"How is it?"
Seeing Erina Nakiri put down her soup spoon, Okabe asked, nervous but with a hint of anticipation.
However, since this was a dish even the system acknowledged, it couldn't be that bad. Even if it had flaws, there probably weren't many areas that needed improvement.
"The flavor is a significant improvement over the last few attempts, but it also exposes problems with how the ingredients were handled," Erina Nakiri said, collecting her thoughts after Okabe's question.
If the previous issue was the ratio of ingredients, then this time it was the pre-processing. Okabe hadn't prepared the ingredients properly.
"First, the fried egg. The edges are overcooked. They need to be browned but not dry. You could slice it into shreds before cooking to distribute the toasted aroma more evenly."
"Next are the carrots and daikon radishes. Their sweetness is too direct."
"You can take the chopped carrot pieces and pan-fry them with a small amount of oil until the edges are browned. Wait for them to release their deeper sweetness during this process before adding them to the soup. This will create a clear, layered contrast with the fresh sweetness of the daikon."
"Then there are the komatsuna stalks. They're probably cut too finely, making the bitterness inside too strong. You can cut them a bit longer, then blanch them in salt water for 10 seconds."
"Immediately after blanching, put them in ice water. This will preserve their texture while retaining the maximum amount of their crisp bitterness."
Like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, Erina Nakiri listed all the problems with the Three-Freshness Five-Flavor Vegetable Soup in one breath.
"Anything else?"
"That's all for now. Oh, and use less pepper for seasoning, about 0.5 grams less, otherwise it will affect the overall flavor profile."
Hearing Erina Nakiri's explanation, the images in Okabe's mind shifted rapidly as he began to add and subtract steps according to her instructions.
Soon, a simulation of the Three-Freshness Five-Flavor Vegetable Soup appeared in his mind. He closed his eyes and briefly savored the taste; it was indeed much better than the current version.
The layers of sweetness were richer, the bitterness only emerged at the very end of the soup's flavor profile, and the transition in the middle was perfectly harmonious.
As expected of the God's Tongue!
Her suggestions were truly constructive.
It was no wonder so many restaurants invited her. With just a few simple comments, she could elevate a restaurant's signature dish to the next level.
"It's getting late. I'll go get Grandpa Qing. You make another pot of vegetable soup according to the corrections I just mentioned!"
Wiping her mouth with a napkin and glancing at the clock on the wall, Erina Nakiri stood up from her chair, gave her instructions, and jogged out.
"Be careful on your way."
Watching Erina Nakiri's hurried back, Okabe couldn't find the words he wanted to say, and could only manage that one phrase before turning his gaze to the vegetable soup on the stove.
Although Erina Nakiri's evaluation was comprehensive, as a chef-in-training, Okabe also wanted to judge the vegetable soup with his own sense of taste.
Currently, his Elementary Sense of Taste had reached a decent level. He was highly sensitive to flavors, and for some simply prepared dishes, he could analyze all the ingredients just by tasting them.
"Let's the three of us finish it," Okabe said, picking up the pot of soup and looking at Alice Nakiri and Ikaros with a smile.
"There's a bit too much left. No way, we can't finish it..."
Having finished the small bowl in front of her, Alice Nakiri was honestly already full. Seeing Okabe bring over the pot, which was still nearly half full, she could only shake her head vigorously, indicating her inability to help.
"Then I'll leave the rest to Ikaros."
After scooping out a small bowl for himself, Okabe pushed the pot in front of Ikaros with a guilty expression. However, her appetite was quite large; finishing this much should be no problem.
"Me?" Hearing Okabe's words, Ikaros tilted her head, then took the small pot he handed her and began to eat it spoonful by spoonful.
"Delicious. I want to keep eating this forever..."
Sensing the rich flavors in her mouth, this thought popped into her head. But because she had no concept of what 'delicious' meant, she didn't understand why she felt this way.
She just wanted to eat more of this dish.
"Time to eat."
