Chapter 385: "Simple" Cooking
Appetizer?
Upon hearing Hachiman's words, everyone was left speechless.
Just an appetizer, yet made with such grandeur?
For this show-off, you get 82 points, and the remaining 18 points will be given to you monster.
Nevertheless, since the first dish was ready, nobody hesitated.
Senzaemon was the first to start, taking the dipping sauce provided by Hachiman. Since sashimi emphasizes freshness, the dipping sauce was simple, just a blend of soy sauce and wasabi.
Standing before the mini ice mountain, Senzaemon was astonished to find that the slices of sea bream attached to it reflected his image like mirrors. This was the epitome of fish slices, smooth and tight!
This knife skill...
Senzaemon recalled all the chefs he knew, realizing none could compare to Hachiman.
Setting aside these irrelevant thoughts, Senzaemon used his chopsticks to pick up a bright, mirror-like slice of sea bream, dipped it in the sauce, and placed it in his mouth.
In that moment of tasting, Senzaemon's eyes widened...
"How is it possible? These sea bream slices are so thin, yet they have such a 'substantial' texture, perfectly capturing the fat, tender essence of the sea bream."
"And this sea bream seems to be..."
"Still alive!"
Smiling beside him, Gin spoke up.
"Yes, it's as if a lively sea bream is dancing on my tongue," Senzaemon nodded, then burst into laughter. "Truly a miraculous dish, hahaha."
Hearing their words, Erina's face showed a skeptical expression.
It's just a dish of sashimi, albeit with an impressive preparation process, but at the end of the day, it's just sashimi.
Saying the sea bream is still alive is too exaggerated.
Seeing the girl's expression, Hachiman smiled faintly, fed Komachi the sea bream slice dipped in sauce, and then handed her another portion of sauce.
"Erina, why don't you give it a try too?"
"Mm-hmm, Erina-neesan, you should try it too. It's really delicious."
"Yes, everyone, give it a taste. Such dishes are not something you can enjoy often," Senzaemon also chimed in.
Upon hearing their master speak up, everyone began to act.
"This is..."
"So delicious..."
"The sea bream... It really seems alive..."
"This young man is truly amazing!"
"..."
"Hachiman-kun is amazing! Erina doesn't stand a chance."
Enjoying the delicious taste in her mouth, Alice looked smugly at Erina.
Her boyfriend was indeed amazing, and Erina couldn't even compare.
Not only her, even Leonora, who was beside her, covered her mouth and chuckled.
"That's right, Mom also thinks Hachiman-kun is much better than Erina."
Truly, like mother, like daughter—the expressions on their faces were exactly the same, like two sisters.
However, upon hearing the words of the mother and daughter, Erina's forehead revealed a few "#" marks.
Alice, this girl, can't go a day without mocking me, can she?
And now Aunt Leonora is joining her in her mischief.
Accepting the dipping sauce from Hachiman, Erina also picked up a slice of sea bream, dipped it in the sauce, and put it in her mouth.
The chilled sea bream melted in her mouth, its rich taste filling her palate. This feeling was indescribable; the delicious taste seemed as if the sea bream was dancing in her mouth.
This made the sensitive "God Tounge" within Erina tremble with excitement. The inexplicable pleasure surged through her brain, causing her body to involuntarily sway, and a blush spread across her face.
"Mmm... Oh..."
Seductive murmurs escaped from Erina's enticing lips, her fair cheeks flushed with a hint of red. Her ample bosom heaved, and her slender yet voluptuous legs swayed slightly together. It was as if the air around her had taken on a pink hue, leaving Hachiman feeling a bit parched.
He swore he hadn't drugged the dish.
But watching the girl's trembling body, the slight arch of her back, and the more pronounced fullness of her chest, Hachiman feared she might burst out of her clothes like in anime.
As it turned out, Hachiman's worry was unnecessary; bursting clothes were just an anime effect.
After calming down for a while, Erina opened her eyes again, but they were filled with a moist glow, her lips slightly parted, and she breathed softly.
"What... What exactly happened? This sea bream seems as if it's really still alive. How is that possible?"
