“What are you making?” asked Mizuki, watching Takina cooking something in a pot in the kitchen.
It was just before their closing time, and there were no customers, save the regulars staying late for the board games. With nothing to do, Mizuki chatted up Takina mostly to kill time.
“Oh, that’s unusual for you,” commented Mizuki.
Takina would normally make Kansai-style dashi broth, but since it was for stewing noodles, she wanted it to have more flavor. To achieve that, she made the katsuo broth richer than usual, and after adding soy sauce and a little bit of mirin, she also put in bite-sized chunks of chicken meat, which she had blanched in boiling water earlier to remove the odor.
“Oh, I see. We’re having noodle soup tonight?”
“Yes. But served in wooden bowls. We have enough for everyone. Can you bring them later? I chopped scallions for the topping.”
“Okaaay.”
“Oh, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”
Takina took out something she’d found earlier in the fridge—kamaboko with a fancy pattern.
“Is this yours?” Takina asked Mizuki.
“Yeah, that’s mine. It’s for itawasa.”
“What’s that…?”
“Of course you wouldn’t know, being too young to drink. You slice the kamaboko thinly and dip it in soy sauce with wasabi, like you’d do with sashimi. It goes well with sake, especially ginjou grade!”
“Interesting. Could I use it? As another topping for the udon soup?”
“That’s not your regular kamaboko. It was pretty expensive…”
“Does that mean I can’t use it?”
Takina looked down at the kamaboko in her hand. Udon soup would look amazingly appetizing with a thick tempura prawn added to the soup, cooked until the batter absorbed the broth, becoming soft, but that would involve too much work, and it wouldn’t be good for Chisato to eat deep-fried foods while she was unwell. Then again, Takina didn’t want to serve Chisato an unsatisfyingly bare-bones version of the dish. Even just one or two slices of the kamaboko would liven up the soup…
“Oh, don’t give me that sad face! Argh, okay, fine! You can use it!”
Takina looked up in surprise. Mizuki waved her hand in the air to signal her surrender.
“You don’t mind?!”
“As long as everyone gets some of it.”
“Yes, of course!”
“Okay, I’ll leave you to it.”
Mizuki went back to the serving area.
The soup was ready, and Takina managed to secure kamaboko as the main topping. There were also eggs in the fridge, which she was going to add last. Was there anything else she could put in…? If her memory served her correctly, there was some shiitake. She found them in the fridge’s veggie drawer, removed the stalks, and cut a decorative cross in the cap of each mushroom. These would simmer in a strongly flavored broth made from water, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar.
It was also an option to cook shiitake directly in the noodle soup broth, letting their flavor seep into it, but Takina preferred to cook them separately so that their flavor would stand out better, making the dish more interesting.
“And now…the scallions.”
Takina had already finely chopped fresh scallions for everyone but Chisato. For her, she cut them into larger pieces and carefully fried them on the stove until they browned but weren’t burned. Delicately seared, they were delicious, but cooked too long and they wouldn’t taste good anymore.
Finally, all the parts of the dish were ready. Takina just had to assemble them and stew them in the noodle soup together for a little while. She had colorful toppings—shiitake mushrooms, kamaboko slices, and, last but not least, the egg yolk.
“Anything else…? Oh, maybe… Or maybe not…”
She found a packet of dried mochi cakes. On the one hand, mochi wasn’t good for digestion, but on the other, it was nutritious.
If Takina cut it into small pieces and cooked them until they were crispy, they would add a similar texture to the dish as tempura. And once they soaked up the broth, they’d get soggy but become incredibly delicious.
Ultimately, the mochi went in, too. A small amount surely wouldn’t hurt Chisato.
She put one mochi cake on the chopping board and proceeded to slice it with a kitchen knife, lining up the knife and then slowly pushing down with her body weight. The blade would slowly go through the hard mochi until it hit the chopping board. Takina repeated the process until she’d diced the whole mochi into finger-width pieces. She then laid them on a plate, taking care to space them sufficiently wide apart so that they wouldn’t stick to each other, and put them in the microwave for a few seconds.
The outside of the mochi was still hard, but inside, they were warm and soft. Cooking them in a microwave required care because if they stayed in there for too long, the insides would completely melt, and she didn’t want that. The main reason she microwaved the mochi was to make them roast quicker.
Takina transferred the delicately warm mochi cubes onto a crumpled aluminum foil sheet on top of a stove burner to roast them. Once they started swelling up, she watched them like a hawk. A few seconds could make the difference between a perfectly roasted mochi and a burnt mochi.
The slices swelled up and started turning golden brown. Takina waited until some dark spots appeared on the golden-brown parts, and then she quickly took the mochi off the stove and moved them to a plate. They tumbled on it, pleasantly crackling.
Everything was ready. Takina just had to combine it all in the pot.
“Okay.”
But before she did that, Takina wanted to check how hungry Chisato was. If she was starving, Takina could give her an extra half portion of noodles. If she wasn’t very hungry, she would take away a half portion.
Takina tidied up the kitchen, washed her hands, and redonned her mask and gloves. She headed to the tatami room at the back of the store…when she saw Mika come out.
“Were you checking on Chisato, Boss?”
“Ah, yes. Thank you for looking after her today.”
“But of course. Customers come here for your coffee, so you should stay with them while I take care of her. By the way, the udon is ready. Please tell everyone to help themselves.”
“Great, thank you.”
“I thought udon noodle soup would be good for Chisato.”
“Good idea. It warms the body.”
“Yes. But I’m not sure if she’ll be able to eat much.”
“Oh, she will. I’ve never seen her lose her appetite, no matter how she’s feeling,” Mika said with a smile.
Takina nodded.
“But let’s wait a while.”
“Why?”
Mika carefully opened the door to the tatami room. It was dark inside. Takina heard Chisato’s quiet, peaceful breathing.
“Let her sleep for a bit before bringing her food.”
“…Okay. It’s good I checked before finishing her portion.”
Mika nodded and went back to the customers. He wasn’t using his walking stick, but he wasn’t dragging his bad leg, walking quietly, perhaps worried about waking up Chisato.
Before closing the door, Takina peered into the room one last time. She’d been telling Chisato to rest, but Chisato had been resisting sleep until she finally couldn’t hold out. Her sleeping face was innocent and relaxed like a baby’s, her breathing even.
“Stubborn Chisato…,” Takina said.
She’d eat her dinner with the rest of the staff and bring Chisato her noodles later.
“Sleep well.”
She closed the door carefully so as not to make a sound and tiptoed back to the others.