Free Web NovelChapter 161: Chapter 161: Potato Feast
Near the Bramble tribe, there was no river, but a stream flowing from a mountain crevice gathered into a rather large water pool. Everyone in the tribe fetched water from here for their daily needs.
Perhaps the abundance of rattan growing around the tribe wasn’t entirely detrimental; at least the water flowing from the crevice, filtered through multiple layers of rattan roots, became crystal clear and even carried a hint of sweetness.
Kaelen stood by the water pool watching the Bramble people work, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. If Sane were here, he would probably have noticed that the High Priest’s germaphobia was about to flare up again.
But the Chief was currently busy teasing a dog... no... teasing the Wood Spirit to tears along with the children.
The Wood Spirit, bound tightly into a bundle, lay stiffly on the rattan table, its whole body trembling like a sieve. Stared at by eight pairs of eyes, including one person with dense Divine Blood, the Wood Spirit even had thoughts of wanting to die on the spot.
Boohoo, I was peacefully sleeping in the rattan forest, why did I have to provoke this bunch of killing gods.
Sane looked at the trembling rattan sapling before him, feeling somewhat amused. He knew in Kaelen’s magical world there was a creature called a ’spirit’, but he had never seen one before. What he hadn’t expected was that the world he was currently in also had this creature.
Sane asked Finnick: "Can you eat it?"
The Wood Spirit suddenly froze for a moment, then trembled even more violently. Finnick shook his small head. The boy sensed that the Wood Magical Energy inside this Wood Spirit’s body was incredibly pure, but he couldn’t absorb it no matter what. Telling him to bite this whole wriggling blade of grass into his mouth made him feel a bit regretful.
A running tree that even knows how to be scared is so interesting, if I eat it, where will I find a second one?
Sane smacked his lips, extended his finger to poke the Wood Spirit twice, then said: "Just put it in the pouch for now. When your Papa is free, ask him what to do. Now let’s go outside and watch your Papa cook."
The three children nodded profusely. Seeing fresh ingredients turn into delicious dishes under Papa’s hands with their own eyes was truly a process both agonizing and blissful.
As soon as the four of them stepped out of the shed, they saw Bramble beastmen energetically carrying hollowed-out tree trunks past them, with a few Crimson warriors also joining in to help. Upon asking, they found out that the High Priest couldn’t stand the sight of eating, drinking, washing clothes, and personal hygiene all sharing the same water source in the pool, so he had taught them to make a water reservoir specifically for cooking.
This water reservoir was naturally the rock-hollowed type previously made in Obsidian, not the cement tank in Crimson.
Seeing his mate busy spinning around, Sane immediately set the three little ones down on a clean rock, rolled up his sleeves, and stepped forward to help. With the Chief and the Crimson warriors joining in, the water reservoir and the water pipes were quickly completed.
"The first batch of water is temporarily used to rinse the tank. Wait until it’s full, then everyone drain it all out, and then it can be used. From today onwards, drinking water, water for washing food, and cooking will use the water in this tank."
Kaelen wiped the sweat from his forehead, tore off his fur cloak, and threw it aside. If it weren’t for having to maintain his disguise, he would probably have peeled off the wooden mask as well.
Even though the wooden mask had been carved very thin and light, it was still as stifling as ever.
Just as the water tank was finished, the baskets of potatoes had also been processed clean. Half of them were peeled, while the other half were left whole.
Kaelen clapped his hands, loudly announcing to the chef squad: "Divide yourselves among the stoves, pay attention to the sequence of each dish I guide you through!"
With clear assignments, the stove fires quickly roared to life.
First were the potato stew with bones and the potato braised with wild chicken.
These were the two most time-consuming dishes, so Kaelen had them done first. Wild boar bones were blanched in boiling water to remove dirty foam and odor, then washed clean and put into a large pot to simmer over low heat with a few charred wild onions.
The wild chicken was chopped into bite-sized pieces, seared in a pan with pork fat, chicken bouillon powder, and fish sauce until firm, before water was poured in to braise. The potatoes were cut into large square pieces.
"Remember carefully, wait until the bones and chicken meat are tender before pouring the potatoes in to simmer for another fifteen minutes. Putting the potatoes in too early will cause them to turn into mush, and the broth will become thick and very cloying to eat!" Kaelen loudly instructed the fire watchers.
Next was the potato baked in hot ashes.
This dish was the simplest. Everyone selected unpeeled potatoes of uniform size, using a toothpick to poke a few small holes in the tuber’s body to release steam, preventing them from bursting. Then, he buried these potatoes directly into the pile of hot ash and dying embers. The smoldering heat would cook the potatoes slowly, keeping their natural sweetness intact.
After finishing these two dishes, Kaelen guided everyone to steam the remaining two-thirds of the peeled potatoes to make mashed potatoes, cheese potato balls, and potato noodles.
When the potatoes were just cooked, they were taken out and put into a stone mortar, and the beastmen would take on the task of mashing them. Once the potatoes were mashed into a fine paste, the chef scooped pork fat that had just been rendered with wild shallots, mixed it evenly into the piping hot potato mass, added a tiny bit of salt and warm goat milk, and beat it steadily until the mixture bound together, as smooth and soft as cotton.
This dish was easy to swallow and rich in flavor, extremely suitable for Sub-Beasts and cubs with weak digestive systems.
Oliver, Finnick, and Ryder sat on the rock outcropping; smelling the rich, buttery aroma of the mashed potatoes, they couldn’t help but gulp down their saliva. Ryder raised his two front paws to wipe the corner of his mouth, whispering: "Papa’s cooking smells so incredibly good..."
