Chapter 21 earthworm

I have eaten many strange things in my life, but nothing is more strange than earthworm jelly.This is what I tasted when my relatives invited me to dinner when I returned to Xiamen this spring.They first said it was asparagus jelly.I asked, how can the bamboo shoots boil to become jelly?Only then did someone explain that it was actually soil earthworms, not soil bamboo shoots.what!Earthworm?That's right.The Chinese eat everything, but this is the first time I have heard of earthworms.The color of earthworm jelly is gray and white. I took a piece and added mustard, garlic paste, and light soy sauce.It has no taste in itself, and one bite is enough.Later, I ate dim sum in the restaurant on the top floor of the Lujiang Hotel. On the long table, there were many dishes of earthworm jelly, with small parasols made of paper stuck on them.The children took them back to their tables one after another, and ate them happily, probably out of greed, like eating jello.

After returning home, I found the recipe of earthworm jelly in a book of "Fujian Recipes" (snacks). earthworm raw material Fat live soil earthworm... five catties Refined salt...five coins method 1.The live soil earthworms are first rinsed with sea water to remove the surface dirt, then fished out, drained and put into a large porcelain vat, rubbed and squeezed repeatedly with both hands (or stepped on), to remove the mud, sand and sticky matter in the soil earthworm intestines. After the skin of the soil earthworm is removed and the dirt in the intestines is cleaned, it is washed and rubbed six times with clean water, drained, and cut into one-inch long sections.

2.Take one hundred small teacups with a diameter and height of about one inch and two minutes long, put them in a boiling water pot, and wipe the water dry when taking them out for later use. 3.Put the cut earthworms into the iron pot, pour water to cover the earthworms about an inch high, then put the iron pot on the high heat, cover the pot surface, stir the earthworms and water with a hand spoon when boiling After a few times, cover again and boil, then stir well with a hand spoon, so that the colloid contained in the soil earthworm is boiled in the water.When boiling for the third time, add refined salt and mix well, then scoop into small teacups to 50% high, and cool for 50 minutes (the temperature during production is below 20 degrees Celsius, and it will condense into lumps within 50 minutes; If the temperature is above 20 degrees Celsius, you need to put it in the refrigerator or add ice cubes around it to cool down before it can condense) and then condense into a block. Take off the cup and it will become "earth jelly", and put it in the refrigerator to avoid melting.When eating, according to the number of earthworms on the plate, add appropriate amount of radish sour, coriander, pickled cauliflower, buckwheat head, jellyfish skin, and then top with mustard sauce, sesame sauce, peanut butter, black vinegar, sour plum sauce, garlic paste, chili sauce, Serve with soy sauce and orange juice.

features The color of this dish is off-white, crystal clear and transparent, the earthworms are fresh and crisp, the texture is soft and light, and full of elasticity. "Fujian Recipes" was published in 1985, so it's not too old.I don’t know if my fellow villagers still rub and squeeze with both hands, or step on the big vat of earthworms with their feet to get rid of the sediment and sticky matter in their intestines.After processing, do you put it in a small teacup, a hundred small cups?These scenes played out in my head one after another, and sometimes made it difficult for me to sleep at night in bed.

I also found an introduction to Xiamen’s delicious snacks on a Xiamen sightseeing map: The "soil bamboo shoot jelly" made by cooking and cooling the star worms commonly known as "soil bamboo shoots" that grows in the beach mud is seasoned with coriander, mustard, garlic paste, light soy sauce, carrot acid, etc. The entrance is unique, and the aftertaste is long and refreshing. . I also thought of the situation of fellow villagers digging earthworms in the beach mud.Strangely, I never heard from my parents about the earthworm.Maybe I'm making a fuss and being ignorant, but I think that earthworm jelly should be the "top" food in Chinese food culture.As for what kind of "leader" it was, I couldn't figure it out for a while.