"So, what we are making is vegetarian mince."
Okabe explained to Ikumi Mito while gently pressing the soybeans with a spatula.
After the soybeans are boiled soft, a portion of them will be crushed to dissolve into the soup, forming a thick base, while the other portion will retain its granular texture.
At this stage, minced ginger, chopped shiitake mushrooms, and a small amount of bean paste are added for seasoning. Finally, the sauce is reduced until it becomes rich and viscous...
It adds a substantial chewiness and an extremely rich savory flavor to the ramen, compensating for the slight lack of satisfaction often found in pure vegetarian ramen.
Hearing Okabe's explanation, Ikumi Mito's eyes lit up, and she spoke excitedly: "Just like the role of minced beef toppings in ramen?"
"Similar, but the flavor comes entirely from plants, which is something minced beef cannot provide."
Okabe nodded, his hands never stopping.
The softened soybeans bubbled in the pot. He then filtered out the water, added the minced ginger, chopped shiitake mushrooms, and a small amount of bean paste, and stir-fried them evenly over medium heat.
The aroma in the pot became complex and deep at this moment. Once the soybeans were cooked to perfection, Okabe scooped them out and placed them into a stone mortar.
At the same time, he heated a pot of oil.
He quickly crushed the soybeans in the mortar, turning them into a substance resembling meat scraps. After fluffing them up evenly, he poured them directly into the hot oil, frying them quickly until their surface hardened slightly, then set them aside in a bowl.
Just then, the dough had finished resting.
Okabe didn't rush to cook the rested dough. Instead, he spread it out on the cutting board, poured a large amount of salt and alkaline water into it, and pressed it in using his fists rather than his palms.
In addition to pressing, he needed to pull. Applying slight force with the web of his thumb, he pushed forward to separate the dough into portions. Once fully separated, he gathered them back into a single mass. He repeated this process three times to form the final dough ball.
"Adding wheat starch to the flour, plus salt and alkaline water... the kneading result isn't vastly different from using ordinary flour, but without the salt and alkaline water, the toughness wouldn't be sufficient..."
Placing the processed dough on the cutting board, Okabe couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Because of the addition of salt and alkaline water, the gluten network inside formed fully, completely covering the effects brought by the wheat starch.
However, this was a necessary step for ramen.
If the gluten content in the dough were insufficient, the tragic event of noodles breaking would occur during the pulling process, which would be putting the cart before the horse.
"Let's leave it at this for now..."
Shaking his head, Okabe stopped thinking about it.
He then set the dough kneaded with salt and alkaline water aside to rest, took out the already rested dough from the warming box, and seamlessly transitioned to the next step.
There was no other way; waiting for the dough to rest for every single bowl of ramen would be too time-consuming. Therefore, whenever Okabe used a portion of dough, he would replenish it with another.
"Next..."
"It's time to combine the ingredients."
As his fingers flew, flour danced up from the cutting board. The ramen quickly took shape in his hands and was subsequently thrown into the boiling water beside him.
The boiling water instantly wrapped around every strand of noodle, transforming them from raw to cooked. In just a few dozen seconds, the ramen was thoroughly cooked.
Okabe lifted them from the pot with a strainer mesh. Simultaneously exerting slight force with his arm, he lifted them into the air and gave a sharp shake to fling off the excess water.
Then, he poured them into the ice water that had been prepared beforehand.
This process had to be fast, subjecting the noodles to a rapid sensation of fire and ice. Through the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, the texture of the ramen would become springier and smoother.
On the other side, holding a soup ladle, he rinsed a bowl with boiling water. Once the bowl was warm, he arranged the noodles inside.
Next, he slowly poured the simmered tomato and mushroom soup along the edge of the bowl. The boiling hot soup almost instantly awakened the wheat aroma of the noodles and the nutty scent of the buckwheat.
Then, the toppings were embellished upon it one by one.
The dark brown vegetarian mince was piled into a small mountain, oily and fragrant. Tofu puffs, soaked full of soup, lay tremblingly by the side of the noodles, while pan-fried slices of dried tofu emitted a fresh savory scent.
Black-brown shreds of wood ear mushroom and a few blanched, emerald-green vegetable leaves provided the perfect bright accents.
Finally, he pinched a small amount of freshly ground sansho pepper powder. With a light shake of his wrist, the fine, pale green powder was sprinkled evenly over the center of the soup noodles.
Although it was just an ordinary vegetarian ramen, when it was truly presented before them, the rich, fresh aroma it emitted still made one unable to stop swallowing their saliva wildly.
The system's notification sound also rang out in Okabe's mind.
Someone hovered at the kitchen door but worried about disturbing him and didn't enter.
"Forget it, let's wait until the competition ends tomorrow and ask him to make it for us then."
Yuki Yoshino shook her head and didn't go in.
"Let's leave it like this for today. We'd better not disturb his train of thought."
Megumi Tadokoro spoke with some concern.
"It's getting late, I'm going back to sleep."
Ryoko Sakaki said as she walked towards her own room.
"Then I'll head back too..."
Seeing no one else remaining, Soma Yukihira also chose to leave. Only Ikumi Mito was left standing there alone, watching the backs of the four disappear down the corridor.
"..."
"What is this all about?"
She couldn't help but complain. She took one last glance at the kitchen, then walked towards the entrance of Polaris Dormitory.
"Miss Mito, allow me to walk you back."
Ikaros had been waiting at the door for a long time. Seeing Ikumi Mito come out, she immediately stepped forward and spoke.
"Sorry to trouble you, Miss Ikaros."
When the other party walked her back two days ago, Ikumi Mito had actually been somewhat hesitant. However, the distance from Polaris Dormitory to her own dorm was indeed far. She had stubbornly walked it herself once, but the next time, she obediently accepted the help.