Just coming down from the excitement, Erina's tone now carried a hint of vulnerability.
"It's quite simple, actually."
Seeing the seductive sight of the girl, Hachiman smiled.
"Instantaneous low-temperature cutting, stimulating the nerves still alive in the sea bream meat, completely unleashing the firm texture and freshness of the sea bream. This feeling is like the sea bream is still alive."
Upon hearing his words, everyone showed a helpless expression.
"Simple?"
Is this really simple?
Putting aside other matters for now, just achieving the instantaneous low-temperature cutting that Hachiman mentioned is very difficult. After all, they don't have Hachiman's strong physique that can withstand extremely low temperatures.
Wait, low temperature, physique...
Perhaps the scene just now was too shocking, and they subconsciously overlooked something.
That kitchen knife, which was sprayed with liquid nitrogen for a long time, had a temperature of at least tens of degrees below zero, or even hundreds of degrees below zero. Yet, Hachiman held it bare-handedly for a long time, with no traces of frostbite on his hands.
It's not like he just touched it momentarily and then pulled back his hand. He tightly gripped the ice knife for minutes of cutting work, and the prolonged low-temperature contact didn't cause any harm to his hands.
Thinking about this, the gaze of several people couldn't help but flicker, especially Senzaemon.
Because he knows more, whether it's the incident with the black bear or the recent incident with the great white shark, as the head of the Nakiri family, nothing can escape his ears.
The incident with the black bear could perhaps be explained, after all, black bears aren't that large, and Hachiman is proficient in swordsmanship. Under various conditions, he could still kill a black bear.
But how to explain the killing of that great white shark?
That was a colossal creature, six meters long and weighing around three tons.
Not only that, but Hachiman even killed the agile shark in the undisturbed seawater. This just doesn't make sense at all.
It seems that there are still many secrets about Hachiman.
However, at this moment, Hachiman's voice interrupted everyone's thoughts.
With a slight smile, he spoke up, "Everyone, how did you find my appetizer? Does it meet your expectations?"
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Chapter 386: What is Basic Knife Skills?
"How's my appetizer?" Upon hearing Hachiman's question, everyone realized it was just an appetizer.
"Haha, Hachiman-kun, your culinary skills are truly remarkable. This appetizer undoubtedly awakens all our taste buds," Senzaemon laughed heartily.
Everyone nodded in agreement. After savoring such a delightful appetizer, they were even more eager for the next course.
"Now that everyone is satisfied, since we just had sashimi, let me introduce another way of enjoying sea bream," Hachiman smiled faintly and resumed his work.
He tossed several cleaned carrots into the air, grabbing two Santoku knives and swiftly slicing through the air.
Santoku knives were a Japanese invention, meaning "three virtues" in Japanese. They excelled at slicing, dicing, and chopping, as long as they weren't used for cutting bones or frozen meat.
Although similar to Western chef's knives, Santoku knives had slight differences. The curvature of the Santoku knife blade was smaller than that of a chef's knife.
In the anime "Food Wars," the protagonist Soma often used and meticulously maintained a Santoku knife.
As the two Santoku knives danced in Hachiman's hands, the carrots in the air exploded like orange fireworks, turning into flying carrot shreds...
Hachiman took out a bowl, and every strand of flying carrot neatly landed in it.
Not only carrots but also mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, bamboo shoots, green peppers, and various other ingredients were sliced into shreds in the same manner.
This exemplified basic knife skills.
Watching the colorful vegetable shreds, Hachiman nodded in satisfaction.
Alright, the most "basic" shredding was done; it was time to move on to something else.
He then took out a uniquely shaped kitchen knife, with many holes on the blade, each containing a shiny wire.
"Are those... wires?" Soue pushed his glasses up, somewhat uncertain.
Amidst the astonished gazes of everyone, Hachiman unexpectedly heated the uniquely shaped kitchen knife over the stove.
While the knife was heating, Hachiman once again filleted a sea bream on the countertop, skillfully removing the bones, bladder, and entrails, and scraping off two large pieces of fish skin. Then, he stacked thick slices of sea bream meat together.
