After finishing shopping at the mart, we returned to Senior Fuma’s 10-pyeong studio apartment.1
I had a feeling that we had bought too much without thinking, but with four people, maybe we could eat it all?
“Shinji, the apron.”
“Yes.”
After placing all the shopping bags on the floor, the President said so and extended her arm.
Then, the Vice President took out a white apron from somewhere and handed it to the President.
It was almost like witnessing a scene from a surgery room.
The President, with Minami’s help, tied the apron, put on a white headscarf, and finally picked up a kitchen knife.
“I will show you the essence of the bride lessons I’ve learned so far!”
She looked like a general heading into battle.“Hmph, that’s just book-smarts. Do you think you can beat me, tempered by countless real-life experiences?”
In contrast, taking advantage of her home turf, Senior Fuma, who had skillfully finished preparing for cooking, took out a knife from the kitchen cabinet.
Seeing this, the Akagi siblings were astonished.
“That thing!”
“Huhu, do you recognize it?”
Senior Fuma muttered so, pulling the handle of the sword.
Swoosh!
With a clear metallic sound, the sword drawn from its scabbard was a ninjato2 with a distinct wave pattern engraved.
“It’s Lightning Cutter, the famous sword of Tachibana Dosetsu.3 It was acquired by Fuma’s ancestor.”
“To think we’d see the Black Night Demon’s beloved sword here…”
“It’s just as beautiful as I’ve heard…”
I don’t know what it was, but it seemed like a very impressive sword.
Anyway, it seemed Senior Fuma was going to use this Lightning Cutter as a kitchen knife, as she wiped the side of the blade with a dry cloth.
Earlier, she accused the President of relying on quality ingredients, but it seemed she herself was planning to gain the upper hand with superior equipment.
This must be what they called hypocrisy or something.
“Well, then we should start soon.”
The President said so and looked at the clock on the wall.
6 PM.
It was the perfect time to start preparing dinner.
“Let’s aim to finish in exactly 30 minutes from now. Fuma, you’re on board, right?”
Then, Senior Fuma crossed her arms beneath her ample chest and nodded.
“I agree.”
“Minami, Shinji, and Yu-seong will act as the judges.”
“An odd number, so there’s no chance of a tie.”
“I’ve asked them to be as objective as possible in their evaluation, so they won’t claim delicious food is tasteless.”
“I’ve never had such concerns in the first place.”
With the conversation between the President and Senior Fuma concluded, the Vice President got ready to press the stopwatch on his smartphone.
“Both of you, compete fairly and squarely.”
Gulp.
The two stood before the narrow kitchen, their expressions filled with nervous anticipation.
Then, with a dramatic swing of his right arm, the Vice President declared,
“Start!”
Swoosh!
The commencement of cooking was signaled by the sound of Senior Fuma tearing open a bag of bean sprouts.
Senior Fuma opened a total of five bags of bean sprouts and meticulously washed them under running water.
Afterward, to maintain their crisp texture, she submerged the bean sprouts in cold water and started preparing other ingredients.
Salt, soy sauce, sugar, and a mysterious black liquid.
With the expertise of a seasoned chef, Senior Fuma swiftly concocted a versatile sauce for the bean sprouts with precise measurements, then suddenly tossed a carrot from a plastic bag into the air.
“Wha–!”
Just as I was wondering why she had done that amidst cooking, a flash of light appeared, and the carrot, now perfectly peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces, landed on the cutting board.
Witnessing this, the Vice President clenched his fist in excitement and exclaimed,
“There it is!! One of the Black Night Demon’s 18 techniques, the Flashing Blade!!”
Like a child witnessing a live pro wrestling match, he excitedly described the technique.
“An artistic sword skill executed with incredible precision, swung at an imperceptible speed! She is truly the daughter of that man!”
It was convenient because I automatically learned the features and history of the technique without having to ask.
Except for the slight downside of it being noisy.
I didn’t expect to see vegetables thrown into the air and neatly cut ingredients falling down with a flash in real life, but somehow, it made sense, knowing that the person doing it was a ninja.
Was this the mysterious power of a ninja?
Anyway, while Senior Fuma was showing off a flashy cooking method like in a cooking manga, the President was starting with the broth, the basic element of shabu-shabu, in a more ordinary manner.
Well, considering the time allocation, that seemed like the most appropriate method.
And when not considering the cost of ingredients, making a rich broth in a short time wasn’t hard.
She just needed to put in a tremendous amount of ingredients compared to the water.
The President filled a pot with water and boiled it vigorously with bonito flakes, kelp, powdered anchovy, and dried shiitake mushrooms bought from the mart.
Usually, broth is made by boiling a small amount of ingredients for a long time.
