Chapter 66 066 Shrimp Dates, Sauce-Drenched Robes [Second Update]...
That night, the viewers on the other end of the live stream went crazy.
[Late: A bountiful harvest in the Golden Jade Pressure Cooker! Wow, it looks delicious!]
[The Donut King: I'm willing to pay, can someone send me one? My child is starving.]
[Invincible Panda: Those shrimp balls! I'm just asking, has anyone here ever tried them?]
[Huahua is so cute: Who voted for Global Traffic+? I'm silently shedding tears while eating that awful white food.]
[Your Majesty: In a fit of anger, I ate a whole packet of spicy instant noodles. I'm really out of ideas.]
[The Third Prince, a giant in the capital: I got out of bed because I was hungry, took a walk around, and had a one-minute French kiss with my roommate.]
[Shark: ...the one in front, the picture above.]
...
Unlike the previous guests, the three tables of college students started showing off wildly when Wen's mother served the first dish of shrimp balls.
This includes, but is not limited to, starting a live stream, sending videos to friends from different angles or even making video calls, and loudly smacking one's lips as everyone passes by, attracting everyone's attention...
Shrimp balls are made with a filling of minced shrimp and pork, chopped water chestnuts, seasoned, and then mixed with eggs and cornstarch. The shrimp paste is wrapped in tofu skin, and a little egg white is used to seal the edges. The rolled tofu skin rolls are then cut into appropriate sizes and deep-fried.
After being fried, they look like pieces of shrimp meat, hence the name "shrimp dates".
Wen Fan fried a big pot of shrimp balls today. Half of them were sprinkled with seasoning, while the other half were stir-fried with pineapple chunks and coated with a sweet and sour sauce.
A large plate holds some of both, called "Shrimp Dates Two Ways to Eat".
Yang Tao also took out 100 yuan. Wen Fan didn't mention any rule about three people being needed to form a table. He served him a small dish of shrimp balls and told him to eat them by himself.
The other three tables each had three or four people, but Yang Tao occupied a small table by himself, set up his live streaming device, and kept talking non-stop.
"Ugh, it's so hot!"
Freshly fried food naturally carries a sizzling, wok-fried aroma. With a sizzle, the crispy tofu skin breaks open, revealing a light and fluffy texture behind the tender and bouncy meat filling. The shrimp meat is hand-minced, half finely chopped and the other half in larger pieces, making the shrimp meat's texture stand out in the meat filling. The bouncy shrimp meat has the crisp texture of water chestnut pieces and the savory aroma of the minced meat itself.
Wen Fan sprinkled some seasoning powder on the shrimp balls. The slightly spicy seasoning powder adhered to the outside of the shrimp balls, making it even more delicious, like eating fried food.
Then turn the chopsticks to the other side of the sweet and sour pineapple shrimp balls.
As a sweet and sour dish, it emits a pungent, appetizing aroma as soon as it's served. The sweet and sour sauce soaks the tofu skin, transforming its originally crisp texture into something resembling the skirt of shrimp meat. Dipping it in the sweet and sour sauce gives the meat filling inside another wonderful flavor. It's sweet and sour, appetizing, and the meat filling is firm and plump.
This sweet and sour dish for children was served and was enjoyed by both adults and children.
"It's so delicious!"
"Auntie, I'd like to eat more, could you give me some more?"
Seeing the clear eyes of the group of college students, Wen's mother still kindly offered a word of advice.
"There's more to come."
They've already stuffed themselves with the first dish, and they won't be able to eat anything else later. Wen's mother is afraid they'll cry.
When adding more food failed, no one pressed the issue. Instead, they started to harass those around them, all raising their phones.
"Brother, look what I'm eating!"
"You unfilial son, look at your father's meal today."
"Hello everyone, I'm going to do a live stream today."
...
He either described how delicious it was to his parents and friends, or he did a live stream.
It doesn't matter if there are few people, we can just set up the live stream and put it aside.
