Fatal Strike: Mercenary Road of Gunfire Ranger-Chapter 896 - 838: Wilderness Chef

In order to let his wife taste something she likes, Mountain Eagle used all his skills.

A large basin of fish roe and fish bladders, gently rinsed with warm water to remove the fishy smell and shape them, discarding the scattered roe at the end.

After letting it sit for a few minutes, Mountain Eagle added beer, ginger slices, and salt into the basin, gently stirred them together, then set it aside to marinate.

Cooking spicy-flavored dishes in a small indoor space is not considerate of everyone's noses, so Mountain Eagle seized the moment while Xiao Wan had not yet returned to call Zack to join him outside. They used the remaining ice bricks to build an L-shaped windbreak wall at the entrance...

By placing a rocket stove here, cooking can be done while also creating a buffer space at the icehouse entrance.

By the time the windbreak wall was built to a person's height, Xiao Wan arrived with Griffin and Red Sparrow...

Seeing that Mountain Eagle completed another 'big project' in less than two hours, Xiao Wan helplessly approached to inspect it, then gave Mountain Eagle a thumbs-up and said, "You're really idle, with this energy, no amount of wild wolves would be enough for you to hunt."

Mountain Eagle saw Griffin and Red Sparrow struggling to move a rocket stove off the sled, so he walked over and single-handedly lifted the over one hundred pounds cast iron rocket stove, placing it inside the windbreak wall. After testing its stability, he said with satisfaction, "Move the firewood inside, and then you can just wait inside to eat."

Xiao Wan took out several large bags from the sled, which were filled with vegetables, various tools, and seasonings. She looked around and said, "Find me a place; tonight, I want to make a salmon dish myself..."

Mountain Eagle certainly couldn't let Xiao Wan work outside, so he personally moved ice bricks to build an operation table in a corner of the icehouse's interior.

In fact, he had already prepared the salmon. Several large emperor salmon and some pre-sliced fish were placed on the roof to quickly freeze.

However, since his wife wanted to show off her skills, the pre-sliced fish could as well not exist...

After setting up the operation table, Mountain Eagle retrieved a few emperor salmon, close to three feet long, from the snow on the roof, brought them inside, and placed them near the fireplace to thaw.

This period is the time when emperor salmon are the fattiest and most delicious of the year. After thawing, they can be sliced and eaten raw as a delicacy.

Xiao Wan likes her salmon carefully prepared, and there's also fish soup hot pot for the evening, so while the emperor salmon was thawing, she placed a chopping board on the operation table, sliced some scallions, cilantro, minced garlic, and small chili peppers, and also prepared soy sauce, rice vinegar, wasabi, sesame oil, and even took out a jar of fermented tofu that had been neglected for a long time...

Mountain Eagle, being a considerate person, saw his wife's actions and first lit the rocket stove. When the flames started to spurt out violently from the stove's opening, he placed a large iron pot on it...

He poured salad oil into the pot, added a handful of ginger slices, and then put the prepared cod into the pot to fry.

Since it was outdoor cooking, and only the fish soup was needed, Mountain Eagle's fish frying actions were quite rough...

Three nearly two-foot-long cod were split open in the middle, then halved across, and once added to the oil, they were stir-fried intensely, causing the fish meat to quickly turn golden yellow...

Mountain Eagle didn't aim for intact fish meat; he even used a large spatula to press down hard on the fish, speeding up its disintegration.

This is Mountain Eagle's secret to quickly making fish soup...

After frying the fish until it was dry and fragmented, he added boiling water to stimulate it, boiled it for a few minutes, then scooped out the pieces with a slotted spoon, discarding them, and a pot of milky white, fragrant fish soup was born.

But it wasn't over yet...

Mountain Eagle transferred the fish soup into a large stew pot, carried it into the icehouse, and placed it on the fireplace to stew slowly. After washing the frying pan with packed snow, he reheated the pan...

This time, instead of salad oil, he cut several large pieces of fat from the pork Xiao Wan and others brought and fried them in the pan.

Once the oil had been rendered from the fat, Mountain Eagle added the emperor salmon fish bones that he had previously set aside, frying them until both sides were golden brown, then quickly added boiling water to bring it to a quick boil, and then incorporated the emperor salmon fish bone broth into the slowly stewing fish soup.

With the two soup bases mixed together, the base became increasingly rich and creamy, giving off a strong and fresh aroma.

The fish soup's taste not only caught the children's attention but even Griffin and Red Sparrow, the two domestic "slackers," were wide-eyed with anticipation.

Angel saw Luna drooling and put down the phone she was using to record the recipe, eagerly saying to Mountain Eagle, "Dad, can we try it?"

Mountain Eagle had long noticed Angel's desire to learn his cooking skills, but because of the weight of the tools in his hands, he hadn't let her help...

Looking at the shine in the children's eyes, Mountain Eagle glanced at his watch and said, "Let it stew for ten more minutes...

But before that, we can prepare a few other things."

Saying this, Mountain Eagle walked with Angel's shoulder huddled toward the operation table in the corner. On it, several bowls were already filled with the seasonings Xiao Wan had prepared.

Mountain Eagle picked a stainless steel bowl from the stacked pile, then held Angel's hand to teach her how to season it...

