Chapter 74

I placed the bland vegetable and the one with intense sweetness and bitterness. I hope the knowledge I have from Japan might help in making seasonings. One is potato starch, and the other is sugar. Right now, I only have salt and fish sauce, so I want to increase the variety of seasonings.

The bland vegetable had a texture most similar to a potato. It’s flavorless, which is a shame, but I remembered that potato starch is made from potatoes. The method is simple and I remember it.

First, I peeled the flavorless vegetable and grated it. I made a grater specifically for this purpose. Silver ore is very easy to use. It grates the vegetable nicely, but I need to be careful with my fingers. I put the grated flavorless vegetable in a cloth and kneaded it in a bowl of water. I kneaded it relentlessly. The water became colored, though lighter than I remembered, indicating that the components had come out. I squeezed the cloth to extract all the components. I left the bowl of water for about 20 minutes. This part is nerve-wracking. After 20 minutes, I carefully poured out the water. If something remained at the bottom, it would mean success; if not, failure.

“There it is.”

When I poured out the water, there was a white lump at the bottom. I added water again, mixed it, and left it for 20 minutes. I repeated this process, pouring out the water each time. On the third time, I transferred the residue at the bottom to a plate and dried it. Using magic to dry it, I crushed the lump to make white powder.

I tried coating some meat with it and frying it in oil. For now, I made 10 pieces of fried chicken, seasoned with salt.

…It’s been a while since I tasted something so good; I almost cried. A baby spider dangled from the ceiling. It’s a secret, though, because I still don’t have much starch. I bribed it.

I turned all the remaining flavorless vegetables into starch, working on it all day and finally finished. Before going to bed, I remembered I could use magic. Why did I do everything by hand!

…

Today, I’ll try making sugar with magic. In Japan, there’s something called beet sugar. I heard that the beet is the vegetable with intense sweetness and bitterness. So, I’ll try with the vegetable that has both sweetness and bitterness.

The vegetable looks a bit eerie. It’s purple with a bumpy surface, but I guess it’s okay? Well, I have to try.

The method… I only vaguely remember. I only saw my mother do it once, which is a bit worrying. I think I need to boil it? I’ll try boiling it. To extract the sugar components, I should cut it into small pieces. I put it in an iron pot, added water, and started boiling. Scum appeared. I need to remove it properly; this is probably the bitterness.

After about an hour, there was no change. This is bad, maybe it’s a failure… but I can’t stop here. Just a little more.

Oh, the purple color has intensified. Is this success? I turned off the heat… it didn’t solidify. I put it back on the heat for a little longer. After 30 minutes, the color became more vivid. I took it off the heat… it solidified. I crushed a small piece and tasted it… it’s sweet. The sweetness is stronger and more savory than what I’m used to. I did it!

For the rest, I tried using magic… but it failed when I used magic to boil it down. Why! I worked hard to boil it down and managed to get a large amount of sugar. Does magic have its weaknesses? I managed to finish by evening, and I’m glad I made a large pot.

I tried making glazed lizard meat. I want some white rice, but it’s delicious even with the leafy vegetables that grow on trees. I made a lot because the cores were looking at me with scary eyes. I need more fish sauce.

---

I hope this translation meets your needs. If you have any further requests or need adjustments, feel free to let me know!