From birth to primary school, I spent my childhood at my grandmother's house. So much so that I learned a mouthful of Shaoxing dialect from my grandmother, and now I can still say a few words from time to time, but I can't say half a sentence of authentic Shaoxing dialect. But the habit of calling grandma "Niangniang" (as Shaoxing people call her) has never changed.
Grandma's wonton is delicious, and the wonton in her hand is as exquisite as a work of art. Grandma's wonton has been a staple food since I can remember. Now I can't remember what it tastes like, but what impressed me the most was not the delicious wonton cooked by grandma, but her jiaozi.
I remember that day, I suddenly clamored for wonton, so my grandmother had to go out temporarily to buy wonton skin and stuffing. I craned my neck and waited at the window for a long time, but what I got was a round and thick dumpling skin. I asked my grandmother strangely, why not buy the thin skin of the buyer, but buy the round and thick skin? Grandma said she was late, and the wonton skin was sold out, leaving only the dumpling skin. Then he tried to tell me that jiaozi is similar to wonton.
In fact, jiaozi and Wonton, as representatives of the North and the South, are totally different, but when I was young, I nodded my head in a daze and agreed. That day, as usual, I leaned my head on the high table, waiting to appreciate my grandmother's superb jiaozi skills. But grandma kicked me out to play. I was surprised. I just refused to leave. Grandma had no choice but to start packing.
She picked up a piece of leather and habitually wanted to soak it in water to wet the edge of the leather, but suddenly her hand stopped. She made a sharp turn and went straight to scoop the stuffing, as if she didn't know how much to measure. She scooped in and out many times, and finally it was almost the same. As a result, grandma turned her thumb from bottom to top and pinched it. Too much force, most of the stuffing was squeezed out. I looked up at my grandmother in surprise. Grandma is so embarrassed that her face is a little red. She said apologetically that she didn't actually package jiaozi. At first, she thought the wonton jiaozi was almost wrapped, but she felt completely different. I didn't know that much at that time, but I still looked at my grandmother with my eyes wide open. Grandma naturally only crustily skin of head to continue.
How dexterous your hands were when you wrapped wonton, and how clumsy you are now. Grandma learned the lesson just now, instead of compacting the stuffing from the surrounding skin, she squeezed it directly from above and slowly moved her hand from one side of the dumpling skin to the other. However, the dumpling skin is always loose like facing grandma. Finally, my grandmother had to wrap wonton, put a layer of water on the skin, and finally shut jiaozi up.
Time flies, but the progress of grandma's package of jiaozi is advancing at a tortoise speed. Finally, I packed ten bags, so I urged my grandmother to go down, and she had to pick up the dishes in a hurry and go into the kitchen. He came out with a bowl of jiaozi in his hand. I used thick soup, egg skin and seaweed to eat wonton. Finally, I was not hungry, but grandma was too busy to eat. I really don't remember what it was like to have a poor image of jiaozi at that time, but my grandmother's clumsy gestures and guilty eyes when she wrapped jiaozi have always been vivid in my mind.
Later, my grandmother from the north came here to see me, so she gave me an authentic jiaozi from the north. They were all full and straight, and the skin was just rolled, which was really delicious. But I always miss my grandma's wonton jiaozi.
Now I have moved out of my grandmother's house and lived with my parents. Busy parents always come home late, so I have to cook some quick-frozen jiaozi for dinner from time to time. Every time I pick up a bowl and scoop up the same jiaozi from the clear soup, I will miss my grandmother's unique "Southern jiaozi".
In fact, in everyone's memory, there will be many fragments about food. Perhaps a bowl of hot spring noodles on a lonely cold night comforted a lonely soul; Perhaps it was a bowl of iced sour plum soup when it was unbearable in hot summer, which cooled an impetuous heart; Perhaps it is the first time to cook scrambled eggs with tomatoes, which means the joy of success after hard work. They may be cheap and tasteless, but they are of great significance to the parties at a specific time.
Besides, the jiaozi made by Grandma is so special and irreplaceable to me. Even if it's not very beautiful and delicious, it means that my grandmother can't bear to let me down, although she won't take jiaozi. Always loved my grandmother.
After writing this article, I want to see my grandmother who I haven't seen for a long time …