Chapter 143

Chapter 143: And the Winner Is

I began kneading the dough vigorously again.

I set it aside briefly, then added a small amount of Soy Sauce and sugar to the chicken and green onion searing in the pan.

To build that charred, smoky flavor.

I tossed them quickly in the pan, then pulled out the finished shrimp tempura.

The next batch went straight into the fryer.

This time, it was seasoned dried squid strip tempura.

'Those go perfectly with udon.'

I patted dry the rehydrated squid strips, coated them in tempura batter, and fried them.

MC Kim Song-ju was intrigued.

"So the dried squid strips were soaked for tempura! Is dried squid strip tempura good?"

Other chefs answered on my behalf.

"It is great. The best beer snack."

"I fry them at home when I do not have fresh squid."

I was also frying the squid strips as a substitute since there was no squid in the current refrigerator.

'They add a nice texture when eaten alongside noodles.'

I then coated seaweed in batter and fried it too.

That made three types of tempura to accompany the udon.

Shrimp tempura, dried squid strip tempura, and seaweed tempura.

Watching this, MC An Seok-hwan said.

"Even seaweed tempura! Wow, I can already tell this will be delicious without tasting it."

With all the attention focused on me, Chef Seol beside me jokingly complained.

"Pay some attention to me too! I am making a ten-minute chashu here."

The MCs then turned to Chef Seol's food.

"Making chashu in ten minutes cannot be easy. The question is whether the meat will cook through."

"I sliced the meat thin so it is definitely possible!"

He was better at the broadcast game than me.

I barely spoke while cooking.

He chattered away the whole time.

But a chef speaks through the food.

I added bonito flakes and tsuyu to the broth to season it.

Bonito flakes turned bitter when boiled too long, which was why I added them late.

Six minutes had already passed.

The chefs were watching the clock and worrying about my dish.

"Is he not going to make the udon noodles? Time is running out."

"Exactly. They are fresh noodles, and udon noodles are thick, so he needs to start boiling them soon."

"Including the carryover cooking time from residual heat, he needs at least six minutes of boiling."

They were right.

Meaning I had to finish the dough, cut the noodles, and drop them into boiling water within three minutes.

'Plenty of time.'

I pulled the udon dough from the bowl, dusted it with flour, and rolled it out firmly with a rolling pin.

The dough stretched smoothly with no resistance.

Traditional udon dough was typically stomped on with feet to develop the gluten.

That made it chewier.

But an Awakened did not need to do that.

The force of an Awakened's hands kneading or rolling far exceeded that of a normal person stomping or pounding with a mallet.

I folded and rolled several times to increase the density.

Then I rolled it flat one more time, dusted it with flour, and began cutting.

SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!

The udon noodles were sliced at a rapid, perfectly uniform thickness in an instant.

"Wow...... that knife work is art, truly."

"I could not even see the cuts. My eyes cannot keep up with the frame rate."

"How does he cut that evenly at that speed, as if measuring with a ruler?"

The chefs were shaking their heads in disbelief.

A performance made possible by high Dexterity.

I immediately dropped the noodles into the boiling water.

I boiled the noodles separately rather than in the broth.

Rolling, cutting, and dropping into the boiling water took approximately one minute and thirty seconds.

I finished all three types of tempura.

The boneless chicken thigh and green onion were also done searing.

Seeing that, MC Kim Song-ju was impressed.

"Wow, he seared them golden brown right to the edge of burning. That must be packed with smoky flavor. Will you put the chicken into the broth now?"

"Yes, I will add it and simmer together. That way the smoky aroma infuses into the broth. But before that, I have one more step."

"What step?"

"Smoking."

Inside actress Han Ji-in's refrigerator, there had been a cocktail smoking chip set.

Small metal containers holding a modest amount of smoking chips.

'The MCs missed this ingredient when introducing the refrigerator contents. Spotting it was what made me pivot to Genroku Udon.'

I placed the seared boneless chicken thigh in a bowl.

In the center, I put mesquite smoking chips on a heatproof glass dish and lit them with a torch.

