CH 32

Mob High School and Takoyaki Party

“Oh! Scooping it up now should be good right?”

“Oh…..it’s perfectly round.”

My first takoyaki came out nicely. Well, I used to make takoyaki at my parents’ house with the old model pan so there’s no reason for me to fail here with a brand new model.

Seiya’s

When I looked over at Ichinose-san’s side to see how she’s doing, I was met with an amazing sight.

“Wait Hiura-kun! What should I do with this!?”

“Well, I’d like to ask you the same thing though…..”

The takoyakis, no takoyaki-like things that Ichinose-san made were all stuck together so she couldn’t even flip them.

Ichinose’s

“Compared to Seiya’s, Ichinose-san’s looked a lot like frozen instant takoyakis huh…”

“Hey, are you complimenting me or what!? Well, they do look like one though!”

“Fufu, Akira-chan is heavy-handed after all. If you pour the dough until the brim then when you add octopus-san into it, it will overflow you know?”

Perhaps she just finished cleaning up, Eihashi-san entered the dining room from the kitchen. In her hands are the sauce and mayonnaise. I took it out from the shelf earlier but I forgot to carry it with me.

“How did you know!? Rather, help me out here Reika! I was not gifted with the art of takoyaki!!”

“Please leave it to me! I will salvage Akira-chan’s wreckage and turn them into proper takoyakis!”

“No, this is takoyakis alright! Even Shiraki-kun praised it as a frozen takoyaki alright!? Right!?”

“Y, yeah. I think it’s a wonderful semicircle frozen takoyaki you know……?”

Masato said in a small voice that he didn’t intend it as praise but if my memory serves me right, Ichinose-san did say something along that line though.

To salvage the wreckage…..not….to prepare the takoyaki, Eihashi-san first poured the dough into the molds I was using.

Ichinose-san is staring at the process.

When the dough has hardened a little, Eihashi-san folds the semicircle wrec—semicircle takoyakis together. She’s very skilled at it.

After she waits a while for the dough to harden and confirm that hers and Ichinose-san’s takoyakis have joined together, she scoops them out of the mold.

It was about twice the size of the takoyakis I made but it looked crispy and delicious.

It’s not burnt at all……or rather, we might have to thank the pan for that. If Ichinose-san’s takoyakis weren’t burnt then they should be nice and crispy.

“Ohh! As expected of Reika! They turned out really good! Can I try one!?”

“Yes, since it’s already done, why don’t we try eating the one Hiura-san made too? While they are still hot.”

“Right. The ones Eihashi-san made look nice and crispy too.”

“Nn! Seiya’s is delicious! If Eihashi-san’s has the crispy texture of the takoyaki stall then Seiya’s is handmade!”

“I don’t know whether you are praising me or not but I think that Eihashi-san’s is delicious like the one being sold in a restaurant you know.”

“Right!? Reika is good at both cooking and studying after all!”

“Why is Ichinose-san being so proud though……”

Actually, it is as Ichinose-san says. Eihashi-san is skilled at cooking. Unlike me who can only make simple dishes, she can cook sophisticated dishes. She probably can reproduce a dish perfectly if she has a recipe.

The takoyaki that Eihashi-san made just now was so delicious that it is comparable to the one you can find in food courts and I couldn’t think of it as a salvaged product from Ichinose-san’s attempt at all.

“Hiura-san shaped them so beautifully……..can I take a picture?”

“I don’t mind but won’t the picture look empty since we only made a few? Don’t you think the picture would look better if we took it after we made more first?”

“You don’t get it at all, Hiura-kun! Taking it now is just fine! Well, I will take more pictures later though!”

“You think we are using a film camera or something Seiya! We are all using smartphones anyway, so we can just take as many pictures until we are satisfied. Besides, you don’t need Seiya’s permission in the first place you know, Eihashi-san? He doesn’t own the exclusive right for the picture after all!”

“Is……is that so? But since it is really well-made I will take a lot of pictures okay.”

