บท 4: Chapter 4
Ch4 – Egg Cake and Fish Fillet Congee
The next day, after getting up and showering, Ruan Tang used the light brain to log into the live broadcasting platform. He then transferred yesterday's earnings to his own account and went to the shopping site to buy some new ingredients.
Ruan Tang has never been one to treat himself shabbily. Even for breakfast, he would never just make do. In any case, every cooking process could be used for broadcast. Who wouldn't want to feed their stomach and earn money while doing so?
This time he bought fish, scallions, ginger, flour, soy sauce and a packet of sugar. He spent 200 GMs in one go but he didn't feel distressed at all. After all, he would soon earn it back.
Today, he would be making fish fillet congee and egg cake. The congee would be for him while the egg cake would be given out as gifts to the viewers.
The speed of intergalactic express delivery was as fast as always. Ruan Tang inspected his purchase and found everything to be fresh. So he placed all the ingredients he would be using in a while on top of the cooking counter. He then put on his live contact lenses and started the broadcast.
"Good morning, everyone. I'm your anchor, Ruan Tang. Today I will be making fish fillet congee and green scallion egg cakes." As usual, Ruan Tang only did a simple introduction and prepared to start cooking. However, the comment-filled barrage suddenly opened and he was stunned.
[Small transparent: Wow! He's started a live broadcast! I've been waiting for a long time! ]
[Seven treasures: Although I've never tasted either of those, just from the name they already sound tasty. [Saliva.jpg]]
[Can't stop hugging trees: qwq Can I mention that I woke up really early and have been here all this time?]
[Nine Moons: Attending a meeting with the boss, secretly watching a live broadcast]
...
Ruan Tang instinctively turned to look at the viewer count and there were unexpectedly over 200 viewers and it was still increasing. He had originally been anxious that there might not be any viewers at this time, he never expected there to be this many people. Could something have happened while he was asleep?
[Can't free myself from indulging in food broadcasts: I found my way here from the recommendations. Mr. Anchor, you're not cooking potatoes today? ]
Recommendations?
There were a lot of recommended videos displayed on Jinjiang's homepage. The videos from different channels were usually displayed according to popularity while the loop of advertisements on top were intentionally set. After thinking about it, Ruan Tang remembered seeing that an official notification seemed to have come in just as he ended his broadcast. However, Ruan Tang was eager to eat his congee so thinking that it was the usual welcome message, didn't pay any attention to it. It could be because he had used potatoes, this newly released safe food, that the platform decided to include his video in the recommendations.
Ruan Tang quickly understood where his sudden surge in popularity came from and addressed the viewer who sent the question, "Today, we won't be using potatoes. Instead, I will be making fresh fish congee and green scallion egg cakes." He turned his body slight, indicating for the viewers to take a lot of the prepared ingredients on the counter. "The main ingredients we'll be using are fish and eggs."
[Miao Miao does not eat fish: Heavens! Fish? Can this thing really be eaten…? It tastes terrible! Just look at my name. I hate fish!]
[Wind, flowers, snow and moon: That's right! Fish is so smelly! Its insides are filled with all sorts of sticky things. Makes me want to vomit. Besides, I heard that there was a star chef who made fish for dinner at home a few days ago. A fish bone got stuck in his throat and he had to be sent to the hospital to be rescued.]
[Can't free myself from indulging in food broadcasts: Yesterday, it was potatoes and today it's fish. It couldn't be that you're intentionally using these things to deceive your way into the recommendations, right? ]
Jinjiang's homepage always liked to recommend these niche and novel things, especially when it comes to food. Right now, the government was vigorously promoting the use of natural food instead of the synthetic nutrient solution. For those who were brave enough to challenge new ingredients, the website naturally liked to include them in their recommendations. Therefore, there have been a number of anchors who were willing to take on risks for the sake of popularity, intentionally choosing ingredients that the Chefs' Association has not yet published the cooking methods for. However, without exception, all of them failed.
