Can you handle my Hikigaya's cooking?

Even the members of Polar Star Dormitory lowered their heads as if they couldn't bear to listen to this name.

Alice Nakiri standing by was also obviously confused:

"Hikigaya-kun? What is a seafood cheese bento..."

"So you didn't know? But just try it later. After all, I made your share as well."

The most original question was resolved by the simplest answer, which clearly sounded like a mockery.

However, Hachiman didn't seem to care about all that. He just moved a whole big pot over and then served his own food.

Under that mysterious insulated box, the so-called seafood cheese bento was hidden.

Yukinoshita: "It doesn't seem that simple. The stainless steel insulator can maintain the temperature of the bento inside and the original taste of the ingredients, even the freshness of the soup, to the greatest extent."

Moreover, careful people will find that this insulation box is different from the usual insulation boxes. It has three special layers. The bottom layer is filled with soup to provide temperature for the rice in the second layer, while the side dishes on the top layer are constantly enhancing the freshness of the rice through the aroma.

Alice: “That’s amazing!”

That simple and unpretentious smile made the audience fall in love with it in just a moment, but in the eyes of experts, it was contempt for Hikigaya, because he was confident that his cooking would win, so he was not nervous at all.

But the same is true for Hikigaya. Although he received silence from the audience after saying the name of the dish, at least not many people would question his ability.

Like Alice, he didn't feel nervous at all. In fact, it would be even more incredible if he felt nervous.

Commander: "Then, let's start revealing it."

The judges opened their lunch boxes one after another. At this moment, the mist that had been gathering for a long time suddenly gushed out, drawing a brilliant line of light in the air. In the first layer of side dishes was the fried seaweed crab shell.

Ryoko: "Obviously no one would use ingredients like this as food, Hikigaya is really messing around."

Tadokoro: "But...how did you come up with the idea of ​​deep-fried crab shells?"

Marui: "The question is, is it really delicious?"

In fact, the seaweed crab shell is one of the signature dishes of Hotel Hikigaya. The crab shell wrapped in seaweed becomes crispy when it is blended with seaweed. But that's not enough. When paired with beer on top, it creates a crisp taste the moment the alcohol evaporates.

Judge No. 1: "Even if this side dish is taken out alone, it is already a fine dish. The flavor of seafood and the alcohol make it a long-lost feast in the cool summer. This combination is really amazing."

Hachiman: "In fact, the essence of this dish is still at the end. Judges, can you please leave a bite of all the side dishes?"

Since the person who cooked the dish said such words, the judges naturally did not say anything more. They just put down the novel fried crab shell reluctantly.

The second side dish was tempura fried with prawns. At first glance, there didn't seem to be anything strange, except...

Hachiman: “In fact, this tempura is seasoned with a little mayonnaise and balsamic vinegar.”

Although it is not as amazing as the first dish of fried crab shell, this tempura is definitely a high-quality dish because the ratio of mayonnaise and balsamic vinegar is very suitable, and you can feel the difference with just one bite.

Judge No. 2: "Well, it does taste very warm. They pay great attention to the details. Although it looks like a simple side dish, the taste is very different from the usual tempura. It is actually very difficult to achieve such a sour but not greasy, sweet but not cloying feeling."

The commander-in-chief: "Then, let's try the third side dish. It looks like it is also fried. If I'm not mistaken, it's fried cod."

Hachiman: “Yes.”

Judge Anton picked up the fork, seemingly just wanting to test the firmness of the meat. However, although he only touched it lightly, the cod seemed to have self-awareness and cut it directly. However, after a moment, it slowly began to become firm.

Judge Anton: "Is this... the effect of cheese?"

Hachiman: "Yes, it will have such an effect. It is the viscosity of the cheese that makes the whole cod more compact."

Judge Anton: "Amazing, it's probably more than that. The entire soup and seasoning are boiled before frying. Otherwise, it would not be so easy to achieve such a soft and gentle taste."

The Commander: "The clear and rich flavor... is like the breeze blowing across the plateau. This taste is very noble. It can't be achieved just by saying this, right, Hikigaya?"

