CH 132

Real Food – i novels

()x12-15 minutes

Planting, harvesting, threshing, and polishing the rice were completed in half a day, and now it’s time to start cooking the new rice. I thought the excitement would fade after a short time, but my desire for my own rice was overwhelming, and I couldn’t help but shed tears of joy. With this, I’ll be able to fully enjoy the new rice.

“Sara, I’ll teach you how to cook rice. Come and watch.”

I called Sara, who was diligently cutting onions. If Sara learns how to cook rice, it will make things easier for me.

“First step. This is called a rice cooker, a tool for cooking rice. When you open the lid, there’s another inner lid. Use it to measure the amount of rice and water.”

I scooped up the rinsed rice with the inner lid in front of Sara and put it into the rice cooker, making sure it fills up to the top. I’ll keep it to two inner lids full this time, so it won’t be too disappointing if something goes wrong.

“Do you understand so far?”

“Yes, I understand, Master.”

Sara nodded with a serious expression. If I had studied so diligently since elementary school, maybe I could have become an amazing elite, like a doctor or a lawyer. Well, I’m currently a spirit mage, so I’m not lacking in coolness. It’s a different field, though.

“Master?”

“Hm? Ah, right, let’s continue. After putting the rice in the cooker, the next step is to add water. Generally, it’s recommended to add the same amount of water as rice, but when using the cooker, it’s better to add a bit more water. Since we put two inner lids of rice this time, add two inner lids of water and about one-third of an inner lid more.”

Dangerous, dangerous. I was tripping in my daydream. I need to focus on the rice now.

“Understood. I’ll add a little more water than rice.”

“Yes, by doing that, the rice is less likely to be undercooked. Next, leave the rice soaked in water for about thirty minutes. This is an important step to ensure that the heat reaches the inside of the rice, so don’t forget.”

I made sure that Sara nodded firmly. At this rate, she’ll master cooking rice in no time. I’m looking forward to it. But even Fukuchan is nodding seriously. I wonder if it means anything to remember?

“Alright, since we have two more cookers, try doing the same with these.”

“Yes.”

It’s a simple task, so there won’t be any mistakes, and Sara finished setting the rice in the two cookers. This part is perfect.

“Now, let’s get back to cooking in thirty minutes.”

“Yes.”

Sara replied with a smile. She said she wanted to learn cooking, and it seems she genuinely enjoys making dishes. Once I teach her the basics, it might be a good idea to ask Torque-san to make time to teach her cooking.

It might be difficult to get time because the shop is busy. Oh, speaking of which, I gave them the recipe for fried dishes like tonkatsu before coming back… Depending on the outcome, it might really be hard to find time. I’ll have to check once I go there.

“Yuta, Bobo.”

When I turned around, I saw Bell, puffing up her chest, and burning charcoal and firewood… Oh no. I asked Bell to light the fire without considering the time it takes to let the rice absorb water. I can’t really say that I don’t need the fire now to Bell, who has a beaming smile.

“Oh, amazing. Just as expected from Bell. Thank you.”

First, I express my gratitude and shower Bell with praise. I embrace her and stroke her head while gently pinching her cheeks, and then I think about what to do. As for the bonfire, I add more firewood to keep the fire going. As for the grill, should I start by grilling the ingredients for fried rice?

After showing Sara how to grill, I tell her to play until it’s time for the rice. It’s a perfect plan. I immediately start grilling the oak prime rib, seasoned with salt and pepper, on the pan that Nomos made, giving it a thick cut.

Alright, as I try to call out to Bell, I notice that she’s staring intently at the oak meat I’m grilling, with drool forming… She has turned into a gluttonous little girl. I guess it’s still my responsibility after all.

“Ah… Bell.”

My voice doesn’t reach her. Is it a problem that the contractor’s voice doesn’t reach her? Let’s try calling her again, and finally, she notices with a “Huh?” kind of expression.

