Capítulo 389: [389] Hachiman's Spice Concept
Chapter 389: Hachiman's Spice Concept
"This is!"
As Gin tasted the lamb meat in his mouth, his eyes widened.
"Although the spices used are almost the same, the proportions have been completely changed, and it seems like there's an additional spice."
"Cinnamon, ginger, white atractylodes, cardamom, cloves, tangerine peel, galangal, star anise, and fennel, all of these are correct," Gin listed the names of the spices used in his Ninefold Secret Lamb Leg.
"Although the proportions have been changed, the types of spices are still the same, but the additional spice is..."
"It's coriander seeds," Hachiman said with a smile, revealing the answer.
"Coriander seeds are a versatile spice that can perfectly complement various other spices, so I made some changes to the spice proportions in your Ninefold Secret Lamb Leg recipe," he explained.
Hearing this, Gin closed his eyes and carefully savored the flavors.
"Coriander seeds with cinnamon, coriander seeds with ginger, coriander seeds with white atractylodes, coriander seeds with cardamom, coriander seeds with cloves, coriander seeds with tangerine peel, coriander seeds with galangal, coriander seeds with star anise, coriander seeds with fennel."
"Nine combinations of spices, each pair intertwining perfectly, complementing each other's aroma and flavor..."
At this point, Gin's face showed a complex expression.
"Congratulations, Hachiman-kun, you have taken this dish to the pinnacle. This Ninefold Secret Lamb Leg has become your own dish," Gin acknowledged.
Upon hearing this, Hachiman just smiled and shook his head.
"Gin-senpai, it's not enough yet. This dish still hasn't reached its peak."
Upon hearing this, Gin became interested. As a qualified chef, he undoubtedly had an insatiable "greed" for perfection.
"Oh? Is there still room for improvement?"
"Of course, there is. Right now, I've only adjusted the overall spice proportions, with coriander seeds as the main ingredient, along with the other spices. But this combination is still too limited," Hachiman said with a smile as he shared his idea.
"In my vision, these spices should be able to combine in any pair, just like a honeycomb, where any node can extend outward. That's what I consider the true pinnacle," he explained further.
"But unfortunately, I haven't reached that point yet."
Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged surprised looks.
Is it really possible for any two spices to be combined freely? Can humans achieve such a feat?
In fact, Hachiman wasn't sure himself. He only knew about a technique called the Spice Inequality, mastered by one of the Five Tiger Stars in "Chuka Ichiban," named Mira.
However, this Dark Cooking Star unexpectedly joined forces with the protagonist's group in the end.
"Hmm, interesting, looks like the 'Steel Rod Unraveling Master' has some rather... exotic tastes," Hachiman thought to himself before returning to the topic at hand.
Using the Spice Inequality technique, Mira earned herself the title of "Spice Empress," capable of achieving the perfect spice ratio in her completed dishes.
Perhaps she could achieve what Hachiman was talking about.
Unfortunately, concepts like the Spice Inequality might be purely fictional, with no existence in reality.
But who knows? After all, Hachiman is a cheater. With his "module system," maybe he could load a "Spice" module and, once it reaches max level, achieve a level of mastery similar to Mira's.
But those are stories for another time.
At this moment, everyone was still immersed in Hachiman's grand concept. If what he said about freely combining spices was achievable, then this dish would undoubtedly be a top-tier delicacy.
Having tasted the enhanced version of the Ninefold Secret Lamb Leg, everyone's gaze turned towards the huge steamer occupying half of the table.
As Senzaemon looked at the dish named "Cosmic Dumplings," he furrowed his brow.
"It's so big, how do we eat it?"
"I know how," Alice raised her hand and stood up directly.
"Grandpa, let me demonstrate for you."
With that, the girl used chopsticks to poke a small hole in the dumpling, then cut out a small square piece of the dumpling skin, scooped out an appropriate amount of filling, and stuffed it into the dumpling skin before putting it in her mouth with the chopsticks.
Seeing this eating method, some of the people who had never eaten this dish suddenly realized, and then followed the girl's method to wrap the dumplings themselves.
"Mmm, pork belly."
"Tough leg meat."
"This sticky feeling... pig's trotters."
"..."
It is worth mentioning that everyone spoke different answers.
Among the people present, except for Komachi, who was still a little girl, who didn't have rich tasting experience, it was impossible for them not to distinguish the filling.
