saikyokantei 9: Cream Soup to Finish.

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Saikyō no kantei-shi tte dare no koto?~ Manpuku gohan de i sekai seikatsu ~
Author: Minatose Tsukasa
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Cream Soup to Finish.

A/n: the idea is a silky cream stew. (Potatoes only)

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“Now then, next is the soup.”

“… Eh? We’re making more?”

“We are~. The basis of a meal is one bowl three plates. This time it will be one bowl two plates, though.”

“… One bowl three plates? Is that supposed to be an incantation?”

“It’s a saying from my hometown. U-m, one bowl means there’s a soup, and three plates is three dishes. It’s the ideal meal ratio.”
^{<t/n: literally ‘one soup three sides’, but said in a way that was confusing to Yack, apparently.>}

Yack tilted his had at the happily smiling Yuri. It doesn’t seem to be a common saying in this other world. While carelessly thinking, Japanese sure is difficult~, Yuri checked the contents of the simmering pot. The meatless bones have become a decent stock. The power of scraps is amazing.

As for why he did this, it’s because there wasn’t butter or any other raw materials that seems like it could be used for stock. … Well, of course he didn’t expect stock granules to have been discovered in this other world. But he’d like butter, at least …. Yuri thought. But when he asked, they did buy a limited amount of butter, but those troublesome seniors from before used it up at lunch, it seems. They’re way too troublesome.

And so, without vegetables suitable for stock or extra meat, the stock was made with bones. … Actually, if Yuri had to choose, he prefers seafood stock, so he likes the Japanese style made from dried sardines, dried bonito flakes, and kelp. But he couldn’t find any, so he gave up and made it bone broth. And then he thought he would make a western style dish as well.

 

“So while I cut the potatoes, can you put all the bones in this bowl?”

“What do we do with these bones?”

“As expected, they can’t be used anymore. … Maybe a dog will be happy to get them, if you’re raising one?”

“… I’ll throw them away.”

“Un.”

 

Smiling wryly at Yuri’s slightly off-kilter statement, Yack quietly removed the bones from the big pot. While glancing to confirm he was doing so, Yuri peeled the potatoes and cut them into slightly larger than bite sized pieces. It’s approximately the size of potatoes for curry. It’s easy to boil potatoes into mush, so it’s better to cut them on the large side. Also, there aren’t any other ingredients, so having the potatoes cut large bobbing about is a plan to make it appear like there’s more in there. Don’t underestimate the visual effect.

After cutting up the potatoes, Yuri soaked them in water so they wouldn’t discolor. Leaving them, he checked on the pot. It seems to have boiled down, and the water content was quite a bit reduced from before. However, that’s fine. Yuri looked at the pot and smiled happily, going to get the milk from the refrigerator. Yack tilted his head as Yuri brought over the large, mysterious object similar to an aluminum case that the milk was in. He made a face like he had no idea what was going on.

In front of Yack, Yuri unhesitatingly poured milk into the pot.

 

“What are you doiiing!?”

 

Yack screamed unintentionally. But Yuri just tilted his head, mystified, and continued to pour without minding it. That’s right, Yuri was thinking about making cream stew with potatoes as the main ingredient with beef, pork, and chicken stock. He had been thinking about making simple soup at first, but it was a bit sad with only potatoes as the ingredient. And so he’s using the milk they had a large amount of.

He’s leaving the equally large amount of eggs to prepare in all sorts of ways for breakfast tomorrow. Once he gets permission, preparing for breakfast would only take an hour, he thought.

 

“W,wait, Yuri! Why did you pour milk into the pot!?”

“Eh? Because it’s cream stew.”

“Isn’t milk gross when it’s hot!?”

“That’s a misunderstanding~. I’ll adjust the flavor, so don’t worry~.”

 

Turning to the flustered Yack, Yuri smiled carefreely. He confirmed that the people here didn’t have tastes too different from his own with the kakiage and croquettes. They may not be familiar with cream stew, but that’s not a problem. It’s most likely that there’s no food like stew or gratin. But Yuri doesn’t care. He just wants to eat a delicious dinner tonight.

The soup increased with the addition of the milk. Ignoring Yack, who looked like the world was ending, Yuri simmered them together. It’s no good to rush it. Boiling milk will form a film, so he has to gently heat it to avoid that. If he had butter or heavy cream he could make it richer, but he can’t ask for too much. Strictly speaking, Yuri would also want cheese. Even powdered cheese would give a suitable flavor. But it doesn’t exist, so he gave up.

When he saw signs of the surface beginning to boil, Yuri ladled out some soup to taste it. It was decently good from the stock from the animal parts and the fresh milk blended together. It’s good, but it simply wasn’t enough. Anyway, he sprinkled suitable amounts of salt, pepper, and a few bottles of herbs as he adjusted the flavor. Yuri adjusts by taste since he only knows home cooking. He does measure things accurately when making sweets and bread. But no matter what, it’s his habit to adjust it little by little as he tastes it when making dinner at home.

