Chapter 63 Grilled Ribs, Chopped Chili Bass.

Chapter 63: Roasted Ribs, Bass with Chopped Chili.

"Look what I found!"

"Is the missing person back?"

"The streamer's been gone for over a week! Do you know how I got through this past week?!"

"What new streamer dares to take such a long break right after starting out? They really don’t take us viewers seriously, folks. Listen to me, let’s all dip from the stream together and teach them a lesson about how harsh the world can be."

"I want to leave too, but I can’t find a replacement, boo-hoo. Can you find another person in this streaming category who cooks this deliciously? No, you can’t."

"Today’s menu looks amazing! I’ve already started searching for similar dishes in nearby restaurants."

As soon as the stream started, the viewer count in the upper right corner kept rising, quickly jumping to five digits. Following that came a barrage of comments, filling the screen completely.

Yu Xin had already built up quite a following from his previous streams. Even after going MIA for so long, he hadn’t lost many viewers. Though the audience complained, they honestly stayed in Yu Xin’s stream. After all, the streaming category was seriously lacking someone like Yu Xin, whose dishes were both novel and delicious, and whose cooking process was smooth as silk and super entertaining.

After Yu Xin blew up, some tried to imitate him, successfully siphoning off some of his viewers. But viewers can’t be fooled—everyone can tell who has real skill. In the end, most returned to Yu Xin’s stream, waiting patiently and even repeatedly watching his past cooking streams until the videos were played to death.

Yu Xin explained to everyone, "Sorry, I couldn’t stream recently due to personal reasons. I’ll make it up to y’all during this time by streaming lots of delicious dishes for you."

"Yay!"

"Don’t forget you’re also a gaming streamer. Many people followed you for your gaming skills. Don’t just stick to cooking—think about us too!"

"We wanna see cooking, we wanna see cooking! There are plenty of gaming streamers, but only one cooking streamer like this."

Yu Xin saw this comment: "No worries, everyone. There will be both gaming and cooking streams. I won’t favor one over the other."

"Am I the only one who noticed the streamer switched kitchens? The new kitchen is huge!"

"Wow, really? This kitchen is so luxurious. I’m freaking out like I’ve never seen anything like it."

"Is it just the streamer today? Where’s Cheng Zikun? No wonder it’s been so quiet, like something’s missing. So the sidekick isn’t here today."

"LOL, not just the sidekick but also the mouthpiece."

"I’ve changed locations for the stream. Honestly, I’m at my employer’s house now." Yu Xin had already started preparing the ingredients he would need. He took out a whole rack of pork ribs and, with quick chops, cut them into sizes that could fit into the oven. The pork, when cut, revealed beautiful marbling. While working, he took time to answer the audience’s questions. "Cheng Zikun really isn’t here. From here on out, I’ll be streaming alone."

"Wuwu, my ship’s sunk. Crying."

"Employer? I’ll venture a guess—could it be the top patron of our stream?"

"!! Sis, you’re brave to guess that. I don’t care, you’re the prophet."

"Streamer, aren’t you denying it? Then we’ll start spreading rumors :D"

"No rumors needed," Yu Xin saw the comment and chuckled. "My current employer is indeed the top patron of our stream."

There was no reason to hide it. After all, no one would connect his stream’s top patron with the Empire’s General.

"!!!! It’s actually true!"

"What kind of Green River storyline is this?... Something’s off, you guys are off (head shaking)."

"Mom, the ship I invested in is soaring! I knew it! My intuition as a chosen fangirl never fails!"

"He, an empire big shot, and he, an innocent streamer. He spent a fortune just to become the top patron of his stream, all because... he was into his cooking??"

"I don’t care, I’m happily shipping them now. The top patron went through all the trouble to get the streamer to his place—could it really just be for the streamer’s cooking? I don’t believe it. It’s all just men’s little tricks, and I’ve seen through it all, hmph."

"Today, we’ll start with roasted ribs. These take a while, so it’s best to get them started first."

