Chapter 67: 67, Bursting Chestnuts, out of the pot!
According to the recipe, the cooking method for Bursting Chestnuts is very similar to that of sugar-roasted chestnuts.
However, the small pebbles used in sugar-roasted chestnuts have been replaced with the fruit of the Fiery Cactus.
This fruit, having undergone radiation and long-term mutation, is unlike the previous world’s dragon fruit-like appearance.
The surface of the fruit is covered with skin tougher than cowhide, and once cut open, reveals small black round kernels resembling loquat seeds.
These kernels are very hard.
At the same time, they are rich in oil and have explosive properties, bursting open after continuous burning in flames.
Some in this world have tried to extract a gasoline-like substance from this fruit.
Ultimately, they found that the fruit is more suitable for use in explosions.
Once processed, the explosive made by mixing it with gunpowder can even have incendiary bomb effects.
This fruit is difficult to obtain, as Fiery Cacti typically grow in particularly hot places where the surface temperature easily reaches over 50 degrees Celsius.
Not far south from the Ninth Special Zone, there’s a growth area for Fiery Cacti, spanning over 100 square kilometers teeming with Fiery Cactus.
It is considered one of the industries in the Ninth Special Zone.
In the Upper City District alone, there are around seventy to eighty thousand workers engaged in harvesting Fiery Cacti.
For cooking Bursting Chestnuts, the pebbles are replaced with these extremely explosive Fiery Cactus fruits, infusing their explosive capabilities into the chestnuts through stir-frying.
Another key ingredient, the honey from Flame Poison Bees, complements the Fiery Cactus well.
The nests of Flame Poison Bees are generally built within Fiery Cacti.
The honey produced by these mutated venomous bees is sweet yet fiery, ensuring that even in minus tens of degrees winter, one bite warms you up for half an hour.
Besides being edible, it’s highly flammable.
After consuming it, even the stool you pass the next day could be ignited with a match.
These venomous bees self-immolate when their species faces danger, turning the entire swarm into a blaze attacking the enemy.
A large portion of workers in the Ninth Special Zone who harvest Fiery Cactus fruits have died at the hands of these venomous bees.
Unintentional contact with a nest can lead to being fatally stung.
The venom of these bees, once it contacts a liquid on the human body, self-ignites like white phosphorus.
Those attacked by these bees usually die from being burnt alive, rather than the actual sting.
These two key ingredients are indispensable for the entire Bursting Chestnut dish.
As for the chestnuts themselves, what’s needed is a special kind of chestnut called Thunderbolt Chestnut.
This chestnut is slightly smaller than ordinary chestnuts, about the size of a thumb, and when mature, it falls to the ground with a thunderous crack.
These chestnuts are not typically consumed; instead, they’re a precious resource often purchased by mercenary teams or large work groups.
They are used to drive away wild animals.
After all, over time, most species on the Wasteland have become dangerous due to mutation.
The majority of creatures still retain their biological instincts, and such powerful noise can deter most beasts.
Even if not, they serve as a strong warning.
These three ingredients are extremely difficult to obtain.
Chen Che has already asked Bobby to help gather as much as possible.
Now he must start learning to cook.
Fortunately, the ingredients in the Food God Space are infinite.
Allowing him an unlimited margin for error.
The cooking process for these chestnuts is similar to sugar-roasted chestnuts; first, adding the Fiery Cactus fruits to the iron pot and constantly stir-frying, ensuring the heat envelops each piece of fruit.
During this process, Chen Che needs to continuously use his Food God power to envelop each cactus fruit.
Wrap these fruits to an extreme temperature; if it becomes unbalanced, all the cactus fruits will explode!
That’s a taste Chen Che doesn’t wish to try.
Then he adds the chestnuts, continually stir-frying, infusing the explosive and fiery properties of the Fiery Cactus fruits into the chestnuts.
During this, he must constantly exert his Food God powers.
Once the chestnuts have absorbed enough of the Fiery Cactus fruit, he pours in the Flame Poison Bee honey.
After adding the honey, it’ll ignite instantly, and with quick stir-frying in the flames, the chestnuts absorb all the fire.
According to the description, the finished Bursting Chestnuts are fragrant and tender, deliciously sweet with a lingering hint of spiciness.
This spiciness warms the whole body, and eating one brings warmth even in extreme cold.
Chen Che lets out a deep breath and begins learning to cook.
Heats the iron pot, adds the cactus fruits, and starts stir-frying.
Chen Che just picks up the spatula and gives a stir when his expression suddenly changes, and he quickly retreats, as the fruits in the pot explode like a volcanic eruption!
Countless flames soar.
Luckily, he dodged quickly.
"Damn, I was just a second late. The difficulty of this thing is no joke."
Chen Che scratched his head, having to discard it and start cooking again.
Once, twice... Even though Chen Che dodges quickly, he still experiences being engulfed in flames.
The pain makes him grimace.
But fortunately, in the Food God Space, injuries are instantly healed.
Though painful, it’s at least harmless.
Over time, Chen Che becomes bolder, increasing skill with rising failures.
At the 200th hour, the fruits in the pot finally reach perfection, allowing him to add and stir the chestnuts.
At the 300th hour.
He finally achieves a balance between the chestnuts and the fruits, feeling the chestnuts continually absorbing the energy from the fruits.
At the 350th hour, Chen Che adds honey into the pot for the first time, causing it to boil like a fiery mountain.
It’s like pouring a large barrel of gasoline on a burning fire heap.
Instant explosion.
The explosion withstands intense heat, constantly stir-frying the chestnuts in the flames!
Evolving and boiling in the flame!
At the 500th hour!
After numerous failures and countless explosions.
Even experiencing death threats multiple times.
Chen Che swiftly stir-fries again, with the flames in the pot rising and extinguishing with his stirring, integrating within!
Finally, like elixirs in the Alchemy Furnace, successfully concocted, the flames extinguish, the pot calms, with a few chestnuts lying quietly among the fruits.
Chen Che wipes the soot from his face, excitement barely contained, as he approaches the pot and examines the chestnuts he’s painstakingly fried—over 20—but only three have beautiful flame patterns on their surface.
According to the recipe, only chestnuts with flame patterns have the "burst" properties.
They can turn anything they contact into an explosive.
Others without the flame pattern, while extremely delicious, offering a unique texture, only heat the body, dispelling winter’s chill.
"Seems this delicacy is no simple feat as I thought."
Chen Che picks up a chestnut, squeezes it hard, and with a "pop," the shell bursts open, releasing white smoke, revealing golden, soft, delightfully fragrant flesh, which he proceeds to chew.
The long-lasting sweetness blossoms on his tongue, followed by heat slipping from throat to stomach, spreading throughout the limbs.
Warming not just the body, but the soul too.
Simultaneously, a mysterious power seems to flow through his palms.
A phrase appears in his mind.
[You have consumed a Bursting Chestnut, the "burst" property now flows within you, you can impart any object with the "burst" property! The rarer and more valuable the object in this world, the greater its explosive power once triggered! Use with caution!]