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"This is... a block of tofu?"
The spectators, initially expecting something incredible in the mold, were now dumbfounded.
They had been expecting some mind-blowing dish hidden within, but all they saw was a massive block of tofu—
While the layered black and white tofu did look quite nice, just bringing out a whole, unprocessed block of tofu seemed rather odd.
Yuuki didn't pay any attention to the audience's murmurs. He knew very well that the Magical Mapo Tofu had this effect—it was indeed easy to misunderstand at first.
But Yuuki soon showed everyone the key to this dish. He directly removed the stand-like mold from both sides.
The center of this stand actually held the sauce—
When replicating this dish before, Yuuki realized he couldn't achieve a perfect replication—After all, the dish appeared in the anime. For visual effect, there was nothing underneath, yet sauce flowed out.
Was the sauce stuffed inside the tofu? But the tofu was formed at the very end, so that would be impossible.
Therefore, Yuuki prepared this stand-like mold to hold the sauce. And the moment the stand was removed, the pre-cut tofu would naturally crumble since there was no longer any support underneath.
Plus, Yuuki applied a slight upward force, so the tofu bounced up a bit before scattering down. This way, the two colors of tofu would naturally mix evenly.
....
"It's done—Magical Mapo Tofu. Please, enjoy."
Watching the dish fully take shape, Yuuki declared.
"It's actually Mapo Tofu! This dish really is magical, like an actual magic trick!"
Seeing the whole block of tofu instantly transform into a finished dish, everyone's eyes widened.
"How on earth did he do that? One moment it was a whole block of tofu, the next it was cut into pieces!"
Even the Elite Ten were dumbfounded.
The sauce being hidden in that stand-like mold was understandable, but how was the tofu cut? Was it pre-cut and placed inside the mold? But how could such a thing be done in such a short time?
"It must be because of that mold—there's definitely some kind of trick to it..."
While most people were baffled, some clever ones quickly thought of the mold in Yuuki's hands.
After all, there were only a few possibilities; it wasn't hard to guess.
....
"Yuuki-kun, may I take a closer look at that mold in your hand?"
Senzaemon Nakiri naturally also noticed this and looked at the mold Yuuki held.
"Of course," Yuuki replied, unsurprised.
It was normal to be figured out. With so many people here, it would have been more unusual if they hadn't guessed it.
"Indeed. The mechanism is inside. These thin, sharp wires must be what cut the tofu. As for how the black and white layers were separated—probably with lard. The aroma is quite distinct."
"No wonder it's called Magical Mapo Tofu—the black and white refer to Yin-yang, not to mention the magic-like technique used to create it. But is doing this really a good idea??"
"The tofu just now fell into the sauce—the flavors will likely clash, which is a major taboo when it comes to Mapo Tofu," Senzaemon Nakiri commented.
Yuuki's dish seemed very creative, but on second thought, the tofu only just fell into the sauce, as if it were just being dipped.
The Mapo Tofu made this way could have serious problems—
"Since I made this dish, I naturally considered this issue. You'll know once you taste it," Yuuki said with a smile.
He had considered this problem from the start, which is why the sauce he made was a bit special.
That stand-like mold didn't just hold the sauce; it also sealed in heat.
The high temperature of Yuuki's Inferno was sealed within the mold and only released the moment it was opened. When the tofu fell in, it was essentially as if it had gone through a cooking process in a pot.
While this couldn't achieve perfect fusion, Yuuki approached it from another angle, making the flavor of the sauce more intense.
This way, paired with the sweetness of the black tofu, it could bring out the spicy and numbing flavors of the sauce to the fullest, so the slight disconnect in the dish wouldn't affect it but rather become its strength.
And the eight flavors of Mapo Tofu wouldn't be affected either, just that the spicy and numbing flavors would be more prominent. Actually, this dish primarily showcased the area where Terunori Kuga excelled the most.
Yuuki wanted to defeat Terunori Kuga in his own area of expertise.
Hearing this, Senzaemon Nakiri didn't say anything more. As Yuuki said, all that mattered was the taste.
"SO SPICY! Wait... this black tofu is sweet?!"
The Mapo Tofu entered his mouth, and the first taste was the flavor of the sauce. Only after chewing could he taste the tofu.
As he chewed, Senzaemon Nakiri discovered that the black tofu was actually sweet, instantly neutralizing the spicy and numbing flavor of the sauce.
But after the neutralization, as the sweetness faded, the spicy and numbing flavors became even more prominent.
And this entered a cycle—the sweetness could alleviate the spiciness, but at the same time, make the spiciness of the next bite even more distinct. This back-and-forth—the slight disconnect in this dish actually became its strength.
This dish made you want to keep eating; you couldn't stop. Senzaemon Nakiri was like this. The portion of Mapo Tofu before him was not small, but Senzaemon actually ate it all.
Finally, only some sauce remained in the dish. Without the tofu, the spiciness of the sauce was a bit too much to bear. Only then did Senzaemon Nakiri finally stop.
At some point, his shirt had vanished. Seeing this, Yuuki was somewhat speechless.
Although the "Foodgasm" effect and "Imparting" ability were gone in this world, the Nakiri family's Clothes Burst still existed—
Senzaemon Nakiri's shirt had vanished after his first bite of the Mapo Tofu.
"A VERY GOOD DISH. It's full of innovation while still retaining traditional flavors. And that perfect cycle of sweet and spicy—it makes you want to keep eating."
"Just as you said, the slight disconnect actually becomes its strength, making this dish even more perfect—" Senzaemon Nakiri praised.
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