CHAPTER 184: THE HERO CAN’T HANDLE SPICE

Even though he was already a Snow Wolf, Eric’s palate stubbornly clung to the flavors belonging to the human world.

Eating only raw meat, the body could endure it, but the taste buds protested vehemently.

The feeling of greasiness reaching all the way to the throat wasn’t pleasant at all.

After all, beastmen weren’t pure wild beasts. Whenever Eric showed off his cooking skills, no one was picky. As long as the flavor was attractive enough, these Snow Wolf warriors were ready to set aside their habit of eating only meat.

Evidence of this was the main dishes Eric had made, from the stir-fried shredded potatoes that once caused a fever at the Ox-Head tribe, the tribe members all responded enthusiastically, their eating speed not losing to anyone.

Thinking of the treasure in the cellar, Eric quickly went into the storage room. As soon as the cellar door opened, a cool stream of air characteristic of the underground wafted out.

He nimbly went down, picked up a string of dry, fragrant shiitake mushrooms, and put them into a large basin of water in the kitchen to let them slowly absorb water and revive themselves.

This was the result of the summer; the mushrooms that couldn’t be finished were strung up and dried by him. Dried mushrooms were not only easy to preserve, but when soaked, their flavor was richer and more charming than fresh mushrooms by many times.

Outside in the yard, seeing Eric’s movement, the Snow Wolves knew immediately that he was about to show off his skills. A large fire was quickly lit amidst the excitement, signaling that a feast was about to begin.

"There’s going to be delicious food! Awesome!" The wolf cubs couldn’t hide their excitement.

They jumped up and cheered, their fluffy tails wagging non-stop. Every time they came to Eric’s house, they got to eat their fill of various dishes, so every child loved coming here to play.

Eric himself liked this liveliness. His house was located at the edge of the tribe, close to the Dwarves’ house, but separated by a communal dining yard. If it were just him and Leo, it would indeed be a bit lonely. Moreover, although these kids were mischievous, they were very well-behaved; they always played within limits, so he happily welcomed them.

Michael had quickly placed the giant iron pan on the fire. Every time the group gathered to eat, with such a large number of troops, they were forced to use a large pot and cook outdoors; otherwise, the wooden house wouldn’t be able to contain them.

In addition, Eric didn’t like the house smelling of grease. Cooking everything outside and then carrying it into the dining room was the most convenient. On days with beautiful weather, the whole group would just gather around the fire to enjoy the food; the atmosphere was even warmer.

Eric’s gaze stopped at the pig head and a few trotters that were intentionally set aside. He unconsciously remembered the holidays at home; in the large cast-iron pot on the wood stove, his mother also used to stew a pot full of meat like that. The pig head was stewed until soft; just a light touch with chopsticks while it was still hot would separate the meat—fatty but not greasy, soft, chewy, and flavorful.

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Eric picked up the cleaver, but then froze, not knowing where to start with this giant object. The spike pig’s head was almost as big as a small boulder, making the cleaver in his hand look small and pitiful.

Where should he chop now?

Seeing his embarrassment, Max stepped forward. Without saying a word, he just swung his sharp claws:

*Swish, swish*, with a few strokes, the hard pig head was divided into neat pieces. Then, he gathered a large pile and put it into the iron pot.

Stuffing the whole pig head into the pot would have been a bit too much, but after being chopped up, Eric’s large pot could hold more than half of it.

This spike pig had just been butchered and washed thoroughly, so Eric skipped the blanching stage. He poured clean water directly in, seasoned it, placed it on the fire, and began the simmering process. While stewing, the layers of blood foam slowly rising were patiently skimmed off by him. Since the meat was fresh, there wasn’t much foam; just skimming it clean would make the fishy smell almost disappear.

While the pot of pig head was bubbling on the fire, Eric picked up a fat rabbit and used the cleaver to chop it into small pieces. He intended to make spicy dry-fried rabbit, so the pieces of meat needed to be chopped small to absorb the spices evenly.

After preparing the spices, he added salt, oyster sauce, sliced garlic, white sugar, and a little strong wine to the rabbit meat, mixed well, and set it aside to marinate.

The soul of the spicy dry-fried rabbit dish was a large amount of dried chili cut into sections. Eric quickly snapped the chilies into segments, soaking them briefly in water so they wouldn’t burn when put into the hot oil pan later.

His previous light eating habits had gradually been replaced, shifting to a heavy palate like people from the Central region. Living with a group of people with heavy tastes for a long time, one would eventually be infected by their eating habits. Now, he wasn’t happy cooking without chili.

