Chapter 39: Steamed Meat Patties
That day, Ying Kongtu was still patrolling the mountain.
Wen Zhongshan accompanied him at his side.
It had been quite a few days since he last came to check on the saker falcon family, so Ying Kongtu specially brought Wen Zhongshan to see them.
Unexpectedly, when they arrived and took a look, the once-neat falcon nest had already been abandoned.
The empty nest, battered by wind and rain, looked old and messy.
“Not a single falcon stayed here. They’ve all flown away.” Ying Kongtu raised his head and looked carefully, then said with regret.
The six young falcons had already left the nest. They definitely would not remain nearby.
This territory could not support that many raptors. They had to go elsewhere to make a living.
Now that the breeding season was over, the falcon pair would not stay together either.
Outside the breeding season, they were more accustomed to living alone. Perhaps because of this, they had flown away from their old nest.
Still, seeing not a single falcon left in the nest made Ying Kongtu a little gloomy. His expression carried a sense of loss even he himself had not noticed.
Wen Zhongshan said from beside him, “Maybe when the breeding season comes, they’ll return. This nest is so good, and there’s so much food. If they remember it, they’ll definitely come back.”
“Forget it. As long as they can live well in the mountain forest.” Ying Kongtu looked again and again, then said, “Let’s go.”
They followed the forest downhill. Before they had gone far, Ying Kongtu suddenly heard a series of “ka-ka” sounds.
He looked up and saw a falcon with sleek, graceful lines standing on a branch.
Seeing him look over, the falcon opened its beak and called “ka-ka” again.
“It’s that falcon father!” Ying Kongtu recognized the relatively smaller falcon, and surprise appeared on his face.
“Ka-ka-ka!” Ying Kongtu imitated the falcon’s call after a long time.
“Ka-ka-ka!” The male falcon responded to him from the branch.
Ying Kongtu no longer felt any regret at all and said to Wen Zhongshan, “All right, let’s go down.”
Wen Zhongshan’s mood also became cheerful. “Let’s go.”
When they were almost at the foot of the mountain, Ying Kongtu heard movement on the opposite mountain.
He raised his head and looked, only to see a line of furry little animals emerging from the forest across from them.
The wolf king walked at the very front, followed by the young wolf Jingwei. Tiaozhu trailed closely behind, and Dart followed at the very end.
They were actually lined up by size as they walked down the mountain.
Under the sunlight, the row of furry creatures looked incredibly adorable.
Ying Kongtu opened his mouth and called, “Awooo—”
The wolf king on the opposite side heard him, stopped, and howled back toward them. “Awooo—”
This was also a habit among wolf packs.
When a wolf howled, the wolf king often needed to respond after hearing it.
The wolf king was both the king of the pack and the parent of the pack.
Now, the wolf king Xian Niao was the head of the furry creatures in Ying Kongtu’s household.
Ying Kongtu smiled and waved hard toward the opposite side.
After Xian Niao came down from the mountain, the lives of the furry ones became much more regular.
Dart no longer wandered around the county town getting into fights with other cats.
Jingwei no longer lacked exercise, lying in the courtyard while staring at the vehicles passing outside the gate.
Tiaozhu also no longer had to patrol the mountains alone and lonely.
Ying Kongtu stretched. “It really is good that Xian Niao has come down. Let’s walk a little farther up and see if we can get some ingredients to make a big meal.”
“What ingredients?”
“At this season, there probably aren’t any mushrooms left, and shiitake and wood ear are scarce too—” Ying Kongtu calculated what mountain delicacies could be found in this season.
There truly were few mountain delicacies in winter. Even underground tubers were difficult to dig now.
The weather was cold, rain was scarce, and the soil had become harder and drier. Digging would be comparatively troublesome.
Ying Kongtu thought for a long time, then suddenly remembered. “Got it. Let’s pick some rock ear. There should be some rock ear that has been dried by the wind and left on the cliffs.”
