Chapter 45: Sweet and Sour Fish

She poured oil into the pot. After the oil started to warm up—with each hand grabbing the head and tail of the fish—Xiaoguo lowered it into the oil. She slowly fried the fish on low heat. After a while, the fish was flipped over and left to cook. When it had turned golden and crisp, Xiaoguo removed it from the pot.

The fire was lit again, and the fish was dipped into the oil for another round of frying. When time was up, Xiaoguo took the fish out. The oil in the pot was also removed and set aside to cool. She was not in a hurry to make the sweet and sour sauce. The fish would not turn soggy so quickly since it was just fried. She could work on the sauce when the rice was almost cooked.

Then, she brought Zhuang Zhuang out of the house, and started washing the newly picked mushrooms in water.

Zhuang Zhuang sat beside Xiaoguo and followed what she was doing. Soon, they were done with washing the mushrooms.

Next, Zhuang Zhuang went into the kitchen, he placed the mushrooms on a cutting board and cut them into thick slices. He then cut some spring onions and added lard into the pot. When the lard was heated up, Zhuang Zhuang sauteed the spring onions in the oil. Shortly after, the mushrooms were then added in for a quick stir-fry. Once the mushrooms turned soft, Zhuang Zhaung added a pinch of salt and gave them a few final stirs before serving.

While Zhuang Zhuang was bringing the stir-fry mushrooms into the house, Xiaoguo gave the pot a good scrub before working on the sauce. She added some lard, a handful of white sugar and half a spoonful of vinegar into the pot. This mixture was continuously stirred and cooked over high heat until it had thickened into a syrup.

Now that the sweet and sour sauce was done, Xiaoguo placed the fried fish on a plate and drizzled the sauce over it.

When Zhuang Zhuang returned to the kitchen, he saw that the fried fish was coated with a layer of glistening gravy. He carefully brought it into the house. His nostrils were filled with the endless fragrance of the sweet sour sauce.

Zhuang Zhuang inhaled deeply through his nose. He didn’t stop until Xiaoguo scolded him for being silly.

After bringing the cooked rice to the table, both mother and son went outside to wash their hands. Then, they returned to the house and started eating.

The first thing Zhuang Zhuang wanted to do was to take a bite of the fish. The fish was very crispy, and he was able to remove the meat easily with his chopsticks. It was deliciously sweet and sour. The skin had been fried to a crisp and the flesh was tender on the inside. He couldn’t stop after taking the first bite.

Xiaoguo wanted him to have a balanced intake of meat and vegetables. She watched as he ate the fish and added some mushrooms into his bowl for him.

The two of them finished all the dishes and the rice. Xiaoguo was good at estimating the portions whenever she cooked. There was usually zero wastage and the amount was always sufficient for them to eat their fill.

As usual, Zhuang Zhuang brought the dishes into the kitchen for washing. Xiaoguo followed behind him to check on the soup base.

She lifted the lids of the pots. The pork bone soup had been boiled into a white and viscous broth, and the pork trotters had been cooked to perfection. With a light touch, the tender meat easily came off from the bones. The mushroom soup was even more fragrant. Xiaoguo removed some wood from the fire, leaving only a small flame to keep the soup warm.

She then asked Zhuang Zhuang to feed the animals and take his afternoon nap when he was done.

Zhuang Zhuang nodded and left the kitchen. Xiaoguo started to clean up the fish and went on to make fish balls out of them.

She skillfully placed the fish balls on one side and covered them with a thin layer of gauze. After which, she rolled out the rested dough and potato starch noodles into long strips. These were then left aside and covered up.

Then, Xiaoguo rummaged through the vegetable basket and realized there was not much vegetables left. After taking out what she needed, the basket was practically empty. The vegetables that she had planted were just beginning to sprout. It would take some time for them to mature.

Xiaoguo washed the vegetables and placed them in the basket. There was still enough chili sauce so she didn’t need to make more. Xiaoguo checked through the ingredients to make sure that she didn’t miss out on anything. The preparations were finally complete.

It was still early, so she had time to make more potato starch. Xiaoguo poured out the potatoes and soap pods from the basket and separated them. She placed the potatoes in the basin and set the soap pods aside. There was not enough time to make soap now. She would come back to it when she had some free time.

After washing the potatoes, the skins were peeled. Then they were mashed, washed and precipitated. When everything was done, Xiaoguo had two large pots of starch water. She placed them aside and waited for them to settle.

After the sedimentation was complete, she poured away the excess water and spread out the starch onto some rafters to dry.

After finishing everything, Xiaoguo was feeling a little tired, so she sat by the stone mill and took a break.

After a while, she felt much better. Thanks to her superpower, her waist and arms were no longer sore. Xiaoguo thought to herself that this superpower seemed to be quite useful after all.