"Ding."
As time passed, the oven made an incredibly pleasant sound.
The moment he heard the sound, Okabe opened his eyes, got up, and went to the oven. Putting on gloves, he took out the bread inside and placed it on the pastry board to cool.
"It looks amazing, the outside has a wonderful golden-brown color. Honestly, it looks even better than the toast from a bakery! Can I have a taste?"
Miu Fūrinji had appeared at his cooking station at some point, her nose twitching with an expectant look on her face.
As the lid of the loaf pan was removed, a solid, rustic aroma of grains wafted over.
The surface of the toast emitted a slightly sweet, toasty fragrance, while the inside had a rich aroma of milk and wheat, compelling one to take a deep breath in its presence.
"You can only have the crust. I have a use for the center."
Hearing the familiar voice, Okabe looked up to meet the girl's eager gaze, shrugged helplessly, and picked up a long knife to slice the loaf.
Then, he cleanly and crisply cut off the four crusts.
"I don't mind, in fact, I love the crust the most! That slightly chewy texture and the unique toasty wheat fragrance, it's just so delicious!"
Hearing Okabe's words, Miu Fūrinji shook her head slightly. While speaking, she picked up a piece of crust from the board and put it in her mouth, her face showing pure enjoyment.
"What do you need the center for? You prepared so many ingredients earlier, it can't be that simple..."
Erina Nakiri asked curiously.
Her gaze was sharp, fixed directly on him, as if trying to see through his body into his soul.
However, after staring for a long time, she found nothing.
"You'll all know soon enough."
Shaking his head slightly, Okabe didn't explain further. He silently picked up a kitchen knife, cut the toast into five-millimeter cubes, and set them aside on a porcelain plate.
Next, he added raw chives to the cooked filling.
After mixing them evenly, he took a handful and squeezed out meatballs one by one using the hollow between his thumb and index finger, placing them on a plate.
He spread shrimp paste in his hand, placed a meatball on top, and evenly coated each one.
Once the two were perfectly combined, he pressed it into an oval shape, then rolled it in the plate of bread cubes until there were no empty gaps left.
He heated oil in a wok to medium heat, then placed the prepared shrimp pouches into it.
Okabe watched the wok quietly, seeing fine bubbles form as the hot oil touched the shrimp pouches, and the bread cubes turned golden brown in the process.
"Using soft bread cubes as an outer layer, enveloping delicate shrimp paste and a cooked filling, then deep-frying it in the wok until golden and crispy—it looks delicious just by watching!"
Smelling the rich aroma of bread in the air, Miu Fūrinji had an intoxicated expression.
Although Erina Nakiri and Hisako Arato said nothing, the anticipation in their eyes was undeniable. Everyone present had their sights fixed on the wok.
"The most important thing for fried food is heat control. If the oil temperature is too high, the outside will burn while the inside remains raw. If it's too low, the food will absorb too much oil and become greasy."
Watching the fried food bubbling in the wok, Akisame Koetsuji calmly pointed out the most difficult aspect of deep-frying: heat control.
"Preparation is thirty percent, frying is seventy percent. The key to whether a fried dish is delicious or not lies in how well it's fried in the wok."
Shell's voice also rang out at this moment. His expression was slightly grave, because he discovered that Okabe's frying technique was in no way inferior to his own.
If that was the case, the key to victory lay in the initial preparation, which was precisely his weakness. He had only prepared a filling of preserved mustard greens with pork.
Fortunately, his flaky pastry was well-made. As far as shaobing went, he hoped he could close some of the gap with it.
"This dish is called 'Prosperity Shrimp Pouch.'"
"It uses bread as the outer skin, enclosing treasures from the mountains and seas. At the same time, it perfectly locks in the juices of the filling. A single bite lets you experience the vastness of heaven and earth, like fireworks of flavor exploding in your mouth!"
Okabe's voice was impassioned. As he spoke, he brought over the perfectly fried Prosperity Shrimp Pouches and placed them all on a plate lined with oil-absorbing paper.
