"Little earth beans?" Eric asked, looking at Bỉ while chewing peanuts, a bit puzzled.
Was he talking about peanuts? It sounded quite literal.
He thought for a moment, then held up the huge potato in his hand: "Then this thing, is it called a big earth bean?"
Bỉ nodded, his eyes full of admiration: "You really are smart."
All three Ox-Head men looked at him with admiring eyes. Eric guessed they were probably thinking: "Truly worthy of being someone who can be chief."
Oh well, in the eyes of these simple beastmen, a person like him from the information explosion era could indeed be considered erudite. This was also a form of intelligence.
Eric smugly gave himself an inward thumbs-up. Being praised by everyone every day, his face had thickened by several inches; he no longer knew what embarrassment was.
Now that he knew how to use the stone mill, Bỉ should have led the other two to find Chief Côn with the mill.
But when he saw Eric start to peel the "big earth bean," Bỉ really wanted to know what other unusual dish the kid could make, so he decided to stay and watch.
Eric’s kitchen knife was quite large; it had been specially forged a bit bigger by Luban to make it convenient for handling the large slabs of meat for the Snow Wolf people. Using it to peel the potato now was a bit awkward.
[When I get home, I must ask Luban to forge me a peeler.] Eric thought to himself.
Seeing him struggling awkwardly, Max took the potato from his hand. He didn’t use the knife but spread his hand, revealing sharp claws. With just a few decisive swipes, the thin skin was peeled off cleanly.
This skill was truly formidable!
Eric couldn’t possibly use his own claws to do such delicate tasks. No wonder he was the only one in the tribe who favored using a kitchen knife.
"Max, please shred them thinly for me!" Eric, pushing his luck, handed over several more potatoes.
These potatoes were as big as small balls; a few tubers were enough to eat. If he were to shred them alone, it would take forever, so he decided to utilize the "free labor."
The list of things to ask Luban to make grew longer by one item. Eric thought of the shredding grater he used to use.
That thing was very convenient. Although some people thought grated potatoes weren’t as tasty as hand-cut ones, he couldn’t tell the difference; as long as it was fast, it was fine.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t thought to bring the fermented sour liquid when he left, so the hot and sour stir-fried potatoes had to be postponed, but luckily, he had brought dried chili.
Dried spices were easy to carry, so he had prepared quite a lot. After all, this wasn’t a simple outing, so other things weren’t very complete.
The flat metal tray was the perfect tool for stir-frying shredded potatoes. When the animal fat in the tray was very hot, he added dried chili and onion-garlic powder to fry until fragrant.
As soon as the pungent, spicy aroma rose up, he poured in all the rinsed and drained potatoes to stir-fry quickly over high heat.
The potatoes only needed a few tosses before he had to quickly season them with salt and fish bone powder. The essence of this dish was maintaining its crispness, so as soon as the potatoes were just cooked, they had to be scooped out immediately.
This seemingly simple dish actually required finesse in controlling the heat; if overcooked even slightly, the potatoes would become soft, mushy, and fall apart.
Of course, the plate of potatoes stir-fried by Eric was perfectly cooked, just tender-crisp. Who else could say, as this was his favorite dish.
The pungent, spicy aroma wafted straight into everyone’s noses. Everyone was curious about the taste of this dish; dozens of pairs of eyes were glued to the plate of potatoes.
This dish and the baked pastries both used animal fat, which would congeal easily if left to cool. Just then, the pot of meat soup next to it was also emitting the sweet scent of corn, so Eric had people carry the pastries and the plate of potatoes into the most spacious room.
The wooden board used for shaping pastries earlier was now repurposed as a dining table; everyone gathered around, sitting cross-legged on the dirt floor.
Just as Eric was about to sit down, Max quickly placed a fur felt mat under him.
Joseph also quietly found another felt mat for himself before sitting. He couldn’t compare to the iron-skinned beastmen; sitting directly on the dirt floor in this cold winter, his old body couldn’t take it.
Michael brought in the clay pot of hot bone stew and cured meat, and along with the others, ladled soup for everyone.
The soup bowls were, of course, the ceramic bowls nearly as large as small basins, made by their own hands.
A table full of fragrant dishes dazzled everyone. Thomas and the people from his tribe had been "bombarded" by delicious food for a while now, so despite their cravings, they managed to maintain their composure.
But the Snow Wolf people from Côn’s tribe and the Ox-Head tribe people were not the same. They looked at the dishes they had never seen before, saliva nearly overflowing from their mouths.
Even the prosperous Ox-Head tribe had never thought that food could be so diverse.
A tall stack of baked pastries, a plate of golden stir-fried potatoes dotted with bright red chili segments, several stewed bones gleaming with a rich brown color, and the pot of meat soup cooked with sweet corn and cabbage.
Every dish exuded a complex fragrance, making everyone unsure where to begin.
Finally finding the vegetable dish he craved, Eric happily picked up strands of potato and put them in his bowl one after another, the chopsticks in his hands dancing.
Under Eric’s guidance, everyone in his tribe had learned how to use chopsticks.
Who else could say, as the dishes he made were all in the style of his old world, and many of them were truly difficult to pick up without chopsticks.
For example, this shredded potato dish. The Ox-Head people and the Snow Wolf people from Côn’s tribe struggled for a while with wooden spoons and forks just to get a few strands into their mouths.
In the middle of it, they would accidentally drop some, then have to hastily catch it, looking extremely awkward.
Although Michael had also given them chopsticks, everyone knew this wasn’t something that could be learned overnight.
Ironically, the flavor of the stir-fried potatoes made it impossible for people to stop eating.
The savory, crisp, and sweet taste made them just want to use their hands to grab it faster.
At this moment, Michael and the others felt even more strongly that the effort they had put into learning chopsticks before was not wasted at all.
It turned out that watching others struggle with chopsticks was so amusing; they ate while laughing inwardly.