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Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 306 - 287: Fried Fish Doesn’t Smell Good Anymore, Just Want Hot Pot!
The fish slices on the chopsticks were as thin as cicada wings. After being boiled in the bright red hot pot base, they curled and changed color, just looking at them made one’s mouth water.
What surprised the two young mothers even more was that while they had seen people use this sesame oil dip when eating hotpot before, they always thought it must be very greasy.
"Isn’t it just sesame oil? Normally, it’s only used as a seasoning in the kitchen, but here people are directly dipping various meats and vegetables in it. Just thinking about it makes us feel queasy."
But now, things are different.
Fish slices coated in sesame oil and garlic, the aroma seems to have been elevated several levels. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
Li Jingyi’s mother couldn’t resist any longer. She hadn’t eaten a bite since morning.
When she first arrived at school, she thought she’d be paired with Father Wu Jun for a barbecue, which she was quite looking forward to. Unexpectedly, her daughter chose Jiang Wenqing for the sake of ice cream.
What she didn’t expect was that the car Jiang Wenqing’s parents drove was... a bit odd. She had been delayed until now to take her first bite of food today, and Li Jingyi’s mother merely blew a little on the fish slice before eating it directly.
"Mmm..."
As the fish slice hit her mouth, it seemed to come alive, sliding around the tongue, and with a slight chew, it felt ready to melt.
The Sichuan hotpot flavor was perfectly embodied in the fish slice, with the numbing and spicy taste immediately bursting on her tongue, the numbing of the Sichuan peppercorns and the heat of the chili intertwined.
The taste buds of someone who hasn’t eaten all day are particularly sensitive, and this abrupt stimulation made Jingyi’s mother let out a comfortable murmur.
Yet she didn’t feel embarrassed at all.
Instead, she found it rather amazing.
"I didn’t know this sesame oil dip could be so delicious? It not only enhances the flavor but also cuts the grease a bit."
As she spoke, Jingyi’s mother’s chopsticks eagerly reached for another fish slice.
Old Zhao, who was having a lively chat online, couldn’t help but snap another photo of this scene and post it in the group.
Old Zhao: "Boss Xiao Chen will always be Boss Xiao Chen, no woman can stay composed in front of Boss Xiao Chen!"
The group was bustling, and seeing such a photo, Dunzi immediately replied.
Dunzi: "But... eating is eating, why are all the mothers here wearing black stockings? Is there a special event today?"
Fang Zhizhong: "Did Boss Xiao Chen personally fry the hot pot base? Old Zhao, ask how much this base costs, I’m willing to pay extra."
He Chunming: "What’s going on here? Any dads up for a foot massage?"
Seeing so many people getting anxious, with someone @him every three seconds in the group, Old Zhao felt immensely satisfied.
"That’s what you get for not valuing me in the future!"
"And for not inviting me when you have good food!"
"I’ll take my time to reply, let’s see if I can make you even more anxious!"
As Li Jingyi’s mother began to enjoy herself, the other three, who were also skeptical about the sesame oil dip, didn’t hesitate either and sent fish slices into their mouths.
With this bite, a few of their foreheads started to sweat slightly, and their tongues tingled faintly. Yet, despite this, their hearts were filled with immense satisfaction.
The reason Sichuan’s spicy and numbing flavors are famous nationwide is mainly due to their characteristic: they significantly boost one’s appetite.
After one slice, you can’t wait to have another, as if only maintaining this numbing and spicy taste can give your taste buds the utmost satisfaction, until you’re eating with gusto!
Looking at the five little ones, however.
After swallowing a piece of fish, they immediately gasped from the spiciness.
But strangely enough, they only gasped two or three times before stopping, even Li Jingyi’s mother was curious, "This hot pot base is quite unique, at first, it’s very numbing and spicy, but after a while, there’s nothing."
Chen Mo nodded slightly, smiling, "There are many types of chili peppers, each with its own characteristic. The chili I chose today is like this, quite spicy when you eat it, but the spiciness doesn’t last long, so you don’t have to worry about the kids being overwhelmed."
If it were the kind of chili that stays spicy for too long, the kids would probably need three or four ice creams per bite.
After a couple of quick breaths, the spiciness dwindled.
The five little ones were no longer afraid of the bright red, numbing, and spicy hot pot base, eagerly picking up fish slices to cook in the pot.
It’s worth mentioning that when it comes to eating fish, freshness is the key!
Even the most common grass carp, as long as it’s freshly caught and killed, the slices are fresh and tender enough, with ten people huddled around a big iron pot enjoying themselves.
The fried fish stall by the shore, taken over by Gao Le’s mother, started off bustling.
The kids and parents who couldn’t get the fried fish came over to line up for a taste, but after just one or two small fried fish, the little ones were drawn to the big hotpot fish!
Eating hotpot is entirely different from eating fried fish.
Fried fish is somewhat like snacking, but hotpot is different; you grab a piece, dip it in sesame oil, shove it into your mouth, gasp from the spiciness and immediately start cooking a new piece.
Good or not, those who haven’t tried hotpot have no idea.
But just watching them, everyone naturally began to salivate, suddenly finding the fried fish in their hands less appealing.
"Mom, I want hotpot!"
Gao Le’s face was serious, stating firmly as if missing out on the hotpot today would be catastrophic!
Gao Le’s mother, still busy frying fish, was stunned by her daughter’s words.
She thought to herself, I’ve dressed in nylons to fry fish for you, and when speaking to Boss Xiao Chen, I even pulled my pants up for decency.







