King of the Wilderness

"But remember, there is a large amount of tannin in the juice of the wild banana heart, it is very astringent if eaten raw, so it must be thoroughly cooked, letting high temperatures complete the final transformation."

Before handling the main dish, he first prepared the side dish—roasted Jin’er wrap.

Lin Yu’an took the large cleaned banana leaves and quickly roasted them back and forth over the fire. As the leaves were heated, they emitted a light sizzling sound, and their color instantly turned more jade green, as if revitalized.

At the same time, a unique plant fragrance was thoroughly unleashed, permeating the air.

This process is known as ’killing green,’ which makes the leaves softer and more resilient, and less likely to tear during subsequent wrapping.

"In Yunnan, this cooking method is called banana leaf roasting." He explained while deftly handling the leaves, "Banana leaves act like a pressure cooker with their own natural seasoning packet."

"During roasting, they can perfectly lock in the moisture and natural flavor of the ingredients while infusing their signature aroma into the food without reservation."

Having treated the leaves, he tore the fresh Jin’er mushrooms into small pieces with his hands and placed them in the center of a ’killed’ banana leaf. Hand tearing creates irregular edges, allowing the mushrooms to absorb steam and fragrance more readily.

Then, he layered several smaller banana leaves to wrap the Jin’er like a precious gift.

His technique was very skillful, first folding left and right, then folding the upper and lower ends towards the center, forming a perfectly square, tightly sealed green package.

Finally, he used several resilient vines to cross-tie the whole package securely.

"Alright, the side dish is ready." Lin Yu’an placed the Jin’er wrap aside before beginning to handle the tender white banana heart.

"For the main dish, we also use the banana leaf roasting method. Direct charcoal grilling is possible, but it can easily char the outer layer and cause the loss of precious moisture."

"Wrapping it in banana leaves allows it to half-steam, half-roast in its own juice, resulting in a more moist and soft texture and more evenly distributed sweetness."

He did not wrap the whole piece directly but cut it into three sections with a sharp stone knife, each resembling a thick stick of sugar cane.

Then, he took some larger banana leaves and laid the three banana heart sections side by side on them, rolling them tightly with two or three layers of leaves like sushi, forming a thick green cylinder.

"When wrapping banana hearts, larger leaves must be used, and they must be rolled tightly to withstand the expansion that may occur from the internal starch gelatinization."

He similarly used vines to secure the banana heart cylinder in sections, ensuring it wouldn’t come apart during cooking.

After completing all this, Lin Yu’an began managing his fire pit. With a long stick, he expertly moved the burning wood to the side, revealing the hot ashes at the center of the fire pit.

He carefully buried the square Jin’er wrap and the thick banana heart cylinder together in the intense charcoal and hot ash, covering them completely with hot ash.

Lin Yu’an sat by the fire pit, feeling the warm glow dispel the valley’s night chill and isolate the unknown dangers in the darkness.

During the twenty-minute wait, he quietly listened to the forest’s breath—the chirping of insects, the babbling of the stream, and occasionally the distant call of night birds.

Two distinct yet harmoniously blending aromas began to permeate the air.

One was the scent of fresh mushrooms mixed with the fragrance of banana leaves, carrying the moist atmosphere of a post-rain forest, pure and natural.

Lin Yu’an’s stomach growled uncontrollably, and he laughed at himself wryly.

Using the long stick, he pulled out the Jin’er wrap, whose surface was now charred black, from the charcoal fire, with smoke still rising from its surface.

He placed the wrap on a flat stone, used a stone knife to deftly cut open the charred vines and the outer layer of carbonized leaves.

"Hiss—"

A dense, hot white steam, carrying an alluring aroma, suddenly erupted like a volcanic eruption! He instinctively leaned back, avoiding this wave of heat.

When he peeled away the layers of still green, but thoroughly steamed leaves, revealing the innermost contents, an incredibly tempting image appeared before the camera.

The Jin’er had completely transformed, no longer simply golden yellow, but was fully infused with the juice of the banana leaves, dyed with a faint grassy green.

Under the perfect steam stewing from high temperatures, they had become translucent, plump, and juicy, every curled fungus fold soaked with delicious broth, glinting with jewel-like shine in the firelight.

Lin Yu’an’s Adam’s apple unconsciously moved, swiftly carving a pair of wooden chopsticks with a stone knife, picked up an incredibly springy, steaming Jin’er mushroom.

He gently blew on it, then eagerly put it into his mouth. No salt, no oil, no modern seasonings at all.

But the moment it entered, a far more complex taste experience than boiled or directly char-grilled erupted instantly on his taste buds!

It was an ultimate freshness, tenderness, smoothness, and zest! The gelatinous quality of the Jin’er was perfectly retained, even made springier due to the high-temperature steam soaking.

A gentle bite unleashed the boiling hot, delicious broth locked in the fungus folds, bursting in the mouth.

In that broth, there was the unique fungi sweetness of Jin’er itself, as well as a kind of grass and wood aroma from the banana leaves. These two flavors blended perfectly, forming an indescribably delicious taste.