บท 20: Fish Was Unpopular Among Beastmen
บรรณาธิการ: Atlas Studios
Bai Qingqing held her stomach and said pitifully, "But I'm really hungry. I want to eat rice…" Suddenly recalling that Parker detested females who ate rice, she quickly corrected herself. "I mean, I want to eat meat."
Parker's heart softened and he replied, "Then I'll go and hunt for some smaller prey."
Bai Qingqing wasn't used to troubling others. They were some distance away from the forest, and she didn't have the heart to let Parker go all the way there to get food for her. "Is there any food nearby? There's got to be fish in the river, right?"
"You eat fish? They taste awful!" Parker stared at Bai Qingqing with an incredulous look on his face. He then remembered something and continued, "Oh right, you're an ape. Apes are omnivorous. I didn't know your people liked to eat fish."
Parker couldn't believe it. Fish had such a fishy taste to it that he couldn't stomach it. And there were so many small bones in the meat—how was he going to eat that? Leopards would only catch a big fish when they needed fish the bones, and they'd throw the meat into the river to feed the other fish. Only physically disabled beastmen would gnaw the fish to satisfy their hunger.
"Fish is great." Bai Qingqing was also confused. However, she recalled that over here, they didn't even season their meat when they roasted it and understood a bit more. "It tastes good after you put a bit of those medicinal herbs on it."
"Okay. If you like to eat fish, I'll go down to the river to catch fishes for you. They're easy to catch. I'll be right back." Parker then took off his skirt in front of Bai Qingqing without a care in the world, transformed into a leopard, and ran out.
Bai Qingqing was now used to seeing Parker's private parts. Her face flushed for a moment, and then she acted as if nothing had happened.
Before long, a soaked leopard came back with a large, meter-long fish between its jaws, leaving footprints in the shape of plum blossoms in its wake.
Bai Qingqing glanced at it. From its familiar expression, she knew that it was Parker. She gave him a small smile. "That was fast."
Parker spat out the fish, which was still flopping around despite having been disemboweled. He proudly raised his head, then transformed back into a human, the moisture in the fur instantly squeezed out in the process.
"Splash—" The ground beneath Parker's feet was cool from the water.
Bai Qingqing consciously turned her head away and looked at the straw pole at her feet.
Parker put on his skirt and started a fire under the tree at the entrance to the house. He then asked Bai Qingqing, "We ate sandalwood bark-flavored meat yesterday, so let's eat willow bark-flavored meat today."
"Okay." Bai Qingqing found those logs pretty interesting. She could combine those with the cooking methods used on Earth and create even more delicious food.
Parker carried out a few branches with dense, green foliage that resembled that of Chinese parasol trees and threw them at the bonfire. The fresh wood immediately lit up the moment they came into contact with the fire as if oil had been poured on it. The blue smoke that rose from the fire had the fresh smell of willow bark.
Bai Qingqing held her breath in astonishment. So willow trees were high in lipids. She didn't know that such a fascinating species existed in nature.
Parker was about to roast the fish when Bai Qingqing came to her senses and quickly shouted, "Wait!"
"Huh?" Parker turned back and looked at Bai Qingqing.
"You're just going to roast the fish like that?" Bai Qingqing was shocked. "Aren't you going to scale it? Aren't you going to remove its gills?"
Although she hadn't really cooked, she'd helped her mother in the kitchen many times before. Thus, she knew how to clean a fish: gut, scale, remove the gills.
Could the fish even be eaten with its scales still on? If a person bit into it, his mouth would be full of scales. And the gills—it could have a lot of sand in it, and it had a strong, fishy taste to it. No wonder people here didn't like to eat fish.
Parker immediately replied, "The fish has to be roasted outside anyway. Isn't it cleaner if you leave the scales on? And you're not even eating the head, anyway. Why would you need to remove the gills? That's troublesome."
Bai Qingqing was speechless as his words made sense.
She wasn't sure if she had to scale a fish before roasting it, and she was even more unsure if she could eat the fish with its scales still on. As such, she simply carried the stone basin and walked outside, then said in an authoritative voice, "Then we won't roast the fish. We'll boil it instead!"
