Chapter 328 - 213: Just Eat It

Chapter 328: Chapter 213: Just Eat It

"So that’s how it is... But it’s fine. As long as I eat it fully cooked, I can at least avoid some of the potential danger."

"That makes sense."

Seeing Lin Chen strike up a conversation with Bartel in just a few words, and seeming to get along well, Erica pouted with a hint of displeasure but didn’t say much.

As they talked, the parts of the potato batter touching the sea urchin shell had clearly fried to a light brown, while the batter in the center was starting to turn white.

Lin Chen quickly stopped chatting and grabbed a thick octopus tentacle, pushing it into the center of the batter.

The batter, having been heated for a while, had become thicker and stickier, like half-cooked waffle batter. Just a gentle press was enough to make the octopus tentacle stick fast as if glued in place, unable to move.

Lin Chen moved quickly. After placing the octopus tentacle, he added the diced bamboo shoots and sea urchin. Then, he lightly prodded the edge of the batter with his chopsticks to check how well it was fried.

Once the surface of the potato batter was completely firm, it took no effort at all. With just a push from his chopsticks, the hemispherical ball tilted, revealing half of the empty sea urchin shell.

He picked up the deer fat he had set aside earlier, rubbed it on the inner wall of the shell, then ladled in another spoonful of batter. Afterward, he tucked the deer fat into the filling.

After the newly added batter had also firmed up, he flipped the ball again so the opening faced down and poured in batter for a third time.

With that, the batter sealed perfectly, forming a complete sphere.

"Is that... takoyaki???"

If Bartel couldn’t tell what dish Lin Chen was making at first, he had a good idea of its true identity the moment the octopus tentacle was stuffed into the middle of the batter.

When the ball was fully formed, his jaw dropped in amazement.

’He’s actually seeing someone make a giant version of takoyaki out in the middle of nowhere with limited ingredients. Is this for real?’

Under the steady heat of the charcoal fire, the surface of the ball in the sea urchin shell gradually turned a beautiful golden-yellow.

Lin Chen turned the ball from time to time, rotating the paler side toward the bottom.

"How much longer? It looks like it’s ready to eat already!"

This was already Erica’s third time rushing him. She couldn’t even remember how many times she had swallowed her own saliva.

"Don’t rush me. A little patience."

Lin Chen said comfortingly, amused, "You can’t use high heat for takoyaki. You have to use low to medium heat to slowly fry it so the ingredients and batter on the inside cook through. Otherwise, only the outside will be cooked and the inside will be completely raw. You wouldn’t want to wait all this time just to end up eating that, would you?"

"Right, right, I can’t rush it. I know that, but it just smells so good! I can’t help it!"

Bartel, who was standing nearby, had already finished the piece of meat in his hands. He was also staring intently at the large, plump, perfectly round ball in the sea urchin shell, showing no intention of leaving.

While waiting for the ball to cook, Lin Chen kept himself busy. He started by fileting the two groupers. Then he dismantled the two blue crabs, using a wooden stick to press out all the meat from the legs and body, and mixed it with the crab roe to set aside for later.

Finally.

The ball was cooked, its surface a glistening, caramelized brown.

He removed the balls, still in their sea urchin shells, from the grill and set them aside to cool.

He opened a coconut, transferred the juice into a bamboo tube, and after scraping the meat clean, placed it on the grill to heat up.

Erica, knowing full well how hot freshly made takoyaki can be, didn’t rush to touch the large spheres. Instead, she watched his actions with curiosity.

"What are you making now?"

"A sauce," Lin Chen said, picking up a large mango. He skillfully sliced it in half and scored it in a cross-hatch pattern. "Don’t you think that first batch was a little too simple? It was actually just a trial run. I was afraid of failing, so I wanted to test it out first."

"Since it was a success, now it’s time to make the complete version. Takoyaki isn’t complete without sauce, after all."

’There’s a sauce, too????’

Erica’s red lips parted slightly, her eyes filled with shock.

She had thought it would be amazing enough to make something that was even half-decent, considering they were in the wild with no proper tools or ingredients.

But not only did it look authentic, he was even going to make a sauce?

’This man is on another level!’

’He’s my idol for a reason!!’

Lin Chen moved quickly. He inverted the mango halves to expose the flesh, diced it, and tossed the cubes into the coconut shell to heat.

The flesh from the palm-sized mango was enough to fill the entire coconut shell, with some to spare. He slurped up the extra bits himself so nothing went to waste.

He mashed all the mango into a puree, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning on the bottom.

Once the sauce was simmering, he speared a large ball with his chopsticks and offered it to Erica.

"Here, eat up. It shouldn’t be too hot now."

Then, he speared another and offered it to Bartel. "Want to try one?"

"This... I couldn’t, could I?"

Bartel licked his lips and rubbed his slightly full belly, looking like he wanted to eat it but was too embarrassed to accept.

"Just take it. They’re just the test batch anyway. I’d be stuffed if I ate all six, and I want to save room for the complete version."

"Well... don’t mind if I do, then. Haha."

Bartel chuckled and took the wooden chopsticks, staring in awe at the perfectly round, golden-brown takoyaki.

It looked no different from the takoyaki he remembered, except it was two sizes bigger. One of these was about the size of four regular ones.

CRUNCH.

Unable to wait any longer, Erica had already taken a bite.

Unlike the soft, chewy texture she expected, the outer layer made from potato batter had become incredibly crispy after being fried at high heat, almost like fried potatoes with a firm crust.

But after biting through it, the inside was dense and soft, with the faint, unique sweetness of potato.

The charcoal-grilled octopus tentacle had a rich, smoky flavor and a springy, chewy texture. Paired with the crisp, fresh bamboo shoots and the sweet, savory sea urchin, it created a flavor profile that felt both healthy and delicious.

All the seasoning came from the potato batter. Since salt and spices had been added, the batter itself was savory, preventing the filling from tasting bland.

As she chewed, she unexpectedly bit into the small piece of deer fat. The fat burst, instantly melting and blending with the other ingredients, adding another layer of rich aroma.

It might not have the heavy, rich sauces of takoyaki sold from a food truck, but considering they were in the wild, she felt this was already perfect.

In terms of taste and appearance alone, he had gotten it pretty close.

After a few bites, there was still almost half of the giant ball left. She had never eaten a takoyaki that lasted this long.

"How is it?"

Lin Chen was eating one himself and asked casually when he saw her looking over.

"It’s incredible!"

Erica gave him a thumbs-up. "I never would’ve thought you could make takoyaki with potatoes, and the taste is actually amazing! Especially this outer shell—it’s like eating a fried potato wedge, not like regular takoyaki where the whole thing has a soggy, batter-like texture."

"Honestly, I think I prefer this crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside type. Lin, you should just sell these! I promise I’ll buy them!"

"We’ll see. I haven’t even decided where I’m going to stay yet. I have to see if I can win this competition first before I think about what comes next. I’m not rich like you."

He popped the last bite of the ball into his mouth. The mango juice in the coconut shell was starting to bubble.

He gave it a few quick stirs, added a pinch of crushed allspice, and then a tiny bit of salt to enhance the base flavor.

As it simmered longer, the mango juice visibly thickened, and its color changed from golden-yellow to a yellowish-brown.

That was the sugar in the mango caramelizing under the high heat, which was the main reason he had chosen mango for the sauce.

"I’m asking you. How is it?"

Seeing Lin Chen was busy, Erica licked the lingering flavor from the corner of her lips, still wanting more, and glared at Bartel, who was completely engrossed in eating.

"A very interesting dish. Is this outer batter really made from mashed potatoes?"