Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 273: Chapter 190: Spotted Lobster, A Grand Display

Furthermore, pufferfish have smooth, scaleless skin, though some species might have small, short spines. Porcupinefish, on the other hand, are the spiky little balloons most people picture.

There is no antidote for the toxin in pufferfish, and it’s more potent than that of porcupinefish. They require a specially licensed chef to be handled safely.

Porcupinefish are much safer by comparison. From what he knew, the toxin was usually confined to the internal organs and gonads. In Japan and many other countries, they are often prepared as a delicacy in coastal cities.

But the problem was, relatively safe didn’t mean completely safe.

Pufferfish toxin is lethal. Just 0.5 milligrams is enough to kill a person—that’s like getting a tiny bit on your lips and dropping dead.

Therefore, it was best to use specialized tools for preparation, and during the process, one had to ensure the internal organs remained perfectly intact, without nicking even the slightest bit of their surface.

If they were punctured, the entire fish would transform from a delicacy into a deadly weapon.

He had no experience preparing porcupinefish or other pufferfish. Theoretical knowledge alone was not enough to justify taking such a massive risk.

Not unless he had a skill like ’Short Blade Mastery’ to guarantee his hand wouldn’t shake at all, allowing him to remove the organs completely intact.

’Oh, right, and I’d also need a ’Sea Fish Compendium’ to know exactly what species of porcupinefish this is.’

Only with that double guarantee would he dare to even touch the thing.

After he briefly explained to Erica why they had to let them go, she readily shook her back basket, tumbling the two "balloons" into the seawater.

"I saw these things with my mom at a high-end Japanese restaurant once. I thought any chef could prepare them. I didn’t realize they were so dangerous. My hands... I didn’t get any toxin on them, did I?"

"Don’t worry," Lin Chen reassured her. "The porcupinefish’s toxin is mainly concentrated in its organs. For most species, the spines on the skin are non-toxic. And even if they were, the amount of toxin wouldn’t be a threat to humans. Just wash your hands and you’ll be fine."

The three of them squeezed the water from their boots and pant legs on the shore, then prepared to head back.

They had only taken a few steps when Lin Chen suddenly stopped, staring intently at a patch of plants on the shore that resembled seaweed.

"What is it?"

Erica came over curiously and glanced at the patches of grass with long, blade-like leaves on the ground.

The longer she looked, the more familiar it seemed. She felt like she had seen similarly shaped plants in the forest.

Andre didn’t say anything, but from his expression, it was clear he was no stranger to the plant either.

However, judging by the fact that he didn’t try to harvest any, he probably didn’t know what it was, only that he’d seen it around a lot.

"This is sea Purslane. It’s edible. The protein content is about the same as meat, and it has anti-inflammatory properties."

If the memory from his ’Plant Compendium’ hadn’t been triggered, he never would have known that this plant, which looked just like a common seaside weed, was actually edible.

They were running low on vegetables anyway, so he picked several large handfuls of the tender leaves, planning to try them back at the shelter.

「Finally.」

After a morning of rushing about, the three of them returned to the entrance of their shelter.

Neither Erica nor Andre rested. They proactively went to gather some firewood from nearby, and while they were at it, they took all the ingredients to the stream to be washed.

The firewood was stacked into a campfire. Erica, moving with practiced ease, retrieved the well-preserved embers from a bamboo tube on the shelter’s roof.

She gently tapped away the charred surface to reveal the smoldering core, then used it to light the tinder. Next, she caught the flame with dry twigs, and finally, she placed the bundle in the center of the fire pit, adding a few more handfuls of fine branches as fuel.

"The prep work can start now, right? What are we going to make?"

The two of them stared at Lin Chen with eager anticipation, then glanced at the banana leaf spread out at the mouth of the cave, piled high with all sorts of fresh ingredients.

With the combined efforts of all three, the ingredients they had collected were arguably the most complete and varied since the competition began.

They had also restocked some herbs they’d run out of, picking up things like coyote cilantro, lemongrass, and wild garlic on their way back from getting the peppers. This was in addition to what they’d already collected: annatto berries, allspice, wild ginger, bay leaves, and more.

Beside them was a small mountain of huge American Oysters, Green Mussels the length of a smartphone, six or seven palm-sized scallops, dozens of clams, a dozen or so blue crabs, six octopuses, and some still-lively white shrimp.

Of course, the most eye-catching prize was the spotted lobster.

"When did you catch the octopuses? I didn’t see that."

"I saw them while I was prying open oysters. Scooped them all up in one go with the basket," Andre said with a smug chuckle, a look of clear pride on his face.

’So they were buried at the very bottom. No wonder I didn’t see them earlier.’

Seeing that both of them had a special prize to show, Erica pouted, displeased.

’I had an eye-catching trophy of my own, but preparing the porcupinefish was just too dangerous. We ended up releasing it on the spot, all in the name of animal conservation.’

’This won’t do. Next time, I’m definitely going to catch some proper prey to show Lin!’

Lin Chen, however, didn’t notice Erica’s subtle pout. He was already completely immersed in planning the meal.

’I still have to get back to work on the log cabin today, so lunch can’t take too long. That rules out any overly complex cooking methods.’

’We don’t have any oil, and you can’t render fat from seafood, so most cooking methods are off the table.’

’That leaves grilling, boiling, and steaming.’

After a few minutes of brainstorming, a few simple preparation methods began to take shape in his mind.

"Andre, can you help me build a simple grilling rack?"

"On it."

This wasn’t their first time working together, so Andre understood immediately. He picked out four Y-shaped branches from a pile of sticks near the earthen wall, stuck them in the ground around the fire, then split some bamboo and wove it into a grate to place on top.

Erica glanced over, but quickly lost interest, turning all her attention back to Lin Chen.

She watched as he grabbed a handful of peppers, both green and red, and tossed them directly into the fire.

Then he grabbed another handful, dicing them into pieces the size of a pinky fingernail and setting them aside.

He peeled the wild ginger, slicing some of it thinly and mincing the rest into a paste.

He rolled up the basil leaves and cut them into fine ribbons, balled up the coyote cilantro and chopped it roughly, and cut the wild garlic leaves into knuckle-length pieces.

His movements were swift. Even though he was using a small utility knife and a piece of wood instead of a proper chef’s knife and cutting board, he still managed to prep the ingredients with a precision worthy of a hotel kitchen.

The banana leaf gradually filled with all sorts of colorful ingredients, and the fresh aroma of mixed spices and herbs began to fill the air.