The premium pork ribs, with their perfect balance of lean meat and fat, were cut into neat, square pieces. The silver skin on the ribs had to be completely removed, as it would affect the shape and texture after roasting. These ribs came from black pigs, which, compared to ordinary white pigs, are more active, have richer muscle fibers, and offer superior texture and flavor. The lean meat and fat were marbled, making it easy to imagine how delicious they would be just by looking at them.

"For roasted pork ribs, it’s best not to cut them into pieces. Roasting them whole helps retain the juices to the maximum." As Yu Xin spoke, he scored the ribs and then pricked the surface all over with a fork to allow the flavors to penetrate better.

Next came the marinating. A marinade made from salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, brown sugar, and honey was evenly spread over the ribs. Wrapped in foil, the ribs were placed directly into the oven for the first round of roasting.

"The first roast takes a full hour and a half, so we’ll use this time to prepare the barbecue sauce."

Yu Xin bent down and took out a pineapple. With swift cuts, he peeled and diced it into small pieces. This was his secret weapon for the barbecue sauce—the sweet and tangy pineapple would make the meat more tender and juicy, adding layers of flavor and reducing the greasiness.

He added other ingredients and simmered them over low heat until thickened. Then, using an immersion blender, he pureed everything into a smooth sauce and set it aside.

For the second dish, Yu Xin planned to make bass with chopped chili. This dish isn’t particularly difficult; the key lies in the freshness of the ingredients. The bass Yu Xin used was quite large, and from the time it was killed to when it reached his cooking station, less than ten minutes had passed, proving its exceptional freshness.

"This dish is very simple. I’ll slow down each step. If you’re interested, you can learn and try making it at home."

"Are you all ready? Streamer’s cooking class is starting!"

"I’ve already opened my notes. Let’s begin, streamer!"

"But raw fish is so nasty and scary. I’ll leave it to our household robot."

"Not sure if the audience wants to learn, but some restaurant owners must be eager."

"You get it. Who understands? The streamer has become the latest wealth code in the culinary world."

"I get it, I get it. All the restaurants around my place launched Crab Xiaolongbao within a week, as if they’d planned it. Sadly, I tried them all, and none were good. They were all expensive too—pure scams."

"Hey, friend ahead, check this out—I recommend Jinrongji! Their Crab Xiaolongbao tastes exactly how I imagined the streamer’s would. Rumor has it their boss bought the recipe from the streamer. Seriously delicious, highly recommended!!"

"...I looked up the price of Jinrongji’s Crab Xiaolongbao. Never mind, it’s beyond my budget."

"In that case, wouldn’t it be better if the streamer opened his own restaurant? I’d pay the price gladly, rather than get scammed by expensive, bad restaurants."

"I second this!! Streamer, look at us!! If you open a restaurant, we’ll definitely support you every day. Please consider it, seriously!!"

This suggestion gained widespread agreement, and for a moment, hundreds of "I second this" comments flooded the screen. Yu Xin couldn’t miss them.

"Sorry, I have no plans to open a restaurant at the moment." Yu Xin lacked both the capital and connections to start a restaurant, nor did he have any interest in running one. Between variety shows and streaming, he was already busy enough. On top of that, he had to cook for Ji Yixing. Opening a restaurant would require splitting himself in half to manage everything.

"If any businesses are interested in my recipes, feel free to contact me privately anytime."

"@Businesses, did you hear that!! If you want to learn, pay the streamer properly. Don’t produce expensive, bad food under the streamer’s name and cheat consumers!!"

"Alright, let’s get started. As per international practice, we’ll first score the fish. Cut along the midline of the bass’s belly, then score both sides like this." Yu Xin lifted the plate to show the camera. The scored bass lay on the plate like a flower, the exposed flesh snow-white and glistening, clearly of excellent quality.

This dish uses a steaming method, somewhat similar to the bamboo-steamed fish from the first episode of Yu Xin’s Wilderness Adventure. But now, he had much more complete ingredients. He marinated the fish with ginger slices, cooking wine, white pepper, and salt for half an hour, remembering to flip it midway.

