Chapter 116: Green Peppercorn Grilled Fish, Deep-Fried Fish, and Fish Balls—Dedicated to All You Wonderful Readers Who Love Fish!

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Now that they had fish, of course they had to eat it!!

The two food lovers could not hold back for even a moment. They immediately began a “choosing a concubine” ritual inside the spatial realm!

Using the space’s ability to draw things out, Ming Dai made the fish leap from the pond one by one, while Zhou Sinian stood to the side, selecting them. Whenever he spotted one he liked, he flung it onto the bank.

In the end, the two of them had a whole ground covered in large fish.

“Ming Dai, this is fun!”

Ming Dai looked at the big fish flopping nonstop on the ground. “Not only is it fun, it’s delicious too. What would you like to eat? I’ll let you choose today’s menu!”

Zhou Sinian immediately grew excited and began circling the fish on the ground.

Although he had no memories of his life before, and had never eaten fish after arriving at Red Flag Commune, he had learned so many cooking methods while living with Ming Dai during this period!

That certainly did not stop him from showing off!

“Ming Dai, Ming Dai! I want fish-meat flatbreads! Shredded potato with shredded fish! Pickled-cabbage and fish dumplings! Fried fish! Fish stewed with cabbage! Candied fish! Steamed fish with rice flour! Fish noodles! And grilled fish and fish hot pot too!!!!”

What kind of nightmarish cuisine was this?!

Ming Dai stared at him speechlessly. “Would you like some fish-meat candy as well?”

Zhou Sinian’s eyes lit up at once. “Then I want fish-meat candy in the flavor of White Rabbit milk candy. Fruit flavor isn’t tasty! Ming Dai! Add fish-meat candied fruit skewers too!!”

………

Why had she even asked?

Those culinary abominations were out of the question. Based on his suggestions, Ming Dai settled on three ways to prepare the fish.

They would have grilled fish for lunch, seasoned with green peppercorns. There happened to be fresh green peppercorns in the storeroom, and the fresh chili peppers they had planted were ready to eat as well. A meal featuring both was absolutely necessary!

There were also several fish with fewer bones, which Ming Dai planned to use for fish balls.

And finally, there was the crispy sweet-and-savory fried fish she had been longing for!

She had not eaten it in ages. The moment she saw those big fish, she could not resist. She had to indulge herself!

Just listening to Ming Dai describe it made Zhou Sinian swallow repeatedly. He could hardly wait to begin.

Ming Dai selected six of the largest fish and threw the rest back into the water.

Zhou Sinian watched them regretfully. He felt six fish were rather too few.

Whenever food was involved, Zhou Sinian’s germophobia vanished without a trace.

The fish were too large, so the two of them processed them directly beside the pond.

After demonstrating once, Ming Dai handed the knife to Zhou Sinian and took charge of rinsing everything with the hose.

Swish, swish, swish!

Holding the knife, Zhou Sinian smoothly scaled and gutted the fish, scraping out whatever needed scraping and chopping whatever needed chopping. He did not mind the fishy smell in the slightest.

Ming Dai left him to continue and went to prepare the side ingredients.

Before long, the six large fish were laid out on the kitchen island.

Ming Dai chose a large grass carp with thick flesh. She marinated it briefly in cooking wine, salt, and scallion-ginger water to remove the fishy odor, then placed it on the grill, belly-side down, and put it in the oven to roast for twenty minutes.

The fish was large, with a plump belly. Before long, the oven began to sizzle.

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The sound attracted Zhou Sinian. He crouched halfway down and stared through the oven glass at the fish inside without blinking.

Afraid he might burn himself, Ming Dai pulled him over to slice the fish.

Zhou Sinian chose a knife that felt comfortable in his hand. He looked at the three large fish on the chopping board, his gaze sharpening. With a flash of the blade, he chopped off all three heads.

Watching his efficient technique, Ming Dai swallowed and put the severed heads into the storeroom. Once she had made tofu, she would use them to prepare fish-head tofu soup.

The remaining two fish were grass carp as well. Ming Dai cut them all into pieces two fingers wide, then marinated them with cooking wine, light soy sauce, salt, scallions, ginger, and garlic. She also marinated the fish bones Zhou Sinian had removed.

The grass carp in the oven was ready by then. When Ming Dai opened the oven, the entire room filled with the charred, savory fragrance of grilled fish.

Zhou Sinian kept sniffing as he worked, filled with anticipation.

Ming Dai took out a square electric cooking pot and placed half a fish inside.

One fish head and half a fish body completely filled the pot.

She put the remaining half into the storeroom to save for the next meal.

She heated oil in a pan and began frying the prepared ingredients for the base. Since she had no chili oil, Ming Dai added stock and ground roasted chilies instead. Even she could barely resist the fragrance.

She poured the cooked sauce into the fish pot, then took out fresh green peppercorns and fresh chili peppers and scattered them evenly over the golden grilled fish. The bright red and green colors made it incredibly appetizing!

Finally, she sprinkled white sesame seeds and sliced garlic over the fish. When she poured sizzling hot oil over the green peppercorns, the fragrance of the entire dish erupted instantly.