The bread cubes, acting as the outer layer, perfectly sealed in the flavors of the shrimp paste and filling, binding them tightly inside to form a small flavor bomb.
Erina Nakiri and the others could imagine just how satisfying a single bite would be! After all, they were already drooling when he was stir-frying the filling earlier.
"Go on, have a taste. Then tell me how it is."
Placing the dish before them, Okabe gestured for them to begin, his face filled with confidence.
"Prosperity Shrimp Pouch, is it? Shaped like a yuanbao, with ingredients from mountain and sea, it truly deserves the name 'Prosperity.'"
Gazing at the golden Prosperity Shrimp Pouches that resembled yuanbao, Shell, who had been silent, couldn't help but sigh in admiration. He then picked one up with his chopsticks and brought it to his lips.
"Crunch—"
A faint cracking sound was heard between their lips.
Unlike the earth-shattering crispiness of the Supreme Crisp, the Prosperity Shrimp Pouch offered a finer, lighter crunch.
The bread cubes, baptized by the hot oil, radiated an ultimate crisp and fluffy texture.
It wasn't hard like a traditional batter. With a slight chew, it broke down into countless particles carrying toasty and wheat aromas, melting on the tongue as quickly as snowflakes.
Next was the shrimp paste inside.
Bouncy, smooth, and tender were its defining traits. With just a slight press of the tongue, an infinite umami flavor rushed forth.
"I can't believe it tastes like this..."
Miu Fūrinji stared blankly at the cross-section of the dish before her.
Through this cross-section, she was transported in a daze. She was wearing a sexy swimsuit, standing on a reef by the sea, surrounded by a cool sea breeze. She leaped from the high point.
The seawater made close contact with her body. Unexpectedly, it wasn't very cold; instead, there was a faint warmth that made her cells throb uncontrollably.
"This astonishing complexity of layers!
First, you taste the wheat and milk aroma from the bread, then the vibrant sweetness of the shrimp paste, followed by the mountain-treasure filling that explodes like a cluster bomb..."
Erina Nakiri also closed her eyes.
The richness of the fragrant stir-fried pork and chicken, the umami of the shiitake mushrooms and diced bamboo shoots—the moment her teeth broke through the shrimp paste, it was as if all restraints were shattered, erupting wildly in her mouth!
"Wait, this is..."
Erina Nakiri's eyes suddenly widened, an incredulous flush appearing on her delicate face. At this moment, she had transformed into a sea prawn.
The tide swept over her body.
Endless silence, surrounded by bone-chilling cold.
Yet on the seabed was a forest of mountain treasures. As if unaffected by the pressure of the water, shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots grew intertwined, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Then, the ocean floor began to tremble violently.
Scalding hot, intensely rich juices of chicken and pork erupted, sweeping up the mountain treasures on the ground, creating the magnificent spectacle of a volcanic eruption!
And she shifted to a god's-eye view.
"Treasures from the mountain and delicacies from the sea... have achieved a marvelous balance within this tiny shrimp pouch..."
Hisako Arato uncontrollably steadied herself against the nearby cooking station.
A faint blush appeared on her pale cheeks, her body growing weak from the impact of the delicious food. She was now gasping for breath.
On the other side, Shell's expression was grave.
"Using bread as the outer layer for a fried food, enveloping the ingredients to be fried..."
"Not only does it perfectly fit the theme of the competition, but it also creates an unprecedented texture. After the crispiness comes the softness of the shrimp paste, and then the delicious filling."
He looked at Okabe with deep admiration in his eyes: "Using the center of the toast, cut into small cubes, as the outer layer both preserves the aroma of the bread and creates a unique, fluffy crispiness.
The inner layer of shrimp paste serves as a bridge, perfectly and tightly connecting the crispiness of the fried bread cubes with the savory flavor of the filling."
