After washing up, Dong Yunshan returned and picked up the apron Yukino Yukinoshita had set aside, tying it around himself. "I'm ready. What are we learning today?"
"...Dashi." Yukino Yukinoshita gave him a deep look and tied on her apron.
"Dashi?" Dong Yunshan was puzzled. "Does dashi even count as cooking?"
"You think learning a few dishes means you've improved your cooking skills?" Yukino Yukinoshita's face was stern, her gaze severe. "That is only an illusion. To improve your cooking skills in a short time, you need to master not a few dishes, but the underlying logic of cooking. Only then can you build a solid foundation, prepare for greater improvement in the future, and avoid stagnating."
"So we're starting with dashi..." Dong Yunshan thought back. "I remember that dashi is made by boiling kombu and bonito flakes in water, then straining it, right?"
"I have all the ingredients here." Yukino Yukinoshita pointed toward the semi-open kitchen.
"Am I making it?"
"I made some adjustments to my teaching method." Yukino Yukinoshita summarized her previous experience. "You'll make it once first, then I'll make it once. By comparing the results, you'll analyze your own mistakes during the process. Then you'll try again, and finally I'll point out what you missed."
"Got it." Dong Yunshan rinsed the white powder off two pieces of kombu, tore them apart and put them in the pot, added bonito flakes and some water, turned on the heat, brought it to a boil, then strained out the broth. "Finished."
"...The fact that you can call something like this finished shows admirable courage." Yukino Yukinoshita poured some into a small bowl, frowned as she took a spoonful, then spat it out. "Taste it."
"Your reaction already tells me how it turned out." Dong Yunshan rationally refused. "There's no