章 117: Erina's True Feelings
Excellent noodles are delicious even when boiled in plain water.
This statement holds true for any type of noodles. However, only boiling in water can become bland after a while, so there are many other fancy ways to prepare them that can bring a sense of happiness to the diners.
"Burp~"
After a satisfying meal, Erina patted her round belly and let out a satisfied belch, relishing the moment as if she were savoring a fine drug.
If it weren't for the fact that she was absolutely full, she would have asked Zane for another bowl, no, two bowls of the non-noodle dish.
Shortly afterward, she felt re-energized. Lifting her head, she looked at Zane with a somewhat dreamy gaze.
"Thank you!"
Her voice was unexpectedly soft, which puzzled Zane, who had just finished his tasks. He asked, "Why are you thanking me all of a sudden?"
"I've learned all about the situation with Ikumi. If it hadn't been for you, she might have completely lost to her opponent in that cooking competition."
"Heh, that's what you're thanking me for?" Zane almost laughed.
In his memory, Erina wasn't the type to lower her head and thank someone for such a thing. Moreover, in the original story, Ikumi was abandoned by Erina right after losing to Soma in the rice bowl research society incident.
Of course, as the owner of the tavern, Zane had no intention of meddling in Totsuki Academy's affairs. If the last customer had been Soma instead of Ikumi, the winner of that competition would indeed have been Soma!
"Every diner has their life's troubles. I'm just using my humble skills to help them get out of their predicaments," Zane explained. "For me, if my cooking can't enlighten every diner or conquer their palates, doesn't it mean that my skills are still lacking?"
"Whether it's you or Ikumi, I'll use my methods to let you truly experience the charm of my cooking."
"Mm! That's all!"
Hearing Zane's words, Erina was momentarily stunned. If someone had spoken to her like this in the past, she would have found it disgusting and pretentious. However, there was no doubt that Zane was indeed using his actions and his cooking to continually influence everyone around him.
"Really, how can there be such a fool in this world?" Erina muttered under her breath so quietly that Zane, even though he was nearby, couldn't hear her.
Then, collecting her complicated emotions, she seemed to make up her mind.
"Zane, have you been busy lately?"
"Why, you want to hang out with me?" Zane chuckled, noticing Erina's unnatural expression.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Who... who would want to hang out with you?" Erina's face flushed as she jumped up and hastily added, "I mean, the residential training is coming up in a few days, and it lasts for five nights and six days!"
"With my current skills, I can easily pass all the assessments of this training session. And after the residential training, there will be a short break."
"I was thinking..."
"During that time..."
"I could come work part-time at your tavern, to be with you, no no, to be by your side..."
By the end of her sentence, Erina's voice was getting softer and more hesitant.
Hearing this, Zane stared at her intently for a moment, his face wearing an inscrutable smile, "A lady of the Nakiri family is interested in my little tavern?"
"It's not that I'm interested in your tavern, I want to learn stronger culinary skills by your side!" Erina's face grew even redder.
Zane, of course, saw through her little schemes and said, "Although I admit I have a certain charm, it's still hard to completely harmonize with someone like you."
"However, the tavern has been so busy after the recent upgrades and renovations that I almost can't keep up."
"If you're willing, then of course I won't refuse."
"Rest assured, I won't cause you any trouble."
Hearing Zane agree, Erina was quite excited and nodded repeatedly.
"Let's get one thing straight, you'll have to put aside your ladylike demeanor here and listen to me," Zane continued.
"After all, I'm the owner here, and you're just a part-time worker."
"I... I understand," Erina hesitated for a moment before reluctantly agreeing.
Meanwhile, Hisako, who overheard that the Nakiri family's lady was considering working part-time in a small tavern, was utterly shocked.
But after a brief reflection, especially remembering the change in M
ito after returning from the tavern, she began to understand a bit.
"Hisako, don't just stand there."
"Pay for the two bowls of the non-noodle dishes."
"Right, Lady Nakiri," Hisako responded, her voice sweet and clear as she snapped out of her thoughts and quickly took out her money to settle the bill.
"Zane, with the start of school and the residential training approaching, I'm going to be even busier."
"So tonight will just have to do, and probably until the end of the training activity, I won't have time to come to the tavern again, I hope you can understand."
"Mm! I understand," Zane quickly took the money from Hisako.
Knowing that Erina might be leaving, he then took out a freshly baked mille-feuille and handed it to her.
"Here! Freshly made."
"Keep it to nibble on the way back."
Feeling the warmth of the mille-feuille, Erina's heart warmed a bit.
After exchanging a few words with Zane, she left the tavern somewhat reluctantly, with Hisako scurrying along by her side.
Nighttime, the flowing crowds.
Mostly drivers, office workers, and white-collar workers scrambling for their daily meals.
Occasionally, on their way home from work, they would stop to grab some food and drink to refresh themselves and warm their stomachs.
Especially for workers in big cities, the nighttime options aren't many, probably just those ubiquitous fish ball cup noodles, street food, cola and fries, and...
taverns!
Many unfamiliar diners.
Before entering, they might think it's just a regular tavern.
But the moment they push open the door, they are surprised to find almost no seats available, with the noise of men and women almost boiling over.
Many are gathered in groups of three or five, drinking, eating, and chatting, creating a scene reminiscent of a bustling Chinese food stall!
At this busy moment, Zane was seen breaking eggs, adding salt, and mixing evenly.
In a hot oil pan, he poured the egg mixture smoothly and evenly until the egg skin turned golden brown. He then placed the fried rice in the middle of the egg skin.
He quickly secured the corners of the egg skin, served it on a plate, and topped it with special tomato sauce.
"This, dear customer, is your omurice."
After serving the omurice to the diner, Zane discreetly returned to the cooking station.
