After announcing the participants for each area, everyone went to their designated areas to get ready. Hoshino Sora was no exception. Looking at the dazzling array of ingredients on the table, the young man didn't rush to start but began to ponder.
Noodles, this was a broad theme. Although he knew many types of noodle dishes, he wasn't planning to make those.
While ordinary noodle dishes could pass the assessment, they wouldn't secure his position as the First Seat. So, he planned to pull out all the stops for Chief Examiner Fujino and make an incredible noodle dish.
"Not Noodles"
This was a top-tier noodle dish he had never made before, only seen in anime!
And all the ingredients needed to make this bowl of noodles were conveniently available in the kitchen. Here, one couldn't help but marvel at Far Moon's thorough preparation.
However, it was only when he saw the catfish in the water tank at the entrance that he truly thought of this dish.
"What is he going to make? Is it seafood noodles?"
"I don't know, but since he's making noodles, why isn't he taking flour?"
"Strange, is he giving up on this exam? That shouldn't be. As the Ten Elite First Seat, he can't possibly be bad at noodle dishes, right!?"
"Impossible, there must be some hidden mystery in it!"
Seeing Hoshino Sora only take two catfish but no flour, the crowd immediately started discussing. After all, there were still five hours until the end of the competition, and everyone was currently still in the thinking stage.
"You're right, quick, look, he also took sea bream and squid. It doesn't look like he's giving up at all."
"What exactly is he going to make? It can't be that he wants to use these to make noodles, wait, fish meat, could it be that he's planning to make noodles with fish meat!?"
Either a flash of inspiration or a guess, a Far Moon student spoke with a shocked expression, but quickly shook his head: "Impossible, impossible. Fish meat is so soft, it's impossible to make resilient noodles. Using fish meat to make noodles is undoubtedly asking for trouble!"
"Hard to say. This is the Ten Elite First Seat. I wouldn't be surprised by any dish he presents."
"You're right, after all, it's 'him'."
Looking at Hoshino Sora, poised at the cooking station, most people were still in the thinking stage, unlike him who had decided what to make early on.
From this perspective, Hoshino Sora was already far ahead of them.
"Impossible, impossible. Fish meat is so delicate and soft, how can it be used to make resilient noodles? Unless flour is added in between, but he doesn't look like he intends to add flour…"
The surrounding students gradually dispersed, as they still had their own dishes to handle. Only the first person who guessed what Hoshino Sora was going to make remained, utterly perplexed and confused. This also caused him to neglect his own assessment, as he stared intently at Hoshino Sora.
"So that's it!? Adding finely shredded rehydrated squid to the fish meat to create the unique chewiness of noodles, what a genius idea! Is this the Ten Elite First Seat!?"
"Sea bream combined with the fish aroma from various freshwater fish, oh my, how incredibly fresh will this broth be!?"
His eyes grew brighter and brighter. It was truly hard to imagine that Hoshino Sora could construct a "Not Noodles" dish in such a short time. His rich imagination had completely overturned his worldview!
"Finished!"
Looking at the steaming "Not Noodles" in front of him, Hoshino Sora wiped away non-existent beads of sweat from his forehead, a very proud smile on his face.
Only about an hour had passed at this point.
As Hoshino Sora finished his dish, the examinee who had been secretly watching him also came back to his senses. Although he hadn't started yet, he wasn't flustered at all, because he also had skill.
Four hours to cook a bowl of noodles was more than enough time for him.
Being able to witness such a perfectly creative dish today was definitely a huge gain, and it could broaden his culinary path significantly in the future.
This was the impact of high-level cuisine on ordinary chefs!
"Have you already finished your dish? It's only been about an hour. Logically speaking, you shouldn't even have finished simmering the broth. Although you are the Ten Elite First Seat, it's impossible for me to let you pass by just serving up any dish…"
Looking at Hoshino Sora's face and the steaming noodles in his hand, Demon Fujino was about to lecture him and tell him to re-cook, but the aroma of the dish completely captivated her.
So much so that she couldn't even utter the last two words.
"What is this noodle dish called? It doesn't look like a local delicacy from the Hokkaido region."
Looking at the translucent noodles in front of her, a faint fish aroma, rich and mellow, wafted through the air, making her mouth water uncontrollably.
"This is an original dish by a good friend of mine, 'Not Noodles'."
Looking at the golden light emanating from the noodles, Hoshino Sora said sincerely. At this moment, a strangely shaped monster hovered in mid-air. The monster had eight legs, a sea bream body, and catfish whiskers, gathering all the characteristics of the ingredients used to make this dish, looking incredibly lifelike.
"Not Noodles? Why is it called that? Is there any special meaning behind it…"
Forcibly suppressing her craving for the dish in front of her, Fujino's wrinkled face was filled with curiosity, because from its appearance, it was a very ordinary noodle dish.
The sea bream was used for both the broth and the garnish. The garnish consisted of sea bream meat rolls, made by rolling and slicing sea bream fillets. Besides that, there were only the noodles.
It looked very ordinary, yet it emitted an astonishing aroma. Could there be some hidden secret in these noodles!?
"You'll know once you taste it. I believe that food conveys meaning much faster and better than words."
"Not Noodles…"
Hearing Hoshino Sora's explanation, Fujino didn't press further. Tasting a dish with a question in mind was not necessarily a bad thing; perhaps she could even discover something new.
"Catfish meat, these noodles are made from catfish meat!? No, it's not just catfish meat. Catfish meat alone definitely couldn't make these noodles so chewy!"
With just one bite, Fujino identified the ingredients. What is professionalism? This is professionalism! But she still couldn't figure out what that chewy, firm component in the middle was.
"Rehydrated shredded squid."
"So that's it, no wonder it's so chewy. Your friend is truly a genius to come up with such a creative idea."
Hoshino Sora explained. To be honest, threading such thin squid shreds into the catfish meat was truly difficult. One wrong move and the squid shreds would break in the middle or bend awkwardly.
After thousands of incredibly fast attempts, he finally presented this bowl of "Not Noodles." It was truly a masterpiece!
Even if an ordinary person could think of such a cooking method, they would definitely give up halfway due to its unimaginable difficulty.
Therefore, under these circumstances, Hoshino Sora's ability to present such a dish was truly commendable. The taste, naturally, was also superb, as could be seen from the cooking spirit floating in the air.
"Good, good, good! I declare you passed the second assessment!"
Saying "good" three times in a row showed how delicious the dish in front of her was. Even Demon Fujino had to admit defeat.
After giving her evaluation, Fujino didn't set the dish aside. Instead, she picked up her chopsticks and began to eat heartily, her face filled with an expression of bliss.
Even though it was made from catfish meat, there was no earthy smell at all. Was it because egg whites and cooking wine were used to remove the fishy odor? The firmness of the rehydrated shredded squid in the middle was also just right, and because it was all cooked with seafood, this was a genuine seafood noodle dish!
In addition, the seafood broth made from fish aroma and sea bream was truly incredibly fresh!
With one bite, her whole being felt as if she were at the bottom of the sea, with thousands of fish swimming past her, and she herself seemed to have transformed into a fish, freely roaming the ocean.
One slurp and one chew, the softness of the catfish meat and the chewiness of the dried squid complemented each other perfectly. Two completely opposite things combined in a single noodle were so harmonious, so naturally formed!
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