After passing through the forest where flying snakes live, everyone climbed to the top of the island and set up camp in a sparse palm forest.
There was a palm tree that was broken at the middle near the camp. There were burnt marks on the bark. It was probably struck by lightning.
The stubble of the palm tree was still fresh, and Pep thought it would be wasteful to let it rot, so he decided to drag the trunk back to the camp and make sago by hand.
The palm tree is the "tree of life" for the Asmat people.
Affected by surface runoff and leaching, the land in the rainforest area is barren and difficult to cultivate grains. These palm trees feed tens of thousands of Asmat people who are hungry for food.
Every Asmat, including Pep, has to learn the technique of obtaining food from the heart of palm trees since childhood.
Gao Fei, who comes from a family of chefs, wanted to learn about the cooking skills of the Asmat people, while Jiang Feng was interested in all food-related topics, so the two took the initiative to help Pep.
The three of them worked together to carry the palm trunk and returned to the camp.
The first step is to cut open the trunk and take out the starch-rich heart of the tree, which is the medulla.
The second step is to tear or hammer the medulla into pieces, put it in a large bucket, and soak it in cold boiled water.
The next step is pure manual work, constantly rubbing the wood pith that has been swollen by cold water until all the starch in the pith is washed out.
After a period of precipitation and filtering out impurities, the starch slurry for making sago is obtained.
Pep demonstrated it once, and Gao Fei understood it, and said to his girlfriend: "Have you noticed that extracting sago starch from the heart of palm trees is actually similar to the process of making Liangpi."
"I think so too!" Jiang Feng added cheerfully, "The difference is that in addition to washing out the starch in the dough to make cold dough, the remaining gluten is also delicious. After washing out the starch from the palm heart, the remaining residue is useless.
"
Ma Yun, Ma Tao, Qi Tian and Wang Daqing also came to help rub the heart of the palm tree.
Tangning held a cup of coffee and sat on the tree stump. She crossed her legs gracefully and watched Gao Fei and the others busy at work without any intention of interfering.
"Sister Tang! Sister Tang!" Ma Yun held the fluffy pith and called to Tang Ning, "You can knead the dough together, it's so fun!"
Tangning sipped her coffee and shook her head with a surprisingly candid smile: "A little bourgeois woman like me, who has been pampered since she was a child, is industrious and has been corroded and poisoned by the capitalist lifestyle, cannot do such menial work.
."
"No...Sister Tang, it's just a little handiwork. You don't have to rise to such a level of thinking, right?" Gao Fei couldn't laugh or cry.
"As a Marxist, I can never relax my vigilance and criticism of my own degenerate thoughts." Tang Ning replied seriously.
Gao Fei knew very well that she was just joking, but he couldn't help but complain: "You criticize yourself so deeply, why can't you roll up your sleeves and come over to work with us working people?"
"I can't do this!" Tangning shrugged and spread his hands, with a look of aggrievedness on his face: "The hard palm fiber will roughen my fingers. A vain little bourgeois woman can't bear this!"
"Sister Tang, does that mean your progressive thoughts are just words?" Jiang Feng couldn't help but tell the truth.
"People have already deeply criticized themselves, what else do you want from me?" Tang Ning turned her face to the other side in grievance.
"Okay, okay, I finally recognize your true face!" Gao Fei was not used to the squeamish "little bourgeois woman", "Sister Tang! Go pick up a few big rocks, cut them flat, and put them on the fire.
Bake it inside, Brother Pep will use it later!"
"If you want to bake sago pancakes, wouldn't it be enough to use a pan?" Tangning sat on the tree stump and was too lazy to move, "Chef Gao, I remember you brought the pan with you."
"The pan has no internal flavor! The authentic Asmat sago pancake must be baked on hot stones!"
Jiang Feng emphasized seriously.
"Alas! Do you have to let the indolent little bourgeois woman do the menial work?" Tangning suddenly flashed a pair of watery eyes, looking pitifully at Gao Fei and Jiang Feng.
However, neither of them was moved.
"Okay, I understand..."
Tangning stood up with difficulty and went to the river to look for large pebbles.
"Gao Fei, let me tell you, a lazy woman like Sister Tang deserves reform through labor!" Jiang Feng whispered in her boyfriend's ear.
"I originally thought you were too lazy to cook, but now I compare with Sister Tang and realize that I have found a treasure." Gao Fei said with emotion.
"That's right!" Jiang Feng was complacent at first, then suddenly his face darkened and he punched him with his fist, "Who do you think is lazy?"
"Sister Feng, Brother Fei is always a dog that can't spit out ivory. It's not the first day you were raped by him. Why don't you remember it? Every time, you think he is praising you first, but you realize it later.
It’s hurting you.”
Ma Yun said she couldn't understand.
Jiang Feng smiled and said lightly: "Maybe it's because I'm stupid."
Ma Tao glanced at his sister and realized that she really couldn't tell that Jiang Feng was actually enjoying it and couldn't help but sigh.
"As long as you have a little experience in love, you won't be too smart on this issue."
Ma Yun glared at her brother, but did not ask him what he meant by saying this. Her emotional intelligence was not that low yet.
Tang Ning brought two large flat and smooth stones and placed them next to the campfire for roasting.
By the time Gao Fei and the others had finished processing most of the barrel of palm tree hearts and extracted the snow-white starch, the stone slabs had also been heated.
The traditional Asmat sago pancake is very simple to make. Pep kneads the wet starch into a ball, pats it on the hot stone, and bakes it for five minutes on each side until it is fully cooked.
Gao Fei thought it was too monotonous to eat like this, so he kneaded the starch into pieces the size of toast, sandwiched them with ham slices and thick cheese, and grilled both sides until they were slightly burnt, thus getting a sago sandwich.
Jiang Nuxia, a local foodie in the SWAT team, was the first to eat sago sandwiches with raw onions.
Everyone imitated her way of eating and unanimously praised her:
“The combination of meat, vegetables and carbohydrates is balanced, the taste is tough yet crispy, and there’s just the right amount of spiciness. The flavor is great!”
"Comrade Xiao Jiang will never disappoint anyone when it comes to being able to eat."
Gao Fei praised his girlfriend and received a cute eye roll.
After dinner, Pep packed the remaining sago cakes into the astrolabe, took out his pipe, and was fumbling for a lighter when Goofy came over and used a "magic trick" to help him light the tobacco.
"Brother Pep, it's not convenient for us to chat. I have something to ask you."
"Well, what's the matter?" Pep looked at the young man curiously.
"I am on a business trip to Irian Island this time. In addition to official duties, I also need to help a friend find something that was lost four years ago..."
Gao Fei briefly told Ms. Metatron's commission and asked Pep: "Brother, have you heard anything about the crash of the spaceship in the Asmat area?"
