Chapter 12.2

Su Ying and Yanni were already sitting down and eating. Su Ying picked up a piece of blood sausage — it had a unique salty aroma mixed with the metallic tang of blood, but after cooking together, the flavors became even richer and more intense. The pickled cabbage was very appetizing, making it hard to stop eating one bite after another.

The sliced pork belly was perfectly marbled. Dipped into the sauce — with its garlicky aroma, slight vinegar tang, and saltiness — the pork belly became even more delicious.

The pork liver was soft and powdery, and the pork intestines were savory — an incredibly tasty meal.

The braised dishes were another highlight. The aroma was irresistible; the pork intestines were soft and glutinous, the pork tongue had a nice chew, and the pork heart was pleasantly springy.

After the meal, Aunt Xiang packed up half a pig for Ying’s mom to take home, along with uncleaned and uncooked pig offal. The whole family went home happily. After a busy day, they all rested early.

The next morning, Su Ying woke up to find that her parents were already up. Although the pig had been divided yesterday, there was still work to do. The pig’s suet had to be rendered into lard.

The firewood burned strong, and the cleaned pork suet filled a huge pot. As it slowly rendered, pure lard flowed out, and the pork cracklings turned into small, crispy pieces.

Soybeans and Sichuan peppercorns were placed into jars before the hot lard was poured in. This helped keep the lard from developing odors and made it even more fragrant. After filling two large jars, they had enough lard to last the family a long time.

The pork cracklings were given to Su Ying. Some she froze for later. When she wanted a snack, she could reheat them in the air fryer and sprinkle on some barbecue seasoning — instant crispy snacks.

Next were the pig trotters. Both the front and back trotters were brought to the courtyard and singed with a blowtorch until the skin turned black. Then they were scrubbed clean with a steel wool ball and hot water. Once fully cleaned, the trotters were chopped in half. Su Ying planned to make Chengdu-style “Mom’s Pig Trotter Soup”with them that night.

The front and hind leg meat was cut into chunks and frozen. Ribs were divided into five or six pieces per bag and also frozen.

There wasn’t much pork neck meat. For lunch, Su Ying decided to recreate the grilled pork neck she had eaten during a business trip to Guangzhou. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the signature Chaozhou kumquat oil — sweet and fragrant with kumquat aroma — so she could only substitute with sweet and sour sauce.

There was also a pig tail, which would be stewed together with the pig trotters that night. It was also singed black and cleaned.

The pork belly was divided into strips, portioned for stir-fries or braising with pickled cabbage. After working all morning, everything was finally sorted out. One piece of pork with a 30% fat-to-70% lean ratio was set aside to make dumplings that evening.

Su Ying began preparing the pig trotter soup. In the morning, she had already soaked white kidney beans. She would also add radish later. The soup wasn’t difficult to make; the key was properly cleaning and prepping the trotters. After blanching and rinsing, she placed the pig trotters and tail into a pot.

She poured in a large amount of boiling water and simmered on medium-low heat for two hours until the broth turned milky white. Then she added the kidney beans and simmered for another hour, followed by radish for the final half hour. Finally, she seasoned with salt and pepper and sprinkled in scallions — the pig trotter soup was done.

The dipping sauce for the trotters was very important. First was the chili oil: in a large bowl, she added doubanjiang (fermented bean paste), minced scallions, minced garlic, a spoonful of fine chili powder, and a spoonful of coarse chili flakes. A little white vinegar was added. Then she poured in hot oil in several batches, releasing the aroma. Finally, she mixed in sugar, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and a ladle of the original pig trotter broth.

This dipping sauce could make anything taste delicious.

The pork neck meat had already been marinated. Su Ying pan-seared the thinly sliced pork neck, letting the fat render out. Once both sides were golden and fully cooked, she sliced and plated it — a simple yet perfect dish.

For the staple, Ying’s dad made a pot of cornmeal steamed buns.

The pig trotter soup was cooked until it was fall-off-the-bone tender. A single squeeze of the chopsticks could break the meat apart. Tasting the original flavor first, the mouth was full of collagen and incredibly tender. Dipping it in the spicy, fragrant sauce was even more delicious.

The kidney beans were also meltingly soft and flavorful. The soup broth was rich and milky, free from any additives, just pure pork aroma.

The pig tail was even more gelatinous than the trotters and extremely satisfying to gnaw on.

The radish had absorbed all the meaty flavors of the soup while retaining its sweet freshness — incredibly tasty. Placing the dipped pig trotter onto the steamed bun and eating it together created a whole new level of flavor.

The pork neck was paired with a sauce made from mashed preserved plums mixed with sugar.

The tangy sweetness cut through the richness of the meat perfectly. Pork neck meat, being from the most active part of the pig, was springy and had a deliciously grilled aroma.

After a hearty meat-heavy lunch, Su Ying’s mom led the way in making dumplings that evening. Her dad was responsible for kneading the dough, while Su Ying and her mom prepared the filling. A big chunk of front leg meat (30% fat, 70% lean) was chopped into mince by hand.

A bowl of spice-infused water was prepared and cooled before being poured into the meat so it could fully absorb. After stirring until sticky, seasonings were added, and the meat filling was ready. This time they were making vegetable dumplings, so lots of vegetables had to be added.

Fresh cabbage from the garden was chopped finely, sprinkled with salt to draw out moisture, and wrung dry before being mixed with the meat filling in a 1:1 ratio — the cabbage filling was ready.

The mushroom filling used dried shiitake mushrooms, which were soaked, squeezed dry, and chopped before being mixed with the meat at a 1:2 ratio — the mushroom filling was ready.

As for the chive filling, the chives were chopped, salted to draw out excess juice, and then mixed with the meat filling — the chive filling was ready.

Ying’s dad quickly made the dumpling wrappers. The whole family sat around the table making dumplings together. The afternoon passed quickly. Each round dumpling wrapper was thicker in the middle and thinner at the edges. Filling was placed in the center, the wrapper was folded, and the edges were pleated — dumplings of different fillings each had distinct patterns.

By the time they finished making the dumplings, it was already 5 PM. A pot of water was brought to a boil, and the dumplings were dropped in.

Once the water boiled, cold water was added. Repeating this three times, the dumplings floated to the top — they were cooked.

The best dipping sauce for dumplings was a simple mixture of white vinegar, soy sauce, and minced garlic — absolutely delicious.

Three large plates of different-flavored dumplings were set out, and the family happily enjoyed them together. They even brought a potful over to Aunt Xiang’s house.

With the slaughtering of the New Year pig completed, the next task was the traditional house cleaning on the 28th day of the lunar calendar.