Mushroom Powder (continued)

Jian Mo frowned. "The taste of this Powdered Yellow-Cap Mushroom is strange. Is it because everyone is not used to it?"

The people of the Sharp Teeth Tribe said, "We've been eating this kind of mushroom for at least a thousand years, and we've never seen anyone get used to it."

Jian Mo: "Is it because the powder on the mushroom caps wasn't washed off properly? Washing them off might help?"

The people of the Sharp Teeth Tribe disagreed. "Washing it clean makes it even worse; it loses all its fresh flavor."

Yun Long slowly chewed on the mushroom, saying thoughtfully, "I remember some tribes use this kind of mushroom to stew a certain bird's meat. Halfway through the stewing process, they would remove and discard the mushroom, leaving the bird meat, which tasted absolutely amazing after cooking."

A member of the Sharp Teeth Tribe chimed in, "Our tribe also has this tradition, but we didn't manage to hunt that kind of bird today."

Shan Dun, who had six ear piercings, immediately said, "I know where to find that kind of bird. Let's go catch it right away."

Jian Mo quickly called out to him, "It's getting late."

Shan Dun grinned. "It's alright, we often go out at night. Besides, I know where it is, it's not a hassle to go and get it back."

Before Jian Mo could exchange further pleasantries, the curious people around her chimed in, expressing their desire to see this amazing bird.

People from several tribes formed a team and went out to hunt birds.

Before Jian Mo and the others could wait any longer, the people came running back.

A quick-witted person slaughtered and plucked the bird, handing a bowl of cleaned bird meat to Jian Mo: "Doctor Jian Mo, here you go."

Jian Mo had no choice but to have a fire started again to prepare to stir-fry the bird meat.

Everyone gathered around to watch, and the stove fire could also be used as a campfire, so they could chat and digest their food.

They were all stir- Powdered Yellow-Cap Mushroom, and everyone quickly discovered that this mushroom tasted different when stir-fried with bird meat.

The strange taste from before was completely gone, leaving only the delicious flavor of bird meat.

Jian Mo, stir-fry the mushrooms, then stew them. Once the broth has reduced to a suitable consistency, under the guidance of the people from the Sharp Teeth Tribe, remove the mushrooms and then reduce the broth over high heat.

Soon, the bird meat stew was ready, and Wu Jiong was the first to taste it.

Jian Mo was observing his expression and was about to ask how the bird meat tasted when Wu Jiong picked up a piece of tender leg meat and held it to Jian Mo's mouth.

Jian Mo took a bite in perfect unison, and instantly, the fresh and rich flavor spread throughout their mouths.

Surprisingly, it was very delicious.

Jian Mo was quite surprised.

Seeing their expressions, everyone expressed their desire to try it.

Jian Mo handed over the chopsticks. "Isn't this kind of bird supposed to taste good?"

A member of the Sharp Teeth Tribe nearby, eating bird meat, mumbled, "No, we just caught several birds, and they're all sitting here uncooked. If you cook them again, you'll know once you taste them."

Jian Mo found it hard to believe that the Powdered Yellow-Cap Mushroom really made the bird meat taste better, so she said, "Then I'll give it a try."

Someone quickly brought over freshly prepared bird meat.

Jian Mo scooped the bird meat out of the pot and had everyone take it aside to eat. Then she washed the pot and stir-fried another pot of bird meat.

Jian Mo felt something was off about the freshly stir-fried bird meat while it was being cooked.

The bird meat in the pot looked a bit dry and tasted a bit fishy.

Jian Mo gritted her teeth and insisted on following the previous steps to cook the bird meat.

After tasting it, even without anyone saying anything, Jian Mo herself felt something was wrong.

The bird meat was tough and dry, completely different from the previous pot.

Jian Mo asked doubtfully, "Is it the same kind of bird? Could there be a mistake?"

People around said, "It's the same kind of bird; the feathers are still here."

Jian Mo found it hard to understand how the same bird meat could taste so different when cooked with different side dishes.

Could it be that some substance in the Powdered Yellow-Cap Mushroom reacted with the bird meat?

Jian Mo stared at the meat in the pot, then suddenly asked, "Are there any more Powdered Yellow-Cap Mushroom?"

Shan Dun: "Yes, we collected that much."

Jian Mo: "Bring me some more."

The bird meat in the pot was already cooked, but that didn't stop Jian Mo mushrooms and putting it back in the pot.

He was quite curious whether adding mushrooms now would taste better.

Before pouring the cleaned Powdered Yellow-Cap Mushroom into the pot, Jian Mo suddenly realized that mushrooms with the powder scraped off would taste even worse.

He had a sudden inspiration and quickly stopped the person who was pouring the mushrooms into the pot. "Wait, let's not put the mushrooms in this time, let's try putting in the powder on top instead."

He made the request, and everyone agreed. They all took out daggers, scraped off the white powder from the mushroom caps, and poured it into the pot.

After adding this powder from the mushrooms, something magical happened.

As the bird meat stewed, it became tender and flavorful.

After the sauce had reduced over high heat, Jian Mo picked up another piece to taste, and could no longer detect the fishy and hard texture it had previously had.

Jian Mo sighed, "I never expected that the powder on top would be the one that really works."

Wu Jiong: "The mushrooms are the worst part."

Jian Mo: "I guess so, it's a case of mutual reinforcement and mutual restraint."

The people of the Sharp Teeth Tribe have been eating mushrooms for so many years, and they never imagined that mushroom powder would have this effect.

Jian Mo also used this powder to stir-fry other meats, and the results were quite good.

It seems this powder can make meat tender and juicy.

This is quite useful for them who frequently eat meat with coarse fibers.

"What a pity, so many years wasted."

"For a while, there were a lot of Powdered Yellow-Cap Mushroom outside. At that time, we were afraid that they would hinder the growth of other mushrooms, so we would step on them whenever we saw them. We never expected that these mushrooms could be used to make meat tenderizer."

"I knew that every year when caravans come, they bring back other things. We should start collecting the Powdered Yellow-Cap Mushroom."

Everyone said that in the future, if they see this Powdered Yellow-Cap Mushroom, they will scrape off the powder from its cap.

Jian Mo laughed and said, "If you scrape off this powder, bring some back for me when you go to the Riverside Tribe? I'll trade it with you for other things then."