Chapter 24: The Origin of the Sizzling Clay Pot

The manager had worked at this restaurant for over a decade and knew their signature dishes by heart.

"Our most famous specialty is, of course, the Juejuebao."

"Since you’re all young, I’d suggest ordering three small Juejuebaos in different flavors. If you like seafood, you could add a dozen oysters. Get a vegetable dish on the side, and that should be plenty of food."

Li Xiao nodded.

"So, what are your most popular Juejuebaos?"

The manager rattled off his recommendations:

"Eel, beef tongue, free-range chicken, crispy intestine, and shrimp and crab are all some of our most popular."

Li Xiao had already looked up reviews for this place online.

The Juejuebaos were supposed to be incredible, but the other dishes, while not bad, were said to be just average restaurant fare.

So he didn’t completely follow the manager’s recommendation.

"Let’s do this: we’ll get one of each—eel, beef tongue, free-range chicken, crispy intestine, and shrimp and crab. Small portions for all of them. And add an order of stir-fried choy sum with garlic."

The manager was a little surprised to see Li Xiao order five Juejuebaos at once, but he didn’t say anything.

After all, he could tell that Li Xiao and his friends were likely local university students, and it wasn’t unusual for young people that age to have big appetites.

The manager tapped quickly on his device, and a moment later, a printed order slip appeared on the table.

After the manager left, Zhou Yu asked cautiously:

"Brother Li, there are only four of us. I don’t think we can finish all this. Maybe we should ask the manager to cancel one or two?"

Huang Zhiyuan chimed in as well:

"Yeah, even a small Juejuebao is 58 yuan. This meal is going to be over 300."

Zhang Jiawen, who was sitting nearby, rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Zhou Yu, you were willing to spend over 4,000 on your girlfriend’s birthday, but now you think a meal that’s a little over 300 is too expensive?"

"I’m telling you, you guys need to stop worrying about Brother Li for no reason."

"Three hundred yuan is nothing to Brother Li."

Before the two could argue, Li Xiao, who had just finished setting up his tripod, smiled and broke the tension:

"He’s right, he’s right. A little over 300 is nothing to me."

"Besides, if we can’t finish it, we can always get it to go and have it as a late-night snack, right?"

Everyone knew that their dorm mate, Li Xiao, came from a wealthy family.

Since the one paying didn’t mind, the others knew to drop the subject and immediately fell silent.

「In the livestream chat.」

"What is a Juejuebao?"

"Yeah, is it a specialty from Guangdong Province? I’ve never even heard of it where I’m from."

"Juejuebao! This brings back memories! I used to eat it all the time with my coworkers from the factory floor when I was a migrant worker in Guangdong Province."

"Streamer, go show us what this thing is already! I’m so curious!"

...

Seeing the requests from his viewers, Li Xiao was happy to oblige.

The Juejuebaos were made to order, so it would be at least fifteen to twenty minutes before the food arrived.

So, he picked up his phone on its stand and walked toward the front of the restaurant.

The owner saw Li Xiao and his obvious streamer getup.

The owner, who was wearing a red shirt and holding a red megaphone, was very enthusiastic:

"Hey, handsome! Are you livestreaming or filming a restaurant review video?"

’Does this owner not like streamers reviewing his place?’ Li Xiao hesitated.

He felt a pang of regret. ’I shouldn’t have set up my phone stand so quickly.’

Still, he wasn’t too worried. He already had a plan.

’If the owner says no, I’ll just turn off my phone. I have a camera hidden in my glasses anyway.’

’The glasses camera’s resolution isn’t as high as my phone’s, but it’s more than good enough for a livestream.’

So, he nodded confidently.

"I’m livestreaming now, but I’ll also edit this down into a video to post online later."

"Does that mean you don’t welcome streamers here?"

The owner’s eyebrows shot up, and his smile grew even wider.

"Of course not!"

"We’re thrilled to have streamers like you come by and give us some publicity."

"But I should mention, we don’t have a budget for promotion. You’re not going to film your video and then ask for a fee or a free meal, are you?"

Li Xiao quickly waved his hands.

"Not at all."

"I’m from a rich family. I run this channel purely as a hobby."

"I don’t take promotional fees from restaurants, and I don’t need donations from my viewers or fans."

The owner didn’t bother to question whether Li Xiao was telling the truth. He just chuckled and said:

"No fees and no freebies? That’s great to hear. We’re a small business, after all, and our profit margins are pretty thin."

"But since you went to the trouble of coming all the way out here, I can’t let you leave empty-handed."

"When you go to pay, I’ll have the cashier give you a 10% discount."

Seeing how courteous the owner was being, Li Xiao’s own attitude softened.

"In that case, thank you, boss."

"Oh, by the way, a lot of my viewers are really interested in seeing how the Juejuebaos are made. I was wondering if I could get a little closer to film the process?"

Hearing this request, the owner waved his hand magnanimously.

"Yes, of course you can."

"But be careful not to get too close."

"After all, when we make the Juejuebaos, the oil in the clay pots can splatter."

"If you get too close, you could easily get burned by the hot oil."

Li Xiao was well aware of this. After thanking the owner, he slowly approached the stove area.

He had done a lot of research that afternoon to prepare for the stream.

"I see a lot of people in the chat are curious about the name. ’Juejuebao’ is pronounced ’jue jue’ (jué jué), not ’ze ze’ or ’zhu zhu’."

"The reason is actually pretty simple. Juejuebao originated in Yangcheng City. For this type of dish, the ingredients are placed in an earthenware or clay pot and baked at a very high temperature."

"The high heat quickly forces the juices out of the ingredients, causing the liquid in the pot to rapidly evaporate."

"A large amount of steam billows out of the pot, making a ’TSS TSS’ sound. In Cantonese, the word ’啫’ (jue) sounds almost exactly like that sizzling noise. So, the people of Yangcheng cleverly named the dish ’Juejuebao’—the ’sizzle-sizzle pot’."

"Juejuebao requires extremely precise heat control, and it’s traditionally made with the freshest raw ingredients."

"The fresher the ingredients, the more of the food’s natural flavor is brought out."

"After the ingredients are prepped, they’re placed directly into a scorching hot clay pot and stir-fried."

"Because clay pots retain heat so well, the ingredients cook almost instantly, which locks in their moisture."

"It’s then flash-fried with aromatics like scallions, ginger, and garlic, along with various special sauces. Right before it’s served, a splash of yellow wine is added, which ignites in a burst of flame. The finished dish has an incredible, explosive aroma and a texture that’s both crisp and tender."

As he explained, Li Xiao moved closer to the stove. Even before he got right next to it, a wave of heat washed over him, instantly raising the ambient temperature by more than ten degrees.

At the same time, the rich, seared aroma hit him full-force.