"It is no trouble. I will obey Master's orders unconditionally."
Ikaros shook her head slightly, then opened the main door of Polaris Dormitory and took the initiative to lead the way.
Meanwhile.
Okabe sat on a chair in the kitchen, eyes closed in deep thought.
At the same time, the kitchen door was pushed open.
Erina Nakiri, already changed into her pajamas, appeared at the doorway. Looking at Okabe, who was resting with his eyes closed, she said nothing and walked straight to the vegetarian ramen.
"A very decent dish. All aspects are well-considered, but it's a bit too by-the-book. Suitable for sale in a small diner."
sticking out her tongue to lick off a ring of soup from the corner of her lips and swallowing, Erina Nakiri turned her head to look at Okabe.
"You're right. Although this ramen looks perfect, it actually lacks character. It's difficult to create eye-catching innovation with vegetarian food."
Okabe said somewhat helplessly.
Because he was a carnivore, this was his first attempt at creating a dish using purely vegetarian ingredients, and his experience in various aspects was not very sufficient.
"You are a bit too obsessed with meat."
Moving a chair over, Erina Nakiri sat down in front of Okabe and abruptly said such a sentence.
"Hmm?"
Okabe opened his eyes and looked at her in confusion.
"Perhaps it's a case of the observer seeing clearly while the participant is baffled. You are clearly making vegetarian ramen, so why pursue the texture of meat? If you want the texture of meat, why choose to use vegetarian ingredients? Your theme this time is ramen, right?"
Erina Nakiri's words were like a bolt of lightning cleaving through the fog in Okabe's mind.
He suddenly sat up straight, his eyes focused on her exquisite face, carrying the joy of discovering a new continent.
"You're right!
I've been using vegetarian ingredients to imitate the texture of meat, but I forgot the inherent deliciousness of the vegetables themselves."
"Vegetarian ramen should showcase the pure beauty of plants, not serve as a substitute for meat dishes. That was putting the cart before the horse from the very beginning!"
"It seems you understand. The more you consider, the easier it is to get trapped. It's better to step out and take a look; sometimes the truth is very simple."
"The theme of this Shokugeki is ramen, not meat ramen. The judges are expecting an innovative ramen, not a bowl of plain noodles disguised as meat."
Seeing Okabe's extremely excited appearance, the corners of Erina Nakiri's mouth rose slightly. She was evidently happy to have helped Okabe.
Okabe stood up and paced around the kitchen.
His gaze swept over the ingredients he had just used. A brand-new concept gradually took shape in his mind, and the smile on his lips widened a few degrees.
"If I completely cast aside the mindset of simulating meat flavor, what kind of chemical reaction will a combination of pure plant flavors produce?"
He picked up a deep purple tomato again, carefully observing its texture against the light, then picked up a piece of king oyster mushroom, tearing it open to smell its fresh fragrance.
"The acidic layers of the three-colored tomatoes, the depth of umami from various mushrooms, plus..."
Okabe's gaze fell on the bag of fresh herbs in the corner that he hadn't used much from start to finish: "Rosemary, thyme, basil... using fresh herbs to brighten the flavor of the entire dish?"
Erina Nakiri quietly watched Okabe falling into thought and muttering to himself, not disturbing him.
"And the noodles themselves!"
"Why be limited to wheat flour and buckwheat flour, these conventional powders for making noodles? Why not try using... chickpea flour? Or even..."
Various ideas burst forth in his mind, gradually forming a clear framework.
"No time to lose, let's start over!"
Sunday, Hall of the Starry Sky, inside the contestant waiting room.
"So... so many people!"
Megumi Tadokoro secretly peeked at the scene outside through the contestant passage, a nervous expression immediately appearing on her face.
"At... at times like this, you need to write the character for 'person' on your hand and then swallow it to stop being nervous."
"In any case, you should swallow it first."
Looking at Megumi Tadokoro, who was trembling with nervousness, Okabe raised his hand and patted her back, slapping her soul—which was about to leave her body—back in.
"Speaking of which, I'm the one having a Shokugeki with someone else. Why are you so nervous, Megumi?"
"I... whenever I think that you might fail, Okabe-kun, and then be belittled by everyone, I get so scared and worried. It feels even worse than being scolded myself."
Hearing Okabe's words, Megumi Tadokoro looked up slightly, her voice revealing a hint of embarrassment.
"Then you are worrying too much. No matter what, I will win this match. All you need to do is have full confidence in me."
Gazing calmly at Megumi Tadokoro, Okabe's voice was soft but extremely certain, as if stating a matter of course.
"Everyone, thank you for waiting!"
"The Shokugeki Administration Bureau recognizes the formality of this match."
At the same time, a girl's voice came from the arena. She held a microphone, also feeling the gazes from all directions, the corners of her mouth rising slightly.
Relying on her mother's connections, Urara Kawashima had obtained this rare job. Today was her first appearance.
"Ohhh!"
As her voice fell, a thunderous cheer immediately erupted at the scene. Everyone's face wore an excited expression; they had evidently been looking forward to this for a long time.
"It's finally my time to take the stage."
"Although I don't feel nervous, because of excessive excitement, I didn't sleep well last night. Even now, my heart is still beating wildly."
Listening to the cheers of the audience in the stands and seeing the fervor on everyone's faces, memories of the competitions back at the Nakiri estate surfaced in Okabe's mind.
The number of people back then was far fewer than now. Because they were older, they couldn't provide the powerful emotional value that teenagers could.
But it was precisely that kind of competition.
It made him fall in love with the feeling of shining brightly on stage.
"Here I go."
As his voice fell, Okabe strode towards the direction of the competition arena.
_____
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