The commander-in-chief's eyes were already focused on Hachiman's face, and at this moment, the entire venue became abuzz:

"Hey, what are you doing!"

"The commander-in-chief's clothes are torn again? This is only the first layer..."

"No..."

"Wait, if that's the case, this seafood cheese bento might actually have a chance..."

"I've never seen this before."

...

In response to the commander-in-chief's question, Hachiman simply nodded slightly:

"The answer lies in the two floors below."

The five judges simultaneously uncovered the second layer. Unlike the rice they had imagined, the second layer did not contain any white rice grains. Instead, it contained only pearl-like orange jelly. Each jelly grain was wrapped around each rice grain. If you touched the jelly grains with a spoon, you would find...

These wrapped rice grains are definitely not simple solids.

This time, not only was Erina completely dumbfounded, the whole place became completely silent.

It is estimated that not many people in the world can achieve this kind of technology, and the secret lies in the insulated box.

The Commander: "Sure enough, I felt something was wrong from the beginning. It seems that this is only the second level."

Anton: "I have been tasting food all my life. I am almost 50 years old now. I have traveled all over the world and tasted thousands of delicacies, but... I have never seen such technology."

"The temperature in the incubator keeps the semi-solid fruit in this shape? How is that possible..."

Even ordinary people know that even the most advanced thermal insulation boxes can only slow down the cooling of food, not keep it forever. As long as it is stored long enough, it will get cold, but...

In order to maintain this semi-solid-liquid form, even for freshly cooked food, the error must always be within 0.01 degrees. This possibility is simply beyond the calculation of the human brain.

but...

Since it is a form that can appear, it may not be impossible to do it. It is precisely because of this that Hachiman decided to try it.

Just one week is not enough to achieve this, but fortunately, this is the cuisine of the Hikigaya Hotel. Hachiman has spent more than ten years observing it, and all he has to do in the end is to modify it to the best of his ability.

The mist that rises at the beginning, the insulation box that keeps it warm, and the third layer of soup base that continuously provides temperature, are finally able to be maintained after precise calculations and techniques.

Judge No. 1:

“I can’t imagine what this kind of food tastes like...”

Alice, who was full of confidence just now, became silent after seeing this scene, and the audience seemed to be unable to bear the pounding hearts and kept discussing:

"I say, is this the same person who was cooking with the knife skills just now?"

"I can't believe it... The real difficulty of this technique is not the knife skills or other cooking skills, but the huge amount of calculations..."

"I don't know how they did it. I'm really more and more curious about what the soup on the third layer will look like."

Without any hesitation, several judges immediately put the second layer of jelly rice grains into their mouths. The honey, which had condensed into a semi-solid liquid, also brought a violent impact to the mouth at this moment. Only at this moment...the cheeks of the five judges had turned red.

At Hachiman's request, the rice grains were left halfway.

Commander: "Then, let's open the third floor."

Everyone's eyes were eager to try, even Alice at the side began to look forward to it.

Although sometimes the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment, but after tasting the first two layers of food, the judges were able to give this bento an incredibly high score.

Whether you can break through that bottleneck depends on witnessing the surprise brought by the third level.

The commander-in-chief simply sniffed it:

"It's the soup made from dried tuna."

The moment the judges opened it, they saw that this dish was a soup made from dried tuna, just as the commander-in-chief had said. However, it was more than that.

Hachiman: "When cooking cod, we use a stock made from tuna and kale. The dried tuna is made from yellowfin tuna. Although it is thinner than swordfish, it has a very delicate and delicious taste."

Erina: "I see. The taste of cod is very light, but here, if you pair it with cheese and tuna, it will become a good dish."

“And the soup...”

Erina frowned slightly. Although the soup is made from dried tuna,...

"Miso soup with bacon and onions? What an idiot!"

Although it was a bit far away, Erina could still tell at a glance the ingredients used in the soup. It’s not that there was anything wrong with bacon and onions, but in her opinion, there were indeed better options.

but...

If you only pay attention to the surface, it is easy to overlook the ingredients that have sunk to the bottom of the soup.

