The process of pounding sticky rice became more strenuous towards the end because the stickiness increased, and it stuck to the pestle; Eric had deep experience with this.
But it seemed not to affect Kiet; he swung the iron pestle lightly and quickly, and rarely, his force was controlled just right.
Seeing the state of the sticky rice in the mortar was almost done, Eric hurriedly shouted to stop.
[bánh giầy] was made from cooked sticky rice, so it could be eaten immediately after making.
He washed his hands and shaped the sticky, elastic dough into small round cakes as in his memory, placing them on a wooden board. This way, after hardening, they would be easy to pick up, and just needed reheating to eat.
Kiet watched his movements hungrily from the side. Eric smiled, handing him a plain [bánh giầy] without any seasoning.
Freshly pounded [bánh giầy] truly smelled fragrant and sweet. Although without seasoning, chewing it released the pure sweetness of glutinous rice; the more one chewed, the more fragrant it became, and the chewy texture was also amazing. At least the Ox-Head tribe had never eaten such food.
Kiet’s bovine eyes widened, chewing noisily, speechless, only nodding continuously at Eric.
Just then, the non-glutinous rice was also ground into flour. Balu finished his work and ran over hurriedly, taking a [bánh giầy] from Eric’s hand and stuffing it into his mouth, instantly amazed by this refined flavor and special texture.
The two large ox heads making surprised faces looked really funny. Eric burst out laughing, pointing at the other pots of sticky rice:
"These pots are all sticky rice; later you guys pound them like this. After the cakes harden, you can bring them back to the Red Grass tribe to eat."
The two Ox-Head people were even happier hearing this. Kiet happily shook his curved horns: "We can even bring them back? You’re too kind!"
"You traveled so far to help our tribe transport food; this is a small thank-you gift." Eric said with a smile.
Balu was extremely moved: "Next year I will definitely come early to farm with you guys; there’s too much delicious food here..."
Unexpectedly, the Ox-Head tribe would one day admire the Snow Wolf people’s food.
Evan was silently shelling peanuts nearby, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes. He discovered beastmen were actually not quite like his impression.
Especially this Snow Wolf cub; he could always attract others’ gazes, and his head seemed full of inexhaustible strange ideas.
Eric got him a [bánh giầy], worried that eating it cold would be hard for a human to digest, so he toasted it over the fire.
Evan accepted it. The toasted [bánh giầy] had a crispy outer layer, enhancing the flavor even more. He gently took a bite, smiling and nodding at Eric: "Very delicious."
Eating it like this was tasty, but Eric always felt the flavor was a bit monotonous. Finishing the cake in his hand in three bites, he ran into the house to dig out a bag of mung beans.
On the Ox-Head tribe’s side, the two started fighting over pounding the [bánh giầy]. Finally, Kiet won; Balu squatted aside, his eyes full of admiration.
How nice it would be to eat ready-made food without working. Eric shook his head incomprehensibly, his hands not stopping. He washed the mung beans clean, then poured them into the cast-iron pan to roast over low heat until the skins slightly cracked.
He took out the grinder Luban gave him before, put the mung beans in, pressed the button, and the roasted mung beans quickly tumbled inside, soon turning into pale yellow mung bean powder.
Eric also used a small pot to cook a pot of thick molasses syrup. [bánh giầy] combined with mung bean powder and molasses syrup was a wonderful combination.
Dipping the cake into the bowl of molasses syrup, then rolling it once in the fragrant nutty mung bean powder, putting it in the mouth—soft, chewy, with the sweetness of molasses and the fragrance of mung bean powder—one bite made people happy enough to fly.
The aroma attracted the Ox-Head tribe; the two of them no longer bothered fighting over pounding cakes. Seeing Eric make a new dish in a flash, and it smelled so fragrant, they hurriedly gathered around.
Eric taught them how to eat it, which was very simple. Balu and Kiet happily dipped the molasses syrup and mung bean powder themselves to eat.
The Ox-Head tribe loved sweets, so they would definitely like this way of eating, their eyes narrowing in happiness.
In the territory of the Hadu tribe, over a dozen giant snow wolves were running along the edge of the territory, occasionally stopping to sniff vigilantly everywhere.
The bloody lesson of the Horned Goat tribe was still there; today Max led the warriors to specially expand the patrol range.
"There’s no movement in the territory of those high-level magic beasts; probably no problem."
Michael ran over from the other side, speaking to Max running ahead.
Living on the Illusion Dream Continent, beastmen’s dwellings couldn’t completely avoid high-level magic beasts.
Fortunately, not all high-level magic beasts were fierce and warlike. The land the Hadu tribe chose had high-level magic beasts nearby that were either mild-tempered or didn’t easily leave their territory, so it could be considered safe.
Even so, they had continuously expanded their patrol range for several days, confirming the surroundings were indeed safe, only then returning to the tribe.
The Horned Goat people carrying blood scent were saved by the Snow Wolf people, attracting quite a few magic beasts along the way. Fortunately, they were all low and mid-level, conveniently supplementing fresh meat for the tribe.
Beastmen’s bodies contained Beast Origin Power, so their blood was more attractive than other magic beasts’. Luckily, they had erased traces multiple times in time, and even used other magic beasts’ feces to cover up.
This way, the possibility of that Whirlwind Lizard chasing here would be greatly reduced.
Although magic beasts in mating season wouldn’t leave easily, and a tier-eight magic beast wouldn’t make a big fuss over a little food, just in case, the Snow Wolf people still tried to avoid this danger.
A heavy snow fell a few days ago, further covering all these traces, so their tense nerves relaxed a little.
"Eh, this smell is so fragrant; seems like cooking something with the Ox-Head tribe’s peanuts?"
Getting closer to the tribe, Kevin could smell the aroma of rice more clearly. Besides the roasted peanut smell eaten at the Ox-Head tribe, there was also the smell of boiled intestines, so alluring his steps became much faster.
"Able to make such fragrant food, it must be Eric; he’s making delicious food again. Must go faster or there won’t be any left." Kevin thought as his feet moved like flying.
He didn’t know how to hide his expression yet; his hairy face was written with longing and craving. How could others not see what he was thinking? So everyone sped up.
"Why back so fast? Just made delicious food, come try quickly."
Eric was cutting the freshly made [bánh đúc] to soak in water; changing the water continuously like this could keep it edible for a very long time.
Holding a bar of [bánh đúc], Eric looked at the sky in surprise, then at the panting Kevin.
He didn’t know what happened, but this time he didn’t have to see the scene of transforming and changing clothes, which was a good thing; at least no need to worry about getting a stye.
In a flash, he figured it out again; these gluttons must have run back following the scent. This was also the reason he was too lazy to tell Leo to go call them.