master Sun also nodded with emotion.

"Yes, most people spend the whole year busy with these household matters."

As he spoke, Master Sun remembered and looked at He Yuzhu.

"Oh, Zhuzi, speaking of coal, I remembered that when the weather gets cooler in a few days, you can move in here too. There's enough space at home."

"Yeah, brother, it's so troublesome for you to be alone at home, and you have to take care of this and that. It's great that you don't have to worry about anything when you come here."

He Yushui was also persuading him.

He Yuzhu thought about it and shook his head to refuse.

"No, Master, it's a bit troublesome for me to go to and from school."

After all, the most feared thing about a house, especially an old one, is that it is left idle.

However, He Yuzhu did not say anything definite.

"Let's talk about it after my school has holidays."

"That's fine. It's up to you. Come over whenever you want."

Master Sun nodded without comment.

But He Yushui looked disappointed.

"Okay, but remember to come over often and make delicious food for me~~~"