By this time, the knife was almost heated. Hachiman took a deep breath, grabbed the heated knife, and fiercely chopped down on the stacked sea bream meat.
As his knife fell, the sea bream meat directly "burst" open, and the "fragments" that burst naturally fell into the previously prepared filling.
At the same time, a strong aroma of fish emanated from the sea bream meat under Hachiman's knife.
Upon closer inspection, the burst fragments turned out to be spherical chunks of sea bream meat squeezed together.
Everyone understood where the aroma came from. After all, the chef's knife was scorching hot. The sea bream chunks squeezed out from the steel rings in an instant were probably fully cooked on the outside, and they were roasted instantly at high temperatures due to friction.
Seeing this scene, everyone couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.
So, after playing with ice, are you now playing with fire?
Soon, Hachiman squeezed out the sea bream meat almost completely. He then set down the scorching hot kitchen knife, picked up a normal knife again, and sliced the two large pieces of sea bream skin into small square pieces.
Then, he wrapped the prepared filling in these square pieces of sea bream skin and finally pan-fried the sea bream rolls.
Soon, the sea bream rolls were fried to perfection, and after being taken out, they were drizzled with a sauce made from boiled sea bream bones, completing this dish.
"Thank you for waiting. Please enjoy," Hachiman placed the plated sea bream rolls in front of everyone.
Looking at the sea bream rolls in front of them, Senzaemon asked, "Hachiman-kun, what's the name of this dish?"
"As for the name, let's call it 'Reincarnation Spring Rolls,'" Hachiman smiled.
Yes, what he just made was the "Reincarnation Spring Rolls," a dish that Liu Maoxing made in the "Chuka Ichiban" competition in order to counter Leon's "Ice-Cold Sea Bream Mountain."
"Reincarnation Spring Rolls? Interesting name," Senzaemon murmured to himself.
However, compared to the dish, Erina and the others were more concerned about Hachiman.
Komachi: "Is your hand burned or not, Onii-chan?"
Erina: "You, doing such dangerous things again."
Alice: "Yeah, after holding an ice knife just now, is it a fire knife now?"
Leonora: "Exactly, Hachiman-kun, you don't take care of yourself enough."
"..."
??????
Upon hearing their aunt's (mother's) words, the two sisters turned their heads simultaneously, their expressions clearly saying, "What are you meddling in."
Seeing the expressions of the two sisters, Leonora stuck out her tongue like a girl.
"Hehe, I was just showing some concern."
"Don't worry, it's not hot actually," Hachiman shrugged.
Unlike the main character Liu Maoxing, the kitchen knife he used today was custom-made by the Nakiri family in advance. The handle of the knife was made of carbon fiber material with excellent heat insulation and corrosion resistance, so when he held it, it just felt a bit warm, not hot.
"Don't worry, I'm fine," Hachiman smiled and then pointed to the "Reincarnation Spring Rolls" on the plate.
"Alright, let's not dwell on that. Let's try them while they're still hot. They won't taste as good when they're cold."
"That's right, let's taste them while they're hot," Senzaemon said, picking up a spring roll and putting it into his mouth.
"Mmm! This... the sea bream is so fresh, it's like it's come back to life."
"Yes! It's like there's a live sea bream dancing in my mouth. The taste is exquisite!" Gin exclaimed in admiration.
On the side, Joichiro showed a sudden realization expression. "So that's it, 'reincarnation' refers to this? Bringing the dead sea bream back to life. Impressive, Hachiman-kun."
"Not only that, but the flavors of other vegetables also blend perfectly with the sea bream meat. Bamboo shoots, cabbage, green peppers... It feels like I've been transported back to spring," Roland Chapelle, the chef known as the "Chef Who Never Smiles," had a happy smile on his face at this moment.
Meanwhile, the girls were breathing slightly, their eyes closed, with a hint of tempting blush on their faces, clearly immersed in the culinary experience.
Watching everyone's reactions, Hachiman smiled and also picked up a spring roll, putting it into his mouth. As he tasted the delicious dish he had created, he couldn't help but squint his eyes in delight.
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