At this moment, Top couldn't help but swallow his saliva. The room was filled with all kinds of fragrances, each with its own unique characteristics.
After cooking for a while, I felt it was almost done. When I lifted the lid, the fresh fish was different; a refreshing aroma of fish mixed with the fragrance of taro wafted out.
I sprinkled some fine salt on it, stirred it, and then put it into another large soup bowl, which I then placed on my newly made white ceramic dining table.
Looking at the table laden with food, this hardly resembles a scene of fleeing from the wilderness. It looks more like a tycoon hosting a lavish feast in his country villa!
Top and I, one with a monkey, each held a set of golden bowls and chopsticks and sat at a table made of stones. Faced with this feast, I was actually having some difficulty making a choice.
Not knowing which dish to start with, Top wasn't so particular and immediately grabbed the taro from the soup bowl with his chopsticks!
I picked up a piece of fish and put it in my mouth. This kind of fish is a predatory species that spends its days swimming in fast currents to feed, which makes it very firm and delicate in texture.
After being stewed in a clay pot, the fish bones and meat separate instantly upon tasting, and the mandarin fish is already very delicious.
With the crab roe I sautéed beforehand, the broth now has a creamy yellow color, and the umami flavor is enhanced to another level.
Taro is also used as a side dish; the combination of meat and vegetables looks very appetizing.
I savored the rich and layered flavors of the fish, my face beaming with satisfaction and happiness. Delicious food can truly uplift one's spirits.
Especially after a day of working in the wilderness, nothing could be better than having a hot meal like this.
I also tried some of the deep-fried centipedes; they still had that same crispy and fragrant texture. Paired with a glass of wine, the effect was simply amazing.
Unfortunately, I didn't have much wine in my storage; I only brought a few jars with me, probably only about seven or eight pounds.
When I have time, I need to explore the hilly area to the east again. I was busy transporting food back to my residence before, so the area I explored in the eastern hills was still quite limited.
Sugarcane is grown in the temperate region where I used to live, and the sugarcane varieties in tropical regions might be larger and sweeter.
There's one more thing I forgot while making pottery: wine cups and wine jugs. Looks like I'll have to drink a little from the bowls today and add them next time I fire the kiln.
This is the first time I've ever eaten a turtle that urinates. The light golden broth looks beautiful. I've heard that it's good for kidney health.
They looked dark and dull, a stark contrast to the bright red river shrimp cooked together with them.
I reached for the turtle with my chopsticks, but after hesitating for a while, I picked up a river shrimp from the side and put it in my mouth first.
The shrimp meat was very springy and bouncy. Although I've never eaten turtle before, the shrimp at this moment had an indescribable flavor. It wasn't just fresh, but also had a very unique taste.
With shrimp as a base, my aversion to the mantis turtle's dark shell lessened considerably. I picked one up, put it in my mouth, and took a bite; a crisp crunch followed.
The crispy outer shell of the fried turtle bursts open when you bite into it, releasing a burst of rich juices that feel like you're eating the essence of a hundred hens, abalone, and sea cucumbers simmered together over a low flame.
With such an exquisite taste experience, it's no wonder that so many gourmets are drawn to this aquatic insect.
At this moment, even the river shrimp are just an accompaniment to it; I know what that pale golden broth tastes like without even tasting it.
I scooped a little with a ceramic spoon into the bowl, blew on it, and drank it down in one gulp. It felt really good, even better than fish soup.
The remaining stir-fried fish and crab, having been served with several main dishes, seemed rather ordinary. However, like the fried centipede, it was still a perfectly acceptable accompaniment to drinks, each with its own merits.
After the meal, Top and I were both beaming with satisfaction. In the end, adhering to the principle of not wasting food, I forced myself to drink the last mouthful of soup.
At this moment, Top was already sitting on my bed, leaning against the stone wall, constantly touching his belly, which was swollen like a balloon. He had clearly enjoyed the meal, but his stomach was hurting afterwards.
I figured I couldn't wash the pots and pans today, so I carefully moved my body to the bed and sat down against the rock wall.
Why be so careful? Because I'm afraid the soup in my stomach might accidentally spill out of my esophagus.
I ate and drank like crazy today, and I ate even more than Top. My stomach is no longer just a ball; it's starting to look like a gourd.
The larger one at the bottom is the stomach stretched to its limit, and the smaller one at the top should be the esophagus above the stomach.
Now I regret eating so much; my stomach feels so bloated. I don't even dare to burp, afraid it'll burst at any moment.
This feeling lasted for more than an hour, and the intense discomfort in my stomach only eased slightly after I urinated for the eighteenth time.
I swear I'll never do that again, no matter how delicious the food is. I almost died from my meal today; it really proves the saying, "If you don't court death, you won't die."
Thinking about it, it's been so many years since I've done something like this. I really miss those carefree days.
Back then, we had just entered junior high school, and our family wasn't as well-off as we are now. We only bought meat every few days, which really hurt us.
So during summer vacation, my three best buddies and I decided to chip in some money and go out for a buffet hot pot.
We made a pact not to eat for a whole day, and then we'd go to a hot pot restaurant that night and really mess with the owner. Back then, buffets were cheap; the four of us only spent 72 yuan together.
At first, the owner saw that we were short and students, and thought, "How much can these little kids eat?" But he still happily came up to greet us, arranged seats for us, and was incredibly enthusiastic.
But something went wrong later on. The meat on the display was being consumed at a visible rate, and the owner's face kept twitching.
By the time the four of us finished eating, we had used up eight large bottles of mineral water, including large Coke bottles, to add broth to the hot pot.
Each person had at least twenty empty stainless steel plates stacked around them, and in the end, the owner had no choice but to beg us to let him off the hook.
After all, his small business is like this, and with the way the four of us country kids eat, each of us is almost as good as two. If four of us suddenly come along, wouldn't that be the death of him?
In the end, we reached an agreement that as long as one person cooked another bowl of noodles as a staple food, it would be fine.
The boss nodded helplessly after hearing this. "You have to have some magnanimity when you're doing business. Otherwise, if you open a buffet and you can't even spare some noodles for your customers, who would dare to eat at your restaurant next time?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com