Taking advantage of a brief moment of downtime, he began to rest with his eyes closed.
Shortly thereafter, a graceful figure quietly entered.
She didn't immediately take a seat but looked around, carefully observing the crowd inside the tavern.
"Anne?"
"What is she doing?"
Seeing the secretive figure peering around, Zane was taken aback.
It turned out to be Anne, the secretary of Mana, and he was surprised.
Then, he saw her pull back her gaze and make an "OK" gesture towards the door outside.
Following that, Mana also entered the tavern.
Seeing the newcomer was Azami, Zane then realized that she and Anne had come to the tavern early but had probably delayed their appearance because they had bumped into Erina.
"Zane."
"I... I would like..."
As soon as she came in, Mana spotted Zane and her eyes suddenly lit up with passion.
Before coming to the tavern, she had been nearly driven mad with desire.
Plus, having just tasted Mukizuki's duck leg confit and been disgusted enough to vomit, her pain made her even more eager for Zane's cooking.
From her eyes, Zane could read not only passion but also desire, affection, and agony.
"Just wait a moment, I'll soon cure your addiction to food."
With that, Zane began to prepare ingredients, starting to cook under everyone's watchful eyes.
Lettuce!
King oyster mushrooms!
Shiitake mushrooms!
Bell peppers!
Dried beancurd!
Wood ear mushrooms!
Corn!
Carrots!
In short, all the ingredients prepared were vegetables.
He soaked the wood ears and dried beancurd in advance, and cut the corn into kernels.
He set a wok on high heat, added oil, and heated it until it was about 80% hot.
He added garlic to explode its aroma, then put the shiitake mushrooms and wood ears in the wok to fry with the garlic. Then he began to slice the lettuce into strips and tear the wood ears into small pieces.
Soy sauce, pepper powder, and cornstarch were mixed with water to make slurry.
He then added the prepared dried tofu, beancurd, and lettuce to the mix and stir-fried everything together.
Finally, he added all ingredients except for the black moss into the wok and stir-fried them
.
He added soy sauce, minced ginger, white sugar, yellow wine, and fresh soup among other seasonings, and stir-fried until evenly mixed.
Finally, he added the black moss, poured in the prepared slurry, and cooked until the sauce thickened, then it was ready to serve.
"This... What kind of dish is this?"
"How come I don't see any meat ingredients?"
At that moment, Anne widened her eyes in surprise as she looked at the freshly prepared Buddha's Temptation.
Despite being a first-class executive of WGO and having seen much of the world, she couldn't immediately recognize the true nature of this dish.
"Buddha's Temptation, as you can see, is a vegetarian dish."
"However, although it's made entirely of vegetables, it tastes surprisingly meaty," Zane explained.
"Meaty taste?"
Anne, upon hearing this, suddenly understood.
Many temples often use beans to substitute for meat in their dishes. Therefore, the idea of making vegetables taste like meat isn't particularly novel.
Moreover, sometimes due to the rarity of ingredients, some chefs also look for substitutes, like:
Crab roe!
Nowadays, eggs can be used instead to create dishes that closely resemble crab roe.
But in her experience, vegetarian dishes are usually bland and uninteresting.
Could a dish made entirely of vegetables satisfy Mana's "God Tongue"?
Orange carrots.
Green lettuce.
Black wood ear mushrooms.
Orange bell peppers.
Yellow corn.
Although at first glance, all the ingredients are vegetables, when they are combined in one dish, the result is visually delightful and looks incredibly appetizing!
Thus, the hungry Mana.
From start to finish, she didn't speak but eagerly began to taste the food.
Upon tasting, the delicate texture of the winter bamboo shoots met with the rich aroma of the winter mushrooms, sparking a delicious reaction.
The winter bamboo shoots were crisp and refreshing, while the other vegetable ingredient, winter mushrooms, was rich and juicy, cooked just right...
Just one bite, and you could hear a "crunch, crunch" sound.
That was the song of the winter bamboo shoots in her mouth, followed by the bursting juice of the mushrooms.
Soon, Mana began to realize, as she chewed quietly, that the mushrooms were subtly absorbing the essence of the bamboo shoots.
And as they mingled between softness and crunchiness, the taste was exquisite!
"Uh?"
"This vegetarian dish..."
"Although it's made entirely of vegetables, it tastes so fresh and crisp."
"The freshness, tenderness, clarity, and fragrance offer four distinct taste experiences, making it uniquely delicious, even to my God Tongue..."
"Ah? What's going on?"
"I think I tasted beef."
"No, is my God Tongue malfunctioning? Can it no longer distinguish even the taste of vegetables?"
As she continued to eat, Mana was shocked.
"King oyster mushrooms, when sliced and cooked, naturally resemble meat in appearance."
"Pay attention to the preparation, and the texture can also resemble meat."
"That means, the illusion of a meaty flavor comes from the king oyster mushrooms and the starch."
"Just steam the king oyster mushrooms for 15 minutes, let them cool, and then slice them into thin strips!"
"Then heat oil in a pan, add Sichuan peppercorns, chili peppers, and minced garlic to bring out the aroma, and add the king oyster mushrooms to stir-fry. As you stir-fry, the mushrooms will release water, slowly drying out."
"Once the moisture is mostly gone, add a suitable amount of light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, cumin powder, and sesame seeds, and stir well."
"Finally, thicken it with starch."
"In this way, you get the taste and quality similar to beef."
Zane continued to explain.
"I see."
"If any ordinary chef tried to use this trick, it would still be hard to deceive the capabilities of the God Tongue," Mana remarked, somewhat amazed.
It has been proven that even without those extraordinary dishes like Frozen Sea Bream Iceberg or Comet Fried Rice, Zane could still satisfy...
The God Tongue!
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