“Bell, there’s still plenty of time until mealtime, so go play with everyone. Let them know that today’s dish is something new.”

“New. Is it delicious?”

She tilts her head and asks with a curious expression. She’s so cute, but it takes courage to confidently say that something I made myself is delicious. After all, I’m just an amateur cook.

“It’s a dish that I love, so look forward to it.”

“Okay. I’ll go!”

After thinking for a moment, she seems convinced and flies away. I’m a little worried about how she’ll explain it to Rain and the others.

Well, never mind, I need to start cooking. I’ll grill some dried fish on the adjacent grill as well. The dried fish that will go perfectly with today’s new rice is a fatty fish like mackerel. It will undoubtedly pair well with the new rice.

I grill the oak meat on both sides until it’s crispy, then add minced garlic to the remaining oil and place it away from the heat. The Great Spirits also eat this, so I need to make plenty.

“Master, why do you move the garlic away from the heat after adding it?”

Sara, who was slicing the onions, asks while glancing sideways.

“Chopped garlic can easily burn, so we slowly cook it in the oil to infuse the flavor before removing it from the heat.”

Sara nods with understanding. It feels good to teach her properly, but I can’t help but notice that she responds better to cooking advice than spirit magic advice.

“Master, it’s been about thirty minutes.”

“Oh, then let’s cook the rice.”

I place the rice cooker on the bonfire that Bell prepared.

“Master, do I not need to use this lid?”

Sara, looking flustered, brings me the inner lid. I teach her that the inner lid is not needed when cooking rice in the rice cooker. I also felt uncertain about it at first, so I understand her panic. I should have taught her beforehand.

“Oh, steam is coming out of the lid for real.”

“Yes, if you panic and open it now, it will fail. Wait until the overflowing steam subsides, then remove it from the heat and let it steam for ten minutes.”

“Understood.”

I wait anxiously as the rice cooks, and the ten-minute steaming time passes. With anticipation, I open the rice cooker and see the shiny rice behind the rising steam… My throat unintentionally gulps down.

I wet the wooden rice paddle that Dolly made with water and gently stir the rice, scraping the part that’s touching the rice cooker. It adds a browned accent to the pure white new rice. Unable to resist, I put some rice from the paddle into my mouth.

Ah, rice. This is what rice tastes like, right? The texture is perfect, not too hard or too soft… I decide to let Sara have a taste too, as she has been watching me with great anticipation.

But as she tastes it, her smiling expression turns cloudy.

“Master, I can’t taste anything.”

Well, if you’re used to it, you would notice the stickiness and sweetness and various flavors, but for someone eating it for the first time, it might not be so noticeable.

“Yeah, well, it’s like bread. The flavor comes from the seasoning in the dishes, so keep your expectations for that.”

“Yes… I’m looking forward to it.”

Sara’s expression dims a bit as she says that. I need to put more effort into my cooking. The future of the rice is at stake. While I’m happily munching on it, I realize that if I eat it with such enjoyment even though it doesn’t taste like anything, it might be disheartening to be looked at like that.

Anyway, should I finish the fried rice? In Japan, we used powdered chicken soup to make it taste good, but now I need to rely on the potential of the oak meat.

I transfer the oil with garlic to a separate container, lightly sauté some onions, and then add diced oak meat, chopped green onions, white rice, salt, and pepper. While hoping it turns out fluffy, I stir-fry the ingredients.

The result is a slightly sticky and simple fried rice. I’ve never been able to make fluffy fried rice. I’ve tried things like using cold rice or rinsing the rice, but I’ve never succeeded.

The method that makes it the fluffiest in my opinion is mixing the rice with eggs first, but I don’t have any eggs, so it’s tough.

When I taste it, the slight stickiness reminds me of the taste of Japanese fried rice. It’s simple, but maybe it tastes better than what I usually make because the ingredients are good. It might not be fluffy, but I’m sure they’ll enjoy it.