Putting in the seasonings bit by bit, he adjusted the flavor. Yuri tasted the soup again. It wasn’t completely satisfactory. There’s no butter, cheese, or heavy cream, so it was a bit different from the cream stew he’d imagined. Even so, he thought it was delicious enough.

 

“Yack, do you want a taste?”

“… … Is, is it drinkable?”

“I adjusted the flavor, so I don’t think it’s too unpalatable…”

 

Here; Yuri put soup on a small plate used for tasting and presented it to Yack. Yack took it timidly, but his eyes went wide as he smelled it. There wasn’t a stench at all. Just by the smell, it seemed really delicious. And so Yack made up his mind and drank it.

 

“It’s so good!!!!”

 

He yelled once again. It was a taste that Yack couldn’t have imagined. He thought that heated milk would be disgusting. However the bone broth soup didn’t clash with the milk and blended together, and with Yuri adjusting the flavor with seasonings, it was a splendid soup. It was like a soup you’d eat in a restaurant somewhere It was too delicious.

…… Yuri might not be conscious of it, but it really is likely that Cooking Skill level 50 had some influences. For example, when adding the appropriate seasoning, that ‘appropriate amount’ ended up being like the spoon of God. Or minutely adjusting the heat brought out the depth of flavor. … It was in places that no one would know or see, but it’s likely true that the Skill is having an effect.

 

“Is this flavor okay?”

“It’s fine! It’s really delicious. Is it done like this?”

“Nuh-uh. We have to put the potatoes in.”

 

Smiling at the bright-faced Yack, Yuri drained the water from the bowl of potatoes and put them in the pot. The large potatoes bobbed about. Whiling stirring it to avoid having it burn, Yuri carefully waited for the potatoes to stew. That said, stewing the potatoes too long will make them crumble, so he has to keep it just so.

 

“… … You’re putting potatoes in even though it’s soup?”

“Eh? It’s because it’s soup that you put vegetables and meat in? If you don’t, there’s no flavor.”

“…… I thought that soup was just broth.”

“Heh~, is that so~.”

 

It’s more delicious with ingredients added though, Yuri laughed in response to Yack’s serious answer.

For Japanese food, there are things like kenchinjiru (tofu and vegetable chowder) and tonjiru (pork miso soup), which are soups with lots of vegetables that are good for your health if you eat it. Yuri’s under the impression that Western and Chinese food include vegetables to adjust the flavor. Like mushrooms, which are splendid ingredients that increase the umami just by being included. But this world doesn’t put ingredients into soup like that.

Was this world’s soup closer to onion soup? That is it’s own thing, a soup that uses large amounts of bouillon and actually takes quite a lot of time and effort, but this feels more like something roughly made. Like an instant miso soup without much garnish in it. And so that’s why Yack was mystified and unused to it when Yuri tossed the potatoes in the soup.

 

“Actually, it would be richer if we had butter or heavy cream or cheese, and there’d be more umami if we had something like bacon. The texture would also be more fun.”

“… Yuri, you’re really good at cooking.”

“I’m not particularly good at it. I can only do homecooking.”

 

Alright, done. Smiling happily, Yuri checked that the potatoes were cooked through and turned off the stove. If he covers it, it will probably stay warm for a while. Then he’ll just have to heat it before eating.

He made a lot of cream soup. There are also a lot of kakiage and croquettes, although not yet fried. Yuri stopped Yack when he said he was going to fry all of them. Fried food is the best freshly fried. If everyone’s going to come to eat separately, then it’s fundamental to fry them when they’re going to eat. … At any rate, one person couldn’t eat 10 or 20.

 

“Now then, the rest is for when someone comes to eat dinner, so let’s clean up until then.”

“There’s dishes to wash after all!”

“As well as wiping down the spots we used.”

 

While smiling as happily as Yuri, Yack also set about cleaning up. They divided the job with Yuri washing the dishes and Yack drying them and putting them away. There were a lot of things Yuri didn’t know where to put away, after all. And Yuri also polished the area around the sink. It wasn’t that dirty to begin with, but he carefully polished it and it became quite lovely.

 

“Oh yeah, will everyone come to eat all this?”

“They will! They’ll be super happy to eat it!”

“Really? That’s good~”

 

After doing so much, Yuri said something slightly off. Yack unconsciously jumped in with a tsukkomi. He wanted to say that it’s obvious that everyone else would be happy just by seeing his own reaction. However the opposite party is Yuri. The carefree and optimistic, goes at his own pace Yuri.

He can’t do something like read the mood.

 

And thus, Yuri deepened his friendship with Yack during the time before everyone came for dinner.

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A/n: Yuri is always going at his own pace.
And he doesn’t realize how much he has done.
Well, this is fundamentally carefree so there’s nothing dangerous.
Because of that, this otomen’s daily life is peaceful.
I am awaiting your opinions and impressions.

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<t/n: (6/7)>