[Honey Summer: Challenging difficult ingredients for two consecutive days, I hope the anchor isn't just playing to the audience.]
Although her words were rude, Honey Summer still sent him a crystal flower. At yesterday's broadcast as well, she had set him 6 crystal flowers, giving him a very tidy profit.
Seeing the crystal flower bloom across his screen, Ruan Tang was suddenly motivated. "Whether this is all sensationalism or not, you'll all know when I finish." Afterwards, he no longer paid any attention to the discussions in the live chat and instead picked up his knife and concentrated on handling the fish.
Ruan Tang only bought the most common, Grass Carp. The Grass Carp's flesh was relatively smooth and fine, its body was large and it had relatively less bones. It was very suitable for steaming in broth or boiling. Naturally, there was more than enough to make congee.
The grass carp he bought was quite strong and its body was round and bulging. When he took it out of the crisper, it kept twitching its tail, causing splash after splash, which suddenly caused a panic among the audience. Ruan Tang calmly reassured them. He held the fish down firmly against the chopping board and then beat it with the knife. He then began to de-scale the fish.
The people in the live broadcast room apparently have never seen this kind of spectacle. They watched as the fat grass carp fainted against the anchor's weak looking hand. The blade scraped and slashed, and the scales flew all over. The audience suddenly got goosebumps, and couldn't help but tremble.
[Seven treasures: Mom… I… I feel so hurt. ]
[Small transparent: I am also… afraid, but the scales on the fish scales shouldn't be eaten. They're especially hard, and they taste strange. You should be able to eat it after shaving off the scales. ]
[Wind, flowers, snow and moon: My god–what the hell is this!!]
They watched as Ruan Tang directly cut open the fish and scoop out all the fish's innards.
[Barely passing: My God! Even a fighting madman like Marshal He wouldn't do such a cruel thing! The fish is already dead, is it amusing to torture it like this! ]
Ruan Tang was amused by this comment and couldn't help but say, "I'm not intentionally tormenting it. The fish's internal organs contain a lot of impurities, especially the gallbladder, and if it breaks, the whole fish will become bitter and smelly, so it is must be removed."
Along with his movements, a little bit of sticky liquid flowed out of the grass carp. He rinsed away the blood and black membrane from the fish's abdomen with warm water. After the initial preparations to remove the fishy smell, the fish was returned to the chopping board.
Because they would be making fish fillet congee, Ruan Tang won't be using the head. He sliced it off and using his hand to press down on the fish, cut off two pieces of fish meat, simultaneously removing the big fishbone in the abdomen. He then put the fish tail to the left side. With the knife in his right hand, he plunged the sharp tip of the knife into the fish, and the fish skin is pushed out with a little protrusion, but it was not pierced through. Instead, the blade turned back, and the sliced piece of fish was thin and transparent. It had two pieces and was shaped like a butterfly wing. This was called a double flight cut.
He was very skilled in his movements, and didn't have even a slight hesitation. Soon he had a large bowl of thin fish fillets.
"That's good enough! If you do it like this, you don't have to worry about the fish bones." He added the grated ginger, cooking oil and salt to the fish fillet, stir it together and then put it aside.
Making fish congee wasn't difficult. It was a simple congee to warm the stomach. Ruan Tang took out a bowl of rice and boiled it in water, while simmering he put in the fish and left it to cook.
"Fish cooks quickly. So, we'll leave it to boil for a bit and then it will be done." Ruan Tang set the cooking time and then took out a frying pan. "Next, let's make some egg cakes."
He took out four eggs, cracked them into the bowl and scrambled them well. He then added into it the chopped scallions. It wasn't even on the pan yet, but the golden yellow of the eggs together with the green of the scallions created a captivating picture.
Ruan Tang used a relatively large bowl and poured out half a small bag of flour. He added warm water and stirred it into a batter. He used the chopsticks and dipped them into the batter. "You mustn't add too much water. The batter should look like this continuously dripping paste. Otherwise, it might affect the texture of the cakes."
