Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 394: Chapter 246: Ultimate Deliciousness (Part 2)

While she was stunned, Lin Chen set the marinated fish slices aside, covering them with a banana leaf to keep them from drying out.

He then sliced some bamboo shoots and potatoes for side dishes, and also cut the skate wings into bite-sized strips.

He thought for a moment. ’Cooking in just plain fish broth for too long might get a little heavy.’ So, he retrieved a few bamboo tubes of pickled vegetables from the cellar.

"Can you handle spicy food?"

"Not really, but I can handle Buffalo City hot wings."

Lin Chen nodded thoughtfully. He took two pickled peppers from a bamboo tube, tossing one into each of their fish broths to simmer.

The peppers he chose weren’t jalapeños, but a variety similar to long, twisted peppers, with a more pronounced heat.

He then opened another bamboo tube, plucked out a pickled Havana pepper the size of a fingernail, and dropped it into his own portion of fish broth.

He was eager to see for himself just how powerful a pepper ranked among the top ten spiciest really was!

The fish broth didn’t need to cook for long. Especially since the bones had been roasted and steeped, the broth became as rich and white as milk after just twenty minutes of simmering, emanating a deep, fishy fragrance.

He scooped out all the fish heads and bones that had fallen apart and put them in an empty bamboo tube to cool. He then seasoned the broth with some sea salt.

He ladled out a spoonful to taste. The scalding fish broth was rich and mellow, its flavor lingering in his mouth. The sour and spicy notes from the pickled pepper perfectly cut through the oily richness.

He didn’t feel any heat after the first spoonful. It was only after the scalding broth trickled down his throat and into his stomach that the spiciness slowly began to surface.

At first, it was just a tingle on his tongue, but it slowly spread throughout his entire mouth until even his lips were trembling slightly.

He wouldn’t say his tolerance for spicy food was exceptionally high, but he was in a league of his own among his friends and family. "Extra spicy" was his usual starting point for takeout, and he was the type to casually munch on bird’s eye chilis during a hot pot meal.

For him to feel such a distinct kick so quickly meant the power of this Havana pepper was no joke, especially since he’d only added a single, fingernail-sized piece.

"Is it spicy?"

Erica licked her lips and swallowed hard.

Just the smell alone made her stomach ache with hunger. The sour and spicy aroma, in particular, was making her mouth water uncontrollably.

It was the dead of night, the time when cravings and hunger are at their peak. Smelling such an aromatic fish broth, with so many other delicious ingredients waiting nearby... how could she possibly hold back?

"It’s manageable for me, though it might get hotter the more I have. As for you... I’d suggest not jumping into it just yet. Stick to your own broth. If it numbs your tongue, you won’t be able to taste the fish or the oysters later. You can try to challenge my spice level after we’re done eating."

Erica swallowed again and nodded in agreement. "Are all you Da Xia People this good at handling spice?"

"Not really. It depends on the region. Most areas don’t handle spice well. People in the southwestern regions are relatively better at it. I’m just an exception."

"Spiciness isn’t actually a taste, it’s a sensation of pain. It’s something you can train. The more spicy food you eat, the more your pain tolerance will gradually increase."

With the broth ready, it was finally time for the long-awaited meal to begin.

He moved the two coconut shells onto a grill rack placed over a bed of charcoal, ensuring an even and steady heat that wasn’t too intense.

The fish broth simmered in the coconut shells, bubbling gently as wisps of white steam rose into the air, filling the surroundings with the rich aroma of fish.

"Can we eat now? I’m absolutely starving!"

Erica, ever proactive, had already procured a split section of bamboo to use as a bowl. Chopsticks in hand, she looked at him with eyes brimming with anticipation.

"Yes, we can eat. The ingredients are limited, but you could call this a makeshift seafood hot pot. Just cook whatever you want to eat in the broth. There should be dipping sauces, but given the circumstances, we’ll have to skip them. I’ll treat you to the real thing when we get back."

Before he could finish speaking, Erica had already eagerly snatched up a slice of fish with her chopsticks and dropped it into the boiling broth before her.

