Taste the old taste on the tip of the tongue, and the gate of memory opens instantly. Gently, lest I miss every detail.
In my memory, marinated shrimp sauce is a "meal" that hometown people can eat almost all year round. Hometown people call "salt net" (homophonic) as "next meal" with meals. Before meals, children often pester their mothers eagerly. "Mom, what are we going to eat today with a salt net?" "Today, I'll make you some braised soybeans with shrimp sauce." After that, the woman hurried to the yard to hold firewood, and then lit a fire to cook. The children scrambled to help their mother pull the bellows, and the flames in the stove grew louder and louder in the crackle. The woman scooped a ladle of water from the water tank and put it in a large iron pot. Then she took out a proper amount of marinated shrimp paste from the porcelain jar with a spoon and put it in a large iron pot with water to stir. Finally, she added the white corn flour and kept stirring, so that it was heated evenly and did not paste the bottom of the pot. Corn flour should be a little thicker and thinner, otherwise the fine powder will feel sticky when cooked. Without a drop of oil, the smart women in my hometown accumulate over time, and the proportion of water, marinated shrimp sauce and corn flour in order is just right, so braised soybeans in marinated shrimp sauce will be delicious. "Hey, come and help mom stir the pot." Older children are usually mothers' best helpers. The woman freed her hand and took a jar of yellow corn flour made in advance to the stove. A pair of rough but dexterous hands began to get busy again. In a short time, the inner edge of the large iron pot was plated with a circle of gold, and the salty flavor of the shrimp sauce was forced into golden tortillas. At this moment, maybe those golden tortillas can't wait for the aroma of marinated shrimp sauce. When tortillas are about seven or eight years old, it is time for the soaked soybeans to play. The woman scattered full and energetic soybeans into the big iron pot, which was bubbling, and some naughty soybeans got into the bottom of the pot. In a short time, a plate of braised soybeans in marinated shrimp sauce came into view. It was originally red-faced shrimp sauce. At this time, it is pink and lovely. Wrapped in white jade, the temperature of the fire instantly turned into a beautiful white paste. And the soybeans that came from behind are also eye-catching, like golden beans looming, as if to seduce you and arouse your appetite. I haven't waited for you to take a closer look at Geoff's rough hand masterpiece. Once put on the kang table, it was eaten up by adults and children in a short time. "Mom, the braised soybeans in the marinated shrimp sauce you made are delicious!" The naughty child patted his stomach and burped at his mother and said, "Mom, will you give us (boiled) soy beans with marinated shrimp sauce tomorrow?" The woman put away the dishes and chopsticks, smiled and quickly replied, "China people, you are really a greedy cat." This kind of picture is almost a warm scene that appeared every day in the farmhouse when I was a child, and my family is no exception. Childhood hometown people are not only simple, kind and hardworking, but also so easy to satisfy. A plate of braised soybeans in shrimp sauce can be our delicious meal.
When it comes to marinated shrimp sauce, if you want to eat good marinated shrimp sauce, it must be rotten, and you must use a seafood called shrimp lice as raw material. As far as I can remember, most of the marinated shrimp sauce sold in the shouts of walking around the streets is made of "rotten fish and shrimp", which is incomparable with the rotten marinated shrimp sauce made by my grandfather himself.
As long as I can remember, grandpa is an old man and doesn't talk much, but I have never been strange to him. Maybe my childhood is very similar to my grandfather's personality, which gives me a deeper feeling about the outside world. Although grandpa's home is close to the sea, grandpa is not a fisherman. He is just an ordinary agricultural worker on the farm. Grandpa is not a fisherman, but he is an old man who likes the sea as much as those real fishermen. When I was a child, I grew up listening to my grandfather tell us stories about the sea. I have always thought that only people who really like the sea can use shrimp lice, one of the sons of the sea, to brew the unique taste of marinated shrimp sauce. I know that every time Grandpa spoils shrimp sauce, he pays his own hard work and sweat just like raising his own children. Because there is a sincere effort, there will be a return, so the stewed shrimp sauce made by grandpa himself will have a truly pure and unparalleled taste.
In my bones, the hometown where I was born and raised is my hometown, and my grandfather's hometown is also my hometown. Both of them have the same weight in my heart. In my memory, I remember my grandfather's family more clearly, which may be one of the reasons why I regard my grandfather's family as my hometown.
Spring has always been a vibrant season, not to mention the spring in my hometown. Let's talk about the sea in my hometown again. When spring comes to the flood season, shrimp lice (also called black shrimp) will roll over from the distant sea surface with the tide like a sandstorm. I think, perhaps because shrimp lice are only a few millimeters in size, it should be appropriate for hometown people to name them after the word "lice". Don't underestimate shrimp lice. If the weather is fine, you will happen to catch a kind of "marine" shrimp lice. Standing by the sea, looking from a distance, you will see layers of black fog rolling in from a distance, just like the ups and downs in the sea, which is very spectacular. I remember my grandfather told me that it is precisely because of this that people in my hometown call shrimp lice "fog shrimp". It is the most humble shrimp louse in the sea, and its name even makes people feel humble. It is the best raw material for marinating shrimp sauce, but those fish, shrimp and crabs that are much more expensive than it are incomparable.
