I Transmigrated Into A Fantasy World To Farm And Build Houses!-Chapter 152: Spicy Stir-fried Bird Meat

She said she was inviting the beastmen as guests and couldn’t just let them have a small taste, but seeing how Ms. Julia bustled about, her forehead beaded with sweat despite the chilly weather, it was as if she were preparing a lavish banquet.

Letting an old woman work so hard made Eric feel truly guilty. He washed his hands, rolled up his sleeves, and intended to step up and help, but was unceremoniously pushed away by her.

"Go, go, go, go play outside!"

Ms. Julia gently pushed him out with her flour-covered hands, speaking in a tone used to placate children:

"My bread dough is made with a family secret; a kid can’t do it. Be good, go play outside, little cub."

Even though she knew Eric was the tribe leader of a powerful Snow Wolf tribe, in Ms. Julia’s eyes, he was still just a child who needed to be pampered. She couldn’t bring herself to treat him as an adult beastman, so she just pushed and coaxed him out of the small, cozy earthen house.

Seeing her vibrant appearance, Eric didn’t insist anymore. To be honest, he had never made a proper loaf of bread himself.

He had only vaguely heard that bread dough had to be meticulously kneaded until it could be stretched into a paper-thin membrane without tearing. He only knew the textbook term for it, but as for how to apply the force or feel the dough, he had truly never practiced it.

Perhaps Ms. Julia was also afraid that his "help" would turn into hindrance, ruining the whole precious batch of dough.

Just now, he had glimpsed her adding butter, then salt and sugar; the steps looked intricate and complicated. It seemed that to treat them to a proper meal of baked bread, Ms. Julia had spared no effort or expense.

Butter and sugar were both rare commodities in these mountains, having to be bartered from merchant caravans from the lowlands at no small price. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Outside in the yard, Max and Michael had begun skinning the magical beast. They kept the two largest carcasses for themselves to eat on the road, intending to give the rest to the Dwarven tribe.

For the Dwarves, processing a magical beast was strenuous work. The creatures’ bodies were too massive for them, and their strength couldn’t compare to the brawny beastmen.

The two of them decisively skinned all the remaining magical beasts, butchered the meat into large chunks, and hung them on wooden racks. The remaining work of cutting it smaller and storing it was left for the Dwarves to handle.

Although Ms. Julia had tried to knead a lot of dough, Eric estimated it still wouldn’t be enough to fill the bottomless stomachs of his tribe. Since they had just caught fresh prey today, he decided to show off his skills and make a few more dishes that tasted like home.

The spices Eric had brought with him were nearly depleted from the journey. He had to go next door to ask for some. He originally intended to trade pearls for them, but the Dwarven neighbor staunchly refused, generously bringing out their entire earthenware spice jar and giving it to him, telling him to use as much as he liked.

Only five potatoes were left in their luggage, but luckily, every one of them was as big as a young pomelo.

Eric saw that Max and Michael were still engrossed with the pile of meat, so he didn’t have the heart to call them over to peel the potatoes. He tried to peel them himself using a knife and his claws. The result was that the big, round, smooth potato was peeled by him into a jagged, uneven mess, looking no different than if it had been gnawed by rats.

Evan, standing nearby, couldn’t help but chuckle at his handiwork.

His laughter was clear and light, like a cool breeze brushing over white snow. When he smiled, Evan’s already handsome face became even more heart-stirring.

"Let me," he said.

With that, he took the knife and the potato from Eric’s hands.

Eric’s knife had been specially forged for him by Luban; it was a sharp and heavy machete, only suitable for a beastman’s strength. He was worried Evan wouldn’t be able to hold it and would drop it on his foot, and was about to step forward to help.

The result left him utterly astonished. Evan’s body was long and slender, looking frail without a hint of rippling muscle, yet he easily picked up the large cleaver.

The heavy blade became as light as a leaf in his hands, turning flexibly, swishing and slicing, leaving only a flash of silver light around the potato.

*Swish, swish, swish.* The potato peel fell in a long, unbroken strip. Very quickly, a perfectly round, smooth, and clean potato appeared in his hand.

Eric was so shocked his mouth fell open wide enough to fit a chicken egg. He pointed at Evan, then at the knife, his face filled with disbelief.

"Evan, you... you also know martial arts?"

The large knife looked incredibly out of place in Evan’s delicate hands. The noble-looking young man continued to peel the remaining potatoes while calmly replying:

"I’ve only practiced a little."

Eric watched his knife movements, as fluid as flowing water and drifting clouds, and there was no way he would believe he had "only practiced a little."

But clearly, when he had rescued this young man, he hadn’t noticed any calluses on his palms from practicing martial arts. Could it be that the alchemists in this world could create a potion to remove calluses?