This was the first time Wen Zhongshan had heard of this ingredient. “Rock ear? Is it like ground ear?”
“No.” Ying Kongtu smiled. “In modern terms, rock ear is a fungus, in the same category as wood ear. Ground ear is algae. They’re completely different.”
“I’ve never eaten that kind of food.”
“Then today is perfect for trying it.”
Ying Kongtu led Wen Zhongshan up the mountain.
“Rock ear usually grows on cliffs and precipices in high mountains. It isn’t easy to pick tasty rock ear.”
“No wonder I haven’t really seen it on the market.”
“Exactly. The yield is low. If ordinary people see an unfamiliar fungus, they can’t be sure whether it’s edible, let alone take it to sell.”
Both of them were skilled climbers. After a little over an hour, they reached their destination.
Ying Kongtu pointed ahead. “There should be rock ear up ahead. I saw it in autumn. Back then, it was still small, so I didn’t pick it. I don’t know if any dried ones are still there now. Come on, let’s go try our luck.”
A mountain god’s luck had always been very good.
As soon as they walked over, Ying Kongtu saw a large patch of dried rock ear left on the cliff face.
Wen Zhongshan walked over and measured it with his hand. “This patch is huge. It looks like dried leaves. If you hadn’t said it was edible, I doubt many people would dare eat it.”
The dried rock ear did resemble withered leaves, curled up and tightly attached to the cliff face. It was yellowish-brown and completely inconspicuous. It did not look like some delicious ingredient at all.
Ying Kongtu bent down to examine it. “Let me see which rock ear tastes better.”
Among this large patch of rock ear, some were extremely delicious and fresh, while others carried an earthy, fishy smell and did not taste very good.
If they wanted to taste this mountain delicacy, Ying Kongtu would have to use the mountain god’s ability and carefully choose.
Ying Kongtu examined them one by one, picking only the tastiest and putting them into the back basket.
The quality of this patch of rock ear was indeed quite good. In a short while, Ying Kongtu had picked a small pile.
“That’s enough,” Ying Kongtu said. “We’ll pick this much today. Let’s go back.”
“How do we eat rock ear at this time? Make soup? I just looked it up and it says it’s suitable for soup and slow stewing.”
“No. I know a better way to eat it.” Ying Kongtu smiled. “On the way back, let’s go to the market.”
They went down the mountain, and Ying Kongtu cheerfully drove the farm tricycle with Wen Zhongshan to the market.
Ying Kongtu bought a large piece of black pork.
Wen Zhongshan asked, “Are we stir-frying it?”
“No, no, no. It’s not suitable for stir-frying.” Ying Kongtu said, “I’m making steamed meat patties. Tiaozhu and the others can eat them too.”
After the two returned home, Ying Kongtu instructed Wen Zhongshan to soak the rock ear. “Use warm water.”
Wen Zhongshan asked, “Will we be able to eat it today?”
“We will. It’ll soak through very quickly.” Ying Kongtu cut the pork into chunks and began chopping it on the chopping board with a rhythmic thud.
After Wen Zhongshan soaked the rock ear, he came over and took over Ying Kongtu’s task, chopping the meat with lightness and strength.
Ying Kongtu moved over a small stool and sat by the stove peeling garlic, watching Wen Zhongshan’s effortless movements. “You really are amazing with a blade. Your control is so strong.”
Wen Zhongshan lowered his head and looked. “The result of many years of training. It wasn’t trained for nothing, at least.”
“It definitely wasn’t. Your knife skills are this good, so the meat you chop will definitely be very delicious when used for steamed patties.” Ying Kongtu watched him chop and specifically reminded him, “Don’t mince it too finely. It tastes better with a bit of texture.”
Wen Zhongshan said, “All right.”
While Ying Kongtu and the others were cooking in the kitchen, the household’s furry creatures also returned.
