Chapter 1009: Chapter 419: Dundun, Accustomed to Luxury Seafood, Tastes Bullfrog for the First Time—Chaos Ensues!

Twenty minutes later, when the oil in the pot becomes clear again and the sticky rice cake chili feels light when stirred, it can be turned off and poured out.

The spicy marinated oil is poured into a basin, covered with a lid, and sent to the cold storage to cool.

This way, the aroma is concentrated in the oil, and when added to the marinade, the spicy and aromatic flavors are released again, perfectly permeating the ingredients.

At this time, Lin Xu begins to prepare the marinade broth.

Take a deep stockpot, add about ten pounds of pork bone broth inside. Using stock makes the marinade more aromatic and gives a richer, more luxurious texture.

If there’s no stock at home, just simmer some large bones for a few hours.

Add a bowl of Sichuan peppercorns and Sichuan peppercorns to the pot in a ratio of 1:1, then add half a pound of intact dried chili.

Put the Sichuan peppercorns and chili into the pot, then prepare a spice bag, stuffing it with star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon, fennel, white peppercorns, two or three cloves, and cracked cardamom seeds, a few slices of Angelica dahurica, and a few cardamom.

Next, fry up some caramel, pour it in, add a generous amount of salt, crystal sugar, chicken powder, and Flavoring, then bring it to a boil on high heat, afterward continuing to simmer on low heat.

To make marinade, first, simmer the broth.

The broth must be thoroughly cooked before adding the marinade ingredients for the best flavor.

While simmering the broth, Lin Xu prepared dishes like asparagus slices, lotus root slices, Celery segments, asparagus leaves, and cut up some pickled peppers, chopped some doubanjiang, and also prepared some fatty intestines to pair with the bullfrog.

Everything prepared, it’s time to slaughter the bullfrogs.

Place a cutting board by the sink, then open the bag, take out a bullfrog, and start cleaning.

Cut a knife behind the bullfrog’s head, then peel off the outer skin, simultaneously cleaning out the bullfrog’s internal organs while removing the skin.

Once everything is cleaned, chop off the tips of the bullfrog’s four claws, and a white, tender bullfrog is cleaned up.

Place the cleaned bullfrog in a basin and start on the next one.

If you buy at the market, you can leave this step for the stall owner to handle. But if Lao Huang has to deliver to each house, taking two bags of slaughtered bullfrogs will spoil over time.

Relatively speaking, it is better to carry live bullfrogs directly, and slaughtering them during preparation ensures maximum freshness of the meat.

Wei Qian walks over, sees a pond of bullfrogs, and can’t help but start helping:

"Wow, so many bullfrogs, Lin Xu, what are you preparing to make?"

"Making a fatty intestine bullfrog pot, a dry pot bullfrog, and a pickled pepper bullfrog. As for the rest, they’ll all be marinated, there’s a lot of bullfrog today; let everyone have some fun."

The skinned bullfrogs reveal pure, lean meat, looking like muscular bulging.

Zhu Yong glances over and promptly pats Wei Qian’s shoulder:

"Look, narrow waist and broad back, muscular bulging, whenever you can train your body to the bullfrog level, you’ll finally have a say in front of Tiantian, otherwise, you’re doomed to be beaten."

Wei Qian opened his mouth.

Originally intended to retort, but remembering the scene after work last night, he wisely kept quiet.

Last night after work, Lu Lu came to pick up Zhu Yong.

Wei Qian prepared to pedal his bike home, found Song Tiantian’s shoelace undone, and squatted down to tie her shoelace. Finished tying, he noticed Lu Lu squatting by, tying shoelaces for Zhu Yong, hands in his pockets.

Coming to this realization, coupled with Wei Qian’s previous words of machismo, a sense of reversal dawned upon him.

Relentlessly despising Zhu Yong in the past, who’d have known now this guy is singing songs of freedom, Lu Lu’s either buying him little treats or giving him surprises, their status changed dramatically.

And he himself...

He’s being coerced to cycle by Tiantian every day, though his fitness has improved quite a bit, waistline reduced by two inches, still can’t compare to Tiantian.

Then he continues to get cleaned up.

Sigh...

Indeed, it matches the classic saying from web novels:

Thirty years on the east side, thirty years on the west side, don’t laugh at Zhu Yong for being cowardly!

Brother Yong, I never dare mock you again!

After cleaning the bullfrogs, Lin Xu first picks out the ones for marinating. These must remain whole, and are placed separately.

As for the rest, they are all cut into large pieces.

While busy with this, he doesn’t forget to put a few bullfrogs on plates, placing them into the steamer.

Can’t forget the promised delicacies for Dundun.

Don’t know if the little one likes it. If he does, might as well buy some live ones and keep them in an aquarium—take as needed.

All bullfrogs are chopped well, and it’s time for marinating.

In the basin, two small spoons of salt, one spoon of oyster sauce, a bit of light soy sauce, a small spoon of pepper powder, mix well, then add two egg whites, mix again, and finally add a handful of corn starch.

This makes the bullfrog meat more tender and smooth.

Finally add some peanut oil, this aids quick separation during frying, preventing sticking.

Almost all meats follow similar steps during marination.

Master one, you basically know all other dishes.

Those that need marinating do not require marination but need oil treatment.

After frying, the bullfrog surface becomes slightly firm, preventing it from falling apart during marinating. Otherwise, if directly placed in broth, it may very well end up as a skeleton when fished out.