Chapter 8 Bamboo Tube Steamed Fish.

Chapter 8: Bamboo-Steamed Fish.

With the ingredients ready, Yu Xin began cooking.

The fresh, soil-dusted herbs were washed, with only the necessary parts retained, cut into even small segments, and set aside for later use.

The spear-caught small fish had been processed—scaled, gutted, and cleaned—then neatly arranged on the large green leaves they had picked to serve as plates.

Yu Xin skillfully chopped green onions, ginger, wild chilies, and Thai basil. Among the supplies provided by the show's crew were some basic seasonings. Yu Xin took some salt, soy sauce, and pepper, mixed them together, and evenly coated the scored fish with the mixture. The red chili peppers, yellow wild ginger, green green onions, and Thai basil blended together, creating a vibrant and visually appealing mix.

The fish needed to marinate for a while. During this waiting period, Yu Xin selected a thick, uniformly green bamboo section, split it lengthwise down the middle, resulting in two semi-cylindrical halves.

He carefully cleaned them with boiled water and placed them on the makeshift fire pit that had been prepared earlier.

The so-called stove was merely a simple ring of stones arranged to form a platform, with a space in the middle for the fire.

The task of lighting the fire was assigned to Sheng Xingyao, but he couldn’t get the hang of it. After squatting in front of the stove and fumbling around for a long time, he still hadn’t managed to start a fire.

After several unsuccessful attempts, Sheng Xingyao frantically ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

It didn’t make sense. He had seen Yu Xin effortlessly strike a fire with just a few rubs, so why were the fire starters so uncooperative in his hands?

Meanwhile, everyone else was busy. Cooking required a large amount of fresh water, so Qin Shizhen was occupied with fetching buckets of water back to the campsite. Shen Tong and Ruan Qing were stationed by the kettle, boiling water to ensure Yu Xin had a steady supply of hot water whenever needed.

His pride kicking in, Sheng Xingyao didn’t want to admit that he couldn’t even manage such a simple task as starting a fire. He had already embarrassed himself multiple times since joining the show, and if this continued, how could he maintain his image as an A-list celebrity?

He refused to give up! Today, he was determined to get this fire going!

One more try!

…

By the time Yu Xin had finished preparing the fish and bamboo tubes, Sheng Xingyao still hadn’t succeeded in lighting the fire.

Feeling utterly defeated, he grabbed his hair and exclaimed, “How is this supposed to be done? Why can’t I get it to light?”

The big star squatted on the ground without a care for his image, his expression frantic. The heavy idol image he usually carried was completely forgotten, and he even had a piece of grass stuck in his hair.

He looked both pathetic and hilarious.

Even Yu Xin couldn’t help but let a small smile show. He walked over, took the fire starters from Sheng Xingyao, and said, “I should have realized you wouldn’t know how.”

He patiently explained while demonstrating, “Your method of starting a fire won’t work. You need some tinder—something flammable—to catch the spark. Once the tinder ignites, gradually add smaller twigs, and finally larger pieces of firewood.”

He took a small piece of wood and used a dagger to shave off thin curls, creating simple tinder.

Handing it to Sheng Xingyao, he said, “Now try again.”

This time, after striking the fire starters, the sparks quickly ignited the highly flammable wood shavings, and a trembling little flame finally emerged.

Sheng Xingyao suddenly understood, “So that’s how it’s done!”

So there was even this much nuance to starting a fire. He had initially thought he could figure it out on his own through trial and error—how dumb was that.

He treated the precious little flame with extreme care, following Yu Xin’s instructions to add firewood bit by bit. The flame grew stronger and stronger, eventually stabilizing into a steady, roaring fire.

Sheng Xingyao pumped his fist excitedly, “I did it!”

After trying all morning! Finally! Success!

Ah!! He felt like running a few laps out of sheer joy!

“What’s up with Sheng Xingyao? Acting like he just won an Oscar for lighting a fire.”

“Hahaha, cut him some slack. He’s been at it all morning and finally succeeded. I’d be excited too.”

“LOL, I was this excited the first time I wiped my own butt in kindergarten. How is a top celebrity acting like a little kid?”

With the fire now going, Yu Xin brushed on some oil inside the bamboo tube, neatly arranged the marinated fish one by one, and added thinly sliced green onions, ginger, chili rounds, and Thai basil on top of the fish. He poured in an appropriate amount of water and sprinkled salt, sugar, and other seasonings.

After completing these steps, he placed the other half of the bamboo tube over the fish-filled half, tying them securely with rope to ensure nothing would spill out.

With everything prepared, he placed the bamboo tube over the fire to steam!

This cooking method was truly novel. The guests and audience were captivated by Yu Xin’s fluid movements. They had never seen such a cooking technique before, watching as if it were some fascinating experiment, not wanting to miss a single moment.

“Place your bets, everyone. Will Yu Xin’s creation actually be edible?”

“It should be… right? He looks so confident, seems pretty reliable.”

“I doubt it. Won’t the bamboo turn to ash after a while? Even if it doesn’t, how can we be sure the fish inside is cooked?”

“Exactly, the flavor is bound to be weird. I feel bad for the guests in advance—even if it tastes bad, they’ll probably have to force themselves to eat it for the show’s sake.”