I remember when I was a child in spring, our children would pester our mother to take us to grandpa's house for a while, because there would be sea bass, otters, clams and other seafood hanging around our little greedy insects in that season. Mom can't beat us. She often crosses a big dam from the south of the village to get to grandpa's house in order to cut corners. Along the way, all kinds of unknown wild flowers fluttered in the wind on both sides of the dam. They are white, pink, yellow, blue and purple. They are either clustered together, winking at passers-by, or blooming independently, bringing vitality to the wilderness. Exquisite me, I often fall behind because I crouch down and pick a wild flower and put it in my ear. My mother turns around from time to time and urges me to keep up with them. Grandparents always prepare our favorite seafood early, and I am most interested in following my grandfather to catch shrimp lice at the seaside, and then doing those things with my grandfather to pickle shrimp sauce.
I remember the spring in my hometown is so beautiful, the sky is blue, the water is clear, the birds are so crisp, the far and the near blend with each other, and the high and low voices sing their own Haruka. In your hometown, you don't have to worry about oversleeping. When you sleep in the morning, the songs of birds will wake you up. Pushing open the window, I opened my eyes and saw that the window was full of green, which was an unpolluted green, and I still yearned for it. It is a kind of green that you want to take a bite of green juice when you look at it, like a faint sweet and smooth green. My grandfather's yard is surrounded by all kinds of trees planted by my grandparents, and the branches and leaves are crowded together to form a fence. In the yard, all kinds of vegetables in the neat vegetable fields show their magical powers. Leek swayed in the wind. "Look how slim I am!" Spinach smiled and said to leek, "Don't flatter yourself, a gust of wind will blow you down." The overwintering green onions on the side jumped high and looked around disdainfully. "Hum, if you make trouble again, I'll chop you into stuffing and make buns." The vegetables shouted, and grandpa bent down to help them from time to time. Occasionally, a small weed hides under the leaves of vegetables, and it can't escape grandpa's eyes. Pieces of vegetable fields are my grandfather's paradise. Whenever grandpa handles his vegetable fields, I will follow him. When I meet people who can't name them, I often ask my grandfather, "Grandpa, what is that dish?" Grandpa often takes the trouble to explain to me one by one. "Grandpa, when are we going to catch shrimp lice?" Grandpa walked around his vegetable field with his hands behind his back. I followed him with my hands behind my back and kept asking questions. "Let's go after watching the vegetable fields." Later, I learned that grandpa took it as fun to review his vegetable fields once a day.
Grandpa put the tools needed to catch shrimp and lice on the wooden unicycle in the yard one by one, and then said, "Children get on the bus and start." A creaking wooden wheelbarrow was pushed out of the yard by grandpa, and then the giggles of our four children sitting on the wheelbarrow floated out of the yard. Behind him came the words of grandma and mom, "His grandpa, come back soon." "Children, listen to grandpa." ……
The creaking unicycle bumped all the way, and the thin grandfather was afraid of falling on our four children, and his steps were a little slow. "Grandpa, when can we see the sea?" The wind blew a strong smell of sea water and penetrated into the nose. "It will arrive soon." We four children cheered and forgot that we were sitting on a wheelbarrow and obviously fell off it. "Sit tight, children." Grandpa clenched the two handles of the wheelbarrow hard and continued to push the wheelbarrow forward.
"Look, that's the sea!" It's time for us to show our talents. The trolley finally stopped creaking. Grandpa put on one-piece rain pants and prepared to go to sea. We came down from the iron bucket with shrimp lice. "Son, please wait for me on the shore, don't go into the sea." Sit on the shore and wait for grandpa to go ashore. The sun shines on the sea and looks at the sea in front of you. At that moment, I felt that the sea in my hometown looked so gentle and quiet, like a quiet and kind old man. If we see shrimp lice being gently pushed to the shore by the waves, our four children completely ignore grandpa's instructions and use grandpa's own net to drill into shallow water to pick up shrimp lice. It didn't take much effort. Grandpa carried the reed basket back and forth to the sea and the shore several times, and our bucket of shrimp and lice was full. Shrimp and lice are packed in an iron bucket, like a bucket of mud. They can hardly see their faces, and can't tell where their eyes are and where their legs are. So far, I will sigh how amazing the sea is. I wonder if shrimp lice are the smallest children in the sea? The vastness of my hometown is really all-encompassing!
