Chapter 172: Aromatic Grilled Fish (1)
Translator: OnGoingWhy Editor: Vermillion
While everyone was watching him, Bu Fang reached out his hand and suddenly pulled the fish out of the basin of water. He effortlessly picked the fish up with two fingers skillfully clamping onto its sides.
The fish was struggling in Bu Fang"s fingers but could not break free as if it was caught in a vise grip.
Bu Fang was expressionless as he inspected the fish. Honestly speaking, the fish was indeed very plump. Its body was entirely made up of meat. His eyes slightly lit up and his satisfaction toward the ingredient rose.
It was not an easy matter for chefs to find ingredients that satisfied them.
Bu Fang did not choose to use the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife. Instead, he picked up the kitchen knife that elder sister Mu left on the cooking stove. As he twirled the kitchen knife in his hand, the dazzling technique immediately caused many of the people present to exclaim in astonishment.
Twirling his kitchen knife had already become a habit for Bu Fang. After countless hours of practicing the Meteor Knife Technique, he would now subconsciously twirl the kitchen knife. It was not for the sake of showing off.
Bu Fang was expressionless as he swiped the kitchen knife across the belly of the fish. The sharp edge of the knife directly ripped open its fair and tender belly as if it was paper.
Bu Fang then began the steps of removing the fish"s innards.
Bu Fang"s movements were fluid as if he was drawing a painting. The process that should originally appear b.l.o.o.d.y and violent became strangely beautiful.
After cleaning the fish with water, he widened the incision at its belly and split it apart. The fish was laid open on the chopping board like a pancake.
Bu Fang lightly flicked the blade of the kitchen knife with his finger. He then gently carved on the fish with six strokes and patted the plump flesh of the fish.
With that, the preparation of the fish was done. However, this was just the completion of the preparatory step. Grilling a fish was not so simple.
The people around him were puzzledly watching Bu Fang. They could not figure out what sort of dish he was making. Judging from the appearance, it should not be fish soup. However, if it was braised fish… it should not be sliced in such a manner… If he was making dried fish, there was not enough time.
Therefore, it was not just the people around him but also elder sister Mu who was guessing what sort of dish Bu Fang was preparing to cook.
Suddenly, Bu Fang seemed to have recalled something. He turned toward elder sister Mu who was deep in though and asked, "Do you have any vegetables?"
Elder sister Mu made a frown, then nodded and said, "We have vegetables but there"s only a little. Not much fruits and vegetables grow within the Illusory Spirit Swamp in the first place. They"re even rarer than this fish."
Bu Fang looked back at the fish that was already prepared and said, "Then forget it, I"ll provide the ingredients myself."
Bu Fang then took out many fruits and vegetables from the system"s storage s.p.a.ce as well as various containers that were filled with seasoning. He prepared these things earlier on while he was waiting for the system to carry out the teleportation.
Everyone was dumbfounded as they watched Bu Fang take out the a.s.sorted items. They were at a loss on how to react.
At this point, they were almost certain that Bu Fang was indeed a chef. Furthermore, it seemed like he came here for a vacation...
What kind of an adventurer would fill his dimensional storage with seasonings, fruits, and vegetables instead of healing medicine and elixirs?
After Bu Fang washed the fruits and vegetables, he swiftly diced them into pieces and placed them onto a plate.
Once all of these were done, Bu Fang placed the fish into a basin. Then, he poured various seasonings into the basin and started marinating the fish.
During the marinating process, Bu Fang infused the fish with his true energy to speed up the process.
After approximately ten minutes, Bu Fang finished marinating the fish. He then took out two large pieces of leaves that came from a spirit herb and wrapped the marinated fish with the leaves.
Before wrapping the fish, he even coated the entire fish with a layer of sauce.
The fish was wrapped in spirit herb leaves? Just what kind of dish was this fellow making? None of them had ever seen this sort of cooking method before.
Wu Yunbai"s eyes were filled with curiosity as well. As the young master of the White Cloud Villa, she had tasted plenty of delicious food before. The White Cloud Villas had also specially hired many chefs with superb culinary skills. Even so, she had never seen Bu Fang"s cooking method before.
Bu Fang did not pay any heed to their gaze. Once he started cooking, he would devote all of his attention into the dish. According to his own words, only then would a chef be able to pour his feelings into the dish.
After removing the large wok, Bu Fang covered the hole of the stove with branches and then placed the fish wrapped in spirit herb leaves on top.
Earlier on, Bu Fang had already doused these branches in water to prevent the fire underneath from burning them. Furthermore, with his true energy covering the branches, it would be difficult for them to catch on fire.
Meanwhile, the fish wrapped in spirit herb leaves would receive the heat from the fire.
Bu Fang had no other choice. Originally, he should use a commercial oven to grill the fish. However, since this was not his kitchen, there was no oven at all. Therefore, he could only set up a temporary grilling pit. Even though the working condition was slightly harsher, he could still produce the grilled fish.
Everyone was completely astounded by Bu Fang"s strange actions. Some of them even started snickering… After all, no one had ever seen such a strange method of preparing food before.
Not even using a wok… Was this dish edible? The fish was first wrapped in spirit herb leaves and then roasted over a fire? Was a dish made in such a manner really edible?
Many of the serpent-men were throwing questioning gazes at Bu Fang.
Meanwhile, elder sister Mu was thoughtfully watching Bu Fang"s actions. From her point of view, almost every single one of his movement was smooth and uninterrupted, the result of having integrated his culinary skill into his body.
Steam started emerging from the spirit herb leaves along with a rich fragrance. At first, the scent was not that strong. Everyone was sniffing the air but they only thought the scent smelt pleasant.
However, as the fish continued to cook, the fragrance grew stronger and stronger and nearly engulfed the entire place. Everyone was sniffing the air.
The young serpent-girl was even hugging her mother"s tail while continuously smacking her lips. Now and then, saliva dripped from her mouth… The scent was too aromatic.
The serpent-men had never smelled such an aromatic scent before. It was arousing all of their appet.i.tes.
Even the head elder"s cheeks trembled for a moment as he looked toward Bu Fang in incredulity. He never expected Bu Fang to possess such a high level of culinary skill.
An euphoric expression appeared on Wu Yunbai"s face as well. Her astonishment was not any lesser than anyone else present. She understood more than them about the difficulty and innovativeness of Bu Fang"s cooking method.
The difficulty of preparing food by wrapping a dish in leaves and then roasting it over a fire… was extremely high. Not only did this test Bu Fang"s control over the heat but also demanded a high level of control at manipulating true energy.
"This person..." Wu Yunbai muttered to herself.
Meanwhile, Bu Fang was placing his hand on the spirit herb leaves. After feeling the temperature, a smile suddenly appeared on his lips.
After twirling the kitchen knife in his hand, he sliced open the bundle of spirit herb leaves.
During the instant when the spirit herb leaves fell apart, a thick sauce splattered everywhere and spread a rich aroma into the surroundings.
The aroma, accompanied by a puff of steam, rose into the air.