Because the weather was still a bit hot and there were too many prey today, the prey couldn't be kept fresh in the heat. Grandma organized everyone to put down their work and work together to quickly process the prey.
Grandma loudly directed everyone, some to clean, some to marinate quickly. She herself was also very swiftly and forcefully rubbing the marinating spices onto the skinned and gutted wild goat.
While working quickly, Grandma said, "Everyone, be nimble. The sooner we finish, the sooner Mai can prepare some good dishes to go with our drinks tonight. Everyone has been busy lately, and Mai has been busy too. Every day it's been just stew, no time for elaborate dishes. Today is perfect. Xiangdong, Erhu, and the others brought back so much prey. Today, we'll have Mai make some decent, signature dishes. We'll all have some wine tonight to relax."
Upon hearing that there would be good food and drinks for dinner, everyone's hands moved even faster.
Chen Lan looked at the pile of sheep stomachs, livers, and other offal prepared to be buried and was reminded of the sheep offal soup, sheep offal noodles, and sheep offal hot pot from her previous life, as well as beef offal hot pot and beef offal noodles. As she thought about them, her mouth began to water uncontrollably.
No, she couldn't resist. She couldn't have beef offal hot pot and beef offal noodles now, but sheep offal noodles, sheep offal soup, and sheep offal hot pot were just a matter of minutes away.
Thus, under the surprised gazes of everyone, Chen Lan picked up a large basin, put the sheep offal casually discarded on the ground into it, and told Grandma that if one basin wasn't enough, she would come back for the rest later.
Grandma thought Chen Lan was going to bury the offal and looked at her in surprise, asking, "Xiao Lan, it's too heavy for you to carry. After we finish, I'll have the men dig a hole and bury it. You don't need to worry about it."
Chen Lan quickly explained, "Grandma, I'm not going to bury it. I'm going to wash it clean."
Grandma asked with great confusion, "Xiao Lan, this stuff smells so bad, what do you want with these sheep offal?"
Chen Lan didn't have much time to explain and said, "You'll know when we eat dinner later. Remember not to throw away any of this offal, I have a use for it."
Grandma smiled and said, "Got it! I'll save it all for you. You've made such a mystery out of a bit of offal."
Chen Lan called Cui Qiao, who was cleaning pheasants, to help. The two of them carried the full basin of sheep offal to the foot of the distant mountain to start cleaning it.
Cui Qiao asked doubtfully, "Xiao Lan, what are you going to do with this offal?"
Chen Lan said, "Make sheep offal hot pot. It looks dirty now, but once it's washed and prepared and cooked in the pot, the taste is indescribably delicious." She said this with a look of intoxication on her face.
Cui Qiao had always admired Chen Lan and always believed whatever she said. So, she didn't ask any further questions.
She just said, "Xiao Lan, how should this be handled? Tell me what to do, and I'll do it."
"There's too much offal. If one person handles it, when will it get done? Let's clean it together, and we'll finish faster. We're waiting to eat sheep offal hot pot tonight?" Chen Lan said.
Looking at the pile of sheep intestines, Chen Lan couldn't get past her psychological barrier. She bought two pairs of long rubber gloves from the system and gave one pair to Cui Qiao.
She said, "Watch what I do, and you do the same. It's too smelly, so let's not talk."
With that, she put on her rubber gloves and started cleaning the sheep intestines, holding her breath.
First, she cleaned out the dirt from the sheep intestines and removed the surface sheep fat. The sheep stomach was also cleaned in the same way. Then, it was rinsed with clean water several times.
Other parts like the sheep heart, lungs, and liver also needed to be cleaned.
Next, the offal was soaked in a mixture of salt and white vinegar. The salt and vinegar water should cover the offal.
If time permitted, she soaked it for a longer period. After soaking, she rubbed the offal on both sides to remove some of the slime.
