Chapter 11: Cooking in Progress

"Don't grind the pork in the meat grinder for too long. If the blades rotate for too long, it will destroy the fibers in the meat and make it lose its natural texture, so this is about right now.

When marinating ground meat for hamburger patties, spices are essential. Everyone has different methods—I'm used to using onions and a little crushed ginger. Setsuna, you can adjust according to the eater's taste preferences. There's no fixed way to do this."

...

"Don't blanch the broccoli for too long. Sustained high heat will cause it to lose much of its nutritional content. After the water boils, put it in the pot for about two minutes before taking it out.

After finishing, it's best to put it in ice water to cool and preserve it. If you leave it to cool naturally on the side, it will turn yellow due to the high heat it carries and the texture will become soft."

...

"The shrimp need to be deveined by cutting along the back. If time allows, after a simple rinse with clean water, it's best to soak them in light salt water for a while.

This can remove the fishy smell unique to seafood, and it can effectively remove the slime on the shrimp, making the finished shrimp more smooth and tender."

...

Murakami Yuu stood beside Ogiso Setsuna, at a distance of two fists apart, seriously teaching her his cooking knowledge.

He had always liked cooking for himself in his previous life and was no stranger to the kitchen.

As for the original owner, since his parents died a few years ago and he started living alone, his experience in the life skill of cooking naturally increased gradually.

Then after meeting Eriri and Ogiso Setsuna—

For the former, he needed to occasionally make bentos to build favorability.

For the latter, he had agreed to help her improve her cooking skills.

With a purpose in mind, through hands-on practice plus supplementing theoretical knowledge, his cooking level advanced by leaps and bounds.

Like this, after combining both cooking experiences, the current Murakami Yuu's cooking level could even reach that of a professional chef in the restaurant industry.

Although his cooking was far from reaching the level where a single bite would make tasters moan and burst out of their clothes, teaching a normal high school girl to cook was more than sufficient.

"Murakami-kun, is this thickness okay?"

Ogiso Setsuna had heated the frying pan as Murakami Yuu instructed, and now she held a shaped meat patty in her hands.

"It could be a little thicker. Patties that are too thin can't retain moisture when fried at high temperature, and the texture might be quite dry after completion."

"Yes, understood! This should be fine now, right?"

"Mm."

"Got it, then..."

Ogiso Setsuna placed the meat patty on a wooden spatula and carefully put it in the frying pan.

"Sizzle..."

The meat patty made a sound the moment it contacted the hot pan bottom.

The sound went from loud to soft, and the aroma of meat slowly spread through the kitchen air.

"It's wonderful—much more fragrant than when I make it at home. Coming to ask Murakami-kun for guidance was definitely the right choice."

Ogiso Setsuna lowered her head slightly and leaned closer, using her hand to wave the hot air rising from the pan toward herself, laughing happily.

"Cooking isn't difficult. As long as you remember specific steps for handling ingredients and master the heat and seasoning, you can make great dishes."

Murakami Yuu was cleaning the wall-breaking meat grinder he had just used in the sink beside him.

"Of course, interest is the best teacher. And with your enthusiasm and excitement, Setsuna, the dishes you make have unique added value. This is a taste that only you can create. I believe this flavor filled with your feelings will be properly conveyed to the person you care about..."

Eh?

!

Murakami Yuu suddenly stopped his movements, feeling something was off, his expression somewhat surprised.

That sentence had just slipped out naturally, but was that something his personality would say?

Ogiso Setsuna didn't notice Murakami Yuu's small anomaly and was very pleased with his encouraging words, answering happily:

"Understood, I'll do my best, Murakami-kun!"

She looked like someone who had won first prize at a shopping district lottery box, or like someone who had finally bought their favorite sweets after queuing for half a day, naturally showing that kind of unguarded, brilliant smile that could easily infect others.

For male creatures, the destructive power was great.

"Ah... mm, the meat patty can be flipped now. Don't overcook it."

Murakami Yuu was successfully ambushed by this smile, his train of thought interrupted, so he didn't continue thinking deeply.

Setting aside other aspects, this really was a pleasant weekend.

Making dishes together with the school idol, that beautiful girl who ranked first on the "School Affiliated Miss" rankings—if other male students at school knew about this, they'd probably be jealous beyond recognition.

Maybe he'd even be dragged away by those jealous guys from the "Ogiso Fan Club" to do terrible things...

"Here, ah~"

Ogiso Setsuna picked up a small piece of the meat patty with chopsticks, gently blew on it a few times, cupped her other hand underneath protectively, and carefully extended it toward Murakami Yuu, looking nervous and expectant.

"Mm..."

Murakami Yuu was stunned for a moment, then obediently bent down and opened his mouth to accept Ogiso Setsuna's feeding gesture.

His teeth slowly chewed up and down as his tongue tasted the flavor.

"How is it?"

"Mm, for me it's a wonderful taste."

Murakami Yuu looked directly into Ogiso Setsuna's eyes and gave a thumbs up with an affirmative answer.

"Yay!"

Ogiso Setsuna excitedly made a celebratory scissors gesture with her fingers.

She turned off the heat and transferred the fried meat patty from the pan to a plate, while Murakami Yuu took a small-diameter cooking pot from the wall and placed it on the burner.

"I'll handle the rest of the work. Setsuna, just watch from the side and rest for a bit."

"Okay."

After washing her hands, Ogiso Setsuna obediently stood to the side.

Murakami Yuu stepped forward to heat the pot and add oil, added chopped onions and stir-fried until fragrant, then successively added a little tomato sauce, black pepper, mirin, and garlic powder.

He poured in a little water, then put the previously fried meat patty in, covering it with a lid.

He set up another pot on a different burner, turned to low heat, and poured olive oil into it.

"Are you starting to handle the shrimp now?"

"That's right."

Murakami Yuu removed the shrimp from the salt water and took several sheets of lint-free paper towels to pat them dry.

"Why not turn up the heat?"

"Because what I just poured in was extra virgin olive oil, which has a low smoke point and isn't suitable for sustained high-temperature cooking.

So the remedy is to start with low heat and go slowly, then turn up the heat to boiling at the end."

"I see, Murakami-kun is really amazing."

Ogiso Setsuna nodded thoughtfully and praised him sincerely.

"That's not true, I just happen to know this common knowledge."

Murakami Yuu tossed the chopped garlic he had prepared into the pot to stir-fry.

"No, you're amazing. Murakami-kun's cooking movements are smooth and flowing—just watching is comfortable, unlike my frantic and panicked appearance."

"That's only because I often cook for myself and practice makes perfect."

"No, you're just amazing!"

Seeming to feel bullied, Ogiso Setsuna looked somewhat aggrieved, dissatisfied that Murakami Yuu wouldn't honestly accept her praise. Her beautiful brown pupils looked like tears might fall at any second.

Although he knew she was just putting on an act, Murakami Yuu still couldn't resist this expression from Ogiso Setsuna.

He had the illusion that "if I let her cry like this, then I'd be an unforgivable scumbag."

"Understood, I'm amazing."

Murakami Yuu gave up struggling and expressed his thoughts according to Ogiso Setsuna's wishes.

"Yes!"

Although it was obviously a perfunctory response, Ogiso Setsuna still happily narrowed her eyes.

"I can smell the faint fruity wood fragrance mixed with garlic."

"Mm, it's about ready. Next is to put the shrimp in and slowly stir-fry until cooked."

"What's this dish called?"

"Spanish garlic shrimp."

Murakami Yuu answered with a smile.

"You can look forward to it a little—the taste should be very good."

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