“Yu Xin doesn't have that much pull. If it really tastes bad, the others won’t lie and say it’s good.”

“Let’s just wait and see. Hurry up, I can’t wait any longer.”

Yu Xin kept rotating the bamboo tube to ensure the fish inside heated evenly, preventing one side from burning while the other remained uncooked.

Contrary to the audience’s expectations, the bamboo tube did not turn to ash. Apart from the outer layer turning charred black, it stayed intact.

This was because fresh bamboo contains a lot of moisture, making it resistant to burning—perfect for use as a cooking vessel.

Steaming fish doesn’t take very long. After about ten minutes, a tantalizing aroma began to waft from the bamboo tube.

Shen Tong lifted her head and sniffed the air carefully, exclaiming in surprise, “I smell something delicious. Is that our fish?”

The fragrance was subtle yet alluring. Having only eaten a few fruits in the morning, she suddenly felt starving, as if she could eat an entire cow.

In that moment, she developed great expectations for this seemingly ordinary bamboo tube.

“Yu Xin, is the fish not ready yet? How much longer do we have to wait?” Ruan Qing couldn’t help asking, swallowing hard.

Mmm! Smells amazing! I'm so hungry!

Yu Xin observed the state of the bamboo tube and estimated roughly, “About three more minutes.”

During those long three minutes, the aroma grew increasingly intense. The guests swallowed mouthfuls of saliva, their eyes practically glued to the bamboo tube, unwilling to look away.

Seeing their barely-contained excitement, Yu Xin shook his head helplessly.

This was only the beginning. These people from the stars really had no idea!

Finally, Yu Xin announced, “The fish is steamed. It’s ready to eat.”

The bamboo tube, now charred black, was carefully removed from the fire. As the rope was cut and the top half serving as the lid was lifted, everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on Yu Xin’s slender fingers.

A billow of steam rushed out from the bamboo tube. As the heat dispersed, everyone could finally see what was inside—

The fish inside had been steamed to perfection, with the skin split open and the flesh peeking through. The fish meat peeked out from beneath the slightly curled skin, appearing glistening white, translucent, and plump.

Scattered throughout were red and green chilies, scallion segments, and ginger shreds. The water added earlier had mostly evaporated, leaving behind only a milky-white broth that was locked into the fish. Just by looking at it, one could imagine how tender and juicy it would be.

Yu Xin took advantage of the freshly steamed fish and added chopped scallions and cilantro, instantly making the aroma more complex and mouthwateringly tantalizing.

So incredibly fragrant!

The aluminum lunchboxes had been prepared earlier. The guests followed Yu Xin’s example and made makeshift chopsticks by peeling tender branches of suitable thickness. With their utensils ready, they eagerly waited for Yu Xin to serve the food.

Each person received about two small fish, drizzled with the rich, concentrated broth. A fresh, inviting aroma wafted up.

Ruan Qing couldn’t wait any longer. She picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks and placed it in her mouth to savor it slowly.

The moment it entered her mouth, her eyes widened in surprise, and she even let out a muffled gasp.

The fish was indeed as tender as she had imagined. It barely needed chewing—it simply melted away with a gentle press of the tongue.

Though the fish were only about the length of an adult’s palm, they were surprisingly generously meaty. Having lived in a completely unpolluted natural environment with abundant food, they had grown plump and succulent. With a light poke of the chopsticks, succulent, garlic-clove-sized chunks of firm, snow-white flakes came apart.

The aromatic, distinctive scent of Thai basil completely masked any fishy taste, instead highlighting the fish’s exquisite flavor. Topped with the accents of scallions, ginger, and garlic, along with just the right amount of spiciness, it whetted the appetite and made it impossible to stop after the first bite.

Moreover, there was a subtle hint of a fresh, herbal note that she couldn’t quite place.

Ruan Qing’s eyes lit up. How could she have forgotten? The fish had been steamed inside a bamboo tube!

The distinct clean, earthy scent of bamboo had fully infused into the fish meat, complementing its natural sweetness and creating a flavor so irresistible she couldn’t stop eating.

They finally understood what it meant for something to be so fresh that you could “swallow your tongue.”

And so, a rather bizarre sight unfolded: the guests alternated between savoring each bite delicately and devouring the food heartily, their expressions almost pained, as though they were struggling to contain their excitement.

No one had the time to speak, and the live chat was exploding with impatience:

“Don’t just focus on eating! Say something! Where are the comments?!”

“Describe the flavor! Come on! A proper foodie host can’t just eat without talking!”

“I’m going crazy with anticipation—can someone remind these people? I really want to know what the fish tastes like, ahhhhhhh!”

“It looks super delicious… surely that’s not just my imagination, right?”

The guests kept their chopsticks moving, first satisfying their urgent cravings with big mouthfuls of meat before finally slowing down to appreciate the flavors more deliberately.

Ruan Qing looked up from her lunchbox, her expression deeply moved, almost reverential. Upon closer look, her eyes even seemed to well up with tears.

In a trembling voice, she finally spoke her first words: “It’s delicious!”

“This is the best fish I’ve ever had in my life!”

Author’s Note:

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My update schedule has been irregular lately. Sometimes updates might come very late, so if you can’t wait, just check back the next day~

Also!! I successfully signed the contract!! Ahhh!!