Chapter 818: One Pot with a Spicy Flavor, One Pot with a Secret Recipe’s Flavor
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
With the small lobsters getting caught one after another, Li Du and his group had a bunch of small lobsters before long.
When Li Du pulled up the net bag that had been placed in seaweed, the water inside the net bag flowed out, and a group of small lobsters was left behind in the net bag.
Due to not having many natural predators in Australia and the river being unpolluted, tranquil, and having a rich supply of food, the small lobsters had grown very plump.
In just 40 to 50 minutes, Li Du had filled up the two containers that he had purchased.
The two containers were initially meant for storing fish. In the end, they were used to store small lobsters instead and were filled to the brim with them.
When Li Du went to return the net bag and thank the few fishers for their help, he asked, "We have caught a lot of small lobsters, do you guys want them? We can share some with you guys."
They shook their heads like a shaking pellet drum and answered, "No!"
Li Du also shook his head. Australians don't know how to appreciate the great taste of small lobsters. They are a genuinely excellent dish that goes well with beer. With a little bit of beer to complement them, life is so wonderful.
When Li Du and his group drove back to the mine, Brother Wolf was carefully chipping off a piece of rock, and Blanchett was staring at him from the side with eyes that looked like they were on fire. Blanchett really wanted to go over and snatch the rock away.
However, he was not bold enough as he still clearly remembered how great a fighter Brother Wolf was.
After carrying the containers of small lobsters down, Li Du said, "There's delicious food for us to enjoy in the afternoon."
Ivana exclaimed, "Awesome!"
Brother Wolf raised his head to look at Li Du and smiled, even though he was not a glutton. Who could refuse good food?
Li Du walked over to Blanchett and said, "Hey, mate. Tonight, get some beer and come by. I will be preparing a very interesting dish."
Blanchett, whose eyes were still fixed on the rock that was being chipped off, did not respond.
It was only after Li Du had reached over to pick up the rock that Blanchett finally responded. With a covetous look on his face, Blanchett raised his head and looked at Li Du.
"Dug up another piece of gemstone?" Li Du asked casually. "Seems like we have harvested something today. Alright, the delicious food will be a reward to you guys for your hard work."
Later on, Godzilla's huge body emerged from the tunnel, and he silently handed over another piece of rock to Li Du.
Blanchett, who was feeling jealous and greedy, asked, "God, you can't possibly have found another?"
Li Du showed the rock, which had an edge that was glittering and translucent, to Blanchett. Indeed, Godzilla had found another piece of gemstone.
Seeing this, Sophie was elated and smiled. "We are really lucky. Today's harvest has been great. We have harvested two pieces of gemstone."
Godzilla responded, "Two so far. We can continue searching in the afternoon."
Li Du patted Godzilla on his shoulder and said, "Rest first. I will cook small lobsters for you guys at noon."
While the small lobsters were still alive, Li Du brought Lu Guan and Sophie along to clean the small lobsters.
The waters of Darling River did not contain heavy metals and pollutants. However, as the river was located near mines, its waters did contain a lot of dirt and rock dust, which would adhere to the small lobsters' bodies.
While Li Du was patiently cleaning the small lobsters, Brother Wolf put down a piece of rock and came over to help out. Not only were Brother Wolf's movements fast, they were very precise, and he was always able to grab both sides of the small lobsters' heads without getting pinched.
As Lu Guan had put on leather gloves, he was not afraid of getting pinched.
However, as the small lobsters had grown into larger sizes, were strong, and full of energy from having eaten well, drunk well, and lived well, his leather gloves had become shredded by the time he finished cleaning them.
The small lobsters were separated into two groups based on their sizes. For the smaller sized lobsters, their heads were removed, and they were further cleaned. After first pouring oil into a pot and stir-frying Sichuan peppers until their flavors were released, Li Du stir-fried ginger, onion, garlic, and dried chilies to release their flavors.
The dried chilies that Li Du used were full of flavor, as this dish had to be flavorful.
In the wake of the dried chilies being stir-fried in boiling oil and having their flavors released, the entire mine was pretty much filled with a spicy aroma. As Li Du was in close proximity to the pot, he had no choice but to put on protective goggles.
