"You want us to be your assistants?!"
Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri exclaimed in unison, their faces filled with disbelief. They clearly hadn't expected Okabe to make such a request.
Asking them to be his assistants, in a way, wasn't that just treating them like underlings!?
"That's right. We need a general commander. We'll never be able to make a good dish if we all do our own thing. You don't want to disappoint Grandpa Qing, do you?"
Looking at their stunned and uncertain expressions, Okabe nodded slightly. This was essential for cooking.
"Then why can't I be the commander? Objectively speaking, I have the God's Tongue, which clearly makes me more suitable for the position of general commander."
Erina Nakiri said, furrowing her cute little brows.
In terms of talent, she should be the strongest one here. After all, her sense of taste was incredibly powerful; neither Okabe nor Alice Nakiri could compare.
"You are indeed very talented when it comes to taste, far beyond what Alice and I are capable of. But that's more applicable to the final seasoning, and you're not familiar with the cooking process.
If you were to take command, it would inevitably affect the success rate of the dish. All things considered, you're not suited for overseeing the whole operation. You're better suited to managing the overall flavor of the soup."
Hearing Erina Nakiri's words, Okabe looked at her and began to analyze the situation logically.
Even with a top-tier talent like the God's Tongue, without practical cooking experience, it's like trying to cook without ingredients.
In comparison.
He, on the other hand, possessed the passive skill "Gustatory Image Deduction." The entire cooking process had already been simulated in his mind countless times; all that remained was the practical application.
"I support Brother Okabe as the general commander.
Although I've never actually seen you cook, you're always the most serious one in class, and you were the first to notice the problem with our dish just now.
I believe that with your ability, you can definitely lead us to create a dish that will satisfy Grandpa Qing."
Looking at the boy, whose cool expression held a hint of authority, as if he had everything under control, Alice Nakiri felt a strange sense of excitement and unconsciously wanted to support him.
"Since it's come to this, I can't possibly keep objecting. If you can really make this dish well, then this young lady will be your assistant for once."
Seeing that Okabe had clearly stated her shortcomings and analyzed her strengths, and with Alice Nakiri also supporting him, Erina Nakiri finally relented.
She knew she lacked experience, but she had felt that in a situation where none of them had any cooking experience, she, with her God's Tongue, was the most suitable commander.
But now.
Okabe had told her that he was familiar with the process and had experience in this area. If that was the case, then having him as the commander was indeed the most appropriate choice.
After all, the core purpose of this dish was to be a farewell meal for Liu Anqing.
If possible, she wanted it to be as good as it could be.
"Don't worry, I've cooked quite a few dishes in private. I have experience as a chef.
Besides, we have a whole afternoon. If we fail the first time, we'll try a second. If the second time fails, we'll try a third. Eventually, we'll make a satisfactory dish."
This wasn't a lie. Because he needed to practice his knife skills, Okabe's home often had leftover ingredients that couldn't be dealt with, and he had turned them all into dishes.
Although, up to this point.
The only thing he had mastered was Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes.
The reason was simple: potatoes were the best material for practicing knife skills, and the ingredients for Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes were easy to find, making it perfect for practicing the fundamentals.
"You already have experience making dishes?"
Hearing Okabe's words, a surprised expression immediately appeared on Erina Nakiri's small face.
"Eh, I never would have thought.
But starting two months ago, I also cooked for the first time in my life and, under my mother's guidance, baked my first-ever chiffon cake.
After that, I made a lot of Western-style pastries from a reference book. Remember the cookies I brought for you last time? The ones you said were delicious? I actually baked those myself~"
Alice Nakiri was equally surprised. She thought she was the only one secretly practicing her cooking, but it turned out everyone was working hard behind the scenes. To think that Okabe also had practical experience.
"Well, after learning so much theory, it feels like something is missing if you don't actually cook. Didn't Grandpa Qing always tell us to combine theory and practice?"
Hearing Alice Nakiri say she had started practicing baking, Okabe wasn't surprised.
In the original story, she was only five years old when she defeated Ryo Kurokiba in Denmark.
It's worth noting that at the time, Ryo Kurokiba was the head chef of a restaurant in a fishing port, rich with cooking experience, and his formidable culinary skills were even unanimously recognized by the local fishermen.
And yet, Alice Nakiri defeated him in that state right from her first appearance. She must have been a hard-working genius in her early years; otherwise, it would have been impossible for her to win so easily.
"What?! Alice too?!"
This time, Erina Nakiri couldn't sit still. Did this mean she was the only one who hadn't started anything yet?!
Although part of the reason was that she was constantly traveling to various places and had no time, she wouldn't allow herself to fall behind others, especially without even realizing it!
"That's right. Erina, how far have you gotten? What type of cuisine did you start with?"
