On this day, they returned empty-handed from the mountains, having only collected a basket of pine cones. They didn’t even find a single leaf of medicinal herbs.
"Did Xiaxia find anything?" Ms.Wang and Yang Dachuan both knew that Yang Chuxia went to the mountains to search for medicinal herbs. When they returned in the evening, they couldn’t help but ask.
"I didn’t find anything." Yang Chuxia shook her head.
Hearing this, Ms. Wang was also disappointed.
However, seeing that Yang Chuxia and the others had brought back baskets of pine cones, she asked again, "What are you collecting these for? You still have the last batch at home."
That’s right, last time she had brought back some pine cones, intending to roast and eat them, but then she got busy with other things and forgot about it.
"We’ll eat them. Last time I didn’t have the chance to cook them, but I’ll do it after dinner tonight."
Ms. Wang didn’t pay much attention to the pine cones Yang Chuxia brought back, but she just told them to wash their hands and faces to get ready for dinner.
After dinner, when Uncle Cai went home, Yang Chuxia started to take the pine cones out of the basket and peel them one by one. She then soaked the peeled pine nuts in water.
Preparing this treat was quite a hassle. It involved soaking, washing, and cooking them so that they would open up under high heat.
After they had opened up, the pine nuts needed to be cooked with a seasoning mix including salt and various other spices before being eaten.
As for how she knew all this? When she was stealing intelligence in a foreign country, she went to the Yalu River area to avoid being pursued and eventually entered Changbai Mountain.
In Changbai Mountain, there were plenty of pine cones, and she accidentally overheard the locals discussing how to cook them and make them taste better.
She didn’t really want to listen, but the talkers stayed in one spot for over half an hour, so she had no choice but to hear everything.
With her great memory, she found it hard to forget what she had heard.
Well, that was a bit off-topic. Back to the story. The rest of the Yang Family saw Yang Chuxia peeling the pine cones and decided to help. Although there were many pine cones, they only yielded enough kernel to fill two large plates.
After peeling them, she soaked the pine nuts in water overnight. The next morning she drained them, washed them with clean water several times, and then cooked them.
"Xiaxia, is this going to work?" Ms. Wang saw that she was adding water to the pan, and the pine nuts were floating on top.
"Sure, why wouldn’t it?" She thought to herself that since that’s what she’d heard, it must be correct.
After about three-quarters of an hour, the pine nuts were well-cooked. They could have been done in half an hour, but she wanted to make sure they would be fully cooked and open when she roasted them, so she cooked them a bit longer.
After scooping out the cooked pine nuts and draining the water, Yang Chuxia cleaned the pot and said to Ms. Wang,
"Mom, could you help me by making a small fire?"
During this time, she prepared some ingredients, including salt, sugar, ground star anise powder, and various other spice powders.
When the water in the pot had evaporated, she poured the pine nuts into it, and they immediately started sizzling.
As soon as the first pine nut popped open, she added the various seasonings into the pot. It’s best to dissolve the salt and sugar in water beforehand, so it’s easier for the flavors to penetrate the pine nuts.
When a majority of the pine nuts in the pot had opened up, she removed them from the heat. After letting them cool slightly on a plate, they were ready to eat.