Three River Deltas
“The Black Tuna meat and bones are all black in color. But they will turn red once heated. So, when you slice its meat, don’t let it get in contact with anything above 40 degree Celcius. In other words, this fish is suitable for sashimi.” Old Li picked the entire skeleton of the fish out and gave it to Old Wang who eventually put it inside the pot with the Royal Mountain Goat. “Lil’White, do you know that ‘fresh’ in Chinese literally means ‘fish’ and ‘lamb’? If we take the word for it, a lamb soup will never be fresh without fish bones. The skeleton of the Black Tuna is indeed a rare ingredient used in boiling lamb soup. One can never ask for more.”
Once the bones were put into the soup, its color quickly spread through it as if a drop of ink was poured into the water. However, it came to Ye Cang’s surprise that the color of the soup remained unchanged. In the end, the bones melted as if it had become one with the soup. On the other side, Old Li made sushi and sashimi with Blossom Rice, the lobster meat, Black Tuna and its black roe. Every plate had fish liver sashimi.
“This fish liver is the best…” Old Li placed an equal amount of fish liver sashimi and poured his homemade soy sauce and some mashed Red D Horseradish on a small sauce dish.
“Alright, this is the finale. The preparation is done. We’ll serve it as the last…” The two of them opened the Nine-star Clam and the nine pearl-like meatballs caught everyone’s attention.
Lin Liang was curious about how they were going to serve it. Obviously we have too many soups now. The duck, lamb and deer soup. He took a bite of the Black Tuna’s liver. Shit! This is too good! It’s pure freshness! The pure taste of seafood. Using the Blossom rice mixed with his own sushi vinegar and the lobster and tuna to make sushi is the best idea ever! It was sour at the right amount without affecting the taste of the sashimi. He is indeed a master chef! The dish may look simple but it requires a lot of effort and skills! He, a Chinese, actually has such refined skills for Japanese food?! I don’t understand. I bet he can also be the best in making Chinese food with the talent he has.
Marilyn picked a black roe sushi and dipped a mixture of the mashed Red D Horseradish and soy sauce. The taste of the roe was precisely brought out by the soy sauce and the horseradish. Even though it’s a little spiced up, the sweetness of the roe could immediately cover it. This fella’s foundation is still this good. She then recalled the competition Old Li and Old Wang joined and she was the judge. The two of them had a draw. Lil’Wang (Old Wang) that fella is really an all-rounder. There’s nothing he doesn’t excel in. From cutting skills, to boiling soup, to stir-frying, to pure frying, he aced them all. As for Lil’Li, he is creative. He can always come out with something you wouldn’t expect at all and has a good solid foundation. In the end of that competition, his expected defeat was greatly turned to become a draw with the new dish he came up with. A combination of both Japanese and Chinese food. No one can look down on his skills on Chinese cuisine. I remember there was once he even amazed me with the flour coated on the tempura. It was exactly the same as mine.
Old Li then started to connect the lobster and tuna, preparing to dip them into batter.
“I thought you said it can meet high temperature things?” Ye Cang asked.
“Rules are dead but humans are alive. Be creative. Lil’White, remember this whenever you are cooking,” Old Li smirked.
Lin Liang frowned at the tempura served. Fired Black Tuna? No way, there must be something behind this. As a master chef, there’s no way he didn’t know about the limitations of the tuna. He took a bite. So, that’s his secret! The first layer was the lobster and underneath it was a thin layer of ice! You need to pay full attention when eating such a dish. As you bite, the temperature will reach the ice and melt it. This is the best time to eat it when it is at the melting point. Fresh and crunchy. A mixture of ice and fire. This is a really creative idea.
“Quickly eat it. This dish will become a waste after a minute,” Old Li reminded them and everyone grabbed one.
