Chapter 293: Lotus Fragrance
Shen Qian, who originally thought she might have a chance to beat Qin Lang this time, suddenly found the situation all too familiar.
She looked at the Beggar’s Chicken in front of Zhou Tianhao, then glanced at her Caged Rabbit which still needed more time to be done, and decisively stood up.
“I want to try it too!”
She took the other portion of Beggar’s Chicken from Qin Lang, carefully cracking open the dried, hard clay exterior, and was greeted with a rich aroma that was many times stronger than what she had smelled earlier, making her involuntarily swallow.
Let’s eat too,” Qin Lang said after he had served up two portions of Beggar’s Chicken, looking at the two little ones who were also secretly swallowing their saliva.
The two little ones always had the utmost expectation for any new dishes Qin Lang prepared, not to mention they had also caught whiff of the enticing aroma.
“Gurgle!”
Let me do it!
Dan Bao, now familiar with how to unwrap the Beggar’s Chicken, volunteered and swiftly used its Thought Power to peel the chunks of clay off, then carefully unveiled layer after layer of the Shore Lotus Grass to reveal the chicken inside.
“Spicy contributed most to this Beggar’s Chicken, so the reward is a chicken drumstick for you!” Qin Lang expertly took out a small knife and quickly carved a drumstick off the chicken to reward Spicy.
?Crunch*
Showing her little fangs, Spicy puffed on the chicken drumstick a few times, then “Awoo” bit into it, her face expressing pure bliss.
“Gurgle?”
What about me?
Seeing Spicy enjoying a chicken drumstick, Dan Bao immediately showed an eager expression on its face.
“Dan Bao put in a lot of effort in today’s cooking, so the other drumstick is your reward!” Qin lang said cheerfully. He quickly cut another drumstick. He had already prepared for this scenario and wanted to make it fair for both.
“Gurgle!!”
Dan Bao’s head popped out of its body momentarily, “Awoo” it bit into the chicken drumstick.
However, it suddenly noticed that there were no more drumsticks left for Qin Lang, looking a bit moved, it stuttered out its words with the chicken drumstick in its mouth.
“Gurgle?”
So, you don’t have a drumstick then?
“I prefer the wings.” Qin Lang, beaming with joy, cut off a juicy wing from the bird and bit into it after a couple of blows.
Wild chickens can fly, so naturally, the wings are even tastier than the drumsticks.
Looking at the chicken wing, which was bigger and seemed to have more tender flesh than the drumstick it was holding, Dan Bao suddenly fell silent.
Give me back my moved feelings!
From the other side, Zhou Tianhao infamously ripped the drumstick from the chicken, meat from the base included. He took a bite and his face displayed an expression of extreme delight as he chewed.
The uncharred chicken skin retained its tender texture. The juice-filled meat had come into direct contact with the Shore Lotus Grass, infusing it with the unique and vibrant aroma of the herb.
The aroma effortlessly dissipated the slight greasiness of the chicken while adding a hint of exotic flavor to the meat, making it even more delicious than normal chicken meat.
Although the leg of the wild chicken was somewhat inferior to the wing, the meat was more tender than usual because the wild bird moved less (less walking) than domestic chickens.
Tasting the juicy meat in his mouth, Zhou Tianhao’s look of astonishment grew more apparent.
This chicken, with all its moisture locked in by the clay, is truly deserving of praise!
At the bottom of the Shore Lotus Grass, he could even see some gravy collected. The gravy could not have possibly been added during the cooking process. It had to be the essence forced out of the chicken and the Shore Lotus Grass by the heat, containing the essence of both!
Having thought of this, Zhou Tianhao did not hesitate to lift the chicken drumstick he was holding, dipped it into the soup, and took another big bite.
Feeling the increasingly rich and delicious taste lingering on his lips and teeth, Zhou Tianhao’s expression revealed more and more enjoyment.
Soon, a wild chicken drumstick turned into clean-boned in his hand.
“Let’s try something else,” murmured Zhou Tianhao, reaching for the obviously plumper wild chicken wings compared to domestic chicken.
Then, he seemed to recall something, looking around at the four Food Spirits who were watching him eat alone with resentful looks, and laughed awkwardly. “Come on, everyone can have a taste,” Zhou Tianhao took four plates, directly tore the whole wild chicken apart and distributed it to his Food Spirits.
“Huh?”
As he separated the chicken meat, various mushrooms and spices hidden in the chicken’s belly appeared before Zhou Tianhao’s eyes.
“Almost forgot, the belly of this Beggar’s Chicken is filled with surprises,” Zhou Tianhao’s eyes lit up as he was reminded of Qin Lang’s original method of preparing the wild chicken.
“Come on, have a taste!” Zhou Tianhao took a chicken mid-wing and gave it a gentle pinch.
The mid-wing had already been separated from the bone during the cooking process, and now, under Zhou Tianhao’s force, the bones quickly peeled away, leaving just the tender and juicy chicken meat.
He quickly dipped the chicken meat in the soup, wrapped it with bits of scattered mushrooms from the chicken belly, opened his mouth and swallowed them all in one gulp.
The mushrooms, stewed within the chicken’s belly, didn’t shrink at all, retaining a certain elastic texture. A little squeeze easily yielded the juicy essence of the mushrooms.
This juice was not only luscious due to the mushrooms themselves, but also because of the succulent chicken flavor they absorbed while being cooked. Together, they formed a taste no less wonderful than the unique fragrant mix of chicken meat and Shore Lotus Grass tasted earlier.
Mixed with the soup and the fresh meat of the mid-wing, not only did the taste become richer, chewing process extremely satisfying, but the flavor of the three also perfectly blended together.
Spices, mushrooms, chicken meat-multiple flavors and deliciousness intertwined at this moment, causing Zhou Tianhao’s vision to blur briefly.
It was as if he was in a primitive forest, with luxuriant Shore Lotus Grass leaves in green surrounding him, and countless unnamed mushrooms beneath his feet.
Zhou Tianhao, feeling something, looked up.
In his imagination, numerous wild chickens seemed to fly overhead.
This taste…
This taste!
“This taste is amazing!” Shen Qian, who was eating on the other side, couldn’t help but exclaim.
“How does my Beggar’s Chicken compare to your Caged Rabbit?” Qin Lang, who was caught off-guard and lost another chicken wing to Dan Bao, tore a piece of chicken from the body, dipped it in the soup, and put it in his mouth, smiling as he asked.
He was in a pretty good mood at the moment because, unintentionally, he improved the original dish a bit.
The fresh scent of the Shore Lotus Grass matched Beggar’s Chicken better than the traditional lotus leaf.
It was an additional pleasant surprise.
“I…” Shen Qian couldn’t help but blush.
She had actually thought she could beat Qin Lang earlier.
Though the Caged Rabbit was also delicious, she knew her own cooking well and knew it was still a bit short of the deliciousness of the Beggar’s Chicken.
The meat full of juice was too delicious!
“Alright! You win!”
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