Chapter 103: Delicious Boiled Fish in Chili Oil

No one really cared where this Snakehead came from or why it grew so big. Not just George and the others, but even when Bill and Jenny arrived later, everyone rushed to take pictures with it.

In the end, they all took a simple group photo, completely natural and unposed. They were still wet, and Liu Heming and his daughter were covered in mud. That was exactly the effect they wanted—proof that they had battled the giant fish.

It was only possible because Xiangshui Town had so few people; otherwise, taking a group photo like this would have been impossible.

Because the fish was so huge, the original plans had to change again. There was no time today to forge the iron pot and knives. After all, this had turned into a little festival in Xiangshui Town, and it wasn’t easy for everyone to gather like this.

After a quick wash, when Liu Heming came out, he saw Alex running around happily among the crowd with the two Bear Cubs.

This Snakehead was incredibly tough. Even after being out of the water for so long, it fought back fiercely when Liu Heming went to kill it. Liu Heming was fine, but Lewis, who had come over to watch the excitement, got hit by the fish’s tail fin and was sent flying.

Ordinary fish are easy to handle, but killing such a large fish was difficult. There were no special tricks; Liu Heming simply cut straight down from the head. The knife in his hand wasn’t very suitable—if he had the usual Kitchen Knife from home, a few quick chops would have done the job.

When cleaning the fish’s belly, they found many small fish inside, as well as Liu Heming’s missing shoe. Everyone who saw it felt a chill of fear. If any of them had encountered this giant in the water, it would have been very dangerous.

With so many people, they still couldn’t finish eating such a large fish. It would be impressive if they managed to eat half of it.

It took Liu Heming nearly two hours to cut the fish meat into slices. For Boiled Fish in Chili Oil, slicing wasn’t enough. He also sprinkled starch, egg white, salt, and cooking wine on the slices and marinated them. He couldn’t manage all this alone, but the task was simple, so everyone helped.

Liu Heming then started the second important step in making Boiled Fish in Chili Oil: preparing the broth.

He poured half a pot of oil into the pan. There was no chili bean paste, but that was okay. When the oil was hot, he added the prepared Chili Peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, numbing peppercorns, scallions, ginger, and garlic—enough seasonings to fill almost half a bowl.

There was no other way; there were too many people today, and the pot was a bit small. One pot definitely wouldn’t be enough—they’d need at least three or four batches.

The aroma gradually rose from the pot. Others didn’t mind it and thought it smelled quite nice. But Liu Heming was standing close and got a strong whiff of the seasonings, especially the Chili Peppers. His eyes instantly filled with tears. It was his first time frying so many seasonings at once, and the smell was extremely pungent.

When the seasonings looked well-fried, he scooped out more than half of them, reserving the rest for the next batches. Then, he poured the prepared water into the pot and brought it to a boil.

Originally, Boiled Fish in Chili Oil should include bean sprouts, but they weren’t available in Xiangshui Town, so Liu Heming had to make a simplified version.

Once the water was boiling, he brought over a bowl of fish slices and gently placed them one by one into the water. He then lightly stirred them with chopsticks to prevent the slices from sticking together and cooking unevenly.

The Snakehead was very large, so he cooked the slices a bit longer, but not too much. No matter how big a fish is, its meat still cooks quickly.

He poured the fish slices and broth into a large basin. As soon as he finished, everyone gathered around.

“Don’t rush just yet; there’s one more step,” Liu Heming said with a smile.

He considered the third step in making Boiled Fish in Chili Oil equally important. In fact, he believed the signature numbing, spicy, and fragrant flavor of the dish came entirely from this final step.

This time, he used a bit more oil and fewer seasonings—just Chili Peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and numbing peppercorns. When the Chili Peppers were about to change color, Liu Heming quickly turned off the heat and poured the hot oil along with the peppers and peppercorns into the large basin containing the fish slices and broth.

A sizzling sound rang out, and a unique aroma filled the entire room.

The steam that had been rising from the basin moments earlier now dwindled to just a wisp. The fragrance in the room also faded significantly, as the hot oil had sealed both the aroma and the heat beneath its surface.

“Alright, now this dish is truly complete. In China, this dish is called Boiled Fish in Chili Oil, and it’s a very famous recipe,” Liu Heming said as he carried the fish basin to the dining table outside.

“Everyone, give it a try and see if the flavor suits your taste. If it’s too spicy or too numbing, I can reduce the amount in the next batch. Also, be careful—the fish is very hot, so don’t burn your mouths.”

After saying this, Liu Heming used a ladle to scoop a piece of fish onto a plate and handed it to his daughter. The little girl had been drooling with anticipation, her lips smacking nonstop.

She was a bit impatient. After spearing a piece with her fork, she was about to put it in her mouth but stopped just in time, remembering her dad’s warning about the heat.

She blew on it gently a few times before carefully putting it in her mouth.

Her eyes widened in surprise, and then she chewed vigorously. A look of pure joy spread across her face, and her eyes crinkled into happy slits.

The others weren’t idle either—some were scooping fish, others were tasting it. Although they had never eaten Snakehead before, that didn’t mean they didn’t enjoy fish. Many of them loved sea fish as well.

Even though this Boiled Fish in Chili Oil was a simplified version, the firm texture of the fish and the explosive aroma that delighted their taste buds completely won them over. None of them noticed Liu Heming standing there, stunned.

Just after his daughter took her first bite of the Boiled Fish in Chili Oil, the System notified him: the “Doting on Daughter” task was complete, rewarding him with a 5% improvement in cooking quality.

But that wasn’t all. Right after that notification, the System gave another: the “Soil Improvement” task was complete, granting him the title of “Primary Farmer,” which would increase the output and quality of all Ranch products by 5% each. Following that were additional rewards: one Lucky Grand Draw and two uses of Appraisal Skill.

What stunned him were these last two rewards. They hadn’t been mentioned when the System initially assigned the tasks. Why were they given now upon completion? Could it be that the System was in a good mood and decided to award them? Did this mean the System had considerable autonomy in determining rewards?