Cultural Heritage&Love Heritage

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        This time our project is “cultural heritage”. And I  think of “Oil gluten plug meat”. Why is this? It is my mom’s favorite food. In the very early years, my mom could only eat it in the Spring Festival. It was in 1970-1980, food should be got by food coupon. And the food coupon was limited in every family. So my grandma was always economized in the normal time so that the whole family could spend a good new year. The dish Oil gluten plug meat needs a lot of meat, and at that time meat was very expensive, my grandma would not buy a lot of meat in the normal time, she saved a lot to spend in the Spring Festival, she would buy a lot and cook the dish for the family. I think that is why so many children liked spending Spring Festival in the early years because there was a lot of yummy food at that time.

 

        Last time I told my mom I wanted to cook the dish and asked here to take some pictures for me. She replied me very happy and said “ok, I would buy the ingredients and went to your grandma’s home”. She was happy because it was a chance for her to be get together with my grandma and also it was my project she thought she could give me some help. So she went to market and bought some meat,  fried gluten and went to my grandma’s home.  They would have lunch together.

      Look at the picture, my grandma was so happy to cook it. The recipe is just from her. My mom learnt it from my grandma, and this time I will learn it from my grandma too. Oil gluten plug meat is a very famous dish in South China, after boiling the gluten, it tastes very glutinous, mouth feel become very thick, and the surface has very strong soy sauce, it is really additive.

 

 

Ingredients

1/b Pig leg meat

8 oil gluten

2  eggs

1 cup ginger

5 cups  wine,

3 cups Light soy

3 cups Dark soy

1 cup salt,

One cup sugar

First, add minced meat, eggs, bruised ginger , wine, light soy, salt and a little sugar and mix them up. And then, using chopsticks to make a hole on the gluten, and stirring a little bit to make sure the space inside the gluten is bigger to fill in the meat. Third, using some meat to fill it in the gluten.  After finishing all the gluten, put them in the pot, add light soy, dark soy, sugar and water. Big fire after boiling, them turn it to small fire.

 

My grandpa, my grandma and my mom were having dinner. It made me so warm. My grandpa and grandma are both over 75. They are becoming older, I really want to go back home to see them. My grandma treated me so good even when I was a little girl, she did me everything that she could. My grandpa liked to me to call him again and again. I can’t forget all the things, they are so important to me and to my life.

 

This time I made this dish, I followed the recipe which my mom gave me and tried the first time. I bought minced meat in New May Wah supermarket in clement which I mentioned several times. And I bought some other ingredients. It was not so much, just some glutens and meat. I had  ginger and other things at home. When I went back home, I can’t wait to do it. My boyfriend  just come back from LA to san Francisco. So I think it was better for me to have dinner just by myself. This is family cooking.  I had made those glutens done for 2 hours, and my boyfriend asked me, “what are you doing, you take for a long time”. And I replied” the first time ok?” It was weird conversation. Anyway, I finished cooking for 2 and a half hours.  It is time to taste it. I told him ”be careful, I don’t know what it will be”. And he tasted it and cocks his thumb. 

That is my family cooking, and I think cooking is a way to show our love. Do not shameful or scared to do it. Treasure your family love, your  friend’s love and also, love yourself. Only if this,  then you can make food excellent.

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