Kai focused on the task at hand. She managed to get the fire going at a reasonable height, adding more fuel that was handed to her by Kapt’n and his mystical ghostly paw-hand. They were chopped cleanly and expertly at just the right height to build it in a teepee style, further assisting the oxygen to reach into the depths of the fire to burn reasonably to create those much-needed embers for their meal.

As the fire was finally at a point that could be unattended, she quickly rummaged through her pack to find a few lightweight aluminum pots and pans that were buried deep along with the basic cookware utensils that accompanied the cooking process.

Kai realized that given her situation, she could create some additional spoons and other crude cutlery given the vast bamboo forest that was at her disposal. Soon enough, she was mentally picturing and disassembling the process of the type of utensils to make and how to shape them accordingly while performing the necessary tasks to start the meal. She hummed as she busily collected water into her medium sized pot, feeling the cold refreshing water brush past her skin, filling the water half-way. This dish required water as the multitude of vegetations would simmer superbly to create a mouthwatering aromatic soup.

Kai got back to the fire and located the eight flat surfaced stones she previously scavenged that would be used as corners to balance the pot filled with water and the frying pan. She poked the wood with a scrap stick and made sure the burning and leaning teepee of wood were all uniformly flat, allowing her to place the stones in appropriate locations amongst the fire, gently and quickly. The wood burned well in this small amount of time as the humidity of the area seemed to not have saturated the dry aged wood. She can only assume that beyond this special bamboo grove would be another area that had more trees like this.

With the volume of embers, she was able to create, the pot of water found its way onto the stones, balanced at the perfect angle without too much of a lean in either direction. In the meantime, Kai got busy to clean and process the vegetation she was planning on consuming. Her handy utility knife by her belt was utilized as the oversized long blade was chosen to whittle down the oversized bamboo shoots. She gently caressed the bamboo shoot with the sharp side of the blade, paying close attention to the quality of each slice, taking off the brown wooden layer slice by slice in order to reach the tender inner heart. She had approximately 12 shoots dug up and cut, ready to be processed, and they were all going to be treated with the same level of care. The bamboo shoots were the main component to her diet at this point as these delectable morsels were plentiful and would be able to satisfy her hunger.

Kai got to half of the pile and decided to switch gears, her hands and wrists tired from handling these tough beauties. She decided to go back and draw up some water again in her collapsible light weight plastic bowl to rinse the other vegetables that were to be used.

Sure enough, Mao decided to Join in the fun, and affectionately bopped his head on Kai’s arm as she put the bowl of water down on the grassy ground near the fire.

Mao’s eyes shone with determination as he finally caught her attention and immediately broke into negotiation mode. “I am hungry. I’ll trade you all my treasures for some food now. I’ll have some of yours too.” He looked satisfied as he got to contribute and simply stated his demands.

A smile bloomed between the two as she got to finally touch his treasure pile and he got the much-needed recognition to partake in the feasting of their combined effort. For now, Kai nodded and gave his head a much-needed pat, slowly caressing from the top of his head to the side of his cheeks. Loud purrs could be heard from this furry feline, eyes closed, completely enjoying the small moment they shared together around the campfire during the day. His furry body was so irresistible with his cute orang-y fluff body to the soft velvety ears all the way to his soft back and finally his masculine long tail, swishing with each scratch to the beat of her drumming fingertips. They both enjoyed the moment however the water was the indication for them to slowly end the cuddle session as the water started to steam while small bubbles formed on the surface.

She finally was able to pull away from the fluffy distraction and felt the extreme need to finish her cooking, giving a visual inventory of the vast choices of vegetation to cook with. She first reached for the freshly picked shiitake mushrooms that Mao picked for her, gave it a quick rinse in the cold water bowl, and tossed four heads into the steaming pot, knowing that the umami flavor would come out a lot better the longer the shrooms brewed. A generous pinch of salt was added along with the mushrooms to begin the journey to bring out the essences of each vegetable, supporting the dish to heighten the flavor of the dish.

The fiddle heads and stock were immediately tossed into the washing water to immediately soak to get the gunk off the tightly curled heads. Watercress was rinsed and placed on the flat stone to dry and wait its turn to get cooked in the end since the thin leaves and stem cook in no time. A small cluster of thai basil was snapped off the main stem and was similarly rinsed along with five large outer leaves off the bok choi, few stocks of the chinese broccoli, and a sizable chunk of wild ginger were washed in the same bowl of water. With the water getting progressively gunky, she stopped her rinsing process to dump out the bowl a few feet away and regather a fresher batch of refreshing water at the poolside.

