Chapter 56: The Ultimate in Color and Flavor

Onscreen, the young woman’s pale hands moved in a flurry.

Mo Si thought, ’The scene is beautiful, but it’s also monotonous. Watching it for too long might get boring.’

Jiang Qiuqiu had no idea what the audience was thinking.

Her eyes were fixed only on the dish in her pot.

Braised bamboo shoots was a simple yet exceptional delicacy.

Jade-like bamboo tips sizzled as they hit the hot oil in the pot, releasing an almost irrepressible mountain flavor. The key to this dish was heat control. A quick stir-fry over high heat to release the aroma, followed by adding simple seasonings and simmering for a short while, resulted in a rare and delicious treat.

Jiang Qiuqiu quickly turned down the heat, added the sauce, and put on the lid. Then, she explained, "Simmering it for a bit will bring out the bamboo’s umami flavor to the fullest. It’ll be ready to reduce the sauce in about three minutes. While we wait, let’s start plating."

Then, to everyone’s surprise, they saw that there was also rice today!!

#Wow! What is this special treatment? Juju didn’t mention this before!#

#Rice... So springy and chewy. I’ve been wanting to eat it for so long. I only got to have it once during the braised pork belly special because I was late! I can’t believe it’s making a quiet comeback!#

"It seems everyone really likes rice."

#Yeah. I don’t know why, but before I ever tried it, I thought such a plain dish couldn’t possibly be tasty. But after eating it—#

So good.

It’s hard to say what’s so great about it, but now, no matter what they eat, they always want some rice to go with it.

But there were dissenting voices, too.

#It’s just okay... I feel like you can just eat the main dish by itself. The plain rice hasn’t absorbed any sauce, so you can’t really say it’s essential.#

The two factions had different opinions and were about to start a war in the comments.

Jiang Qiuqiu: ’This is nothing. If they’re arguing about this, what will happen if I make sweet and savory tofu pudding? They’ll probably be at each other’s throats through the screen.’

Shaking her head with a helpless smile, she finished scooping the rice and announced some good news. "Oh, by the way, tomorrow at eight in the morning, I’ll be doing a livestream special on staple foods. If anyone’s interested, feel free to tune in on time."

#A special on staple foods?#

#If I remember correctly, the only staple food Juju has mentioned is rice, right? Is she going to do a whole stream just to teach us how to make rice?#

#Why the sudden special to teach this?#

"Well, it’s not just rice. There’s also *mo*. The main reason for the staple food special is because there’s another special after tomorrow’s."

Eating meat by itself is delicious, but after a while, you always feel like something is missing. But if you add a staple food, it’s a completely different experience.

Taking big bites of meat and big mouthfuls of rice or *mo*—that combination of starch and energy, those carbs—is an unparalleled way to whet one’s appetite.

"The next special might taste even better with some staple foods to go with it."

#!# Someone started subconsciously salivating at the mention of *mo*.

#!!!#

#I have a feeling it’s going to be a big dish—#

With a new dish on the horizon, everyone’s attention shifted.

However, Jiang Qiuqiu’s stream was full of fickle people. The excitement over the new dish didn’t even last three minutes before she lifted the lid on her pot, and everyone’s attention shifted once again.

Having spent so much time in this stream, everyone had built up a certain resistance to the aromas.

But—

every dish always managed to bring a new sense of delight.

#RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE! Is that the smell of vegetables?#

#This... this...#

#I’m a superficial descendant of a carnivore, so why am I drooling over a pile of veggies? I think I’m broken, WAHHH!#

Jiang Qiuqiu chuckled. "Alright, we’re going to start plating the dish now."

The large plate and the rice were already set out. The aroma of the braised bamboo shoots in the pot was intoxicating. The jade-white shoots were now stained a saucy brown, but simmering over high heat hadn’t made them limp. She used a large spoon to scoop up the bamboo shoots and pour them over the rice—

A faint steam rose, and in that moment, both color and flavor reached their peak.