I became Hokage in Tokyo

Chapter 32-033 The Master's Knife

"Where can you buy such fresh sea bream? I drove here as soon as it was caught in Tokyo Bay, otherwise it wouldn't be so lively and jumping around," the fisherman said with a smug look on his face.

"Indeed, such a fresh sea bream would be delicious as sashimi!" The bald man looked at the big red fish, his mouth practically watering.

"It's a pity that Boss Takasaki isn't here. I can only take this sea bream home for my wife to braise. What a waste!" The fisherman sighed, tossed the fish back into the bucket, and picked it up to leave.

"Please wait a moment, could you let me handle this sea bream?"

It was the younger sister, Takasaki An, who spoke first. Her almond-shaped eyes were wide open, and she made a request to the fisherman with a somewhat serious expression.

"I usually learn knife skills from my father, cutting up fish and making sashimi several times."

The fisherman and the bald man looked at each other, and the fisherman said with some doubt:

"You're so young, and a girl, can you really do it?"

"Your older sister's cooking skills are no less than those of Boss Takasaki, and perhaps your younger sister's knife skills are just as excellent. Otsuka, why don't you let her give it a try?"

"Hasegawa, you bastard, you just want to freeload off my fish!"

Finally, at Takasaki An's earnest request and with the bald uncle's encouragement, the fisherman reluctantly agreed to let Takasaki An handle the matter.

"Xing, are you sure you can handle it? Maybe we should let Uchiha-kun do it?"

After Takasaki An brought the bucket to the front desk, Takasaki Tsuki whispered to her younger sister with a worried look on her face.

"I admit that pretty boy is very good at cutting meat and vegetables, but sashimi is completely different from those things. I've been learning from my dad for so long, so I definitely have no problem handling a fish!" Takasaki An said with a look of dissatisfaction.

"But you've only ever helped your dad with sashimi before, you haven't had any experience making sashimi on your own yet, have you?"

"So what? I've watched it so many times, I already know how to do it!"

Takasaki An's tone was still full of stubbornness as she muttered softly, "I won't lose to my older sister."

He took the sea bream out of the bucket and placed it on the cutting board, then picked up a kitchen knife.

The front desk of the izakaya is semi-open. When customers see that the restaurant is making sashimi, they gather around and sit on the counter to watch. Just like with sushi counter, watching the chef make sashimi is part of the enjoyment for diners.

Seeing so many people staring at her, Takasaki An couldn't help but feel a little nervous, and her hand holding the knife trembled slightly.

"Don't be nervous, Takasaki An. Think about what Father did! You can do it too."

Takasaki An tried to cheer herself up, but when the moment came, she still felt inexplicably guilty and her mind went blank.

To make matters worse, before she could muster enough courage, the large sea bream on the cutting board suddenly struggled and leaped up, its tail lashing hard into Takasaki An's chest!

The tail lash completely stunned Takasaki An. Her hair and face were soaked with water, but she didn't even bother to clean them. Her whole body stiffened as if in a stress reaction.

"Little girl, are you sure you can do this?"

"We've waited so long and you still haven't started the surgery. If it's not going to work, then don't waste everyone's time!"

Tears welled up in Takasaki An's eyes. Takasaki Tsuki tenderly took a towel and wiped the water off her younger sister, bowing repeatedly to the guests in apology.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! Mr. Otsuka, we can't handle this fish right now, please take it back."

"Takasaki-san, wait a minute, let me do it!"

Naruto Uchiha finally spoke, stepping forward and saying calmly.

Looking at the equally youthful and unfamiliar-looking Uchiha Naruto, the fisherman's face was full of doubt: "Young man, are you sure you can do it?"

"I'm sure my sashimi will satisfy you, my customer!"

Although Naruto Uchiha's expression was calm, his tone was full of unquestionable confidence!

Before the fisherman could answer, Uchiha Naruto walked to the counter and scanned the neatly arranged knives on the front desk.

As expected of an izakaya specializing in sashimi, it has a full range of sashimi-making knives, all of which are very well maintained, with the blades gleaming coldly.

After quickly reviewing the sashimi-making techniques of the famous sashimi chefs he had seen in the video, Naruto Uchiha picked up the sea bream and smashed it onto the cutting board, knocking it unconscious.

Then, I picked up a pointed, cone-shaped knife, the most common and traditional single-edged kitchen knife in Japan, and deftly gutted the sea bream, washing and scraping off its scales.

Then I switched to the lighter and easier-to-use "body cutter" and used the classic "three-piece cutter" with ease to completely shave off the two large pieces of fish meat along the fish bones.

Finally, using a thin and long "willow blade," the fish is sliced ​​into uniform, paper-thin pieces, which are then arranged in layers on a prepared plate to resemble a blooming peony.

Fresh fish meat is different from frozen or refrigerated fish meat; it has the texture of live fish. In order to preserve this texture, sashimi chefs must be decisive when cutting, cutting all the way through in one stroke.

Although the steps may seem complicated at first glance, Uchiha Naruto's movements were fluid and seamless. Before the customers could even appreciate his performance, he had already finished making the sashimi.

"Please enjoy the sea bream sashimi!"

As the 41st generation successor of the famous Shijo-ryu school of cooking in Japan said, "There is a principle in Japanese cuisine: its deliciousness should not exceed the original flavor of the ingredients."

Another culinary researcher, Hideo Okumura, once said, "Japanese cuisine should bring out the true flavor of the ingredients and minimize the use of fire." "Japanese cuisine is a culture that relies on the kitchen knife."

As a result, sashimi's status naturally rises within this food culture.

At this time of year, the sea bream are still before spawning and are rich in fat, making it the perfect time to enjoy them. Since this is also the season when cherry blossoms are in full bloom, the pink sea bream, due to their cherry blossom-like color, are also known as cherry blossom sea bream.

The angler and the bald man were both dumbfounded as they looked at the beautifully arranged, layered, marble-like patterns of cherry blossom-colored sashimi on the plate.

Although the owner of Takasaki is skilled in sashimi, he is only a proficient worker and is still a long way from being a sashimi master. Otherwise, he would not condescend to work in a small shop in the Kita Ward.

But the knife skills displayed by this young boy far surpassed those of the owner of Takasaki, and even the master chefs of the most famous sashimi restaurants were no better.

"I never knew my master had such skill. It was wrong of me to judge him by his appearance before, so I won't hold back!"

With a solemn expression, the fisherman picked up his chopsticks, took a thin, translucent slice of fish, and put it in his mouth. The original sweetness of the sea bream spread slowly on his tongue. With a gentle chew, the elastic fish meat melted in his mouth without any effort.

good to eat!

To use a colloquial analogy, it's as if you can feel a live sea bream jumping between your tongue and teeth before finally leaping into your stomach.

"I'll give it a try!"

Seeing the fisherman's satisfied and blissful expression, the bald uncle who loved sashimi also felt his appetite whetted and picked up his chopsticks to dig in.

The angler, still immersed in the delight of the sea bream sashimi, suddenly became alert:

"I caught this sea bream, and this whole plate of sashimi is mine. You bald bastard, don't even think about touching it!"

The ship of friendship capsized over a plate of sashimi.

(End of this chapter)