Zhou Sinian came over with the knife in hand, clearly unable to hold himself back any longer.

Ming Dai waved grandly. “Wash your hands. We’re eating first!”

Zhou Sinian happily put the knife away and carried the pot to the dining table.

Ming Dai sent Zhou Sinian to the storeroom for rice while she opened the pot. Before long, the sauce inside began to boil.

The fragrant, numbing heat filled the entire room. The two of them eagerly picked up a piece and put it in their mouths.

After just one bite, Zhou Sinian never lifted his head again. His chopsticks moved so quickly they blurred.

Ming Dai was thoroughly satisfied as well. The resentment from being frightened into tears early that morning vanished completely.

Indeed, good food could heal anything!

The entire pot of fish was devoured by the two of them.

Zhou Sinian even ate the fish bones that had been roasted crisp. He poured the sauce over his rice, and aside from the green peppercorns, nothing was wasted.

Because of that meal of grilled fish with green peppercorns, Zhou Sinian became even more eager to try the other two preparations.

He did not even rest during the noon break, but picked up the knife and continued slicing fish.

Ming Dai was unable to sleep because of the noise. She knew that unless the fish was finished, he would not settle down.

Sure enough, when he saw her put on her apron again, Zhou Sinian smiled in satisfaction.

Fine, then. She wanted to eat the crispy fried fish too!

Thus, the two of them stayed busy all afternoon.

After Zhou Sinian finished slicing the fish, Ming Dai gave him two cleavers and had him chop the flesh into a paste.

Meanwhile, Ming Dai prepared the sauce for the fried fish.

Taking both their tastes into account, she planned to make two batches: one sweeter for Zhou Sinian and one only mildly sweet for herself.

In her previous life, she had often made this dish at home, so she was quite practiced at it now.

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The sauce went into the pot, and Zhou Sinian finished chopping the fish paste.

Ming Dai had him put it into a basin and beat it until it became springy.

The sauce in the pot bubbled and boiled, and a sweet fragrance began to spread through the air.

Leaving the sauce to cool, Ming Dai began working on the marinated fish.

For the fried fish to taste good, one thing was getting the proportions of the sauce right. The other was frying the fish properly: it had to be fragrant, crisp, and thoroughly cooked, but not burnt.

She poured half a pot of oil into the wok. When it reached medium heat, she added the marinated fish pieces.

Golden ripples of oil rolled and surged. The fish slowly took on a golden hue, and its fragrance gradually filled the room.

Although he had just eaten his fill, Zhou Sinian’s eyes remained fixed on the wok as he carefully watched Ming Dai work.

Once the fish pieces had been fried golden and crisp, she fried them a second time. While they were still hot, she placed the fried fish into the basin of cooled sauce, soaking them until every piece had absorbed the sauce.

The fried fish smelled so delicious that Ming Dai could not resist. She secretly tasted a piece. It was crisp and fragrant from the frying, springy from the fish itself, and coated in a sauce that was both sweet and salty. It was inexplicably delicious.

Her little act was discovered by Zhou Sinian, whose gaze had been locked firmly on the fish.

“Ming Dai!”

The food-guarding puppy sprang into action!

The moment his voice fell, he had already appeared beside the stove.

He condemned Ming Dai with his eyes for sneaking a bite, then fished out a piece for himself and popped it into his mouth. He was immediately captivated by the deliciousness of the fried fish and forgot what he had meant to say.

Ming Dai scooped some out to eat immediately, then placed the rest in a basin and stored it in the spatial storeroom. There was no need to worry about it becoming tough from sitting too long.

The fish balls had already been beaten until springy by Zhou Sinian. After adding a few simple seasonings and some starch and mixing everything together, Ming Dai began cooking them.

She squeezed the fish paste in, while Zhou Sinian followed her instructions and scooped the fish balls out.

One snow-white fish ball after another bobbed and tumbled in the pot. Zhou Sinian could not resist secretly tasting one. It was fresh and sweet, with a satisfyingly springy texture.

“Ming Dai, this is delicious!”

Ming Dai proudly raised her chin. “Is there anything I make that isn’t delicious?!”

Zhou Sinian thought for a moment. “The cold cilantro and pumpkin seeds weren’t delicious!”

Ming Dai was speechless. He simply did not know how to appreciate it!

The two of them worked for more than two hours before they finished cooking all the fish balls.

There was a whole basinful. It would be more than enough to last until the New Year.

By evening, Ming Dai was too tired to cook. She had Zhou Sinian use the pot of fish-ball broth to boil hand-pulled noodles, then added the fish balls and served them with the crisp, fragrant fried fish, bringing dinner to a close.

Extremely pleased with the new fish dishes, Zhou Sinian willingly took on the task of feeding the fish.

Every day, he cut fresh pasture grass and tossed it into the fish pond. From time to time, he also fed them some cornmeal.

For a while, the fish successfully surpassed the silly roe deer and became the number-one delicacy on Zhou Sinian’s food rankings.

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