However, being experienced as they were, they didn't need Alice and the others to remind them. As soon as they noticed that the flavors they tasted were the same, they each picked up their plates and started tasting the "Cosmic Dumplings" themselves.
The splendid taste, like the universe itself, immersed them.
Meanwhile, Hachiman had already returned to the vicinity of the kitchen counter, continuing with his cooking.
This time, he used ingredients he had hunted himself: black bear and great white shark.
Bear meat had an extremely strong gamey smell, and bear paws were large and difficult to cook, while shark meat, needless to say, had an odor that was hard to remove.
However, none of these were a problem for Hachiman. In no time, these two large predators became dishes on the table.
The main course was almost ready, and Hachiman was about to start making the staple food.
He began kneading dough again, and soon a smooth dough appeared in his hands.
Looking at the well-kneaded dough, Hachiman didn't rush to work with it. Instead, he took out something else.
It was a small piece of dough, but it carried a heavy sense of history.
That's right, it was a piece of old dough, specifically collected by Hachiman from the Nakiri family, with at least five to six hundred years of history.
As he incorporated this old dough into the fresh dough, with his keen eyesight, Hachiman could see that the newly kneaded dough was gradually expanding at a rapid pace.
In less than ten minutes, the freshly kneaded dough had fermented perfectly.
Poking the dough in the bowl and feeling the soft yet elastic texture under his fingers, Hachiman grinned.
Was this five to six hundred-year-old dough really that impressive? Then what effect would a piece of "Shu Han Old Dough" from "Chuka Ichiban" have?
Indeed, the dish Hachiman was about to prepare also came from "Chuka Ichiban."
It was the legendary secret of the Bai Luo family, renowned for their expertise in pastry making - the "Four Sacred Eight Seafood Treasure Soul Buns."
There was no way around it. Since it was part of his childhood memories, Hachiman had always wanted to taste the dishes featured in the anime. Now that it was possible to recreate them, he naturally wanted to give it a try.
However, this dish could be considered one of the most challenging for Hachiman to recreate.
The ingredients were quite demanding, and just obtaining the old dough was no easy task.
The older the dough, the better, but true century-old dough was rare. Although there were some claims of hundred-year-old dough available in the market, most were just approximate figures, with some being only four or five decades old, or even just a few years old.
To obtain genuine century-old dough, one had to rely on the influential Nakiri family.
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Capítulo 390: [390] Perfect Dish
Chapter 390: Perfect Dish
Having divided the fermented dough into four pieces, Hachiman added vegetable juice for coloring, resulting in four colors: white, green, black, and red.
With the dough prepared, Hachiman began preparing the fillings.
Sea cucumber, shark fin, abalone, scallop, crab, shrimp, squid, and flounder.
These eight types of seafood were quickly processed by him, then separately cooked in eight pots.
During this time, Hachiman began weaving bamboo boats to hold the dishes.
With the fillings ready, it was time to make the buns. Each of the eight fillings was wrapped in dough of the four colors, with the characters (blue), (white), (vermilion), and (black) imprinted on top, symbolizing the Four Sacred Beasts.
The buns, along with the bamboo boats, were placed into the steamer.
During this interval, Hachiman began preparing another type of bun.
Speaking of the "Four Sacred Eight Seafood Treasure Soul Buns," one cannot fail to mention another type of "bun," the "Golden Smile."
In "Chuka Ichiban," when he faced off against Luo Kong in a cooking duel, he drew the topic of "buns." While Luo Kong used the thousand-year-old "Shu Han Old Dough" to make the Bai Luo family's ancestral dish, "Four Sacred Eight Treasure Seafood Soul Buns," he countered with the deep-fried buns, "Golden Smiling Bun," resulting in a tie.
Although Hachiman believed that the "Golden Smiling Bun" probably tasted better than the "Four Sacred Eight Treasure Seafood Soul Buns," its novelty factor, combined with the protagonist's treatment, warranted the tie.
With his current culinary skills, which were likely on par with or even stronger than Liu Maoxing's later skills, replicating a "Golden Smiling Bun" wouldn't be difficult.
Soon, buns with "smiling faces" appeared in Hachiman's hands.
However, he didn't rush to fry them. Instead, he took down the steamed "Four Sacred Eight Treasure Seafood Soul Buns." Just as he was about to lift the lid of the steamer, a look of astonishment appeared on his face.