Mesquite chips produced a strong smoky flavor.

Overuse could make things bitter.

They were commonly used for whiskey.

As smoke began rising, I covered it with a stainless steel bowl to trap the smoke.

Actress Han Ji-in was surprised.

"Wow, I bought those smoking chips, used them once to add aroma to whiskey, and completely forgot about them. And he is using them in cooking."

Hearing that, I asked her.

"But why did you keep the smoking chips inside the refrigerator? They would get damp."

"Oh, they were originally on top of the fridge, but when I was organizing it for the show, the container looked fancy so I just put it inside."

"I see. Well, it worked out for me."

After briefly smoking the chicken for aroma, I dropped it straight into the broth.

Along with the grilled green onion.

That would infuse the broth with deep, smoky richness.

Now I just needed to let the noodles and broth simmer thoroughly.

And I still had five minutes left.

Then I should make something extra.

I popped an instant rice pack into the microwave for two minutes.

MCs Kim Song-ju and An Seok-hwan took notice.

"He is even microwaving instant rice. What could he possibly be planning?"

"Chef An seems to exist in a different time flow from the rest of us. It is like watching fast-forward. Being Awakened really is different."

Hearing that, Association President Lee Su-gil laughed heartily.

"Not all Awakened are like that. Chef An is the special one! He is one of the top S-Rank Hunters even in the Hunter industry. Chef An is a national treasure."

"Ooh!"

"An S-Rank Hunter chef!"

"Do you know An Seon-u?"

Stop......!

Why was all the embarrassment mine to bear?

My focus wavered slightly.

I pulled myself together and continued cooking.

While the instant rice heated, I took out a sirloin steak cut and sliced it into thin sheets.

"What are the thin steak slices for?"

"I am going to make bulgogi wraps."

"Bulgogi wraps......?"

"Yes. Actress Han Ji-in said she likes eating various accompaniments alongside. I thought she might enjoy wrapping udon noodles in the meat."

I put a small amount of Soy Sauce, Mirin, sugar, and water into a pan, then cooked the three wide, uncut meat slices.

I seared them quickly, plated them, and topped them with sliced scallions.

One accompaniment dish done in a flash.

Next, I prepared seaweed and kimbap filling ingredients.

The fillings were simple: just Pickled Radish, imitation crab, ham, carrot, and scallions.

"Surely you are not making kimbap too......?"

"I am. It pairs well with udon broth."

I was only making one roll, so the prep was done quickly.

I lightly seared the carrot and ham in a pan.

Once the instant rice was heated, I seasoned it with Sesame Oil and salt.

I spread rice on a sheet of kimbap seaweed, rolled it, sliced it, and plated just three pieces.

Then MC An Seok-hwan came over for a preliminary check.

He tasted my udon broth.

MC An Seok-hwan asked.

"How is the taste?!"

"Oh man! The smoky flavor is incredible! It permeated the broth perfectly!"

"Is the seasoning just right?"

"It is a touch subtle right now, but a little more simmering and it will be perfect!"

MC An Seok-hwan then tasted Chef Seol's ramen broth and said the seasoning was spot on.

I had finished plating all three accompaniment dishes: tempura, kimbap, and bulgogi wraps.

I had even filled a small dish with Pickled Radish as a palate cleanser.

Now I just needed to finish the udon.

The clock showed roughly one minute remaining.

'Time to wrap up.'

First, I lifted the separately boiled noodles into a bowl.

Then I ladled broth over the noodles.

I fished out only the grilled chicken and grilled green onion from the remaining broth and plated them on top of the udon.

A sprinkle of sliced scallions for the finishing touch.

About fifteen seconds remained.

'Chef Seol is not done yet.'

Then I should ring the bell first.

Noodles got soggy if left too long.

So in a noodle battle, tasting first was the advantage.

I rang the bell immediately.

"Chef An Seon-u finishes with fifteen seconds to spare! What a phenomenal performance. In fifteen minutes, he completed four dishes including the udon!"

Chef Seol used every last second before finishing and ringing his bell.

He had made just one dish, soy ramen.