Deliberately avoiding being caught alone and bullied by Ah Ow and Ah Meow, Ali deliberately stayed next to Li Du.
Following splat sounds coming from the dried chilies in the boiling oil, Ali's eyes became teary, and it hopped away.
Ali did not need to be afraid of Ah Meow and Ah Ow getting back at it. As wolves and ocelots had an even more sensitive sense of smell than kangaroos, the two furry children had already been overwhelmed by the smell and were nowhere in sight.
When the flavors of the chilies were released, Li Du poured in the small lobsters and continued stir-frying before adding white wine, soy sauce, and white sugar. After lastly adding in bright green chilies, the dish was ready to be served!
For the larger sized lobsters, whose heads did not need to be removed, Li Du planned on using them to cook a 13-fragrant-small-lobsters dish.
Due to Li Du having sorted through the small lobsters, the small lobsters harvested from the river were mostly larger sized lobsters that were large, plump, and very fresh. As such, they were definitely the best choice for making the 13-fragrant-small-lobsters dish.
Like before, Li Du first poured oil into a pot. He used more oil this time around. Having directly poured half of a four-liter bottle of olive oil into the pot, he began adding the small lobsters in batches while waiting for the oil to heat up until it gave off smoke.
As there were too many small lobsters used in the preparation of the dish, Li Du could not pour them all into the pot at the same time. Otherwise, the boiling oil could very easily splatter when the water droplets on the small lobsters' bodies came into contact with it.
Furthermore, by adding the small lobsters in batches, they were definitely better able to be covered by the olive oil and hence, tasted much better and had crispier shells and more tender meat.
After adding the small lobsters in batches and scooping them out, Li Du began the final step of the preparation, which was deep frying all the small lobsters until they were cooked.
Li Du changed the used olive oil to peanut oil and then added the garlic, onion, ginger, and green peppers that he had prepared earlier into the wok for stir-frying.
When their flavors were released, he added in the small lobsters, which he had deep fried earlier, before adding light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white sugar, beer, and water before covering the pot to braise the small lobsters.
The 13-fragrant-small-lobsters dish required less work than the spicy small lobsters dish. Even though both dishes were the same in terms of requiring a lot of ingredients, one dish relied on stir-frying while the other relied on braising. Between the two, braising was definitely much easier.
The large metal pot was filled to the brim with small lobsters. After braising for five minutes until the small lobsters had turned bright red, the dish was more or less ready to be served.
Before the dish was served, salt, chicken stock, and sesame oil were added. The dish was best served when topped off with some cilantro. However, as the town's supermarket did not have cilantro, Li Du topped the dish off with rosemary instead.
The other condiments had been brought from home and were stored inside the black hole. The cilantro was the only condiment Li Du had not prepared.
After lastly stir-frying for a while more until the small lobsters had soaked up the flavors, the dish was ready.
As there were too many small lobsters inside the pot, Li Du did not pour them out. With a wave of his hand, Godzilla and Brother Wolf brought the large metal pot straight to the shade of a tree, where they would be eating the small lobsters directly from the pot.
Soon after, Li Du took a few pictures and sent them to his social circle. The pictures received likes from his schoolmates and friends.
Not forgetting where he had gotten the small lobsters, Li Du took the opportunity to promote Australia as a tourist spot. "The rivers in Australia contain a lot of lobsters. A pot was unable to hold the entire large group of lobsters! The lobsters had to be divided into two pots, one with a secret recipe flavor and the other with a mild spicy flavor. Come my friends, let's travel to the ends of the earth!"
Before long, a schoolmate left a question for him. "Are you really in Australia?"
Li Du replied, "New South Wales, Australia. Darling River in Lightning Ridge. The small lobsters here are free of charge!"
The schoolmate messaged back, "F*ck. When we were in school, I couldn't tell that you would become a magnate. You are traveling around the world!"
Li Du smiled and put down his smartphone. After waiting for the small lobsters to cool down a little, he told the others, "Come come come, eat them while they are still hot. Pass me a bottle of beer."
Blanchett, who had stayed behind to eat the small lobsters and who had brought some white wine over, said, "Always drinking beer. What joy is there in doing that? Come, Li, we will drink vodka today! Men's alcohol!"
Li Du beamed, "Ok, I like hard liquor!"