Mister Ajikko 32

Volume 4 Chapter 6 The Deciding Factor is Mentaiko!

Page 114

Youichi: A base that's made from 100% yam, light and fluffy...

Youichi: As for toppings which go well with it, I use beef tendon with less fat...
Youichi: Furthermore, the beef tendon has been soaked in soy sauce and sugar to bring out the flavor!

Youichi: After that, to add volume...
Youichi: we insert mochi into the okonomiyaki!

Youichi: The three elements of okonomiyaki: base, topping and sauce.
Youichi: With this, two of them, base and topping have been completed!

Youichi: Only one remaining is the sauce!
Youichi:I'm going to think up the best sauce for this okonomiyaki!


Page 115

Youichi: But, I used up three days for the base and the topping.
Youichi: The Sakura Festival is in two days. So, my match against Okataya is tomorrow!

Mum: There's not a lot of time left...
Mum: Can you come up with a delicious sauce by then?

Youichi: I can't back down now!
Youichi: I've already made plenty of preparations for the Sakura Festival!

Mum: What if you don't come up with a sauce in time?
Youichi: We'll close the eatery and change into an okonomiyaki stall.

Mum: Haha...that's a joke, right?

Youichi: Now...
Youichi: Okataya's sauce!

Youichi: If I remember correctly...
Youichi: it contained various vegetables and fruits, and is boiled to perfection. Truly a homemade specialty.

Youichi: It's slightly sweet...
Youichi: but it has a deep flavor...

Youichi: it has sufficient body...
Youichi: and until this moment, I haven't tasted anything similar that could compare.

Youichi: ...That's it!
Youichi: The perfect sauce for okonomiyaki has to be heavy and slightly sweet.


Page 116

Youichi: Hmm, but...
Youichi: no matter what method is used to make the sauce, a lot of different ingredients has to be used and it'll take around half a year to ferment to produce the required flavor.

Youichi: And I only have until tomorrow...
Youichi: A fermented sauce is definitely out of the question.

Youichi: What do I do...
Youichi: Hmmm....

Mum: In the store, during the times when we make okonomiyaki...
Mum: we mix tonkatsu sauce and ketchup, and to bring out the body, we add mayonnaise.

Youichi: Tonkatsu sauce, ketchup...
Youichi: and mayonnaise...

SFX: squeeze

SFX: stir

Youichi: ...Hmm!


Page 117

SFX: sizzle

SFX: chew chew

Youichi: How is it?

Mum: Hmm....
Mum: As I thought, it's not good...

Mum: It is slightly sweet and it does resemble Okataya's sauce in taste, but...
Mum: it doesn't have the depth of flavor or the body. It's just a sweet sauce.

Youichi: Hmm, I guess you're right.

Youichi: Challenging a homemade sauce that uses a ton of ingredients that's been boiled and fermented for a long time...
Youichi: with a hastily made sauce with mayo is ridiculous, isn't it?


Page 118

Youichi: But there isn't time to make a fermented sauce by tomorrow.
Youichi: If I leave this alone, Okataya would win with their superior sauce!

Youichi: What can I do...
Youichi: Is it impossible to have a sauce that doesn't take a long time to ferment and still has body and depth?

Youichi: Okay!
Youichi: Let's think about this a different way!

Mum: Ehh?

Youichi: An okonomiyaki's flavor doesn't come from just the sauce!
Youichi: Other than sauce, there's things like nori and flaked bonito that when combined, give bursts of flavor!

Youichi: So, my plan is...
Youichi: to use nori and flaked bonito as furikake*!

T/N Note: Furikake is a catch-all term for dry Japanese seasoning that is sprinkled on top of a dish.

Mum: What, use furikake?!
Mum: But, nori and bonito is...those things can't compare to the sauce!

Youichi: That's not a problem!
Youichi: This plan of mine will create a taste the world has never seen!


Page 119

T/N Note: various furikake: grated turnip, katsuobushi, black sesame seeds, shredded plum

Mum: WHat is all this?!
Mum: What are you doing with so much furikake?!