No accompaniments.

'Even with just one dish, if the flavor is there, he has a chance.'

The tasting began with actress Han Ji-in.

She tasted my food first.

"I will decide based purely on taste."

She had set the terms of her judging.

Essentially declaring there would be no favoritism.

"Let me try the broth first. I have been so curious about it."

She took a sip and her eyes widened.

"Huh......?"

She took another spoonful.

And one more.

The MCs and cast, who had been swallowing hard, pressed her.

"Ms. Han Ji-in, please describe the flavor!"

"The suspense is killing us!"

Only then did she offer a sheepish smile and describe the taste.

"The broth flavor is so fascinating! He seared the chicken and green onion in a pan, not over open flame, so how does the broth have this refined smoky flavor......?"

Thanks to the smoking chips.

As she said, pan-searing rather than grilling over open flame had inherent limitations for smoky flavor.

The intensely smoky mesquite chips had overcome that limitation.

She tasted the udon noodles next.

"Hmm......?"

She tilted her head as she chewed.

"Are the noodles properly cooked?"

At the MC's question, she nodded.

"They are. The noodles are incredibly chewy and springy. Completely different from store-bought. How can these be noodles made from scratch in fifteen minutes with no resting time......?"

She then ate the chicken, green onion, and tempura.

She ate kimbap with the broth.

Every dish satisfied her.

Then she picked up a piece of Korean beef bulgogi wrap, laid it over the noodles, wrapped it, and ate.

"Mmm, this is so delicious! Every single accompaniment pairs perfectly with the udon."

Moisture had gathered in her eyes.

She dabbed the corner of her eye with her finger.

"Oh, it is so good I am about to cry. Your wife, Hunter Emeria, gets to eat food like this every day?"

She directed the question at me.

"That is right. And she cooks for me too. My wife is also an excellent cook."

"I am so envious of you both."

And so the tasting of my dish concluded.

Next was Chef Seol's tasting.

Actress Han Ji-in enjoyed his soy ramen as well and gave it positive marks.

As expected of someone who appeared on a show like this, his skills were solid.

Then the other MCs, chefs, and the Hunter Association President all tasted the dishes Chef Seol and I had made.

"Oh man, the udon noodles are phenomenally chewy."

"How is this possible in fifteen minutes......? His multitasking ability must be insane."

"Exactly. To do all this in fifteen minutes, you would need a recipe plan mapped out to the second with zero margin for error, executed flawlessly."

The time came to determine the winner.

Ms. Han Ji-in made the final decision.

MC Kim Song-ju announced the winner.

"The winner of the warm noodle theme is......! Chef An Seon-u's 'Genroku Udon with Accompaniments,' who dazzled us with a spectacular performance!"

I won.

I did not feel any great emotion.

It was a variety show cooking battle, not a serious competition.

Chef Seol came over and congratulated me.

"Congratulations! I learned a lot today."

"Thank you."

He then hugged me and whispered so only I could hear.

"I provoked you because I wanted to compete against you. Please do not take it the wrong way."

"Of course not. Thank you for setting up the broadcast angle."

We wrapped things up amicably.

Good vibes all around.

***

The rest of the time was relaxing.

Watching the other chefs cook was entertaining.

Tasting their food was enjoyable too.

'I had only ever seen this on TV, but seeing it in person is even more fun.'

Watching live was always better.

The long waits between segments were a drawback, but I was able to build friendships with the other chefs, so it was not bad.

After the recording wrapped, I went to pay my respects to the esteemed Chef Kang Min-su.

"I will bring my family to your restaurant next time."

"That would be a tremendous honor. When you do, I would love an autograph and a photo! Ha ha!"

"Of course, Chef."

I also said goodbye to Chef Sam-jeong.

"Your food today was absolutely delicious. I have deep respect for you."

"Please. I enjoyed your food far more. Getting to witness the famed Chef An's cooking skills with my own eyes today was truly a joy."

Being recognized by chefs I had long admired was immensely gratifying.

In truth, this was the first time I had been acknowledged by senior chefs in the domestic industry.