Chapter 347 - 223: How Could It Possibly Be Made into a Rope?

Chapter 347: Chapter 223: How Could It Possibly Be Made into a Rope?

Erica poked her head out from the bushes, sniffing the air with her small nose. A look of surprise spread across her face.

"Looks like you’re really all better. You’ve already started cooking something delicious."

"What are you doing here?"

Lin Chen shot her a surprised glance before quickly turning his attention back to the stone slab in front of him.

"I saw in the chat room that the viewers were saying you were making rope from bamboo. Since it’s almost dinnertime, I thought I’d come over and see if I could pick up a few tricks."

"I’m not competing with you for the top spot anyway. You don’t mind if I watch and learn, do you?"

Lin Chen shrugged. It was clear he didn’t know what to do with her.

"Of course, if you do mind, I’ll just..."

"Stop right there!"

It didn’t take a genius to guess that the rest of her sentence wasn’t going to be anything nice. He quickly changed the subject.

"Can you tell what this ingredient is?"

Erica stepped closer and glanced at the pile of white, bone-in meat on the banana leaf. "What else could it be?" she blurted out. "A Green Iguana. It’s about the only meat we can hunt around here."

"...Fair enough."

"What are you stir-frying? Is that just chili peppers?"

"And minced wild ginger."

"And the Green Iguana meat? Did you pan-fry it first?"

"Right. Most stir-fries from Great Xia follow a similar process. If you have the right setup, you can deep-fry the meat. You’d toss marinated or prepped meat into hot oil for a few dozen seconds to flash-fry it. Then you stir-fry the aromatics in a separate wok. Finally, you combine everything, add the seasonings, and do a final stir-fry over high heat before taking it off the fire."

"I didn’t marinate this Green Iguana. I’ve never had it before, and I want to taste its natural flavor. Marinating it would just cover that up."

"Besides, you typically choose your marinade ingredients based on the meat’s characteristics. For ingredients that are gamey or have a strong smell, you need a heavier marinade. For meat without any strange taste, the goal is to bring out its natural savory flavor."

As he gave his brief explanation, the red and green chili peppers on the stone slab began to release a spicy fragrance. They had visibly softened, losing the hard crispness they had when raw.

He poured in a little coconut milk to deglaze the surface, then added the Green Iguana chunks and stir-fried them rapidly, ensuring the chili-infused liquid coated every piece of meat.

After a few tosses, the once-white meat was now coated in an alluring, pale reddish sheen, with faint flecks of yellow and green.

He sprinkled on some salt to build a base flavor, then drizzled a spoonful of oyster sauce over the meat. A dozen or so quick tosses later, and it was ready.

Once the oyster sauce was added, the Green Iguana meat immediately turned a rich brown. A glistening sauce now clung to its surface, perfectly binding the bits of red and green pepper and minced wild ginger to the meat.

Finally, he sprinkled on a pinch of minced, tender green Keyoute cilantro.

GULP.

Erica couldn’t help but swallow hard. She never imagined that something that looked so plain just a moment ago could become so incredibly tempting in the blink of an eye.

"This is that seasoning you made from boiling down oysters?"

She curiously took the bamboo tube of oyster sauce and raised it to her nose for a sniff. Aside from the scent of oysters, she didn’t smell anything particularly special.

She dipped a finger in, scraping a little out to taste. An intense, salty-savory flavor instantly exploded on the tip of her tongue.

"Huh??"

Her eyes widened in astonishment. She felt as if she’d never tasted such a savory condiment in her entire life.

Aside from being a bit salty, it tasted like the essence of countless oysters concentrated into a single drop. It was the pinnacle of savory, yet it lacked that artificial, chemical-like quality of MSG.

"If you add a bit of this oyster sauce to most dishes and cut back on the salt, the flavor becomes exceptional."

"But you have to add oyster sauce right before you take the dish off the heat. If you cook it too long, it loses its flavor. Just do what I did: add it, stir to combine, and plate it immediately."

The steaming hot stir-fried iguana with two peppers emanated an irresistible aroma. Without any intention of being polite, Lin Chen immediately picked up a piece right in front of her and popped it into his mouth.

After just a few chews, a smile of pleasant discovery spread across his face.

"Can I try some?"

Erica couldn’t take it anymore. She stared at him, her eyes wide with longing.

Compared to this chili-stir-fried Green Iguana, the seafood and potato porridge she’d invented a couple of days ago suddenly felt like nothing special—just a random hodgepodge thrown into a pot.

"Go ahead."

Considering how the girl had brought him food and helped him haul his things a couple of days ago, Lin Chen wasn’t about to be stingy over a few pieces of iguana. He waved a hand, gesturing for her to help herself.

Overjoyed, Erica didn’t even bother with chopsticks. She just grabbed a piece with her bare hands and popped it into her mouth.

The piping-hot Green Iguana meat seared her tongue. The first thing she tasted was an intense, savory saltiness, immediately followed by the crisp heat of fresh chili peppers and the faint fragrance of ginger.

There were no overly complex flavors—just a pure, ultimate savoriness that blossomed in her mouth.

The Green Iguana meat itself didn’t have a distinct taste; its texture was as tender as chicken. This wasn’t her first time eating it, but she’d never imagined it could be cooked this way.

"OMG, this is amazing, Lin! If you flash-fried it in hot oil like you said, I feel like you could crunch up the bones and eat them too. This would be perfect with some alcohol!"

"You’re smarter than you look. In Great Xia, this kind of dish is usually served with rice or alcohol. There isn’t a lot of meat—it’s mostly bone. You’re really just eating it for the flavor and the seasoning. It can get salty if you eat too much, so you need rice or a drink to go with it."

Erica had only intended to taste a single piece, but that one bite instantly whetted her appetite. Before her brain could even process it, her guilty little hand was already reaching for another.

SMACK!

Lin Chen slapped her hand away and pulled the banana leaf closer to himself. "I let you have a taste, and that’s it," he said, his face stern. "I even taught you the method. If you want more, go make it yourself."