Chapter 1380 - 541: Full Bellies and Fireworks—New Year’s Eve Special Late-Night Snack: Pan-Fried Dumplings!

Chapter 1380: Chapter 541: Full Bellies and Fireworks—New Year’s Eve Special Late-Night Snack: Pan-Fried Dumplings!

He went up the stairs quickly, Dou Wenjing’s father waved his hand repeatedly:

"No need, no need, it’s too much trouble..."

Zhuang Yizhou smiled:

"It’s not troublesome, you two are the elders, it’s what we juniors should do."

Soon, two large bowls of dumplings in sour soup were brought over.

Dou Wenjing’s parents each held a bowl and started eating dumplings, while the others continued eating and chatting, even though they were away from home and couldn’t return for the New Year, having this group of people as company made it less lonely.

Yinzhou, Longqi Mountain scenic spot.

After the fireworks show ended, the three elderly people lit the fireplace and returned to the house to rest.

Their routines were very regular, even on New Year’s Eve, once it was time to rest, they wouldn’t stay up longer.

Lin Hongjun came to the dining room, turned up the heat of the charcoal stove, and gulped down several large mouthfuls of cold tea before smilingly asking Shen Guofu:

"The elders have all gone to rest, shall we continue to have some drinks?"

Shen Guofu reached out and warmed his hands on the charcoal stove:

"Let’s drink a bit more, after staying in the wind and snow for over an hour, everything we ate has been digested, need to hurry up and have two more cups to warm up."

With that, he brought over the leftover liquor from before.

The hot dishes on the table had already been cleared away, but the cold dishes and marinated snacks were still there.

Earlier, they all said they wanted a comeback round, so Lin Xu didn’t tidy up. Seeing the elders wanting some more liquor, Lin Xu asked:

"Do you need the dishes to be warmed up again?"

The elders repeatedly refused:

"No need, no need, these are enough."

"Yes, for those drinking, it’s the liquor that matters, not the dishes."

"These marinated snacks and cold dishes are just right for liquor, hot dishes would be less fitting."

"Indeed, hot dishes go well with chilled beer and such, not with liquor."

Not only do they enjoy drinking, but they also have many theories.

Lin Xu saw there was no need for him to do anything, so he didn’t involve himself further, but sat in front of the charcoal stove and touched the sweet potato he had put beside the stove during the fireworks display.

Realizing it was well roasted, he peeled off the skin and handed it to Shen Jiayue:

"Baobao, try the roasted sweet potato."

Shen Jiayue didn’t take it, but instead took a bite and said:

"Xu Bao, I’m a bit hungry too."

This girl had eaten quite a lot, but after the meal, she played outside in the snow with Dundun and watched the fireworks show for over an hour; the food she ate had mostly been digested.

So now seeing old Shen and them drinking, this girl also planned to eat a bit.

Lin Xu passed the sweet potato over:

"Can’t you eat the sweet potato?"

"Hmm... this is hard to digest, better not."

Lin Xu finished the remaining sweet potato and said:

"Then I’ll go to the kitchen and see what there is to eat, make you something."

Upon hearing food would be made, Chen Yuanyuan, who was busy snatching red envelopes in the group, got up and followed along.

In the kitchen, Lin Xu saw that the cold dish cabinet contained dumplings that were cooked today but not all eaten, along with several hot dishes, but they had all cooled.

"What to eat? Shall I heat the dishes or eat dumplings?"

Shen Jiayue looked around and finally chose dumplings:

"Let’s eat dumplings, Yuanyuan, what would you like to eat?"

"Dumplings, I’ll casually eat a couple and then go to sleep. I missed countless red envelopes watching the fireworks for over an hour, later I’ll have to go through each one on the post."

Seeing both of them choose dumplings, Lin Xu took the leftover dumplings out, placed a frying pan on the stove, added a bit of cooked peanut oil to the bottom.

Then, using chopsticks, he placed the thoroughly cooled dumplings one by one.

Leftover dumplings, whether boiled or steamed, lose quite a bit of texture, and may even become soggy; the only choice is to fry them.

Using frying to heat the dumplings, meanwhile frying the slightly soggy dumpling skin with hot oil to a golden crispy texture.

Only then can such dumplings be revived.

"Ha, just what I was thinking, I wanted to eat fried dumplings."

Shen Jiayue leaned over, listening to the sizzling sound from the pan, watching the dumplings gradually change from white to golden brown, her appetite piqued.

Earlier she was just a bit hungry seeing dad and them eating.

But now, she was genuinely hungry.

Frying dumplings cannot be rushed, it requires using low heat to slowly fry one side until golden brown, then flipping to fry the other side.

Frying until the entire dumpling skin turns a golden color, the delicious fried dumplings can be served.

Lin Xu served this pan of dumplings onto a plate, handed them to Shen Jiayue and Chen Yuanyuan, and started frying the next batch.

While he was busy, Han Shuzhen came in, attracted by the aroma of the dumplings, her appetite stirred. She took a pair of clean chopsticks and picked up a dumpling from Shen Jiayue’s plate and tasted it:

"Hmm, both fragrant and crispy, frying these dumplings really makes them delicious."

Shen Jiayue said:

"Indeed they are tasty, but eating too many gets a bit greasy, Xu Bao, what do you think is the best dipping for them?"

While busy, Lin Xu answered:

"Just vinegar, if you want it spicy, add some garlic paste to the vinegar. Imagine the fried dumplings as fried sausage, then you’ll know what to dip them in."

Shen Jiayue’s eyes brightened and she immediately set down her plate.

She took a clean mineral water bottle, took some unused garlic from the fridge, rinsed and stuffed them into the bottle, added a bit of salt, tightened the cap, and started banging it on the chopping board with a "bang bang bang" sound.

The garlic in the bottle quickly became crushed from the collision, and within two minutes, the garlic had turned into garlic paste.

She poured some persimmon vinegar into it, shook it a bit, then poured it into a bowl, and a simple garlic vinegar was ready.

Han Shuzhen looked at her daughter somewhat surprised:

"This works? Where did you learn this little trick?"

"I saw it online, didn’t expect it to really work, Yuanyuan, come taste the garlic vinegar I made, see if the flavor is good."

Chen Yuanyuan originally planned to eat a few dumplings and return to snatching red envelopes, but as soon as she dipped the fried dumplings into the garlic vinegar, she fell in love with the taste.

"Delicious, just perfect to cut through the grease of the fried dumplings."

Lin Xu finished frying all the dumplings, placed them on a tray, and brought them to the dining room. Chen Meijuan and others who were chatting around the charcoal stove were also attracted and picked up chopsticks to start tasting.

Shen Jiayue sat close to Lin Xu and asked quietly:

"Xu Bao, it’s Chinese New Year’s Day tomorrow, what are we going to do?"

Lin Xu thought for a moment and said:

"Tomorrow morning we’re climbing the mountain, going to the temple on the summit to burn incense, praying for a smooth year for our family."

Burning incense was originally handled by Lin Grandma, but with the snow, the elderly couldn’t climb, so it had to be done by the young ones.

Shen Jiayue, hearing about climbing the mountain, immediately lifted both hands in support:

"Great, great! It’s just right for exercising, and after descending I’ll eat more."

Dundun, who was scratching its paws, heard this, and its bronze eyes suddenly brightened.

Climbing the mountain?

This cat is going too!

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I always thought it’s a great thing to fry some dumplings to eat in the middle of the night. This Chapter is 5,200 words, requesting monthly tickets!