Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 414: The Perfect Mooching
The Mountain God listened to their conversation while polishing a stone, finding this particular stone easier to work with than the more common ones, as it wasn’t as hard.
Though it wasn’t particularly large, he was a Mountain God, and if he couldn’t even handle a stone, he might as well not be one at all.
Soon, following the design in the photo, the stone pot was quickly made.
After finishing the pot, the Mountain God used a spell to blow off the stone dust, and just like that, a stone pot was completed.
Holding the stone pot, the Mountain God examined it, "This pot is finished, but it seems different from the common pots, how exactly are you supposed to stir-fry with it? It’s so flat, so wide, can you even cook with something like this?"
"Of course you can," Chen Nuo picked up the stone pot and looked it over from all angles, affirming it resembled what he remembered, "It’s supposed to be like this, the flatter the better, the wider the better, to ensure even heating."
"Even heating?" The Mountain God was puzzled by this term.
Pots in the human world were usually placed on stoves, with a deep bottom to hold the firewood underneath, but the concept of even heating hadn’t been a consideration.
Chen Nuo’s mention of even heating was a mystery to the Mountain God, as was its relation to cooking.
"You want customers to cook for themselves, don’t you? What do you need even heating for?" the Mountain God asked.
"It’s not exactly cooking themselves, it’s easy to use. Even those who’ve never cooked before can use it, as long as they understand ’raw’ and ’cooked’, then they can manage this," Chen Nuo explained.
"Just understanding ’raw and ’cooked’?" the Mountain God exclaimed in surprise, "Even those who’ve never cooked can do it? How is that possible? You aren’t just fooling people, are you? If that’s your game, I won’t make the rest for you, as I, the Mountain God, shall not abet deceit."
"Just trust me, this thing really works as I say," Chen Nuo insisted.
"It’s not that I don’t believe you, but I’ve never made anything like it before. And I’ve never seen its like, how could someone who’s never cooked manage to make a meal with this pot? I really don’t believe it," the Mountain God said.
"I don’t believe it either," Jin Zha chimed in, "unless you give us a demonstration."
Chen Nuo sensed something amiss and looked at Jin Zha and the Mountain God with suspicion, "You’re not here just to freeload a meal, are you?"
The Mountain God and Jin Zha averted their eyes, avoiding Chen Nuo’s gaze.
Sure enough, they were here for a free meal!
But they had helped him, and he hadn’t yet acquired Jin Zha’s "turn stone into gold" Dharma, so he might as well satisfy their curiosity first.
However...
"There are no ingredients here, you don’t expect me to dry fry the pot, do you?" Chen Nuo looked around the empty cave.
"Finding ingredients is the easy part, I can just go to the human world and buy them," the Mountain God said as he stood up, "Any ingredient will do?"
"Give me paper and a pen, I’ll write down what I need, and you can buy them," Chen Nuo requested.
Jin Zha produced writing materials, which Chen Nuo declined, opting instead for the Mountain God’s supplies.
Gold pens and gold paper—no matter how hard one looked, it was impossible to discern their purpose with the naked eye.
With the list from Chen Nuo in hand, the Mountain God quickly ventured into the human world and returned with the items in no time, so efficiently that Chen Nuo suspected this had been premeditated.
The ingredients were semi-prepared and needed further processing. Like a magician, Chen Nuo produced seasonings and knives from his person.
Facing the inquisitive looks of the Mountain God and Jin Zha, Chen Nuo explained, "Ah, after all, I’m a cook, and these are essentials that I always carry with me. There’s nothing odd about that, right?"
"Really? How come I find that hard to believe?" Jin Zha said skeptically.
"So, you’re not eating?" asked Chen Nuo, straightforward and blunt.
"Eat," Jin Zha nodded.
So Chen Nuo began to prepare the ingredients.
Pork belly was sliced into thin pieces and set aside next to him; afterward came the loin, which Chen Nuo seasoned with cumin, chili, black pepper, and salt, and then added ginger slices to remove any gamey taste, marinating it for an hour.
Chen Nuo thought that, as the name implies, stone grill barbecue had to focus on meat. Other than some flavor-enhancing vegetables, he had Mountain God purchase nothing but raw meats.
After processing the pork, it was time for beef.
The beef was also loin meat. Using the same seasonings as for the pork loin, all he had to do was add some onions and a bit more black pepper to make pepper beef.
There were also some beef ribs that were delicious simply roasted without any special marinating.
Lamb was also essential, with a strong emphasis on seasoning. More cumin was added, along with black pepper and just a touch of ginger to dispel any gamey smell, thus completing the cumin lamb.
Next came fish and other meats, which were easier to handle compared to the ones above. Chen Nuo dealt with them quickly, and then it was on to vegetables.
For vegetables, he only had Mountain God purchase some lettuce and onions. There were mushrooms and the like in the mountains, so there was no need to spend much money on them.
Just preparing the ingredients had Mountain God and Jin Zha salivating uncontrollably; had Chen Nuo not been there to stop them, the two might even have devoured the raw meat.
Once everything was ready, Chen Nuo had Jin Zha start a fire inside the cave and set up the stone grill over it, drizzling oil on top, and waiting for it to start smoking slightly. Chen Nuo instructed Jin Zha to put the pork belly on.
Mountain God held back with a disappointed look on his face, "Why can’t we start with this one? I don’t really like fatty meat."
"Don’t worry, the fatty meat in this barbecue is not the same as the fatty meat you’re used to," Chen Nuo reassured him, patting him on the shoulder.
"What’s the difference?" asked Mountain God, puzzled. "Isn’t it all just fatty meat?"
"No, no, no, these are two completely different foods, trust me, once you’ve tasted this meat, you’ll definitely fall in love with the pork belly," Chen Nuo said.
In the midst of the conversation, the pork belly had begun to render its fat. Chen Nuo passed the tongs to Jin Zha, "Flip the meat."
Jin Zha obediently flipped the pork belly slices over. The previously fatty slabs were now golden brown and sizzling with rendered oil.
Despite Mountain God’s claims of disliking fatty meat, he couldn’t help but swallow at the sight of such pork belly, "It’s changed color, can we eat it now?"
"Wait a little longer, it’s not ready yet," Chen Nuo replied.
"Why?" Mountain God looked longingly at the pork belly inside, "Only being able to look and not eat is such cruel torture. How can I, the great Mountain God, be subjected to such injustice?"
"It’s because the other side isn’t cooked yet," Chen Nuo explained. "You’ve waited this long already. What harm is there in waiting a little longer?"
"Alright, then I will wait a bit longer."
After a short while, Chen Nuo handed the small condiments bowl to Mountain God and Jin Zha. "It’s ready now, give it a try."
Finally, the agony of waiting was over. Jin Zha, too, had been eagerly anticipating the meat while cooking it.
Chen Nuo had been watching too closely; otherwise, Jin Zha would have already snuck a taste. Now that they could finally eat, Jin Zha didn’t hold back anymore, picking up a piece of pork belly from the grill and popping it into his mouth.
The pork belly was seared to a golden brown, with the fat now pooled in the grill pan, leaving only the aroma of the meat with a hint of rich fat, yet not greasy.
Paired with the spicy condiments, it made one crave another piece after just one bite. Unfortunately, the grill was only so big; each piece eaten was one less remaining.
Mountain God and Jin Zha ate the meat while keeping an eye on the grill, afraid the other would eat one more slice than them.
