Call Me Daddy

It reminded him of a restaurant his parents used to take him to occasionally when he was young. The owner there made sweet and sour pork that tasted just like this. But as the owner grew older, he couldn’t handle the wok anymore, and his son never quite inherited his father’s skill. Gradually, their family stopped going to that restaurant.

Looking back now, he felt a twinge of regret for never being able to taste that flavor again.

Su Quangen used the recipe passed down from his grandfather to make sweet and sour pork, using the most traditional and authentic proportions.

The key to sweet and sour pork lies in the sauce: the ratio of sugar to vinegar was crucial. The vinegar must be nine-degree rice vinegar; if the acidity was too low, the dish tends to become soggy and loses its desired texture.

Another crucial point, which distinguishes traditional from modern sweet and sour pork recipes, was the addition of a few drops of dark soy sauce after mixing the sweet and sour sauce. This gives the sauce a honey-like, slightly orange hue. Nowadays, many recipes opt to use orange juice or tomato sauce directly for coloring.

It’s not to say which method was better, but for many, the traditional approach evokes more memories and adds a deeper sense of satisfaction when tasting the dish itself.

However, there are also those who prefer the modified flavors for their richness, whether it’s the sweet aroma of orange or tomato sauce. Clearly, the young man in black glasses prefers the former.

The batter for frying sweet and sour pork was made with starch soaked thoroughly, allowing the starch to settle after pouring off the water. Then, the re-clumped starch was mixed with the marinated pork tenderloin in a dish, kneaded by hand. The pork’s inherent moisture still needs to be slightly solidified by the starch. At this point, add a little raw soybean oil. When frying, the texture of the sweet and sour pork will become even crispier.

The subsequent frying process tests the mastery of temperature and time. The pork tenderloin should not be put into the pan together, as the starch will adhere. The fried pork tenderloin should be re-fried, with the temperature being high and the time not too long. Only then will the sweet and sour pork be truly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

After frying, the final cooking step involves heating oil in a wok, adding the fried pork tenderloin once hot, and stir-frying briefly before pouring in the pre-prepared sweet and sour sauce. Quickly add shredded carrots, spring onions, and cilantro stems that were previously cut into shreds, then stir-fry briefly before serving.

The crispy batter, coated with golden starch sauce, glistened like crystal amber, interspersed with orange-red carrots and green-white onion and cilantro stems, creating a dish that was visually appealing and flavorful.

“It’s really delicious, sweet and sour, very appetizing. Ah, I’m not good at describing it, you’ll have to taste it yourself. Especially for my fellow Northeasterners, if you’re in Xijiang, I sincerely recommend you try it,” said the young man in black-framed glasses, looking earnestly at the camera.

“Oh my, perhaps my words weren’t convincing enough. How about this? I’ll show you by eating it myself.”

With that, he picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork.

“Listen to this.”

As he bit into it, the crispy batter made a crisp cracking sound, like crackling. Half went into his mouth, and as he pulled the other half away, the thick starch sauce pulled into a long, translucent golden thread.

The young man licked the starch sauce sticking to his lips. It was sweet and sour, incredibly appetizing.

[2333]: Ahhh, what heavenly crunchiness! I’m ordering sweet and sour pork takeaway now. The nearby Northeastern cuisine takeaway near my home always arrives with the crispy batter softened by the steam in the takeout box. Even when dining in, I don’t think I’ve ever had sweet and sour pork fried this well.

[Chicken Pecking Rice]: I’m hungry.

[Chicken Pecking Rice sent a rocket.]

[2333 sent 10x mines.]

[Dragon Lake Department Store]: Although I still have my doubts, this young man’s performance is indeed mouth-watering.

[Dragon Lake Department Store sent a deep-water torpedo.]

In the Douyu livestream room, the cheapest gift were firecrackers, 1 yuan for a hundred. Currently, the most popular gift received by Su Aobai was the mines, 1 yuan each. Next were grenades, 5 yuan; rockets, sea mines, and torpedoes were 10, 50, and 100 yuan respectively.

Without any processing fee deducted by the organization, the split between the broadcaster and the platform was 80/20.

Now combined, nearly three hundred gifts have been received in the livestream room. With the vivid and lively performance of this young man, a wave of gifts flooded into the livestream, quickly surpassing the five hundred mark.

