Chapter 128: Chapter 127: With 30 Years of Experience, You Wouldn’t Be Unfamiliar, Would You?

Only after seeing the meat inside did he understand why bear paws were hyped up to be so legendary.

Collagen. It was chock-full of collagen!

He carefully used his military knife to slice the meat above the five phalanx bones, then picked the bones out one by one. After pulling off the sharp claws, all that remained was the meaty part.

Pig trotters, also popular and full of collagen, were another example. But pigs were far too common; they couldn’t compare to a Black Bear in either rarity or fighting prowess. That was why bear paw was lauded as an imperial court dish fit only for an emperor.

It took him over an hour to prepare the two paws.

Next came the standard steps for braising. He rendered the bear fat, added rock sugar to caramelize it, then put the paws in to brown them. Finally, he added light soy sauce, sea salt, and snowmelt, letting it all simmer slowly.

’Judging by how hard it was to pluck the fur, these bear paws probably won’t be tender in a short amount of time. A pressure cooker would be faster, but for now, all I can do is wait.’

He estimated it was a little after seven, maybe even past eight. He would have to go to sleep soon.

That definitely wasn’t enough time.

So, after the broth came to a boil, he extinguished the torch and moved the iron pot to the earthen stove, placing charcoal underneath.

Charcoal burned slowly and at a constant temperature, perfect for a low and slow simmer. He wouldn’t have to worry about it boiling dry even if it stewed all night.

Provided there was enough water, that is.

After getting all this done, he went outside to check again.

The light by the river had been extinguished, but there was still no sign of Andre.

"Andre?"

He tried calling out a few times, but there was no response.

’Did that kid go home to sleep?’

Lin Chen scratched his head, feeling like something was off.

The river wasn’t frozen, so he couldn’t possibly be planning to wade across bare-legged at night again, could he?

’Does this guy have a masochistic streak?’

"Whatever," he muttered. "The shelter doesn’t have a lock anyway. He can come back whenever he wants."

...

「After a night’s sleep.」

The sky was not yet bright, with only a faint, indistinct sliver of white on the horizon.

Lin Chen yawned, stretched his arms wide, and a series of CRACKLES and POPS echoed from his joints.

His nostrils flared. The air was filled with the rich aroma of braised meat.

The charcoal in the stove seemed to have just gone out, its residual heat having kept the Boneless Bear Paw warm and continuously provided warmth to the room.

He glanced around but didn’t see Andre.

’That guy... did he not come back all night?’

"Not my problem," he reasoned. "He’s a survival expert with thirty years of experience in the wild. A newbie like me doesn’t need to worry about him."

He quickly turned his attention to the iron pot.

Lifting the lid, a fragrance of meat and soy sauce, several times more intense, rushed to greet him.

The broth in the pot had clearly evaporated by about two-thirds compared to last night, leaving only a shallow layer enveloping the Boneless Bear Paw.

The sauce was a deep brown, but when he scooped up a spoonful and drizzled it over the paw, it transformed into a rich, crimson color.

It was so thick and viscous, almost as if it had been thickened with starch, dripping in a long, thin thread.

After a whole night of simmering over a low fire, the Boneless Bear Paw had completely softened. He gently poked it with his chopsticks, and it trembled like jelly. He didn’t even dare to grip it too hard, afraid the whole thing would fall apart on the spot.

After some probing, he discovered that the tendons on the paw were like beef tendons—though they had been stewed until tender, they still maintained a decent amount of stretch and elasticity.

The meat, on the other hand, would fall off at the slightest touch, melting into the sauce and disappearing.

He heated up the cold water left over from last night and drank it all down. Then he boiled some more water and poured it in to dilute the sauce to the consistency of a normal braising liquid.

Next, he took out the salmon meatballs he had made last night from the storage room to thaw.

’What a waste to have such a good braising sauce without any rice.’ 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He shook his head with regret. After boiling some water and letting it cool, he mixed it with the remaining flour from yesterday and kneaded it into a dough.

’A bag of flour is five hundred grams. I used about three hundred yesterday, so there are two hundred left. After adding water, the dough should weigh about three hundred grams.’

He coated the surface of the dough with a layer of bear fat and let it rest for a while, which would make it less likely to shrink back when he worked with it later.

"For those of you who watched me make pocket bread last night, you might be wondering why I’m using cold water to make dough now, and what I’m planning to make."

"I mentioned the advantage of using cold water yesterday—it makes the dough chewier. I’m making handmade noodles now, so I need to ensure the dough is firm. If it’s too soft, the noodles will get mushy when cooked and ruin the whole pot of soup."

Just as he covered the dough, he suddenly heard the sound of wood being moved outside.

"Hey, Lin, good morning~"

Andre walked in from outside, his shoulders and hat sprinkled with a bit of white snow dust. His face was rosy and glowing, though his lips looked a little chapped.

He didn’t look at all like someone who had spent the entire night in the wild.

As if sensing his confusion, Andre squeezed out a good-natured smile.

"I threw together a simple warehouse to use as a shelter last night. It was just too cold outside, and I didn’t want to travel in the harsh wind. The battery on my Hat Lamp ran out too, so I just decided to spend the night over there."

"I see," Lin Chen said, realization dawning. He hadn’t expected the guy to be able to build a simple shelter in such a short time.

A true survival expert. He had to admit, he was no match for him.

As soon as he finished speaking, Andre’s nose twitched, catching the thick, meaty aroma that filled the room.

"GRRRRUMBLE~"

The abrupt protest from his stomach was especially clear in the quiet room.

"Heh heh..."

"I’ll get breakfast started," Lin Chen said with a nod, not intending to tease him.

After all, the man did manual labor and had to endure the severe cold and snow. He was also bigger than Lin Chen, so it was normal for him to burn more calories.

When he was rolling the salmon balls last night, he had already considered the thawing issue. That’s why he hadn’t rolled them into perfect spheres, but had slightly flattened them after rolling, making them look a bit like meat-filled mooncakes.

After about ten minutes of thawing naturally by the fire, they had already regained some softness; he could feel a distinct give when he pressed them.

He relit the torch, tossed a small piece of bear fat into the frying pan to melt, and then neatly arranged the four King Salmon patties inside.

"What’s this?"

The appearance of the salmon had changed after being seasoned and mixed, and for a moment, Andre couldn’t tell what kind of meat it was.

"I’m not telling you."

Lin Chen made a playful face. "If you can’t even identify an ingredient like this, the audience is going to laugh at you."

"Then let them laugh!"

Andre waved his hand dismissively but leaned in closer. His male pride wouldn’t allow him to just give up.

Since Lin Chen put it that way, it must be an ingredient he was very familiar with, or something that had appeared nearby, or even something he had just eaten.

"Looking at the color... it’s definitely not bear meat. Is it lamb?"

"That’s not right either. I saw the leftover lamb in the storage room yesterday, and there was almost no fat left. It shouldn’t have this much white in it after being minced."

"If bear fat was mixed in, then a lot of oil should be rendering out in the pan, but it’s not."