Remembering when he first returned from the sea, he had felt distressed over his meager amount of chili, fearing it wouldn’t be enough until the Halun merchant group stopped by. Who would have thought he would be lucky enough to awaken nature magic? Now, let alone chili, regardless of the season, he no longer worried about lacking vegetables!

So, Eric didn’t need to save. He not only generously prepared a large basket of chili for the fried rabbit but also conveniently grabbed a big handful to pour into the pig head stew pot. At the same time, he used a small pot to make caramelized sugar water and poured it into the stew, adding soy sauce as well. Immediately, the pot of stew turned a shiny reddish-brown, emitting a fragrance that made people salivate.

In the kitchen, Eric placed a few fireballs in the stove and put a large piece of animal fat into the pan, waiting for it to melt. This spicy dry-fried rabbit would be even more fragrant with roasted sesame seeds, but unfortunately, he still hadn’t found that type of seed.

Sichuan pepper, dried chili, aromatic leaves, and the marinated rabbit meat were all poured into the pan. The hot oil sizzled immediately upon meeting the spices; the characteristic spicy and pungent aroma exploded, rushing straight into the nose.

Outside in the yard was the rich scent of stewed pig head meat; inside the house was the seductive smell of spicy dry-fried rabbit. The cubs ran in and out, both excited and impatient; even their favorite balls and shuttlecocks were thrown into a corner.

The rabbit meat was stir-fried over high heat until the surface tightened, turning golden brown with slightly charred edges. This was the perfect degree of doneness that Eric loved. Compared to the style of meat that was soft and sweet inside, he was more obsessed with this dry, fragrant, chewy taste that got more flavorful the more you chewed.

Kevin was already holding a plate, standing by and waiting actively. His eyes lit up when he saw Eric scoop the first batch of fried rabbit onto the plate. Disregarding the heat, he immediately picked up a piece and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Only fast at eating!" Michael habitually slapped the back of Kevin’s neck, then snatched the plate and carefully carried it into the inner room, placing it on the dining table.

This rabbit wasn’t small, and the pan on the stove was limited, so it had to be divided into several batches to fry it all.

Seeing Eric struggling with the batches of rabbit, Max stepped forward without a word, silently taking the spatula from his hand. He was too familiar with these steps. Eric had prepared all the ingredients; his job was just to watch the fire and stir evenly, a job requiring patience that Snow Wolf warriors did not lack.

With his hands free, Eric found a ceramic pot, planning to make an additional dish of chicken stewed with mushrooms. The wild chicken had already been chopped; he just had to put it in the pot, add spices and clean water, then place it on the stove to simmer slowly. Waiting until the last batch of fried rabbit was out of the pan, he added the soaked shiitake mushrooms to the chicken pot.

The unique fragrance of dried shiitake mushrooms immediately spread, strong enough to pierce through both the stewed meat and the spicy fried rabbit smells.

"Wow, it smells so good!" Kevin sniffed intoxicatedly, his face revealing a look of pure enjoyment.

Luckily there were many ceramic pots in the house; Eric took another one to stew a pot of pig offal.

After Max finished frying the last batch of rabbit, he scooped a separate full bowl and brought it to Eric. Seeing his hands were still busy, he naturally picked up chopsticks, picked up a piece, and brought it to Eric’s mouth.

"Mmm, this white rabbit meat is really delicious, very fragrant, no fishy smell at all!" Eric exclaimed, surprised by the flavor exploding in his mouth.

The piece of meat was spicy, rich, occasionally mixed with crunchy cartilage that sounded crisp when chewed. For a person addicted to spicy food like him, this dish was truly a delicacy of the human world.

The cubs were also given a plate. Because the flavor of this dry-fried rabbit was very strong, the adults only gave them a little to taste.

Although the Snow Wolves didn’t like humans and always maintained a vigilant attitude toward Evan, during the meal, they absolutely did not intentionally leave him out.

Evan stared at the piece of red rabbit meat; it looked both attractive and terrifying.

He hesitated for a moment before cautiously picking up a piece and putting it into his mouth. In that instant, a scorching heat flared up, spreading from the tip of his tongue straight down to his throat. His fair face, which was always calm, suddenly turned red, looking just like someone who had drunk a jar of strong wine.

Trying to swallow the meat, Evan coughed violently a few times; his chopsticks didn’t dare move toward the plate of fried rabbit again.

"Haha, so the ’hero’ can’t handle spice!"

Eric took the chance to laugh gleefully, without any intention of empathizing.

On Evan’s always calm face, a rare look of embarrassment appeared. He coughed lightly to cover his shame:

"This dish... has too much chili. This is the first time I’ve eaten a dish spicy to this extent."