Ignore the comments, but the visuals are mouthwatering.
Yang Tao's side, on the other hand, went on a crazy rampage, quickly growing from a few hundred people to over a thousand, and then slowly surpassing fifteen thousand...
Some people had come in yesterday, and now they're either drooling or chatting idly. Others, not understanding why, stayed because so many people were watching.
Then the more I looked, the more I craved it, and the hungrier I got.
[Doraemon: Is it that this guy doesn't promote products?]
The shrimp balls looked so tempting that she couldn't resist looking at them and wanted to find a shared bicycle, but she couldn't find one after searching for a long time.
Damn it, what a trash streamer, he even forgot to get on the shared bike!
Yang Tao was eating heartily when he caught a glimpse of someone urging him to promote products. He quickly swallowed what was in his mouth and explained, "I'm a store-exploring livestreamer, I don't promote products. Besides, I don't have enough followers."
I can't even open a shop window if I don't have 10,000 followers.
[Xiao Bo: ...If you're not promoting products, what kind of stores are you exploring! Are you just killing people and not burying them?]
Many people are furious. So many people have been tempted, only to be told it's not for sale! It's like someone being relentlessly seduced, finally admitting they're interested and ready to open their wallet, only to be laughed at and told, "I was just kidding..." Frustrating! Infuriating!
The comments section erupted with criticism, with some even saying that Yang Tao was playing hard to get and that he was deliberately delaying the release until a few days later.
Yang Tao was also aggrieved. He had never heard of shrimp balls before today. He vaguely remembered Wen Fan saying that they were a specialty of the South, but he had been studying in another province for so long and had never even heard of them!
"...Everyone, it's not that I don't want to sell products, it's just that the circumstances don't allow it. If you're interested, you can look for other stores."
Don't say I'm playing hard to get; I'm not a product salesperson at all!
Since it's a local specialty, I should be able to buy it... right?
Some people left the live stream cursing and placed orders, while many more urged Yang Tao to collaborate with the boss.
[Ayao: Hey streamer, look at me! Ask the shopkeeper if they can make a little more, vacuum-packed, with a complete cold chain. I'm willing to buy it!]
[Coco: Yeah, don't be so rigid. If you make more, you can sell it online.]
[Longlong's Mom: My husband said his hometown does this too, but we're both stuck in the capital and can't go back. If the shop owner is willing to sell, I'd like to buy a lot for him.]
...
After hearing many people mention it, Yang Tao scratched the back of his head and went to ask Wen Fan.
Wen Fan's answer was brief: "No."
Although Yang Tao also felt that it was probably not going to work, he was still very curious as to why Wen Fan was unwilling.
"Are you sure? If we capitalize on this wave of traffic, we can easily sell it for tens of thousands of yuan."
Don't underestimate foodies online; they're incredibly proactive. Think of all the rice noodles that online celebrities have sold!
Wen Fan stared at the fire, his hands still moving: "That's no fun."
Yang Tao smacked his lips, but ultimately still didn't understand what Wen Fan meant by "it's meaningless".
We can't just be watching money slip through our fingers, can we?
Wen Fan thought to herself, "This is really boring." She was quite short of money and had previously thought about how to make her parents rich quickly.
Those with a more diversified approach can directly target the high-end market, like the Jin Yu Lou restaurant that customers often mention. A dish might cost a few dozen yuan to make, but selling it for several hundred yuan is no problem. As for investment, it's not difficult at all. People around them, whether moderately wealthy like Qu Qingqing's family or middle-class like landlady Yang Hong, can easily attract investment if they just ask.
But the thought that her skills would once again be available only to a small group of people made Wen Fan feel like she had lived in vain. In her previous life, she had spent her whole life cooking for those noble ladies in the palace, and in this life, she had to dedicate all her skills to those rich people.
It's not even interesting to think about.