He poured the egg mixture and salt into the batter and mixed them together well until they formed one homogenous batter.
A layer of oil was applied to the pan. After the pan was gradually heated, he poured two spoonful of the egg batter and then turned his wrist so that the batter spread evenly over the bottom of the pan.
The gradually spreading mellow fragrance of the egg alone, made it so that all the viewers in the live broadcast room couldn't wait to get closer.
[Miao Miao does not eat fish: Smells so good! Must not allow saliva to flow out. It seems even more fragrant than yesterday's potato cake!]
[Can't stop hugging trees: and it's much bigger than the potato cake!]
[Wind, Flower, Snow and Moon: Can we eat it? Can we eat it? ]
"Let's wait a little longer…" He said, using the spatula he scraped along the edge of the pan and along the bottom to unstick the cake, and then with a flip, the cake was turned over. On screen, the deft action suddenly caused the live chat to break out.
[Small transparent: What was that action from the anchor just now? Was that the legendary Kung Fu from ancient Earth! ]
Ruan Tang couldn't help but laugh, "That wasn't Kung Fu. It was just a basic cooking skill."
[Honey Summer: Basic skills? In those restaurants I've been to, I have never seen any masters who did this. ]
Eggs were inherently easy to cook and Ruan Tang's egg cakes were thin so they were done very quickly. In order to ensure that the egg cakes tasted their best, Ruan Tang paid close attention to the crucial moment.
He waited until both sides of the cake turned slightly brown from frying before he cut them to pieces with the spatula and then scooped them onto a plate.
"Okay, everyone can now have a taste."
Actually, it would be best if he could sprinkle a bit of sesame oil, Ruan Tang regretfully thought. However, the egg cake as it was, was already plenty good enough to satisfy the viewers keeping watch. The scallion egg cake with a faint touch of char — its outer edges was crisp and brittle, while its center was soft and spongy, retaining a bit of the flour's sweetness. Biting down on it, one could even feel the pull against the adhesion of the gluten produced from the flour. It instantly gave the viewers a whole new way of looking at eggs and scallion, these two common ingredients.
[Seven treasures: delicious, delicious! ! ! I simply can not stop! ! ! ]
Without waiting for them to issue more comments, another delicate yet very fragrant aroma swept through their nose. The fresh fish congee was done. Ruan Tang opened the lid and the clear and sweet smell of rice mixed with the fish, spread forth.
The audience's expectation of the fresh fish congee weren't as high as the egg cake's. After all, Ruan Tang's cooking skills in the eyes of these interstellar people who didn't even know how to eat fish, were excessively fierce. As a result, they were now guardedly looking at this pot of congee. But in the face of this sweet smell along with the wafting steam, everyone couldn't help but put down the egg cakes and face towards this congee, gulping down their saliva.
Ruan Tang took out a small porcelain bowl and ladled a small amount of congee into it. The fish slices which used to be a flesh colored had turned completely white. The rice had also been boiled until it was soft. On top of the congee was a very fine layer of oil.
The broadcast viewers swallowed wave after wave of saliva.
[Seven treasures: I think… It might be delicious. ]
[Miao Miao does not eat fish: I have a premonition that I might need to change my name… I, my mouth, it doesn't seem to be following orders…]
After sprinkling some green onion on the porridge, Ruan Tang put the congee bowl on the table, smiling slightly. "Well, let's try the fish congee together. First eat the egg cake and then the congee. It can remove the grease from eating the egg cake. It will feel really refreshing."
[Miao Miao does not eat fish: I can't help it anymore!]
She couldn't help but bawl indignantly. With a quick and violent movement she pounced on the congee. She couldn't even be bothered with the spoon and directly drank from the bowl.
