King of the Wilderness

”The fish skin is a natural protective layer that effectively prevents moisture loss and external bacterial invasion. They can be safely stored in this natural freezer for a long time.”

”But sea urchins and scallops are a completely different story.”

He picked up a frozen hard sea urchin: ”The edible parts of these creatures are their intestines and gonads, which are rich in digestive enzymes. Once thawed, their autolysis speeds up incredibly fast.”

”I can’t just thaw one or two at a time to eat. I must handle and cook all of them as soon as they are fully thawed for the first time, otherwise, the remaining parts will immediately spoil and produce toxins.”

”Therefore, I must prioritize handling these short-shelf-life ingredients.”

After explaining, he needed a high-calorie, high-fat dinner to quickly replenish energy.

His gaze fell again on the Atlantic Large-eyed Flounder, frozen hard like a block of iron, and those equally rock-hard scallops and sea urchins.

He first moved the ”fish popsicle” to a clean stone slab by the fireplace, allowing it to begin slow natural thawing in the relatively warm environment. Then, he piled all the green sea urchins and deep sea scallops next to it as well.

”Alright, folks, dinner is divided into three courses.”

Lin Yu’an said to the camera: ”The appetizer is grilled sea urchin with grilled scallops, the main course is fish oil pan-fried large flatfish steak. Now, let’s handle the appetizer first.”

He first dealt with the deep sea scallops, which were huge and had thick shells, frozen shut, impossible to pry open with a knife.

He didn’t attempt to use brute force. He placed one scallop flat side down directly on a stone slab in front of the fireplace, heated by flames.

”This is the simplest and most efficient shell-opening method, using heat conduction. The heat from the stone slab quickly transfers to the bottom shell of the scallop and conducts to the interior. When the adductor muscle inside heats up and contracts, it loses strength, causing the shell to automatically pop open.”

Sure enough, after just two or three minutes, with a faint ”pop” sound, the tightly closed shell suddenly sprang open, revealing a gap.

He immediately inserted the tip of the Hunting Knife into the gap, prying with force to completely separate the upper shell.

A massive, jade-like white scallop pillar lay quietly in the bottom half of the shell, surrounded by an orange-red roe.

He carefully used the knife tip to remove the scallop pillar completely from the shell, then cut away the inedible internal organs around it, leaving only the essence of the scallop pillar and roe.

In the same way, he processed four huge scallops, obtaining four scallop pillars almost the size of a baby’s fist, weighty and dense.

Next, it was time to handle the green sea urchins.

He picked up a frozen hard sea urchin and gently tapped its relatively flat bottom with the back of an ax.

The shell cracked open, and he pried it apart with his hands, revealing the five frozen stiff ice cream-like golden sea urchin roe inside.

”Eating frozen sea urchin directly doesn’t do it justice, and it’s bad for the stomach.”

He thought of an excellent cooking method. He placed the four huge scallop pillars back into the four half-shells, each shell like a natural bowl.

Then, using the knife tip, he carefully pried off the frozen hard sea urchin roe and evenly spread them over the top of the four scallop pillars.

Lin Yu’an handled all the sea urchins in this manner, finally pinching out a few large grains of salt from his self-made coarse sea salt and sprinkling them on the surface of the sea urchin roe.

He carefully and gently pushed the four ”natural roasting pans,” filled with top-quality ingredients, onto the heated stone slab by the fireplace for roasting.

This time, heat came from below, with the scallop shell providing perfect cushioning and even heat distribution.

He could clearly see the bottom of the scallop pillars slowly turning opaque white, while the sea urchin roe on top gradually melted and softened, with golden enticing oils oozing out on the surface under the heat.

The oils released from the melting sea urchin slowly trickled down, soaking the scallop pillars below that were gradually cooking, while the scallop pillars released their own delicious juices as they heated.

The essence of these two top-quality seafoods mingled and sublimated within the small shell.

An indescribable sweet shellfish aroma and the unique umami fragrance of sea urchin began to fill the entire shelter.

When tiny bubbles began to form on the surface of the sea urchin roe and the edges of the scallop pillars turned an enticing burnt yellow, he knew the appetizer was ready.

Using a wooden board as a spatula, he scooped a searing hot scallop shell into his wooden bowl.

He picked up the sea urchin sauce-covered, steaming scallop pillar with chopsticks, blew a puff of air on it, and popped it into his mouth.

In that moment, several ultimate flavors simultaneously exploded in his mouth!

First was the semi-melted layer of sea urchin roe at the top, warm and delicate like the finest foie gras with a rich sweetness that melted in the mouth.

Next was the scallop pillar itself, the exterior carrying a hint of charred aroma and chewiness from the roasting, while the interior remained astonishingly tender and bouncy, with every bite releasing full, sweet juices throughout the mouth.

And those few grains of salt enhanced each ingredient’s sweetness to a whole new level.