"What's this? I thought you were here to convince me to give up on making Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes, but I didn't expect you to become completely captivated before you even started trying, did you?"
Okabe personally placed the freshly cooked Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes in front of Erina Nakiri, his voice tinged with a bit of teasing as he sat down opposite her.
"H-How is that possible! I was just so hungry that I ate too quickly and couldn't taste it properly, so I wanted another serving to critique it carefully this time!"
Hearing Okabe's voice, Erina Nakiri finally realized she had been exposed.
Thinking about her reaction just now, a blush visibly spread across her face. If before it was due to the impact of the food, now it was purely from embarrassment.
She had come to persuade him to give up on Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes and try other dishes, yet she herself had fallen deep into its deliciousness. She was truly an unworthy bearer of the God's Tongue; she shouldn't have felt any pleasure from this…
"The God's Tongue, capable of discerning all the flavors in the world, can actually lose its effectiveness due to hunger. This is quite a significant discovery.
It seems I must record this information. In the future, if someone on a whim wants to research the God's Tongue, this might prove to be of great use."
Hearing Erina Nakiri's explanation, Okabe slowly pulled a small notebook from his apron pocket and theatrically prepared to write.
"Wait! You—you dare record such a thing!"
Seeing his antics, Erina Nakiri panicked. She immediately reached out and pressed down on the notebook, stopping his next move, her fingertips trembling slightly with shame and anger.
"Why wouldn't I dare?" Okabe raised an eyebrow, easily freeing himself with a twist of his wrist. Leaning back in his chair, he said nonchalantly, "This is a very important observational study on the God's Tongue. How about the title—'On the Fatal Impact of Hunger on the Gustatory Acuity of the God's Tongue'?"
Looking at Okabe's flippant expression, Erina Nakiri shot to her feet, the blush spreading from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. "You know perfectly well that was just my excuse! I admit your Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes are delicious, but so what? The themes of culinary duels are rich and varied. You can't possibly conquer the world with just a single plate of Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes, can you!?"
She glared down at Okabe, trying to overwhelm him with her presence.
"Have you ever heard of learning by analogy? You think I can only make Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes, but in reality, I can quickly master the vast majority of dishes in Chinese cuisine that fall into the same category. What one learns in cooking isn't a single dish, but technique."
Looking at the girl's expression, which screamed 'you're a hopeless case,' Okabe understood that she meant well—otherwise, she wouldn't be here—so he decided to lay his cards on the table.
Hiding things wasn't his style.
Before, he had no achievements to show for it, so even if he said something, no one would believe him.
But now, his knife skills had reached a state of perfection, and his stir-frying had achieved mastery. It could be said that for any dish sharing commonalities with Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes, he only needed to look at the recipe once to quickly master and replicate it.
After all, dishes with steps are the easiest to master; the truly difficult part is the fundamentals.
As long as the fundamentals are polished, everything else becomes simple. Even the most difficult dishes become familiar after making them a few times.
Hearing Okabe's explanation, Erina Nakiri froze, her amethyst-like eyes blinking with a hint of confusion. "Learning by analogy?"
"I was originally planning to make dinner for myself and Ikaros after closing up, but since my actions lately have worried you both, I'll prove it now—the influence of fundamentals on cooking."
Seeing Erina Nakiri's half-understanding expression, Okabe smiled, wiped his hands on his apron, and strode towards the ingredient cart next to his stall.
On the cart were several small pots, a basket of potatoes, half a basket of dried chilies, half a basket of garlic, half a basket of green peppers, and a pile of other ingredients.
"Keep your eyes wide open and watch me cook. Even though this is only my second time attempting this dish, I have enough confidence to make it well."
Okabe began to move as he spoke.
The steps were almost identical to making Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes, only the main ingredient was swapped for extremely fine shreds of pork, and the secondary ingredients were now scallions, ginger, and a different, dark-colored sauce.
However, cutting pork loin into suitably sized shreds wasn't easy. At least, before his knife skills reached perfection, preparing this dish would have taken him a very long time.
Not like now.
With a pull and a push of the Wu Qu knife, slices of meat, uniform in thickness, were cut away. Okabe neatly stacked them and sliced them along the edge into fine shreds with a cross-section of 3-4 millimeters.
Their thickness had to be consistent, without much variation, or it would affect the texture of the dish.
