CHAPTER 267: CHAPTER 267 NATIONWIDE ATTENTION! RICE CAKE STIR-FRIED CRAB!

This week, Jiang Feng felt the pressure of setting up his stall. It was a super luxurious VIP stall, complete with a red carpet and even security. In front of the stall was a life-size standee of Jiang Feng.

Before he even arrived, many people had already flocked to the spot. There were foodies who loved to eat, as well as those who simply came to join in on the excitement and take photos for their social media. Many people enjoy this kind of atmosphere. For example, during the previous matchmaking event hosted by Old Mother Wang, at most a dozen pairs could make a match on site, but the crowd was packed like sardines.

After learning about the situation, Jiang Feng couldn’t help feeling constrained.

This week, he was going to make crab dishes. In Wenzhou, there’s a saying that people eat river crabs today, tomorrow, and even the day after. River crabs are part of their everyday diet. Not a single crab could live to escape Wenzhou.

Exactly because of this, there are many ways to eat crabs here. For instance, raw river crabs—after marinating, they are eaten raw, which ordinary people can’t normally stomach. Jiang Feng decided to host a week-long crab feast. Every day, he would present a new crab dish. The dish for the first day was stir-fried rice cakes with swimming crabs.

Stir-fried rice cakes with swimming crabs require a chef’s mastery over heat control. A minute too long, and the crab meat becomes tough, losing its fresh and sweet flavor. A minute too short, and the taste of the rice cakes and swimming crabs isn’t fully combined, affecting the texture. Stir-fried rice cakes with swimming crabs are a delicacy, and the recipe isn’t difficult; one can make it at home.

This morning, the weather was clear and sunny. The usually quiet Wuma Street was not only bustling but also filled with a large number of police officers maintaining order. The streets were jam-packed. Some people came early to line up. The queues snaked around several times.

Jiang Feng also arrived quite early. As soon as he appeared, people aimed their smartphone cameras at him, and then many began to cheer. Jiang Feng still didn’t understand why it was like this. He just wanted to set up his stall to complete system tasks and earn money, and by the way, open a few restaurants to pass on the dishes of the eight major Chinese cuisines. Without realizing it, he had become famous.

Inside the stall, all the ingredients were ready. The swimming crabs were the freshest, having been caught not long ago. The rice cakes were specially sourced handmade rice cakes, very soft and much tastier than those bought in the markets. There were all sorts of condiments too, such as spring onions, ginger, and garlic.

"Boss Jiang, say a few words!"

"Boss Jiang, I’m here for you!"

"You’re finally here!"

"We came specially to eat the crabs you make!"

Quite a few people shouted towards Jiang Feng. At this point, someone actually handed Jiang Feng a microphone, urging him to say a few words.

Holding the microphone confidently, Jiang Feng said,

"This week, I’m selling crab dishes, and I appreciate everyone’s support."

"I didn’t expect such a big turnout."

"I can only say that I’ll do my best and hope everyone will be satisfied."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was another round of cheers from the crowd.

Soon after, Jiang Feng and Sun Zhuangfei arrived at the stall. There was still some time before business hours, so the two started preparing the crabs. The fresh swimming crabs filled several basins, and Li Yuan from the Tourism Bureau said that as long as Jiang Feng needed them, they could provide as many as he wanted. Wenzhou had an abundance of crabs. After all, people here loved to eat them, and there were plenty of businesses breeding crabs.

Jiang Feng skillfully took out the freshly washed crabs, cracked open the shells, and cleaned out the unnecessary parts. Then, he cut off the crab legs and divided the crab meat into four parts. The crab meat looked white and translucent. With the back of the knife, Jiang Feng gently tapped the crab legs, creating small cracks for better flavor absorption. Parts where the crab meat was exposed were then coated with cornstarch. Coating the crab meat would prevent it from becoming overcooked during frying.

Sun Zhuangfei’s job was to cut the crabs, while Jiang Feng handled the subsequent steps. Quite a few people watched them intently.

The Culture and Tourism Bureau officially started a livestream of the food preparation. The livestream had been discussed with Jiang Feng, who agreed but insisted they not enable the gift feature. This meant that viewers could only watch the livestream and send comments, with no gift effects whatsoever.

The camera was steady, fixed on Jiang Feng as he busily cooked at the stall. The number of people in the livestream was growing rapidly. It quickly surpassed 100,000+. It was only at such a moment that people realized Jiang Feng’s popularity had indeed grown significantly. He was even close to becoming one of the top influencers. Also, due to online promotions and trending as a hot search topic, many were clicking in to check it out.

The chat was continuously active.

[Where’s Boss Jiang?]

[Setting up a stall to this extent is unparalleled!]

[Contemporary Culinary God!]

[It still has to be Boss Jiang!]

[I remember when he used to set up a stall on the streets of Eastern Shandong, and now he’s a household name!]

[In every trade, a master appears!]

The livestream was very lively. Netizens really liked the story of Jiang Feng.

