Crispy meat

Years ago, my mother asked me to outline the menu for the New Year's Eve dinner. The first menu that popped out of my mind was Crispy meat. Bite it down, and the fragrance will overflow.

I'm glad that I can inherit my grandmother's original craftsmanship today, so that I can keep the flavor that the old man brought me when he was still alive.

At that time, my grandmother's fingers were bent due to years of hard work, including all ten fingers. I was not deeply touched when I was young, so I stood by the stove and watched my grandmother cut the pork into small pieces, put some raw eggs in the pot, and mixed the pork with one hand and the other hand. Although my fingers could not be straightened, my movements were still flexible and agile.

After the oil was hot, my grandmother grabbed the pork pieces and put them into the pot. There was a sizzling sound from the earthen stove cauldron. I watched the pieces of crispy meat bloom in the oil pan like golden ripples, and my heart was full of expectations.

Grandma in my hometown

At that time, I would go back to my hometown every winter and summer vacation, a small town full of fireworks, and my grandmother's house was in an ordinary diaojiao building. In the morning, grandma and grandpa will carry food baskets to catch the early gathering. When I wake up, they have gone home with the ingredients of the day, and sometimes they will bring some cakes or gouache to my brother and me.

at that time, life was slow, we were very young, and grandma was not old.

Grandma talked with Grandpa from time to time while doing things, and occasionally watched TV to interact with my brother and me. After finishing the preparations, she walked into the kitchen with pots and pans. Grandpa began to read the newspaper, and there was a tinkling sound in the kitchen, which was grandma's most common state, and soon she could smell the food.

Grandma said that she would look forward to it twice a year, once in summer vacation and once in winter vacation, which means that I will come back. She said that she can take me to sleep and fry crispy meat for me. It is often a leisurely afternoon, just watching my grandmother bring me a big pot of crispy meat and let me eat it with my brother. I can't remember when she entered the kitchen. The only thing I can remember is that she approached me slowly from the end of that long corridor with a large portion of crispy meat in her hands. The corridor is usually unlit, so what stays in my memory most is the silhouette of my grandmother, short but capable. I think this silhouette must have a reassuring smile.

Many years later

After a long time, life became faster. We grew up and grandma was old.

My hometown has been modernized, and my old house has been demolished. My grandmother moved into the commodity building with her younger brother. The last time she fried crispy meat for me was the Spring Festival that year before her death. My grandfather had left, and she had spent five years alone that year. She said that she was lonely, missed her grandfather and often slept with his clothes.

She knew that I was going back to my hometown that day, so she stared at the corner where I appeared on the balcony early, until I appeared and called out to her, and she waved at me with a reassuring smile on her face until she saw me enter the unit building. This picture is repeated every year, just like my tacit understanding with her. As long as I come back, there must be her figure in the corner of the balcony, which makes me feel at ease. No matter how far I go, as long as I come back, there are people who are worried about themselves and waiting for themselves.

when I came in, she hugged me like a child waiting for candy. When I settled down, she went into the kitchen and began to fry crispy meat. She said that she knew I liked it and prepared a lot early in the morning. I was afraid that I wouldn't eat enough, so I smiled and watched her.

Grandma taught me when she couldn't beat me. I listened carefully and recorded it in my notebook. I was afraid that one wrong step would make the taste worse. I never asked myself so accurately. Although there are too many recipes about crispy meat, I only love the taste of her cooking.