[Miao Miao does not eat fish: Ah – sooooooo good! ]
[Can't stop hugging trees: My God – my tongue's going to fall off qwq the more I eat, the hungrier I get. Requesting the anchor to open shop! Open shop! Open shop! ]
The smooth and tender fish slices simply melts. It paired perfectly with the soft and fragrant congee. It left a delicious taste in the mouth. The small sliver of black skin left on each fish slice was especially smooth and tender. It captivated people the moment it touched the tip of their tongues.
The live chat grew unexpectedly quiet as the viewers were immersing themselves in the deliciousness of the congee. It wasn't until a minute later before some people came back to their senses and began sending gifts to the anchor. For a while dozen of crystal flower bloomed successively in their relatively small broadcast room. After sending flowers, the viewers immediately buried their heads in their congee.
[Miao Miao does not eat fish: I have decided to change my name to Miao Maio loves to eat fish. Just how can this taste so good? Boo Hoo…]
While everyone was fascinated by the charm of the congee, Ruan Tang picked up a piece of egg cake and tasted it. Although the taste was very good, he always felt that something was missing. The egg cakes that he used to eat on the streets were coated with a thick layer of sweet noodle sauce, but the future didn't have this yet. If he wanted to eat it, it seems that he could only make it himself.
Ruan Tang got out a bowl, poured the right amount of flour into it, added water and mixed thoroughly. He then added soy sauce and sugar, pouring it into a pan with residual heat and stirred quickly while cooking it over low heat.
When the sauce started bubbling, he tasted the sauce with his chopsticks. He felt it was bit bland still, and added a spoonful of sugar and half a spoonful of soy sauce.
[Small transparent: What is the anchor doing?]
[Miao Miao does not eat fish: This sloppy color looks ugly, is it also a cake?]
[Seven treasures: Can this be eaten too? It seems you left out the egg. ]
"The one I'm making is a dipping sauce. I can put it on the egg after cooking. It will taste better." He used chopsticks to continually stir in the pan until he felt the taste was almost the same before he finally stopped.
He found a small spoon and put a spoonful of the sweet sauce on top the egg cake, indicating that everyone should taste it again. This time, the taste was more intense than when it was just green scallions and egg. Paired with a different kind of salty sweet stickiness, people hated how they couldn't just swallow their tongues along with it.
[Can't stop hugging trees: Delicious, delicious, delicious!]
[Miao Miao does not eat fish: This sauce looks ugly, but it tastes so delicious! It's better than the ketchup sold outside! ]
Ruan Tang said: "Thank you, everyone, for the gifts. We will still be drawing three lucky viewers today, giving each some egg cake and a small dish of sweet sauce."
This time, there were hundreds of people in the audience. It was not comparable at all to yesterday's deserted situation. If wanted it, you would have to rely on luck.
Ruan Tang directly opened the lottery function in the live broadcast. The names of the online viewers fluttered like snowflakes around his body. He took three random stabs in the air. The chosen names gradually enlarged before Ruan Tang's eyes and then flew out and turned golden. The other names were then hidden away.
"Congratulations, Barely Passing, Seven Treasures and ID72648, I will re-do three fresh egg cakes for you and send it via intergalactic express delivery. Please remember to check and accept."
[Barely Passing: Thank you, anchor! Embed multicolored fireworks and support the anchor! ]
The gorgeous fireworks blasted on the screen and looked very beautiful. The fireworks fell and turned into crystal clear beads littering the ground.
A pink translucent system prompt appeared in the center of the screen. "The user Barely Passing has given the anchor a multicolored firework. Click here to go to the live broadcast room and collect crystals."
Multicolored firework was a gift worth 1,000 GMs. When one was given away, it would drop a lot of small crystals worth 2 GM coins and a crystal heart worth 500 GM coins. It will also trigger an all-channel announcement. Clicking on the announcement would lead directly to the live broadcast room. It was a very effective tool to gain popularity.
The number of online people in the live broadcast room had skyrocketed again.
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