Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 277: Chapter 192: Dual-Pepper Sea Urchin Grilled Lobster

Watching him, it wasn’t just Andre and Erica who grew excited—the audience behind the screen was filled with anticipation too.

Lobster is often the star of the show in Western cuisine, and since this was the first one of the season, everyone was eager to see what kind of dish Lin Chen would create.

’Just wrapping it in a leaf and roasting it would be a little too simple, wouldn’t it?’

’Besides, he had so many other seasonings prepped and ready to go!’

Lin Chen carefully used a branch to push aside the ashen-white soil from beneath the charcoal pile, revealing a banana leaf that had turned a brownish-tan.

Instantly, the fresh fragrance of cooked leaves wafted over them.

"Normally, it takes fifteen to thirty minutes to steam-roast a lobster, depending on its size."

"It’s been exactly twelve minutes since I buried it. By my estimate, it should be about seventy or eighty percent cooked. I’ll let it rest in there for another two or three minutes."

He placed the banana leaf-wrapped lobster on the still-warm soil to keep it insulated. He immediately grabbed a sea urchin, skillfully plunging the tip of his combat knife into its mouth on the underside. With a twist and a flick, he easily popped out the mouthparts.

He used a rock to break off the long, sharp spines on its surface before handing it to Andre.

Andre froze for a second, but he quickly caught on. He took it and started processing another sea urchin himself.

The combat knife moved in Lin Chen’s hand as if it were an extension of his arm. He deftly pried open the shell of a Purple Sea Urchin, piece by piece, revealing the alluring, orange-yellow roe within.

He quickly removed the black membranes surrounding the roe. By then, exactly three minutes had passed.

He peeled back the brownish-tan banana leaf, layer by layer. Before the lobster came into view, a stream of juice mixed with some unidentifiable white, flaky bits flowed out.

Anticipating this, he quickly adjusted the angle of the banana leaf to avoid wasting any of the precious lobster juice.

When the final layer of the banana leaf was peeled away, a bright, orange-red lobster appeared in the center of the frame.

A rich, citrusy aroma of lemon drifted out, mingled with the faint scent of ginger.

He transferred the lobster onto another banana leaf that held his seasonings and drizzled the remaining lobster juice over the dual-pepper sauce he had prepared earlier.

He split the lobster in half. The head seemed a little undercooked, so to be safe, he placed it on the grill rack for a little more cooking.

While the head grilled, he spread the dual-pepper sauce evenly over the surface of the tail meat, heating it up as well.

The dual-pepper sauce, which had been stir-fried in a seafood broth, was incredibly fragrant. Combined with the recently added lobster juice, it filled every nook and cranny on the surface of the tail meat, bubbling and sizzling as it heated over the charcoal.

It didn’t need long—just two or three minutes. The goal was to let the flavor of the dual-pepper sauce fully permeate the tail meat.

He carefully scooped out the soft, tender roe of the Purple Sea Urchin. After arranging it neatly, he lifted it with the flat of his blade and placed it over the dual-pepper sauce. Finally, he sprinkled some chopped Keyoute cilantro on top as a garnish.

In just two or three minutes, the edges of the orange-red lobster shell had been lightly charred by the charcoal fire. A mix of bright red and vibrant green diced peppers blanketed the surface of the tail meat.

The Purple Sea Urchin roe, which shimmered with a faint golden hue in the sunlight, was laid neatly on top of the dual-pepper sauce, its surface dotted with tender green cilantro.

Based on presentation alone, it could have come straight from a restaurant kitchen.

"Oh my god, can you really make a dish like this in the wild?"

He hadn’t used any particularly special techniques, yet when Erica saw such an exquisite and multi-layered lobster dish appear before her, she could hardly believe her eyes.

But soon, she realized another, very serious problem.

"There are only two halves. How do we split it?"

"Split it? What are you talking about?"

Lin Chen gave her a strange look. "I caught the lobster, I picked the peppers, and I cooked it. When did I say I was going to share it with you?"

"Besides, didn’t you say you were here to learn my techniques? I showed you the entire process without holding anything back. What, you still have designs on my lunch?"

With that, Lin Chen protectively cradled the two lobster halves in his arms.

"Since Andre helped gather and process the sea urchins, I can give you half of one of the halves as payment for your work."

"That’s amazing!"

"Hey, hey! Wait a second!"

Erica stepped between them, disgruntled. "But I’m the one who led you to the peppers! Without me, you might have found them eventually, but you definitely wouldn’t be about to eat this soon."

With such a delicious meal right in front of her, she couldn’t worry about her pride. She clasped her hands together, putting on a pitiful act.

"Don’t be so stingy. How about he and I split one half? Next time I catch a ray or a lobster, I’ll share some with you~"

"That won’t be necessary. I can catch my own," Lin Chen said, having anticipated her reaction. He pointed to the pathetic-looking excavation marks on the cave wall.

"After lunch, you can start expanding the cave. If you can dig out a space at least a meter deep before sunset, I’ll agree to give you a half."

"Huh????"

Even though the damp earth here was relatively easy to dig, excavating a meter-deep space was no easy task. Especially since a woman’s strength is typically less than a man’s, it would definitely take her several hours.

Doing that much manual labor for a taste of lobster... The unfair terms of the deal made Erica hesitate.

She looked from the tantalizing lobster dish right in front of her to the dark, black cave entrance.

Gritting her teeth, she actually took half a step back and turned her head away.

"Fine, forget it! I watched the whole process anyway. I’ll just make it myself next time!"

"???"

The faint, almost-there smile on Lin Chen’s lips froze. He never would have imagined she’d give up so easily.

’This isn’t right. For a little glutton like her, once her cravings are triggered, how could she possibly suppress the impulse?’