That’s how it is? Come to think of it, I’ve been photographed a lot but I think I‘ve rarely taken one myself huh.

I wonder what’s in my picture folder. Hmm, it’s probably filled with screenshots I guess.

Certainly, every time Suzuka does something with her SNS, her popularity always increases so she has been inviting me to do it as Kamishiro Kousei too.

(TLN: SNS is a Japanese general term for Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, etc.)

She said that whenever she took a selfie or posted pictures of her meals, it would spread so fast and she would always receive a lot of replies.

By the way, it seems that the one that performed the best so far was the one that she took with me so I remember telling her that it felt kinda strange but I am happy about it. It’s a feeling that I don’t really understand.

Should I start one too……..

“Well, you can take the picture. Anyway, we should all try making one! Can Eihashi-san look after Ichinose-san? I will teach Masato myself.”

It’s everyone’s takoyaki party so it would be more fun making it together rather than eating it alone. If it’s takoyakis then you should be able to make one with some practice anyway. Probably.

“I understand. I will take it upon myself to turn Akira-chan into a takoyaki connoisseur!”

“Only a second-rate would be enough but…….if that’s the case then I will turn Masato into a three-star chef myself!”

After declaring our enigmatic goal to each other, we began to teach our respective students. Masato may be disadvantaged since he has never made one before but I believe him to be a man who can do it if he tries.

“Alright, Akira-chan! First, please pour the dough until it is around 80% filled okay!”

“About this much right! Should I put the octopus in now!?”

“Next, please put in the agedama! Just a scoop is enough!”

“Around this much? Now we put in the octopus right!”

Oh……Ichinose-san’s takoyaki is completely different than before. I can’t lose.

“Masato! First, you pour the dough in until it reaches around 60% of the mold! Then put the agedama in before it hardens! Now octopus! Follow with agedama! Line it up nicely together!”

“Alright! What’s next!?”

“Add the dough in until it submerges the agedama! Then turn them over in order!”

“OKAY! Wait, they are still not hardened at all you know!?”

“Oi, you idiot! You have to flip it in the order that the dough is poured!”

Masato splashed the dough when he tried to flip the one that he just poured the dough in, making it difficult to make it a perfect circle.

“He did it too fast so the shape has collapsed! Akira-chan, this is our chance but don’t rush it okay. Please flip it in order that you poured the dough in!”

“They look so beautiful! Are they done now!?”

“Please wait a little longer! The color is too light. Just a little more and we would have a nice golden color………..NOW! Please scoop them out!”

Following Eihashi-san’s accurate instructions, Ichinose-san scoops out the takoyakis one after another. Even on a plate, they all look crispy and retain their shape.

“You can take it out too! Ours are softer so be careful when you put them on the plate okay!”

“GOT IT! They are more or less misshapen but these really give the handmade feeling huh!”

“The rest is to sprinkle the sauce and mayonnaise on it…….”

“Pouring the sauce over vertically and the mayonnaise from the side to make a mesh pattern…….”

“Put the dried bonito on top and they will be completed!”

“Now, finish it with green seaweed!”

It seems that me and Masato pair and Eihashi-san and Ichinose-san pair finished at the same time. If there is a difference then it would be that ours are fluffy while theirs are crispy. Other than that, it would be topping.

“They all looked delicious!”

“Even though they are all Takoyaki, it’s funny that we can tell which one was made by who isn’t it.”

“Well, let’s try it first.”

“Yes, thinking about it now, there’s no winning or losing in cooking after all.”

After that, we started eating takoyakis. Since the base ingredients are the same, there’s no way that they won’t be delicious and the takoyakis keep disappearing one after another.

Rather, since we have two types of takoyaki, we can enjoy both without getting bored of the taste.

Thus, the first half of the takoyaki party finally concluded.

TLN: So there are generally two type of takoyaki here, the soft light colored one, this one put the emphasis on the soft texture and letting it melt in your mouth, the second one is the well-done one with brown exterior which is more crispy