I Have a Penglai Immortal Island

In the afternoon, Zhao Zhao went to tell her second uncle about the plan to slaughter two sheep. Xiong Haitao went to help catch them, but it was Da Linzi and Gun Gun who ended up catching them.

According to Xiong Haitao, he had never seen such agile sheep. If not for the Tibetan Mastiff watching the mountain, the sheep might have never been caught...

Speaking of which, Xiong Haitao pointed to the still-green grass on Baxian Mountain, “It’s strange this year. It’s January, and the grass on the mountain hasn’t withered. It’s never been like this before. The weather isn’t even warm. I don’t know why.”

Feigning ignorance, Zhao Zhao asked, “Is it just Baxian Mountain?”

Xiong Haitao shook his head, “No, the nearby areas are the same. But Baxian Mountain seems particularly green. It even snowed last week, but the grass didn’t die.”

Zhao Zhao made up an explanation, “Maybe there’s some geothermal activity beneath the mountain, like in Jiangzhou, where there’s a hot spring nearby. The crops there grow even in winter.”

Xiong Haitao thought it was possible and changed the subject.

Standing at the foot of the mountain, Zhao Zhao could already sense the faint spiritual energy from the thorns. The dense thorny wall now served as a fence. Xiong Haitao had recently relaxed his guard around the mountain, no longer needing to patrol constantly.

They hired a butcher to slaughter the two sheep outside the backyard to avoid cleaning up the courtyard. This time, they slaughtered black sheep, whose hides were unsightly, so they had the butcher remove the wool directly. Zhao Zhao had already Googled recipes and planned to cook a sumptuous lamb dinner.

She took the deboned lamb leg to the kitchen and gave another to Da Linzi to take home.

Soaking the lamb in cold water, she started preparing the ingredients according to the recipe. The first dish was hand-pulled lamb. She had all the ingredients except fennel. Not knowing what it was, she searched for it and found it wasn’t the same as rosemary.

Zhao Zhao sent Da Linzi to the convenience store, and if they didn’t have it, to ask at the seafood restaurant.

The second dish was the classic fish and lamb delight. She had only eaten it before, but now she wanted to try making it. After searching through more than a dozen recipes, she found no major differences. Placing her phone on the kitchen shelf, she got to work.

First, she cut the soaked lamb leg with the skin into large chunks, put them in a pot of cold water, added scallions and ginger, brought it to a boil over high heat, and skimmed off any foam. But there was no foam with her lamb…

She rinsed the lamb, added well water to the pot, and brought it to a boil. Speaking to the camera, she said, “Don’t use tap water. Some experts say that water treated with modern processes isn’t as flavorful and doesn’t give a sweet aftertaste. I’m using well water, but you can use bottled natural spring water.”

Once the water boiled, she added the lamb and filled the pot. With Da Linzi and Gun Gun around, a small amount wouldn’t be enough.

“Add several pieces of scallion, boil on high for five minutes, then simmer for forty minutes. This supposedly prevents the lamb from losing too much moisture, making it tender and juicy. It’s best not to cover the pot, as that can make the texture too soft. Most importantly, don’t add salt now, as electrolytes can destroy the lamb’s texture and flavor.”

In another pot, she added salt, bay leaves, and angelica, sautéing until the salt was mature. “They say sautéing the salt removes any off-flavors and enhances its salty umami taste. Remove the bay leaves and angelica once done and let the salt cool.”

When the meat was ready, she quickly took it out, cut it into strips, and exclaimed, “It smells amazing. Now sprinkle the cooled salt lightly. This is the original flavor of hand-pulled lamb. Da Linzi, Gun Gun, you two try a piece.”

Da Linzi, used to his mom’s cooking, found the meat very fragrant but stayed calm. Gun Gun, however, was beside himself, wagging his tail so vigorously that Zhao Zhao had to send him outside to prevent fur from flying around.

She gave him a piece, and he swallowed it in a few chews, then started nudging her leg for more.

Da Linzi, after tasting a piece, also couldn’t stay calm. He quickly ate another piece, exclaiming, “Delicious! So tender and fragrant!” Zhao Zhao found his simple praise somewhat lacking.

Not wanting to wait for dinner, Zhao Zhao gave each of them a bowl. She tried some herself and found it exceptionally fresh. Next time, she’d try one from Yaoguang’s realm.

The main dish for dinner was fish and lamb delight. She prepared a large white dragon fish, removed the head and tail, added some tender greens, and began cooking.

She fried the fish chunks until both sides were golden brown, telling the camera, “I remembered to use paper towels to dry the fish today. No second accidents.”

She then sautéed scallions and ginger in hot oil, added the fish chunks and cut hand-pulled lamb, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sautéed salt, fennel, and well water. After boiling, she simmered it for thirty minutes, added sugar, and finally added the greens and pepper, reducing the sauce over high heat.

“Done! Fish and lamb delight is ready. I spent all afternoon on this. They say this dish is the origin of the character for ‘fresh.’ According to one legend, during Confucius’s early travels, he struggled to find food. His disciples begged for food and received some fish and a piece of lamb. Everyone was hungry, so they cooked them together in one pot and found it incredibly delicious. Thus, the dish spread, and the character for ‘fresh’ came from this dish. There are several versions of the story, but that’s one of them.”

A pot full of fish and lamb delight, Zhao Zhao tasted for saltiness before taking it off the stove. She found the largest pot received during the housewarming, filled it with the dish, placing fish and lamb alternately, with a ring of green vegetables around the edge. The presentation was quite impressive.

At six in the evening, dinner officially started at her house. Gun Gun had a big bowl, half filled with rice and half with lamb, happily eating by the table. Zhao Zhao filmed the happily eating dog for a while before stopping; his eating could prove her culinary skills.

Da Linzi couldn’t stop praising it, “Delicious! I never thought fish and lamb could be cooked together. My mom never made this.”

“I heard it’s Huizhou cuisine. It’s not common here. I think the white dragon fish tastes even fresher with lamb. I was already tired of eating fish.”

Da Linzi was surprised, “What? Tired of white dragon fish? My mom said those rich kids from Chonghai often come just to eat it. Even those introduced by Fatty came for the fish. I totally get it. White dragon fish never gets boring. Zhao Zhao, have you seen the aquarium wall? It’s almost eaten clean.”

After dinner, Zhao Zhao went to check the aquarium wall. The white dragon fish were indeed much fewer. Xia Yang brought last month’s accounts at noon; the income from white dragon fish was over 200,000 yuan, meaning they had eaten more than thirty fish last month.

There were also two tourists taking pictures by the wall, the Dragon Palace proving popular. A couple was taking photos there for a long time. Zhao Zhao overheard them discussing how the dolphins and orcas had returned to the outer sea, and they planned to go see them before leaving, glad their trip wasn’t wasted.

Zhao Zhao thought of the fat seal also released there, wondering how it was doing.