Watching Erina Nakiri suddenly stand up with a look of utter shock, both Okabe and Alice Nakiri looked over, their voices tinged with curiosity.
"I... I'm still at the stage of practicing my knife skills. As they say, building a strong foundation makes things easier in the future. Isn't that a common saying? Haha."
Faced with Alice Nakiri's question, Erina Nakiri's gaze drifted away, clearly not wanting to answer.
"I see."
Alice Nakiri didn't intend to press the issue and just looked at Okabe.
"Brother Okabe, we have most of the ingredients here, but we're missing tofu. I heard that for soup, firm tofu is more delicious..."
"You guys wait here for a moment."
Hearing Alice Nakiri's words, Okabe jogged out of the kitchen. He soon saw Ikaros tidying up the house and promptly stood in front of her.
"Ikaros! Help me get a few blocks of firm tofu from the Nakiri family's kitchen. Tonight, we're making Three Delicacies and Five Flavors Vegetable Soup. I'll show you what I can do!"
"As you wish, Master."
Hearing Okabe's instructions, Ikaros's eyes flickered slightly. She then gave him a slight bow and, in the next moment, jumped out of the room's window.
"Hey, there's a door downstairs you can use. You don't have to be in such a hurry..."
Watching Ikaros spread her wings in mid-air and disappear from his sight with just a single burst of speed, Okabe scratched his head with a helpless expression.
Fortunately, Ikaros had an invisibility ability. As long as she didn't want to be seen, no one would discover her. Otherwise, a flying angel would definitely cause a huge sensation.
"How did it go?" Alice Nakiri asked curiously as she saw Okabe walk into the kitchen with a pen and paper.
"Fifteen minutes at most.
For now, let's write down the process for making the Three Delicacies and Five Flavors Vegetable Soup, so we don't forget a step later and ruin the dish's flavor."
Pulling out a chair, Okabe sat down and began to write the recipe for the Three Delicacies and Five Flavors Vegetable Soup.
After all, before this, he hadn't made anything other than Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes.
In his past life, to save money for his business, he mostly just cooked simple noodles for himself at home: slice a bit of pork, boil some noodles, fry an egg, and sprinkle on a handful of scallions.
This combination accompanied him for many years. Only on his birthday would he buy two or three shrimp to add to his noodles as a celebration.
This led to his cooking experience, aside from noodles, being extremely limited.
"You're surprisingly meticulous," Erina Nakiri murmured as she leaned her head closer to watch Okabe write and saw the contents on the paper.
"It's a dish for Grandpa Qing, after all. Naturally, I have to take it seriously."
Okabe paid little attention to Erina Nakiri's teasing remark, simply writing seriously on the paper, noting down all the important points for the dish.
As for the ingredients, the kitchen basically had everything.
Separate the stems and leaves of the komatsuna. Blanch the stems in boiling water for about ten seconds, then quickly rinse them in cold water to lock in the color and slightly bitter taste.
Liu Anqing had said this himself last year while stir-frying komatsuna. Right now, a related image surfaced in Okabe's mind, and he quickly analyzed its flavor.
"Peel and dice the tomatoes. Cut the carrots and daikon into rolling cuts. Slice the mushrooms. Cube the tofu."
"When frying the egg, the edges should be crispy. This will bring a roasted aroma, a byproduct of the Maillard reaction, which adds a pleasant bitterness."
"The carrot and daikon chunks need to be simmered over medium heat for 15 minutes so their sweetness fully infuses into the soup. Then add the mushroom slices and tofu cubes to ensure the umami of the mushrooms and the aroma of the soy are released."
"For the final seasoning, besides salt, you can also add some white pepper to add layers to the flavor."
"Add the komatsuna stems and leaves right before turning off the heat, letting the residual heat cook them. This preserves the intentionally retained bitterness, preventing it from disappearing due to prolonged cooking..."
"Add a few drops of sesame oil before serving."
The image in his mind grew clearer and clearer as he detailed the writing. When Okabe wrote the final word, a complete dish, perfect in color, aroma, and taste, appeared in his mind.
"It tastes great!"
His eyes lit up. The Three Delicacies and Five Flavors Vegetable Soup made according to this method was incredibly delicious—at least, the flavor simulated in his mind was.
Next was to wait for Ikaros to return.
"Master, I have returned."
Speak of the devil. Just as Okabe had this thought, Ikaros appeared at the kitchen doorway, carrying a bag with the firm tofu in her hand.
"Thank you for your hard work. Sit down and rest for a bit," Okabe said, putting down his pen. He walked over to take the bag from Ikaros and smiled with satisfaction after looking at the firm tofu.
With these few blocks of firm tofu, everything else became simple.
_____
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