Chapter 56: Distributing Benefits

The abalone sauce was of a very high quality. It was clearly fresh, simmered from old hens and Jinhua ham, not some industrial-grade canned garbage.

Although pre-packaged, instant deboned duck feet have become mainstream—after all, machine deboning is both faster and cheaper.

Of course, machine deboning can often result in severely damaged duck feet, but these drawbacks are considered negligible when compared to the savings in cost and the convenience of storage.

However, this was a private kitchen that cost over 1,500 per person, so of course they wouldn’t use frozen deboned duck feet.

The duck feet used here were extremely fresh. After being stewed for a long time, the once-tough feet had become soft and tender.

Having absorbed a large amount of the abalone sauce, the deboned duck feet swelled up, their texture becoming even smoother. A single bite was full of collagen.

The texture of the deboned duck feet was now somewhat similar to fish maw. But in addition to the soft, tender skin and flesh, the cartilage inside provided a crisp crunch. These two completely different textures made the entire duck foot quite interesting.

He swallowed a piece and nodded in satisfaction. The cooking time was perfect. It wasn’t stewed so long that the skin and meat became mushy, nor was the time too short, which would have left the cartilage too hard.

The timing was controlled with incredible skill. After all, something like duck feet couldn’t be stewed in just a short while.

Even with a pressure cooker, it would likely take an hour to stew them to this level of tenderness.

Yet, it had been less than half an hour since they ordered. This could only mean the kitchen had a large batch of pre-cooked duck feet ready.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to prepare a dish like this so quickly. However, while these cooked duck feet could be refrigerated, doing so would drastically compromise their texture.

For a regular small restaurant, that wouldn’t be a huge issue. But this was a high-end private kitchen charging 1,500 per person.

They probably wouldn’t even keep them overnight; if they were stored for longer than a single service, they’d likely be discarded.

A bit wasteful, perhaps, but it ensured the ingredients were always served in their optimal condition.

Li Xiao picked up a strip of winter bamboo shoot from the bottom of the small bowl. It too was coated in sauce.

He popped the winter bamboo shoot into his mouth. The characteristic astringent flavor was very faint.

Evidently, the winter bamboo shoots had been blanched in salt water beforehand, then repeatedly rinsed with fresh water.

This repeated rinsing would wash away as much of their bitterness as possible.

Winter bamboo shoots have a very porous structure, allowing them to easily absorb a lot of flavor. Moreover, their crisp texture pairs exceptionally well with many bold-flavored dishes.

After being stewed for a long time, the winter bamboo shoots became even more flavorful, having completely absorbed the taste of the sauce.

However, at the same time, the bamboo’s natural crispness was somewhat diminished, though it didn’t detract from its deliciousness.

Only after finishing the entire dish of duck feet did Li Xiao put down his chopsticks and glance at his phone screen.

The red packet giveaway had ended a while ago.

The stream was filled with cries of anguish and shouts of joy.

Of course, with only a meager 200 winners, there were far more people wailing than celebrating.

Seeing the crowd putting on a pitiful act again, Li Xiao—who had just pocketed 800,000 and was savoring delicious duck feet—suddenly felt his heart soften.

There was no helping it. People tend to get soft-hearted once they have money.

"Alright, first off, let’s congratulate the friends who won the 1,000-yuan cash vouchers this time."

"Congratulations to the following viewers: Su Laomai, My Heart Wanders For Life, Daoist Monarch Di Xuan, Autumn Cicada... As for the other winners, I’ll have my assistant take a screenshot of the list, organize it, and post it later."

"And for those of you whose luck was just a little bit off, don’t be too sad."

"There will be more prize giveaways later, though the prize money probably won’t be as big as this time."

Upon hearing there were more giveaways to come, the atmosphere in the stream instantly changed.

"I knew the host wasn’t a stingy person!"

"Nobody treats their fans better than our Brother Li!"

"From now on, if anyone dares say a single bad word about my Brother Li in this stream, I’ll fight them to the death!!"

"That’s Brother Li for you, always so generous!"

...

While making small talk with his viewers and three roommates, he finished the plate of Braised Deboned Duck Feet with Black Garlic and Winter Bamboo Shoots.

Just as everyone was finishing up, the fourth course arrived.

"Good evening, everyone. This is the Caviar and Lobster Jelly. Please, enjoy."

Caviar and Lobster Jelly

This was a top-tier French dish, created by the famous French chef, Lubson.

The fact that Lubson’s fame as a French chef had spread even to Xia Country was a testament to his incredible skill.

As Lubson’s signature dish, the Caviar and Lobster Jelly could be found on the menus of many French restaurants.

With its widespread adoption in French restaurants, some innovative private kitchens also began to feature their own various versions of Caviar and Lobster Jelly.

The difficulty in making Caviar and Lobster Jelly wasn’t in the execution itself, but in the original conception and creative vision.

Looking at the Caviar and Lobster Jelly before him, Li Xiao nodded in satisfaction. At the very least, its presentation was up to par.

In his opinion, however, if this dish were to be given a more poetic Chinese name, it should be called "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond."

It resembled a blooming lotus flower with a dark brown seed pod, surrounded by countless verdant lotus seeds.

To Li Xiao, the presentation was simply stunning, a true feast for the eyes.

However, considering that this image was composed of countless dark green caviar pearls, anyone with trypophobia would probably be unable to even lift their chopsticks.

Online reviews for this dish were polarizing.

Some diners found it delicious, well-balanced, and unique in flavor.

Others claimed it was disgusting—simultaneously salty, fishy, and sweet.

The disparity between the positive and negative reviews was so great that Li Xiao wondered if they had even been eating the same dish.

But Li Xiao knew they were. The problem was that many restaurants failed to grasp the dish’s essence.

Although Chef Lubson had published the complete recipe and preparation method to the world long ago, right after creating it...

...very few of those who jumped on the bandwagon could actually prepare it well.

In Li Xiao’s view, the reason was simple: most of them were just crude imitators who copied the dish’s appearance without understanding the concept it was meant to convey.

After all, the dish was composed of multiple parts. Different caviars and different lobster jellies could produce vastly different flavors.

He picked up his spoon. The silver utensil gently broke through the clear, golden lobster jelly. This "lobster jelly" was, in fact, a gelée made from lobster broth.

While it might sound exotic, it’s a fairly common and basic technique in molecular gastronomy.

As the cool lobster jelly touched his tongue, Li Xiao’s eyebrows arched slightly.