Chapter 12 Bamboo Tube Garlic Butter Shrimp.

Chapter 12: Bamboo Tube Garlic Shrimp.

The shrimp they caught closely resembled giant freshwater prawns from Blue Star, significantly larger than regular shrimp, with the biggest weighing up to a pound and as long as an adult's forearm.

However, the narrow entrance of Yu Xin's shrimp trap prevented larger shrimp from entering, while the gaps between bamboo strips allowed smaller ones to escape, leaving behind a batch of medium-sized shrimp.

These shrimp had extremely thin shells but succulent, firm, and tender meat. Their large heads contained rich shrimp roe, similar to crab tomalley, making them perfect for cooking.

Yu Xin picked up one shrimp, hefting it lightly in his hand. Fresh out of the water, it was still lively, waving its claws and legs trying to escape. Yu Xin gripped it at the joint between head and body, gave a gentle squeeze, and popped out the round, dark head sac. With a slight pull, the connected intestinal tract came out smoothly.

The shrimp was now fully prepped, its body intact and undamaged.

Yu Xin patiently demonstrated again for the others. Shen Tong, Ruan Qing, and Qin Shizhen picked up the technique quickly. Though Sheng Xingyao was clumsy at first, after a few tries, he too could cleanly remove the vein.

Once all the shrimp were cleaned, washed, butterflied along the back, massaged with salt, tossed in oil, and set aside to marinate for a bit, they moved on to preparing skewers.

They used bamboo, whittling one end to a point to make it easier to skewer the shrimp. This required precision and strength, with a risk of cutting oneself, so they considerately didn't ask the two women to do it.

While Qin Shizhen and Sheng Xingyao were still slowly whittling one skewer at a time, they saw Yu Xin’s hands move in a blur, his motions too fast to follow. With a few quick strokes, he had a finished skewer—smooth, straight, uniformly thick, and without a single splinter.

The other guests and viewers: …

Is this humanly possible speed and precision?!

Why does it feel like a chill is running down our necks…

With Yu Xin’s help, they soon had enough bamboo skewers. The shrimp had finished marinating, and they skewered two per stick, ending up with a large bundle.

Next came grilling. Yu Xin split bamboo tubes in half, using them to clamp both ends of the skewers, then tied them together with rope. This kept the shrimp neatly aligned for easy turning while grilling.

The key to grilled shrimp is repeatedly brushing them with oil to prevent burning. The oil-soaked shells become crispy and fragrant. Yu Xin assigned this task to the relatively reliable Qin Shizhen while he prepared to cook the other half of the shrimp.

Sheng Xingyao remembered Yu Xin mentioning a new way to prepare shrimp and was itching to know: "Yu Xin, how are you going to cook this half?"

Instead of answering directly, Yu Xin said, "Go cut down a bamboo stalk for me. Remember, the thickest one in the bamboo forest."

"The thickest bamboo…" Sheng Xingyao scratched his head. Does the thickness of bamboo affect the flavor?

He went off with a machete. Yu Xin stayed at the campsite, washing and preparing wild green onions, garlic, and chilies he’d gathered from the forest, along with a leftover sweet potato from yesterday, peeling and dicing it into small pieces.

Soon, Sheng Xingyao returned, calling out from afar, "Yu Xin! Is this thick enough?"

He dragged back a long bamboo stalk, his movements shaking the surrounding bamboo and startling birds into flight.

Yu Xin went to check. The bamboo Sheng Xingyao found was indeed thick, nearly as wide as a household bowl’s mouth: "That’s perfect."

"Now cut it into sections, about seven or eight centimeters from each node, with the other end aligned to the node," Yu Xin gestured the approximate length, "This long, understand?"

"No problem…" Sheng Xingyao, already tired from dragging the heavy bamboo, swung the machete but only made a crack. Ruan Qing, watching nearby, offered, "Let me do it."

She took the machete from Sheng Xingyao, her slender hands gripping the handle firmly. With one swing, she cleanly split the bamboo tube in two, the cut smooth and even.

The others: …

Ruan Qing tilted her head innocently: "What? Is there a problem?"

"No problem, no problem at all. Who would dare have a problem with that?"

Though they already knew Ruan Qing was unusually strong, viewers couldn’t help but gasp in amazement.

Especially Ruan Qing’s fans watching the livestream—their feelings were mixed. In their minds, she had always been like a delicate little white rabbit, particularly to male fans who saw her as fragile and inspiring protectiveness.

But since joining this show, Qingqing had changed! First, she lifted stones even Sheng Xingyao couldn’t move, and now she cuts bamboo as easily as slicing tofu. Even if she someday split a brick bare-handed, they wouldn’t be surprised!!

This isn't a delicate little flower—it’s a steel-toothed little white rabbit!

#MyIdolsImageIsCollapsingOnThisShowQaq#

Ruan Qing cut the bamboo tubes as Yu Xin instructed. The nodes were solid, turning the whole bamboo into small bowl-like containers. Picking one up, she suddenly understood: "Yu Xin, you’re going to use these bamboo tubes to cook the shrimp, right!"

