Chapter Thirty-Eight: Barbecue Is the True Meaning of Life

Heath pursed his lips; he wanted to ask Jun Sa Ling whether driving big vehicles was really appropriate, but with Sister Maple standing nearby, he decided to keep his thoughts to himself.

After the television station and the people from Hiluf Company left, Heath was dragged onto the car by the Jun Sa ladies, and soon enough, they bustled around him, setting up tables and chairs, and bringing over all the ingredients from the cafeteria.

“Here we go again... Farfetch’d, come out and help!” Heath smiled at the cheerful Jun Sa ladies; he was already accustomed to such scenes.

“Trainer, what are you all doing?” Zorua, in the form of a Caterpie, peeked out curiously and asked.

“We’re having a barbecue party—the kind that delights them and exhausts me,” Heath summed up succinctly. There was no helping it; he was the best cook in the place.

Whenever the Jun Sa ladies celebrated something with a barbecue party, Heath was always the one who worked the hardest. He had to cut the ingredients, grill the food, and keep track of everyone’s orders. Every time the party ended, Heath wanted nothing more than to collapse on the floor and sleep—it was simply too tiring.

But now, Heath felt it had become a bit easier, thanks to his partners, Farfetch’d and Zorua.

A good barbecue depends greatly on how the ingredients are matched. Many people think barbecuing is a simple cooking method, but in truth, it has its own challenges.

“Farfetch’d, look, this is a piece of pork. What you need to do now is slice it thinly, separating the fatty and lean parts. Can you handle that?” Heath asked Farfetch’d.

Farfetch’d couldn’t help much yet, but at least its knife skills were a big help to Heath.

“Leek!” Farfetch’d nodded confidently. Heath glanced at the leek in Farfetch’d’s hand and handed it a vegetable knife instead—it was easier to avoid the meat picking up the taste of leek that way.

Heath busied himself with preparing the various seasonings. The soul of barbecue is its seasoning; good spices can enhance the flavor dramatically.

Each ingredient has its optimal pairing, and since everyone’s tastes vary, Heath usually placed all the seasonings on the table and let the Jun Sa ladies mix their own. Of course, if any of them asked him to make a dipping sauce, Heath would personally prepare a portion for them.

“Leek~” Farfetch’d poked Heath in the waist with a proud flourish. Heath turned to look and saw that the pork was perfectly separated into fatty and lean parts, all sliced evenly.

Heath nodded in satisfaction. Back when he worked alone, cutting ingredients took him ages.

“Here, do the same with the lamb,” Heath pointed at the lamb, then picked up a handful of iron skewers—his own handiwork.

Barbecue exists in the world of Pokémon, but the Jun Sa ladies’ parties were Heath’s invention. Every time he thought about this, Heath felt like he’d shot himself in the foot.

Still, the little bit of money he would earn after the party cheered him up considerably.

“Trainer, why do you skewer them like this?” Zorua had returned to its original form and stood to the side, watching Heath curiously.

Heath glanced at the skewers in his hand—one piece of lean meat, one of fat, alternating.

“Because this way, you don’t need oil, and pork grilled with its own fat tastes much better. Though, with this method, you need to sprinkle cumin and chili powder,” Heath explained as he quickly threaded the meat onto skewers.

Oil is a huge asset to any chef. Heath remembered a foreign show where a Chinese chef competed against foreign chefs. Once, a foreign chef took away the Chinese chef’s cooking oil, thinking it would cause trouble. The Chinese chef promptly began rendering lard from fatty pork right there, stunning the foreign chef, who accused him of cheating.

Lard and vegetable oil taste different—lard fried rice is richer and more fragrant.

Once the pork was skewered, Heath carried it over to the grill on the food truck. He had already placed hot charcoal inside, so he set the fattier pieces on the rack.

Barbecue has its traditions. In Heath’s opinion, fruitwood charcoal is better than regular charcoal; charcoal beats coal, and coal is better than smokeless grills.

Though health-conscious people now prefer smokeless, charcoal-free, electric grills, the flavor always falls short compared to charcoal.

Heath believed the difference lay in the smoky aroma.

As the charcoal heat enveloped the pork, the meat slowly changed color, and droplets of fat bubbled from the pork, forming little beads that burst and glazed the lean pieces nearby with a glossy sheen.

The rich aroma of pork began to spread.

Heath watched the skewers, quickly turning them over with both hands, then sprinkled his specially blended barbecue spice over them.

As the spice hit the pork, an intense aroma burst forth, making Zorua and Farfetch’d swallow hungrily.

Heath smiled as he looked at his barbecue powder; it was his own recipe, unavailable in stores. However, it only worked well for cuts with plenty of fat.

“Hmm... there’s a sour scent,” Zorua hopped onto Heath’s shoulder, staring longingly at the skewers in his hand.

Heath glanced at Zorua—sure enough, canines have a keen nose. Farfetch’d, on the other side, was impatiently placing sliced lamb by Heath’s side, gazing at him expectantly.

Heath was somewhat helpless, but his hands never stopped moving, quickly turning the skewers so each one cooked evenly.

When they were nearly done, Heath placed the skewers on a tray and glanced at the number of tables outside, dividing the skewers accordingly.

“These are for you and Farfetch’d—one Pokémon, one skewer. I’ll get you something else later,” Heath handed two pork skewers to Zorua and Farfetch’d, then went back to threading the lamb.

Heath had no time to eat, but he still let his two little companions have a taste.