At that moment, she finally saw that Lin Xu was actually filming a cooking video.
The dish he was cooking was none other than the White Jade Lotus Root Strips they hadn’t gotten to eat yesterday.
"You’ve really lucked out today, folks! Boss Lin is actually making White Jade Lotus Root Strips. Later on, I absolutely must taste it for him to check the seasoning," she said.
After speaking, she approached closer, waving at the action camera that was filming.
"Hello, hello, hello! I’m Xinxin, and I’m here to check out Boss Lin’s place. If there’s anything you want to eat, leave a message in the live comments! I’ll make sure Boss Lin cooks it."
Short videos and live streaming overlap in some areas, but their fan bases aren’t completely identical. Therefore, these small surprises and interactions are great for encouraging cross-following between the two groups of fans.
"Is Boss Lin done yet? I wanted to try it yesterday but didn’t get the chance; the judges ate it all."
Lin Xu had just poured hot Seasoning Oil through a fine mesh strainer holding Sichuan peppercorns onto the lotus root strips.
Smiling upon hearing this, he said, "It will be ready soon. All that’s left is the plating."
After speaking, he grabbed a clean plate and placed it on the workbench. Then, he picked up a portion of lotus root strips with his chopsticks and laid them on the plate, adjusting them slightly so they lay flat and aligned. He then added another portion.
He layered the strips horizontally, then vertically.
Layer by layer, he piled them up until they formed a ten-centimeter cube.
"WHOA! His chopstick skills are so deft!"
"Compared to Boss Lin, my hands are as clumsy as my feet."
"Amazing! No wonder he’s the cooking contest champion. You can tell just from his use of chopsticks; ordinary people can’t compare."
"I wonder if this dish will be added to the restaurant’s menu?"
"It’s hard to say. Even if it’s added, it would probably be very expensive. After all, it’s a dish for VIPs; the Fishing Platform surely wouldn’t allow it to be sold cheaply."
"No matter the cost, I want to try it!"
The live stream viewers were already very interested in this dish.
Now, watching Lin Xu make it with their own eyes, their curiosity intensified even more.
After plating, Lin Xu set the plate on an automated rotating display stand and took a close-up with the action camera, then moved on to the tasting segment.
"Should we let Dundun try some?" Wu Kexin asked curiously.
Lin Xu shook his head. "Dundun only comes over for a taste when I’m cooking meat dishes; it completely ignores vegetarian ones. But it’s perfect that you’re here today. You can be the taste-tester, and let your live stream viewers experience it too."
After speaking, Lin Xu looked toward Wu Kexin’s live stream camera and performed a flourish with the nearby kitchen knife.
The live stream viewers were startled.
"CRAP, CRAP! He’s brandishing a knife at us!"
"Where are all those people who were clamoring for him to draw his knife earlier? Why have they all gone quiet now?"
"I used to practice that knife flourish too. Ended up with the nickname ’Nine-Fingers’."
Shortly after, Lin Xu and Wu Kexin filmed the tasting.
"Wow, this texture is so refreshingly crisp! And the slight numbing taste of Sichuan peppercorns is just marvelous. No wonder he won the championship; this dish is extremely delicious!" After taking a bite, Wu Kexin’s face was filled with surprise.
"This is the best cold dish I’ve had in all my years of live streaming! It’s incredible that it’s made from Lotus Root. The texture, the taste—they’re just perfect!"
She continued to eat several more bites, growing more and more satisfied.
After filming her tasting, Lin Xu began packing up the filming equipment, planning to edit the video during his lunch break and then upload it to the short video platform.
While he was busy, his sister-in-law, Chen Yan, came over to discuss doing a live broadcast together with Wu Kexin.
"Sure, no problem. Which dish do you want to feature on your stream, Xinxin? Let me prepare a bit. How about we start after the lunch rush?" Lin Xu suggested.
To ride the wave of his cooking championship win, it was better to do the live stream sooner rather than later. That way, they could keep the buzz going a bit longer.
Wu Kexin said, "Boss Lin, I want to make Pagoda Meat!"
That dish was indeed worth a try.
The so-called Pagoda Meat is actually a variation of Pickled Pork. The pork belly is sculpted into a pagoda shape using Continuous Cutting, then filled with stir-fried Dried Vegetable, and finally steamed over high heat for two hours.
The best Pagoda Meat has a vibrant red color and an exquisitely beautiful presentation.
However, taste-wise, it’s identical to Pickled Pork. If it isn’t steamed thoroughly, several slices might stick together when you try to pick them up with chopsticks, making it far less convenient to eat than regular Pickled Pork.
But because of its beautiful presentation and the considerable skill required to make it, Pagoda Meat has become a popular challenge for many food content creators.
Conversely, professional chefs who teach cooking online tend to shy away from such flamboyant, showy dishes.
Once they settled on making Pagoda Meat, the live stream viewers got excited.
"Haha, Sister Xinxin is finally going to tackle the dish she messed up before!"
"Hope she doesn’t drag Boss Lin down with her." This content belongs to novel※fire.net
"Probably not. Boss Lin’s Knife Skills are so good; Pagoda Meat should be no problem for him."
"I hope Boss Lin shares some tips during the stream, so us clumsy folks also have a chance to try these challenging dishes."
"If you’re clumsy, I wouldn’t recommend this dish. You might end up with an extra piece of ’meat’! [joking]"
"Yeah, you don’t want to slice your hand instead of the pork. That would be quite the disaster!"
「Soon, it was time for lunch.」
When Shen Jiayue came to pick up her boxed lunch, Lin Xu had just taken the pot of Braised Pork Belly, simmering in a clay pot, off the stove.