“Now do you believe me? I didn’t mess anything up at all!”

Su Aobai’s proud voice rang out in the livestream room. The joyful atmosphere paused briefly, followed immediately by endless accusations.

[2333]: If even the sweet and sour pork messed up by the rookie tastes this good, then isn’t the sweet and sour pork made by Grandpa, untouched by the rookie, a rare delicacy in this world?

[Chicken Pecking Rice]: I also have this suspicion.

[Run Little Duck]: Now I have a dream, to save up and travel to Xijiang within this year, and taste Grandpa’s sweet and sour pork made at his normal standard.

[Chicken Pecking Rice]: Okay Duck Sister, I’ll make sure to kidnap the broadcaster then, and not let him appear in the kitchen.

Watching these humorous barrage comments, the other viewers burst into laughter once again.

Su Aobai felt helpless. In this day and age, why does nobody believe me when I tell the truth and do real work?

He rubbed his chin, wondering if Chicken Pecking and Little Duck would actually come to Su Family Snack Shop to eat. Should I fulfill their wish if they do?

After all, I’m a good person!

Next, he randomly interviewed a few young white-collar workers who don’t often eat at the restaurant. Their feedback wasn’t as exaggerated as the young man’s, but without exception, they all praised the chef’s skills, feeling it was a completely worthwhile gourmet experience.

Their sincere feedback only fueled the audience’s curiosity further about how good Grandpa’s cooking skills really were.

“Has my order for glutinous rice chicken started?”

***

At this moment, a customer who had pre-ordered glutinous rice chicken during the day arrived.

Miao Yinhua glanced at the clock on the wall. “The rice should be soaked. We’ll start soon.”

Having partnered with her husband for so many years, she was well-versed in the preparation and cooking of many dishes.

“Alright!”

The regular customer looked around and saw a few guests finishing their meals and leaving, so he decided to sit in the shop and wait.

“Bring me a bottle of ice-cold beer and fry up some peanuts.”

While Miao Yinhua served him the beer, Su Aobai returned to the kitchen. By this time, Grandpa had already started preparing the glutinous rice chicken.

In fact, with all the ingredients prepared in advance, making glutinous rice chicken was quite simple.

The ingredients for the glutinous rice chicken filling were stir-fried, and the steamed glutinous rice was taken out. When it cooled to lukewarm, a bit of salt, MSG, chicken powder, lard, and a little coconut milk were added.

“Nowadays, some chefs choose to add an emulsion made of lard and methyl cellulose, which is a normal food additive. Usually, households don’t have these, so you can use butter instead. But my method differs slightly from these two.”

Why Su Quangen decided to add coconut milk, he couldn’t quite explain; he just felt it made the dish tastier. And judging by the feedback from the regular customers, they also liked this modified approach.

Su Quangen explained while his hands didn’t stop working. He placed the soaked lotus leaves on the cutting board, brushed them with a bit of peanut oil, then spread some seasoned glutinous rice in the middle of each leaf. On this layer of glutinous rice, he added the stir-fried chicken filling, followed by another layer of glutinous rice. Finally, he folded the lotus leaves up from all four sides, wrapping them into flat quadrilaterals.

After wrapping the glutinous rice chicken, it needed to be steamed in the steamer for 20 minutes.

By now, the customers outside the kitchen had already smelled the fragrant lotus leaves. This subtle and elegant fragrance stood out amidst the complex aroma of various dishes.

“Smells so good, what are you steaming?”

Someone was curious.

“We’re steaming glutinous rice chicken wrapped in lotus leaves. This aroma… originally, I didn’t feel like eating hot dishes in this weather, but now that I smell it, I’m tempted. Sister Miao, please prepare a portion of glutinous rice chicken for me. I’ll come to pick it up tonight.”

This was a regular customer who could guess what was being made just by sniffing around. He wondered if it was an illusion, but today’s glutinous rice chicken smelled exceptionally fragrant.

The kitchen’s poor sound insulation allowed the voices of those outside to be heard in the live broadcast room.

[Run Little Duck]: Okay, after the sweet and sour pork ribs, let’s add another glutinous rice chicken order.

[Chicken Pecking Rice]: Alright, let’s handle it all at once. The host won’t be able to go home that day.