After processing and marinating the pork shreds and chopping the other accompanying ingredients, Okabe stood before the wok once again, fluidly lighting the fire, heating the pan, and pouring in the oil.
"This is…"
Okabe's movements were clean and decisive, as if rehearsed countless times. Hisako Arato had appeared behind him at some point, watching with curiosity.
"Sautéed Shredded Pork in Sweet Bean Sauce."
Okabe didn't turn his head, his wrist flicking.
As the spatula flew, a rich, savory aroma instantly burst forth, completely different from the sharp, spicy scent from before. It was a fragrance that was salty and sweet, mellow and enticing.
In just a few minutes, a plate of Sautéed Shredded Pork in Sweet Bean Sauce, perfect in color, aroma, and taste, was placed before Erina Nakiri, with thin tofu skins neatly folded to the side.
"Try it," Okabe gestured.
Hearing his words, Erina Nakiri dubiously picked up a tofu skin, wrapped some pork and scallion shreds inside, and brought it to her lips for a careful bite.
The next moment, her eyes widened slightly.
The sauce was rich and savory, with a perfect balance of salty and sweet. The pork was exceptionally tender and smooth, creating a wonderful textural layer with the crisp scallions and the slightly chewy tofu skin!
This was definitely a highly accomplished dish. Although not as stunning as the Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes from earlier, it could still be called a fine delicacy!
"How is that possible! You've been making nothing but Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes all this time, with no time to research anything else. Don't tell me you've been practicing this Sautéed Shredded Pork in secret behind our backs?!"
Erina Nakiri stared at Okabe, feeling her understanding of the world being challenged.
"No, this is the second time in my life I've made Sautéed Shredded Pork in Sweet Bean Sauce. The last time, preparing the pork shreds took a while, so I found it troublesome and never made it again.
Now that my knife skills have improved a bit, I can shred the pork quickly, and with increased precision, the preparation time has been cut by three or four times."
Okabe didn't stop. He answered while washing the wok and lighting the fire again.
This time, he picked up a few eggs and a bowl of rice that had been steamed a bit hard and left in the cold wind for a while, cooled both inside and out.
"WHOOSH!"
A huge flame swept up, accompanied by a scorching wave of heat.
Okabe's expression remained unchanged.
Hot wok, cool oil. The moment the beaten egg was poured in, it was quickly stirred and scrambled until half-cooked. Then, the rice was added to the wok, becoming distinct grains under the fierce, rapid stir-frying, before being gently mixed with the egg.
Once the rice and egg were evenly combined, it was seasoned with salt and pepper, and at the very moment it was taken off the heat, all the flavors and aromas of the ingredients were sealed in.
"Up!"
Placing a plate by the wok, Okabe swung the spatula faster and faster, finally scooping the entire contents of the wok perfectly into the spatula and onto the plate.
A Golden Fried Rice, the simplest yet most skill-testing of dishes, was complete. It exuded a rustic yet incredibly alluring aroma as it was served before Erina Nakiri.
Each grain of rice was coated in gold, fluffy and fragrant. The tenderness of the egg and the elasticity of the rice were perfectly combined, and the simple seasoning was filled with enticing aromatic compounds.
At this moment, Erina Nakiri was too shocked to speak.
According to Okabe, he hadn't specifically studied either the Sautéed Shredded Pork in Sweet Bean Sauce or the Golden Fried Rice, and the former was only his second attempt.
However, whether it was his knife skills, heat control, wok tossing proficiency, or understanding of the ingredients, he performed like an old master who had been honing his craft for decades.
At the very least, she didn't possess such knife skills, and her wok tossing technique was far from his level of expertise.
Could it be that her own path was wrong?
Blindly pursuing high-class cuisine, although the results tasted good, it seemed she didn't truly understand the underlying principles…
Okabe looked at the two, who seemed lost in thought, and spoke slowly: "Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes test knife skills, heat control, and the understanding and balance of the four basic flavor profiles: salty, umami, sour, and spicy.
Sautéed Shredded Pork in Sweet Bean Sauce tests the handling of meat, the simmering of the sauce, and the control of the salty-sweet balance.
And egg-fried rice tests the control of the rice's moisture content, the heat of the stir-fry, the wok-tossing technique, and most importantly, the understanding of fried-rice dishes as a whole."