"I've challenged many masters along my journey, but someone with such an ingenious idea who can execute it in such a short time—you are the only one!"
This was no compliment; it was his most direct feeling after tasting the dish before him.
"The most crucial element here is the heat control.
The bread cube coating needs to be fried until golden and crisp, but without absorbing oil. The shrimp paste must be cooked just right to remain bouncy and tender. And the filling has to retain its scalding hot juices.
To achieve a balance between these three requires the chef to have extremely precise temperature control.
Akisame Koetsuji's voice sounded at the same time, offering a final commentary on the dish. He looked at Okabe with appreciation in his eyes.
To bring an idea to life, the most important thing is solid fundamental skills.
The technique for making bread, the method for stir-frying the filling, the handling of the shrimp paste, the ratio for combining the three, and most importantly, the oil temperature control.
All of these require a chef to have polished their basic skills through daily accumulation.
"In addition to that, there's the use of chives.
"The stir-fried meat filling combined with fresh raw chives—in the instant of high-temperature frying, the juice released by the chives is firmly locked in by the shrimp paste and bread cubes.
The moment you bite through, that fresh, sharp aroma rushes straight up, perfectly cleansing away the greasiness of the fried outer layer, making it so you can eat it without ever feeling overwhelmed."
A pink tongue lightly brushed across her lips.
As she spoke, Erina Nakiri showed everyone the cross-section of the Prosperity Shrimp Pouch on her chopsticks. Bright green flecks of chives were evenly distributed throughout the dark-colored filling.
Those were the raw chives Okabe had added last.
"That's right, the timing for adding the chives was excellent."
"If they were stir-fried with the filling, the aroma would have been lost, and the texture would have become limp. By adding them later like this, the intense fragrance of the raw chives is double-sealed by the shrimp paste and the bread crust, only bursting forth between the teeth. The flavor at that moment is like a sharp sword being unsheathed, cutting through the richness. It can only be described as the masterstroke!"
"Marvelous, marvelous."
"Fusing Western bread with a Chinese-style stir-fried filling to create something similar to a shaobing, yet completely different—the Prosperity Shrimp Pouch.
Such creativity is something I, who view shaobing as just a snack, could never have thought of, let alone create. It's truly incredible."
"In this duel, I gracefully concede defeat. Your creativity is far beyond my reach at present!"
Looking at Okabe's face, Shell's was filled with admiration.
"You flatter me. Your Supreme Crisp is also excellent. The layers of texture are something an ordinary shaobing could never hope to match. It shows your profound skill."
To this, Okabe replied modestly.
Beside them, seeing such a harmonious scene, Akisame Koetsuji showed a gratified smile.
On one hand, he was happy that the two could still get along harmoniously after the competition.
On the other hand, his apprentice had defeated his old friend's son, which made him feel like he'd beaten his old friend himself. He desperately wanted to laugh out loud right now.
"I am a few years older than you and specialize in pastry.
Fundamental skills are a required course for me, the very foundation of foundations. There is nothing to praise."
Shell shook his head. To him, excellent fundamentals were a given. To not win under these circumstances was enough to show just how strong his opponent was.
"Regardless, this was a spectacular duel.
You are amazing. To be able to make an ordinary snack like shaobing this delicious, I can see the diligent sweat you've poured in day after day!"
Okabe picked up the Supreme Crisp made by Shell and took a bite.
The flavor of the preserved mustard greens and pork filling was unique, and the multi-layered flaky crust was undoubtedly the crystallization of his sweat since childhood.
Through this small pastry, he could see the image of the young man kneading dough in the kitchen through all four seasons.
"Thank you for the praise, but a loss is a loss.
I have to thank you for this. You've made me realize my own weaknesses.
Following the rules in pastry-making is very boring. I used to win some competitions on pure skill, but when I meet a true master, it's just not enough.
I should also use my own foundation to create my own path in pastry."
Bread, shrimp paste, meat filling.
He never would have imagined that those three things could be combined in such a way to create a dish.
