When the old fisherman looked at young Angus, he thought of what his two sons looked like when they were young.
At that time, the old fisherman often took the two brothers of similar age to the river beach to fish, but those beautiful days disappeared with the passing of his wife.
The laughter of those young children still lingered in his ears, and the old fisherman couldn't help but indulge in his own memories, but as the fish in the grass basket shook, the old fisherman quickly came back to his senses.
"Please sit down first. You can't help me in your current state. Just watch carefully. This is a craft passed down from my ancestors."
The old fisherman poured the fish and shrimps in the straw basket into the water tank to keep them first, and then he skillfully scooped up a live catfish.
The old fisherman put the catfish on the chopping board, held down the catfish's body with his left hand, and picked up a thin and sharp knife with his right hand.
He hit the catfish on the back with the back of the knife, and the catfish stopped struggling.
The knife was cut under the gills on the side of the catfish, and then the body of the fish was cut open; this cut avoided the gallbladder of the fish, but successfully broke open the belly of the fish.
The old fisherman reached in and took out the inedible organs and threw them aside.
"These are excellent fertilizers and should not be wasted. Although they smell a bit fishy, they are very good if you wash them with clean water, grind them into powder and sprinkle them on the ground."
The old fisherman explained patiently.
Angus, sitting on the chair, admired the old fisherman's skillful knife skills attentively and listened quietly to his explanation.
"Look, if you cut from the middle at this angle, the fish head will be separated from the body. Then just pick it up gently like this, and the fish bones will be picked out. Isn't it simple?"
The old fisherman proudly demonstrated his fish-cutting skills. Seeing Angus' serious attitude, he became more interested.
A fresh catfish was cut into several neat pieces by the old fisherman in just a few cuts.
The old fisherman cut off a piece of meat from the catfish's belly and threw it into the pot along with the head and tail.
He filled the pot with water, waited for the water to boil, cut two slices of dried ginger, added some green onions picked from the yard, threw the fish into the pot, and finally sprinkled some pepper and salt for seasoning before covering the pot and waiting for the soup to simmer.
The two rows of fish fillets taken out separately from the back of the fish are cooked using the method of pan-frying fish fillets.
After heating the frying pan, pour some cauliflower oil on it, coat the fish fillets with egg and flour batter, and fry them slowly in the pan over low heat.
"When frying fish fillets, remember not to keep turning them over, otherwise the fish fillets will break. The fire can't be too big either, because it will burn easily if the temperature is too high."
The old fisherman felt better as he smelled the fish soup and fish fillets, and he chatted with Angus to lighten the atmosphere.
"What's your name, baby?"
asked the old fisherman.
"An...Gus..."
Angus still answered a little weakly, but the aroma in the room had made him feel much more energetic, and he was very much looking forward to the upcoming meal.
"Angus. Nice name. My old man's name is... Never mind. Just call me Old Tony."
The old fisherman seemed reluctant to reveal his full name, so he told Angus his nickname.
Angus nodded, but the slight movement still hurt and made Angus grit his teeth.
Old Tony smiled and said, "There is no doctor in this small village. I checked your injuries and they are just minor ones. There is nothing wrong with them. Herbal medicine will be enough."
After saying that, Old Tony put the fish fillets that were almost fried on the plate.
Angus couldn't help drooling when he saw the fish fillets fried golden brown.
"This kid is still a greedy guy." Old Tony smiled slightly, thinking in his heart, and then said,
"Don't be impatient. You have to wait a little while until the flour outside is not so hot before you can eat it."
Old Tony washed the long knife, carefully wiped the water droplets on the blade with a rag, and then placed it preciously on a wooden rack beside him.
Then he took out a fresh lemon from the fruit basket nearby, cut it in half, and then cut each half into four equal parts.
Pinch the two corners of the lemon between your index finger and thumb and squeeze them hard on the fish fillet. The sweet and sour lemon juice will be evenly sprinkled on the fish fillet. Finally, sprinkle a little salt on the fish fillet as seasoning, and the dish is ready.
"Come and try it. If this dish were served in a restaurant, it would cost you at least five marks."
Old Tony smiled and handed the knife and fork to Angus.
Under the temptation of delicious food, Angus temporarily forgot his pain and took the knife and fork from Old Tony.
Angus haphazardly cut the fish fillet into small pieces and forked a piece into his mouth.
The golden and crispy egg paste wraps around the soft and glutinous fish fillet, forming a wonderful contrast between crispness and softness. The lemon juice, as the finishing touch, dissolves the fishy smell of the catfish and enhances the original deliciousness of the catfish fillet through its sour taste.
Angus finished the fish fillet in front of him in just a few bites. Now he understood why Old Tony said that this delicacy had to be sold at a price as high as five gold marks in the restaurant.
Because only the freshest ingredients can bring out the best flavor with such a simple combination, which places very high demands on the freshness of the ingredients.
After he finished the fish fillet, he began to look forward to the fish soup.
Old Tony took a large piece of brown bread from the table, cut it into small pieces of equal size, and put them in a bowl separately.
Then Old Tony served a bowl of freshly cooked fish soup and a wooden spoon and placed them in front of Angus.
"Be careful, it's hot. Drink slowly."
Angus first took a piece of cut brown bread and put it in his mouth. Unexpectedly, the bite almost broke his teeth.
Angus took the piece of bread out of his mouth and stared at it in confusion.
"How can I eat such hard bread?"
Such a thought came to Angus' mind, but he soon got the answer.
"Haha, if you eat like this, even the best teeth will break after just a few bites."
Old Tony teased Angus's actions and demonstrated the real way to eat the bread.
"Take two or three pieces and throw them directly into the soup. The temperature of the hot soup will allow the bread to absorb the soup and soften. Wouldn't that make it easier to eat?"
Old Tony demonstrated what he had said to Angus, then ate happily.
Angus did not immediately imitate Old Tony's way of eating, but instead took two sips of the soup with a wooden spoon.
Fresh, sweet, and with a strong spicy flavor; the spiciness comes from the stimulation of white pepper, and the addition of a lot of white pepper can help Angus eliminate the effects of the cold river water.
This pleasant dinner ended with Angus drinking three bowls of soup by himself and becoming too full to drink any more.
Old Tony arranged Angus to stay in the room that originally belonged to the child who had already gone to work in the city.
"Go to bed early, good night."
After saying that, Old Tony closed the door for Angus and returned to his room.
Old Tony sat down on the edge of the bed, picked up the photo frame on the bedside table, and stroked it gently.
It was a family portrait that their family had hired an artist to draw. In the painting, the two sons stood on either side, while next to old Tony sat a woman with a morbid beauty.
That was old Tony's beloved wife who had passed away.