[6] This time, I have a system. Thatās right, instead of just blindly going to the morning market and buying up whatever caught my eye, I have a list.
I plan to buy more of the standard favourites, of course. Such as the Vermilion Shrimps, Bronze King Crabs, Saban Fish, Big Hard Clams, Small Hard Clams and Yellow Scallops. We all like them, so it would be a good idea to stock up.
The Tyrant Fish might be the face of this city, being Veruleanās speciality catch, but I believe the true speciality of this city is their shellfish. Any and all types of shellfish here are delicious. The huge oyster-like Kaaki, which I had already stocked up earlier was one of my top favourites.
In the meantime, I also found a couple of stalls selling Dako. These were boiled octopus. Their bright red tentacles curled neatly towards their heads with white suckers pointing outwards. I suppose since people here are wary of the Kraken, things like octopi would not be popular either.
When I spoke to the stall uncle about it, he told me that he had only started eating these creatures recently. Apparently, prejudice against tentacled seafood was prevalent only among locals. However, this was gradually easing when more and more people from outside the city moved in and began eating these āDakoā.
āGive it a try, itās pretty good,ā said the uncle.
Old sir, I know about the deliciousness of octopi already. After all, I am Japanese.
Since they have already boiled the octopus, all I had to do was cut and cook it later. [6] I bought up loads without hesitation.
[5] This was going to be our last day at the market place, so I bought more stuff than usual. [1] However, since our consumption rate is extremely high, I estimate that my stock would probably only last us for three months if we only have seafood once a week.
After getting what I wanted from the market, we headed over to the food stalls for our breakfast. [2] After I emphasised how today would be our last day here, Fer, Dora-chan and Sui went all out.
Naturally, I ate and ate as much as I could too.
Once weāre full, it was time to head over to the Adventurerās Guild.
Ahh, the walk from the market place to the guild is good for digestion.
When I got to the Guild, the staff informed me that Marks-san had gone out for some reason. However, I could still go directly to the warehouse to speak with the dismantling team about collecting my meat.
I received meat from the Cockatrice, Rock Bird, Giant Horned Rabbit and Golden Back Bull as well as 41 gold coins from the materials sold. [5]
āUnfortunately, we did not find any magic stones in any of the monsters,ā the person in charge said apologetically.
I waved my hand, āNo, no, I think itās a fair price. Thank you very much for the skilled dismantling. You have my thanks.ā
We left the Guild after that. The day after tomorrow weāll begin our trip to Avering and I still need to stock up on more cooked food.
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As soon as we got home, Fer and the rest rolled over to their backs and snoozed in the living room. [2] Since they ate so much food at the market they donāt need lunch anymore. This saves me a lot of time since I donāt have to prepare lunch for them.
Alright, what should I make?
First, letās replenish the Furai that had been eaten up yesterday.
Letās fry up some Vermillion Shrimp, Yellow Scallops and various other shellfish.
Also, hmmm, since Iāll be frying things anyway letās make some tempura too so that I can make myself a Tempura Rice Bowl!
When it comes to tempura, the standards are shrimp, squid and seabream. So I got the Vermillion Shrimp, Kraken and Tatai out and [8] opened [Net Super] for tempura flour. I have no idea what really went into a tempura flour to make it so white and crisp. So, I got the brand Iāve always used instead of trying to mix my own.
While Iām here, I might as well get some vegetables too. Letās see, the types of vegetables that are good for making tempura are eggplants, large onions, and peppers. Oh, letās make some tempura with asparagus, sweet potatoes and mushrooms as well. Maitake mushrooms are great as tempura and so are the shiitake mushrooms.
Letās fry lots of vegetable tempura just because I like them, hehe.
While my hands were busy frying up things, my mind began to wonder.
I pondered over my purchase today, wondering what else I could make when I suddenly remembered the Dako I bought today. Thatās right, since Iām frying up stuff today letās go all out and make the favourite beer snack from the standard izakaya [9] menu. Tako no Karaage or Fried Octopus.
Personally, I do think itās kind of fiddly to make and some considered it too refined to be on an izakaya menu, but who cares? Iām making it because itās delicious!
Since I have most of the ingredients already, letās make it right now.
First, cut the boiled octopus into bite-sized pieces and marinate them in a brine made from sake, soy sauce, grated garlic and grated ginger (both condiments came from a tube). I placed the cut octopus along with the brine into a ziplock bag and left it to soak for 30 minutes.
While the octopus was soaking in the marinade, I took the opportunity to relax with a cup of coffee.
[6] Ah, that really hit the spot.
The 30 minutes passed very quickly and I got the octopus out of the ziplock bag to prepare them for frying. First, pat the excess brine off and then cover the marinated octopus with potato starch. [1] Once thatās done, all I have to do next is fry them.
āAlright, letās do a taste test.ā
Of course, I must taste test my product.
Naturally, when taste-testing beer snacks, one should have a beer at hand!
Pop!
Ahhh, just the sound is enough to make me want to drink it, but first-
Crunch!
Hmm, hmm, thatās it. Thatās the very flavour Iām after. Oooh, now a swig of beer.
ā¦aaahhhhh!
As expected, fried food and beer go really well together.
Hmm, itās about time I get started on dinner. Since we had seafood earlier, everyone should be craving meat now.
But, what should I make?
Guess I could try cooking the Giant Horned Rabbit.
However, Iāve never had rabbit before, I wonder what it tasted like?
Strictly speaking, this Giant Horned Rabbit is a monster, so itās probably different from the rabbits in my world.
Well, nothing to it. Letās just do a taste test first. I cut a piece out, seasoned with salt and pepper and just let it sizzle on the pan.
āHmm, I guess itās similar to chicken? No, pork? It has a mouthfeel thatās somewhere between pork and chicken. Thereās no weird smell and the meat is tender, so I guess itās just a regular good cut of meat.ā
I really had no idea what to do with it, but since oven roasting was easy, thatās what I did.
Thatās right, I settled on making Rabbit Steaks. [5] [6] After all, how often do you get rabbits so large that they could be turned into steaks? Still, if itās anything like pork or chicken, it should cook quickly. To maximise taste, I pricked the meat with a fork before putting on a herb salt rub and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
While thatās marinating, I preheat the oven and got the baking tray ready. When the 10 minutes are up, I placed the steaks on the cooking sheet and drizzled a generous amount of olive oil over it.
Once the oven door shut behind the steaks, thereās nothing for me to do but hope for the best.
After staring at the oven door like an idiot for a moment, I decided that itās more productive to get the plates and things out while the whole kitchen was filled with the smell of roasting meat and herbs. The Rabbit Steaks should be done soon.
When I poked my head into the living room, I saw that all three of my familiars were awake.
āFoodās almost ready, are you hungry?ā
āUmu,ā
āYes! Food!ā
āFood~ā
I gave everyone a portion of the Herb Roasted Giant Horned Rabbit Steak.
āUmu.Ā I really want to eat meat right now.ā
āI know just what you mean!ā
āMeat~ āŖā
Ah well, in the end, everyone still preferred meat.
Letās enjoy this roast Giant Horned Rabbit on our second last night at Verulean.
[Gumihou: I never had rabbit before, I wonder what it tastes likeā¦]
[1] Structural Change: Combine 2 paragraphs
[2] Structural Change: Combine 3 paragraphs
[3] Structural Change: Combine paragraph & dialogue
[4] Structural Change: Change passive sentence to dialogue
[5] Delete Repetitive or Pointless Information
[6] Additional Information for Aesthetic Purpose
[7] Add Dialogue Tag
[8] Weird order of cooking for an experienced home-cook, adjusted for correctness