Actually, the Hungry Gyaru Who Eats a Lot Was Being Cheated On, so I Decided to Win Her Heart (And Stomach) From Her Jerk Boyfriend - 86

Chapter 86: Extra 3: That Might Not Be So Bad After All

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

I rinsed the boiled noodles under running water to cool them and wash off the slime, then tightened them in ice water before plating them on a large dish. After drizzling the special sauce I had prepared earlier over the entire bed of noodles, I layered on thin omelet strips and cut vegetables, then added wood ear mushrooms with the stems removed and finely chopped, shredded imitation crab, and finally topped the center with chashu sliced into thin strips that I’d gotten from the manager. That completed the hiyashi chuka.

“It’s done.”

“Oooh, it looks super delicious…!”

When I set the plates of hiyashi chuka on the table, Shizuku’s eyes sparkled. A little later, I brought several seasonings to change the flavor and took my seat at the table.

“Ahh, I can finally eat…”

I had prepared Ichika’s portion first before starting on the servings for Shizuku and myself, but it was five bundles of noodles per person. There was just so much to boil. By the time the cooking was finished, Ichika had not only already finished eating her hiyashi chuka, she had washed the dishes and put them back on the shelf.

“Seriously, nice work! You’re tired after your shift, and you still made all this for us! Thank you!”

“I did it because I wanted to. This much was nothing. Besides, food tastes better the hungrier you are.”

“That’s true! I’m seriously starving too, so I bet it’ll taste even better than usual!”

Shizuku pressed her hands together, softly murmured, “Itadakimasu,” and then slurped up a bite of noodles. In that instant, her expression bloomed with delight.

“Mmm—so good! Hiyashi chuka really is the best when it’s hot out!”

She narrowed her eyes in satisfaction and kept slurping the noodles, coating them thoroughly in sauce.

“By the way, Suou-kun, this sauce you made is insane! It’s easily one of the top one or two best I’ve ever had!”

“Is it really that good?”

Well, I did think I’d made it pretty well.

“It is! Ichika-chan thinks so too, right?”

“Yeah, Ichika likes Gaku-nii’s the best!”

“See! Even Ichika-chan says so, so you should have more confidence and admit you make really tasty food, Suou-kun!”

“O-okay…”

Somehow I found myself being pushed into agreeing. Slightly flustered, I pressed my hands together and brought a bite of hiyashi chuka to my mouth.

…All right.

I clenched my fist inwardly at the satisfying flavor. First, the special sauce. It was soy sauce–based, with a well-balanced blend of acidity and sweetness, and the faint hint of chicken stock boosted the umami. On top of that, the refreshing zing of ginger and the cool brightness of lemon spread through my mouth, driving my already wide-open appetite even further.

Those two were really doing great work. Since I couldn’t boil all the noodles at once, I had cooked them in two batches. I had shortened the boiling time slightly for the first batch and chilled them in ice water immediately. Maybe that was what did the trick. I could barely detect any difference in texture at all. It had mostly been adjusted by instinct, but I was glad it worked out.

Feeling relieved, I continued eating, this time together with the toppings.

“…Yeah, not bad.”

The vegetables, imitation crab, and thin omelet were reliably delicious. They enhanced the flavor of the noodles and sauce even more. For dishes like this, the omelet was often seasoned simply with salt, but personally, I preferred it with a bit of sweetness. The downside was that my lack of skill caused it to brown slightly from overcooking, but flavor took priority over appearance. That was something to improve in the future.

After mulling over that, I reached for the star of today’s dish, the chashu. When I took a big bite together with noodles coated generously in sauce, the meat’s umami burst across my mouth.

“Whoa, this is… kind of crazy.”

The chashu we made at my part-time job was seasoned fairly strongly so it wouldn’t get overpowered by the rich soup, but it paired with the sauce even better than I’d expected. The light sauce, combined with the refreshing aroma of ginger and lemon, cut through the heaviness of the fat and emphasized only the savory richness.

There’s still room for improvement, but… maybe this could actually be served at the shop?

It tasted so good that I genuinely felt the combination of hiyashi chuka and chashu had real potential.

Maybe I should make hiyashi chuka for the staff meal soon and have the manager try it.

If the flavor was good or he thought it seemed interesting, he’d sometimes add it to the menu pretty easily. In fact, the Deluxe Giga Chashu Noodles had started because I made an extra-super-large chashu bowl for the staff meal.

As I moved my chopsticks and started coming up with menu improvement ideas in my head, Shizuku watched me with an amused look.

“…Something wrong?”

“Nope, nothing. It’s just that you’ve got a suuuper serious look on your face, Suou-kun. Thinking about something?”

“Yeah, kind of. The chashu went way better with the hiyashi chuka than I imagined, so I was thinking maybe we could serve it at the shop.”

“What? This might become a menu item!? I want to eat it, I want to eat it!!”

“It’s just hypothetical. Besides, you’re eating it right now.”

“That’s this, and that’s that. The vibe is totally different between home and the shop.”

What kind of logic is that…?

Even when I teased her, Shizuku ignored it, stuffing noodles and chashu into her cheeks and breaking into a grin.

“…Well, if I got to see her eating so happily at work too, that might not be so bad after all.”

Honestly, I didn’t really want her coming by because I knew I’d get teased but just a little, my feelings began to lean the other way.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー