"The flavor is a bit bland."
"This time, a bit too much salt was added, making it a little too salty."
"The seasoning is good this time, but the ingredient ratios are off. The umami of the dish is lacking, and the tofu's texture is too crumbly from being overcooked."
Erina Nakiri ladled soup from the pot bowl after bowl, tasting each one and pointing out its flaws. Her brows furrowed unnaturally.
This wouldn't do.
If they kept this up, they would run out of time.
"This dish is unexpectedly difficult..."
Okabe's brow was also furrowed. He was discovering that making a good soup was no easy task.
It wasn't just the final seasoning; if the ratios of the ingredients weren't handled well, the taste suffered. While not disgusting, it was definitely far from good.
"Let's try using this."
Seeing Okabe's brow knitted in concentration as he paced back and forth in the kitchen, thinking of a solution, Alice Nakiri handed him a small electronic scale, precise down to the gram.
"This..."
Seeing Okabe hesitate as he looked at the scale, Alice Nakiri continued, "If you can't get the ingredient ratios right, just quantify them with the scale. Record every mistake, and after a few more tries, you'll succeed sooner or later."
"You have a point. Using a scale to weigh ingredients is indeed the best way to improve a dish's precision, but..."
Looking at the small electronic scale Alice Nakiri offered, Okabe felt a subtle emotion arise.
To be honest, for a chef to use a scale to weigh out ingredients bit by bit and calculate their ratios felt a bit shameful.
But they were all novices in the world of gastronomy, and this was their first time making soup. It was perfectly normal for it not to turn out well, so using a little technology was understandable.
"Our goal is to make a delicious soup. Given our lack of experience, there's nothing wrong with using an electronic scale!"
And so, Okabe convinced himself.
"Agreed. I'm going to rinse my mouth first."
Hearing Okabe's words, Erina Nakiri nodded slightly. She had no qualms about it. As she spoke, she got up and poured a glass of water to rinse her mouth.
This was also a necessary step before tasting a dish.
The God's Tongue was incredibly sensitive. Even the slightest hint of a stray flavor could be detected, leading to an inaccurate evaluation.
Of course, at this stage, her God's Tongue wasn't as developed as it was in the original story, but since she was tasting, it was only natural to get her tongue into its best possible state.
"Hah..."
Glancing at Erina Nakiri who had gone to rinse her mouth, Okabe gently set down the scale and began to prep the vegetables before weighing them.
Fresh shiitake mushrooms were washed clean, sliced thinly, and placed on a porcelain plate until the weight reached 100 grams.
Next, he fried two eggs over easy with slightly crispy edges, also controlling the weight to 100 grams.
Carrots, daikon radish, tomatoes, komatsuna, firm tofu—Okabe prepped each ingredient properly before placing it on the electronic scale to be weighed.
Compared to just putting the ingredients directly into the pot, this extra step significantly increased the overall cooking time. The prep work alone took half an hour.
But the results were astonishing.
Okabe followed the original steps, using a timer to strictly control the timing, keeping the margin of error within five seconds.
A rich aroma wafted up from the pot.
Immediately after, the familiar system notification sounded in his mind.
[Detected that the host has created the Three-Freshness Five-Flavor Vegetable Soup. Unlocking recipe: Three-Freshness Five-Flavor Vegetable Soup (Green)]
[Three-Freshness Five-Flavor Vegetable Soup (Green)]: A soup that uses shiitake mushrooms, fried eggs, and firm tofu as its sources of umami, blending the sourness of tomato, the sweetness of carrot and daikon radish, the clean bitterness of vegetable stems, and a savory base to achieve a final balance of the five flavors: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami.
[Proficiency]: Novice (1/100)
[Note: Increasing recipe proficiency will lead to a higher probability of creating a high-scoring dish.]
[Detected that the host has successfully created a qualifying soup recognized by the system. Unlocking general skill: Soup Making.]
[Soup Making (Purple)]: Allows for faster mastery of various soup dishes, provides flashes of inspiration when creating original soup recipes, and increases the acquisition speed of soup-making proficiency.
[Proficiency]: Novice (1/100)
A very simple description, but it illustrated its power.
Being able to master other soup recipes more quickly—wasn't that learning by analogy? It also provided inspiration when developing original soup recipes and doubled proficiency gain when making soups.
In the context of an immediate cook-off, this ability might not have much of an advantage. But for long-term development, its effect was immense!
And besides [Soup Making], he had also unlocked the general skill [Stir-frying] when he was making hot and sour shredded potatoes at home earlier.
The trigger condition was the same as for [Soup Making]: creating a stir-fried dish that was recognized by the system.
"This time looks much better than the last few attempts! The aroma is richer too. I feel like this one won't be a failure!"
Just as Okabe was immersed in the system messages, an excited little face appeared by his side without him noticing. Erina Nakiri twitched her small nose, her expression full of anticipation.
She had been waiting for a long time.
Thanks to the scale's precise measurements, the Three-Freshness Five-Flavor Vegetable Soup they made this time had an incredibly rich aroma. Just by smelling it, she could feel her God's Tongue dance with excitement.
"Go sit at the table. I'll ladle some out for us to taste."
Hearing Erina Nakiri's words, Okabe finally snapped back to reality. He then picked up a bowl that was already prepared and ladled out the Three-Freshness Five-Flavor Vegetable Soup from the pot.
Watching Okabe approach and place the Three-Freshness Five-Flavor Vegetable Soup in front of her, Alice Nakiri couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "What a mellow aroma!"
"The main body is a savory fragrance composed of tomato, fried egg, and firm tofu, mixed with a hint of ginger and white pepper. Then there's the sweet scent of the carrot and daikon radish, and the slightly sour aroma of the tomato..."
Her admiration was followed by a more detailed critique. Alice Nakiri didn't rush to taste it, instead twitching her nose to distinguish the smells, thereby training her sense of smell.
And compared to the others, these aromas were clearly more prominent, delivering a stronger impact.
"Then I'll begin." Hearing Alice Nakiri's remarks, Erina Nakiri also picked up her spoon, quickly scooping up the vegetable soup and bringing it to her lips.
As the vegetable soup entered her mouth, the first sensation was its piping hot temperature. Erina Nakiri's almond eyes widened slightly as an extremely rich flavor exploded on the tip of her tongue.
The umami of the shiitake mushrooms, the mellow umami of the fried egg, and the beany umami of the firm tofu merged into a deep, rounded, and satisfying wave of savory flavor that served as the base note for the entire soup.
And just as the salty and savory flavors began to take center stage, the bright and lively acidity of the tomato quietly emerged.
It cut through the richness of the umami, bringing a touch of refreshing and appetizing quality. At the same time, the gentle, steady sweetness of the carrot and daikon radish began to spread from the soup.
Sour and sweet intertwined, creating a balance.
Soon after, however, an extremely subtle, clean bitterness began to emerge from the back of her tongue, crisply and cleanly clearing away any lingering flavors in her mouth.
It was a complete cycle.
_____
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