Youichi: I'm going to do this!

Youichi: This is the Youichi special...
Youichi: blended furikake!


Page 120

Mum: Ehh?!

SFX: mix

SFX: sizzle

SFX: scoop

SFX: sprinkle


Page 121

Mum: I see! I see what you're doing!
Mum: It's not just nori you're using, you're using a lot of types of furikake, blending them and together, it adds flavor and body, just like the sauce!

Youichi: That's right!
Youichi: With this, it'll definitely be delicious!

Youichi: COme on, Mum!
Youichi: Try it!

SFX: cut

SFX: bite

SFX: chew

Mum: ...It's so good!

Mum: Compared with the bold flavor of the sauce...
Mum: the depth of flavor and the body brings about a completely different taste!


Page 122

Mum: The idea to compensate for the fermentation of the sauce by using blended furikake is ingenious!
Mum: This can definitely go up against Okataya's sauce!

Youichi: Hehe!

Youichi: All right! Now my sauce is perfected!
Youichi: The three puzzle pieces, base, topping and sauce are now assembled for my easy victory tomorrow!

Mum: But...wait!
Mum: wait a minute, Youichi!

Youichi: Eh?

Mum: ...There's something not right!
Mum: This sauce is missing something!

Youichi: What?!

Mum: The taste is roughly the same as Okataya's...
Mum: but...
Mum: it's just something that Okataya's sauce has but yours doesn't!

Youichi: something?!
Youichi: What is that something...?!

Youichi: What could it be...
Youichi: What could be missing from the sauce?!


Page 123

Sign: Okonomiyaki Okataya
Traditional Taste /////// Making Okonomiyaki for 50 Years

Apprentice: Boss!
Apprentice: I heard something bad, Boss!

Apprentice: That brat is someone big, Boss!
Apprentice: When I saw him, I couldn't believe it...

Apprentice: Oof--

Okataya Owner: I already know.
Okataya Owner: That brat's Ajiyoshi Youichi, am I right?

Apprentice: Eh?! Ah...
Okataya Owner: Up till now, he's been usin' his own skill and gettin' into matches...
Okataya Owner: and he's been winnin' all this time.

Okataya Owner: Anotha' rumor is that he's connected to Ajiou.
Okataya Owner: Bah, he has no skill to speak of.
Okataya Owner: All he has is his pride.
Okataya Owner: And that's when I'll strike!


Page 124

Okataya Owner: I've put plenty of thought into the base and toppin'.
Okataya Owner: That brat will never come up with anythin' to beat me.

Okataya Owner: But my trump card is my sauce that's been fermenting for half a year!
Okataya Owner: There's no way he can beat it!

Okataya Owner: Onions, tomatoes, tangerines, apples, grapes, dates, carrots, celery, garlic...
Okataya Owner: Using those fruits and veggies, boil'em, and then add 15 types of spices!

Okataya Owner: And then, let it sit and ferment for six months!
Okataya Owner: This kind of taste can't ever be produced in one or two days!

Apprenctice: Bu...but...
Okataya Owner: If by any chance...

Okataya Owner: Even if he manages to make a sauce that closely matches mine...
Okataya Owner: he'll never figure out the top secret ingredient to bring out the true flavor.

Okataya Owner: This is what decides the taste.
Okataya Owner: Without this, something will be missing, and you'll get a bad-tastin' sauce!
Okataya Owner: Before letting the sauce ferment, this is what I add...
Okataya OWner: Behold!


Page 125

Apprentice: ?

Apprentice: Wow!
Apprentice: It's spicy!

Apprentice: This is...
Apprentice: mustard, right?!

Okataya Owner: Yup, it's Western mustard!
Okataya Owner: This is what determines the taste of the sauce!

Okataya Owner: The sharp spicy hit that comes from prolonged fermentation and proper ingredients!
Okataya Owner: The piquancy that develops in the sweet sauce gives depth and body and stirs up the appetite!

Okataya Owner: But that's not all!
Okataya Owner: The mustard, too, is fermented along with the sauce, and when combined together, produces an unimaginable flavor!

