066. Refined Technique.

"In that case... Do you have anything you'd like to eat?"

The other groups had already decided on their menu, and Erina cleared her throat, asking with an expression that seemed eager to hear what Shiraki had to say.

This question made Shiraki think for a moment. When it comes to noodles, the variety of pastries in Chinese cuisine can be described as dazzling. These pastries can be roughly divided by the type of raw materials, the nature of the dough, the method of preparation, the shape, the taste, etc. Of course, there are also some regional specialties, such as Yanjing rubber rings, pea yellow, crab shell yellow in Modu, and mallet devil in Jingu. These are likely too complex for Erina to make, even if she knows about them. More common Chinese pastries include buns, spring rolls, Sixi dumplings, longevity peaches, and similar dishes.

"How about buns?" Shiraki finally chose this most common pastry. Erina agreed after a moment's thought, and the two of them went to gather ingredients from the back storage.

At this time, Lecturer Maki began to walk around, stopping occasionally to observe the cooking process of various groups and offering suggestions. It seemed that Lecturer Maki and Lecturer Chapelle had different teaching styles. If it were Lecturer Chapelle, any flaws in the dish would be pointed out only after the students had served their food, greatly reducing the chance of them receiving an A grade.

Once they had the ingredients, Erina immediately began preparing the dish.

The first task was processing the meat. She placed the meat on the cutting board, shaved the bones, peeled the skin, and removed the tendons in one smooth motion. Her technique was clean and precise, and even the passing Lecturer Shimu couldn't help but show a glint of admiration. From this small detail, it was clear that Erina was a top-tier chef, one of the top ten masters at Totsuki, and at the very top of the first-year students. Her cooking skills were so impressive that they were a pleasure to watch.

"Let me see... What ingredients is Erina working with? Meat, flour, yeast, milk, sesame oil, wine, ginger... I see, it's 'that' pastry." Alice Nakiri, observing Erina's movements from behind, was visibly intrigued. She looked like a curious child and showed no intention of participating in the cooking. Next to her, Ryo Kurokiba, with his menacing aura, was busy with his own preparations. The surrounding students seemed intimidated by his fierce expression. As soon as he turned around, anyone who had been about to reprimand him quickly turned away, not wanting to draw his attention.

There was a reason Alice was so surprised. Since junior high, Erina had mostly worked alone, with Hisako Arata as her only cooking partner. Most of the time, Hisako would do most of the cooking while Erina merely assisted. In fact, the high school curriculum didn't offer much in terms of improving Erina's skills. But today, her cousin was partnering with someone other than Scarlet Sand, and the way Erina, who usually had a high-and-mighty attitude, appeared genuinely happy was curious. The dynamic between her and Shiraki was truly intriguing.

Soon, Erina had processed the entire piece of pork, and the next step was to chop it into filling.

Although Erina appeared delicate, her strength was surprising when it came to the physical task of chopping meat. With a focused expression, she used a kitchen knife to cut the meat into thin slices, each one nearly identical in thickness. She maintained impressive precision, and despite the cuts being very close to the cutting board, the whole piece of meat remained intact.

Next, she turned the meat to the side and began chopping it rapidly, like turning pages in a book. In just five minutes, the entire pork loin had been transformed into minced meat. With no hesitation, Erina continued to chop the meat, and in less than a minute, it had been processed beautifully into a smooth, consistent texture.

Normally, the next step would be to mix the filling, but just as Erina was about to add the ingredients to the bowl, Shiraki stopped her.

"Wait."

He reached over, took the bowl with the minced meat, and kneaded it in Erina's puzzled gaze. Then, with surprising speed, he tossed the meat into the air. Before Erina could react, his left hand came down like a hammer, smashing the minced meat as it fell. But just before the meat hit the bowl, his right hand reached up again, throwing it back in the air as though he were tossing a ball.

With each cycle, the filling became tighter. At first, it was slightly deformed by Shiraki's movements, but soon it began to form into perfect little balls. After about five minutes, the meat filling had become a smooth, firm ball, resembling a meatball.

"Alright, it's ready."

Erina took the bowl from Shiraki and used chopsticks to pick up the meat filling. Although it looked like a meatball on the outside, the inside was not pureed. When she picked it up, she could feel its firmness, and when she pressed it, the filling had an unexpected elasticity. What would it taste like? The fact that such an effect could be achieved in such a short amount of time left Erina stunned.

Was this guy pretending to be a layman?

She recalled how shocked she had been earlier when she saw Shiraki's chaotic cooking techniques. Blushing slightly, Erina thought to herself, If I had another chance, I would definitely watch him cook with a straight face and no change in expression. Not a single flicker of emotion!

Suddenly, she gave Shiraki a blank look, and he appeared unexpectedly surprised.

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