When Okabe and Megumi Tadokoro collected enough spices, Takumi Aldini, Soma Yukihira, and Ikumi Mito had all returned and were currently gathered around the fire chatting.
"Okabe-kun, Megumi, you're back!"
Ikumi Mito was the first to spot them, so she took the initiative to stand up and welcome them.
"You're back. Are these ingredients? You were in such a rush you didn't even have time to tend to the fire. Luckily I came back in time, otherwise, the fire would have been blown out by the wind."
Takumi raised his head, shifting his gaze to Okabe and Megumi Tadokoro who were walking toward them. Seeing the two holding several plants he didn't recognize, he asked curiously.
"We went to get some spices to enhance the flavor. Tonight's cooking will focus on 'Numbing and Spicy'."
Okabe voiced his suggestion.
"Numbing and Spicy? Did you find Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers? Could it be that what you're holding is..."
Soma Yukihira spoke while looking at the Mountain Litsea and aquatic plant rhizomes cradled in Okabe's arms, his expression containing surprise mixed with a hint of doubt.
It didn't look like them either...
"No, but I found their substitutes. Mountain Litsea, also known as wild pepper, and this unknown plant rhizome. The taste is slightly numbing, and a mint-like coolness emerges from the depths of the mouth when tasting the afternotes."
As Okabe spoke, he raised the ingredients in his hand. Subsequently, he sat down beside Takumi, used stones to stack the fire pit properly, and then began to process the river fish caught earlier.
Upon seeing the fish in his hand, Soma Yukihira revealed an astonished expression: "This is Sweetfish, right? I didn't expect this island to actually have this."
"I recall that this kind of fish has very high requirements for water quality. But indeed, compared to the waters in human society, this uninhabited stream is actually cleaner."
Hearing Soma Yukihira's exclamation, Takumi also looked over and saw the fish Okabe was holding. The fish's head had been pierced by the spear without damaging the body in the slightest.
What formidable fishing technique!
Takumi thought of the stone spear he saw when he arrived; the spear tip had obvious damage, and leaning in close, one could smell a faint fishy odor. It was obviously Okabe's fishing tool.
To be able to stab so many Sweetfish without damaging their bodies using only a crude spear proved that every single strike was a one-hit kill to the head.
"However, how do you plan to cook them? The more common cooking method for Sweetfish is charcoal grilling, but there is no charcoal here. If we start burning wood now, it will be a bit too late..."
Ikumi Mito asked the question that puzzled her, as well as everyone else on the scene.
The advantage of charcoal grilling lay in stability. Directly using wood, because of its high internal moisture content, would produce a large amount of smoke. At the same time, the internal temperature would be unstable, requiring the chef to have excellent control over the heat to avoid burning the food.
This was the main reason why everyone used charcoal for barbecue instead of directly using wood.
"Directly using an open flame is fine. I'll control the heat. Let's simply roast five first so we can each taste one. Megumi, take out your salt."
"Okay."
Hearing Okabe's words, Megumi Tadokoro nodded. She immediately jogged to the area where ingredients were stored, handed the salt she brought to Okabe, and then sat down beside him to wait.
The others, seeing he had made a decision, didn't say anything more.
And Okabe?
He picked out a few straight, thin branches from the ground, sharpened the tips, and threaded them through the bodies of the fish in an S-shape. Then, he took the table salt and smeared it on the fins to prevent them from burning.
After everything was ready, Okabe held the branches skewering the Sweetfish and extended them toward the windward direction of the flames.
He did not extend the fish directly into the center of the flame but held them diagonally about a fist's distance above the fire. This allowed the rising hot air currents to wrap evenly around the fish's body.
The tongues of fire lightly licked at the fish skin, and a subtle "sizzling" sound rang in everyone's ears.
Okabe's fingers seemed to be playing the piano, slightly rotating the branches from time to time and using a stick to adjust the height of the flames on the ground, allowing every side of the roasted Sweetfish to be heated evenly.
During this process, the silvery-white skin of the Sweetfish gradually took on a golden hue, and the edges even began to show a tempting, scorched-crispy luster, making one unable to resist swallowing their saliva.
When the fish meat was cooked, a unique and clear, sweet aroma gradually permeated the scene.