After a simple marinade, he placed it in the steamer. Yu Xin took out the bottle of chopped chili paste he treasured. As soon as he opened it, the sour and spicy aroma made mouths water.

Though Yu Xin isn’t picky, he actually prefers stronger flavors, especially sour and spicy ones. In his previous life, he once helped an elderly woman who, judging by her accent, was from the southwest. Before parting, she gave him a bottle of chopped chili paste. At that time, food was extremely scarce, and Yu Xin hadn’t tasted chopped chili paste in a long time. The old woman’s skills were excellent. He used that bottle to make dishes like fish head with chopped chili, stir-fried pork with chopped chili, and noodles with mixed chili meat sauce. Even eaten plain with rice, it could down a large bowl.

That bottle of chopped chili paste improved Yu Xin’s living standards for a long time. He used it sparingly, but even so, the small bottle was soon empty. Later, he joined a search team and lived in the wild year-round, never tasting such authentic chopped chili paste again.

Now he could use it to his heart's content. Yu Xin scooped out a large spoonful of chopped chili paste and spread a thick layer over the fish, bright red like blooming mountain rhododendrons.

Once the water in the steamer boiled, he placed the perch in to steam for about ten minutes, then took it out and topped it with finely shredded scallions, a drizzle of light soy sauce, and finally a pot of hot oil evenly poured over the fish.

The hot oil was sizzling, quickly releasing the aromas of the scallions and chopped chili paste under the high heat, making the red brighter and the green greener. The fish skin curled at the edges from the heat, the flesh pure white and flawless, steaming hot and irresistibly tempting. The presentation of this dish could almost be described as vivid and captivating.

"So fragrant, ahhh! I can actually smell it—is this the legendary transferred sensation?"

"Where can I buy this kind of chili paste? It looks so spicy but so delicious!"

"I see what the host was going for now. This dish is exceptionally simple to make yet impressive. Just looking at it makes me feel like I can do it too."

"This familiar feeling of uncontrollable drooling... I’ve only experienced it with this host and another variety show. Who understands?"

"I do!! It’s that man, right?!"

"Confirmed with a glance, we’re following the same show."

"I discovered this host while waiting for the variety show to update. Who would’ve thought the show would air but the host would start slacking off? What’s going on with you guys (pointing fingers)?"

Yu Xin placed the steamed fish into the thermal container. The interstellar thermal container was simply miraculous—as long as the time wasn’t too long, food taken out would be exactly as it was when freshly cooked, never losing its optimal texture over time.

He checked the time and noticed almost an hour had passed. The base’s sky had turned completely dark. Fortunately, the remaining dishes weren’t troublesome. If he worked quickly, he should be able to finish everything by the time the ribs were done roasting.

He wasn’t sure what time the general usually preferred for meals, he noted. He’d have to ask Attendant Bai about it later.

On the other side.

After showing Yu Xin around the kitchen, Bai Yizhou went to report to the general before tackling the backlog of paperwork that had piled up over the past few days. He was busy until the sky grew dark before finally freeing himself from the mountain of work.

It’s always the general, taking advantage of his recovery period to dump everything on him, even though the general is perfectly capable of handling these tasks himself.

He's totally taking advantage of my easygoing nature, putting up with all this pressure for so many years without complaint!

Bai Yizhou muttered to himself as he headed to the general’s lounge to see what his hard-to-handle superior was up to.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Ji Yixing comfortably reclined on the sofa, intently watching a projection, not even noticing his entrance.

Upon closer look, the background of the live stream the general was watching seemed familiar, and so did the person… Wasn’t this Yu Xin’s live stream?!

Even though Yu Xin was right there in the base’s kitchen, why go through the trouble of watching him through a live stream?

The general’s way of thinking was becoming more and more incomprehensible to him…

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Author’s Note: Finally done writing (exhausted).

It’s Christmas Eve today, so I wish everyone and your families peace and safety. Merry Christmas!

Thank you all so much for your support. I’ll keep working hard!