TopAppnovel Chapter 148 148
Chapter 148 148
She placed the chicken on the wooden table and wiped away a drop of blood that had splattered on the back of her hand with the back of her hand.
The water in the iron pot was boiling, steam rising from the edge of the lid. She ladled the hot water into a wooden basin, the sound of ladling hot and muffled, the steam hitting her face. The whole chicken was submerged in the hot water; she held the chicken's legs with one hand, and with the other, she used a wooden stick to turn the chicken over in the hot water, ensuring every feather was thoroughly soaked—under the wings, inside the thighs, around the neck—these areas were where feathers easily hid, requiring several turns. The hot water softened the feathers, and steam mixed with the distinctive smell of chicken feathers rose up. She plucked the large feathers while they were still hot, grasping the base of the large feathers on the wings and pulling them off with a dull, crisp sound. Wings, tail, back—the large feathers were plucked one by one and piled beside the wooden basin. After plucking the large feathers, she began to remove the smaller feathers, her fingers quickly rubbing against the chicken skin, the fine down feathers being removed one by one, revealing the smooth, slightly yellowish skin underneath. The sound of plucking was delicate and dense, like crumpling a rough piece of paper. A few very fine stray feathers were hidden under the skin, almost invisible to the naked eye. She picked them out one by one with tweezers, her movements as delicate as embroidery. The cleaned chicken was rinsed under cold water, the rushing water washing away the remaining feathers and keratin layer from the skin. The rinsed chicken skin became cleaner, changing from pale yellow to a very clean, slightly white color.
She cut open the chicken's abdomen with scissors, the blade slicing along the midline to expose the internal organs. She placed the scissors aside and reached inside to remove them. The removal was done carefully—her hand groped around inside the cavity, first locating the intestines and other organs, then working her way in layer by layer from the outside. She couldn't break the gall bladder, a small, dark green organ next to the liver; breaking it would release the bile and make the whole chicken bitter. She carefully placed the heart, liver, and gizzard separately in a bowl. The chicken heart was dark red and small, trembling slightly in the bowl. The liver was a deep reddish-brown. The gizzard was covered by a white membrane; she made a slit in it, peeled off the inner lining—the yellow membrane—and discarded it. She then sliced the remaining gizzard meat into thin, clean slices. She rinsed the abdominal cavity again with clean water to remove any blood and impurities. The cleaned whole chicken is placed on a bamboo sieve to drain. Water droplets slide off the chicken skin and fall onto the muddy ground below the sieve, making small round dots.
The ginger is sliced thinly, the knife making short, crisp, and frequent cuts, each sound clean and efficient. The scallions are knotted—holding the white end, the green part is wrapped around twice, threaded through the bend, and pulled to create a tight knot. The garlic is crushed, the muffled sound echoing from the cutting board. In a large bowl, soy sauce, cooking wine, and salt are poured in and stirred with a wooden spoon, creating a small vortex as the soy sauce changes from dark black to a brownish-red diluted with cooking wine. Su Peixue dips her hands in the sauce and evenly coats the chicken—breast, legs, back, wings—making sure to coat every part, even the folds under the wings. She turns the chicken over, spreading the sauce into the abdominal cavity, and then rubs it along the inside of the cavity with her fingers, ensuring the marinade penetrates every muscle. Dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked beforehand, are stuffed into the chicken cavity one by one; their surfaces are soft and supple from absorbing the moisture.