These two lively commentators bantered back and forth, causing another wave of laughter in the live broadcast room. Why were they so critical of their chicken dishes? Quite harsh.

Su Aobai smiled but didn’t say anything. By this time, the number of viewers in the live broadcast room had stabilized at around three thousand five hundred. In other words, most of the audience drawn in were staying for the content of the livestream. This was indeed a good start.

****

On the other hand, Su Tianyuan’s situation was far from ideal compared to his father’s.

After being hurt by a wave of plastic friends, Su Tianyuan still managed to raise some money. After all, with so many friends from childhood to adulthood, not everyone could be insincere.

But even so, without opening Alipay’s Yu’ebao or applying for a credit card, he only managed to scrape together a little over 30,000 yuan, of which nearly 15,000 had to be returned to those friends soon.

(T/N: Yu’ebao = Investment platform that’s integrated into Alipay.)

Otherwise, he was really afraid that some of those friends would talk in their group chat about him borrowing money and not repaying it, which would be a serious loss of face for him.

Thinking it over, Su Tianyuan didn’t dare to open Yu’ebao or apply for a credit card. At this stage, the idea of advanced consumer spending still made him somewhat fearful. After all, there were many examples around him of people getting deeper into debt by borrowing more to pay off existing loans. Su Tianyuan always felt that it was best to avoid getting involved in such things if possible.

Although credit cards and Yu’ebao weren’t that scary, and some people liked to keep a balance on their cards, using credit card points for rewards and improving their credit score. However, for others, these legitimate borrowing methods were just the beginning, gradually leading to various kinds of messy small loans and high-interest loans.

Deep down, he probably felt he might end up like the latter.

As the sky darkened, Su Tianyuan didn’t want to go home. He wanted to return in glory after succeeding, to make his father realize his mistake. So, after finishing his third cup of fruit tea, he gritted his teeth and took his remaining 30,000 yuan to seek refuge with the organization’s boss who wanted to mentor him.

At that time, his father had just bought all the equipment.

*****

The boss, surnamed Zhang and called Zhang Lang, didn’t like being called by his name because it sounded like a cockroach. So, he had everyone in the organization call him Brother Zhang or Brother Lang.

When Su Tianyuan arrived downstairs, Brother Zhang was already waiting and warmly greeted him.

“How did the discussion with your family go? With your talent, it’s a pity not to become an internet celebrity. Most of the hot male streamers these days don’t look as good as you. If we use a few more beauty filters, you’d be no worse than those young idols in the entertainment industry.”

Upon seeing him, Brother Zhang immediately started praising.

“My family isn’t quite on board,” Su Tianyuan replied awkwardly. After all, before this, he had confidently assured that he could definitely get money from his family.

As darkness fell and only a few dim streetlights illuminated downstairs, Su Tianyuan didn’t notice Brother Zhang’s sudden cool expression.

“I only have over 30,000 now. How about you help me get started, Brother Zhang? Once I achieve some success and show it to my family, they’ll definitely support me. Really, my grandparents are wealthy. Their monthly rental income plus the shop’s earnings add up to over 200,000. For my future, they wouldn’t hesitate. It’s mainly my Dad who doesn’t believe I can really make it big and is stopping my grandparents from giving me money.”

Su Tianyuan hurriedly explained, not wanting Brother Zhang to think he was just bragging without a plan.

“In a while, when my Dad’s not around, I’ll talk to my grandparents. I’m sure I can convince them.”

His words brought a smile back to Brother Zhang’s face.

30,000 is still money, and he seems quite sincere. If things go as he says, maybe he can persuade the old folks to cough up some cash. Besides, I’m indeed nurturing a new streamer here. It’s not exactly as demanding financially as he thinks. His appearance could deceive people, and what if he really becomes popular?

With these thoughts, Brother Zhang’s smile became even more genial.

“Alright, let’s make something happen and show your family what you’re capable of!”

Saying that, Brother Zhang took Su Tianyuan upstairs. During this time, he would stay in their organization’s office, which would allow him to stream for extended periods and increase his exposure.

Su Tianyuan followed behind Brother Zhang, his steps quick and eager.

He was ready, ready to prove his plastic friends wrong and his father, who didn’t believe in him and competed for his grandparents’ favor.