15 Dinner (1/2)

It was almost dark when they reached Yan Xiu's House, Yan Xiu went straight to the kitchen with Lu Hao following. Yan Xiu placed the prawn in the kitchen before he went to take a quick shower and change his clothes, Lu Hao was waiting in the kitchen.

”Little Xiu, are we having BBQ again tonight?” (LH)

”No, I'm going to make soup, fried lung, and chilli prawn.” (MC)

Before everything else, Yan Xiu took a big pan and cooked some rice. He asked Lu Hao to look after it while he cooked the dishes.

First he prepared the ingredients, for the soup, meat with bones and vegetables. Lung for fried lungs and prawns for chilli prawn.

The meat with bones, or boney meat, and lung were first boiled to remove the scum and soften it. While the meat and lung boiled, Yan Xiu peeled the shells off the prawns. The prawns were big, it was at least 15cm each. There were twenty of them and there still much left.

The prawn meats then boiled to half-cooked, the shells were thrown away but the heads and abdomens with the legs attached were kept. With a little seasoning and deep fried a little, it'll become a crispy snacks.

Still waiting for the boiling to be done, Yan Xiu grind the herbs used for the flavoring. The soup used garlic, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. The chilli for prawns used shallot, chillies, and tomato. While the lung would be marinated with water mixed with salt, garlic, and asem, a paste made from fermented sour fruit.

Yan Xiu then chopped the vegetable for the soup. The radishes were sliced thickly then sliced again to four part. So did the carrots.

After boiling, the meat and lung shrunk except the prawns. The lung was then cut to strips and marinated. Yan Xiu first cooked the soup, he boiled water with the grind herbs. When the fragrance came out, he put in the vegetables and boney meat. He stirred it and add in more salt or pepper, he then let it boiled with low fire.

The lung was still marinating so Yan Xiu decided to cook the prawn next. At this time, Chen Hanchen came. He was waiting outside the door, he couldn't come in because of the seal.

The first time he came here, Chen Hanchen had vaguely felt the seal. As a hunter, he had much richer experience than the villager as he went out the village and visited big city quite a few times. He knew a few things about seals, but from what he knows, only family or clan with certain wealth and power could afford putting up a seal.

How could a family from a backwater village have a seal protecting their house? And it was even stronger than any seals he had encountered before! This was really baffling. When Yan Xiu opened the door and invited him in, Chen Hanchen felt like a foreign power covered his whole body before leaving as fast.

He wanted to asked Yan Xiu but was distracted by a good smell. It was enticing and whet his appetite, drool filled with mouth. He forgot about his question and followed Yan Xiu.

In the kitchen, Chen Hanchen and Lu Hao sat on the table, waiting impatiently for the dishes to hit the table. The rice already finished cooking, so Lu Hao brought it in and set on the table. The dishes were still cooking so, Yan Xiu deep fried the already seasoned prawns head and abdomen before serving it as the appetiser.

The deep fried red prawns head and abdomen was crispy and salty, Chen Hanchen and Lu Hao enjoyed it a lot. The taste was addicting. Lu Hao sneakily ate it with some rice.

The chilli prawn and fried lung was easy to cook. The grind mix of chilli was stir fried till fragrant then put in the boiled prawn, mix and stir fried both. The fried lung was just like the name the marinated lung was fried with oil along with the garlic.

When the dishes hit the table, Chen Hanchen and Lu Hao couldn't hold themselves back. They ate with great relish. The soup taste gentle and went down the throat easily, the vegetables and meat was soft and melt on the tongue.

The fried lung was creamy and salty, the taste churned out the more they chew. The soft and sweet prawn meat was in harmony with the spicy and tangy chilli. Chen Hanchen and Lu Hao couldn't stop eating, they stuffed their mouth without rest.

After an hour, the dishes and rice were swept clean. The three of them leaned on their sit, completely satisfied. After a small talk, Chen Hanchen and Lu Hao went home because it was already late. Before they went far, Chen Hanchen said something to Yan Xiu.

”Little Xiu, tomorrow we're going to head deeper, so make sure you prepare and conditioned your body!” (CH)

”Okay, got it!” (MC)