Ten Thousand Poison Valley was a bit far, and besides, making the braised pork knuckle tender and succulent required a certain amount of time.
The next day, Lu Wu got up before the sun was even out.
Having pulled another all-nighter, Lu Wu had dark circles under her eyes and seemed a bit listless.
But this was the Qing Yuan World. After Lu Wu circulated the small amount of spiritual power in her body, her dark circles faded considerably, and her spirits lifted.
Patting her fair, tender cheeks, Lu Wu blew a kiss to her reflection in the mirror before heading to the kitchen.
The light that flickered on in the darkness was particularly conspicuous.
Next door, the soundly sleeping Old Man Li abruptly opened his eyes. When he saw the light, a look of confusion appeared on his face.
He just assumed Lu Wu had gotten up to relieve herself, so he rolled over and went back to sleep.
In the kitchen, Lu Wu took out the pork knuckle Lin Tufu had given her yesterday. It was very fresh, still glistening with blood.
Lu Wu washed it clean, then soaked it in fresh water for half an hour.
While waiting, Lu Wu prepared the ingredients for stewing the pork knuckle.
Soy sauce, light soy sauce, and cooking wine were all essential. Lu Wu also brought out a lot of spices.
Ginger, star anise, and cinnamon were the pork knuckle’s best partners, but bay leaves, Sichuan peppercorns, and dried chilies also had to be used.
The whole big family of aromatic spices gathered together, ready to work their magic.
Spirit stones fueled the fire, allowing the heat to be controlled at will.
The blood was soaked out of the pork knuckle. Lin Tufu was very meticulous in his work; there was hardly any pig hair to be seen on the knuckle.
Lu Wu placed the large pork knuckle in a pot to blanch it. These spirit pigs had hefty knuckles, and they were sure to be incredibly satisfying to eat.
Since it was only the first day, Lu Wu planned to make fifty pork knuckles to test the waters. One pot wasn’t enough, but fortunately, Lu Wu had prepared in advance and set up another stove.
As the water in the pot began to boil, bloody scum floated to the surface, and Lu Wu skimmed it off.
When she was done, she removed the pork knuckle, washed it clean, and drained the water.
Ordinarily, making these pork knuckles would require a pressure cooker.
Although pressure cookers didn’t exist in the Qing Yuan World, a small pressurizing Fǎshù could solve the problem.
Lu Wu crammed at the last minute, searching on the Universal Realm Communicator and finding the one that consumed the least spiritual power to learn.
She gave it a try, and guess what?
She had failed… ah no, she had learned it.
“I learned it in one go. I’m such a genius.”
Praising herself, Lu Wu hummed a tune as she placed the pork knuckle into a pot of fresh water.
The water needed to cover the knuckle.
Lu Wu put the whole family of aromatic spices in, added an appropriate amount of fine salt, and after covering the pot, she snapped her fingers.
A spiritual light flashed, and the Fǎshù took effect.
Next, all she had to do was wait.
With time on her hands, Lu Wu sat on a small stool in the kitchen and started to doze off.
So sleepy.
Yawning repeatedly, Lu Wu groggily fell asleep.
She had a dream. She dreamed she had returned to Blue Star. A relative was getting married, and she was tagging along with her mom to get some free food and drinks.
Many meat dishes were served at the banquet, and Lu Wu ate happily.
The dish that captured Lu Wu’s heart the most was the large, braised pork knuckle. It was stewed until it was tender and succulent. With one bite, the skin melted in her mouth with just a gentle press of her teeth.
The rich sauce had seeped through every layer of the pork knuckle. Even the lean meat wrapped inside the fatty skin was incredibly flavorful.
The more Lu Wu ate, the more hooked she became.
She nearly got into a fight with a child at the same table over a pork knuckle. In the end, she won.
She claimed the last piece of meat.
She picked it up, smelling the overflowing meaty aroma that drilled straight into her nostrils.
Lu Wu’s nose twitched, and then she heard her stomach rumbling.
It was the hungry wolf in her stomach, roaring.
Strange, wasn’t she already full?
Lost in thought, Lu Wu was caught off guard as the piece of pork knuckle, just about to enter her mouth, was snatched away by the bratty kid.
