Chapter 62: Delicious Braised Rice

The giveaway was over quickly.

"Congratulations to the following viewers on winning a Pine Needle Crab. These winners are: How to Relieve Boredom, Mr. Fu, Zhan Lingxi, Brave Lazy Cat..."

"Congratulations to these viewers on winning a Pine Needle Crab."

"To all the winners of the Pine Needle Crabs, please take a screenshot of your prize notification and contact the channel moderator to register your information. I’ll have the crabs sent to you via Shunfeng air freight tomorrow, so please keep an eye out for the delivery."

Suddenly, Li Xiao noticed his phone screen light up. A new text message had appeared on the screen.

After reading the message, he quickly added to the livestream:

"The only moderator in our channel right now is the one with the admin tag: [Egg and Pork Week]."

"To all you lucky winners, please do not trust anyone who privately messages you claiming to be a moderator or staff. Those are all fakes. Don’t let these people scam you."

"Also, for any of my channel’s giveaway events, I will never charge any fees, not even for packaging."

"If shipping is required, I will cover the costs completely."

There was a simple reason why Li Xiao added these clarifications.

Zhou Shishi, who had been watching the stream the whole time, had noticed some potential loopholes in the process and sent him a private message to warn him.

The more than 90 viewers who won a Pine Needle Crab immediately started cheering in the chat.

"I’ve been watching streams for so long, and this is the first time I’ve won anything! And it’s such a valuable Pine Needle Crab! I love you, streamer!"

"Why do I feel like the win rate in this stream is so high? This is already my second time winning!"

"Is the person above me flexing?"

"How are you supposed to cook this Pine Needle Crab? I’ve only ever cooked three-spot crabs before."

"I’ve never eaten such an expensive crab before. Streamer, can you give us a recipe?"

...

Seeing the many questions popping up in the chat, Li Xiao thought for a moment and came to a decision.

Although he hadn’t received a recipe for Pine Needle Crab from the system just now, cooking them wasn’t particularly difficult. After acquiring several system-granted recipes, his own culinary skills had improved significantly.

Demonstrating how to cook a Pine Needle Crab for everyone would be no problem at all.

Li Xiao:

"I just saw a lot of people in the chat saying they’re worried they’ll mess up the Pine Needle Crab and waste the ingredient."

"But you don’t have to worry."

"Tomorrow night, at the same time, I’ll stream a tutorial on how to make a home-style version of Pine Needle Crab."

"Alright, that’s enough talk. It’s time for me to eat. If I wait any longer, this food is going to get cold."

Li Xiao scooped up another spoonful of the rice mixed with its ingredients and brought it to his mouth.

His eyes instantly narrowed in pleasure.

The sweet umami of the crab meat, the fragrance of the rice, the earthiness of the matsutake, the rich saltiness of the ham, the savory sweetness of the chicken broth, the fresh scent of the young lotus leaf, and the faint, sweet aftertaste of the old lotus leaf.

He never imagined that a single bite of rice could be so explosively complex.

The rice was fragrant, with distinct grains that were perfectly soft yet firm. You could tell at a glance that it was a top-grade jasmine rice.

The chef here had used chicken broth instead of water, allowing its savory flavor to fuse completely with the rice, elevating the already delicious jasmine rice to a whole new level.

Furthermore, the chicken fat from the broth infused the plain rice with the rich aroma of chicken and a savory oiliness.

After being steamed inside a lotus leaf, the rice became perfectly distinct, and each grain was coated in the leaf’s fresh fragrance.

Once this perfectly cooked steamed rice had cooled, the chef mixed it with egg wash, then tossed it in a wok until it was golden brown.

These golden grains of rice were placed back into the lotus leaf, and the surface was topped with shreds of red-and-white crab leg meat, aromatic seared matsutake slivers, and a few slices of 5J ham.

The lotus leaf was wrapped up again and returned to the steamer. Inside the relatively sealed leaf, the heat would cause the flavors of the ingredients to rapidly infuse into the rice.

Even though many different ingredients were added, their flavors were complementary. There were no clashes; instead, they layered on top of each other, creating an even more wonderful synergy.

No wonder the system had given it a high score of 97.

This dish truly was exceptional.

Li Xiao took several large bites in a row, only slowing down slightly when he could see the bottom of the bowl.

He faced the stream and began his review:

"This 5J Ham and Pine Needle Crab Braised Rice is, I’d say, the best dish I’ve had all night."

"The high-quality Pine Needle Crab provides a sweet umami."

"The top-tier 5J ham brings a rich, salty fragrance."

"The wild matsutake contributes a fragrant, mushroomy aroma."

"The chicken broth gives the otherwise plain rice a savory, meaty flavor."

"The freshness of the lotus leaf cuts through the richness of all the meats and adds a unique, clean fragrance."

"A truly perfect dish!"

"For those of you who won cash vouchers, you absolutely have to order this 5J Ham and Pine Needle Crab Braised Rice when you come here."

"The flavor is seriously incredible."

In the stream chat:

"Is that rice really that good?"

"That braised rice probably has more ingredients than actual rice!"

"Seeing the streamer wolfing it down like that, you just know it’s got to be good!"

"I just looked up this braised rice online... 488!!! It’s 488!! My living expenses for a whole month are only 1000! Am I crazy to spend half a month’s allowance on a single rice dish?"

"Am I out of touch? Why do I feel like 488 for a rice dish doesn’t seem that expensive?"

"I used to think a 1000 yuan cash voucher was a lot, but now it looks like, forget about taking my wife, I’d probably have to chip in a lot of my own money even if I went by myself!"

"Bro, did you win a voucher? If you’re not going, don’t let it go to waste. I’ll buy it off you for 60% of its value!"

"The guy above is ruthless! I’ll buy it for 80%! We can do the transaction in person!"

...

Watching these viewers trying to scalp the prizes he just gave out right in front of him, Li Xiao didn’t really mind. After all, he’d already given the items away.

As for whether the winners used the prizes themselves or resold them, he wasn’t too concerned. He figured that one way or another, the benefits would eventually find their way to someone who truly wanted them.

Seeing that the four of them had finished their rice, Taotao hurried over to Li Xiao’s side and asked in a low voice,

"Excuse me, Mr. Li, are you ready for your dessert?"

Li Xiao nodded slightly. "Yes, you can bring it out."

Soon, the final course, dessert, was brought out by the waitress.

Four bowls of red bean soup with dried tangerine peel were placed in front of them.

The portions of red bean soup weren’t large, served in small celadon bowls just slightly bigger than a fist.