Chapter 733 - 752: Good Food Makes People Happy
Chapter 733: Chapter 752: Good Food Makes People Happy
"Phew, that’s a little hot."
Jiang Qiuqiu moved the large crabs from the steamer to a plate. "For everyone who cooked this along with me, be careful not to burn your hands when you handle them."
"The aroma is already so strong. I steamed a total of eighteen, so let me see how many people are in the livestream... Okay, let’s set aside eight of them, and we can use the rest to make lo mein."
The sorting was quick. Of course it was—all she had to do was place them on a plate. Then, she mixed together some soy sauce, vinegar, a pinch of sugar, and a dash of scallion oil to make a dipping sauce. "You can use this for dipping, or not."
"Some people feel the natural umami of the crab meat is enough on its own. Others think eating the crab meat by itself isn’t complex enough, so they might want to dip it in the sauce."
You have to be careful here, though. Go easy on the more overpowering seasonings. If you add too much, the sour or sweet notes will be too aggressive and will wash out the crab’s natural delicate, savory flavor.
Once everything was set, the robotic butler uploaded the crabs.
The fragrant steamed crabs soon arrived at everyone’s tables, their aroma filling the air. However, this also brought a new problem.
Ah, how exactly does one eat this?
[It’s pretty, and it smells amazing, but how are we supposed to eat it?]
[I’m stumped. Right, how do you eat this...?]
"Steaming a crab doesn’t take much skill, but eating one can be an art form."
"Before I show you how to properly break down a crab, let’s all eat one together!"
A long, long time ago—maybe about 300 years back, in Jiang Qiuqiu’s era—a video of a beautiful woman from Shanghai eating a crab once went viral on the internet. Generally, people who are more particular about it use a set of eight crab-eating tools.
’Expert’ crab-eaters could clean out every last bit of meat and still leave the shell almost perfectly intact—
Of course, Jiang Qiuqiu’s method was a bit more... wild.
First, she yanked off all the legs. As far as eating crab goes, the legs are the most satisfying part. She found a small pair of scissors, cut through the tough outer shell, and the snow-white meat was revealed under the lights.
The juices, sealed within the shell, found an escape route and began to trickle out slowly. Jiang Qiuqiu’s eyes lit up. "I’m digging in! You guys can start with me!"
Umami.
It was the only sensation on her tongue.
After the umami came tenderness and a satisfying springiness. Though the meat was clearly fibrous, it seemed to melt the moment it entered her mouth. With the slightest pressure from her tongue, it dissolved between her lips and teeth.
Jiang Qiuqiu ate quickly. The crabs she had chosen weren’t small, and the legs were relatively easy to eat.
After finishing the legs, she moved on to the body.
She used brute force to pry open the top shell. A camera bot flew down to get a close-up as Jiang Qiuqiu showed off the crab’s interior. What’s the best part of autumn? Without a doubt, it’s crabs full of roe.
A female crab’s roe reaches its absolute peak in the fall. When she lifted the inner flap, the roe looked like golden waves of grain in a winter wheat field—a delicacy delivered by the season.
"The fans who managed to snag this crab are in for a treat. It’s absolutely packed with roe!"
"But you can’t eat every part in here. Follow me as I remove the gills and the stomach..." Jiang Qiuqiu used her chopsticks and scissors to get rid of the inedible parts, leaving behind large chunks of meat and roe.
Deep inside the carapace, there’s a soft partition separating the roe from the meat. When Jiang Qiuqiu eats this part, she likes to get a big mouthful of both at once. The roe is rich and intense, while the meat is light and savory. The combination was simply to die for.
She couldn’t help but dream about the feast to come.
But before she could revel in that joy, the amusing comments from her fans made her laugh first.