Sweetfish itself carried a fresh melon scent similar to watermelon. At this moment, triggered by the flames, it intertwined with the smoky smell of burning wood, forming a dual flavor profile.
"It smells so good..."
As the temperature rose, the fragrance of the fat burst forth. Ikumi Mito couldn't help but take a deep breath, her eyes staring tightly at those few fish that were gradually turning golden.
"Roasting directly with an open flame, yet able to control it so that almost no black smoke is seen, and not a single spot of char has appeared on the fish surface. The grasp of the flame and distance is truly precise."
Takumi focused more on Okabe's technique. He roasted directly with open fire without damaging the fish skin in the slightest, roasting every part just right; he couldn't help but marvel in praise.
Okabe didn't flip them frequently; he just constantly observed the fish itself. Every rotation was just right, allowing the fish skin to be heated evenly while maintaining its integrity.
Soma Yukihira also gazed at Okabe's movements, unable to stop himself from sighing with emotion: "To achieve this degree, one must possess very strong powers of observation. At the same time, the angle the hand adjusts to must be exactly the same as the thought in the mind."
Megumi Tadokoro didn't speak. She sat quietly to the side, resting her chin in her hands, her gaze gently fixed on Okabe's profile, which was focused to the extreme.
The firelight danced on his face, illuminating a tranquil expression.
For a moment, she was somewhat entranced by the sight.
Seven or eight minutes later, Okabe moved the branches slightly further away. By now, the fish skin had become golden and crispy, with tiny oil bubbles swelling on the surface.
He picked up the prepared Mountain Litsea, his fingers applying slight force to gently crush them, turning them into crushed plant matter with juice. Then, he sprinkled them evenly over the bodies of the fish.
Sizzle—
The instant the spices made contact with the scorching hot fish skin, a burst of even richer, complex aroma erupted.
The lemon freshness and citrus-like spiciness unique to Mountain Litsea burst forth first, intertwining with the fresh sweetness of the fish meat, turning into a flavor that was tempting to the extreme.
Next was that unknown plant. Okabe removed its leaves, placed them on Takumi's cutting board, chopped them into fine powder with a kitchen knife, and sprinkled them onto the roasted fish.
"Done! Here you go, Megumi."
Sensing the rich fragrance radiating in the air, a satisfied look appeared on Okabe's face. Subsequently, he looked at Megumi Tadokoro and handed the first Sweetfish to her.
"Thank you."
Megumi Tadokoro accepted the Sweetfish handed over by Okabe, appearing to just snap back to reality. She thanked him with a slightly red face, then held it in her hand, puckering her lips to blow on it gently.
"This appearance is even better than what I do with charcoal grilling!"
Taking the roasted fish from Okabe's hand and looking at the golden oil bubbles on its surface, Soma Yukihira exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, his eyes twinkling with a look of anticipation.
Without hesitation.
He puffed up his cheeks and blew on it vigorously.
After its surface had cooled slightly, he took a bite into its plump back.
The fish skin, roasted just right, let out a crisp cracking sound the moment it was pulled off, simultaneously revealing the snow-white, delicate fish meat. Heat wrapped in fragrance assaulted his face.
Fish meat entering the mouth.
What Soma Yukihira felt first was the crispness of the fish skin and the perfect saltiness. Immediately after, the fresh sweetness and delicacy unique to Sweetfish meat melted in his mouth.
As he chewed, the citrusy spiciness of the Mountain Litsea spread out—not stimulating, yet possessing extreme presence.
As time passed, this sensation of spiciness gradually reached its peak, and a faint minty coolness emerged, caressing the taste buds like a clear spring, bringing a wondrous cooling sensation.
"This sensation!"
Takumi closed his eyes uncontrollably.
Spicy and cool, fiery and fresh, crispy and tender...
Multiple contrasting textures and flavors constantly intertwined, collided, and fused in the mouth, finally detonating with a boom at the tip of the tongue!
This feeling was like soaking in a hot spring during a cold winter day. When the warm water swept over the whole body, the satisfaction brought in that instant was hard for ordinary people to imagine!
"So pleasant, such a feeling of satisfaction..."
His eyes narrowing into a slit due to the comfort, Takumi looked at the remaining half of the Sweetfish in his hand, a look of shock surfacing on his face.
