dkrc Chapter 29 Wild Mushroom Noodles
Chapter 29 Wild Mushroom Noodles
Lu Yuan was somewhat surprised that this girl was actually going to Luwangtan Village.
Judging from her attire, she was clearly a wealthy young lady from a big city, and he assumed she was going on a road trip.
After all, the Northwest region is a great place for people who are tired of living in big cities to take a road trip.
Vast, desolate, and mysterious, it has a feel of a Western road movie.
The girl continued to explain, "You're a local, right? My name is Zhaoyan, and I'm a teacher here to teach in a rural area."
Zhao Yan's eyes were very clear, like those of a pure idealist.
Being willing to teach in remote areas at the youngest age is a great thing in itself.
Education in Northwest China is very backward, largely due to the low level of teachers.
It's not that local teachers are bad; they work very hard and diligently. However, due to limited resources, the knowledge they can impart to children is also one-sided.
Lu Yuan greatly admired Zhao Yan, who had traveled so far to enjoy her youth, and solemnly said to her:
"Hello, Teacher Zhao, I am Lu Yuan from Luwangtan Village. Please drive with me."
"That's great, thank you, Comrade Lu Yuan!" Upon hearing Lu Yuan's identity, Zhao Yan felt as if she had found her people and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't be so polite, just call me Lu Yuan. School starts a long way off, why are you here in July?" Lu Yuan asked, somewhat puzzled.
Zhao Yan politely replied, "I brought a lot of books. I'd like to leave them at school first, and then go on a road trip to explore the local customs and culture."
"OK, then I'll take you to the principal first." Lu Yuan smiled, restarted the motorcycle, and led the way.
Lu Yuan led Zhao Yan out of the dirt road at the foot of the mountain and onto the national highway.
Zhao Yan then realized that she had gone in the wrong direction, and a moment of belated embarrassment made her face turn red again.
However, we can't entirely blame her. After all, she's never been here before, so she'll have a stereotype that places that need volunteer teaching are all poor, remote mountain villages.
However, many places in northern China are quite different from the stereotypes people have. They are mostly plains with abundant water resources.
In spring, the mountains and fields are covered in green, giving it a feeling of the Jiangnan region.
The backwardness here is more economic. Geographically speaking, it is absolutely excellent, and the quality of many products is quite high.
An hour later, Lu Yuan led Zhao Yan off the national highway and stopped in front of Xiao Lu's Farmhouse Restaurant.
Zhao Yan got out of the car and stood at the entrance, curiously looking at the restaurant.
The fried dough stick workshop next door is particularly well-designed, with vibrant colors covering the entire wall and the four characters for "fried dough stick workshop" arranged in a very artistic way.
Especially below the window, there was a drawing by Lu Yuan himself depicting Luo Xiaohei staring wide-eyed at the window.
"Lu Yuan, is this your restaurant?" Zhao Yan asked.
Lu Yuan replied, "That's right, I'm the manager of this restaurant."
"Manager? What a unique title!"
Zhao Yan discovered that Lu Yuan was a very interesting boy, and the more she got to know him, the more surprised she became.
"Come in!" Lu Yuan, carrying mushrooms, opened the door and tilted his head at Zhao Yan.
"Oh, thank you!"
Upon entering, Zhao Yan found it to be a very clean restaurant, with spice jars neatly arranged on each table.
Lu Yuan took a pot of iced tea from the front desk and poured a cup for Zhao Yan:
"You take a rest for a bit, the principal will be here soon."
After saying that, Lu Yuan went to the backyard and asked his father to go find his second uncle.
My second uncle is the principal of Baiyang Elementary School.
Luwangtan Village and several surrounding villages belong to Baiyang Township, which is famous for its lush poplar forests.
At one end of Luwangtan Village, far from the national highway, there is a winding river with poplar trees planted along its banks.
In spring, a gentle breeze often blows, and the green branches sway beautifully on the water's surface.
Baiyang Primary School is not large, with only two classes per grade. The teachers and principal are all from the group of people born in the 1960s who attended junior high school in the surrounding villages.
They had to juggle farm work at home with school affairs.
