1986: Old Stories in Northeast China

"Dad, when are we going to cut the radish?"

Doudou came to Chen Tiezhu holding a big radish.

"Why are you still thinking about eating radish?" Chen Tiezhu asked curiously.

"You have to put radish in stewed meat. You can put it in rabbit, beef, and mutton." Doudou said as a matter of course.

"Hahaha, my eldest daughter is a real gourmet." Chen Tiezhu was overjoyed and pinched the little guy's nose.

"But today we are eating mutton, that is, only meat, not radish. Let's try whether this mutton is fragrant, how about it?"

"Yeah, just eat meat."

Doudou nodded excitedly, and threw the radish in his arms aside with disgust.

Dad said, who would eat radish if they only eat meat.

The greedy little look made everyone laugh. Han Xiuying even picked her up and pinched her nose lovingly.

"Okay, let's eat now. Professor Xu, don't think about it yet, it's all trivial. If you think about other things when we are eating mutton hotpot, it would be the greatest disrespect to mutton hotpot." Chen Tiezhu said.

Professor Xu grinned, how could he not think about it?

You've been talking so much, making me feel itchy, and you still don't let me think about it?

Although he thought so in his heart, he also sat down at the table.

Chen Tiezhu took off the tall hat on the chimney of the hotpot, opened the lid of the hotpot, and the water inside was rolling.

A proper clear soup pot, with only three seasonings: onion, ginger and garlic.

Pick up a large plate of mutton and put it along the edge of the hotpot.

This is for our family, this plate of mutton must weigh more than one pound.

"Dad, when can we eat?"

Doudou, who was standing on a chair, holding chopsticks and staring at the mutton in the hotpot, asked hurriedly.

"Be good, you have to wait a little longer." Chen Tiezhu said.

Doudou nodded her head, but the greedy look on her face still betrayed her thoughts.

Others were the same, all staring at the hot pot without any thoughts of chatting.

It can be said that silence is better than words at this time, and the only thing in mind is shabu-shabu mutton.

"Okay, everyone, start chopsticks, so that you can continue after you finish scooping out."

After cooking for a while, Chen Tiezhu took the chopsticks first and put the mutton for his daughter in a small bowl.

Doudou, who couldn't wait any longer, picked up the mutton and wanted to eat it.

"My daughter, this has to be rolled in sesame sauce first, and then it will be delicious." Chen Tiezhu hurriedly stopped her.

Doudou frowned, thinking that this way of eating was a bit troublesome. Wouldn't it be delicious to eat it directly?

But since Dad said so, let's do it according to Dad's instructions.

The chopsticks turned a corner, picked up the mutton and rolled it in the sesame sauce, then blew it twice and sent it to his mouth.

Just after chewing a mouthful, his expression was stunned.

Then he chewed hard, and before he swallowed it, the chopsticks had picked up the mutton again and rolled it in the sesame sauce.

"Okay, Doudou is so happy eating, the taste must be good." Jiang Chaoyang said with a smile.

"Don't doubt it at all, no matter what Tiezhu makes, just eat it." After saying this, Li Yinglin also picked up a chopstick of mutton, dipped it in sesame sauce, and stuffed it into his mouth.

After all, he has eaten at Chen Tiezhu's house several times, and he is considered a senior freeloader and knows the rules.

The first rule is not to doubt the quality of the food. The second rule? That is, you must not pretend, and eating with big mouthfuls is the best praise for Chen Tiezhu.

And you don't have to pretend. The tenderness and freshness of the mutton, coupled with the salty flavor of the sesame sauce, what else can you complain about?

This plate of mutton was scooped up in just a few chopsticks.

It was so delicious that Professor Xu forgot to consider mushrooms, and Han Xiuying temporarily forgot that she had to continue interrogating Chen Tiezhu.

The second plate... was scooped up when it was cooked.

The third plate... followed the same path as the first two plates.

It was not until the fourth plate that the speed of scooping the meat was a little slower.

It's no wonder that everyone ate so awkwardly. Jiang Chaoyang and Li Yinglin were people of a certain status, but they didn't eat mutton as much as they did today.

"Okay, some cabbage slices to clear your appetite. All the mutton today must be finished." Chen Tiezhu put the cut cabbage slices into the hot pot.

"Dad, why do you think mutton is so delicious?" Doudou asked after taking another bite.

"Even if it's delicious, you can't just eat it without caring about anything. There's sesame paste all over your cheeks." Han Xiuying said with a smile, wiping the little guy's mouth.

"You're weird, if I eat stewed mutton, I always get annoyed by the mutton smell. But when it comes to hot pot mutton, it's only the first bite, and the rest of the food is delicious."Li Yinglin said.

"Today's shabu-shabu is really good, very smooth and tender." Jiang Chaoyang also spoke.

"Professor Xu, don't pretend, you have to eat more." Chen Tiezhu said.

"I ate a lot, I forgot that I had to pay attention to it." Professor Xu said a little embarrassedly.

"Hahaha, Professor Xu, just come for the practical." Chen Tiezhu laughed.

"As the leader in the catering industry, hot pot naturally has its own unique features. Although there are differences in taste between the north and the south due to regional reasons, they are generally not bad."

"There are so many things to pay attention to when eating hot pot?" Li Yinglin asked curiously.

"Of course, this thing has existed since ancient times. It has been passed down for so many years. Although there are some minor changes, it has basically not changed much." Chen Tiezhu said with a smile.

"In ancient times, hot pot was called 'antique pot', which is actually because these ingredients would make a 'gulp' sound when thrown into the hot pot."

"And our food culture is beautiful with heat and freshness. Hot pot is boiled in boiling water, so it is naturally hot enough. The cooking time is not very long, which can better maintain the original taste of the ingredients."

"Add appropriate seasonings, such as sesame paste in the north and oil sauce in the south. Or do something with the bottom of the pot, such as clear water pot, mushroom soup pot, shuangyuan pot, spicy pot, etc."

"Anyway, as long as there is a flavor you want to eat, we can mix it according to these flavors. For example, on a day like this, eating hot pot warms your mouth, stomach, and body."

"Today we are not well prepared. Next time, I will make a good pot of soup. Then I will find more ingredients and we will have a good meal."

"Ah..., I used to be busy eating, but I didn't expect there is so much knowledge in hot pot." Jiang Chaoyang sighed.

"I think he's just greedy." Han Xiuying said sarcastically, and then she picked up another piece of mutton and put it in her mouth to chew.

Her eyes stared at Chen Tiezhu fiercely.

"Hey, Professor Xu, don't feel any burden because of what I said." Chen Tiezhu said with a smile.

"You have to go home and discuss this with your family. This is a very important decision. But I will definitely plant mushrooms with Yingzi this winter."

"When I have studied how to plant, I will provide free culture medium and technical guidance to those who want to plant."

"What? Comrade Chen, you..., you really want to do this for free?"

Professor Xu, who had just picked up a piece of cabbage slice, was no longer calm, and his eyes flashed with enthusiasm.