dognovel Chapter 125 Making Zongzi
Chapter 125 Making Zongzi
Lin Baiyan looked at the sorghum stalks in the forest that were almost as tall as herself, and she was so happy she almost cried.
Sorghum!
This is real whole grains!
God knows, he hadn't eaten much food for almost half a year.
As someone with a true Chinese stomach, arriving on the food-scarce orc continent felt like the sky was falling.
If he were to eat meat every day like the people in Western countries, with only occasional vegetables and no grains to be seen, he would be afraid of getting constipated!
Even though the sorghum that appeared before Lin Baiyan didn't taste very good, it was still enough to surprise him.
Sorghum has more uses than just being eaten as a grain; it can also be used to brew wine and vinegar. However, Lin Baiyan had not paid attention to the method of brewing wine with sorghum before, and he would probably have a long way to go before he could brew wine with it.
The sorghum in front of him grew sparsely, with red and white sorghum interspersed. Lin Baiyan estimated that it was more than two acres in size.
The sorghum seeds must have been blown here last autumn, allowing them to take root and sprout, which is why there is such a large sorghum field now.
Lin Baiyan examined the sorghum ears; they were laden with sorghum grains, weighing down the stalks and making them bend over, threatening to topple over.
It should be ripe by now. He heard that there are two types of sorghum: early sorghum and late sorghum. Early sorghum ripens around March.
He quickly called to Yang Ye, asking him to call more people and bring more stone sickles.
Yang Ye could tell at a glance that Lin Baiyan had found new food. Without asking any further questions, he hurried back to the tribe to call for help.
Soon after, they summoned several male orcs, who brought over a cart.
He had just glanced at them; there were so many plants that they couldn't transport them back themselves—they'd need a cart.
Upon seeing the cart, Lin Baiyan immediately gave Yang Ye a thumbs up.
Yang Ye was the most meticulous. He didn't even mention needing a cart, but Yang Ye had already arranged everything. He's starting to look more and more like a gathering team leader.
Lin Baiyan thought that his tribe's makeshift organization was slowly taking shape. If he trained a few more tribesmen, he might not have to be so busy in the future!
However, he was only thinking about it for now. The most urgent task was to gather all the sorghum into the tribe!
Lin Baiyan took the first step, picking up the stone sickle and cutting the sorghum stalks at the bottom. Then he stacked the rice ears to one side. "Did you see what I did?"
He picked up a sorghum stalk and pointed to the berries on it, saying, "These are the edible parts of the sorghum. Be careful not to drop them."
The beastmen carefully noted Lin Baiyan's words and began to harvest the sorghum according to his instructions.
They worked quickly and efficiently, and in just two hours, they had harvested almost the entire sorghum field.
Everyone busied themselves breaking the sorghum grains off the stalks, each holding a small bamboo basket to catch them, so as not to waste any. The beastmen were very serious about food.
Taking advantage of the bright sunshine, Lin Baiyan instructed the beastmen to pull the cart to the very center of the large cave. That open space was not yet in use and had always been used by the tribesmen for their activities.
It took two trips to haul all the sorghum from this nearly two-acre field.
Lin Baiyan looked at the large sorghum field drying in front of the cave, his eyes filled with undisguised joy. He estimated that this sorghum field would weigh at least eight or nine hundred jin after being threshed!
This is really a very good number. You have to know that sorghum that has not been cultivated will only yield about 200 to 300 jin per mu.
But these sorghum stalks grew exceptionally strong, each ear of sorghum was full!
Lin Baiyan lovingly touched the plump sorghum ears; they were growing so well!
I really hope that the potatoes and sweet potatoes I plant will be as well-behaved as them, taking good care of themselves and growing plump!
After the sorghum had been drying in the village for a few days to remove the moisture, Lin Baiyan took a bamboo stick and split it in half, leaving only a small gap.
He inserted the sorghum stalks and squeezed hard to remove the sorghum grains.
The beastmen followed Lin Baiyan's movements and began to work. With many hands making light work, the sorghum was quickly harvested.
The sorghum stalks that had been picked were swept up by the cubs and handed to the adults who were guarding the stone mortar. The adults then took the mortar and pestle and began to pound the sorghum stalks. After pounding them hard for a while, the sorghum husks would come off.
He remembered that white sorghum and red sorghum should be separated, as red sorghum has a stronger glutinous texture and might produce better brewing results.
At home, we usually eat white sorghum because it has a high starch content.
After working on the assembly line, it took several people most of the day to finish.
Lin Baiyan had already scooped out a bucket of sorghum rice and soaked it in advance when the first batch of sorghum rice was washed. This was the first time they had found grain, and he decided to make a fresh meal for the people of his tribe to reward them.
When he was a child, his grandmother would make sorghum rice dumplings for him and his grandfather. His grandfather had high blood sugar but still loved to eat grains, so his grandmother had no choice but to try to cook for him with mixed grains.
One of them is sorghum rice dumplings, filled with red beans and dates, whose sweet taste accompanies him into his dreams.
They have sorghum and bamboo leaves, but they are still short of red beans and dates. However, it doesn't matter. They can wrap some chestnuts and sweet potatoes inside, which will also make them sweet and sticky.
Hu Qing and Quan Ling also picked a lot of fresh bamboo leaves from the bamboo forest and soaked them in salt water. They would never have dared to imagine before that they could soak bamboo leaves in salt water.
Remove the ends of the soaked bamboo leaves, wash them clean, and then boil them again. They are then ready to be used to wrap zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).
Lin Baiyan took two bamboo leaves, stacked them together, rolled them inwards with both hands to form a small funnel shape, and put rice into it.
After filling the funnel to about 80-90% capacity with rice, press down on both sides of the funnel with your hands, fold the leaves down to cover the rice, and then tie the edges tightly with straw rope.
This method looks simple, but if it's not tied tightly, it can easily fall apart during cooking.
Lin Baiyan also painstakingly taught Hu Qing and Quan Ling how to wrap and tie the rice dumplings. Since they were used to cooking, they picked it up quickly and soon the rice dumplings were wrapped.
After the zongzi are wrapped, they are boiled in a large pot, and then a basin of water is placed in the pot to press them down.
It needs to be cooked for at least five or six hours, and then simmered overnight before it's ready to eat.