Once all the seasonings were in, the young man picked up a gleaming silver teapot and poured a white liquid into the mix.
He was a bit too far away to see what it was, so he quickly turned to Wen Chu Ren beside him and whispered his guess:
"Miss Wen, is that stock?"
Wen Chu Ren looked curious. She hadn’t expected Li Xiao to figure out the secret on his very first visit.
She didn’t hide it, nodding lightly.
"That’s right. It’s stock."
"But I’ve only heard my aunt mention it in passing. I don’t know the specifics of how it’s made; it’s probably some kind of secret recipe."
Li Xiao wasn’t surprised by this.
After all, making raw-marinated seafood is very simple.
Aside from focusing on the freshness of the ingredients, the only thing that could really set one dish apart from another was the marinade itself.
The seasonings the young man had just used were nothing special—just some very simple spices and ingredients. Normally, you couldn’t do anything too fancy with them.
But when the man added the stock, it dawned on him. That was where the secret lay.
Li Xiao had no intention of prying into their secret recipe.
After adding the stock, the young man added a splash of rice wine, huadiao wine, and yellow wine. The amounts were small; it was clear they were just to remove any fishiness and add aroma.
The stock and various wines quickly combined with all the seasonings and ingredients.
The young man took out a long wooden chopstick and stirred the prepared marinade until it was well combined.
As he stirred, the marinade quickly mixed with the assorted seafood.
He stirred for a full minute to ensure the seafood was thoroughly coated in the marinade.
The young man then took out a few disposable containers. He packed all the seafood into them, then poured in the marinade as well.
The raw-marinated seafood in the stainless steel bowl didn’t look like much, but it was enough to fill three large containers.
Once the three large containers of raw-marinated seafood were packed, Li Xiao raised his eyebrows.
’The young man’s movements had seemed casual, but his portioning was incredibly precise.’
’Not a single drop of marinade was left in the stainless steel bowl, and the amount in the containers was just enough to cover all the seafood.’
’The man hadn’t used a single measuring cup the entire time, yet he’d been perfectly accurate. He clearly knew his stuff.’
Soon, the two cold dishes for Wen Chu Ren and her cousin were also ready.
Li Xiao took out his phone to scan the payment code and asked casually,
"Ma’am, how much do we owe you for all this?"
However, he had barely taken out his phone, not even opening the payment app, when a plump hand stopped him.
The hand belonged to none other than the female stall owner.
When she heard Li Xiao offering to pay, a look of displeasure flashed across the stall owner’s face.
"Are you looking down on me?"
"The seafood’s from our own boat, we make the marinade ourselves... a box of this stuff costs me pennies in seasonings. And you’re a good friend of our Chu Ren."
"You trying to pay is a slap in the face!"
"If word got out about this, I wouldn’t be able to show my face in Shantou again."
Li Xiao hadn’t expected such a fierce reaction from the stall owner. He glanced at Wen Chu Ren in surprise.
Wen Chu Ren quickly pushed his raised phone back down.
"Why are you trying to pay at my aunt’s stall? You really don’t consider me a friend, do you?"
With that, she took Li Xiao by the hand and said to her aunt,
"Auntie, we’re going next door for some rice vermicelli. You get back to your customers!"
Watching the two of them walk off, a knowing smile appeared on the stall owner’s face.
The four of them returned to the rice vermicelli shop, carrying the containers of raw-marinated seafood.
The raw-marinated seafood needed to sit for another half hour, so Li Xiao wasn’t in a hurry to eat.
Wen Chu Ren found a table, then led the other three back to the entrance.
A woman in a red-and-white plaid apron stood there with an order pad, taking down customers’ orders.
Li Xiao looked at the yellow-on-red menu, somewhat dumbfounded.
It wasn’t that he’d never had rice vermicelli rolls before. On the contrary, as a common breakfast in Guangdong Province, he’d had them plenty of times.
But he had never seen a place that offered so many different fillings.
Besides the common fillings like pork, beef, egg, and sausage, there were also shrimp, oysters, scallops, octopus, clams, and all sorts of other seafood.
For a moment, Li Xiao was overwhelmed by the choices.
Wen Chu Ren, who had already ordered, saw Li Xiao still hesitating and spoke up.
"If you don’t know what to get, how about I recommend something?"
Li Xiao subconsciously nodded.
Wen Chu Ren then said,
"If you can’t decide, just get the ’Grand Slam.’ It comes with a little bit of everything!"
Since it was a recommendation from a local, Li Xiao naturally trusted it.
So, all four of them ordered a Grand Slam. Since Zhou Shishi hadn’t gotten any of the raw-marinated seafood, Li Xiao was worried his assistant, who hadn’t eaten dinner, would still be hungry.
So he specially asked the woman to add extra fillings to Zhou Shishi’s portion.
The shop was crowded, but they didn’t have to wait long. Soon, four servings of rice vermicelli rolls were placed in front of them.
Looking at the rice vermicelli rolls in front of him, Li Xiao couldn’t help but turn to look at Wen Chu Ren beside him.
"Is this shop also run by your relatives?"
Wen Chu Ren rolled her eyes and said in an annoyed tone,
"How could I have so many relatives? I know the owner of this shop, but we’re definitely not related."
Li Xiao pointed at the suspiciously large portion of rice vermicelli in front of him.
"And you’re telling me the owner isn’t your relative with a portion size like this?"
Wen Chu Ren explained,
"Didn’t I just say? All four of us ordered the Grand Slam."
"The Grand Slam has every filling, so isn’t it normal for the portion to be bigger?"
Hearing her logical explanation, he glanced again at the towering pile of rice vermicelli in front of him.
Li Xiao suddenly felt that she had a point.
"Alright, whatever you say."
The four of them were already hungry, so seeing the rice vermicelli rolls served, they didn’t hesitate to dig in.
The rice noodle sheet was thin and translucent, with a slight sheen, like delicate silk.
The filling was generous. The red and white of the pork and beef created a sharp contrast with the brightly colored seafood, making one’s mouth water.
Through the translucent wrapper, you could see the exquisite arrangement of the fillings, with each type of seafood placed perfectly.
Li Xiao picked up his chopsticks and gently lifted a piece of the rice vermicelli roll.
He was conquered by the flavor from the very first bite.
The rice noodle wrapper was delicate and smooth, melting in his mouth with a gentle bite and creating a wonderful textural contrast with the filling.
The wrapper was made from pure rice slurry, giving it a rich, fragrant rice flavor.
The richness of the pork and beef blended perfectly with the umami of the seafood. Each bite was a mix of savory meat and sweet, fresh seafood.
The springy shrimp, delicate oysters, plump scallops, bouncy octopus, and refreshing clams—each ingredient contributed its own unique flavor to the roll.
The Chaoshan Rice Vermicelli had a complex flavor profile, with each bite offering a new surprise.
The combination of meat and seafood was both traditional and innovative, creating a rich experience for the palate.
Paired with the special sauce, a subtle blend of sweet, salty, and mildly spicy notes intertwined, further enhancing the overall flavor.
Every seasoning and ingredient in the rice vermicelli was perfectly balanced, preserving the natural taste of the core components while adding layers of complexity and texture to the dish.