「火之迦具土」 · @KamiNoKazan
22nd Jul 2017 from TwitLonger
Rᴇᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ Lᴏsᴛ Kɪɴɢ ﹣ Tᴇᴀᴍ D Cᴏᴏᴋɪɴɢ Cᴏɴᴛᴇsᴛ ʀᴇsᴘᴏɴsᴇ
With a patient glare at the cooking station and the key ingredient laid out in front of him, the bowl of fish sauce set off to one side as the supposedly 'bad' ingredient was meant to be key to the meal.
Fortunately enough, Kagutsuchi's idea on how to use the fermented fish and salt mixture was better than the typical use as a dressing; it would be a spice in the making of steamed salmon, hopefully to catch the attention of one of the organizers.
Grasping each sleeve and rolling the cloth up his arms, the Kami set to work by looking at the cookbook, meticulously scrutinizing it's contents for a good ten minutes before whirring to life in a quick, mechanical rush of collecting the necessary ingredients: fitting small spice jars of coriander, mint leaves, ground ginger, garlic granules, red sea salt, ground chilli and a bottle of lime juice between his fingers, carefully setting each one down from being bundled in his arms, making a beeline for the cupboard as soon as the last spice was set firmly down.
Fetching a large pestle and mortar, Kagutsuchi took rationed spoons of each ingredient, first putting all the dry substances in first, pushing and twisting the pestle down into the mortar where the spices lay to mix them into a single powdered solution, setting that to the side for a moment to finely dice the coriander and mint together before adding it in. A pleasant, earthy mint smell coated his fingertips as the results of his careful chopping joined the mortar, spying the bowl of fish sauce at the opposite end.
Noting the fine dust of spices and oils on his hands, the Kami left for the sink, allowing a brief respite to observe the other teams as he grabbed two salmon fillets and one hunk of prime beef, too large to be called a steak. He was mindful of one of his teammates, Akane - who had an unusual fondness for meat. So an alternative dish to bait her away while the actual one went to judging would be useful, stripping off the packaging and practically dropping the beef into the oven tray and set to a long cook on gas mark five, while the salmon was placed in a deep pan, leaving the fish aside for the moment.
Stirring the mandatory fish sauce, the spices in the mortar were added alongside the lime juice, Kagutsuchi continued mixing with a small whisk as his pace went into a rapid whipping motion that led around the inside of the bowl, practically pulverizing any remaining ingredients that were still solid, save for the odd slice of coriander stalk. His eyes wandered to the judges and the other contestants, struggling off any concern for their dish choices, as his dedication was meant to win over one judge.
Once the sauce had gone a light pink cream colour, the consistency thickened to a sauce rather than a thin liquid, he poured the entirety over the salmon fillets, ensuring no surface within the deep pan was left uncovered by the fish sauce mixture. If the cookbook was right, it would be twenty minutes until it would be ready to cook - leaving it for now to fetch a bag of rice, filling a boiling pot with water and seeing it upon the stove-top.
Emptying the rice into the water, Kagutsuchi set the heat to eventually simmer - all around the same time, they should be ready to moderate the next phase, which should be handled by his teammate.
Stepping back to sit on a stool, slouched impatiently, Kagutsuchi gestured to signal his portion of the work was done, eyes affixed on the oven. The Fire Kami may be practiced in the informal art of cooking, though his ability to control heat was affecting the inside of the oven, ensuring all the energy went toward cooking the decoy steak.
For now, he was waiting.