In rural Inner Mongolia, there is a saying in many places in winter that killing pigs for the New Year is a famous dish in many places in Inner Mongolia.
Killing pigs in rural areas is a big event and a small banquet. A few days before killing pigs, grandma called us and said, "Come back to eat pig-killing dishes on Sunday, bring our baby granddaughter and buy some pork when we go back." Grandma's tone is full of expectation and care.
It was very cold that day, and my father ran and drove us back to our hometown. I thought my father could help by going back early, but as soon as I entered the gate, I saw the fat pig lying on the board. I can't help but shed two lines of tears in my eyes. Afraid of being seen, I erased it quietly. It is really touching to see the villagers busy. People have formed a habit. Whoever kills pigs gets up early to help. Men boil water and scrape bones. Some women peeled potatoes, some cut meat, some steamed cakes, talked and laughed, and laughter floated in the whole farmhouse. Wow! A pot full of delicious pig-killing dishes makes my eyes greedy and my stomach growl. I don't want that poor pig anymore. Thinking about today's delicious meal. I saw grandpa take out the good cigarettes and wine that had been preserved for a year from the cupboard, and grandma brought up the delicious pig-killing vegetables in the pot and told the villagers to eat them while they were hot. People who have just been busy with work are now free, sitting around the kang drinking and eating meat. Some say they like pig liver, some like pig lungs, some like oil cakes, and some like shochu. The whole dining scene is very lively. And I put a bowl in the kitchen and secretly tasted the meat powder, and also tasted the happiness. After a full meal, the villagers are busy going home to feed the cattle and sheep. Grandparents divided the pork into several portions and gave them to their uncles and aunts, and of course we were indispensable. We came back happily with meat and grandparents' love.
I'm beginning to look forward to killing pigs in the coming year.
Ha ha! This is the most beautiful pig-killing dish I have ever eaten.
It has been two years, and it is getting closer and closer to us step by step. Although the smell of New Year is not very strong, for people of our age, we don't even expect to wait for the New Year. But one thing is memory-the past, deep in memory, longing and happiness for the New Year. With the countdown to 2008, old proverbs remind me of the past time from time to time.
My family is going to kill pigs!
In my memory, it was also when I was a teenager. After the 23 rd day of the twelfth lunar month, what I look forward to most is killing pigs in the New Year. The proverb says: On the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, every family kills pigs. In fact, killing pigs at that time was not necessarily the 26th, because many families in the village wanted to kill pigs, but there were not many pig-killing masters, so it was necessary to arrange shifts. Generally, a master can only kill one or two pigs a day, and he can kill three pigs at most if he works overtime at night. Therefore, this is the day he arrived.
On the day of killing the pig, my parents woke me up early in the morning, holding firewood to make a fire, and burning a pot of hot water to prepare for depilation of the pig. Then I waited for the arrival of the pig killer. The master who kills pigs for my family is my distant uncle. Every year he comes to kill pigs. Because we are relatives, we work very hard.
At this time, I also ran to the pigsty from time to time to see my hard-earned pigs. Looking at the carefree appearance of the big fat pig, although it will soon become our case meat, there is no unhappiness, and my heart is still full of joy. You know, this pig at home has been raised for a whole year. At that time, there was no feed for raising pigs, and all of them depended on swill and rice bran at home, so there was no nutrition. Therefore, pigs grow slowly. In summer and autumn, pigs eat wild vegetables almost all day. At that time, the first thing we did after school was to dig wild vegetables for pigs. My sister and I had tasks every day. We have to dig a big basket or half a sack of wild vegetables to feed the pigs for a day. As long as you dig one day less, you have to use rice bran to make up. At that time, there was very little rice bran, and the chaff ground from grain at home was not enough for pigs to eat, so it could only be supplemented by wild vegetables.
Watching the pigs grow up day by day, we are also very anxious, fearing that they will not grow enough by the end of the year and will not be killed. At that time, our hearts will be very depressed. Well, you can't kill pigs every year. The more we reach the end of the year, the more anxious we become. We go to the pigsty almost every day and measure it with a ruler to see how long the pig has grown and how fat its waist is, and estimate its weight.
Besides, it depends on the coat color of the pig. If the coat color is bright, it means that the pig has gained weight. If it doesn't light up, it means that the pig has lost weight. At this time, parents will try their best to feed pigs. The so-called feeding, that is, about two months before the year, is to cook the pig food, clean up the chaff and vegetables left after the autumn harvest of cabbage, chop them up and cook them together, so that pigs love to eat, eat more, and naturally grow fast.
Raising this pig at home for a year has almost condensed the labor and energy of the whole family. This pig is not only killed for the Chinese New Year, but more importantly, most of the meat will be sold after killing the pig, and the money earned will be used to make up for the family. A little meat, pigs, pigs, etc. It's enough for the new year. And I, what I was looking forward to most at that time was to eat a delicious pig-killing dish.
Start killing pigs. Grandpa, dad, and a few pig killers soon tied up the pig. In the outhouse, that is, in the middle of the kitchen, there is a table. Several people carried the pig into the house and put it on the table. Pigs may realize their fate and struggle desperately. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort to put the pig on it, and then string a pole along the rope to press it on the pig. One person at each end, standing on the pig's tail, holding the pig with his knees and fixing it. Sometimes my father even asks me to help him. But when I started killing pigs, I ran to the back room to hide. I am too timid to watch the scene of killing pigs. Even when I grow up, I dare not kill chickens and so on. These jobs were all done by my wife later, how dare you!