He paused, his gaze clear as he looked at Erina Nakiri. "For the past two years, I wasn't just repeating one dish. I was using this dish, the one I'm most familiar with and which has the lowest cost, as a whetstone to constantly polish my fundamentals.
Knife skills, heat control, seasoning, understanding ingredients… these are the foundation.
As long as the foundation is solid, learning any new dish is just a matter of applying what you know. It won't be particularly difficult."
After listening to Okabe's explanation, Erina Nakiri stared at him blankly, then looked at the three dishes before her, each with a different aroma yet equally enticing.
She suddenly remembered her father, Azami Nakiri, saying that "commoner food is nothing but feed," and her own assertion just now that "you can't conquer the world with a single dish." Her cheeks couldn't help but flush again, but this time it wasn't from shyness or embarrassment, but from a dawning realization.
She had thought Okabe was wasting his time, but she never imagined he was walking a more solid path, one with far more possibilities for the future.
Not pursuing a variety of dishes, but pursuing the purity of skill.
"So..." Erina Nakiri's voice grew quieter, laced with an imperceptible guilt. "You don't actually like Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes that much…"
"Of course I like Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes."
Okabe laughed and continued, "But it's just my tool, and in a way, my friend. I feel happy practicing with it. Besides, look…"
As he spoke, he pointed to the satisfied customers around them. "I'm happy making it, everyone is happy eating it, and they feel content. Isn't that enough?"
"I… I understand."
After a long moment, Erina Nakiri looked up again, her gaze complex as she said to Okabe, "I was too judgmental... I'm sorry. Maybe you were right all along."
Okabe waved his hand dismissively, putting on the air of a wise little adult. "It's fine, I know you were just concerned about me. But Erina, the world of cuisine is vast. There isn't necessarily only one right path. Didn't Grandpa Qing also say? 'Food has no fixed taste; what suits the palate is precious.'"
"Food has no fixed taste; what suits the palate is precious."
Hearing the words of Grandpa Qing, who had taught them the basics of cooking in their childhood, Erina Nakiri's expression softened. She then gently repeated the phrase.
"Can we come here often in the future?"
She suddenly asked in a small voice, filled with a bit of anticipation. "I don't mean anything else, I just want to try the other dishes you make."
Hearing Erina Nakiri's words, Okabe grinned teasingly. "Of course, you're welcome! But, you'll have to pay. This is a small business, no credit!"
"Hmph! As if this lady would short you of your money! But it would only be natural for you to treat me anyway. All these ingredients are from my family's vegetable garden!"
Hearing Okabe's playful words, Erina Nakiri immediately reverted to her previous haughty demeanor, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve upwards slightly.
"Alright, alright, from now on, it's on the house whenever you come."
"That's more like it."
Seeing Erina Nakiri bring up the vegetable garden, Okabe could only raise his hands in surrender.
On that front, she wasn't wrong. The potatoes, green peppers, and dried chilies he used were all taken from the Nakiri family's garden, which saved him the vast majority of his stall's operating costs.
The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the bustling food street, coating Okabe's small stall in a warm, golden light.
The chatter and laughter of customers, the clang of spatulas, and the enticing aroma of food intertwined, creating a vibrant, life-filled tapestry.
Erina Nakiri watched Okabe, who was now busy again in front of the stove, and a certain stubborn idea in her heart quietly loosened and dissolved in the process.
Perhaps, what her father said wasn't all true.
At least in this moment, faced with the ultimate pleasure brought by these three most ordinary dishes, the boundaries between the elite and the commoner had become blurred and indistinct!
She tugged at Hisako Arato, who was still savoring the aftertaste of the egg-fried rice.
"Hisako, it's getting late. Let's get ready to go back."
"Yes, Lady Erina!"
"Ikaros, you can escort them back."
However, just as the two were preparing to leave, a figure appeared at the stall, seemingly out of nowhere.
Although there was no expression on his face, one could clearly feel the suppressed anger emanating from him.
"It seems my innocent, naive daughter has been easily mesmerized by some crude things. To think you would sneak out of the hotel for such cheap cuisine. Do you know how worried I was as your father?!"
As this chilling voice sounded.
Visibly.
The pressure in the surrounding air dropped.
_____
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