3 Chapter 2 – Yuxiang-Flavored Thousand Layer Eggplan (2/2)
Instantly, all the zealous fans transformed into gentle, loving little lambs and comments started pouring in nonstop. ”DaRen, hurry and get some rest now!” ”Listen, listen! Even our DaRen's voice has changed. My heart is breaking. T T” ”Jue Mei DaRen, please stop enslaving our Toupai. He is so deserving of pity. He already rushed back, and now he is being oppressed by you…”
Jue Mei burst out in amused laughter. ”Such injustice! I haven't even made you do anything yet, and I've already been scolded for 'enslaving.'”
”Let me think.” Qiang Qing Ci also seemed to sense that it would not do if he continued in this way. After pondering for a moment, he said, ”I tried a dish today and thought it was pretty good.”
Jue Mei could not hold back his curse, ”Cr*p!” and at the same time, Gu Sheng also instinctively lowered her head and glanced at the time.
Ugh. Twelve midnight. Toupai DaRen, you really do have an ability to attract vengeance upon yourself during the late-night hours.
Since the two of them were sharing a microphone, their voices sounded somewhat distant.
It was very easy to imagine those two men sitting facing each other as they spoke. Qiang Qing Ci said, ”Let me go get a glass of water,” and then temporarily left the other male and female CVs to joke and poke fun at each other.
With a ”hee hee,” Jue Mei said, ”I'll reveal this to you guys in private: he only likes to cook when he's not a good mood.”
”Not in a good mood?” Over on Feng Ya Song's side, there was the sound of a bag of crackers being torn open. ”That's why he's taking revenge on society as a whole?”
Wanmei Voice Acting Group's assistant leader, Dou Dou Dou Bing [Bean Bean Bean Cake] also piped in resentfully, ”I have to go find the auntie in the dorm to buy cup noodles from her. Wait for me. But remember, this part has to be recorded, and tomorrow, I will post it on the website. That guy doesn't say anything for a hundred years, and the instant he does, he's talking about food in the middle of the night. So annoying.”
Amidst everyone's rants and joking, only Gu Sheng seemed to feel that she was somewhat used to this already. After all, this was already the third time he did this. Could it be… he had never done it in the past?
”This late at night, let's talk about vegetarian dishes.” Qiang Qing Ci seemed to have finished drinking his water and was now back at the microphone speaking. ”Yuxiang-flavored[2] thousand layer eggplant.”
Resting her chin in her palm, Gu Sheng could even imagine the taste of the yuxiang.
He truly sounded rather tired. His voice seemed to have somewhat deviated from his usual rich, gorgeous voice and was lighter and husky.
”It's very simple. Mainly it consists of two parts: frying the eggplant and the ingredients for yuxiang seasoning.” While he spoke, he was entertained by the fans, who were ceaselessly spamming the screen with comments of how hungry they were. He gave a rare chuckle. ”I only have time right now. Don't want to listen? If you don't want to listen, I'll stop.”
The fans could not speak through their microphones, so, with love like tidewaters, they continued to inundate the screen with their comments. ”No, don't DaRen. (≥◇≤)” ”(*>﹏<*) ~Qiang Qing Ci Sama, I waited three hours for you before you finally came. Don't go, ah.” ”o(”)o DaRen, even if you talked about the most sumptuous banquet[3], I could still take it...” ”Hey, how come it's all Toupai's fans?! Feng Ya Song Sama, there are tens of thousands of 'shou' people in the world, but I only love you!!!!”
Gu Sheng was cackling with amusement.
”Alright, don't try to keep everyone in suspense now. Hurry up and tell us, and after you're done, you are going out with me to have a late-night snack,” Jue Mei pressed.
”Take two eggplants and slice them into thin layers. Put them into a pre-heated pan of oil and fry over low heat. When they are slightly softer than a French fry, you can pull them out.” Qiang Qing Ci carried on speaking at a steady pace, ”Of course, if you like the crispiness of French fries, you could fry these a little longer.”
”I like it crispier,” Jue Mei threw in a comment.
”Then, panfry minced garlic and chopped chili peppers in the oil to get the aroma out first. Add the eggplant slices. After that, it's quite simple. Remember these ingredients: light soy sauce, ground pepper, sugar, chicken bouillon, sticky broad bean paste [doubanjiang], vinegar, cooking wine. Stir fry all of these with the eggplant on high heat. Lastly, add peanuts and chopped green onions. Stir fry again rapidly and then immediately remove from the pan.”
”Mm-hmm… If the peanuts are fried too long, they'll get soggy…” Jue Mei painfully tried to work with him.
Qiang Qing Ci answered seriously, ”I suppose they would.”
Gu Sheng's stomach was clearly a little unhappy right now… The feeling of longing for good food suddenly came coursing over her, swallowing all her ability to reason. She was debating whether to go to the kitchen or just head straight downstairs to see if there was any chow mein or stir-fried rice noodles or other similar street-side foods to buy. While she was still battling within herself on what to do, a private chat box from Qiang Qing Ci suddenly popped up: You there?
Gu Sheng hastily typed a reply: I'm here! O(∩_∩)O
Qiang Qi Ci: This is a vegetarian dish. It is very suitable for girls.
Gu Sheng: Okay! *cupped fist!* I'll be sure to try another day!
Qiang Qing Ci: Okay. Going now. See you next time.
See you next time... See you next time?!
Gu Sheng suddenly felt there was a need for her to stockpile all different sorts of dried pork, beef jerky, even canned luncheon meats, and other stuff along those lines before she dared again to meet with him — the one with the splendidly gorgeous and captivating voice and who was also an expert in all different types of recipes — Qiang Qing Ci DaRen…
[1] 受 ”shou.” In boy love fiction, the ”shou,” which literally means ”receiver,” would be the person taking on the more stereotypically ”feminine” or ”wife” role in a male-male relationship. However, it can be also be used to describe a male who, in terms of personality, speech, disposition, etc. is rather effeminate and passive.
[2] 鱼香 'yuxiang.' Literally means 'fish fragrance.' In Chinese cuisine, yuxiang is a specific form of seasoning that usually contains garlic, scallion, ginger, vinegar, sugar, salt, chili peppers, etc. However, there is no fish or seafood in it.
[3] Orig. 满汉全席. 'Manchurian and Han Banquet.' A legendary banquet that took place in the palace in the Qing dynasty. It had 108 different dishes and took place over three days.