Meanwhile, Old Wang once again poured some oil into the wok and had the Red D Horseradish, heavenly heart onion and organs of the Royal Mountain Goat done. He got the fire burning and counted silently as he stared at the oil. With a scoop of his ladle, all the ingredients were shifted into the wok. It was as if they were dancing on top of the volcano. Lin Liang could see that all the oil that flew out was scooped back by his rapid ladle, without a single drop left. This wok is a world on its own! And he is the master of that world! I can already tell how good the stir-fry offal is…
Lin Liang once again took out his Frozen Lily Wine to share with the rest.
When the roasted suckling Peppa pig was served, everyone stopped everything they were doing. This was because they had to honor their ranks when eating the dish. All moves are deemed as impolite. First, they would need a person to distribute the meat. Huang Zhong stood up, “Let me do the job.”
“Wait a minute,” Marilyn stuffed an apple into the pig’s mouth.
“One part of ham for each of the hosts,” Huang Zhong gave ThornyRose and Wu Na each a piece of the ham portion. “Team leader and his father-in-law will get one each too.”
“Oh, come on, there’s no need to have so many rules. Just pick whichever part you like…” Ye Cang smiled and sliced the pig into various portions in a blink of an eye. “Just pick according to what you like…”
“Actually…I’d like to eat the ear…” AV picked a piece of it.
Lin Liang smiled without saying a word. The true essence is at its tail! He grabbed the tail and started chewing. Glutinous and chewy! The marinated taste is modified as it did not cover the aroma of the pig!
Grabbing the pig’s nose, Marilyn stared at Jia Xu who was busy digging into the brain, “Are you a zombie?”
Jia Xu smiled to cover up his confusion and continued to enjoy his food.
“Come on, the last work. We can join the feast once this is done,” Standing in front of the three soups, Old Wang smiled.
Old Li dragged the clam to the center.
Lin Liang squinted his eyes. Indeed, they are going to wash it.
“Here it comes! Three River Delta!” Old Wang shouted.
Ye Cang, Old Wang and Old Li then poured all three soups into the clam, making it look like an overflowing tsunami.
The aroma of the soup did not fade away due to the mixture of the various ingredients. Instead, it got thicker and stronger. Under the night sky, the nine pearl-like meatballs were glittering in the high temperature. It was an extremely beautiful sight. In the pinkish soup, it was as if the duck was swimming in the river and the nine stars were glimmering on the white island.
Qin Zhong was dumbfounded. Damn. What have I been eating all these while?! I still think that I’m a foodie… I’m impressed. “I’ve gained a lot of knowledge today. Please do invite me again next time, I’ll definitely come with a taichi frog.”
“Taichi frog… A Dark-learning dish?” Lin Liang looked at Old Li and Old Wang. This is not something any ordinary chef can cook. Though looking simple, if you don’t have any knowledge on Dark-learning, you wouldn’t understand the characteristics of the frog.
“It is a little troublesome but since it’s you who brought it over, I’ll never let you leave with disappointment,” Old Wang smiled confidently and Old Li wiped the knife. “Dark-learning o’ Dark-learning, the ultimate knowledge of all…”
Lin Liang shook his head with a smile. Looks like I’ve worried too much. He scooped a ladle of soup. What’s fresh? This is what you call fresh! He got himself some pearl meat and clam meat with some soup and returned to his seat to enjoy.
Flasher Uncle and the others were eating the food madly and then laid on the beach to gaze at the stars. “Whenever I come here, I will always fill up my stomach until it is full af…”
“But having such delicious and precious food filling my stomach and enjoying the love, I’ll never get greasy…” Panty Uncle wiped his mouth gracefully. “Old Wang, next time, I want to join the fun too…”
“Sure! I knew that you this fella will get hyped up after seeing so many rare ingredients. Your hands getting itchy huh?!” Old Wang laughed.
Lin Liang stared at Panty Uncle. Looks like I can’t underestimate this person’s cooking skills too. I bet there won’t be much difference between their skills. Marilyn turned to look at Panty Uncle. Except for pastry-wise, his Western cuisine skills are way above mine. Just how much talent has God given to him? But unfortunately…his love life… *sigh*