She doesn't sell at high prices; she can make semi-finished products at lower prices. Especially with the recent online controversy surrounding pre-made meals, Wen Fan has been tempted. However, after thinking it over, she feels that this industry seems to be murky. She could sell her recipe and technology as equity, but if she doesn't supervise the production process, what if the customer replaces all the requested fish, meat, and vegetables with inferior ones? Wouldn't the resulting product ruin her reputation?
Wen Fan thought about it and then gave up, realizing that this path was also difficult.
In addition, Wen Fan later learned a lot about modern food safety regulations, especially the rule that you can't do certain things without a license.
Yang Tao said he was selling shrimp balls, but he had no permits or licenses. Not only was the offline transaction risky, but even after the food was delivered, would the taste be maintained? I knew that fried food tastes best when it's been out of the fryer for 30 minutes; even if you refry it the second time, it just doesn't taste the same.
Forget it, I'll just honestly earn her hard-earned money by cooking one dish at a time. It's slow, but it's reliable.
Yang Tao returned to his phone, shook his head, and sighed: "The shopkeeper said they won't sell it."
The comments section was filled with wailing.
But there was nothing they could do, and thankfully the second dish arrived quickly.
"A robe drizzled with gravy."
The dish was announced, and it was yet another one I'd never tried before.
Wen's mother was pulled aside and asked how to make it.
Wen's mother was already used to it and gave a brief introduction.
This dish uses a filling made of beef and eggs. The eggs are beaten and solidified into an egg crepe, which is then spread out after cooling. The meat filling is placed on top, followed by another egg crepe. The two egg crepes are then joined together to form a large meat and egg pancake. The pancake is then cut into small diamond-shaped pieces, each wrapped in an egg crepe, and deep-fried until set. In a separate pot, a base sauce is prepared by stir-frying green and red peppers to create a spicy and sour flavor. The fried meat is then added and stir-fried until the sauce thickens.
The finished savory kasaya has a unique flavor, with a thin yet chewy egg skin and a fresh and juicy filling.
Yang Tao ate only a couple of bites before taking the initiative to scoop out half a bowl of rice. The soup and meat were poured over the rice, creating a tangy, spicy, and fragrant flavor that made him look completely satisfied.
The same was true at the surrounding tables. Even though Wen's mother repeatedly advised them to eat less, some people couldn't resist the temptation of the dish. They ate a large bowl of rice with the dish, and they were very satisfied.
Meanwhile, the comments section was filled with exclamations of longing, but no matter how much they craved it, they still couldn't eat it.
Yang Tao's roommates went completely crazy, spamming the live stream chat and sending him private messages.
Are you a person too?
[Father, on your return journey this time, could you please bring back some monk's robe meat and three packs of shrimp balls for your children?]
"Kid, you're really enjoying some good food."
[Hey! You beast, hand over the food right now!]
Yang Tao placed the live streaming device aside without even glancing at it.
After finishing the savory robe with sauce, the much-anticipated golden and jade stew with abundant harvest was finally served.
The casserole sizzled, and inside the scalding hot pot was a pumpkin bowl filled with vegetables like pork ribs and corn.
If the previous dishes had completely different flavors—one being shrimp balls from the south and the other being a cassock-shaped dish from the west—then this dish naturally carries the abundant flavor of the north.
The casserole is so big that it can fit a basketball, and it's piled high with all sorts of dishes, like a barn. The pure, unadulterated aroma of meat is accompanied by the fragrance of grains, and the broth inside is so thick that it's perfect for serving over rice.
Yang Tao didn't get a whole one, so Wen Fan made an extra portion and gave him a quarter of it. Yang Tao ate half of it and started to feel full.
Most others felt the same way, but they felt they were missing out if they didn't finish their food.
They stuffed them one by one until they were almost finished eating.
Wen's mother brought up a pot of soup.
"The last dish is fish soup noodles."
Wen Fan has his own obsessive-compulsive disorder. Since there are seafood in the north, south, and west, how can there be no seafood in the east?
-----------------------
Author's note: One more chapter to go...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
