And so, quite a bit of time passed, and the cooking was completed.
Kurt began carrying the bowls of food from the kitchen, and to help him, Mari, Karina, and Serena joined in, carrying the plates.
One by one, the plates started being carried from the kitchen to the front of the elves, and by the time the last plate was carried, all the elves were able to receive Kurt’s cooking.
*Clatter*
“Here. Tofu Steak. I hope it suits your taste.”
Lastly, Kurt personally carried the plate to the leader, the highest-ranking elf among them.
The leader of the forest rangers, Ed, who appeared the youngest among the elves with their youthful 20s appearances due to his short stature but was actually over 700 years old, looked at the dish with a wary expression.
The aroma emanating from the dish was unfamiliar to the elves, yet somehow it stimulated their appetite with its complex fragrance.
“…Steak? A dish made with fire?”
“That’s right. Ah, don’t worry. It’s not made with meat.”
Although Ed had vaguely guessed from the heat and the sizzling sounds coming from the kitchen that fire was used, upon confirming it, he couldn’t help but frown.
Having lived for 700 years, most of which was spent as a forest ranger without leaving the elf village, Ed’s mindset was conservative. Thus, a dish reminiscent of the other two elf factions was anything but welcome.
“Cooking with fire? Isn’t this something only city elves or cursed elves would use?”
“For elves, perhaps, but for other races, it’s a common cooking method.”
“I know.”
At those words, Ed turned his gaze away from Kurt, frowned, and looked at the Tofu Steak.
It wasn’t that Ed was unaware of this fact, but for him, a traditional forest elf who had avoided fire-cooked food for hundreds of years, it was something he instinctively shied away from.
The appearance of the Tofu Steak he turned to look at was quite alien.
‘What is this? This white thing…?’
The first thing that caught his eye was the rectangular block of white tofu sitting in the center of the bowl.
The surface had turned golden brown due to the Maillard reaction, so it wasn’t its original pure white, taut form, but even so, the white dish with an unknown identity was quite unfamiliar.
Even with 700 years of life experience, Ed couldn’t begin to guess what had been cooked.
‘What is this? Do other human races eat this sort of thing?’
Of course, Kurt’s companions were also seeing tofu for the first time, let alone Tofu Steak, but Ed, unaware of this fact, simply assumed it was a traditional human dish and examined the plate closely.
In the center of the bowl was a piece of tofu thick enough to be about two fingers wide.
Upon closer inspection, one could tell from the side that it originally had a pure white color like the Fruit of the World Tree, but during the cooking process, the surface had turned a yellowish brown and yellow.
And on top of it was something Ed could at least guess the identity of.
The puree looked like grated radish.
The grated radish was mixed with a brownish sauce and placed on top in a circular decoration, with the sauce starting to seep out and sensually drip down like honey on a pancake.
To add richness to what might otherwise be a bland dish, bite-sized pieces of potato, carrot, and mushroom were also grilled and placed around it, not only enhancing the flavor but also serving as a visually appealing decoration.
And the plate was an iron plate heated to a suitable temperature to preserve the heat of the Tofu Steak.
Just from the arrangement of the dish, considering the balance of its appearance, and the use of a plate to maintain the dish’s temperature, one could tell how skilled Kurt was at cooking.
‘It seems the rumors of his excellent cooking skills are true. Still, I’m not too fond of dishes cooked with fire…’
Just as Ed was hesitating with a conflicted expression over the Tofu Steak.
The light, savory aroma of the Tofu Steak brushed past his nose.
It was a kind of intense flavor he had never experienced before.
Generally, elf cuisine doesn’t use fire, often using pureed fruit as a dressing.
Thus, the aroma of elf cuisine is mostly the fresh scent of vegetables and the sweet and sour fragrance of fruits.
Even the Fruit of the World Tree, which has a savory and light flavor.
Even the Fruit of the World Tree paled in comparison to the aroma of the Tofu Steak before him.
It was only natural.
Exposed to heat over 100 degrees, the Tofu Steak, having undergone a strong Maillard reaction, carried a violent aroma that natural ingredients not cooked with fire could never match.
*Gulp…*
“Well, well. It’s rude not to eat when I’ve been served a meal.”
Soon, Ed, whether speaking to himself or to Aisia and Kurt.
Made an excuse even he couldn’t understand and picked up his fork and knife.
And then, mimicking the actions of other human races eating meat, he awkwardly cut the Tofu Steak into a bite-sized piece and put it in his mouth.
*Chomp*
.
.
.
‘What is this? It’s more ordinary than I thought? No, it’s rather tasteless, isn’t it?’
That was Ed’s initial impression upon tasting the Tofu Steak.
