With the sweet fragrance of osmanthus blossoms filling the air, it's the perfect time to enjoy crabs. There's a saying that "female crabs are best eaten in September, male crabs in October," meaning that female crabs are plump and healthy in September, while male crabs are best eaten in October, when they are tender, large, and have the most delicious roe.
"Hmph, even though I'm being punished in Chang'an right now, the water god and the land god of Dongting wouldn't dare to neglect me. In the past, I looked down on these hard-shelled things, they're dry and not worth eating. If it weren't for you saying you could turn these shriveled things into delicacies, I wouldn't have asked them to send them over."
Mo Xuan poked the hairy crab in the wooden bucket that was still blowing bubbles with his hand.
The large crab in the bucket defiantly raised its two plump claws in protest, but in Xu Milu's eyes, it was just crab roe pastry, just crab roe soup dumplings, just steamed hairy crab...
The advantage of having a dragon as a waiter is that Xu Milu has an endless supply of crabs to eat in the autumn, especially since this dragon is the Dragon King of Dongting Lake.
The dragon race has many offspring, and even a well might be inhabited by a "well dragon king". Mo Xuan was able to occupy Dongting as his dragon palace, which must be due to the power of the East Sea behind him.
Before the first ten days of September had even passed, a boat from Dongting Lake arrived. An old turtle spirit, disguised as a fisherman, took advantage of Xu Milu's inattention and with a wave of his hand, left behind several large buckets of incredibly fresh hairy crabs.
"You've lost the Dragon Balls, so your magic power isn't enough. How can you still contact your former subordinates?"
Xu Milu asked curiously, "And how did they know they were going to send hairy crabs? Do these fairies also have social niceties?"
"Even without magic, there are still ways to communicate. I write on seashells, and the seashells travel with the current towards Dongting Lake, covering a thousand miles a day. My Turtle Prime Minister then receives the news and comes to Chang'an."
Mo Xuan confessed honestly:
"Although humans generally dislike demons, they understand the principle of hiding in plain sight. Humans may not have magic power, but they are more intelligent than us demons and always come up with some novel ideas that many demons like. In addition, there are many demons who are close to humans. Over time, many demons have transformed into human form and mixed in with humans."
Seeing that Xu Milu seemed interested in this, he simply counted on his fingers for her:
"Just like those crooked demons who like to absorb people's yang energy, they like to hide in brothels and entertainment venues. There are also a few escort agencies run by bull demons and horse demons. Among the fleets of ships coming and going on the canal, the Bai family and the Liu family are of aquatic origin. The head of the Bai family is a thousand-year-old carp demon, and the original forms of the Liu family members are all water snakes! It's just that you mortals can't see it clearly with your mortal eyes. The Turtle Prime Minister transformed into his original form and boarded the Bai family's ship to enter Chang'an."
"Oh—we mortals with our mortal eyes really can't see it."
Xu Milu gave him a meaningful look.
In Sun Wukong's words, she must have a very special background. Not only is she skilled in transformation, but she also has a pair of sharp eyes. If Sun Wukong didn't have a pair of fiery eyes, he probably wouldn't have been able to tell that she was actually a little phoenix.
Therefore, all the demons and immortals inside and outside Chang'an knew of her existence, but they did not know her specific origins. Even Mo Xuan thought she was just a mortal with some supernatural powers and magic.
Xu Milu, however, was interested in another topic and asked seriously, "Since they are demons, is it possible that someone used illusion magic to conjure up silver to deceive people?"
Mo Xuan scratched his head:
"Turning stone into gold is a deceptive trick. The illusion technique can only fool people at most. In essence, it is still a stone. It will be discovered in a moment. Unless you can reach the level of the Buddha, you can transform into anything you want. Even a stone can be turned into gold."
To put it simply, illusion techniques cannot change the essence of things, but if one's level is high enough, can one completely transform the nature of things?
Xu Milu stroked her chin thoughtfully, planning to offer her senior brother more fresh fruits imbued with spiritual energy when she had time, hoping to learn some minor spells.
...
...
The best way to enjoy fresh crabs is to wash them thoroughly, place some ginger slices on their bodies, steam them, and then dip them in soy sauce or ginger vinegar after steaming for the ultimate freshness.
Xu Milu asked Mo Xuan to deliver four crabs to Yin Wenjiao next door. When he returned, he also brought a basket of fresh oranges, with thin skin, thick flesh, and a greenish peel.
Xu Milu gently pinched it with her hand, and a fresh, youthful fragrance burst forth. She couldn't help but laugh:
"Sister Yin really understands me; she knows I need orange vinegar."
It wasn't that she was stingy for only giving four crabs; it was just that crabs are considered "cold" in traditional Chinese medicine. Although Yin Wenjiao was immortal, her constitution hadn't changed much, and eating too many crabs would actually be bad for her.
After being steamed, fresh hairy crabs have a warm orange-red shell. The female crab has a round navel, and when you break that part open, you can see the orange-yellow crab roe flowing out of its abdomen.
Some people like to extract all the crab roe and meat from the crab, pile them together, and then pour ginger and vinegar over them to eat. But Xu Milu prefers to break off the crab legs one by one and slowly gnaw on them.
Outside the window, the wind rustles through the wisteria, and sunlight filters through the wisteria blossoms. Hot tea simmers on the stove, its steam rising slowly into the air. Peel a sour orange, and its fresh, green aroma fills the air. The entire Shan Hai Restaurant is enveloped in an indescribable sense of leisure and comfort.
People in the Tang Dynasty also loved to eat crabs. A popular way to eat them was to mash oranges into a paste, add a little salt, and make a special dipping sauce called "orange paste" for eating fish and crabs. Some people also liked to use it to dip sashimi.
As for eating crabs, the Tang people had an even more refined way of eating them. After steaming the crabs, they would take out the crab meat and roe, add a little salt and orange paste, roll the crab meat in white rice or dough, grill it over a fire, and finally dip it in orange vinegar. The taste was delicious.
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