Just by sprinkling a little salt, plus a few plant spices, he could actually achieve such deliciousness. What an incredible man!
"We can do this!
To serve a dish of this level on the first day, I can't even imagine how those guys are going to win!"
Takumi Aldini opened his eyes and spoke excitedly to Okabe, completely forgetting that this was just a dish Okabe had made casually.
"Indeed. Whether it's the texture of the fish meat or the overall flavor presentation, this dish has already reached a very high degree of completion."
Beside them, Ikumi Mito nodded in agreement.
Cuisine didn't necessarily require overly complex cooking methods. Even simple roasting could still produce ultimate deliciousness worthy of being called top-tier cuisine.
One could say it was Okabe's roasting technique that raised the flavor of the roasted Sweetfish to a higher level!
"However... it feels a bit overly perfect..."
Looking at the Sweetfish she had already finished eating, Megumi Tadokoro smacked her lips, seemingly reminiscing. Yet, what she felt was only the richness of the fish meat, along with the obvious numbing and spicy sensation.
"What are you saying? Being made perfectly shows that Okabe-kun's skills are superb. He couldn't possibly serve a failure, right?"
"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. It's just... I feel there's no memorable point. No, what on earth am I saying!"
Hearing Ikumi Mito suddenly raise her voice, which seemed to carry some blame, Megumi Tadokoro immediately apologized.
Her face turned slightly red, seeming very unaccustomed to offering criticism, so she waved her hands in a panic, wanting everyone to forget what she just said.
"You are right. The fundamental reason why a memory point can't be found is because I roasted it too evenly.
Fish body, fish tail—every place was processed with the same method. There is nothing special for the diner; naturally, it's forgotten after eating. It's impressive you could tell."
Okabe's expression was somewhat surprised.
He had processed it this way on purpose, not to test the others, but because he needed to figure out the Sweetfish.
Roast different parts with different heat.
Let their respective deliciousness diverge, and finally converge in the oral cavity to form layers.
This was his current concept.
"Then, let's start the research for dinner!"
At the same time, in a place two kilometers away from Okabe and the others.
Adana's team had built a temporary camp under a giant banyan tree, and two tents had already been set up.
Several flat large stones had been scrubbed clean and set up on wooden stakes, becoming their temporary cooking station.
The campfire was stacked into a shape suitable for controlling the fire, and suspended above it was a thick-bottomed deep pot. This was the essence of their cooking.
At this moment, the air around them was filled with a complex and rich aroma of spices.
Adana squatted by the pot, clutching a handful of unidentified spices in her hand, adding them while slowly stirring with a smooth-whittled wooden stick.
That appearance looked extremely like a witch from the Middle Ages.
The soup in the pot presented a heavy golden yellow color. As she stirred, chopped root vegetables and vague chunks of meat could be seen bobbing in the thick curry sauce.
"Sumi. Wild ginger and lemongrass."
Adana extended her hand without turning her head.
"Coming right away."
The immature young girl named Sumi hurriedly handed over the washed tender ginger and the lemongrass leaves emitting a fresh fragrance.
Adana accepted them, and without even looking, her fingers dexterously broke these spices into irregular small pieces, tossing them into the pot together with the lemongrass leaves.
Next, from a container temporarily woven from large leaves beside her, she grabbed a handful of dark brown, dried fruit-like spices carrying a unique pungent scent.
"This is... Candlenut?"
Another young woman asked curiously.
"En. After being roasted slightly with fire and crushed, it can provide a unique nutty aroma and oily sensation, making this pot of curry more mellow and providing better flavor."
Adana explained as she sprinkled the crushed Candlenut powder into the pot.
Different from Okabe's side which required a "Search-Experiment-Construct" mode, her cooking carried a kind of certainty of "taking directly from the forest's treasury."
Almost at the same time her voice fell, a more penetrating complex spicy fragrance rose from the pot, instantly overpowering the original curry scent.
The unique oily scorched fragrance of the roasted Candlenuts strangely fused with the spiciness of the ginger, the freshness of the lemongrass, and the profound tastes of cumin, turmeric, and coriander seeds in the curry base she carried with her.
Finally, it formed a heavy yet layered brand-new aroma.
