Warning: This entry contains implied cruelty to animals, view it at your own discretion.
Night 19: Snowsant, Sautéed Fins (Bullfrog) in Chili Sauce
The Late Night Diner is a part of Rhodes Island's canteen. That goes without saying – to whom had anyone ever heard of a diner in the boiler room?
As the name implies, it opens around midnight. There are only a handful of customers at a time.
Operators off their night shift could take an order and bring back to their quarters. Night owls could sit dining-in while leeching off the Diner's wi-fi. The Doctor would come for instant noodles from time to time.
Drinks are in the cooler. Anyone burdened by their own thoughts could take one and chug it down, anytime.
Menu? No such thing exists. What the Chef prepares is what you get. It all depends on his mood of the day.
Welcome to the Rhodes Island Late Night Diner. In here, you might even meet a familiar face or two.
There are few types on Rhodes Island who rarely came for late night meals. First was the ones like Doctor Kal'sit who had a disregard for their own bodies. To her, the time for meals was better reserved for more important matters. She would rather give herself a booster injection then go on surgeries. The second type were the people down at Engineering Department. Machine oil and lines of jumping codes on their tablets were more alluring than anything else. Then there were ones like Snowsant. She should be lumped in with the Engineering type but there's one thing different about her.
"Boss, do you have..." She inquired, glancing around the room. Customers were enjoying their meals, yet Snowsant was walking towards the counter with some reluctance. "...do you have steamed buns? Plain steamed rice is fine too. Didn't get a chance to have lunch nor dinner..."
"Yeah. But they come bundled with sautéed fins." The Chef said, throwing several four-legged aquatic beasts down onto the cutting board. With their limbs bound, these rotund creatures were trying their best to scurry away, albeit always ended in futile. "I offer smaller portions too. Good eating and not expensive. Want a try?"
Snowsant looked at the dark green fins, then looked towards the price tags on the display case. She thought to her herself that she had better settled for packaged bread. However the distance between the store and Engineering Department was rather long, and Closure recently raised the price of items purchased at night – who knew what reason she would use to raise the prices next time. Snowsant went through the expenses for the month in her head again: the Doctor just approved the budget for her projects and gave her a grant, heating and network fee were reduced, and money for her family was just sent out. It seemed that she indeed had some leftovers for a meal of sautéed fins.
"Well...I'll have one then," Snowsant nodded," Not too spicy please..."
That would make you a culinary ignoramus, the Chef thought. Flashing cleavers fell, and the fins ceased their struggle. He swiftly skinned the little creatures and cut them into small chunks. Then he put them in a bowl of seasoning for marinating. Afterwards he started to prepare the vegetables. One cucumber, a handful of thick bean sprouts, a head of leafy green, all chopped and stir-fried in scalding hot oil. This way they would not carry their distinct raw taste into the dish.
"Boss, wait!" Snowsant called out to the Chef who was about to throw away the unwanted scraps from the vegetables, "Um...Could you please put in the cucumber stem as well?"
The Chef took the woefully short stub out from the scraps. He showed it to her and said, "Look, it's all wilted. I guarantee you that it will not taste good." But Snowsant insisted. So he eventually threw it into the wok and fried with the rest.
With the vegetables done, the Chef paved them into the bottom of a large bowl. He then started working on the meat. The wok was heated with oil. When it was sufficiently warm, the hot oil was poured out and replaced with a fresh batch of cold oil. The meat chunks, coated in starch powder, were placed in the wok to fry in medium heat. This would allow the meat to retain most of its juice as well as its smooth and tender texture. After the meat was removed and oil changed, chopped green onion, ginger and garlic were put into the wok as starter for their flavour. When the aroma of these ingredients starting to spread in the kitchen, the Chef added in Yan peppercorn, dried chilli pepper along with Shangshu black bean sauce and some spicy hot pot soup base. A pungent yet pleasant fragrance quickly filled the kitchen and escaping outward, making even Snowsant cough slightly. Finally the fins meat was added into the wok. The Chef skilfully flipped the ladle in the flame-licked wok, stir-frying the golden coloured nuggets and coating them with a sheen of red.
