Gourmet: Twins' Father and Chef of the Kindergarten

Imagine this: if someone owes you money, and you send them a jar of Laba garlic, they would immediately understand, oh, this means I need to repay the debt. So, Laba garlic also has the clever nickname ’Laba Calculate’, isn’t that smart?

Moreover, during the Laba Festival, besides eating Laba congee and soaking Laba garlic, in some places, people also enjoy Laba tofu and make Laba noodles, all of which are very distinctive foods..."

The children listened intently, their eyes sparkling with excitement, and they all cheered in unison, "Wow, the Laba Festival is really so interesting!"

Yang Yuxi gently opened the picture book and said warmly to the kids, "Now, let’s dive into this picture book’s magical journey to uncover more touching stories about the Laba Festival..."

Meanwhile, under the guidance of their teachers, the children from the middle and upper classes joyfully sang a children’s song about New Year’s customs: "Little kids, don’t be greedy, after Laba it’s the New Year, Laba congee, drink for several days, oh oh twenty-three..."

This melodious tune, like a series of joyful notes, lightly leaped out from the windows of every classroom, interweaving, though somewhat scattered, yet remarkably harmonious, echoing in every corner of the kindergarten, like a warm current quietly dressing this place with a thick festive atmosphere, immersing the entire kindergarten in a joyful holiday mood...

...

In the kitchen of Dorami Kindergarten.

Huang Jun had already started preparing the Laba congee.

Laba congee, also known elegantly as "Seven Treasures Five Flavors Congee", is a traditional delicacy with a centuries-old history in China, dating back to the Song Dynasty, carrying rich cultural heritage.

Every Laba Festival, whether it be the high court, a dignified government office, a peaceful temple, or each of our warm families, all make pot after pot of fragrant, warm Laba congee to celebrate this traditional festival.

By the Qing Dynasty, this custom had swept the nation, becoming an indispensable ritual for the festival.

Although regional differences give Laba congee varied ingredients, they generally include grains like rice, millet, glutinous rice, sorghum, purple rice, barley, and beans like soybeans, red beans, green beans, kidney beans, cowpeas, as well as dried fruits like red dates, peanuts, lotus seeds, goji berries, chestnuts, walnuts, almonds, longan, raisins, ginkgo.

The ingenious combination of these ingredients makes Laba congee not only a seasonal delicacy but also an excellent choice for nurturing the spleen and stomach during the cold winter.

As the week ends, after the last day of school next Tuesday, the children will usher in their long-awaited winter vacation.

To express the kindergarten’s gratitude and blessings to the parents, the school decided that on this special day, not only will the children enjoy the delicious Laba congee, but they also prepared a small bowl of Laba congee for the parents, so they too can feel the warmth and care from the kindergarten.

Therefore.

Huang Jun naturally needed to prepare a larger quantity of Laba congee to ensure every child and parent can taste this delicious festive treat.

"Chef Huang, come and take a look, how are these red beans, green beans, and red kidney beans soaking?"

Aunt Li held some beans soaked in water in her hand, cheerfully showing them to Huang Jun.

"Alright, I’m coming!"

Huang Jun responded promptly, putting down what he was doing and striding over.

He gently pinched the beans in Aunt Li’s hand, closely inspecting their plumpness and color depth, and then leaned over to check the soaking state of the other beans in the basin. A satisfied smile appeared on his face: "Hmm, these beans are all round and plump, soaked just right. Aunt Li, please wash these beans carefully with Lin Shen once more, and we can start cooking soon."

Having said that, he turned towards the corner of the kitchen, where several large, time-worn but brightly polished stoves cleaned by Aunt Li were placed.

He picked them up one by one and stably placed them on the stove.

He poured an appropriate amount of water into these large stoves.

"Old Qian, lend me a hand, let’s pour these beans into the stove..."

Seeing that Aunt Li had cleaned the beans neatly, Huang Jun turned to Qian Guoxiang who was busy handling chestnuts and called out.

"Oh, okay."

Qian Guoxiang cheerfully responded, then put down his tools, and quickly arrived beside Huang Jun, taking a few steps in one leap.

The two worked seamlessly, pouring the carefully cleaned beans by Aunt Li and the others into the prepared stoves in an orderly manner.

As soon as the beans touched the water, they happily bounced about, emitting a pleasant "splashing" sound.

After all the preparations were complete...

Huang Jun pinched a small handful of baking soda and sprinkled it evenly into each stove.

Baking soda serves as a good thickening agent in the congee, making it more delicious.

However, it must be used with caution, as too much can make the congee bitter, affecting the overall taste.

When cooking a large quantity of congee, you must not rush and add all the water at once.

Because doing so would make it difficult for the beans to become tender and flavorful.

Therefore, it’s necessary to choose a more traditional and patient method—cooking while intermittently adding cold water.

Though this process seems simple, it actually requires great patience, needing to be repeated three or four times, or even five times.

Only through this hot and cold stimulation will the beans bloom beautifully—their skins crack open, revealing the soft, sweet interior.

He covered the pots, turned the knob, and the stove was ignited.

During this waiting period for the water to boil, he didn’t let a moment go idle.

His gaze turned to the nearby pressure cooker, a "little helper" he prepared to enhance the layering of the Laba congee.

He placed the kidney beans into the pressure cooker, giving them a "pressure wash".

After all, kidney beans are known for being hard to soften and require special treatment to achieve a tender, delicate texture.

After setting a timer for ten minutes, he began to monitor the changes in those stoves.

The water in the stoves began to ripple, temperatures gradually rising, about to boil.

Soon, the water finally boiled.

He quickly uncovered the pots, scooped some cold water and slowly poured it into the pot, lowering the water temperature, while adjusting the flame to let the three kinds of beans simmer slowly at a suitable temperature, gradually blending together.

After completing these steps, he covered the pots again.

When the pot once again emitted pleasing bubbling sounds, he lifted the lids again, repeating the water drizzling action to ensure the beans were heated evenly.

This time, he didn’t hurry to cover the pots but added the equally difficult-to-soften chicken millet, red dates, and quinoa successively, before covering the pots to continue the cooking.

Every time the water boiled again, he patiently repeated the watering action, carefully observing the changes in the pots.

He noticed the beans began to swell, opening their small mouths.

So he added the peanuts too; although peanuts cook to a crunchy texture, they add a unique taste in this dish.

He also added sorghum, covered the pots again, and let them simmer on medium heat.

Once the kidney beans in the pressure cooker were cooked to a moderately tender state, he fished them out one by one, placing them into the stoves respectively.

Immediately after, he added the de-cored lotus seeds and sweet chestnut meat, then the sticky rice, longan, rice, and millet successively into the stoves.

He covered the pots again and continued cooking.

Throughout the preparation of Laba congee, different processing methods are used to gradually incorporate these ingredients into the congee.

This method makes each mouthful of congee both thick and fragrant, rich in layer and leaving a lingering aftertaste.

As the cooking was nearly finished...

He uncovered each lid and casually sprinkled a handful of sunflower seeds into the stoves, the quantity varied at will, entirely based on personal preference.

He also added some raisins in.

He picked up the spoon, slowly stirring, letting each ingredient blend fully in the pot, permeating each other, until everything became a harmonious whole.

Just like that, a pot of Laba congee full of color, aroma, and flavor was perfectly completed!