Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes

Wen Jiu was unaware of what had happened with Chris; she only noticed that he was once again the first viewer to enter her livestream.

She greeted him with a warm, beaming smile.

"Welcome back to the stream, 'Chris Wants to Eat Five Bowls.' Good to see you again!"

[Chris Wants to Eat Five Bowls: Sister Fortune, why did my kitchen catch fire when I tried to make the scrambled eggs with toon sprouts?]

As Wen Jiu was busy preparing the remaining prickly fish, she glanced at the chat and replied, "Cooking is like that. If you aren't careful, you can end up with a fire regardless of what you're making."

She pondered for a moment, realizing that since 'Chris Wants to Eat Five Bowls' was asking this, he must have attempted the recipe on his own.

"Generally speaking, a single portion of scrambled eggs with toon sprouts only requires a small amount of sprouts and two eggs," Wen Jiu said, holding up her fingers to demonstrate. "Once you've mixed the chopped sprouts into the egg liquid, fry it until the eggs set into a golden yellow color, and it's ready to serve."

[Pumpkin Big Melon: Wuwuwu, Sister Fortune, my scrambled eggs with toon sprouts were a disaster!]

Just as she was explaining the method, another viewer who had watched the noon stream chimed in.

It hadn't occurred to her that her viewers would try cooking on their own. Wen Jiu made a mental note to explain the steps in greater detail when preparing simpler dishes in the future.

[Chris Wants to Eat Five Bowls: Looks like I've found a kindred spirit. I failed too... and nearly started a fire.]

The two culinary novices began comparing their failed cooking experiences.

Wen Jiu kept an eye on the chat while her hands moved with practiced speed. With a swift flick of her knife, she cleaned the prickly fish with ease.

[Dingdang 20: By the way, why is Sister Fortune processing the fish like that? It's my first time seeing anyone prepare fish this way.]

Recognizing another familiar viewer, Wen Jiu picked up an uncleaned fish and began to explain patiently.

"The fish's gills and internal organs are not the nutritious parts meant for human consumption. Furthermore, the gills are the fish's channels for filtering water while breathing; they easily harbor external bacteria and are filled with dirty blood and mucus."

"The internal organs often retain waste; once a fish dies, bacteria multiply rapidly in those areas. That's why we must remove the gills and entrails when preparing the fish."

As she spoke, she demonstrated slowly how to properly excise the gills and clean out the innards.

"Next, we scrape off the scales. Leaving the scales on while boiling the fish soup affects the flavor and texture. This step ensures a better eating experience."

Once the fish were finally prepped, Wen Jiu gave them one last thorough rinse.

[Monkey Brother: Are we having fish soup dumplings tonight?]

"Tonight, we're making fish soup noodles," Wen Jiu replied, quickly finishing the rest of the fish.

[Wan Zhou: With all due respect, isn't the streamer's cooking style a bit too flashy?]

[Banana: Any friends here from the food forum? Is the streamer really as good as the posts say?]

"I don't think it's that flashy," Wen Jiu said as she started to heat the pan with oil. She felt her current dishes were quite simple—she wasn't making anything elaborate like the 'Dragon and Phoenix Presentation' or 'Wensi Tofu.'

[Chris Wants to Eat Five Bowls: I'm the one who started the thread. Sister Fortune's cooking really is incredibly fragrant! Just keep watching and you'll see!]

Thanks to the small buzz created by Chris's post, the audience in Wen Jiu's stream jumped from the dozen or so viewers at noon to nearly a hundred.

As the crowd grew, some discordant voices inevitably arose.

[Wan Zhou: The people above must be shills hired by the streamer. You're supposed to just wash the prickly fish and boil them in water. Using an oil pan to fry them is a complete waste of ingredients.]

[I'm So Hungry: Some people have tried deep-frying prickly fish before. The taste is decent, but I'm not sure how this streamer will do.]

In truth, Wen Jiu couldn't fathom why most people here seemed to only boil their food. Regardless of the ingredient, they would just throw it into a pot of boiling water and call it a day.

She chose not to engage with their skepticism; after all, a tedious explanation couldn't be as persuasive as the aroma of the food itself.

"The oil is hot now. We'll start by pan-frying the prickly fish until they are golden brown."

With that, Wen Jiu slid the fish along the edge of the pan. Fortunately, the canteen-provided pan was large enough to fry four or five fish at once.

"Once it reaches this stage, we can pour in the water."

Wen Jiu set down her spatula and reached behind her for a large basin, pouring water into the pan.

The chat immediately erupted with pessimism.

[Wan Zhou: I can't watch this anymore. This is complete chaos!]

[Monkey Brother: Then just leave, why bother typing out comments to complain?]

[12345: Well, isn't it everyone's freedom to comment or not?]

[Pumpkin Big Melon: Don't go! Sister Fortune's cooking is truly divine. If you leave, you'll be missing out on a hidden gem of a streamer!]

The viewership in the stream dipped slightly, settling at about fifty or sixty people.

Wen Jiu remained calm and composed. She took the dough she had prepared earlier and began rolling it out with a rolling pin.

"Today's dish is fish soup noodles. I'm not sure how many of you have had noodles before. If you're interested, I'll create a tutorial to teach you how to make them in detail later."

The viewers watched as Wen Jiu handled the rolling pin, the large, indistinct white mass of dough slowly transforming into a wide, flat circle under her hands.

Once the thickness was just right, Wen Jiu picked up her kitchen knife, folded the dough, and skillfully sliced it into many uniform strips.

[I'm So Hungry: I don't know what the streamer is actually making, but it looks impressive.]

[Chris Wants to Eat Five Bowls: Noodles? Another food I've never had before. I wonder what they taste like.]

Chris sighed as he typed. When would he finally be able to convince 'Gongxi Facai' to buy ingredients and open a tasting session? He truly longed to savor these dishes.

A dozen or so others shared his sentiment—all of them had watched the noon stream and were desperate to taste the food Wen Jiu prepared.

After all, just from the aroma and the presentation, it was clear the taste must be excellent.

[User 'Monkey Brother' has gifted the streamer 'Gongxi Facai' ten bouquets of flowers~]

"Thank you, Monkey Brother, for the ten bouquets of flowers," Wen Jiu said while slicing potatoes. She didn't have many ingredients to work with, but swapping out her usual 'Heavenly Silkworm Potatoes' for 'Sour and Spicy Shredded Potatoes' was perfectly feasible.

After all, she had been making the silkworm potatoes for days; it was time for a change of pace.

"Aside from the fish soup noodles, I'll also be making some sour and spicy shredded potatoes."

Her knife moved with incredible speed, yet every single potato strip was uniform in thickness, shimmering with a golden hue under the lights.