"Do you come out for late night meals in Columbia?" The Chef started chatting with Snowsant while pouring hot water and Yan bear into the wok, "As long as I can tell, there are quite few good places. Affordable and substantial."
"Only a few times, really." Snowsant looked above at the ceiling, "The projects were like black holes for budgets, so I never had enough money to spend on other things. There were times that I'd like to go out for burgers or donuts, but I couldn't find anyone else to go with me and I ended up calling it off. Although...after I went back to Lungmen, I had more chances to go out for snacks. Uncle Tung's Scalebass Balls...ah well, I really wanted to visit that place again."
"That place I had heard quite a few mentions. All good things." The Chef tasted the broth with a spoon. "Maybe I should expand my menu. Heh."
The meat had soaked up the broth, and when the broth was almost gone under high heat, the Chef put the chunks and the broth into the bowl with vegetables. Then he heated up a ladle full of oil, and placed a small branch of Yan peppercorns on top of the bowl's content along with a sprinkle of white sesame. When the oil was smoking, he poured it into the bowl.
Fizz!
The alluring aroma of Yan peppercorn and sesame was stoked by the boil oil. It instantly exploded outwards and into Snowsant's nose. She could eat three bowls rice with the smell alone.
"Sautéed fins in chilli sauce, also known as 'roundhouse claps.'" The Chef said with an imitated Shangshu accent. He put the tray with the dish and a bowl of rice to Snowsant,"Just holler when you need more rice."
Resisting the fierce grumbling of her stomach, Snowsant picked up a small chunk of fins meat shyly with her chopsticks. She sent it into her mouth and savoured its flavour. The first thing that hit her was the numbing sensation brought by the Yan peppercorn. From the tip to the root of her tongue, it felt to her as if an army of ants crawling. After the tingling numb disappointed slightly, she started tasting the rich and bold spiciness from the hot chilli peppers. The Chef would certainly listen to the customer's request when he cooked for them, yet if the sautéed fins was missing the spiciness that was its basic, characteristic flavour, or even just reduced, then it had lost its soul. Only with the piping hot and tongue scalding spicy fins meat would one seek the comfort and calm from bowls of fluffy steamed rice.
Taking sharp inhales, Snowsant mixed the meat and the red broth in her bowl of rice and devoured it by the mouthful. The smoothness and tenderness of the meat was a pleasant treat to the tongue, not to mention the broth-soaked, oil-coated delicious lumps of rice. The bowl was quickly emptied, and after sending a few more chunks of meat into her stomach, Snowsant received another bowl filled with steamed rice from the Chef.
How long had it been since she had a satisfying meal like this? Snowsant could only remember the handful of times she went out for dinner parties hosted by the Engineering Department. Usually her staple meals consisted of only pickled vegetables, bread and water. Even so it was hard for her to keep three times a day. Savings came from squeezing down her daily expenditures. It was something she had understood years ago. She didn't came into this world with a silver spoon, nor had she some extraordinary talents. There was only one way ahead of her.
Heaven rewards the hard-working.
After the second bowl, there were not much meat left. The Chef gave her a third bowl of rice, this time for the vegetables. They had been soaking in the broth for quite long, yet instead of becoming limp and mushy like she had expected, the vegetables still tasted crunchy and succulent. The chopsticks were working non-stop in her hands, sending what's left in the bowl into her mouth. Suddenly she chewed on something wilted. It was the cucumber stem.
She looked at the Chef. The Chef grinned at her with an expected expression as if saying "told you so".
"Please come often", the Chef said as Snowsant finished her meal and jumped down the tall stool, "I offer special discounts."
"I will! Thank – hey, get back here! Coins, don't run away from me!"
Please take care of personal belongings while dining.