Chapter 40: Is This Sizzling Pork Offal or Sizzling Onions?

After seeing the viewer’s explanation, Li Xiao had a moment of realization.

’So the pink, tender bits were just globules of fat.’ With that mental block gone, the intestine in his mouth suddenly seemed even more delicious.

After finishing the intestine in his bowl, Li Xiao held up the last type of pork intestine to the camera.

"Actually, this little piece is the same type of intestine, but the restaurant has subdivided it by section."

"This is from the widest part of the intestine, called the ’river-crossing intestine.’ The outer wall has some fat left on it, so it’s not as tough to chew. It’s fattier and more fragrant."

Li Xiao popped the piece of ’river-crossing intestine’ into his mouth, chewed it thoughtfully, and then nodded in satisfaction.

"Three different types of pork intestine, each with its own unique character."

"Whether it’s the texture or the flavor, they’re all actually quite good."

However, he thought for a moment before adding a word of caution.

"These pork intestines are genuinely delicious, but they are, after all, a rather... unappealing part of the animal. Although they’re washed very clean, I wouldn’t really recommend them to friends who are new to pork offal."

Li Xiao chatted with his viewers while quickly finishing off the intestines.

Seeing that the pot was now empty, he quickly urged the others.

"If you see something you want to eat, hurry and put it in."

Before the other three could respond, the waitress hurried over, a tray in her hands.

Seeing that the stir-fried dishes had arrived, the three of them didn’t rush to add more offal to the congee base.

After all, just like with hot pot, if the ingredients are cooked for too long, the meat will get tough.

Since the stir-fries were here, everyone turned their full attention to them.

On the tray were a sizzling plate of pork offal, a bowl of pork blood with chives, and pork offal chow mein.

The sizzling plate of pork offal was intensely hot, with clouds of white steam billowing from the black iron plate.

The moment the lid was lifted, a charred, savory aroma rushed into Li Xiao’s nostrils.

The bottom of the plate was layered with a generous amount of onions, sliced garlic, scallion segments, and cracked pepper.

Unlike the milder pork offal congee, the flavor of the sizzling plate offal was extremely intense—the two were completely different styles.

Hearing the constant SIZZLE from the iron plate, Li Xiao quickly beckoned for the others to dig in.

He also picked up a slice of pork liver and popped it into his mouth.

The next moment, the system’s notification chimed again.

[Congratulations, you have unlocked your 4th Codex Entry.]

[Food Codex Entry Unlocked: Sizzling Plate Pork Offal]

[Food Rating: 78/100 (Average)]

[As the food rating is Average, reward is multiplied by 2.]

[Congratulations, you have received a cash reward of 200,000.]

[Congratulations, you have received one Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4MATIC Coupe SUV (Luxury Edition).]

[Note 1: The reward will be automatically legitimized. You do not need to worry about its origin.]

[Note 2: Reward values differ based on the rating.]

[Rating: 60-69, Pass; Reward x1]

[Rating: 70-79, Average; Reward x2]

[Rating: 80-89, Good; Reward x3]

[Rating: 90-99, Excellent; Reward x4]

The next moment, Li Xiao saw his phone screen light up.

[Your savings account ending in 7700 has received a deposit of 200,000.00 yuan...]

??????

Seeing the reward, Li Xiao raised an eyebrow, a curious look in his eyes.

’I didn’t expect the system to give out physical items, let alone a whole car.’

He had owned a Mercedes-Benz in his previous life.

However, it wasn’t a GLC, but an S-Class that cost nearly 2 million yuan, so he wasn’t familiar with this particular model.

Li Xiao took out his phone and typed the Mercedes-Benz model into the search bar.

Soon, the car’s price and specs appeared on the screen.

Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4MATIC Coupe SUV (Luxury Edition)

Engine: 2.0L Inline-4 Turbocharged Engine

Max Power: 258 horsepower

Max Torque: 370 N·m

Transmission: 9-speed Automatic

Drivetrain: All-Wheel Drive

Acceleration: 0-100 km/h in 6.5 seconds

Fuel Economy: Approx. 7.5 L/100 km

Price: Approximately 500,000-550,000 RMB.

’The specs and performance are all pretty standard, but the 2.0L engine is a bit underwhelming.’

’Even with turbocharging, the power output probably can’t compare to some 2.8L engines.’

To be honest, Li Xiao had actually been planning to buy a car.

After all, he was frequently going out to explore restaurants, and having to hail a ride-share every time was quite a hassle.

’Having his own car would definitely be more convenient. Of course, for someone like him who was used to million-yuan luxury cars, a Mercedes worth just over 500,000 was pretty average.’

’But considering he was just an ordinary university student now, buying a car that was too expensive would be far too conspicuous.’

’A Mercedes over 500,000 as a daily driver was a bit excessive for his current status, but it wouldn’t be so eye-catching as to cause problems.’

’Well, whatever. It’s a freebie from the system, so I’ll just make do with it for now.’

Since he had just obtained the recipe for sizzling plate pork offal, Li Xiao now had a crystal clear understanding of how to prepare it. He began explaining the cooking method to his viewers.

"This dish has almost every kind of pork offal!"

"Liver, heart, lungs, kidneys, intestines—all of it is sizzling away fragrantly on this iron plate."

"Many people might think that this offal is fried directly on the plate."

"But that’s not actually the case. Pork offal has a high water content, so if you fried it directly on the iron plate, a lot of liquid would pool on the surface."

"Normally, the chef first stir-fries the various types of offal in a wok until they’re cooked and aromatic. Only then is the offal poured onto an iron plate that’s been covered with sliced onions and garlic."

"Finally, right before serving, a bit of pork lard or beef tallow is added. The extremely hot plate instantly melts the animal fat, releasing a powerful, savory aroma. This also makes the whole dish billow with steam, giving it that impressive, sizzling hot appearance."

"However, compared to the pork offal congee, this sizzling plate offal falls a little short."

"It’s probably because there are too many orders, so the chef didn’t have enough time to get the iron plates thoroughly heated."

"As a result, by the time the waitress brought the plate to our table, it lost all its heat in less than two minutes."

As he spoke, Li Xiao used his chopsticks to separate the offal and the onions on the plate.

When the offal and the ingredients underneath were mixed together, no one noticed anything amiss. But now that he had completely separated the two, the problem was obvious to anyone with eyes.

In the livestream chat:

"Holy cow, is this sizzling plate onions or sizzling plate offal? That’s way too many onions!"

"If I remember correctly, this sizzling plate offal costs 32 yuan a serving. That many onions is just outrageous."

"Let’s be real, the amount of onions here is only slightly less than in the onion beef I had at that Lanzhou Noodles place last time."