Squinting his eyes, Hachiman could see faint golden glimmers through the small holes of the steamer.
Is it... actually glowing?!
This took Hachiman by surprise. Despite having reached the pinnacle of his cooking module long ago, he had never made a glowing dish before.
His surprise didn't go unnoticed by Erina and the others, who looked at him with curiosity.
"Hachiman-kun, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, just a little unexpected situation. But I suppose it's a good thing," Hachiman hesitated to say.
After all, a glowing dish should be the epitome of perfection.
Carefully holding the steamer, Hachiman approached the dining table.
Seeing his actions, everyone couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"Onii-chan, what's wrong with you?"
Taking a deep breath, Hachiman's face showed a serious expression.
"What's about to happen might seem a bit magical, but don't be afraid."
Upon hearing this, Senzaemon smiled.
"Don't worry, Hachiman, I've seen it all. There's nothing that could scare me."
Gin and the others nodded as well. Besides the young people present, they had all experienced major events. Why would they be afraid?
"All right, don't blink, because it's time to witness a miracle," Hachiman said, pausing for a moment before reaching out to lift the lid covering the steamer.
As the cover was removed, a golden light burst forth from the steamer.
"What is this?!"
"It's... glowing!"
"How can a dish glow?!"
...
Seeing this golden light, even Senzaemon and the others, who had just said "there's nothing to fear," couldn't help but express their astonishment.
If they were surprised, let alone Erina and the others.
The girls were all dumbfounded, questioning their existence.
Meow meow meow?
Did I just see that?
Is the dish actually glowing?
But being experienced individuals, Senzaemon was the first to react, quickly asking Hachiman, "Hachiman-kun, what's going on? Why is the dish glowing?"
The others also perked up their ears, wanting to hear Hachiman's explanation.
However, this time they were disappointed, as Hachiman himself encountered the phenomenon of glowing dishes for the first time.
"I don't actually know. This is the first time I've encountered a dish that glows," Hachiman admitted.
"But I read about it in an ancient book. Legend has it that in a distant ancient kingdom across the sea, over a hundred years ago, there were dishes that emitted light. It was considered the epitome of culinary perfection."
"In other words, a glowing dish signifies that the dish is perfect."
Scratching his head, Hachiman had to resort to the explanations he read in "Chuka Ichiban."
"Perfect dish..."
Senzaemon muttered to himself, and the next moment, his expression suddenly became excited.
"Mana... Mana... A perfect dish can surely save Mana"
Mana?
Upon hearing this name, Hachiman raised an eyebrow.
If he remembered correctly, Mana, as mentioned by Senzaemon, was his daughter, the sister of Soue Nakiri, the wife of Azami Nakiri, and also the biological mother of Erina, one of his soon-to-be mothers-in-law...
Mana Nakiri.
Hachiman's prospective mother-in-law and Erina both possess the same "God Tongue."
The "God Tongue" is indeed an enviable talent, but at the same time, it's also a curse.
It was because of the "God Tongue" that Mana Nakiri developed anorexia, becoming tired of eating mediocre dishes and relying solely on nutrients to sustain her life.
In the later stages of the original story, she appeared as the ultimate final boss.
In the Moon Banquet Hall, she tasked Erina and Soma Yukihira with creating a dish that had never been seen on Earth before.
In fact, the entire plot of "Food Wars" is just a setup, a scheme devised by Senzaemon to save his daughter and granddaughter.
He gathered geniuses from all over the world at Totsuki Academy, having them compete against each other, all in the guise of nurturing the strongest chefs to save his family.
Similarly, Azami Nakiri had his own method of trying to save his wife and daughter.
Upon hearing his own mother's name, Erina's expression also became excited.
"Grandfather, are you saying that this dish can save Mom?"
"If what Hachiman-kun says is true, then it must be possible," Senzaemon's emotions were somewhat stirred at this moment.
However, Soue Nakiri appeared unusually calm at this moment, holding down his father's trembling shoulder, and spoke in a low voice.
"Father, let's wait a moment. Before concluding it's a perfect dish, let's taste it first. You know, we don't have many chances to try it out on Mana's side."
Upon hearing this, Senzaemon also calmed down and nodded.
"Then let's taste this 'perfect dish'!"
With that, he picked up a red bun and placed it in his mouth.
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