Cooking

Aiko watched on as Nomura set out two large bags on the kitchen counter. From inside one bag, the older woman took a large fry pan, some plates, plastic bowls, squat glass cups, an already opened box of plastic wrap, a few empty grocery bags, and chopsticks. Then from the other bag a kitchen knife wrapped in a dish towel, a vegetable peeler, a half empty bottle of cooking oil, dish washing liquid, a plastic cutting board, and even more chopsticks. She set these things next to a small pile of ingredients. There was a plastic bag of noodles, an onion, a carrot, and a small styrofoam tray half filled with thin slices of pork.

Aiko looked down at the pile of things Nomura had put in the kitchen, and shuffled from one foot to the other, rubbing her elbows.

"M-Money…" Aiko muttered.

"Nonsense," Nomura said crisply. "You can borrow these things until you get your own. And the rest is just leftovers, so don't you worry about that."

When Nomura had first brought the ingredients into Aiko's house, she'd looked inside the kitchen cabinets wordlessly for a few moments, and then promptly vanished again, appearing a few minutes later carrying even more bags.

"I knew you were living light, but I had no idea you were living in such a…" Nomura pursed her lips and looked about the small, barren apartment. "Such a minimalist state."

"Minimalist."

"Yes, dear. It's all good in moderation, but like everything, you should avoid it in excess. Now, more importantly, we can't have you collapsing from malnutrition. Not now that you've started getting that lovely complexion of yours again. Come here." Nomura indicated the space beside her in the kitchen. She had set the cutting board along the small counter, together with the onion and the kitchen knife.

Aiko stood without complaint where she'd been ordered.

"Did you ever use a kitchen knife? At school? Maybe in home economics?"

Aiko tilted her head to one side, looking at the blade. It was much smaller than her sword, about the size of a small dagger. She'd handled plenty of those, though she found them generally more trouble than they were worth. Daggers and concealed blades were the domain of thieves and assassins. The knife in front of her didn't look like it would be that useful as a weapon. It had one sharp edge and point that might manage to stab somebody if she tried hard enough, but overall it just didn't look like the sort of thing you'd carry with you into a fight.

"I'm not sure I like the way you're staring at that knife, dear. I suppose it's safe to say you've never really used one?"

Aiko shook her head.

"Alright then, look here. A kitchen knife is a dangerous thing, little Aiko. Remember to always keep it over the chopping board, and always be mindful of the blade. You hold it like this, see?" Nomura held the knife in a grip that was not at all suitable for stabbing anybody.

"Upside down."

"No no, dear, this is the right way. Now, I want you to try cutting the onion. First of all you'll hold it in place, then cut the tips off. I'll do one to show you. Look closely."

Aiko leaned in and watched as Nomura held the round onion in one hand and deftly sliced off the tips with the knife. Nomura lay the knife flat on the cutting board.

"Now, you do the other end."

"Other end."

Aiko shuffled over and took the knife from the chopping board. Out of habit she tested the heft, and quickly checked where the center of balance was. A little lower than it should have been but acceptable. She picked up the onion, and placed it in front of her the way Nomura had. But when she went to cut it, the whole thing slid back and her knife cut empty air. Aiko gasped and pulled her hand back.

"Now now, nothing to get scared of, just an onion. Here, hold it like this." Nomura gently guided Aiko's hands. "The knife won't just cut through it if you push down, it's not that sharp. You'll have to slice a little."

Aiko took a breath, puckered her lips, and tried again. This time the tip of the onion fell off neatly onto the cutting board.

"There! Good job! Let's keep going. Next I want you to score a line down through that tough layer of skin on the top, just a little, not too deep. Yes yes, like that, watch your fingers. Good, now put the knife down and peel back the skin. Yes, like that. Very good, we're going to slice the onion. Cut it once in half, and then again like this, little cuts next to each other." Nomura guided Aiko through the steps, until there was a pile of unevenly sliced onions sitting in front of them, and Aiko's eyes were itching and watering.

"Good job, little Aiko! I think you might be a natural at this! Are you sure you've never used a knife before?"

Aiko shook her head and tried to wipe her eyes without using her hands. The onion had been a worthy adversary after all.

"Well, let's keep going!" Nomura clapped her hands together.

As she had done with the onion, Nomura guided Aiko through peeling, then slicing a carrot into thin discs. After that, she got Aiko to set the fry pan on the small gas stove, and start a flame underneath it. Although Aiko had borrowed memories of how stove tops worked, she was still surprised when she saw it spring to life as though by magic.

"Wait for the pan to heat up before you add the oil, and then just a little. And don't sit so close or you'll burn your eyebrows," Nomura said, as Aiko continued to peer at the gas flame.

After Aiko had waited for the pan to heat enough, she sloshed a little of the vegetable oil into the hot pan, and then, under Nomura's instruction, added the sliced pork. She prodded the pork with a very long pair of chopsticks as the oil spluttered and crackled until the meat turned brown.

"Now add the vegetables. Only onions and carrots this time, but you can add whatever you like, really," Nomura said. "Make sure you stir them about a little or they'll burn. That's the way. And when those start to get soft we'll add the noodles. Add half a cup of water to help them get unstuck."

Aiko added the bag of yellow noodles into the pan, then teased them apart until they were mixed with the meat and vegetables. Finally, Nomura handed her a little silver packet of powder that gave everything a light brown color, and a spicy, peppery smell that made Aiko's mouth water.

"Last, turn off the heat, and add just a little more oil! Not that much, just a splash to make it glossy. Yes, just like that! And there you go, Aiko dear! You're finished! Yakisoba!"

Aiko looked down at the dish she had created. It hadn't been overly complicated, and certainly Nomura could have prepared it much easier. But this was still the most involved cooking she had ever done in her life.

"W… Wow," Aiko couldn't help saying.

Nomura laughed, and rubbed Aiko's shoulder. "It smells great! See? Not so hard, is it! That much should be enough for dinner, and you can wrap what's left and put it in the fridge. If you eat it tomorrow, you'll need to warm it up in the pan though, don't forget. And doclean your dishes as soon as you finish eating! Otherwise the grease will harden and it'll be much harder later on. Understood?"

"U-Understood!" Aiko stood up straight.

"Good girl," Nomura said. "You see? Doesn't take too long. Tomorrow I'll take you to the supermarket after work and show you which vegetables to buy."

"Th-thank you," Aiko's eyes darted about the kitchen, and she shuffled back and forth aimlessly for a few moments before Nomura leaned in and hugged her shoulders.

"Good girl," the older woman said again. "You're doing great."