She repeated the process for the dirtier leaves and laid out each batch of ingredients on the rock, organizing them based on the order of being added into the pot. The bamboo shoots were too big to fit in the pot so those had to be rinsed directly in the body of water near them. She took on that task first and chose to cut up and eat two bamboo shoots, both overly healthy and almost as thick as her two thighs put together. These were the first ingredients and needed to go in first. The shallots and ginger were in a close second, as they needed time to infuse with the water to add another layer into the delicacy of the broth and add to the overall taste of the dish.

Kai fished out a few pieces of dried jerky and ripped them to shreds, adding the dried meat to the boiling water to infuse and rehydrate as little bits of bonus bites of deliciousness.

She peeled the ginger carefully with the back of her smaller knife on the utility tool and split the root in half on the cleaned open surface on the rock, taking a moment to cut one half in thick slices while the other was finely minced. The thick slices were carried to the pot of boiling water while the minced portion was placed in the frying pan which was on standby to get laid onto the fire.

Kai always kept her peripherals on the fire, noting when to add another portion onto the hot coals to keep the flame and continue her momentum for cooking.

The juicy shallots were peeled and sliced, stacked on top of the ginger in the pan. This combination plus a few spices in oil would be lightly fried to unlock further flavors and find their way into the soup broth. Kai fished out one of the boiling mushrooms on her knife and transplanted it on the rock to cool down. This one was destined for the chopping block to be repurposed for this fried ensemble. She also rummaged in her pack to find some garlic salt and added a few pinches into the pan as she didn’t find the time to come across and forage fresh garlic. Some other spices like chili flakes, ground black pepper, and a scoop of premix of five spice she originally bought from the supermarket and had sitting around at home had found its way into the frying pan. After being satisfied with this mini spice mix, she added a swish of oil to the pile and her minced semi boiled shiitake mushroom before gently placing it on top of the rocks in the fire.

The other herbed spice mix she brought had a mix of savory herbs such as oregano, savory, thyme, parsley, lavender, rosemary, and marjoram. These would be essential for other dishes however the flavor profile that was necessary did not genuinely mesh with the dish she was building at this moment.

The pan started to sizzle, and she used her only silicone spatula to stir the spiced mix, unlocking the ample profile of flavors that was necessary to heighten the elegance of the foraged vegetation.

This is going to be an amazing foraged hot-pot, Kai thought to herself, wiping away the new drip of drool pooling at the side of her mouth.

The sizzling of the oil infused spice mix in the pan was browned and ready. She doubled up her sleeve to use as a makeshift mitten to pick up the searing aromatic flavors and dump them in the hotpot, making the broth color look closer to a beautiful light brown hue.

Her chopped vegetables were ready to go and all got dumped into the pot in order of cooking length in an excited fashion in her moment of nearing completion.

She took the pot off the fire carefully, making sure to not spill it and to cool down from the accelerated cooking speed from the fire as she did not want to overcook the precious vegetables in the pot. She made sure to provide Mao a small handful of kibbles to tide him over while she was cooking the meal. Now, all she had to do was fish out a few of the hydrated flavorful meat chunks for her hungry kitty and place it in a suitable dish. Her new makeshift cooking chopsticks doubled as personal utensils and she happily fished out another clean silicone bowl to eat out of, picking out a variety of cooked hot vegetables to immediately consume. The broth stuck to the vegetables and pooled in the bottom of the bowl, adding to the simplicity of the assembled dish and the complexity of flavors that sprung from the hot steam off the edible food.

Most of the vegetables and meat were fished out and found its way into the bowl, strategically picked regarding the timing for the completeness of cooked vegetables. She hungrily devoured each slice of vegetable, blooming in flavors that were fresh and indescribable with each bite.

This area was mysterious and held an abundance of vitality and energy to satisfy each different regional flora in one area, almost undisturbed to grow to such an extent.

Kai, satisfied, felt blissfully full and laid down on the soft grass, enjoying the sun and the warmth that the godly meal had influenced her sense of serenity straight to her core.