Yawata: "Bacon, onions, a little butter, and a broth made from minced Italian pork."

Unlike Erina, Hachiman was, after all, an ordinary person who had lived in the city since childhood, and he only faced office workers of all sizes. At that time, Hachiman would always hand them a bowl of soup to make them feel at ease. In his opinion, if he could deliver that warmth, it might be the truth contained in the bento.

Alice at the side had already begun to smile faintly, and gently placed her hands behind her waist, saying:

"I didn't expect you to know a lot about cooking."

Hachiman: "After all, you will learn it if you read it more often, and these things are not difficult to understand.

Alice: "But this won't work, Hikigaya-kun. A bento should be full of surprises, and your seafood cheese bento is all about seafood. It's a far cry from my Temari bento, which has twelve different sushi flavors."

Hachiman: "Well, if things have come to this point, there is nothing I can do about it. And it is true that your bento looks delicious, but... if the winner has not been determined yet, let me struggle ugly for a while."

Having said this, Hachiman turned his attention to the judges.

"Then, please bathe the second layer of rice in the soup, and then add the side dishes from the first layer. Maybe there will be a new surprise."

The whole place was silent.

Yukinoshita: "So that's the purpose? But... with so many ingredients and different flavors, even I don't understand what this guy is doing."

As she said this, there was no trace of gloom on Yukinoshita's face, but instead a hint of anticipation.

Ryoko: "Those who have understood this far can be called monsters, right?"

Yoshino: “That’s right…”

In the distance, Erina said anxiously:

"This idiot, taking such a risk to put all the dishes together, it's a complete mess, this is not just a stew..."

Hisako: "Lady Erina, are you worried about him?"

Erina: "So-and-so-and-so is worried about him. I just, I just feel annoyed when I see him ruining the food like this. Yeah! Very annoyed!"

Hisako smiled faintly: "Lady Erina, not long ago you totally disapproved of his cooking. It seems that we have all changed without realizing it. But at times like this... it makes people inexplicably excited."

After hearing what Hisako said, Erina's constant noisy actions unexpectedly stopped, but her face turned red without anyone seeing in the room.

Indeed, she had begun to accept Hikigaya's cooking from the bottom of her heart, and when did this so-called opportunity come from? Was it during the school trip, or even earlier... But no matter when it was, she still felt unhappy when others denied him.

That was a denial of herself, so she was so anxious to deny the other party, and unknowingly, she had stood on the same front with Hikigaya.

Although I really want to do this just to prevent my sister Alice from winning too easily, but... I can't deceive myself after all.

This is the only thing that cannot be changed.

And finally... let's see what other surprises you can bring.

Inside the venue...

The Commander: "Are you sure? Although the structure of each layer is perfect, whether it is the side dish, soup, or even the rice, it is eye-catching, but based on my many years of cooking experience, this combination will definitely not taste good."

Hachiman nodded without any hesitation.

As a judge, the commander-in-chief did not say anything more.

Sure enough, when the three layers of food were all created together, the melted cheese, honey, bacon, onion, salmon, tempura and other ingredients were blended together like a big pot of stew.

Judge Anton: "It's a bit of a waste. Obviously, every side dish is exquisite. But in this case, the winner is obvious."

Meanwhile, the audience on stage was somewhat bewildered.

Yuigahama: "What is Xiaoqi going to do?"

Miura: "These chefs don't understand, so I don't understand it even more. But... according to common sense, it shouldn't be delicious like this."

Hayato Hayama: "He acted totally out of character. It was irrational."

Kurokiba: "It seems that Miss has won."

Erina seemed a little unwilling, but in the end she just sighed softly: "You are really an idiot."

Ryoko: "This is so abnormal. It's totally unlike something Hikigaya would do."

Yukinoshita: "At this point, the winner has been decided, there is nothing to say. Even if you are usually rational, you can't change anything at this point."

Tadokoro: "I believe...I believe in Hikigaya-san."

Takumi: "This guy, he actually lost here? I really can't accept this. I have never won against him fairly."

Elsewhere, Ryo Hayama seemed to have discovered Shiomi Jun who was grinning.