…I wonder how women feel about garlic-flavored fried rice… Is it okay? Well, Torque-san served dishes with lots of garlic, so it should be fine.

I let Sara have a small taste as she watches beside me. She takes a bite, chews the fried rice, and immediately breaks into a smile, unlike before.

“Master, it’s really delicious! It’s completely different from before! It changes so much!”

“Haha, I’m glad you liked it. But remember, even white rice tastes delicious when eaten with other side dishes.”

I give a little follow-up about white rice, so it should be fine. I’ll leave the task of making fluffy fried rice to Torque-san. I’ll add all the leftover white rice to the fried rice and make a large quantity.

There’s still time until evening, and I want to have a stock of white rice, so I’ll cook rice a few more times.

—————

On the table, various dishes are lined up. Among them, the white rice and fried rice shine even more. Maybe it’s just my perception. Today, it’s lively with the usual members and the great spirits sitting together. Maybe it’s just my perspective. Sara and the others only sense an increase in presence.

“The dishes on the table are made with the rice we cultivated today, so enjoy and savor them. Let’s start eating.”

The meal begins. Since Sara praised the fried rice to Marco and the others, they start with the fried rice. Bell and the others also head straight for the fried rice.

The children stuff their mouths with the fried rice, showing wonderful smiles. After swallowing, they immediately say it’s delicious and bring the next spoonful of fried rice to their mouths. If they’re this cheerful, it means they have accepted the rice.

The great spirits seem to have eaten rice before, but they praise this rice made from improved varieties as something different. To all the farmers who always provide delicious rice, thank you very much.

Now that everyone is pleased, I can enjoy the rice without any worries. I shift my gaze to the dried salted mackerel and white rice in front of me. Hmm, it’s a beautiful sight. I wanted to serve miso soup too, but I only have a little left, and I couldn’t gather the courage to bring it out.

I think if I ask Dolly, she can manage to get soybeans, but from there, the process of making miso seems endlessly distant. It’s knowledge I’ve read in manga, and I’m unsure if I can actually make it to miso. Maybe once this infatuation with rice is over, another infatuation with miso will begin?

…It seems like every time one problem is solved, another one appears immediately. I’m starting to get a little frustrated with these never-ending battles, but I’ll put that aside for now and focus on rice.

I untangle the flesh of the mackerel and put it in my mouth. I savor the fatty, flavorful mackerel and immediately eat some white rice. Mmm, this is it. The slightly stronger saltiness combines with the rice, creating a feeling of happiness.

I eat the salted mackerel, then the white rice, then the salted mackerel again, and the cycle repeats. Before I know it, the rice is gone. I take out the rice cooker from the magical bag, scoop hot rice into a bowl, and I get asked, “Yuta, is it delicious?”

When I raise my head, Bell’s face with “Is it delicious?” written all over it appears in front of me. It seems that my intense focus on eating has piqued her curiosity. Since she understood that rice is delicious through the fried rice, it might be time to upgrade to white rice.

“Bell, say ‘aah’.”

Bell opens her little mouth wide. It’s cute and makes me want to keep watching, but that would be no good, right?

I put a bite of rice with mackerel on it into Bell’s mouth. She chews the rice and says, “Yuta, delicious! Bell likes it!” She happily wiggles her arms and legs. It seems like she enjoys it.

Rain and the others line up behind her open their mouths wide, waiting, so I feed them mackerel and white rice as well. I also make Sara, Marco, and Kika open their mouths and feed them mackerel and white rice.

“Master, when we eat it like this, even plain rice without seasoning is delicious.”

Sara gives me a pleasant compliment with a smile. The initial negative impression of the white rice has completely disappeared.

From there, it becomes a dinner with everyone eating salted mackerel and white rice. The surplus white rice is gone, and I’ll need to cook rice again tomorrow. But since everyone enjoyed it, I’m satisfied.