Although I am too timid to watch the scene of killing pigs, I am still curious. I always want to follow the crack of the door to see if I have finished killing outside. My mother always hugs me and hides me behind her, but I always bow forward.
After killing the pig, the butcher cut a small hole in the pig's leg with a knife, then put a pair of pliers into all parts of the pig's body and blew air along the hole. After a while, the pig bulged and pierced a hole in its leg. Several people carried the pig to the pot cover and began to pour hot water on the pig to remove its hair. Everything is ready, clear the table, put it outside, and start to gut the pig and divide the pork. All this, the pig killer did it very neatly. After the pig head is separated from the pig, the first thing is that the pig killer cuts off a large piece of meat on the pig's waist and cooks pig-killing dishes for its mother. Fat and thin pork belly, fat and white oil, thin and bright red. Looking at it, I thought that this pig-killing dish must be full of oil, fragrant and delicious, and my mouth is watering.
There are many meat buyers outside. What I am most concerned about at the moment is killing pig dishes. I didn't look outside, so I ran into the house to help my mother make a fire.
At that time, our family cooked two dishes to kill pigs, one was stewed meat with sauerkraut and the other was fried meat with cabbage. When I get up in the morning, my mother takes time to cut sauerkraut, which is enough to stew a large pot. Pork belly is cut into chunks that are neither too thin nor too thick, and stewed with sauerkraut in the pot for about half an hour until the stew is oily, so that the sauerkraut in the pot is delicious.
Pig blood is also a beautiful dish, and the stewed pig blood cooked by my dear uncle is the most famous in the village. By this time, uncle had prepared all the pig's blood, and there was still half a cauldron. Steam the prepared pig blood in a pot. This temperature should be mastered, and it doesn't matter if it grows or shortens. The whole process is operated by my uncle himself. The prepared pig blood is covered with a layer of oil flower, which tastes particularly fragrant.
After dinner, there will be two big tables in our house. Neighbors, relatives and good villagers will invite more than a dozen people, which makes a lot of noise. That's what rural people do. Every time a pig is killed in the New Year, every household will invite some people to eat pig-killing dishes, mainly to exchange feelings. While eating, I am also very happy to hear everyone praise my pork, because there is also my credit!
When cooking pork dishes, parents are most willing to put meat in it. When a pig-killing dish comes down, it takes more than ten kilograms of meat. Can this pig-killing dish not smell good? It's been a year, and you can eat meat like this. So, many years later, I only remember that the most delicious and fragrant dish in Chinese New Year is this pig-killing dish. This year is the Lunar New Year! As for what I ate in the New Year, I really don't remember!
There are not many such years. When I was a child, my family was poor and I couldn't afford pigs. I won't kill pigs when I grow up. But it was that wonderful time that left me with a wonderful memory of my life.
After working for many years, once I think of that past, I will think of that delicious pig-killing dish. I have been looking for a restaurant to eat pig-killing dishes, but I can't find the taste and feeling.
The taste of that year, so precipitated in my memory, left that wonderful time in the river where I grew up. Delicious pig-killing dishes, fragrant years, carefree and happy childhood, although life was poor and the years were not prosperous, that era, like a glass of water, was printed in my heart like a mirror.
As the saying goes, "A hundred miles of different winds, a thousand miles of different customs", a few years ago, our family went to Harbin to travel, and we were lucky enough to eat a steaming, fresh and refreshing traditional Harbin food-killing pig dishes.
In the northeast, people who have been tired for a year choose to celebrate the New Year on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month and eat pork-killing vegetables, thus opening the new year. Although I'm just a tourist, as a foodie, can I miss the chance to eat my fill? Killing pig dishes, as the name implies, means ... killing pigs before eating vegetables? I was shocked by my own thoughts ... I looked up and saw that the real pig-killing dish was already in front of me. I couldn't wait to pick up chopsticks, but before I could catch them, I was attracted by their rich aroma and attractive luster: first-class pork belly floated on the soup of sauerkraut, shredded bamboo shoots and Chinese cabbage. Although this material is not as precious as bear's paw and abalone, its attractive luster and rich fragrance make it more precious. I couldn't help taking a bite, and suddenly, the delicacy of a dish, the delicacy of meat and the beauty of dried bamboo shoots blended together, hitting people's hearts directly. This meat, tender as egg soup, is smooth and warm when you take a bite, and it smells deep into your heart. I finally came to my senses, and my mouth was still that refreshing Zui Xiang. I smacked my lips and stared at the blue sky outside the window, but I still thought of that fragrance ... I looked back at everyone and they seemed to be intoxicated by this rare food. I came to my senses and was about to pick up chopsticks and continue to "fight" when a great event happened! -The meat is gone. ......
By the time I know the material of killing pig dishes, all my doubts have been solved. Why is the meat so fresh? Because the meat in the pig is the best, you can make a pig-killing dish! Why is there so little meat? How much can the essence of meat be? Although during the Spring Festival, each table is limited to one serving of pork-killing vegetables, I still stare at the other table.
Year after year, I still miss this delicious pig-killing dish from time to time: when can I eat it again?