King of the Wilderness

This is exactly the self-made fish oil left over after he refined the liver of a large flatfish the previous day.

The fats quickly melted in the pan, emitting a ”sizzling” sound. As the oil temperature rose, he placed the small silver hairy scale fish into the pan one by one.

These small fish were rich in oils, and under the catalyst of hot oil, their bodies curled quickly, the fish skin turning golden at high temperatures with a crackling sound.

”When dealing with bait fish like hairy scale fish, you can skip gutting them, especially in Iceland, Norway, or Newfoundland, where locals roast or fry them whole.”

”This is because hairy scale fish have a short digestive tract, the innards are clean and contain no bile, so the bitterness is minimal. More importantly, their liver and roe are rich in fatty acids and vitamin D.”

”This is a natural nutrient for polar residents to combat severe cold and lack of sunlight. Removing the guts means losing the most valuable part.”

”Secondly, high-temperature frying makes the whole fish crispy, and fish bones become a source of calcium, while the innards contribute unique flavors and fats. This is a way to utilize 100% of the nutritional value of the whole fish.”

He flipped the small fish with a wooden chip to heat them evenly. Within just a few minutes, a handful of crisply fried ”little dried fish” were ready! He served them on a wooden plate, sprinkling coarse sea salt while they were hot.

Lin Yu’an picked one up, not minding the heat, and put it directly into his mouth.

”Crunch!” A crisp sound came from between his teeth. The extreme crispiness spread in the mouth as the hot oils wrapped the salty fish meat, almost melting instantly, leaving a mouthful of savory flavor!

After finishing this perfect high-calorie appetizer, he didn’t clean the pan. The layer of base oil mixed with fish oil and hairy scale fish essence at the bottom was the essence for the next cooking.

He added a small amount of freshwater to the pan. The mixture of water and oil boiled rapidly at high temperatures.

Skillfully, he disassembled two snow crabs, first twisting off all the legs and claws, then lifting the back shells, removing the inedible gills and innards, leaving only the most essential crab body.

After cutting it into pieces, he placed all these parts into the pan, covered it with a lid, and used the steam generated from the small amount of freshwater to steam them.

Steam rolled inside the pan, and soon, a unique and powerful sweet fragrance of crustaceans penetrated through the gaps of the pan lid, more potent than that of fried fish.

He estimated the time and lifted the lid. The originally reddish-brown crab shells had been steamed into a bright red color.

Then he removed the crab pieces and placed them on a clean wooden board.

He started with the crab legs, gently tapping along the leg with the back of a knife. The hard shell cracked open, and with a slight squeeze of his fingers, a whole, plump, snow-white piece of crab leg meat, with clear muscle fibers, slid out completely.

He didn’t prepare any dipping sauce, as the salt at the bottom of the pan had already completed the final seasoning.

During steaming, the salty fish oil and freshwater inevitably coated the surface of the crab meat, forming a thin layer of flavored coating.

He put a whole crab leg meat into his mouth. As expected, the texture was slightly spongy from freezing...

It lost the firm, chewy texture of live crabs, becoming softer and denser, but this did not diminish its deliciousness at all, instead, allowing the pure sweetness of the snow crab to release quickly in his mouth...

After finishing the crab legs, he began to enjoy the crab body.

He carefully picked out every strand of the snow-white crab meat from the shell with the tip of a knife, mixing with the golden crab roe, each bite was an ultimate reward for the taste buds.

This simple, efficient, yet delicious dinner replenished his almost exhausted energy bars.

As night deepened, he sat in front of the warm fireplace, listening to the wind blowing outside once again.

The issue of food supply was mostly resolved. Starting tomorrow, he would think about new strategies and ways to survive.

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