The moment the translucent fish slice sank, the scalding broth instantly caused its color to change. When it floated back to the surface seven or eight seconds later, it was perfectly cooked and opaque white.

"It’s ready to eat."

"Huh? That fast?"

Erica was stunned. She hadn’t expected it to cook so quickly!

"Right. That’s the essence of this cooking style. For hot pot, the most famous ingredients are thinly sliced beef and lamb—sometimes machine-sliced from frozen blocks into rolls, other times sliced fresh. But you can also use all kinds of offal, vegetables, mushrooms... you could say it’s the most versatile cooking method there is."

"How good the broth is and how fresh the ingredients are will largely determine how delicious the hot pot turns out. Go ahead and taste the fish slice."

She didn’t need his reminder. Erica was already holding her bamboo bowl out, carefully trying to herd the slippery fish slice out of the coconut shell and into it.

She had already been trying while Lin Chen was speaking. The fish slice, coated in a light starch batter, was incredibly slippery. With her level of chopstick proficiency, it was difficult to pick up cleanly. A little too much pressure and it would fall apart. This clumsy scooping method was her only option.

Amused, Lin Chen handed her a spoon. "Use this if you can’t get it with the chopsticks. You can also get a taste of the broth. The nights by the sea are pretty chilly; hot soup will keep you warm and help you avoid catching a cold."

"Wow, so touching. Are you worried about me?"

"...Can’t even food shut you up?"

"Hehe, it’s just a habit. I’m drinking, I’m drinking~"

He didn’t need to tell her; Erica had already planned to taste the broth first. It was just like having appetizers and the soup of the day before a Western meal.

A light-yellow sheen of fish oil floated on the surface of the scalding white broth, along with some dark grey specks—bits that had boiled off the head and bones.

She ladled a spoonful, blew on it a few times, and then carefully touched it to her lips.

"SLURP~"

The scalding, umami-rich broth flowed over her tongue. That pure, intense fish flavor seemed to shoot straight to the top of her head. It was so savory her eyes went wide with disbelief.

’He only used the head and bones, so how can the flavor be this intense?’

She hurriedly drank two more spoonfuls. The mellow aroma of the fish oil, amplified by the heat, filled her mouth as a faint sour and spicy flavor began to emerge. She felt her whole body warming up, a soft blush spreading across her pale cheeks.

"OMG, this fish broth is too good! It’s practically indistinguishable from the seafood chowder you’d get at a high-end restaurant!"

"There’s still a difference," Lin Chen said, sipping some of the hot broth himself. "A restaurant’s chowder would have aromatic vegetables like onion, carrot, and celery added during simmering. Afterwards, they’d blend everything together—liquid and solids—and strain it. That would make the flavor even more intense."

"Well, I wouldn’t know about that. All I know is this is the most delicious fish broth I’ve ever had in my life. You hardly put anything in it, yet there isn’t the slightest fishy smell. In my book, chefs from Great Xia have now officially surpassed Michelin-starred chefs~"

"Is that so? A bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think? I haven’t even shown you my real skills yet. What will you do when I do, and your jaw hits the floor?"

"Then you can help me pick it up and put it back on."

Erica mimed picking up her jaw and reattaching it, then stuck out the tip of her tongue at him before popping a slice of silky-smooth fish into her mouth.

’If even the seemingly simple fish broth was this delicious, then these specially marinated fish slices...’

The moment it entered her mouth, before she could even process it, the soft, tender fish melted on her tongue.

It was even more tender than it looked or felt between her chopsticks. She didn’t even need to chew; a gentle press of her tongue was enough for it to dissolve into a savory paste, every fiber having soaked up the rich broth.

What she found most incredible was that she couldn’t feel any pasty texture from the coating on the fish’s surface. It felt as if she were eating a simple, unadorned slice of fish.

"Where’s the starch coating? Why can’t I feel it at all?"

"Because the coating I applied was very thin. Some of it dissolved into the broth, and the rest cooked to form that slippery outer layer. It’s too thin for you to really notice the texture."