Seeing Ikaros like this, Okabe's guilt gradually faded. His gaze fell upon the small bowl in front of him, and he scooped up a spoonful of vegetable soup to taste.
The next moment, he froze in place, his expression one of disbelief. "Is the gap between the Elementary Sense of Taste and the God's Tongue really this huge? Even when looking at the problem with the answer in hand, I still can't see what I can't see..."
Ignoring Ikaros's reaction, he focused on the taste on his tongue, recalling Erina Nakiri's evaluation of the soup from moments before.
Okabe couldn't help but curse under his breath, a sense of defeat welling up in his heart for no reason.
But this feeling of defeat lasted only for an instant.
When he remembered that his Elementary Sense of Taste could be upgraded further, he suddenly felt he was overthinking things. Instead of wasting time wallowing in sorrow, it would be better to eat more high-grade cuisine.
[Skill: Elementary Sense of Taste proficiency increased]
Downing the vegetable soup in his bowl, Okabe stopped feeling sorry for himself. He moved a small stool in front of the stove, took up a kitchen knife, and began preparing the vegetables.
Alice Nakiri sat in her chair, quietly watching him.
Okabe's knife work wasn't flashy, lacking any fancy techniques, but it was incredibly steady. His speed wasn't fast, but it was solid, cutting the ingredients into the shapes he needed before weighing them and setting them aside.
He brought a pot of water to a boil and added salt.
The komatsuna stalks were blanched in salt water for 10 seconds, then placed in an ice bath to be used later.
An egg was fried until the edges were slightly browned but not dry and hard. It was then moved to a cutting board, sliced into shreds, weighed, and placed on a porcelain plate to be used later.
Next, he added the weighed carrot pieces to the pan, searing them until the surfaces were browned before taking them out. An aroma of caramel and nuts spread through the kitchen.
As for why there was a nutty aroma, that was thanks to the Maillard reaction.
There was no need to clean the pan used for the egg and carrots. He directly added peanut oil, and once hot, added ginger slices to fry until fragrant, followed by the weighed tomato chunks, cooking them down into a paste.
When the ingredients in the pot reached the right state, he poured in four large bowls of boiling water, added the egg shreds, the seared carrots, and the daikon radish, covered the pot, and simmered for 12 minutes.
After 12 minutes, he opened the lid, added the previously prepared shiitake mushrooms and firm tofu, covered it again, and cooked for 5 minutes before adding 6 grams of salt and 2.5 grams of white pepper.
Finally, he turned off the heat.
He took the komatsuna stalks out of the ice bath, added them along with the blanched komatsuna leaves to the vegetable soup, and used the residual heat of the pot to let them cook through.
"I could smell the fragrance from a great distance! I didn't expect you all to be whipping up such a wonderful dish in the kitchen. Just the smell is making my mouth water!"
And just as the dish was about to be ready.
Liu Anqing's voice came from the doorway. Next to him was a small figure, who was currently sniffing the air vigorously, greedily taking in the aroma.
"It smells so much better than before!"
Erina Nakiri's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.
Liu Anqing instantly understood their efforts.
"Please try it, Grandpa Qing. This is a dish we three made using the knowledge we've learned over the past two years. It's the culmination of all our hard work!"
Glancing at Erina Nakiri who had followed him in, Okabe's gaze fell on Liu Anqing. He then proudly ladled a bowl of the Three-Freshness Five-Flavor Vegetable Soup and handed it to him.
"Thank you." Taking the soup bowl, Liu Anqing nodded slightly, feeling touched.
He had clearly never taught them any practical cooking, yet these kids had managed to make a pot of soup for him all on their own. It looked like they had failed many times before.
Noticing the traces of cooking in the kitchen—the amount of carrot and daikon peels in the trash, the number of eggshells, the broken tomato skins—all of it spoke to their efforts.
"Hurry and drink it, Grandpa Qing."
Alice Nakiri's face was filled with expectation. Although she hadn't helped with this attempt because of her sprained ankle, she had provided the core idea for the dish, so she was a major contributor.