Salt, chopped green onions, cilantro...

Once the fish soup was almost done, pour the creamy white soup into a bowl and gently stir it with a spoon.

Angel took the fish soup handed over by Mountain Eagle and tasted it. As the fresh flavor burst in her mouth, the little girl's face lit up with a big smile...

"Dad, I've learned it..."

Mountain Eagle gave her a thumbs up and said with a smile, "Since you've learned it, serve everyone a bowl to taste first.

I still have a big dish to prepare. You guys help yourselves, but don't eat too much, or nothing else will taste good."

Hearing this, Angel handed the fish soup she had just taken a sip of to the drooling Luna, then looked at Mountain Eagle expectantly and said, "Dad, can I watch you cook? I want to cook for everyone someday..."

Mountain Eagle, hearing this, looked at the quiet and earnest Angel, scratched his nose, and said, "Of course, you can learn. But if a boy pursues you in the future, make sure you bring him to see me first. I have a big gun room in Thailand, and if need be, I can make him your sister..."

Angel, being quite precocious, covered her mouth and giggled after hearing this, then raised her phone and turned on the camera mode, saying, "Let's start. I'm sure I can become a great chef, so I can cook for everyone later."

Mountain Eagle actually wanted to tell Angel that cooking wasn't 'work' for him. In fact, when his family expressed their enjoyment of his food, the sense of satisfaction he gained might be even greater than the person eating...

But Angel had a stronger need to feel 'recognized' and 'needed,' so Mountain Eagle nodded with a smile and said, "Alright then, let me show you the authentic way to make Sichuan cuisine. I guarantee you'll like it."

Having said that, Mountain Eagle walked outside with the marinated fish roe and fish bladder, drained the water, and poured vegetable oil into the hot pan. Without waiting for the oil to heat up, he threw in a bunch of green onions, ginger, garlic, and dried chilies...

Since the oil temperature wasn't very high, the smell wasn't too overwhelming.

Once the aroma of green onions, ginger, and garlic appeared, Mountain Eagle adjusted the air intake of the rocket stove, then poured the fish roe and fish bladder into the pan for a gentle fry, using a spatula to move the roe slightly so it would gradually set in the oil.

Compared to the fish roe of freshwater fish that the common folk of East eat daily, the Alaska salmon roe is much larger, pea-sized even, and under the heat, it turned from translucent to golden brown, then coagulated into chunks.

When Mountain Eagle figured it was about done, he fully opened the air intake, cranked up the heat, and once the oil was hot enough, added bean paste, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, pepper powder...

After quickly stirring to ensure the sauce was evenly absorbed, he tossed in a handful of Sichuan peppercorns, stirred a few more times, then added hot water until the ingredients were submerged, covered the pot with a lid, and let it braise on medium heat.

Due to the abundance of fish bits, it needed to simmer for about half an hour...

Mountain Eagle instructed Angel, who was beside him, to help check the timing and temperature, then skillfully cut some green and red peppers to be ready when the fish bits were out of the pot. He then took a large cod, swiftly chopped off the head and tail, deboned it, and sliced it.

His knife skills were far more reliable than Xiao Wan's focus on the final shape and aesthetics of salmon. In his hands, nearly 8 pounds of large cod became crystal-clear fish slices with precision using a sharp kitchen knife.

Xiao Wan, who was fiddling with salmon, glanced at the highly efficient Mountain Eagle and said, "You prepare the hot pot; let me handle slicing the fish, or others might think I can't cook..."

Mountain Eagle, with a cheeky grin, carried the sliced fish to the side and set it by the fireplace for later use. They hadn't actually prepared a professional hot pot, planning instead to have everyone sip the soup and then dip the fish slices...

Griffin, having eaten hot pot before, still found Mountain Eagle's approach intriguing...

She'd tasted the fish soup earlier; cilantro and little green onions were not the key elements to this multi-layered broth, merely garnishes. A slight sprinkle of salt in the bowl would fully unleash the fish soup's umami essence.

In Griffin's eyes, this pot of soup should be drunk directly. With a few slices of bread, toast, or some bacon, it would make for a fantastic treat, but the boss was using this very delicious soup for a hot pot...

Seeing the boss bring out two more packages of vegetables, clearly intending to toss them into the soup pot for the hot pot, Griffin couldn't help but say, "Sir, this soup is a work of art. Eating it like this wastes its flavor..."

Hearing such high praise for his creation, Mountain Eagle paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "There's plenty of soup. You have some first, and after you're satisfied, we'll have the hot pot.

Trust me, after the fish slices are cooked in, the soup's flavor will become even richer."

As he spoke, Mountain Eagle looked at the vegetables in his hand, shrugged, and said, "These go in last. Whether it's ladies or children, not eating vegetables isn't right..."

As Mountain Eagle spoke, Angel lifted the curtain, sweetly smiled at Mountain Eagle, and said, "Dad, time's up..."

As Angel spoke, a strong, spicy umami flavor filled the small ice house, causing Yue Yi, who was focused on arranging fishing poles, to lift his head sharply...

The little guy clearly loved this rich aroma. He sniffed his nose and approached, watching the rocket stove flames lapping at the pot bottom, as a thick spicy savory scent rose from the large pot, he exclaimed with delight, "I like this..."