The children of the Bramble tribe didn’t dare to approach, only daring to stand behind and wipe their drool.
Kaelen chuckled, scooping a small bowl of mashed potatoes for each of the kids to snack on, then started on the most complex process: Potato noodles.
Kaelen demonstrated to the chef squad once: "You’ve all learned how to make noodles entirely from rice flour, right? Now, to make potato noodles, reduce the amount of rice flour. The ratio is two parts potato to one part rice flour, add about two to three soup ladles of canna powder. Knead the dough a bit longer until pulling a piece doesn’t break it, then it’s ready."
While kneading the dough, he carefully added boiling water to partially cook the dough, creating a pliable, non-sticky dough mass.
He stuffed the pliable dough mass into a bamboo mold specialized for making noodles and vermicelli, then pressed down hard from above. The round, pale yellow noodle strands were squeezed through the small holes, falling straight into the pot of boiling water below.
As for how to scoop out the noodles, the chefs already knew, so Kaelen didn’t teach them again.
These noodles were divided into two types to enjoy: one type was served with sweet and clear simmered pork bone broth sprinkled with scallions; the second type was eaten dry-mixed with thinly sliced grilled pork marinated in garlic and lemongrass, drizzled with a bit of sweet and sour fish sauce.
Finally, there were the two national snack dishes that the old, young, men, and women all loved madly: Cheese-shaken potato fries and crispy fried cheese potato balls.
The potatoes were cut into finger-length strips (batonnet cut) and soaked in dilute saltwater for fifteen minutes to release some starch, helping the potatoes become crispier when fried. Kaelen scooped the potatoes out and let them drain completely.
"The secret here is to fry them twice. The first time, fry over medium heat so the potatoes are soft inside. The second time, heat the fat until very hot, drop the potatoes in, and fry quickly so the outer crust puffs up and becomes crispy."
The potatoes were just scooped out of the pan to drain the oil, Kaelen immediately poured them into a wooden basin, sprinkled the cheese powder (finely crushed dried hard cheese with a bit of sugar and salt that he made from goat milk), and tossed them steadily. The sweet and salty cheese powder clung tightly to each golden potato strip.
Finally came the crispy fried cheese potato balls.
Kaelen utilized the leftover mashed potatoes, rolled them into round balls, flattened them, placed a small diced cube of cheese in the middle, and then rolled them back into balls, sealing the edges tightly. The perfectly round potato balls were dropped submerged into the pan of boiling fat. A cheerful sizzling sound echoed.
When the outer crust turned golden brown, they were ready to be scooped out. Waiting for the potato balls to cool down a bit, Kaelen broke one in half; the cheese inside had melted, stretching into a long string connecting the two halves of the potato ball.
Popping one into his mouth: crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, the smooth cheese carrying a characteristic slight saltiness. Kaelen unconsciously narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.
With this level of deliciousness, having a bottle of Chinsu chili sauce would make me forget the way home.
The aroma of the food drifted with the wind, entering the noses of those lurking in the shadows outside, causing their stomachs to growl in waves. A beastman hiding in a tree rubbed his stomach, gulping down his saliva:
"Beast God, what are they cooking that smells so good?"
His companion was also busy wiping his drool, saying miserably: "Should we just go back, I’m about to not be able to stand it anymore."
Another companion pulled out a piece of shriveled dried meat from his animal skin pouch, shared a piece with each friend, and said miserably: "Why go back? Staying here smelling the aroma from over there makes eating our own food taste better too."
Crimson’s shadow guards squatting not far away stared at them, seeing every single one of them puffing their cheeks and bulging their eyes trying to chew the dried meat in their mouths, forcing themselves not to laugh out loud.
One of the shadow guards quietly slipped away from the ambush position, returning to report the news to his Chief. Hearing the report, Sane’s eyes flashed with a hint of a smile, and he said:
"If they harbor greed and want to rob the goods, strike immediately; but if they only want to scout, just ignore them."
When dusk fell, the water pool area of the Bramble tribe was resplendent with firelight and fragrant aromas.
The Bramble people, who had previously only known how to roast meat and eat wild fruits and vegetables, now had their eyes wide as gongs looking at the tables fully laden with food.
Every dish on the tables was overflowing, the fragrant aroma wafting into their noses, yet no one dared to touch them. They were still afraid of this poisonous tuber.
The Crimson people, on the other hand, had absolutely no reservations, competing to eat heartily.
Rowan was now a loyal fan of Kaelen; he had absolute trust in any dish Kaelen made. He picked up a fork, following the method Kaelen taught, twirled a forkful of noodle strands into a spoon, then dipped the spoon into the broth before putting it into his mouth.
The chewy noodle strands blending with the sweet bone broth, mixed with the aroma of star anise and cardamom, made Rowan’s eyes shine brightly. He began to bury his head and eat rapidly, not forgetting to say to his Grandfa:
"Grandfa, it’s incredibly delicious. If you don’t eat, I will eat yours for you!"
Chief Carat angrily glared at his grandson: "You brat, how truly filial!"
Then he also took a risk, mimicking his grandson and putting noodles into his mouth.
Carat narrowed his eyes, praising: "Not only fragrant but also soft, even with weak teeth like mine I can chew it. Everyone, eat quickly, if you let it get cold, the food will be ruined."
The Chief had already eaten, so the clan members below couldn’t not eat either. Everyone stuffed food into their mouths with the mentality of poison testing. Whatever, even if I die, at least I won’t die alone.
Then they also joined the ranks of those burying their heads to eat heartily.