"Boil?" There was confusion in Parker's eyes.
บท 21: Spicy Fish Hotpot
บรรณาธิการ: Atlas Studios
"Yes, boil!"
Bai Qingqing then picked up two stones nearby and built a simple stove over the fire.
Parker frowned while standing at the side. Seeing that Bai Qingqing wasn't going to give up, he said hesitantly, "Qingqing, medicinal herbs can be eaten as food, but you can't boil food like you do with medicinal herbs!"
To the beastmen, the only things they boiled were herbal soups, and they didn't taste all that good.
"Just wait for the meal," Bai Qingqing said confidently. As a Chinese, could she not be confident in making hotpot?
Bai Qingqing bent down on one knee and neatly scraped off the fish scales with the stone dagger. Then, she took out the fish gills and placed them in the stone basin. Next, she gathered fifteen dried chilies that were half the length of her palm, some garlic, fresh ginger, pepper, cinnamon, and a willow branch that was as thick as the rim of a bowl. She then handed these ingredients to Parker for him to wash them.
The washed ingredients were placed on a clean leaf. Luckily for them, most of the trees planted in the village were banana trees. Even a meter-long fish could fit on those large banana leaves.
After they had finished preparing the ingredients, the stone basin was placed on the stove.
Bai Qingqing passed the willow branch that Parker had washed and asked him, "Parker, can you break this for me?"
"No problem." Parker took the willow branch and was about to break it when Bai Qingqing quickly moved his hand above the stone basin. "Break it here."
The willow branch was very tough. It wasn't fully broken even after Parker bent it at a 90-degree angle. The moment he exerted all his strength, the willow branch was broken in half with a crack. A stream of oil dripped into the stone pot, causing the heated stone surface to sizzle.
Bai Qingqing exclaimed in surprise, "So you can squeeze out oil from the willow branch."
Parker glanced at the stone pot in amazement. He then eagerly broke the pieces of willow branch three more times. When they were too small to be further broken into pieces, he threw them into the fire.
"Do you need more? I can go rinse clean a few more pieces of willow bark."
"There should be enough oil." Seeing that the oil was warm enough, Bai Qingqing added the crushed garlic and ginger, then stir-fried them with a clean branch. After that, she sprinkled all the seasonings on top. The complex aroma immediately wafted through the air.
Parker's eyes lit up the moment the aroma reached his nostrils. He couldn't help but move closer to the pot and take a huge whiff. The aroma was so strong that it caused him to sneeze loudly. He then restrained himself, but remained crouched near the pot and refused to budge.
The oil in the stone pot had been dyed a tangerine color by the chilies, and the seasonings were now golden brown. Seeing that the food in the pot was about to burn, Bai Qingqing threw caution to the wind and simply threw in the fish.
The oil immediately sputtered. As the fish was too long, its head and tail stuck out of the pot and were licked by the flames.
Bai Qingqing was flustered as this was the first time she'd prepared a main course. After pushing the head and tail of the fish into the pot, without lifting her head, she told Parker, "Quick, get some water."
Parker picked up a large leaf and ran to the river. Within seconds, he came back with a small pocket of water and poured it into the pot without waiting for Bai Qingqing's instructions.
"Sss—" The "explosion" in the pot had finally ended. The water immediately turned warm as the pot was too hot. Red oil floated on the surface of the water.
Parker casually pushed the head and tail of the fish into the pot, causing the half-full pot to be filled to the very brim.
"It smells so good…" Parker licked his lips and looked at Bai Qingqing in admiration. "You're great at this. As expected of my female."
Bai Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief, her fair face now completely flushed red. She wiped away the sweat on her face and said, "It's way too hot. I'll go wash my face. Look after the fire and sprinkle some salt on the fish later. It'll be ready to eat once it's fully cooked."
Parker then realized how disheveled Bai Qingqing looked. His heart immediately ached, and he quickly replied, "Just go. Leave the rest to me."
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