"Exactly," Yu Xin gave her an approving look, "That’s why I asked Sheng Xingyao to find thicker bamboo—for more capacity."

He first placed diced sweet potato at the bottom of each bamboo tube. The shrimp were butterflied all the way to the tail, exposing the white flesh, then arranged neatly inside the tubes before being set directly in the fire to cook.

Green and red chilies were chopped into a chili paste, mixed with ginger strips to counteract any fishiness, scallion segments for aroma, and a small amount of perilla leaves for layered flavor. This mixture was added to the bamboo tubes, along with salt, sugar, and soy sauce for seasoning and enhancing freshness.

The most crucial ingredient was the wild garlic Yu Xin had gathered in abundance. Finely minced, these small but intensely pungent cloves could bring tears to the eyes with just a tiny amount.

Yu Xin added plenty, covering the shrimp with a thick layer of minced garlic.

Then came the most critical part of the dish. Without a pot, Yu Xin improvised by heating oil in the aluminum lunchbox provided by the show for meals.

Once the oil was hot enough, Yu Xin swiftly poured it into each bamboo tube.

A sizzling sound erupted as the hot oil met the ingredients.

That sound alone was enough to whet the appetite, accompanied by an intense aroma. The sizzling oil quickly released the fragrances of the ingredients in the bamboo tubes, especially the minced garlic, which burst forth with an irresistibly captivating aroma.

Sheng Xingyao took a deep breath, eyes wide: "So fragrant!"

He was used to eating food only after it was fully prepared, rarely witnessing the cooking process, so he had no idea hot oil could create such a powerful chemical reaction with food.

Ruan Qing and Shen Tong nodded vigorously in agreement. Even Qin Shizhen, focused on grilling shrimp, kept turning his head at the enticing smell.

Yu Xin thought to himself, Of course—this recipe had stood the test of generations in Blue Star’s night markets. It would be strange if it weren’t fragrant.

Among his few memories of life on Blue Star before the nuclear pollution outbreak, summer nights were filled with this exact kind of aromatic, earthy scent from the night markets.

How nostalgic, this long-lost flavor.

Yu Xin added some water to the bamboo tubes and let them simmer. The liquid bubbled gently, releasing wave after wave of aroma. He instructed Shen Tong and the others to watch carefully and avoid letting the sauce reduce too much and burn, then went to check on Qin Shizhen’s progress with the grilled shrimp.

Qin Shizhen had been diligently brushing oil on the shrimp. They were now fully reddened, with some parts turning golden, yet not a single one was burnt. Shrimp oil had been rendered out, dripping onto the charcoal below. Just the sight was enough to make mouths water.

"Almost done," Yu Xin took out the pepper salt, shaking his wrist to evenly coat the shrimp with a thick layer.

Pepper salt and shrimp were a perfect match. The exposed shrimp meat had turned slightly golden, with the shrimp releasing a delicious roasted aroma. The shrimp roe was nearly melted, blending with the pepper salt on the shrimp bodies. The imagined taste alone was enough to make one drool buckets.

The high-definition camera focused on the pepper-salt grilled shrimp, transmitting every detail to the viewers. The chat, previously filled with heated arguments, fell into an unusual silence, with the screen momentarily blank.

After a moment, one comment quietly appeared:

"Why do I feel like this shrimp looks kinda delicious?"

This resonated strongly with the audience. The next second, countless comments flooded in.

"Me too! I really want to know how it tastes!"

"So tempting… no, so cruel (wipes drool)."

"Wahhhh my standards aren't high, can I just lick the skewer?"

"No one is allowed to compete with me!! I'm a premium VIP, I get to lick the skewer first!!"

"You're telling me this is wilderness survival!? This is clearly a food show!"

"This is just fucking ridiculous, I clearly just finished eating, how am I hungry again..."

Of course, there were still some discordant voices mixed in, such as: "Hmph, it might look passable, but who knows how it actually tastes"

"Exactly, we can't taste it anyway, might not taste good at all"

"Exactly, we can't taste it, but we have eyes"

"LOL, some people only have a tough mouth, their lips would still be intact even after being cremated for three days"

...

Back at the campsite, Yu Xin (male) flipped the prawns over and roasted them a few more times until the prawn legs were slightly charred and the antennae crumbled at a touch, then removed the sizzling salt-and-pepper prawns from the fire onto pre-prepared leaves.

Meanwhile, the garlic prawns in the bamboo tubes were almost done, reduced to a perfect consistency with all ingredients soaked in a glossy, rich broth. Just before serving, Yu Xin added a handful of chopped scallions, their bright green garnishing the prawns, looking extremely enticing.

Yu Xin brought out all the bamboo tubes and arranged them neatly—the meal was finally complete.

"Time to eat!"

Author's Note:

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I'm late!! But still gotta say!! Happy Children's Day to all you hundreds-of-months-old babies!!!