Having gotten nothing but a mouthful of air, Lu Wu was so angry she cried, and the anger woke her up.
Her head slipped from her palm. Lu Wu, who had almost fallen to the floor, stared blankly at her surroundings. When she came to her senses, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“It smells so good.”
She looked toward the stove, where steam was rising.
The aroma that had made her fight so fiercely in her dream was wafting from that pot.
Her pork knuckle was ready!
Lu Wu quickly got up and opened the pot lid. The burst of fragrance made Lu Wu sniff hard, but she knew the pork knuckle hadn’t reached its peak yet.
She took out the pork knuckle, cleaned the pot, and poured in oil.
The high temperature activated the rich fragrance of the sesame oil, reminding Lu Wu of the vast fields of rapeseed flowers back in her hometown.
Rapeseed oil, that was the smell.
Once the oil was hot, she put the pork knuckle in. After stir-frying it for a short while, Lu Wu added the broth she had specifically saved from earlier, followed by light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and oyster sauce—all in.
At this point, all the seasonings had been added. The next step was the most time-consuming.
As the broth gradually reduced, to ensure every part of the pork knuckle could soak up the sauce, she needed to constantly use a spoon to ladle the thick soup from the pot over the knuckle.
Throughout this process, Lu Wu could see the pork knuckle gradually taking on color.
It changed from the white of cooked pork to a soy-sauce brown. Accompanying this change was an even more distinct and rich aroma. Just standing by the pot was enough to make one’s mouth water.
This process was sheer torture.
Lu Wu only stopped when most of the broth in the pot had been absorbed by the pork knuckle.
The pork knuckle was done.
Before taking it out of the pot, Lu Wu sprinkled some chopped green onions on top for garnish.
The green scallions falling onto the soy-colored pork knuckle gave one the urge to throw decorum to the wind, grab it, and feast.
Meat could always stir the desires of a food lover, and Lu Wu was no exception.
As the creator of this braised pork knuckle, Lu Wu decided to be the first to taste it.
“Boss Lu, I’ll have a pork knuckle.”
Suddenly, a voice sounded by her ear. Having tended her stall for a long time, Lu Wu answered reflexively.
“Coming right up!”
Only after she spoke did she realize something was wrong.
She was at home, not at her stall.
She turned her head and, sure enough, saw Old Man Li standing at the door, craning his neck and drooling.
Old Man Li gave her an ingratiating smile.
“I knocked just now. You probably didn’t hear me, Boss Lu.”
He really hadn’t intended to trespass.
He had been sleeping, but who knew that in his sleep, a little siren kept trying to seduce him.
That belly dance was a sight to behold.
He was completely unable to resist and was hooked by the little siren. Before they could get down to business, he suddenly woke up. The moment he opened his eyes, he smelled the meaty aroma wafting from next door.
At that moment, he understood. The little siren in his dream was the embodiment of this pork knuckle.
“Come and eat me!”
Those were the little siren’s exact words. He felt that a person should listen to good advice, so he came.
Lu Wu was speechless after hearing his explanation.
But thinking of her own dream, she was too embarrassed to say anything about Old Man Li.
Lu Wu had originally planned to bring some over to Old Man Li after he woke up. Since he was already here, they might as well eat together.
A pork knuckle was lifted from the pot. As the sauce dripped from the spatula back into the pot, every little drop of lost essence made Old Man Li’s heart ache.
“Little Lu…”
Old Man Li trailed off, but his gaze, fixed on the pot, made his meaning instantly clear.
Amused, Lu Wu added another spoonful of sauce for Old Man Li.
“Hehe, thank you, little Boss Lu.”
Old Man Li rubbed his hands together, took the bowl, and squatted by the kitchen door. He didn’t even bother with chopsticks, just picked it up with his hands and started eating.
Lu Wu copied the old man’s unrestrained manner. The two of them squatted, one on the left and one on the right. Their eyes met, and they took a bite at the same time.
“Oh my god!”
“Mmph!”
Old Man Li’s eyes widened in astonishment while Lu Wu’s narrowed in enjoyment. At that moment, the old and the young were in perfect sync.
Which was… this pork knuckle was too damn delicious.