Heat up a pot of oil. Wrap the sea urchin roe in a thin layer of seaweed, then dip it in batter and fry it until it has a crispy crust.
For the deep - fried sea urchin roe, just sprinkle a little pepper salt on it, and its natural sweetness will be further enhanced.
Mix shrimps and scallops into the minced meat, then wrap a whole piece of sea urchin roe in it. Carefully shape it into willow - leaf dumplings and pan - fry them until they are golden and fragrant. These sea urchin fried dumplings, served with mashed garlic and vinegar sauce, are rich but not greasy, with crispy skins and tender fillings. Every bite makes the meat juice splash in the mouth.
The scattered sea urchin is not wasted either. Take half of it and grind it finely through a sieve, then mix it into the cooked seafood soup base. As for the ingredients to be cooked in the soup, of course, they are all the seafood that Li Ying and Zhu'er just caught.
Plump mussels, thinly sliced sea cucumbers, and small abalones carved with chrysanthemum - like cuts, together with a plate of golden sea urchin, are neatly arranged. The colorful display makes people drool.
The other half of the crushed sea urchin is made into a cold salad with blanched prawns and scallops. Decorated with some green vegetables and cherry tomatoes, it is fresh and lovely with the contrast of red and green.
The staple food is sea urchin fried rice. First, stir - fry ginger and garlic until fragrant. Then stir - fry the sea urchin roe. While it's still hot, break the egg and stir it evenly in the pan. Add a little cooking wine to remove the fishy smell.
Add scallops and shrimps and stir - fry them evenly. Just season it with salt and oyster sauce. The sea urchin fried rice is stir - fried until each grain is distinct, golden, shiny and fragrant.
By this time, the garlic - baked mussels and sea urchin steamed eggs in the steamer are just cooked. Pour some soy sauce on them and take them out of the steamer while they are still hot.
Zhu'er and her grandfather stared blankly at this table full of sea urchin dishes that looked, smelled and tasted wonderful. They both swallowed their saliva involuntarily.
Li Ying smiled slightly. While urging Zhu'er to quickly serve the dishes out, she didn't forget to remind her not to taste them secretly.
"Is... is it really done like this?"
Zhu'er looked puzzled.
Li Ying's cooking skills were naturally superb. But Zhu'er had been standing beside her and watched the whole process clearly. This table of dishes was clean and there was definitely no trick at all!
Even if those pirates were satisfied with the meal, they couldn't possibly let her and the fishing village go just because of this meal!
Before Li Ying could explain, the pirates outside had become impatient. They shouted and rushed straight to the kitchen.
"Where's the wine? Where are the dishes? Don't you hurry up and serve them? Are you waiting to be struck by lightning?"
Li Ying quickly pulled Lu Xunguang and dodged behind the door.
The pirate pushed the door open and took a deep breath. Seeing that the table was actually full of delicious dishes, he was slightly stunned. He seemed not to expect that he could taste such delicious food in this remote and poor fishing village.
"You're smart!"
He snorted, picked up the sea urchin hot pot and shouted as he walked to the table.
Zhu'er was called over to serve the wine. She watched helplessly as these pirates drank three cups of wine. Their anger seemed to subside a bit. They started to play finger - guessing games in a pretentious manner. Zhu'er couldn't help but sigh secretly.
What... what should they do! Were they doomed today?
Just when she was in despair, she suddenly heard the leading pirate cover his stomach and groan a couple of times.
"You useless fellow. You're like a wild boar that can't enjoy fine food. This delicate food and wine have given you diarrhea?"
The pirate leader snorted indifferently and waved his hand impatiently.
"Go and clean up quickly and then come back. Go far away. Don't spoil our fun!"
The pirate with a bad stomach bent over and staggered away. A few of his companions were about to chime in, but unexpectedly, after just a few scattered laughs, they all felt their stomachs churning!
"Boss, something's wrong! This girl... couldn't have poisoned the food and wine, could she?"
The pirates who were still proud just a moment ago were now listless. Their faces were pale and big beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads.
The pirate leader's face changed.
"You little bitch, how dare you!"
He stretched out his big palm like a cattail leaf fan and pretended to grab Zhu'er's neck.
In this short moment, everything changed in an instant. Zhu'er had no idea what had happened at all. She was so scared that she stood there stupidly, and her feet seemed to be rooted to the ground and couldn't move at all.
It was Li Ying who rushed forward quickly and pulled Zhu'er behind her.
The pirate leader supported his body with one hand on the hilt of his knife. When he saw clearly that the people standing in front of him were Li Ying and Lu Xunguang, he spat hatefully.
"So it's you two reckless fools!"
"Don't be complacent! We... we are experts at using poison. Even if you succeed for a while, you're no match for me!"
The pirate leader rushed towards Li Ying unwillingly - he had been wandering in the rivers and lakes since he was a child. What kind of poisons and medicines hadn't he seen? How could he possibly be defeated by this little girl!
Lu Xunguang frowned and stepped in front of Li Ying.
But Li Ying didn't care. She just smiled slightly, nodded to Lu Xunguang, and then gracefully stood in front of him.
"Yes, I'm just a cook. I'm not some master who is both a doctor and a poison - user. I really don't have any powerful poison that can kill someone instantly."
"However, as the saying goes, when you have a good plan, I have a counter - measure. There are other ways to make people lose their fighting ability and collapse from poisoning besides using drugs."
She deliberately dragged out her words to pique the pirates' curiosity.
Sure enough, in just a moment, the pirates on the ground were either rolling around in pain, clutching their stomachs, or lying in the corner, vomiting as if they wanted to spit out their bile.
The pirate leader also knew that there must be something wrong with that sea urchin feast. But unfortunately, he was of high status and had eaten the most. Even though his physique was stronger than ordinary people, he couldn't hold on anymore. He foamed at the mouth, rolled his eyes, and fell to the ground like a stiff stone.
"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and call someone to tie up these pirates and send them to the official!"
Li Ying clapped her hands and smiled like a fox.
Zhu'er looked at the pirates lying on the ground in disbelief. It took her a long time to come to her senses.
Had they... really defeated the pirates?
Did it mean... from now on... they were free?
They would no longer have to risk their lives and struggle hard to collect ten hu of pearls every month?
Li Ying gently patted her on the shoulder.
Only then did Zhu'er come to her senses and rushed away to report the news.
Soon, the pirates were tied up by the villagers in a hurry, just like tying up crabs.
"Miss Li! Thanks to you, you've saved our village! We're so grateful for your great kindness that we don't know how to repay you!"
The mermaids were all in tears. They knelt in front of Li Ying and insisted that she stay on the island for a while. They also took on the task of repairing her boat.
Seeing that the mermaids took out the dried fish and shrimp that every family was reluctant to eat, Li Ying didn't accept them. Instead, she waved her hand seriously.
Seeing her solemn expression, the mermaids looked at each other in dismay and said guiltily, "Miss Li, there's nothing valuable in our village... These... are just a little token of our gratitude... Please don't dislike them..."
Lu Xunguang wanted to smooth things over and was about to reach out to take them, but Li Ying stopped him.
"No. All these things must be thrown away. They must not be kept."