Okataya Owner: Fufufu...
Okataya Owner: Come, Ajiyoshi Youichi! Show me your skill!
Youichi: eh?

Okataya Owner: I'll smash the proud nose of yours!
Okataya Owner: I'll show you the gap between us!

Youichi: What's missing?
Youichi: Where am I missing it?


Page 126

Youichi: To a sweet sauce...
Youichi: I added a blend of furikake, and that definitely added taste.

Youichi: the grated turnip adds saltiness...

Youichi: the black sesame adds fragrance...

Youichi: and the shredded plum provides sourness.

Youichi: But, other than those...
Youichi: what else is there...

Youichi: Sweetness, saltiness, fragrance and sourness.
Youichi: Other than those...what on earth can it be?

Youichi: That's it! It was staring me in the face!
Youichi: What's missing...is heat!


Page 127

Mum: Heat...? Of course!
Mum: When I ate Okataya's okonomiyaki, there was a spicy aftertaste!

Mum: The spice...
Mum: doubled the deliciousness of the okonomiyaki!

Youichi: That's right!
Youichi: That's the secret of the Okataya's taste!

Youichi: Shichimi, wasabi, curry powder...
Youichi: I've created sauces that used these spices!

Youichi: First up is shichimi!

Youichi: Hmm.....

Youichi: Next is wasabi!

Youichi: Curry powder...

Youichi: Hmm....

Youichi: None of them work.
Youichi: All of them have heat that's too strong. The taste of the sauce is completely overwhelmed!

Youichi: This isn't a simple matter of adding heat.
Youichi: It has to be a subtle kind that comes from fermentation!

Mum: Fermentation...
Mum: Subtle heat?


Page 128

Mum: But there's no way we can get that.
Mum: No matter how you go about it, fermentation takes time you don't have!

Youichi: That's why I'm thinking!
Youichi: There must be some way to get that kind of heat that comes from fermentation!

Mum: But...!

Youichi: I've got it!
Youichi: That's it, I've got it!

Youichi: There's one way to get it!
Youichi: One way to get that kind of heat!


Page 129

Mum: What is it? The one way to get the fermented spiciness?
Mum: What could you possibly put into the sauce to get that taste?!

Mum: It's not spicy!
Mum: What is this, it's not spicy at all!

Youichi: Ufufufu...
Youichi: Well, try and eat it first!

Mum: Ah...!


Page 130

Mum: This is...
Mum: Amazing! Delicious!

Mum: There's a biting kind of spiciness that blends perfectly with the sauce! Also, it improves the depth of flavor and the body of the sauce!
Mum: Futhermore, this isn't a run-of-the-mill kind of heat! It's well-rounded and mild enough that it whets the appetite to a whole new level!

Mum: But what did you add to create this taste?

Mum: In the topping, there's some red beads...!
Mum: So, this is the cause of the taste, isn't it?!


Page 131

Mum: This is...mentaiko!
Mum: You broke it into small pieces and inserted it into the topping!

Youichi: That's right!

Youichi: The mentaiko has been thoroughly pickled and this has toned down its original spiciness!
Youichi: With this, my sauce is complete! Together with my base and topping, it looks like I've completed my ultimate okonomiyaki!

Sign: Hinode Eatery

Youichi: Okay, It's time!
Youichi: Time to show Okataya who's boss!

Youichi: Mum, what are you doing?!
Youichi: We're going to win our right to have our food stall!

Mum: Don't be hasty.
Mum: Have you forgotten anything?

Mum: Eh...? But...
Mum: I wonder what this is...?

Mum: This is...shoji* paper?!
Mum: Why is such a thing among the tools for cooking?

T/N Note: Shoji is the sliding doors in traditional Japanese rooms. Paper is used in its construction.

Youichi: Don't forget to bring that along!
Youichi: I'm going to use that shoji paper to bring out the ultimate taste in my okonomiyaki!

Mum: WHat did you say?!

Mum: How will you do that?!
Mum: How is shoji paper required to make okonomiyaki?!