This aroma seemed to carry some kind of magic, causing the other team members busy around the temporary camp to unconsciously stop the movements in their hands. Their nostrils flared, and their gazes invariably turned toward that bubbling deep pot.
Everyone's face held anticipation.
After all, once the dish was completed, the first people to taste it would be them.
"Let me think. The main ingredient is key in this duel. The opponent is camping by the river; there is a high probability they will use river fish as the main ingredient. To counter it..."
Adana's gaze turned toward the gurgling stream not far away, her eyes profound.
She whispered to Cato beside her: "The advantage of fish dishes is that they are delicious, light, and have a buoyant texture. The disadvantage is that the flavor is relatively singular, overly reliant on the freshness of the ingredient itself, and the satiety provided is weak. It is difficult to provide the taster with satisfying emotions."
"So we need to use... a heavy, rich flavor full of impact to cover it?"
Cato voiced his own insight.
"Not just cover."
Adana's mouth curved into a confident arc: "It is to construct a fortress that creates a 'sense of satisfaction' and 'flavor depth' the opponent can hardly hope to reach."
"This pot of curry is currently in the base stage. We still need that."
Beside her, Sumi blinked curiously and said, "That? What is it?"
"Long, did you bring the thing back?"
Adana didn't answer directly, turning instead to look at the tall, thin man who was late in arriving. He was holding something in his hands.
Hearing the inquiry, the man called Long nodded. He untied the large bundle in his arms, which was temporarily bound with broad leaves and vines. Subsequently, everyone saw the black-brown, solid block-like object covered in holes inside.
"This is... a honeycomb?"
Sumi leaned in to check, covering her mouth in surprise.
"And it's a honeycomb where the bee pupae are about to mature and the honey storage is most abundant."
Adana squatted down, carefully broke off a small piece, and held it before her mouth. Thick, golden-bright wild honey dripped slowly, flickering with a tempting luster under the firelight.
What was even more eye-catching was that inside the honeycomb holes, slightly wriggling white bee pupae were faintly visible—a sight that would frighten anyone with trypophobia.
"The complex sweet moistness of wild honey, plus the protein rich in the bee pupae and the unique oily sensation contained inside..."
A sharp light flashed in Adana's eyes:
"Blending them into the curry can not only add a natural, mellow layer of sweetness but also provide an unparalleled rich texture and a 'wild' flavor memory point."
"This is the most generous gift the forest has given us!"
She looked at the other four people besides herself and ordered:
"Long, process the honeycomb slightly. Filter out the honey for later use; try your best not to break the bee pupae."
"Sumi, Saria, you two go find some wild berries with a fresh sour taste. The sourer the better; we need a bit of bright acidity to balance."
"Cato, maintain the fire under the pot. Now is the critical period for flavor fusion!"
"Okay."
Long nodded slightly.
"Yes."
Sumi and Saria looked at each other, and without much hesitation, walked toward the depths of the dense forest.
"Okay, I'll pay attention."
As Adana constantly issued orders, the team members immediately began to move, and the temporary camp that had been idle became busy again.
Adana nodded with satisfaction upon seeing this scene. Then she returned to the side of the thick-bottomed deep pot, looking at the rolling golden curry in the pot, and murmured:
"No matter what kind of dish you serve in the end, as long as it is a competition in this forest, you cannot possibly win against me!"
In this forest, their group of Indonesians had the richest experience. Whatever ingredients were needed could be found quickly and then applied to the cooking.
This was an advantage that Okabe's team, which relied on luck to find ingredients and used whatever they had, absolutely did not possess!
Time passed quickly amidst constant trial and error.
Soon, it was dinner time.
The teams required to present dinner weren't just them. By the time Okabe arrived at the scene, the sun was about to set completely, and two large floodlights had been turned on around the area for illumination.
According to the rules, if one still hadn't arrived at the scene before sunset, it would be directly judged as a failure, and they would be sent back to the mainland overnight by the boatmen waiting by the seaside.
"You guys finally arrived. I thought you wouldn't come out of fear."
Looking at Okabe and the others who were late in arriving, as well as the flat wooden board he was holding in his hand, Adana stepped forward. Her eyes looking at him were filled with inquiry.
____
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