Looking at the suspicious gazes of Kobayashi Rindo and Eizan Etsuya, Erina Nakiri felt like crying.
"This guy and I really aren't close!"
She argued.
"Huh? But Erina, weren't you and Satou guests at Polar Star Dormitory a few days ago?"
Yuki Yoshino asked in surprise.
"Yeah, I thought you two were really close back then."
Tadokoro Megumi said.
"Th-that's not true!"
Erina Nakiri's cheeks flushed, and she stammered her defense.
"You were asleep then, and Satou carried you back, right?"
Yukihira Soma said.
"Ah? Did that happen?"
Tadokoro Megumi and the other two girls' eyes instantly widened.
"Quick, tell us!"
Yuki Yoshino even patted Yukihira Soma's shoulder with a gossipy look.
"Don't tell them!"
Erina Nakiri quickly said.
"Ah, you guys were already asleep then, I and Isshiki-senpai both saw it."
Yukihira Soma scratched his face and said.
Erina Nakiri: Q-Q
"No way? That happened?"
Eizan Etsuya was greatly astonished. This was Far Moon's princess, yet she was getting so close to a stranger?
"Erina, are you two dating?"
Kobayashi Rindo also asked.
Erina Nakiri nearly spat out a mouthful of blood; she felt completely unwell!
"Who's dating him?!"
Eizan Etsuya and Kobayashi Rindo looked at the two suspiciously.
"Since that's the case, then let's start quickly."
Eizan Etsuya waved his hand and said.
Next, Erina Nakiri changed into a chef's uniform and came to assist Satou.
Satou first delivered a heavy blow to the fish's head with a hammer, knocking it unconscious, then used a sharp chef's knife to slice open the catfish's belly.
"Erina, I'll remove the internal organs, you remove the gills."
Satou said.
Erina Nakiri nodded, took the chef's knife, and cleanly removed the fish gills.
Thirty minutes later, the catfish was finally processed.
As for Yukihira Soma, Tadokoro Megumi, and the others who came along, they watched with great interest from the sidelines, feeling as if they were watching a 'Closer to Science' program.
They had never even imagined such a large freshwater fish.
After gutting the fish, Erina Nakiri washed her hands and returned to her seat.
As for Satou, with the help of the staff, he placed the catfish into a large pot and began to boil it.
This was primarily to use hot water to scald off the mucus on the catfish's surface.
After removing the mucus, Satou made several cuts on the catfish's surface, then drizzled it with cooking wine, pepper, salt, and other seasonings to marinate it.
The marinating process took some effort, as it took a long time to find a platter large enough for the catfish, and they barely managed to find one in the end. Several bottles of cooking wine and an entire bag of salt were used for marinating.
After completing all of this, Satou placed the catfish into the steamer and began steaming it.
An ordinary catfish only needs about ten minutes to steam, as its flesh is naturally very tender. However, for a fish this large, Satou steamed it for a full three hours.
During this process, neither Kobayashi Rindo and the other two judges, nor Tadokoro Megumi and her friends, felt any impatience. Instead, they found it very interesting; it was their first time seeing such a large fish being steamed.
Finally, the catfish was steamed. As the steamer lid was lifted, a huge cloud of steam erupted like a mushroom cloud, and an extremely rich aroma of fish instantly filled the entire venue!
"It smells so good!"
Kobayashi Rindo twitched her nose, already somewhat impatient.
"But such a large fish, its meat must be tough. It's clearly not suitable for steaming, is it?"
Eizan Etsuya said indifferently.
"You'll know once you taste it."
Kobayashi Rindo licked her tongue and said.
Satou poured an entire bottle of steamed fish soy sauce over the steamed fish, then drizzled the entire pot of chicken broth he had previously cooked over it, and said, "It's ready. Please enjoy!"
A giant steamed catfish lay quietly in the steamer, its flesh white and tender, its aroma enticing.
Kobayashi Rindo, already impatient, walked over and poked it with her chopsticks.
The catfish's flesh was very tender, breaking with a single poke, revealing large pieces of white, tender fish meat.
The fish meat was fresh and tender, with a pleasant chew, and with one bite, her mouth was filled with lingering fragrance.
"This is so satisfying! Eating meat in such large bites!"
Kobayashi Rindo laughed heartily, eating with gusto, with no intention of stopping.
"Such tender meat, and extraordinarily delicious!"
Eizan Etsuya was greatly astonished. He had originally thought the fish meat would be tough, but to his surprise, it was not only not tough but exceptionally tender and elastic, definitely the highest quality meat!
"So fresh, without even a hint of fishiness!"
Erina Nakiri was also slightly surprised. As her tongue touched the fish meat, she felt as if a catfish was dancing on the tip of her tongue.
"Delicious! It's truly too delicious!"
"So fresh!"
Kobindo Rindo and Eizan Etsuya ate with great enjoyment, sweating profusely. Even the Tsundere ate quite a bit.
"Excuse me, has my application been approved?"
Satou asked.
"No problem! It's already passed."
Kobayashi Rindo's mouth was full of fish, and she spoke indistinctly.
Eizan Etsuya also nodded.
"No problem."
Erina Nakiri also said.
"Host has completed the mission, unlocking the Fantasy Ingredients Illustration."
"Host has created a dish with a score over eighty, cooking level increased by 2."
As soon as she finished speaking, the system's voice rang out.
Satou was very happy in his heart; with the Fantasy Ingredients Illustration, he could directly purchase ingredients!
However, this catfish was simply too large. The three judges alone couldn't finish it. Satou, adhering to the principle of not wasting food, also picked up two chopsticks, ready to feast.
Suddenly, he saw Yukihira Soma, Tadokoro Megumi, and others standing by, desperately swallowing their saliva, and couldn't help but call out, "Everyone, come and eat too."
"Really?"
Tadokoro Megumi looked at Erina Nakiri and the others, hesitatingly saying, "Can we really taste it?"
In contrast, Yukihira Soma, Yuki Yoshino, and Ryoko Sakaki showed no hesitation at all, walking over with smiles.
"It's fine, we can't finish it anyway. It would be a waste to throw it away."
Erina Nakiri nodded.
Tadokoro Megumi then brightened up, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and happily ran over.
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