70: grilled fish

Lu Chuan rushed home, not even pausing to rest. His first priority was to hide the jade-white lotus pod.

Although the system hadn't explicitly stated it, he figured the process of awakening his Gourmet Cells wouldn't be easy.

Lu Chuan was afraid of messing things up, so he patiently decided to wait until he had more free time later.

After chugging a large mouthful of cool boiled water, Lu Chuan immediately got busy preparing the grilled fish.

The delicious grilled fish recipe provided by the system included the method for Wanzhou Grilled Fish.

After mentally simulating the process once, Lu Chuan began to prepare the marinade.

Salt, cooking wine, ginger slices, garlic slices, scallion segments, pepper powder, cumin powder, and thirteen-spice powder were all basic seasonings.

Lu Chuan also took out all the herbs from his basket. After testing and screening them one by one, he removed a few, adding the remaining ones in their respective proportions.

An hour later, a large jar full of secret marinade was ready.

Lu Chuan breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, his phone rang.

He answered it, a look of joy on his face, and immediately rode his tricycle out the door.

A few minutes later, he returned with a van bearing the words "Glorious Seafood." With the help of the driver, he unloaded boxes full of live fish, carrying them into the courtyard.

"There are a total of 100 River Catfish, all selected to be around 2.5 to 3.5 catties each. You can inspect them. If everything looks good, please sign this form."

The delivery driver wiped his sweat and said.

"Okay, please wait a moment."

Lu Chuan first handed the driver a bottle of iced beverage, then carefully inspected each fish.

These fish were for his customers, and he had to be responsible for them.

After checking everything and finding no issues, he signed at the bottom of the form.

"Thank you. Since there are no problems, I'll be heading off now. I'll deliver another 150 River Catfish the day after tomorrow."

The delivery driver twisted open the bottle cap, gulped down a mouthful, and then left.

By this time, neighbors from the village had heard the commotion and came out of their homes, gathering outside Lu Chuan's courtyard, curiously looking at the hundred River Catfish piled high in the yard.

A frank old man even blurted out directly:

"Chuan Wa Zi, did you buy all these fish? These fish aren't cheap at all; even wholesale, they're 30 yuan a catty!"

Upon hearing this price, the villagers gasped.

They blinked, looking at Lu Chuan, who was scratching his head and smiling sheepishly, their eyes full of disbelief.

"Chuan Wa Zi, have you struck it rich? Are you preparing to do big business?"

"But why did you buy so many fish?"

"Not bad, Chuan Wa Zi, do you have a way to make a fortune? Bring my boy along!"

Just then, the long-unseen village secretary, Lu Deming, also walked over and said gruffly:

"Go on, go on, why are you all crowding at someone's doorstep? You're delaying Chuan Wa Zi from doing his work."

Then he glanced curiously at Lu Chuan, said nothing more, and herded the villagers away with him.

Seeing everyone disperse, Lu Chuan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

That's how it was in the village; even a small incident could draw a crowd.

The key was that Lu Chuan didn't know how to explain it to them.

After all, just two weeks ago, he was a poor boy who made a living by foraging in the mountains.

Fortunately, Lu Deming came to his rescue.

Lu Chuan felt grateful and thought about sending a portion to Lu Deming after he finished making the grilled fish.

Back home, Lu Chuan filled several large water tanks he had prepared earlier, which were just enough to hold more than half of the fish.

These River Catfish were farmed, and their vitality wasn't very high.

Coupled with the very rudimentary existing farming conditions, if they were kept like this, more than half of these sixty-odd fish would likely die within a few days.

However, Lu Chuan didn't mind. He had carefully calculated that, based on the storage capacity of his small cart and his efficiency in preparing grilled fish, he could sell about 50 grilled fish per day.

By this calculation, these hundred River Catfish would only be enough for two days of vending.

So, the River Catfish in the water tanks probably wouldn't have the luxury of choosing how they died.

Lu Chuan carried the forty-odd River Catfish not placed in the tanks, one by one, to the well in the courtyard and began to gut them.

River Catfish is a superb ingredient for grilled fish. It is also known as long-nosed catfish, with a pointed, spindle-shaped head and a grey-black or pinkish-white body.

Because of its tender, boneless flesh, it is known as the "Hermès of grilled fish" and is often found in high-end grilled fish restaurants.

Live River Catfish weighing between 2.5 and 3.5 catties have the most tender flesh.

When grilled, it ensures a crispy, aromatic texture without becoming tough due to excessive size.

In some high-end grilled fish restaurants, River Catfish around 2.8 catties are often used, which can satisfy both single-serving needs and is suitable for family sharing.

However, River Catfish of this size, neither too big nor too small, are quite troublesome to process.

Lu Chuan picked up a River Catfish, expressionlessly stunned it, then scalded it with hot water, and used methods like applying and rubbing flour and baking soda to remove the mucus from its body.

He then gutted it, removed the black membrane, clipped off the fins and gills, scored the fish body to allow for better flavor absorption and a more appealing finished product, and finally rinsed it to remove residual blood.

In just a few minutes, one fish was processed.

His entire processing actions were clean and swift, no less skilled than a master fishmonger who had been gutting fish at RT-Mart for over a decade.

However, after processing over forty fish, Lu Chuan could barely straighten his back.

He took a deep breath and waited a few minutes to recover.

After that, he didn't delay any longer, taking the fish in batches back to the workshop to marinate them.

During this time, he also began to stir-fry the base sauce and prepare the side dishes.

The base sauce recipe merely enhanced the underlying flavor of the grilled fish, and the recipe provided in the cookbook was sufficient.

So Lu Chuan didn't bother trying to improve it.

When the base sauce and side dishes were almost ready, the fish were also marinated.

Lu Chuan moved a brand-new grill from a corner of the workshop to the courtyard, lit the fruitwood charcoal, and brushed a layer of secret red oil on the grilled fish about to be placed on the grill to prevent sticking.

Then he began to grill them slowly over a low flame.

He brushed oil in stages, applying the first coat when the fish was five or six parts cooked.

He applied a second coat when it was ninety percent cooked to lock in moisture and enhance the aroma.

Finally, he sprinkled cumin powder, chili powder, and five-spice powder to add layers of flavor.

The aroma of the grilled fish spread throughout the courtyard, then wafted out beyond the yard.

Lu Chuan saw the surrounding neighbors occasionally peeking out from their doorways, clearly enticed by the scent of the grilled fish.

In fact, it wasn't just them; even Lu Chuan himself, looking at the golden, crispy, shiny, and fragrant grilled fish, was salivating.

After all forty grilled fish were cooked, most of the time had passed.

Lu Chuan placed most of the grilled fish into the high-tech insulated boxes provided by the system, then took out several baking pans, lining the bottoms with oil-absorbing side dishes like shredded green onions and celery segments.

He then placed one grilled fish in each pan, poured spicy, garlic, or satay-flavored base sauce over them, and began to simmer them slowly over charcoal, allowing the sauce to gradually soak into the fish, creating a wonderful reaction of deliciousness.