With shrimp lice, you won't worry about marinated shrimp sauce. However, it is not a simple matter that bad marinated shrimp sauce begins with cleaning shrimp lice and ends with a good pot of marinated shrimp sauce. If something goes wrong in a production process, it will turn into rotten shrimp sauce. Grandpa's rotten shrimp sauce has its own uniqueness. Every time grandpa can't make shrimp sauce well, we all go into battle together in the early stage. We have different division of labor, some help to carry water, some help to pick up seaweed mixed with shrimp lice with a sieve, and some help to wash shrimp lice over and over again and then drain the water. Laughter came from the yard, causing a mother-in-law next door to look around. "Second brother, nieces and nephews have come to help spoil the shrimp sauce?" Grandpa answered while busy, and said with a smile, "Children love to work." After everything is ready, grandpa pours the shrimp lice without impurities into a big tank that has been cleaned and dried, and then adds sea salt equivalent to the weight ratio of shrimp lice. When I was a child, all the salt my family ate was large sea salt produced locally. I remember it was very similar to rock sugar. The proportion of sea salt is very important. If you put less, the shrimp paste that is not well preserved will go bad easily, and the salt must be saturated. Next, Grandpa will take a polished wooden stick and stir the shrimp lice in the jar until the shrimp lice in the jar turn into porridge. In the meantime, we will each take a small wooden stick, because we are small and tiptoe around the vat like grandpa. Finally, grandpa will find an old iron pot and cover it on the vat. For better sealing, wrap the old iron pot with a large piece of plastic cloth, and then tie the plastic cloth with hemp rope, which is the iron hat of the vat. The purpose of this is to prevent the infiltration of rain and the pollution of flies and other insects. After the cylinder was sealed, the preliminary production of bad shrimp paste was temporarily ended. Finally, put the vat full of shrimp lice in a sunny and ventilated place for natural fermentation. Next, in order to better ferment shrimp lice that have become porridge, grandpa will uncover the sealed old iron pot every few days and stir it repeatedly with a wooden stick for a long time. During the day, the sun shines into the yard, which is warm. If you stand by the vat and listen carefully, you will hear a subtle sound in the vat, which is the natural fermentation sound of shrimp lice. At night, in the dead of night, a bright moon hangs high, and shrimp lice hide in the jar to enjoy the moonlight and starlight. With the passage of time, the flavor of marinated shrimp sauce in the yard is getting stronger day by day, and the garden is full of fragrance, so you can even eat it. How time flies! The hot weather has passed. Going to grandpa's house in autumn, I can't wait to see the fermented shrimp lice first. At this time, the iron hat on the vat has been replaced by a big sauce basket woven by reeds, like a big steamed bread buckled on the vat. Every summer, grandpa would replace the iron hat on the vat with a big sauce basket and move the vat to the shade, in order to ventilate and prevent shrimp lice from being fermented into smelly shrimp sauce by sun exposure. Uncover the sauce basket, and a layer of liquid with bright color like sesame oil floats on the marinated shrimp sauce, which smells fragrant. This kind of liquid is called marinated shrimp oil by hometown people, which belongs to the by-product of marinated shrimp sauce. It is an essential oil separated from the deteriorated marinated shrimp sauce after sun exposure and night dew day after day. Although it is a by-product of marinated shrimp sauce, its value is far greater than that of marinated shrimp sauce. This naturally fermented salted shrimp oil is extremely delicious, and it is also delicious on the table of hometown people. I can't help wanting to steal my food. When I just stood on tiptoe and tried to reach out my little hand to the tempting layer of brine shrimp oil, my grandfather didn't know when he stood next to me. "Smell the smell of marinated shrimp oil and marinated shrimp sauce?" "Well, Grandpa, your bad marinated shrimp sauce and marinated shrimp oil are really delicious." Grandpa stroked my head and said, "Son, good marinated shrimp sauce is bad with love." "Grandpa, you gave your love to the marinated shrimp sauce, will you still love me?" At that time, I was innocent. I was afraid that my grandfather would give his love to the marinated shrimp sauce and would not love me. "Silly boy, grandpa certainly loves you more than marinated shrimp sauce. But grandpa also regards shrimp lice as his own children, and loves them as much as he loves you, making them as delicious as marinated shrimp sauce and marinated shrimp oil every day. "
In the following days, we can eat fresh shrimp sauce and shrimp oil that grandpa tastes bad every day. Skilled mothers cook for us in different ways, such as braised soybeans in marinated shrimp sauce, boiled cabbage in marinated shrimp sauce, marinated shrimp oil tofu, marinated shrimp oil radish, marinated shrimp oil lentil, marinated shrimp oil pickled pepper and so on. We grew up with a tortilla, a wowotou, a bowl of corn residue porridge and a bowl of sorghum rice. As far as I can remember, my favorite and most frequently eaten food is scallion dipped in marinated shrimp oil or marinated shrimp sauce in my yard, which is still considered as the most unforgettable human delicacy.
We all grew up, but grandpa began to hunch over, and grandpa was old. Later, we left our hometown to live in the city, and we didn't have as many opportunities to meet grandpa as before. But every autumn, grandpa's delicious shrimp paste always calls us back. Grandpa always fills one can after another with bad marinated shrimp sauce and marinated shrimp oil early, waiting for us. Later, grandpa couldn't spoil the shrimp paste himself because of stomach cancer, and I never ate such delicious shrimp paste again.
Then gently dip your finger in the marinated shrimp paste in front of you, and the delicious smell on the tip of your tongue has the taste of marinated shrimp paste that my grandfather used to make bad. I know, this taste must be the original flavor of the fourth uncle who inherited grandpa's traditional method of pickling shrimp sauce. My eyes can't help getting wet. I think my grandfather in heaven will be relieved. I wonder if grandpa heaven will have shrimp paste.