They don't have a high level of education to begin with, and they don't have the energy to improve themselves.
Therefore, the authorities often send teachers to provide support in rural areas, with the aim of broadening everyone's horizons and sharing new knowledge and experiences.
When Lu Yuan returned to the restaurant, he found Zhao Yan looking intently at the slogan on his wall, so he went straight back to the kitchen.
These purple mushrooms need to be processed, otherwise they will spoil quickly.
First, clean off the dirt, pine needles, and moss from the surface of the mushrooms, then wipe them clean with a clean cloth.
Lu Yuan picked out some of the smaller ones to make mushroom noodles later, and stored the rest away to dry and save for later use.
Wild mushroom noodles can be made with either chicken or mutton.
Chicken and mushroom noodles will showcase the ultimate umami flavor, while lamb and mushroom noodles will have an added layer of rich meaty aroma on top of the umami flavor.
Considering that he would be serving a portion to the old man later, Lu Yuan decided to make mutton and mushroom noodles.
After all, lamb is more tender. The old man is already 90 years old. Although he is still healthy, his teeth are not very good.
To make mushroom and minced meat noodles, you must choose lamb ribs, and each piece of meat must have the bone attached.
When the meat close to the bone is stewed for a long time, the flavor of the purple mushrooms will gradually blend together, while the meat from the foreleg will lack the aroma of the bone broth.
Lu Yuan quickly prepared the ingredients, lit the stove, put out the pot, and heated the oil.
As usual, put the lamb chops into the pot first and stir-fry until the meat is browned and the oil becomes clear. Then add chopped green onions and stir-fry.
Because the noodles with minced meat sauce are cooked in the same pot, you can eat the noodles and drink the soup all at once, so Lu Yuan doesn't add ginger to avoid the feeling of "winning the lottery" when eating it.
Slightly brown the chopped scallions, then add a little chili powder, seasoning powder, a little balsamic vinegar, and soy sauce and sauté until fragrant.
The above ingredients are only used to enhance the aroma of the lamb, so the seasoning is very simple.
Next, add some of the broth from cooking the meat during the day, and then add some water.
Then add the mushrooms to the soup, season with salt, and simmer for half an hour.
Wild mushroom noodles don't need any side dishes; potatoes, tofu, radishes, wood ear mushrooms, etc., will all overshadow the main dish.
Later merchants added these random things to reduce costs.
While waiting, Lu Yuan divided the dough he had prepared in advance into small pieces, brushed them with oil, and prepared to make them into hand-pulled noodles.
Mushroom and minced meat noodles must be made with medium-thick round noodles to complement the savory broth and achieve a more refreshing taste.
Soon, the broth turned cloudy as the mushrooms and lamb chops began to blend together.
Lu Yuan took out the prepared dough, rolled it out, grabbed both ends and stretched it to the sides, then folded it in half and stretched it again. After stretching it several times, the noodles were formed.
The noodles were dropped into the pot and floated up and down a few times before Lu Yuan scooped them out with his chopsticks and put them in a bowl.
At this point, the soup base had reached its perfect state. Lu Yuan scooped up a spoonful of meat and mushrooms from the bottom and poured it over the noodles.
Sprinkle with a little garlic sprouts and cilantro, and a bowl of incredibly simple yet perfect mushroom and minced meat noodles is ready!
Lu Yuan carried two bowls of mushroom and minced meat noodles to the front hall, and an irresistible aroma instantly drew Zhao Yan's attention away from the slogans and onto the dining table.
"Teacher Zhao, you're in for a treat! I'll treat you to wild mushroom noodles!"
Later generations generally used soaked purple mushrooms to make wild mushroom noodles, and almost none of them used fresh mushrooms like Lu Yuan did.
The rich flavor of mutton blends perfectly with the delicate aroma of mushrooms, like condensing the fresh scent of the pine forest after the rain in Helan Mountain into your nasal cavity.
Steam rises gently, mushrooms are plump and spread out, soup noodles are glistening and moist, and mutton sways and dances on the side.
Zhao Yan discovered that the bowl of wild mushroom noodles in front of her was actually glowing!