Seeing Dart and Jingwei poking their heads around and trying to squeeze into the kitchen, Ying Kongtu specially turned around and said, “No need to help. Stay away from the kitchen.”
Dart said, “Meow.”
Jingwei said, “Awoo.”
Seeing that they refused to leave, Ying Kongtu called, “Xian Niao!”
Hearing the call, the wolf king walked forward with light steps, opened its mouth, and directly grabbed Dart by the scruff of its neck, carrying it away.
Jingwei hurriedly followed.
Ying Kongtu was stir-frying the rock ear.
The finely chopped rock ear was stir-fried over fierce heat with lard. Once cooked, soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, and a tiny bit of sugar were added.
That tiny bit of sugar could not be tasted as sweetness at all, but it made the flavor of the stir-fried rock ear softer and brought out the freshness more clearly.
It also helped the flavors of the rock ear and meat blend better.
After the rock ear was stir-fried, Ying Kongtu took it out and poured it into the large basin holding the raw meat, mixing it together with the minced meat.
Once evenly mixed, he shaped the meat mixture into patties and steamed them over strong heat.
Today was still three dishes and one soup.
Rock ear meat patties, shredded chicken, stir-fried tender isatis seedlings, and cured rib shuyu soup.
The shuyu they had dug before had been placed together with the shuyu seeds in the storage room and buried in sand.
As long as ventilation was maintained, shuyu could be stored for one or two months.
They could eat it slowly.
Ying Kongtu called out, “Dinner’s ready!”
All the dishes today could be eaten by the little ones. When making the shredded chicken, Ying Kongtu had specially set aside a portion of unseasoned chicken shreds, so even the shredded chicken could be sampled by them.
The steamed rock ear meat patties were the most popular among the little ones.
Ying Kongtu divided the patties into different sizes according to the body sizes of the furry creatures.
The patties had already cooled, so they could start eating right away.
Sure enough, the furry creatures also immediately picked up the meat patties and tasted them.
“Meow!”
“Awoo!”
Dart and Jingwei became very excited after tasting the meat patties.
Jingwei, in particular, started wagging its tail without being taught.
The wolf king and Tiaozhu were much calmer.
They had been little mountain gods under Ying Kongtu for a very long time and had eaten Ying Kongtu’s cooking countless times before.
Although they were eating happily now, they were not so excited that they would whimper and cry out randomly.
Wen Zhongshan could tell from the furry creatures’ reactions that today’s meat patties must be very delicious.
He picked up a piece of meat patty with his chopsticks and took a bite. Sure enough, it was exactly as expected.
The meat patty was very substantial. Because a certain amount of texture had been preserved while chopping the meat, it still had texture when eaten.
The lean meat’s texture was firm and springy, the fatty meat’s texture was fragrant, smooth, and rich, while the rock ear’s texture was fresh, crisp, and refreshing.
All the textures gathered together to form a unique mouthfeel.
The most wonderful part was the steaming method.
It gathered all the freshness together and concentrated it. With every bite, the rich umami burst in the mouth.
“It’s really delicious. It goes so well with rice.” Wen Zhongshan held the meat patty with his chopsticks. “I originally thought this dish would be relatively light. I didn’t expect the flavor to be this rich.”
“Right? This is a quick rice-killer dish.”
Ying Kongtu said with great interest, “In the past, I liked adding a little bamboo partridge minced chicken to it. That was delicious too. Unfortunately, bamboo partridges can’t be eaten now.”
“Actually, they can.” Wen Zhongshan said, “If you apply for the corresponding qualification certificate, individuals can also domesticate bamboo partridges.”
“There’s such a thing? I always thought the wild animals on the mountain couldn’t be eaten, even if some of them were technically raised by me.”
“It should be possible, as long as you’re not eating truly wild animals. We can ask another day and see what procedures need to be done.”
Ying Kongtu agreed immediately. “Sure. With Xian Niao and the others around, raising animals on the mountain would be very convenient.”
