SWNOVELXO Chapter 394
“Sweet and salty.”
That was Daria’s immediate reaction when the second sauce hit her tongue.
No, it wasn’t just sweet and salty, but it also had a strong umami flavor anchoring it all together.
The sensation she got from the second sauce was surprisingly similar to what she felt when tasting demi-glace sauce.
It was no wonder, since the harmony of sweetness, saltiness, and umami was a universal rule for sauces.
But if you asked her if that flavor was the same as demi-glace sauce, the answer was no.
Even though both sauces had that sweet-salty umami base, the differences between the two were clear.
Was it simply because the second sauce had a thicker consistency than demi-glace?
Thinking deeply about the flavor of the second sauce, Daria quietly shook her head.
No.
It wasn’t just that the second sauce was thicker.
‘So then, what’s with the difference in aroma…? Oh.’
Only then did Daria realize the distinction between demi-glace sauce and the second sauce.
It was the difference in aroma.
If the taste was similar, how could they be the same food?
Just because apples are sweet and pears are sweet, doesn’t mean they are the same fruit.
‘This aroma… is it seafood?’
The source of the umami flavor in the sauce.
Lacking enough cooking experience, she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what seafood was used, but that smell was definitely from seafood.
Unlike demi-glace sauce, which is made by roasting beef bones and has a faint earthy meat aroma, this sauce carried a slightly fishy yet salty whiff of the sea.
‘And another… soy sauce?’
Adding to that, there was another umami flavor—a traditional spice from the continent. It was soy sauce.
By the time she savored the flavor to that extent, she finally figured out what the sauce was.
‘Teriyaki sauce!!’
A seasoning Kurt often used when cooking.
With its beautiful black sheen, “teriyaki” refers to grilled items that glisten. It was indeed teriyaki sauce.
In Kurt’s previous life, it was a commonly used fusion Japanese sauce, but in this world, it hadn’t been invented yet, making Kurt the only one who could make that sauce.
As she concentrated on the intensity of teriyaki sauce in her mouth, Daria began to savor its taste.
‘Even though it’s made with ingredients from the distant continent, it’s so sweet and salty that it sticks to my mouth without any unpleasantness…’
Teriyaki sauce, although derived from Japanese cuisine, had been modified to appeal to Western tastes, now resembling a Western-style sauce more than anything else. Hence, Daria could adapt to its flavor almost immediately, despite not having tasted it many times.
‘So, it’s teriyaki sauce… It definitely isn’t an unpleasant flavor, but still, I feel more familiar with the flavor of demi-glace sauce.’
But still, that was the end of it. While the sweetness of teriyaki sauce was closer to Western sauces, it still couldn’t surpass the preference for demi-glace sauce.
Being tailored to Western palates meant it evolved to be similar to the sauces she usually consumed, making Daria inevitably compare teriyaki sauce’s flavor to that of demi-glace sauce.
And when there are two flavors of a similar type, people usually gravitate towards the one they are more accustomed to.
The saying “familiar taste is scary” holds true, as people feel more at ease with flavors they know, easily capturing the advantages of those tastes.
No matter how much teriyaki sauce is closer to her usual Western-style flavors, it was just a middle ground that inevitably fell short against genuine Western sauces.
After all, hamburgers and demi-glace sauce were a match made in heaven, so it wasn’t surprising her heart leaned towards demi-glace.
Swallow.
She bit into a second piece and lifted a piece of hamburger onto her fork.
‘Hmm. So, for the next piece, I should stick with familiar demi-glace sauce, right?’
In that sense, it was only natural for Daria, who just tasted teriyaki sauce, to decide to return to demi-glace sauce.
‘Hmm…?’
She definitely should do that.
‘Wait… so why am I unconsciously reaching for “teriyaki sauce”?’
But in reality, her hand went towards the teriyaki sauce. Dipping her hamburger into the sauce, she was undeniably engaging with teriyaki sauce.
‘Why did I choose teriyaki sauce instead of my usual demi-glace? The one that goes best with hamburger should be demi-glace…’
Sure, the ideal sauce for a hamburger might be demi-glace sauce.
But that was provided it was an average hamburger.
The hamburger she was eating now was no ordinary hamburger. It was a special tofu burger that Kurt prepared to celebrate Daria’s release.
It’s only natural that Western dishes suit Western sauces, just as Asian dishes suit Asian sauces.
So, the tofu inside the hamburger was arguing that it deserved teriyaki sauce, not demi-glace.
In fact, being a non-standard tofu hamburger, it was meant to pair with unconventional teriyaki sauce.
If the base of demi-glace sauce is roasted beef bones, the base of teriyaki sauce is soy sauce.
Once from the same bean, tofu and soy sauce, having taken separate paths, were now irresistibly drawn to each other. It could already be called gravitational pull.
Tofu simmered in soy sauce. Teriyaki tofu tempura. Even seasoning raw tofu with soy sauce and having it as a side.
The combination of tofu and soy sauce had a fate to reunite no matter how much variation you throw into the cooking, beyond what would suit a hamburger with demi-glace sauce.
The subtle taste of the tofu, which had felt bland and quiet, was harmoniously covered by the intense presence of fermented soy sauce from teriyaki, creating a symphony.
“Kuh, uh…!”
Even with a hamburger already in her mouth, the intense flavor made her salivation uncontrollable as Daria glanced around.
‘I’m… I’m lacking…!’
What she felt was a craving.
She couldn’t tell what was lacking, but it definitely was.
Daria felt an unbearable urge and looked around, to which Kurt silently handed her a bowl full of steaming white rice.
Kurt nodded quietly, as if he knew everything.
The white rice, steaming and fragrant.
What she felt in her mouth was the explosive taste of tofu hamburger and teriyaki sauce.
Receiving the steaming rice, Daria, without anyone teaching her, took a spoonful of the fragrant rice.
Hah.
“Mmm~!”
It was a sensation that made her want to stamp her feet mindlessly from the pleasure.
Finally pairing it with rice, the taste puzzle that had once felt incomplete fell perfectly into place.
And at that moment, she realized.
This dish was completed with the premise of pairing it with this sauce from the start.
This hamburger was not a inferior substitute or a replacement of the ordinary hamburger.
This dish was simply different from the usual hamburger rather than being better or worse.
While standard hamburgers had standard flavors and ways of eating, this hamburger had its own unique taste and way of consuming.
At first, she hadn’t sensed that distinction when she had the hamburger with demi-glace sauce, which is why she thought the flavor was lacking.
In that sense, realizing this flavor made demi-glace sauce more of a trap.
It could be considered training wheels for those unfamiliar with teriyaki sauce.
Thus, Daria created a flavor trinity of tofu hamburger, teriyaki sauce, and white rice!
The harmony of the trinity elevated the flavor of the tofu hamburger to a whole new level.
Daria continued to eat frantically, as if she had entered a state of ecstasy.
The moment she came back to her senses was when she noticed the third sauce, untouched, in her line of sight.
“Oh, I haven’t touched the third sauce yet. But I doubt it could be better than teriyaki sauce…?”
Swallow.
She had thought the same when she tasted demi-glace sauce with the tofu hamburger.
But as soon as she realized the perfect harmony of teriyaki sauce with the tofu hamburger, that thought completely flipped on its head.
Then, what if…
When tasting this third sauce, she experienced another shock like when she tried teriyaki sauce…?
Perhaps it would be even better than the already delicious teriyaki sauce….
The moment that possibility flashed in her mind.
Her salivary glands in her mouth…
Exploded.