Chapter 34 The First Meal in the Apocalypse - Hot Pot
What should you eat for your first meal on a snowy, apocalyptic day?
I didn't even need to think about this question; the standard answer was right in front of me—hot pot.
I want to eat the most satisfying and enjoyable hot pot to drive away the first chill of the apocalypse.
Of course, these might all be excuses; the main reason is that I haven't had hot pot in far too long.
First, prepare the ingredients.
The garland chrysanthemum, cilantro, and romaine lettuce were fresh vegetables left over from before. I washed them and put a small bunch in a large tray.
Cut the duck blood and potatoes into small, bite-sized pieces.
The frozen beef was cut into rolls using a manual meat slicer and then frozen in the back room.
Dried dried vegetables, dried shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and wide rice noodles are all dried; soak them all in warm water.
If you don't soak them in advance, you'll need to wait about half an hour to soak these ingredients.
I'm getting ready to go out and shovel snow now.
Just thinking about shoveling snow back home, shivering from the cold, and then enjoying a steaming hot pot meal sounds absolutely wonderful.
I can't help but chuckle to myself whenever I think about it.
So I got fully armed, wearing the cotton trousers I had specially made at the market, the longest military coat, a cotton hat, cotton gloves, and a mask.
Then he took a large snow shovel and went outside.
Perhaps because I was wrapped up too thickly, I could only feel the extremely low temperature around my eyes; the rest of my body didn't feel anything.
The snow was already up to my calves.
I didn't intend to shovel all the snow; I only planned to clear the path leading to the side rooms and the yard where the firewood was piled up.
First, I used a large snow shovel to quickly shovel out the basic outlines of the two roads, and then I cleared out a narrow path about one meter wide little by little.
I resolved it quickly in just over ten minutes.
As soon as I entered the room, a wave of heat hit me, which made me feel very at ease.
Quickly close the windshield and the main door inside the house, and then start unloading the equipment.
Taking off the cotton hat, mask, gloves, and military overcoat took several minutes.
Getting dressed and undressed is more difficult than shoveling snow.
Perhaps because I was dressed warmly enough, I didn't feel very cold. In fact, when I was shoveling snow vigorously, I broke out in a sweat.
However, the flesh around the exposed eye was still ice-cold to the touch.
Now that the snow shoveling task is accomplished, let's start cooking hot pot!
First, change into your loungewear. It's warm inside and the kitchen isn't too cold, so thermal underwear and slippers will suffice.
The hot pot smells quite strong, so I don't plan to eat it in the bedroom, afraid of getting the bedding smelled like hot pot.
So they moved the dining table from the floor to the kitchen.
First, open a packet of Haidilao's red oil hot pot base and put it in the pot with water to boil.
At this point, pack the soaked vegetables into large trays, and then bring the washed green vegetables, duck blood, meat rolls, and other vegetables to the table.
After preparing a bowl of my secret sesame sauce and a bowl of oil dipping sauce, the hot pot water boiled.
The tempting red oil simmered and rolled in the water. I first threw in a few of my favorite mushroom meatballs and stuffed fish balls.
Then he added a large chopstickful of beef roll.
The beef rolls were cooked in just a few seconds, so I quickly scooped them out and put them in a bowl.
I couldn't wait any longer; my mouth was watering uncontrollably because I hadn't had hot pot in so long.
The meat roll, coated in a layer of chili oil and thick sesame sauce, is stuffed into your mouth in one bite.
The meat roll is cut from a whole piece of beef, and the texture of the meat is very clear, which you can feel in your mouth.
The meat rolls, with their perfect balance of lean and fatty meat, are incredibly chewy. Combined with the rich aroma of sesame sauce and the spicy flavor of the hot pot broth, the flavors are both fragrant and stimulating.
It's like experiencing both gentleness and sexiness simultaneously, making you dizzy and addicted.
So I couldn't help but cook and eat even more beef rolls.
After I finished eating the beef rolls, my meatballs were cooked too.
First, scoop the hot pot meatballs into a bowl, then add dried mustard greens, duck blood, potatoes, and various green vegetables.
The process of waiting for the meatballs to cook is the process of slowly enjoying the hot pot meatballs.
First, there's the "pissing beef ball." You take a small bite, blow on it to cool the broth inside, and then slurp it into your mouth.
The aroma of beef and the chewy meatballs intertwine in your mouth, becoming more and more delicious with each chew.
Then there are the stuffed fish balls. The skin of the fish balls is chewy and soft, and I find it especially delicious just by eating the skin.
But who would have thought that the meat filling inside was even more amazing? The oily juices mixed with the tender meat filling made it incredibly delicious with every bite.
After we finished eating, the other dishes in the pot were also cooked.
Start with the greens. The tender green garland chrysanthemum is covered with red oil. The small leaves of the garland chrysanthemum are like little claws that can hold a lot of things. When you pick them up and put them in the bowl, they can hold even more sesame sauce.
Before the sesame paste falls, pop a piece into your mouth. The refreshing taste and crisp texture of the chrysanthemum greens, combined with the rich aroma of sesame paste and chili oil, are simply unbeatable.
The seasonings are incredibly fragrant, but the chrysanthemum greens are refreshing, so it's not greasy at all.
Next up are the sandy potatoes, the smooth duck blood, the crunchy dried bamboo shoots that give you a headache, and the super juicy wood ear mushrooms...
I ate bite after bite until there was less and less food on the tray and less and less sesame sauce in the bowl, and finally my stomach was full.
I downed half a can of Coke in one go. The bubbly, ice-cold Coke washed away all the spicy taste from my throat.
I let out a long burp and couldn't help but exclaim, "That feels so good!"
I sat on the chair scrolling through my phone for a while, spacing out for a bit, and then finished washing the dishes in one go.
It has to be said that dealing with hot pot soup pots is a bit of a hassle.
Then I went to the bathroom to wash my face, and prepared to go back to my room to lie down again.
Before returning to my room, I added a honeycomb briquette to the breeding shed, the stove, and the fireplace in the east room.
After ensuring the three areas that needed warmth were kept warm, I collapsed onto the sofa.
I'm so full, so incredibly hungry, and so sleepy.
Although I slept in the morning, it didn't stop me from feeling dizzy from carbon monoxide poisoning again in the afternoon.
I nestled into the sofa, covered with a blanket big enough to cover my whole body, the red glow of the fireplace reflecting on my face.
I gradually couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. With each blink, I finally closed them and fell into a deep sleep.
At this moment, the world was in chaos, with heavy snow mixed with fierce winds raging everywhere.
As darkness fell, many things became obscured.
At this moment, the temperature in a small house in the northeast courtyard can reach more than 20 degrees Celsius. The furnishings inside are somewhat crowded, but not messy.
The kang (heated brick bed) was clean and tidy, and faintly radiated a slightly hot temperature.
The girl was fast asleep on the sofa, the fire in the stove was burning brightly, and occasionally red and yellow flames would flash onto her face.
Her little face was flushed from the heat of the stove, but this made her sleep more soundly and comfortably.
The two little yellow dogs lay quietly in their little kennel, occasionally whimpering in their sleep, enjoying the warmth of the fireplace and immersed in sweet dreams.
This quiet and warm corner became one of the few safe havens in the apocalypse.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com