It wasn’t impossible. After all, the nobles here had money like water; anything was possible. Perhaps to maintain their elegant appearance and demeanor, they had specially used medicine to erase the traces of hard training.

"Then aren’t you a legendary magic-swordsman?"

Eric exclaimed in admiration.

Evan chuckled softly. He found that this child always had thoughts that made him laugh.

"Being a magic-swordsman isn’t that easy. Both aspects must reach a certain level to count. I only know a little bit, just scratching the surface."

"Oh."

Eric didn’t really understand these things, so he just replied with a sound and turned back to busying himself with dinner preparations.

Evan had thought he would curiously ask a few more questions, but instead, the child just turned away to focus on cooking, as if food was the most important thing in the world. He gave a resigned chuckle, a strange warmth rising in his heart.

Among the magical beasts caught today, two were flying types. Eric decided to choose one of them to make "spicy fried chicken." Ah no, it should be called "spicy fried bird."

The magical beast meat in this world was much firmer and sweeter than the bland, factory-farmed chicken he had eaten in his previous life. The resulting spicy fried bird dish definitely wouldn’t taste bad.

Making this dish, of course, required oil and fat. Fortunately, beast fat was the one thing he had prepared the most of for the journey.

If only he could find lemongrass, it would be great. A stir-fry "xào lăn" style without lemongrass lost half its flavor. Moreover, lemongrass could be used to boil water for bathing and washing hair, and its essential oil repelled mosquitoes and helped calm the nerves.

He heard that snakes really liked the smell of lemongrass. Maybe when it was time to take little A Mật back to her tribe, he could ask the Snake tribe.

Taking out his favorite large iron pot and placing it on the newly-lit fire, Eric poured in more than half a pot of rendered beast fat, which he would use later to fry the meat until crispy.

Not far from the Dwarven tribe was a lake, making it very convenient to get water. Eric broke off several large blocks of ice, brought them back to melt, and used the water to wash the bloodstains off the meat.

To make spicy fried bird, it was best to cut the meat into small, bite-sized pieces. Eric found a flat wooden plank to use as a cutting board and diced the washed meat into cubes about two knuckles wide.

The diced meat was added to the hot oil, frying slowly over medium heat. A pleasant sizzling sound filled the air. He fried until the meat firmed up, turned a golden-brown, and was cooked through, then removed it to drain the oil.

Now it was time for the ingredients that formed the soul of the dish to speak.

He drained off the excess fat, then added some crushed shallots, garlic, and ginger to the pot, stir-frying them until fragrant. Immediately, the pungent warmth of ginger, combined with the rich aroma of fried garlic and the sharp spice of chili, created a rustic yet incredibly stimulating bouquet of scents.

As that combination of aromas mingled and spread throughout the small yard, Eric quickly tossed the bowl of golden-fried meat back into the pot. He stirred continuously, then grabbed the pot handles and gave it a few light tosses to mix everything evenly. Slices of ginger, garlic, and chili clung to the crispy golden surface of the meat, infusing their warm spice deep into every fiber of the rich flesh.

The spicy fried bird was complete, but for now, he didn’t ladle it out of the pot, instead covering it with a lid to keep it warm.

At the same time, Ms. Julia also began putting the proofed bread loaves into the oven. The characteristic aroma of fermented wheat, blended with the rich smell of butter, spread through the air with the heat. Faintly, there was also a seductive, fragrant hint of garlic.

It had been a long time since he’d eaten bread, especially handmade white bread like this. The sweet aroma made Eric’s mouth water.

While waiting, he pulled out some raw oysters from their luggage. On the road, the temperature had gradually dropped, so the oysters had remained perfectly fresh. Eric placed these still-frozen oysters next to the fire to thaw slowly, then searched for garlic among the spices provided by the Dwarves to peel and mince.

The garlic used for frying to make the sauce needed to be rinsed with water first, otherwise, it would become bitter when cooked, ruining the entire dish.

In an earthenware pot, he reserved a little of the frying oil and added half of the rinsed minced garlic to fry. When the garlic turned golden brown and became deeply fragrant, he added the other half.

During this process, he had to stir constantly to prevent the garlic from burning on the bottom of the pot. Finally, he added salt, sugar, a little oyster sauce, and soy sauce, stirred it all together, and then scooped the garlic sauce into a bowl.

Eric skillfully shucked each oyster with his knife, revealing the plump, fresh meat inside.

The earthenware pot just used for the garlic sauce didn’t need to be washed. He lined the bottom of the pot with a layer of napa cabbage leaves, arranged the oyster meat on top, and then drizzled the prepared garlic sauce evenly over the surface. This process required no extra water, just simmering over a low, gentle flame.

Before long, the characteristic aroma of fried garlic blended with the sweetness of the oysters had quite a few Dwarves curiously poking their heads out, sniffing the air greedily.