Then, she went to the corn processing shed and got a small basin of corn flour. She coated the sheep stomach and intestines with corn flour and rubbed them vigorously. This cleaning process would remove the slime from the offal. After that, she rinsed them with clean water until all the slime was gone.
The two of them dug a stove pit and moved a large pot from the temporary kitchen. There was firewood everywhere at the foot of the mountain. They also brought peppercorns and ginger from the kitchen to blanch the offal. Since there was no white wine in the kitchen, she bought a bottle of Erguotou from the system.
Finally, the cleaned offal was put into hot water to blanch. The water needed to have star anise, white wine, and ginger added to remove the smell. After blanching, while still hot, the black membrane on the sheep stomach was peeled off. This way, the treated offal would not have any peculiar smell or fishiness.
After all this hard work, the basin of sheep offal was finally cleaned and ready to be made into sheep offal hot pot.
The two of them let out a sigh of relief. After resting for a while, Chen Lan habitually checked the system time and found that it was getting late. It had taken them over three hours to clean a basin of offal. She guessed that Mai had already finished preparing dinner.
The two of them then hurried back to the cooking area with the cleaned offal.
At this time, a rich, distinct aroma of lamb was already wafting from the braised lamb in the large pot.
Chen Lan breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they were still in time. Today, she would personally cook a stimulating spicy lamb offal hot pot for them.
Cui Qiao, along with Hu Yuzhen and Zhao Xiaoyue, took another basin of offal to the foot of the mountain.
Chen Lan stayed behind to cut the offal while waiting for Mai to finish serving the braised lamb. Lin Mai thought she was hungry and didn't pay much attention. Just as she was about to remove the firewood and clean up the temporary kitchen, Chen Lan stopped her. Chen Lan took the firewood she was about to remove and put it back into the stove, saying, "Mai, I'll make a dish today too. Can you sit down and help me watch the fire?"
Lin Mai looked at Chen Lan in surprise and nodded, then sat by the stove to help watch the fire.
Chen Lan washed the large pot clean, added oil, and when the oil was hot, she added a small handful of star anise, a handful of dried chilies, and a handful of Sichuan peppercorns. She stir-fried them over low heat until fragrant, then removed the star anise and chilies, discarding them.
Next, she added Pixian bean paste and stir-fried it to release its red oil. She then added chopped scallions, ginger, garlic, and chilies, stir-frying them until fragrant. Finally, she added the sheep offal and stir-fried it evenly.
A tempting aroma began to fill the air from the pot.
Hot water was added to cover the offal. It was brought to a boil and then simmered for twenty minutes. Finally, a little sugar was added to enhance the flavor, followed by soy sauce, pepper powder, MSG, chicken powder, and salt to season. Before serving, chopped scallions and cilantro were sprinkled on top. At this point, the air was filled with a spicy aroma and the rich, distinct fragrance of sheep offal, making mouths water and appetites grow.
Chen Lan served the sheep offal in basins for each table. The aroma of the sheep offal in the air became even more intense. Waves of fragrance entered people's nostrils.
Everyone looked at Chen Lan and hesitated to pick up their chopsticks for the sheep offal, only eating the braised lamb, the stewed chicken with mushrooms, and the braised rabbit meat.
Seeing this wouldn't do, Chen Lan immediately picked up a large mouthful with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth. Ah! It was spicy, fresh, and savory, incredibly delicious! With a hint of spice, it was exquisitely tasty! She then picked up another mouthful and ate it with a look of bliss on her face.
At this point, everyone could no longer remain calm and began to pick up their chopsticks. The large basin of sheep offal was quickly finished. The more they ate, the more they wanted it. Fortunately, they had prepared plenty of offal today, and Lin Mai refilled each table with another basin. This time, everyone ate to their heart's content. As the saying goes, "So spicy it overturns the rivers and seas, so numbing it renders one speechless, so fresh it leaves an endless aftertaste, so fragrant it makes one's mouth water."