Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 607 - 606: Delicacy of the Human World, Crawfish
Chen Nuo knew what Sun Wukong meant by wanting to be the first to eat; he had come with the intention of testing for poison.
However, since the crayfish was made by himself, no one knew better than him whether it was edible or poisonous. But since Sun Wukong wanted to be filial, Chen Nuo naturally wouldn’t stop him.
"Alright then, since you want to try it first, go ahead and eat." Chen Nuo handed over the crayfish he had just picked up to Sun Wukong, "eat it."
Sun Wukong hesitated for a moment before accepting it and took a deep breath, "Master, your disciple is about to eat it!"
It was just eating a crayfish but he acted as if he was going to his demise.
Chen Nuo watched with a faint smile, curious how Sun Wukong would eat crayfish for the first time.
Sun Wukong held the crayfish, not sure how to eat it, but since it was food, stuffing it in his mouth couldn’t be wrong.
So he stuffed a whole one into his mouth and, unsurprisingly, it was somewhat prickly.
The shell was naturally hard, and now that it was cooked, it became even more prickly.
Sun Wukong chewed hard. Although the shell was prickly, the flavors infused by his master were intense. Despite its frightening appearance, the taste was indeed quite good.
Sun Wukong savored the flavor and chewed vigorously until he managed to chew out the flesh of the crayfish.
The texture was quite springy, which was indeed different from its appearance. His master was right; it was delicious.
Delicious as it was, but it was also tough to chew.
Sun Wukong chewed for a long time and still couldn’t swallow it; the remnants in his mouth were still hard.
If he swallowed it like that, he might hurt his throat. But spitting it out seemed disrespectful to his master. What should he do? Did he really have to swallow it down with a stiff neck?
Sun Wukong found himself in a dilemma, feeling like there was no right action to take.
The next moment, as he was determined to swallow rather than disrespect his master by spitting it out, Chen Nuo patted his shoulder.
"There, if you can’t swallow it, don’t force it down; just spit it out."
Sun Wukong shook his head. No, even if his master said so, he had to swallow it, as not swallowing would still be disrespectful. He couldn’t do that.
"You’re not supposed to eat it this way." Seeing that Sun Wukong wouldn’t spit it out, Chen Nuo knew what he was thinking and explained, "Crayfish should be peeled and eaten, not stuffed into the mouth and swallowed whole."
Hearing Chen Nuo say this, Sun Wukong finally got up and spat out the remnants in his mouth.
"That scared me to death. I saw Mr. Monkey’s expression getting stranger and stranger and thought something was wrong. Turns out it was just that the shell couldn’t be swallowed." Tian Peng breathed a sigh of relief.
"You’re the one to talk. You were supposed to be the first one to have a bite, but you didn’t and made me eat it instead!" Sun Wukong glared at Tian Peng.
Tian Peng poured water for Sun Wukong with a cheerful smile, asking, "How is it, Mr. Monkey? How’s the taste? Is it good?"
Sun Wukong nodded, "Delicious! It’s so good! Master, you’re truly amazing. Tian Peng and I just felt sick looking at them, but you actually turned them into food, and so delicious at that!"
"Is it really that good?" Tian Peng, seeing Sun Wukong’s genuine expression, was eager to have a taste.
But he didn’t know how to eat them and could only turn his gaze to Chen Nuo, "Shopkeeper, can you teach us how to eat this?"
"You seemed quite reluctant to eat just now, so why are you eager now?" Chen Nuo asked as he looked at the keen Tian Peng.
Tian Peng chuckled, "I was scared before, but I’m not scared anymore. Shopkeeper, please teach me quickly how to eat this!"
Chen Nuo glanced at Tian Peng, who was no longer afraid of crayfish, despite having described them as more terrifying than floods and wild beasts a moment ago.
But after seeing Sun Wukong eat the crayfish and smelling the steamy aroma that continuously wafted from the table, his craving had overcome his fear.
"Doing it like this..." Chen Nuo picked up a crawfish, its head pointed upward, grabbing its head with one hand and its tail with the other, "You break off the head and tail like this."
The crawfish was exceptionally plump, with its head full of yellow fluid.
Seeing the yellow fluid oozing out, Tian Peng took a step back, "Shopkeeper, why is there yellow fluid coming out of its head? Is it spoiled?"
Chen Nuo looked at him with a smile, "This is the essence of the crawfish, and you’re calling it bad. Come on, try it."
Tian Peng took the head Chen Nuo handed over with trembling hands, looking at the golden fluid with reluctance.
He was still fearful and hesitant, unsure if the stuff was edible.
"When you eat crab and see the yellow inside, you think the crab is fat. Why are you afraid to eat this when you see it in crawfish?" Chen Nuo countered.
Tian Peng swallowed and argued, "It’s not the same."
"How is it not the same?" Chen Nuo said, "It’s the same, give it a try."
Now that Chen Nuo had introduced it this way, it would really be rude not to eat it, so Tian Peng could only pick up the crawfish head, ready to put it in his mouth.
"Wait..."
Right as Tian Peng was about to put the entire crawfish head into his mouth, Chen Nuo hurriedly grabbed his arm.
Tian Peng sighed in relief, thinking that Shopkeeper Chen had a change of heart and was not letting him eat it.
"You don’t eat it like that. How can you put the whole thing in your mouth? That would hurt your teeth," Chen Nuo said, "You just need to suck out the yellow part."
"Ah, so that’s how it’s done," Tian Peng nodded, directly placing the crawfish head in his mouth to suck, and instantly, the yellow filled his mouth.
Tian Peng braced himself for disgust, ready to spit it out at any moment.
But to his surprise, it was incredibly tasty, both rich and delicious. Indeed, just as Shopkeeper Chen had said, the essence of the crawfish was all in there.
"It’s so delicious!" Tian Peng exclaimed sincerely.
"Shopkeeper, I’m such a fool for ever doubting your cooking skills. Now I truly understand, no matter what, trusting you is never wrong!"
Sadly, there wasn’t much of the yellow, and it was gone after just one taste.
The rich and delicious flavor still lingered on the tip of his tongue, not just the taste of the yellow itself, but also the flavor of the cooking method.
The one Chen Nuo had picked out was seasoned with garlic, and the garlic had been infused with oil, carrying a unique garlicky char.
This charred flavor had mixed with the crawfish’s yellow, creating a sense of you in me, and me in you.
After one taste, Tian Peng reached for another crawfish from the plate.
Mimicking Chen Nuo, he broke open the head and then sucked the yellow into his mouth, the fragrance in his mouth still hadn’t dissipated, and now he was relishing another bite of deliciousness.
Chen Nuo had only taught him how to eat the head, not the tail.
Tian Peng thought the tail wasn’t edible and was about to casually place it on the table.
"Only eating the yellow part of a crawfish, you really are extravagant," Chen Nuo teased.
Tian Peng brought back the hand that was about to put the crawfish on the table, "So, the tail is edible too? Shopkeeper, if you don’t teach me, I actually thought the tail wasn’t edible." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"You just peel off the shell, and it’s good to eat. If you want more flavor, you can dip it in the sauce," Chen Nuo explained.