Creativity.
Indeed, creativity is the primary productive force.
My ancestor used creativity to make the Golden Smiling Buns and defeat the Pastry King, Luo Gen. And now, I have been defeated by the Prosperity Shrimp Pouch that Okabe created with his ingenuity.
Perhaps it was his ancestor calling out to him across time.
"Miu-nee, leave the last one for me! If you keep eating, you'll get fat. Didn't you just tell me last time that you'd gained weight?!"
"It's fine, I'll just exercise more later! Besides, if I get fat from eating Okabe-kun's food, I'd do it willingly. Even if I'm fat, it's a happy kind of fat."
"Erina-sama, Miu-nee, please don't fight."
The sound of Erina Nakiri and Miu Fūrinji arguing came from behind him. Okabe turned to see the two fighting over the last Prosperity Shrimp Pouch.
Hisako Arato stood between them, seemingly trying to mediate, but her eyes were actually fixed on Miu Fūrinji. It was clear she also had her eyes on the last Prosperity Shrimp Pouch.
"Shell, although today's match was sudden, I had a lot of fun. Your appearance added a lot of enjoyment to my somewhat dull life."
Watching Shell take a cloth strip from his robes and wrap his steel rod, Okabe stepped forward and said sincerely.
"I had fun too.
I won ten duels in a row recently, which made me arrogant.
Before, I would carry the steel rod, which was usually wrapped in cloth, openly in my hand. When someone asked about it, I would tell them the origin of the stars on the rod."
Hearing Okabe's words, Shell didn't answer, but gently stroked the steel rod in his hand.
"But after competing with you today, I understand that if I keep living while reminiscing about past achievements, I'll never be able to grow.
I believe that one day we will meet again somewhere. When that time comes, let's have another spectacular duel."
Shouldering the wrapped steel rod, Shell spoke to the person behind him, who was about the same height but had a distinctly more youthful face.
"We will! Sooner or later, we'll meet again, and we'll have a proper match then!"
Watching Shell leave the noodle workshop, Okabe shouted at his back.
In response, Shell waved his hand without another word.
"Little Okabe, stay behind for a moment."
After tidying up the kitchen, Akisame Koetsuji called out to Okabe, who was about to leave, telling him to stay.
As he stopped Okabe, the others also paused, looking at the two curiously, seemingly waiting for Akisame Koetsuji to explain the reason.
"You all can go ahead. I have something to discuss with Okabe."
"Go take a bath and head back to your rooms to sleep."
At Akisame Koetsuji's words, Erina Nakiri and the others left reluctantly, looking back every few steps, clearly very curious.
Seeing this, he quickly went and closed the workshop door, which finally made them give up and turn their gazes away, heading either to their rooms or to the bathroom.
"Master Akisame, is there something you need me for?"
He pulled over a chair and sat down naturally.
Okabe looked at Akisame Koetsuji curiously, asking why he had been asked to stay.
Akisame Koetsuji didn't answer his question. Instead, he silently went to the pastry board and scooped flour out of the container.
"Honestly, you're the most talented person I've ever seen. To be able to grasp a more advanced skill on your own from the basic techniques I taught you."
Pointing to a hanging rolling pin and picking it up, Akisame Koetsuji looked at Okabe, alluding to the technique he had used in the match earlier.
Since the handover three years ago, Okabe had devoted himself to learning the skills of the other masters, and his visits to the noodle workshop had become few and far between.
Although he enjoyed the peace and quiet, he sometimes felt a bit lonely and would often watch him train under the other masters.
He had thought that after three years away from the noodle workshop, Okabe's pastry skills would have regressed somewhat, but he never expected him to deliver such a huge surprise in today's competition.
Just from the basic technique of 'Permeating Soft Force,' he had independently grasped the 'Rotational Kneading Method' and mastered it to a profound level.
If Okabe had been kneading dough in the workshop all this time, it would be one thing. The key was that the kid hadn't been here in a long time. To grasp this technique under such circumstances...
