Chapter 70 Preparing Food
"This wild hairy goat is a unique breed here. There are no ferocious beasts here, so they reign supreme in this forest. They can grow up to 150 kilograms." As the hunter cut up the mutton, he chattered on, "This goat is quite large. Excluding the fur and bones, it should yield around 60 kilograms of meat."
The meat yield of normal sheep is around 50%-55%, which is about the same number.
"The blood and viscera of the goat are very smelly and normally not eaten, but the meat is quite flavorless and is a very good choice." The hunters had already dug out all the viscera and piled them aside in a large vat. "These viscera are great for feeding hunting dogs. Why not sell them to us?"
When they went hunting in the mountains, they naturally brought their dogs with them. The dogs were usually not brought into the main inn, but kept in a separate stall in the stables. The innkeeper didn't provide free food for the dogs, so the hunters usually prepared their own meat and made their own meals. Seeing these sheep offal today naturally tempted them.
Andre looked up and saw Jiangyou entering the kitchen, so he asked her if she wanted the offal.
Jiang You glanced at the pile of mutton, then sniffed the offal through the spiritual wood and shook his head. "No, although the offal can be made into mutton soup, it's too troublesome to remove the fishy smell and wash it. There's so much fresh meat that no one can finish it, so let's not bother."
We were just staying in the mountains, so we were all just getting together for a hot pot dinner. It wasn't like we were running our own business, so there was no need to skimp on costs. We were all travelers, so it was unlikely we'd pack up any leftover meat. It was likely that we'd leave it to the innkeeper.
Jiang Youwu's mind was incredibly quick, and within seconds she'd gone over the costs. They were traveling, and their spices were limited and incomplete, making offal dishes delicious was both difficult and expensive. She was only taking the meat and the diners' soul fire as payment for tonight's meal, so there was no need to shell out too much valuable spices.
Now that the hunters wanted the sheep offal, she didn't care whether they wanted it as a snack for the dog or to be barbecued themselves, and just let them discuss it with the magician themselves.
After getting her consent, the hunters happily sent a companion to the front to discuss with the magician.
Takumi walked around the kitchen and quickly decided on tonight's dishes.
Including themselves, there are four tables of people dining tonight, with three people at each table. This is just enough time to roast four lamb legs, one for each table.
As for hot pot, this place boasts the most delicious, non-toxic wild mushrooms, so the best way to enjoy it is with the mushroom soup base. This soup base, made with premium mushrooms and broth, is actually drinkable. Before boiling your meat and vegetables, scooping up a few bowls of the rich, warm mushroom soup is the most authentic and relaxing way to start your meal.
Jiangyou took out the Crucible of Time and quickly soaked the various wild mushrooms that the store owner hung in the kitchen. He also found a lot of fresh mushrooms. He used the removed sheep bones to make the broth at the bottom of the pot, and then added the lamb ribs after the soup was thick.
——The lamb spine is also called lamb ribs because of its shape. Northerners like to use it to stew pots, and it is very delicious.
She quickly processed all the ingredients, soaking, washing, blanching... After preparing everything, she used the cheating artifact, the Crucible of Time, to boil a large pot of water, added the ingredients one by one, and began to stew the mushroom soup base.
Whether it was due to the goat's age or the breed, its hide was incredibly tough, its defenses incredibly high. Even roasting it would be impossible to eat. Jiangyou simply had Andrei peel the hide from its legs, then massaged it with salt, shredded ginger, onion, Sichuan peppercorns, cumin, and dill.
Aside from the onions and ginger, which he found in the boss's kitchen, all the other barbecue spices were brought by Jiangyou himself. These spices came in handy when traveling. After Jiangyou had gotten some from Holly, he'd dried and ground some, wrapped them tightly in oil paper, and placed them inside the skull. When he needed to use them, he simply pulled them out by the rope. It was very convenient.
——It was this weird scene of holding spices that almost scared the hunters to death again.
When the hunter returned to the kitchen after buying the goat's offal, he sensed something different: the Skeleton Lich was busy in the kitchen, a lamb leg sprinkled with spices was being marinated, the bread oven was preheated with firewood, and the mushroom soup base was bubbling, the aroma already bubbling...
He took a greedy breath and looked at his companions, who were inexplicably terrified. "We've bought the offal. We can feed it to the dogs after we're done here... What's with that look on your face?"
His companion shook his head repeatedly, looking as if he wanted to say something but didn't know where to begin. Finally, he sighed profoundly and said, "Forget it. You're still happier if you don't know."
hunter:"?"
For some reason, the hunters' hands suddenly tripled in speed. After carving up the mutton, they carried the large vat of offal they had purchased and exited through the corridor connected to the kitchen's back door, heading towards the stables. The kitchen was now mostly empty, making it easier for Jiangyou to work.
She opened the lid of the Crucible of Time, stirred the already thick white broth, checked the heat, and adjusted the cooking speed.
"The soup base is almost ready. Next, we need to prepare the vegetables, meat slices, and meatballs."
Hot pot is the easiest item. As a druid, the innkeeper has prepared many vegetables in the kitchen. Andre still has a lot of yams and lotus roots left from what he got earlier. Jiangyou asked Jericho to help take them off the carriage, intending to add this part of the supplies to tonight's meal to save the trouble of transporting them all the way to the royal capital.
After Jericho brought the lotus roots and yams, he helped prepare the hot pot. The yams and lotus roots were washed, peeled, and sliced before being placed on a plate. The vegetables and fresh mushrooms were washed, dried, and then placed in the bamboo basket that the innkeeper had previously used to store them. Each table received a basket of these vegetables, which earned perfect marks for both presentation and the sense of ceremony.
Jiangyou cuts the mutton for the hot pot himself, and as for the meatballs, Andre beats the mutton into minced meat. Jiangyou then adds salt, sugar, black pepper, soy sauce and egg white, stirs them vigorously, and then gradually adds water and starch.
Considering that none of the diners tonight had ever had hotpot, Jiangyou first boiled a pot of water, blanched the mutton meatballs until they were shaped, and after they floated up, he took them out, drained them and set them aside. This way, when eating hotpot in the evening, he only had to add the mushroom soup base and cook them again.
"It's a pity I didn't bring any frozen tofu, otherwise it would be so delicious." She muttered, taking out the last bit of fried tofu: "But having fried tofu puffs is better than nothing!"
In Jiangyou's opinion, the must-haves for hot pot, besides beef and lamb rolls, are the classic combinations of frozen tofu, fried bean skin, and duck blood. Unfortunately, the conditions in the other world are very limited, so just get as many as you can during the journey!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
