The soft-shelled turtle had clearly been stewed for a long time, as its originally tough meat had become incredibly tender and was falling apart.
When Li Xiao gently gripped it with his chopsticks, the turtle meat actually broke apart.
This made Li Xiao finally understand why there was a long-handled spoon on the side dish—it was for scooping up this fall-apart-tender turtle meat.
With a gentle scoop of the spoon, he lifted a large piece of turtle meat that looked like jelly.
The moment it entered his mouth, the abundance of collagen filled his palate with a springy texture.
The turtle meat was so soft and tender it seemed to melt, as if he were eating a piece of delicious, exquisitely stewed fish aspic.
Looking at the piece of turtle stewed to a jelly-like consistency, Li Xiao savored it. The rich aroma of alcohol from the broth had already diffused through the air.
He knew that the simple act of pouring the liquor when the pot was first opened couldn’t have been enough to fully infuse the Moutai’s fragrance into the turtle meat.
To make the aroma richer, the chef must have also added other brands of baijiu during the stewing process.
Although the simple gesture just now created a sense of ceremony for the meal, the long stewing time and large amount of baijiu had made the turtle’s texture incredibly soft and tender, like savoring a delicious piece of jelly.
A system notification sounded in his ears.
[You have unlocked the Gourmet Illustration: Wild Soft-Shelled Turtle Stewed with Moutai]
[Dish Rating: 92/100 (Excellent)]
[As the dish rating is Excellent, rewards are quadrupled (x4).]
[Congratulations, you have received a cash reward: 800,000]
[Congratulations, you have received a cash reward: 800,000]
[Congratulations, you have received an item reward: 100 cases of 30-year-old cellared Feitian Moutai]
[Congratulations, you have received a recipe reward: Recipe for Moutai Stewed Soft-Shelled Turtle]
[100 cases of 30-year-old cellared Feitian Moutai have been stored for you at...]
Li Xiao’s eyebrows raised slightly.
’Whoa, this reward is something else.’
’Feitian Moutai is a hot commodity on its own, let alone a batch that’s been cellared for 30 years.’
’A 30-year-old Feitian is already rare, and it usually appears as single bottles, with each one priced around 15,000 yuan.’
’But for a whole case, the price would be at least 180,000 yuan. [A 30-year-old case has 12 bottles.]’
’These 100 cases of Moutai could probably sell for nearly 20 million yuan in total.’
This time, however, he had no intention of casually giving this liquor away.
’Regular Feitian Moutai is available everywhere, as long as you have the money.’
’But when it comes to 30-year-old, perfectly preserved Feitian Moutai, buying a small amount might not be too difficult. However, trying to purchase it in large quantities is a whole other level of challenge.’
’Besides, many of the vintage liquors on the market are either counterfeit to some degree or have degraded in quality due to poor storage conditions.’
He was quite confident in the products from the System. These 100 cases of Feitian Moutai it provided were undoubtedly premium, perfectly cellared vintage liquor.
’This stuff is a rare treasure that money can’t always buy. As it ages, its value will only increase.’
’It would be perfect for giving as a gift or to elders. Of course, if he felt happy one day or the occasion was right, there’d be no issue with just taking out a few cases to drink directly.’
He didn’t have a collector’s obsession; in his view, things were meant to be enjoyed.
’Besides, with the System around, it’s not just 30-year-old Feitian Moutai; 40-year or even 50-year-old vintages could become rewards in the future.’
Li Xiao didn’t rush to give his evaluation. Instead, he picked up another piece of turtle meat from a different part.
This soft-shelled turtle was quite large; its thigh alone was the size of two thumbs placed side by side.
However, judging by the portion size, this was at most only a tenth of the entire turtle.
This time, he picked up a piece of the thigh. It was meatier and had become even richer in flavor after being stewed.
The thigh meat was marbled with a fatty tendon, making it rich but not greasy. The complex texture felt like a magnificent feast for his taste buds.
After eating two large pieces of the turtle meat, Li Xiao noticed some broth remaining at the bottom of the earthenware crock.
Although there wasn’t much, the broth was incredibly fragrant. He figured a significant amount must have evaporated during the stewing process because the crock was porous.
He quickly scooped up a small half-spoonful of the broth and gently licked it with his tongue.
Li Xiao’s eyes widened instantly. The broth was unbelievably fragrant and rich.
It seemed as if the essence of the entire turtle had been concentrated into this broth.
If the broth hadn’t been a little salty from its concentration, he would have been tempted to scoop up a bowl and drink it all down.
He quickly picked up a third piece of turtle, but this time he didn’t eat it directly.
Instead, he rolled the piece of turtle around in the crock a few times, letting it fully absorb the broth at the bottom before putting it in his mouth.
The scalding hot broth, coating the scalding hot turtle meat, delivered a completely different textural experience this time.
The first two pieces of turtle had been delicious, but without the rich, savory broth to moisten them, they seemed slightly one-dimensional.
Now, coated in a layer of the broth, the flavor was instantly elevated to a new level.
"If I were to rate the turtle meat without the broth, it would only be ’Good.’"
"But with the broth, this turtle can definitely be called ’Excellent.’"
"Using Feitian Moutai that’s been aged for over a decade to make this dish isn’t a waste at all."
"Although I can tell that the baijiu added during the main stewing process wasn’t Moutai, the flavor is still exceptionally good."
"Delicious! Highly recommended!"
Livestream Chat:
"The streamer is eating one piece after another. Of course it’s delicious, did you think we wouldn’t notice?"
"If it were any other streamer, I’d think they were just hyping it up, but if Brother Li says it’s delicious, I definitely believe him!"
"588 for such a small crock, that price is insane! And he still highly recommends it? He must’ve been paid for this, right?"
"WTF, what’s going on in this chat? Why do I feel like it’s full of shills?"
"LMAO, the guy above is obviously new here. The streamer just gave away gifts worth millions. What kind of restaurant could afford to pay a whale like him for a promotion?"
"Wild soft-shelled turtle costs several hundred yuan per half-kilo, plus Feitian Moutai. Is 588 really that expensive? That Akatori place earlier selling four broccoli florets for 40—now *that* was expensive, okay?"
.....
Li Xiao nodded.
"588 for a portion of soft-shelled turtle is, indeed, beyond what many people can afford."
"You can call it expensive, but it’s not outrageous."
"This turtle was at least four jin [approx. 2 kg]. A wild turtle of this size costs at least 400-plus yuan per jin."
"After removing the innards and inedible parts, one jin of turtle yields at most seven to eight liang [350-400g] of usable meat."
"The cost of the turtle meat needed for one crock is nearly 300 yuan alone. Add the Feitian Moutai, various medicinal herbs, and the chef’s superb culinary skill, and this dish really isn’t that expensive."
...
After briefly explaining the details of the dish to his audience, Li Xiao quickly finished off the last few pieces of tender, stewed turtle meat in the crock.
After he finished the stewed turtle, the final dish was served.
[PS: Thank you to all the handsome gentlemen and beautiful Immortal Sisters for the monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and all the various tips. Thank you very much.]