Even the word 'genius' was not enough to describe it.
"I've just kneaded a lot of dough, so I had a bit of an insight. I thought I'd try to improve it a little, and it ended up like this. So this is an advanced version of Permeating Soft Force?"
Hearing Akisame Koetsuji's emotional words, Okabe's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly told a white lie.
However, he was right about one thing: he had obtained this skill after completing a dough-kneading quest.
And to prevent his pastry skills from declining, while he was learning stir-frying techniques from Shio Sakaki, he would make some dough-based dishes for stir-frying every few days.
Shio Sakaki had no objection to this.
After all, to him, noodle dishes were also an ingredient used in stir-frying. For Okabe to practice his pastry skills while also stir-frying was a smart move that killed two birds with one stone.
"That's why I say you're talented. Theoretically, it is possible to derive the next stage of a skill from its basic form, but very few people can actually do it."
Akisame Koetsuji nodded slightly.
"I asked you to stay today because I want to ask if you're willing to learn the White Silk Annihilation Gyre from me. This is the ultimate skill that all pastry chefs dream of!"
Akisame Koetsuji's voice was calm, but it made Okabe's eyes widen in an instant.
"I can?!"
Okabe had long suspected this might happen, but since Akisame Koetsuji never brought it up, he was too embarrassed to ask. Now that he had mentioned it himself, he was somewhat thrilled.
"Of course. In fact, I've wanted to pass this technique on to you for a long time, but I was always hesitant. After seeing your performance today, that hesitation has vanished.
However, to inherit a technique, you must also accept the corresponding responsibility."
Looking at Okabe's expression, Akisame Koetsuji nodded to himself and then gazed at him with burning intensity.
"Responsibility?"
Okabe was puzzled and waited for his answer.
"Before that, let me tell you a story."
"A long, long time ago, there was an old man who grew tired of the endless fighting in the Jianghu and chose to cross the seas to come to Japan.
He settled in a place of serene mountains and clear waters, hoping the tranquility would allow his mind to settle and help him break through the plateau his culinary skills had been at for many years."
"The days passed one by one."
"One day, while the old man was at the market to buy flour, he heard the cry of a baby. In a remote alley, he found two infants, just a month old.
"Being old and kind-hearted, and after failing to find their parents, he decided to raise them."
"Time passed, and the two children grew older day by day. They showed an extremely strong interest in pastry, so the old man began to teach them the pastry techniques he lived by."
"One year, two years, ten years."
"The children finally grew into young men. Though they were twins, one was active and the other was quiet, like two sides of a mirror. They often clashed when together, and the house was filled with constant arguments."
"In order to have some peace in his later years, and also to ensure his skills would be passed down, the old man called the two youths before him."
"'The two of you will have a pastry duel once a week. The loser must unconditionally obey the winner's command,' the old man told them."
"For two people who were so incompatible, this punishment undoubtedly hit a nerve. Neither wanted to obey the other, so they practiced their pastry-making skills with all their might."
"Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the two boys became young men."
"Because they were twins, their talent and skill were evenly matched. After ten years of continuous duels, their win-loss record was separated by only a single victory."
"However, the years of competition gradually lessened the hostility between the brothers.
"The duels were no longer trials of fate, but rather a ritual to test each other's progress."
"If the story had ended here, it would have been a heartwarming tale of brotherly love and respect."
"But right at that moment, a woman appeared in the village where the old man lived in seclusion.
"She was bewitchingly beautiful, like a datura flower blooming in hell. Her every frown and smile was captivating, completely disrupting the two brothers' peaceful lives.
"They... both fell in love with her..."
____
New Story: Stardew Valley: What Do You Mean They All Became My Servants
✅ Jump 40 chapters ahead of the public release!
✅ Get access to special perks and news!
Help smash these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter (for everyone)
🚀 180 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters (for all stories)!
👻 P - Walnutchan