Chapter 418: Toshikoshi Soba and Ship Girl Lucoa!
"Sorry for the wait."
Ryohei opened the car door and sat inside. He fastened his seatbelt, started the car, and said to Pekola: "Let's go back."
"Mn."
Pekola in the passenger seat nodded gently.
Ryohei drove the car back to the villa, and then went to Hokkaido with Pekola through the spatial passage.
...
The sky darkened in a blink of an eye.
At 5:30 PM, Stardew Valley Ranch had completely entered the winter night.
Snow was still falling, drifting thick and fast, with no sign of stopping. The cold wind swept across the ranch, whipping up the new snow on the ground, whistling and swirling outside the window.
Inside the house was another scene.
In the restaurant, warm-toned lighting softly covered every corner.
The electric heater in the corner was working quietly, its orange heating tubes alternating between bright and dim, sending waves of gentle warmth into the air, silently resisting the biting cold trying to seep in from outside the glass window.
Dinner was already set on the dining table.
In a place like Hokkaido, Toshikoshi Soba naturally wouldn't be eaten cold.
The traditional method is to pour boiling bonito and kelp broth over the cooked soba noodles, topped with prawn or vegetable tempura, or duck meat, then sprinkled with roasted nori and chopped green onions.
Based on this, Ryohei extended a Chinese version—
Using rich broth boiled from beef bones as the soup base, the noodles were still resilient soba noodles, but the toppings were changed to soft and flavorful braised beef brisket, golden and oily fried eggs, and a few stalks of emerald green bok choy.
To add a crispy texture, he specially fried salty, fresh, and crispy sakura shrimp cakes.
Various ingredients interwoven with enticing colors and aromas in the steaming heat; just looking at it made one's index finger move (appetite surge).
"So... let's eat!"
"If the noodles aren't enough, cook more yourself; there are more toppings next to it."
Ryohei greeted enthusiastically.
There were quite a few big eaters present; how could one bowl of noodles be enough.
So he prepared a hot pot table—
Noodles could be cooked at any time, and toppings were kept warm on the stove next to it, available for refills if not enough.
"Ooh ooh—! Let's devour, let's devour!"
Elma, already dizzy from the aroma, cheered like a child.
She picked up a spoon, scooped a spoonful of clear amber noodle soup, and brought it to her mouth—
"Slurp—"
The warm soup slid into her mouth, flowing over the tip of her tongue like a warm current.
The rich beef bone aroma swept through the mouth, the salty, fresh, and mellow taste spreading on the tip of the tongue, like a pair of gentle hands caressing the taste buds, soaking the senses.
"Mmm—!"
(๑＞ᴗ＜๑)
Elma closed her eyes unconsciously, a blush of satisfaction rippling on her face. Even the dark blue finned tail behind her couldn't help trembling twice.
"This soup is so delicious—!"
After opening her eyes, Elma couldn't help praising.
"Yeah!"
"The noodles fully integrated with the soup..."
Kyon-Kyon sitting aside picked up a chopstick-full of light brown soba noodles from the bowl, lowered her head, leaned close, and slurped heavily.
The unique grain aroma of buckwheat mixed with the richness of the soup base rippled on the tip of the tongue. That taste seemed to hide a wisp of mountain wilderness flavor, rustic yet charming.
She couldn't help chewing—
The noodles were bouncy and smooth with a bit of roughness from the buckwheat, very chewy. With every bite, sweet soup oozed out, perfectly neutralizing the richness of the beef bone broth.
Refreshing and mellow interwoven in the mouth, bringing unparalleled happiness!
"Have another piece of beef brisket..."
Minos drank the noodle soup, tasted the noodles, and picked up a piece of braised beef brisket expectantly.
The beef brisket was stewed soft and glutinous but not falling apart—
The tendon parts had turned into gelatin, melting in the mouth, while the lean meat absorbed the sauce fully, chewy, solid, and satisfying.
With chewing, a rich sauce aroma mixed with a salty, sweet, and slightly spicy complex taste filled the mouth, pushing the deliciousness of this bowl of Toshikoshi Soba to another level!
As expected, I still like beef the most!
Minos lifted her chin slightly, chewing with enjoyment.
"After eating beef, eat the bok choy; even the bok choy becomes flavorful..."
Ran-Ran ate a mouthful of bok choy and said happily.
She was actually a bit picky with food usually and didn't like vegetables.
Of course, Ryohei's cooking was an exception.
And the bok choy in this bowl of Toshikoshi Soba before her was a bit delicious.
Moreover—
The crispness brought by the stems of the bok choy and the unique sweetness of the leaves perfectly balanced the heaviness of the previous flavors...
"So... next..."
Lucoa used chopsticks to pick up the last ingredient she hadn't tasted yet—
A golden and crispy sakura shrimp cake!
She brought the shrimp cake to her mouth, opened her snow-white teeth, and took a light bite.
Accompanied by a light crunch sound, extreme crispness and rich shrimp umami burst instantly in the mouth, like a small climax of umami, pulling the sense of taste from land to ocean, bringing a delightful twist.
"..."
Lucoa "opened" the eyelids of both eyes; she felt as if she had turned into a light aircraft carrier named "Quetzalcoatl."
Enemy attack came without warning!
Blinding red light tore through the festive night sky, air defense sirens turning into shrill long cries.
Countless shells like raindrops, dragging tails of death, completely enveloped her massive "Quetzalcoatl" ship rigging.
"Boom! Rumble—!"
Explosions continued incessantly, turning into a blazing white purgatory.
The massive ship rigging wailed, deformed, and melted in the firelight, like a steel toy crushed by an invisible giant hand.
That vast power maintaining the form disintegrated inch by inch under the pure impact of destruction.
Light collapsed violently.
At the last moment of the rigging dissipating, Lucoa fell from the center of the flames—already restored to human form!
That gorgeous kimono on her body was now fragmented like a ship hull directly hit by artillery fire, leaving only a few strands of scorched silk hanging on her body, swaying in the surging airwaves.
"Mmm..."
The aftershock of the impact made Lucoa stumble involuntarily.
Almost instinctively, she hugged her world-class fullness with one hand, the other hand hastily covering below, her snow-white, long, and voluptuous legs tightly together.
Steaming smoke brushed over her exposed skin. On that face always wearing a leisurely smile, a trace of consternation belonging to "the one hit" finally flashed...
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