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Tokugawa barley rice
On the day of a meeting for the joint cultivation of cotton in Owari and Mikawa, Ieyasu happened to have the opportunity to attend and decided to join on a whim. While there were many surprising things at the meeting, the most surprising thing for him that day was the mealtime.
“(Why is she cooking?)”
It is the fact that Shizuko is preparing meals for the Owari faction. Shizuko is not someone who would normally do the menial task of cooking, as she is the leader of the Owari faction. However, no one, especially Niwa (Niwa Nagahide), seems to stop her. In fact, they appear slightly restless, eagerly waiting for the meals to be ready.
“(As expected of Lady Shizuko! To personally prepare a meal and show appreciation to her retainers
)”
“(Hmm, it seems I was foolish to ask you.)”
After giving Tadakatsu a grateful and tearful look, I then turned my gaze back to Shizuko.
“Shizuko-sama. I apologize for the rudeness, but I would like to observe and learn from your cooking.”
“Oh, um, yes. Please go ahead.”
Thanks to the nearby observation, Ieyasu understood that they were cooking barley rice, but he didn’t know what Shizuko was grinding in the mortar. Actually, Shizuko is grinding natural yam in the mortar. She peels the yam and grinds it directly in the mortar, then adds dashi to dilute it. To adjust the flavor, she adds sake, mirin, soy sauce, egg, miso, etc. to the mixture, and when poured over the barley rice, it becomes a completed tororo. The remaining dashi is also used when making miso soup.
“Done.”
She scoops rice onto the plate, pour grated yam on top, and serve it with miso soup and pickles. The “grated yam rice set meal” is complete. The delicious smell makes Ieyasu involuntarily swallow his saliva. Indeed, it must be delicious. The soldiers from the Owari camp are eating barley rice with gusto, exclaiming how tasty it is.
(Oh no
 I want it! But I can’t reveal my true face here!!)
Shizuko, who is unaware of anything, unintentionally adds insult to injury to Ieyasu, who suppresses his appetite with an iron will.
“How about the two of you?”
“Guh
 I, umm
”
“Thank you for the meal!”
Once again, the words of Ieyasu, which were about to waver, were drowned out by the voice of Tadakatsu, a man who did not read the atmosphere and was rough in nature. It goes without saying that Ieyasu’s killing intent was directed towards Tadakatsu. However, he was so elated that he did not feel the anger directed at him. He was wholeheartedly digging into the barley rice that was served.
(Heihachiroooooo!!!)
Ieyasu tightly clenched his fist and looked up at the sky. After taking a deep breath, he said the following.
“Due to a certain health condition, I kindly ask for your understanding as I turn my face away while eating.”
Ieyasu’s steel spirit, which had patiently endured until the scent of freshly cooked rice and barley reached its peak, finally succumbed.
“That can’t be helped. Please don’t worry about it.”
Once he received the barley rice set meal from Shizuko, he sat down with Tadakatsu behind him. Finally, he took off only the front of his hood. At that moment, Ieyasu couldn’t resist the irresistible smell of the barley rice.
“Lady Shizuko, it’s delicious.”
From a distance, the chief retainer is glaring at Lord Ieyasu, admonishing him for his uncouth way of eating. However, Ieyasu ignores him and continues to shovel down his barley rice just like everyone else around him.
(Ah
 I can’t bear it)
Under the clear sky, Ieyasu felt an indescribable sense of liberation and proceeded to have three extra servings of barley rice. It goes without saying that Ieyasu later instructed Tadakatsu to extract the recipe for that barley rice from Shizuko.