After examining the spices, Chen Muxue brought a large basin.
She put cinnamon sticks, star anise, tsaoko cardamom, fennel seeds, and white cardamom into the basin, washed them clean with water, and soaked them for twenty minutes to remove impurities and bitterness from the spices.
Long before Xiaohu went to buy the spices, Chen Muxue had soaked a lot of dried chilies. During the spice soaking period, she took out the soaked dried chilies to make chili paste.
After soaking, the dried chilies become soft, making it easier to chop them into a paste. Due to the large quantity, chopping the chilies is no easy task.
After twenty minutes, the chilies were almost done being chopped. Chen Muxue shook her slightly aching arms, took out the spices, and ground them in a stone mortar. Spices that are crushed release a stronger aroma and can reduce the cooking time.
"Let me help!" Da Fu, having peeled the garlic, felt a bit guilty seeing the beads of sweat dampening Chen Muxue's hair.