However, the President used the opposite method, boiling nearly three times the usual amount of ingredients for broth.
This would extract the essence before it was all gone, allowing for the quick creation of a strongly flavored broth.
After preparing the essential element of shabu-shabu, the broth, all that remained was to get the ingredients ready for the dish.
The vegetables were washed and placed on a plate, and the A++ grade perfect meat purchased by the President was more than enough for tonight’s dinner.
After transferring only the meat to a plate, as if unboxing a treasure, the President said with confidence.
“Huhu, don’t underestimate my cooking skills, honed by over 10 years of bride lessons.”
To be precise, while shabu-shabu was a type of cooking, there was a question of how much one’s cooking skill could be assessed given its self-cooked nature.
Anyway, since all the ingredients inside were top-quality, there was little chance of failure.
At that moment, flames suddenly erupted from the frying pan controlled by Senior Fuma with one hand.
Seeing that, I involuntarily jolted in excitement.
“What?!”
It caught fire on its own, without even using alcohol?!
Shocked by the extraordinary cooking method, I stood up as the Vice President next to me murmured in astonishment.
“An incredible level of fire control…”
“Such fire control without fire… Is she really from the upper echelons?”
Hearing the Vice President’s somewhat bitter muttering, I casually asked.
“What ranks do you and Minami hold?”
I was genuinely curious since it kept being mentioned.
Hearing my question, the Vice President made a frustrated sound, then, avoiding my gaze, he answered.
“I’m still a low rank. It’s Fuma, that woman, who’s the odd one. An upper echelon at 18? I’ve never heard of it.”
In other words, Senior Fuma was exceptionally strong.
Given that she had handled Ivan, who seemed like the strongest in this world, she might indeed be extremely skilled.
It was hard to imagine with her current clumsy demeanor, though.
Then, Senior Fuma, who quickly stir-fried thinly sliced pork with bean sprouts and special sauce over high heat, put it on a plate and said,
“The Fuma-style pork and bean sprout stir-fry is done.”
Almost at the same time, the President, who had finished preparing the shabu-shabu ingredients, also said,
“I’m ready, too.”
Their gazes naturally met.
It was like sparks flying, but there was no time for that now.
“Come on, let’s eat before it gets cold.”
I said that, mediating between the two, then brought out the round dining table from the corner and set it up in the living room.
“Start with the dish I made.”
Senior Fuma said confidently, bringing what was literally a mountain of bean sprouts.
Bean sprout salad, bean sprout doenjang soup, stir-fried thinly sliced pork leg with bean sprouts, and quickly cooked bean sprout teppanyaki—all seasoned with a special sauce before the texture was lost.
It was an array of dishes, unbelievably prepared in just 30 minutes.
Certainly, other vegetables were included, but why did it seem like only bean sprouts were visible?
Despite my doubts, I held a bowl of rice and murmured,
“I will eat well.”
First, I reached for the main dish of the bean sprout course, the pork and bean sprout stir-fry.
It must be the dish she put the most effort into, and thus her most confident one.
I grabbed a mouthful of bean sprouts and pork with my chopsticks and ate it.
Crunch!
The first thing I noticed was the characteristic crunch of the bean sprouts.
Then, the savory yet sweet, addictive taste of the special sauce spread on my tongue, and the Maillard reaction created a crispy, browned pork leg that exploded with umami at the end.
Although it seemed overly sophisticated to describe, simply put, my evaluation of this pork and bean sprout stir-fry was…
“Another bowl.”
It was a repeat offense of being a “rice thief.” 4
ED/N: A 10-pyeong studio apartment would have an area of roughly 33 square meters or about 355 square feet. ️
ED/N: A ninjato, also known as ninjaken or shinobigatana, is a type of short sword that is often associated with the ninja of feudal Japan. It is characterized by its straight blade, contrasting with the curved blade of the more common samurai sword, the katana. The ninjato is typically depicted as having a simple guard and is thought to have been designed for stealth and versatility, fitting the covert operations of the ninja. ️
ED/N:Tachibana Dōsetsu was a famous samurai in Japan during the Sengoku and early Edo periods. He was known for his great fighting skills and was the father of Tachibana Ginchiyo, a rare female samurai leader. Originally named Betsugi Akitsura, he worked for the powerful Ōtomo clan in Kyushu. He's famous for surviving a lightning strike by using his sword, which he named Raikiri, meaning "Lightning Cutter." This story of his sword has become a popular legend in Japanese culture. ️
ED/N: In Japanese culture, "rice thief" is a playful term for someone who eats a lot of rice because the side dishes are so tasty. It suggests they're "stealing" extra rice to go with the delicious food, but it's said in a fun and affectionate way, not seriously. ️
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