Alaska Gold Rush Diary

Chapter 5 Curry Potato Stew with Beef

Despite being in the cold and dangerous wilderness, Zhou Xin slept exceptionally well that night, only getting up a few times during the night to add firewood.

Around six in the morning, as the morning sunlight streamed through the woods, Zhou Xin woke up.

Although the daytime is now fifteen or sixteen hours long, we still need to pack our things and carry heavy loads, so our progress is very slow. Therefore, we still need to set off earlier.

Of course, sufficient energy is also essential.

He turned up the fire, boiled a cup of water, then put a frying pan on it, first frying a piece of butter until it melted, and then took out three slices of bread and started frying them.

To save backpack space, the bread has been pressed into flatbread, but it still tastes pretty good after being fried in butter.

He finished his bread with hot water and then started tidying up.

It has to be said that the more comfortable you are at night when camping outdoors, the more painful it is to pack up in the morning.

It took him more than half an hour to pack all his belongings before he continued his journey.

As you follow the stream, it widens and the sound of the water flowing under the ice grows louder.

Walking through the snow-covered forest, carrying dozens of kilograms of weight, was naturally very strenuous.

But when he thought of the glittering gold, he felt it was all worth it.

To his delight, the sweet scent became more and more frequent and intense as he walked.

Clearly, the amount of gold in the stream is increasing.

However, this amount is still insufficient for collection.

As he became more and more proficient in his "smell of gold," he could vaguely judge the amount of gold by the intensity of the scent.

To save time, he didn't stop to rest at noon, but simply ate a compressed biscuit and continued on his way.

After rushing as fast as we could, we finally arrived at the river shown on the map before sunset.

The river is not very large, about five or six meters wide.

The river was frozen solid, covered with snow, and the riverbanks were also frozen solid; it was indeed not yet the gold panning season.

But Zhou Xin wasn't worried. He knew the weather would warm up day by day and the snow and ice would eventually melt.

As long as you find a gold-rich spot before the river thaws, you can start your gold rush.

He now faces a choice: whether to go upstream or downstream.

He is currently located in the middle reaches of the river.

Larger gold particles tend to be deposited upstream, while finer placer gold particles tend to be deposited in the middle and lower reaches.

Walking through the forest is extremely strenuous and difficult. If you don't find any trace of gold at one end and have to turn back to the other end, it will waste a lot of time and energy.

This essentially means determining whether there are more large gold particles or more fine placer gold.

After thinking for a while, he decided to take a gamble and head upstream.

Although there may be more gold downstream, it will mostly be fine placer gold, which is more difficult to pan for.

He hopes to find larger particles of gold upstream.

Moreover, there is still some time before the ice and snow melt, so even if he is wrong, he still has time to search in other places.

But there's no time to move forward today.

Just like last night, he set up camp in an open area by the river.

Set up tents, install stoves, set up beds and tables, and collect firewood.

After everything was settled, before it got dark, he went to the riverbank to check the situation in the river.

After some probing, he discovered that the ice on the river was thick enough to support his weight.

He walked onto the ice and looked up.

The mountains are majestic and continuous, covered in white snow.

The sunset painted the distant sky a fiery red, and the snow on the mountains was also dyed red and yellow, making the mountains look as if they were wearing colorful clothes.

The scenery is picturesque!

Standing amidst such scenery, one immediately feels one's own insignificance.

The river meanders through the mountains like a highway.

"It seems we can consider walking on the river, which would greatly increase our speed."

As long as you don't go to the center of the river, there will be no danger.

A faint, sweet aroma wafted to my nose, indicating that there was indeed gold in the river. However, judging from the intensity of the aroma, the quantity was not large enough to warrant digging.

But at least it proved his judgment was correct: there is gold in this river.

He walked to the river near the shore, took out a small hammer, and intended to break through the ice to take a look.

The ice layer was thicker than he had expected, more than twenty centimeters thick. It took him quite a while to finally make a small hole.

Looking down through the ice cave, the water was crystal clear.

Perhaps the noise from breaking the ice had scared the fish away, and he hadn't found any fish in the water yet.

But he was certain there were fish in the river, such as whitefish and mountain trout, which are common species in the area.

That will be his most important source of food during his life here thereafter.

He took a water bottle, retrieved a bottle of water from the ice cave, and returned to the tent.

Light the fire, boil water, and add a few tea leaves.

After drinking a few sips of hot tea, my body immediately warmed up.

I've been traveling all day and I'm still very tired.

Moreover, I only ate one compressed biscuit at noon, and now I feel extremely hungry.

He decided to have a proper meal.

Because there are so many things to bring on this trip, I naturally couldn't bring as many seasonings and food as I'd like.

Before setting off, he mashed ginger and garlic together into a paste and filled a large plastic bottle.

In addition, he also brought a large bottle of chili sauce, several boxes of curry cubes, a bottle of salt, a jar of pepper, a bottle of oil, and a small box of butter.

After all, he would be eating wild game for several months, and without these seasonings, the food would be inedible.

As for food, he brought ten packs of instant noodles, a large bag of compressed biscuits and Snickers bars, two pieces of bread pressed into balls, two pounds of rice and two pounds of flour, five boxes of luncheon meat, two bags of bacon, about ten potatoes, two onions, and a pound of fresh beef.

These things were only enough for him to eat for two or three weeks, but they already weighed more than ten kilograms.

Fortunately, in this kind of weather, there's no need to worry about the food you bring spoiling; just remember to put fresh beef and other foods outside the tent at night.

Take out a piece of fresh beef, three potatoes, and a curry cube. Tonight we'll have beef and curry potato stew.

He first put the rice into a drinking cup, added water, and placed it on the corner of the stove to slowly steam it.

Under the warmth of the stove fire, the frozen beef had softened a little.

He wiped the small table clean and placed the beef on it, then cut it into small pieces.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks as well.

Blanch the beef chunks, drain them, and then heat the oil in a wok.

The beef was simply stir-fried with a little minced ginger and garlic. The sizzling sound of oil filled the tent with its aroma.

Although the aroma of food might attract wolves, keeping the fire burning should prevent them from getting close.

Add salt, then add plenty of water, cover the pot, and simmer for about half an hour.

He likes his beef to be tender, so it needs to be stewed for a longer time.

The aroma wafting from the pot made my throat bob and my saliva flow uncontrollably.

But for the most perfect enjoyment, we must continue to wait.

About half an hour later, add potato chunks, then curry cubes, and the aroma becomes even stronger.

This flavor is even comparable to that of gold.

After simmering for another ten minutes or so, it's finally ready to eat!

Simply scoop the cooked rice from the cup into the pot, mix it together, and it becomes curry potato and beef rice.

Every grain of rice is soaked with broth, the beef is tender and flavorful, and the potatoes are soft, sweet, and delicious.

Zhou Xin's appetite was whetted, and he finally started eating heartily.

Rice cooked in a cup has a layer of golden-brown, crispy crust at the bottom, which is absolutely delicious when dipped in thick curry sauce.

Outside the tent, it was a world of ice and snow with howling winds, but inside it was warm as spring with delicious food.

Very pleasant.