Everyday heroes

Chapter 119 Sour Plum Soup

"Don't stick around, put away your drawing board quickly."

Tang Tang didn't make any movement yet, but Guan Lang became anxious for her instead.

Her painting is still pasted on the drawing board, if it is slower, the painting will be soaked by the rain.

Guan Lang would feel sorry for her if the painting she worked so hard on was ruined by the rain.

Only half a beat later, Tang Tang took the drawing paper off the drawing board, rolled it up and put it in the painting tube.

Fortunately, Guan Lang reminded him early, and the drawing paper should be able to save it after drying.

Lao Song put the fishing gear in his bag calmly, whistling like a man with nothing to do.

"Let's go back to the scenic area to avoid the rain. I don't know when the rain will stop." Guan Lang suggested.

The rain fell pattering down, splashing high sprays on the surface of the quiet and deep pool water, and the ripples swayed in circles.

There are puddles in the deep sunken mud, and the plants are washed green in the continuous rain. The picture is so beautiful that it is a bit unreal.

A light wind blowing with raindrops brought a burst of coolness and the fragrance of the earth.

Really echoed Zhao Shixiu's saying that it rains every family in the yellow plum season, and frogs are everywhere in the grass pond.

But now Guan Lang doesn't have the kind of elegance to appreciate the lingering rain of yellow plum blossoms in May and June.

His idea of ​​catching two more fish in the afternoon had to be put on hold because of the rainy season.

Scratching rain!

If it weren't for it, maybe he would have successfully completed the mission long ago!It has to take the blame for this.

Guan Lang attributed his failure to catch the other two fish up to now to the uncertain weather.

Watching the crucian carp swimming in the small bucket in his hand, Guan Lang decided not to give up, and continued fishing after the rain.

Anyway, there are still ten hours before the end of the day.

In the city of Chongjiang, in the holes in the city walls and under the narrow eaves on the side of the street, people are crowded wherever they can stand.

Souvenir shops and restaurants are also overcrowded.

The three of Guan Lang came late, so they had to walk a little longer. They found a small shop selling sour plum juice in the alley to hide from the rain. The alley was remote and there were no other tourists in the alley.

Guan Lang didn't take advantage of others, and bought three bowls of sour plum juice as a reward for sheltering from the rain.

With consumption, sitting will not be too awkward.

When the three bowls of sour plum juice were served in porcelain bowls, Guan Lang didn't have much expectation for them.

This kind of scenic spot shops, some of which are better, just buy sour plum juice raw materials on the Internet and cook them.

It's not that the taste of cooking with the raw material package is bad, it's just that the sour plum soup cooked as a fixed recipe is similar everywhere, and it will be boring if you drink too much, and you will lose a little bit of expectation and surprise.

Moreover, most of the ingredients in the raw material package are not very fresh, and the soup cooked with these bad raw materials is cloudy in color and lacks a bit of refreshing taste.

Of course, there is another kind of cooking that is worse than the raw material package, and that is to directly buy sour plum paste, sour plum crystals, supplemented with plum soup blended with various artificial additives.

Sour plum soup is a long-standing and long-standing summer heat relief product, and the recipe is easy to find on the Internet.

As early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the ancients knew to use plums to extract the sour taste to make drinks. In the Ming Dynasty, sour plum juice developed a variety of categories, including plum soup, green plum soup, yellow plum soup, etc.

It is said that the recipe of sour plum soup we drink now was invented by Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. Many sour plum soup craftsmen regard this emperor as their ancestor.

According to legend, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang also worked as a small vendor selling ebony plums. At that time, the plague was rampant, and he himself was unfortunately infected, so he couldn't afford it.When he was dizzy and hot, he smelled the sour smell of ebony plums in the warehouse, and immediately felt refreshed a lot. He used ebony plums as the main ingredient, mixed with two traditional Chinese medicines of hawthorn and licorice, and boiled it into a soup. He recovered unexpectedly.

The truth of this unofficial history is unknown, but Emperor Zhu really had a special liking for sour plum soup, so sour plum soup became a daily health drink in the court of the Ming Dynasty, and then spread to the people. It is a common drink that quenches heat and thirst, and removes oil and greasiness.

Guan Lang has also cooked sour plum soup himself, so he is quite clear about the inside ways.

When he saw the color of the sour plum soup served, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.

The color of this bowl of plum soup is thick brown, not the light red color of the blended soup on the market.

And smelling into the nose, there is also a faint smoky smell.

"This sour plum soup should taste very pure." Before Guan Lang even tasted it, he concluded that the taste of the sour plum soup would not be bad.

Hearing this, Tang Tang couldn't wait to pick up the spoon and prepare to taste it.

Old Man Song glanced at Guan Lang strangely, perhaps unconvinced. Guan Lang's face was determined and confident, and he retorted, "You can know the taste just by looking at it?"

"En." Guan Lang nodded, noncommittal to Lao Song's question.

He is new to fishing, but he is good at eating.

Tang Tang was a little curious when he heard the two "arguing". He put down the spoon and looked at Guan Lang curiously with wide eyes, waiting for an explanation.

"Lao Song, do you smell a faint smoky smell? This smell is because the raw material of ebony is smoked, so the plum soup also has this unique taste. If blended Yes, it has a sweet taste, but it is impure and has no smoky taste, so it must be brewed by the store itself, not blended with sour plum paste." Guan Lang explained with a smile.

He usually reads cookbooks when he has nothing to do, and he gradually understands more.

Tang Tang looked at Guan Lang with some admiration. He didn't expect that a bowl of sour plum soup would be so delicate.

Unlike Tang Tang who cooperated with him, old man Song looked like an old thorn.

"Why don't I smell the smoky smell? And even if it's brewed by the store and not blended, the taste will be pure?" Lao Song suddenly argued inexplicably.

Guan Lang gave him a strange look, why are there so many questions?
But he continued to explain patiently: "Although the ingredients for making sour plum soup are similar, the freshness of the ingredients varies. The flavors of raw materials such as tangerine peel, licorice and rock sugar are fully boiled, and the color will be rich and dark brown. Looking at the color of the soup in this bowl, it is clear that the store has put in a lot of effort to cook it, and the taste will not be bad."

Tang Tang's eyes were even more admiring. She, a snack foodie, had an instinctive respect for more refined foodies.

Guan Lang was slightly complacent, and the corner of his mouth curled into a smile.

Everyone likes this feeling of being admired.

Old Song nodded slightly when he saw this scene, not in vain for him to pretend to be a fool.

That's why he treats Guan Lang as usual, with the kindness of looking at his nephew, that's why he cares so much.

The three moved their spoons, took a spoonful and put it into their mouths.

The plum soup is mellow in the mouth, with a hint of icy air, cooling the heart and spleen.

The soup has a light herbal flavor and sweet-scented osmanthus aroma, but it is not bitter at all. It seems that a black plum has exploded on the tip of the tongue. One can't help but take another spoonful after taking a sip.

The sound of ticking rain can be heard, and in this humid rainy season, sitting in the quiet alley and drinking sour plum soup is very pleasant.

(End of this chapter)