"Alright, alright, let me have a taste."
Seeing the children's urging, Liu Anqing no longer hesitated. He held the rim of the bowl with his fingers, spun it once, and with a quick slurp, more than half the soup was gone in an instant.
And he closed his eyes.
Silence.
Liu Anqing didn't rush to give his critique, instead savoring the flavors within.
"Not bad, the flavors are balanced just right."
Feeling the rich flavors that lingered on his tongue for a moment before dissipating completely, he nodded in satisfaction.
"The acidity of the tomato is relatively direct, while the sweetness of the root vegetables needs time to be released."
"The adjusted ratio ensures that the soup has a bright, subtle tomato acidity upon entry, but the aftertaste that lingers in the throat upon swallowing is the sweetness of the carrots and daikon."
"Furthermore, because the carrots in the soup were seared beforehand, the sweetness they emit is deeper and starts to come out in the middle notes."
"I'm not saying this recipe is bad, but when you choose to sear the carrots, you need to consider the staying power of their sweetness. You could appropriately increase the proportion of carrots."
"In addition to that, you should also leave two-thirds of the carrots un-seared and add them to the pot with the daikon. This will give the soup a more robust finish."
"As for the rest... are the shiitake mushrooms and egg shreds meant to be the umami base for the whole dish? The role of the firm tofu in this is not as apparent."
"The bitterness in the dish comes from the stalk part of the komatsuna, which is handled slightly differently from the leaves. This aspect was handled quite meticulously."
Satisfaction was followed by a deeper level of critique.
Fortunately, before Liu Anqing tasted it, Okabe had let Erina Nakiri try it first. Otherwise, what he would be eating now would likely be that previous, problem-ridden vegetable soup.
"Erina, Okabe, and Alice."
"You are all truly outstanding. To be able to create such a thoughtful and layered dish at your age, I am genuinely proud of you!"
His gentle gaze swept over Okabe, Alice, and Erina. Liu Anqing was moved; after all, this was a dish the three had made for him.
"Hehe, as long as you're satisfied, Grandpa Qing."
"This is just the beginning. In the future, we'll definitely let you taste even better dishes!"
"That's right, using the knowledge you taught us."
The three of them gathered around Liu Anqing; even Alice Nakiri stood up with Okabe's help.
They chattered away while Liu Anqing listened patiently, a faint smile always on his face, clearly not wanting to leave the three with a bad memory.
The four of them sat around the round table, with Okabe sitting next to Ikaros.
Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri chatted idly with Liu Anqing, talking about interesting things that had happened recently.
This was something they didn't usually do.
"Um, Master, why are you all smiling? Shouldn't parting be a painful thing?"
Seeing the cheerful laughter among the Nakiri sisters and Liu Anqing, and noticing that Okabe also seemed to have a smile on his lips, Ikaros asked in confusion.
"Why? Because we're happy, of course."
Faced with Ikaros's sudden question, Okabe answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Is parting a happy thing...?"
"No, the reason parting feels sad is really only in the moment of actual separation, when everyone knows they won't see each other for a long time."
"But right now, the parting hasn't arrived yet. Everyone is laughing heartily over past amusements, immersed in joy and laughter. That's perfectly normal."
"Ultimately, parting itself is already sad enough. Why should we be immersed in low spirits long before it arrives?"
"That would be a bit too sentimental, wouldn't it?"
Okabe's voice held a teasing tone, and the maturity he displayed was completely unlike that of a child.
If Liu Anqing's attention hadn't been entirely on the Nakiri sisters, and if he hadn't spoken so quietly, the old man would surely have been astonished.
"Parting... sad... before parting, happy..."
Lifting her palm to her chest, Ikaros's eyes were still filled with confusion, but she seemed to have faintly grasped something, a mysterious and profound emotion.
She would care for Okabe with all her heart until he reached adulthood.
When it was their time to part, would they also be laughing like this?
_____
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