The news of the livestream quickly spread, and many of Jiang Feng’s old customers also came to know about it.

At the Eastern Shandong Happy Ranch, ranch owner Zhang Dashan sat on the slope, shepherding his sheep while watching Jiang Feng’s livestream.

"Boss Jiang is still Boss Jiang, I always knew he was extraordinary!"

"So impressive!"

"He’s clearly from a family of culinary masters; I wonder what his family is like."

Zhang Dashan marveled and wanted to send some gifts, but then he noticed that the livestream didn’t have the tipping feature enabled; it was purely a promotional livestream. Looking at the lively scene in the livestream, he pondered for a moment and then decided to make a trip to Wenzhou in the next two days to have a crab meal.

In the city’s criminal investigation squad, Team Two. There hadn’t been any major cases recently, so the team members were chatting idly in the office.

"Boss Jiang is livestreaming on the official account of Wenzhou Culture and Tourism Bureau today, it’s very lively. I’m craving his fried sauce noodles, wondering if I can still have them," a member named Ma Ran said wistfully.

Team leader Yang Hao responded, "If you want to go, you can take leave and head over to Wenzhou."

Ma Ran waved his hand, "No need, too much hassle."

Another team member then said, "I am actually planning to check it out over the weekend."

The few of them chatted leisurely; their idle chatter was actually a good sign. The squad was responsible for major cases, so the members’ idleness meant that the public order was good during this time, and no major incidents had occurred.

At the University of Science and Technology, Ji Mingming was also watching Jiang Feng’s livestream. She had no classes today, so she went to the library to study and prepare for the upcoming exams. She had Jiang Feng’s livestream playing on her phone, sound off, just propping the phone up to the side. She would look at the livestream every now and then while studying, silently following along.

Photographer Xu Wenling was at the Wuma Street scene, holding her camera and taking many pictures to capture this bustling moment.

Many guests who had tasted Jiang Feng’s culinary delights, whether from the Eastern Shandong Region or Chengdu, were following his livestream. Even the staff of Jiangyue Terrace Shandong Cuisine Restaurant and the Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant watched their boss in their free time. The more popular the boss was, the happier they were. After all, Jiang Feng was truly the marquee name of Jiangyue Terrace.

At this moment, Jiang Feng had already begun the preparations for stir-fried rice cakes with swimming crabs. The immense popularity made him take the task even more seriously.

He poured oil into a wok, turned up the heat, and the oil temperature rose quickly. The oil in the wok still looked as calm as a pond, deceptively quiet, while its temperature was already very high.

Seeing that the temperature was about right, Jiang Feng poured all the prepared crabs into the wok.

SIZZLE!

The instant the crabs hit the oil, countless bubbles rose to the surface. After frying for about a minute and a half, the crabs were ready; he scooped them all out with a skimmer. The outer appearance of the crabs exhibited a tempting orange-golden hue, stimulating the appetite.

Leaving some base oil in the wok, he added chopped spring onions, strips of ginger, and some minced garlic paste. The seasonings quickly melded together under the heat of the oil.

Next, he added all the crabs and the sliced rice cakes to the wok. Wielding the spatula with swift movements, Jiang Feng constantly stir-fried the ingredients, ensuring every piece of crab and rice cake was thoroughly coated in sauce and perfectly cooked through.

Amid the continuous stirring, the flavors of spring onion, ginger, and garlic paste were infused into every bit of the crab and rice cakes by the hot oil. During this process, Jiang Feng also added soy sauce for coloring. Towards the end, he poured in some water to make sure the crab and rice cakes didn’t fry dry, preserving their moisture and tenderness.

Jiang Feng had perfect control over the heat. The rice cakes, originally whitish and elastic in appearance, had, after some stirring, turned a brownish color, becoming glossy with oil and looking tender and glutinous. The crabs were fried through and through, their shells glossy with oil, looking utterly delectable. Even the shells were flavored!

Stir-frying is a cooking method that produces an intense aroma. As the hot oil worked its magic, the scents of the seasonings and crabs permeated the air. The customers at the front of the line, smelling the fragrance, couldn’t help but swallow.

"It smells so good!"

"The cooking skills are truly impressive!"

"Hurry up, I can’t wait any longer!"

The customers were restless with anticipation.

At that moment, Jiang Feng swiftly stirred a few more times, then shoveled the crabs out of the wok and onto several plates.

"The stir-fried rice cakes with swimming crabs are ready; one wok yields four portions," he told the customers at the front.

There were four crabs in Jiang Feng’s wok, just enough for four people. When he portioned it out, he made sure that it was evenly divided.

Soon, the customers at the front got their long-awaited crabs. The mobile phone cameras of those around were all trained on the crab dishes on the plates. In the dish, the golden crabs shone with a succulent sheen, their meat hefty and fresh, looking both juicy and tender. The rice cakes, thoroughly stir-fried, had absorbed the flavors and now displayed a deep soy color. Additionally adorned with a few spring onion segments and ginger strips. This plate of stir-fried crab looked truly tantalizing!