CH extra 1

Extra: Ayase-san’s Oden1 Days

If we’re assuming that the cold, freezing winter makes your body tense up and shrink, then at what point would it be cold enough to make a human freeze to death? If you were to ask me that, I’d answer with “When the cold wintry wind blows against your body and you’re barely protected by thin clothes.” As for why I’m bringing this up right now, I’m trying to emphasize the fact that I’m freezing to death out here.

Ayase-san and I had just passed the Shibuya Crossing on the way home from a shopping trip, where a cold breeze made my body shiver. So did my hands that were holding the plastic bags I was carrying. To distract myself from the biting cold, I commented on the phrase “cold wintry wind.” In Japanese, there’s a specific definition for the term. It refers to a north wind blowing in the Kanto region during a period of high barometric pressure to the west and low pressure to the east. It’s also referred to as the “winter pressure pattern.” This north wind usually blows at a steady eight meters per second.

“I never knew that.” Ayase-san commented in admiration after I finished my explanation.

Then again, this was also only borrowed knowledge that I had looked up online, so I felt embarrassed that she had such a reaction.

“Most of the weather-based terms used by the Meteorological Agency have their own special definitions. Like the first storm of spring.”

“Oh, right.” Ayase-san nodded.

“Then again, I wouldn’t swear that this is one of those specific kinds of cold wintry winds, but it really has gotten pretty chilly lately,” I said.

“It’s November already, after all.”

“Days like these make me want to eat some steaming-hot oden from the convenience store.”

Basically, I was trying to hint that we should get some. Since we had taken our time during the shopping trip, I also would’ve preferred to keep dinner simple. However, the answer I got back from Ayase-san was not one that I would have expected.

“Steaming-hot oden…from the convenience store?”

“Huh?”

I didn’t think she’d be so confused by my suggestion, and I was so baffled that I just stared at her face.

“You know, the microwave kind?”

Ayase-san however didn’t seem any less confused. “Do they make those? I don’t think I’ve ever paid any attention to it. Then again, I’ve never considered buying oden from the convenience store.”

“Where else would you buy it from, then?”

“From the supermarket? Like, buy the radish, konjac, kelp, eggs…and everything else that goes into an oden. They have all of that at the supermarket, right?”

“So you’d be making the oden yourself? Not buying the premade kind and warming it up?”

“Of course. Buying it ready-made is expensive. Though I understand that sometimes people don’t have enough time to make it themselves.”

“So you always make it from scratch…”

“Yeah? It’s not that big of a deal. You just boil the ingredients.”

“Just boil it all, huh?”

I’ve gotta cast my doubts on that phrasing. To someone like me who’d live off convenience store lunch boxes if not for Ayase-san or Akiko-san’s cooking, people who can actually just boil food to create something edible seem like gods. Saying you have to just do this to someone who can’t even succeed when they attempt the absolute basics is way too much to ask for.

“So, you cut the radish, and then you boil it.” I said with a pale face.

“Yep. Then you remove the leaves, peel off the skin, and make sure that the taste is strong and flavorful. That’s best done by scoring it or poking a hole into it with chopsticks. Trimming the edges doesn’t hurt either.”

“Trimming the what now?”

“Basically, you remove any edges from the vegetables to make sure they don’t end up ruined through the boiling process.”

She tried to explain herself by making hand movements like she was cutting the vegetables, but it still sounded like sorcery to me. It became clear to me that Ayase-san doesn’t think of the time invested in tending to the ingredients as actual cooking time. The same probably goes for creating the soup stock.

“Time, you say… I mean, that’s all there is to it, right?”

“People consider even things like that annoying and tiresome, which is why convenience store steaming-hot oden exists in the first place.”

I’m a prime example of the target demographic there.

“You really think so?” Ayase-san still seemed bewildered.

“Then again, making it myself sounds fun, I guess. I’d like to try it sometime.”

I finally understood that having someone to cook for is always a big boost to motivation, and it’s fun, too. With Ayase-san’s help, I might be able to get better at cooking, too.

“Should we make oden tonight, then?”

“Sure. But to get the ingredients, we’d have to stop by at a supermarket again.”

“We can get the oden from the convenience store.”

“What? I mean, I’m happy, but… you sure?”

“I’ve never had convenience store oden before, so it can’t hurt to try. Though you’ll have to teach me the ropes.”

“Of course. Leave it to me.”

Another breeze blew past us, making my body tense up. It was as cold as before, and yet I felt nothing but gratitude for this wintry wind right now.

1 Japanese winter dish consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, daikon radish, konnyaku, and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavored dashi broth.