He expected a taste as intriguing as its appearance…
He didn’t expect the shock of eating a strong herb or fruit, but still, isn’t this flavor too bland?
A tasteless, dry flavor without strong sweetness or sourness.
‘It seems to have no taste at all…’
*Chew chew*
However, it didn’t take long for him to realize that was a hasty misconception.
Like a salad mixed with various vegetables, it wasn’t strongly flavored, nor was it as intense as a sweet and sour dressing, but thinking the Tofu Steak had no flavor was a big mistake.
The subtle aroma that seeped out the more he chewed.
‘What, what is this!? Is this mushroom? Why is there a mushroom scent in here!?’
The first aroma to greet him was the subtle scent of mushrooms, reminiscent of the forest.
Though weaker than chewing actual mushrooms, it was unmistakably the scent of shiitake mushrooms.
‘Why is there a mushroom scent in here? There were definitely no mushrooms in it!?’
But that wasn’t all.
Initially expecting a strong flavor, he hadn’t noticed, but the more he chewed, the savory and light inherent taste of the tofu itself and the salty flavor of the soy sauce began to spread in his mouth.
At first, the taste was too subtle to notice, but before he knew it, Ed’s mouth was filled with various aromas.
And if it were just the light and salty flavors, it might have been heavy, but a subtle lemon sourness washed everything down cleanly to the last aftertaste.
‘What is this!? It was definitely a plain white dish, so how does it have such a complex flavor? Where is this taste coming from!?’
Surprised by the flavor, Ed looked at the Tofu Steak again, but the pure white cross-section showed no trace of the ingredients he had tasted.
*Chew chew*
But Ed’s shock didn’t end there.
The texture of the tofu became clearer the more he chewed.
Especially the golden-brown surface of the tofu had a strange texture that was enjoyable to chew, unlike anything he had experienced with vegetables.
‘I’ve heard other human races talk about how the taste of meat includes the texture of chewing…’
Is this what they meant by the texture of chewing?
The surface of the tofu alone might have been tough, but combined with the crumbly inner flesh that gave way without resistance to his teeth, it presented a three-dimensional texture.
And the surface, enhanced by the Maillard reaction, had a flavor so intense from just direct heat that it was hard to understand why it had become so savory compared to the inner flesh.
‘It’s delicious…’
It wasn’t that the Tofu Steak was vastly superior to the salads he had eaten until now.
Even though it was a simple dish using just vegetables and dressing, it was made by elves with hundreds of years of cooking experience, and the cooking skills honed over centuries were not to be underestimated.
But this was different in ‘type’ of flavor from those salads.
If Kurt had served the same salad, he could have compared it to the salads he had eaten and judged their merits.
But the Tofu Steak he was eating now was clearly a different type of flavor from the salads elves typically ate.
The flavor itself wasn’t stimulating and was subtle, which might divide opinions, but the soft and tender texture and the complex flavors of various ingredients in the tofu dish at least resonated with Ed’s taste.
*Chew chew*
“Hmm… Indeed, he has the confidence to claim his cooking skills.”
Just as Ed was about to cut a second piece of Tofu Steak.
Suddenly, Mari, who had also taken a bite of the Tofu Steak, spoke, and her words reached his ears.
“It’s delicious! Especially when eaten with this radish puree, it’s several times more delicious!”
‘Radish puree?’
Only then did Ed realize the existence of the radish puree generously topped with sauce on the Tofu Steak.
Well, he had known from the start, but he had momentarily forgotten in his admiration for the Tofu Steak’s flavor.
‘Hmm… Does using this radish puree make it taste better?’
But even after discovering the radish puree, Ed’s reaction wasn’t very enthusiastic.
It was because Ed was already sufficiently satisfied with the flavor of the Tofu Steak without the puree, and combined with the conservative nature of a long-lived forest elf, he felt a resistance to trying something new.
Honestly, just challenging the unknown dish of Tofu Steak had already drained his quota of adventurous spirit for the year.
He didn’t want to waste the limited amount of Tofu Steak by trying something new when he was already satisfied.
But contrary to his conservative thinking, his body was too honest.
*Gulp*
His mind was filled with worries like ‘What if adding the puree ruins the flavor?’, but his stomach, having just awakened from a single bite of Tofu Steak, began to swell with anticipation, thinking ‘Could it get even tastier from here?’
‘Well, well. Just one bite. Just one bite with the radish puree.’
In the end, after a brief deliberation, Ed decided to try it with the radish puree and spread some on a piece of the cut Tofu Steak before lifting it.
Unable to hide his anticipation and excitement, he put the fork into his mouth.
At that moment, Ed’s heart was not that of a 700-year-old elf worn by the world, but rather like a young elf thrilled by a new adventure.