Put the kelp slices into warm water and rinse them several times to remove the coarse salt grains on the surface. Then pour in rice vinegar and simmer for half an hour. The originally dry kelp slices, which were as rough as tree bark, will become thick and slippery again.
Soaking kelp in vinegar not only makes it crisper and more tender but also removes the remaining fishy smell.
Tie the large kelp slices into knots. Wrap them and the blanched and washed streaky pork chunks in amber caramel, then add a spice bag and stew. The kelp knot stewed with streaky pork is fatty but not greasy. The meat is soft and glutinous, and the kelp is crispy, fragrant and delicious, melting in the mouth. It is a well - praised delicacy in the fishing village, and it is even more mouth - watering in this mountain village where food and clothing are scarce.
Cut the other half of the kelp into thin shreds. After boiling it until soft, soak it in cold water to make the taste more refreshing.
Mix the crushed garlic, chili powder and white sesame seeds evenly, then pour in the heated rapeseed oil. The rich aroma of the spicy oil rushes towards you.
Then add sugar, vinegar, oyster sauce and soy sauce, and a few drops of Chinese prickly ash oil. Mix them evenly with the kelp shreds and coriander segments. Although it is just an ordinary farmhouse dish, it is sour, spicy and appetizing, making the people in Yunjia Village, who have lost their appetites due to iodine deficiency, all perk up and feel hungry.
Wash and chop the tender kelp sprouts, then mix them evenly with the dried small shrimp skins. Beat in two eggs, sift in two large spoons of flour, and stir into a batter of moderate consistency.
Just add a little pepper powder and salt to enhance the flavor and bring out the salty and fresh taste of the kelp sprouts and shrimp skins. Pour the batter into a pan coated with a thin layer of oil and fry it over low heat until both sides are golden brown.
The kelp pancake is crispy and delicious. The soft egg pancake is mixed with tender and chewy kelp pieces. As a staple food, it tastes extremely delicious whether eaten plain or with some ketchup.
For the soup, choose two fresh spareribs and cut them into small pieces. Stew them with the kelp. There is no need for additional seasoning. Just pinch a handful of coarse salt, and the umami in the kelp will be fully cooked into the soup. It is moist but not greasy, and light and palatable.
The people in Yunjia Village watched in amazement as she quickly prepared a table full of kelp dishes that looked, smelled and tasted wonderful.
Li Ying greeted them to come and taste, and introduced them enthusiastically, "These are just the simplest ways to cook kelp. There are many other seaweeds rich in iodine, such as sushi rolls, sweet and spicy seaweed salad, hizikia fusiforme chicken patties, cold - dressed sea grapes... We have them all in our fishing village. I'm sure you'll never get tired of them."
Village Head Yun was still a bit hesitant. But Sunzi, who had been silently kneeling in the corner, suddenly summoned up the courage to say, "Dad, our village has been suffering from this strange disease for many years. Now that Miss Li says she can help us with food therapy and we'll see the results in ten or fifteen days, why don't we give it a try?"
The worst result would be just a waste of effort and false hope, but it's better than sacrificing the lives of the village girls to that illusory mountain god.
The population in the village was not very prosperous. If they started this practice of the mountain god's wedding, the village would surely be in a panic in the future.
Village Head Yun frowned and pondered for a long time. Finally, he made up his mind and ordered someone to untie Sunzi.
He arranged for Sunzi and Junzi, the siblings, to serve beside Li Ying and her party. Nominally, they were there to take care of them, but actually, they were there to keep an eye on them.
Li Ying couldn't help but find it funny.
She wasn't at all reserved. Taking this opportunity, she chatted with the siblings and got a clear understanding of the local customs and traditions in Yunjia Village.
There was indeed a well in the village, but it was said to have dried up several years ago. Now the villagers got their water from the mountain spring behind the village.
Li Ying tasted the spring water. Although it was sweet and refreshing, it was definitely not the water suitable for making the "Nine - Dynasty Tribute Gelatin".
A Man sighed, "Sister, since that's the case, let's leave quickly. There's no need to waste our time here."
Lu Xunguang was afraid that Li Ying would be disappointed, so he said gently, "A Ying, I think there are quite a few rare mountain products in this village. We can take this opportunity to buy some and take them back to the village. It won't be a wasted trip. Moreover, if we can help these villagers cure their iodine deficiency, it will really be a good deed."
Li Ying nodded. While they were chatting, Sunzi rushed over excitedly and shouted to Junzi happily, "Sister, you don't have to be the mountain god's wife anymore!"
After the villagers had eaten Li Ying's kelp recipes for several days, the sickly and listless look on their faces disappeared. They felt comfortable all over and refreshed. Finally, they fully believed what Li Ying had said.
Village Head Yun, along with a group of villagers, bowed respectfully to Li Ying to express their gratitude.
"Miss Li, we were blind. We even dared to doubt you before. We really deserve to die!"
"Miss, please be magnanimous and don't take it to heart with us uneducated villagers."
The village head bowed and scraped, looking extremely respectful. Li Ying saw that the swollen necks of the villagers seemed to have finally subsided a little. She knew that the kelp had worked for several days, so she smiled.
"It's just a piece of cake. It's not worth mentioning. But I wonder, Village Head, what brings you and the villagers here today?"
Seeing that she was so straightforward, the village head didn't hide his intention anymore. He said carefully, "Miss Li... Your kelp... is really amazing. I wonder if this kind of good stuff is for sale?"
He stood obediently on one side, waiting for Li Ying's answer, but he couldn't help feeling nervous.
Yunjia Village was extremely poor. Even peddlers rarely came here. The fishing village was far away. Not to mention whether they could afford the kelp, but how to transport it here was really a problem.
Li Ying saw his concern and asked in return, "Of course it's for sale. But I wonder how much you're willing to pay, Village Head Yun?"
Village Head Yun looked very hesitant. After a long time, he finally stammered, "Can we... can we exchange it with mountain products?"
It wasn't that he was stingy. It was just that every family in the village was so poor that they couldn't even afford to eat. Because of the "mountain god's wedding", they had been cheated out of a lot of silver by that fraudulent Taoist priest from Maoshan. Now, they were really afraid that they couldn't afford Li Ying's price.
Before he could say anything else, Sunzi and Junzi carried several baskets of mountain treasures they had prepared and neatly placed them in front of Li Ying.
"Miss Li, these mushrooms are not very valuable, but it's not easy to eat them outside our Yunjia Village. Occasionally, we can find some ganoderma lucidum. If you like them, we'll bring them to you too."
Li Ying looked at the sincere - looking siblings and the various mushrooms in the baskets. She was pleasantly surprised to find that there were quite a few morels, termite mushrooms and matsutake mushrooms. An idea came to her mind.
Although there were mountains and forests outside the fishing village, it was not easy to produce these rare mushrooms. The noble tourists who came to the fishing village were used to a life of comfort and rarely ate these wild flavors.
If she could purchase them all, classify them and make them into dried goods, and then transport them back to the village, it would surely be a profitable business.
Li Ying made up her mind, but she remained calm on the surface. She just asked casually, "This business is feasible. But how about the transportation route?"