Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 15 - Chapter 3.1

Chapter 3: The Rutim Banquet

1

After that, two days passed, and the twenty-sixth of the black month arrived. The day of Dan Rutim’s birthday celebration.

Entrusting the basic prep work to the Rutim women, we went to the post town to sell food, just like always. Doing that and returning to the settlement would leave us four hours until sunset, so it wouldn’t be any issue.

There was still time left till the sun would hit its peak, but Li and Yun Sudra had already shown up. From what I’d been told, now that they could purchase ingredients for the Sudra clan before they headed home, that gave them a bit of extra leeway in terms of work around the house.

Well, it made sense that it would take a good bit of effort, buying ingredients for a family of nine without a wagon. The folks in the main Ruu house used to visit the post town once every three days, so it must have been similar for the Sudra clan. That was also why Donda Ruu went and bought a new totos and a wagon for those under him.

I’d really like to come up with some sort of excuse to buy a totos-pulled wagon for the Fou, the Ran, and everyone else in our part of the forest to use, honestly.

At any rate, business seemed to be going smoothly again today.

However...

“Seems like you’re getting pretty used to the job, Yun Sudra,” I called out.

When Yun Sudra froze up in response, the baked poitan she was holding fell to the ground.

“Ah! I’m so sorry!” she replied, going pale as a sheet.

“It’s fine. We always have extra, after all. I should be the one saying sorry for calling out to you so suddenly.”

“No, this is all because I was careless!” Yun Sudra lamented as she scooped up the fallen poitan, looking at me with teary eyes. “I’ll take this poitan back with me and pay you for it! I’m... I’m so sorry...”

“No, really, it’s all right. You’ve been doing well enough that it’s no problem at all writing off a mistake like that. Right, Li Sudra?”

“Yes, I agree. Still, you do seem to get careless an awful lot when Asuta is nearby, don’t you, Yun...? I won’t feel comfortable stepping down until you overcome whatever the issue is, so please try to keep that in mind.”

“Right...” Yun Sudra replied, her face now beet red. She really was an unusual sort of girl for a woman of the forest’s edge.

Meanwhile, Lala Ruu glared from the neighboring stall, perhaps acting as a representative for Ai Fa and Reina Ruu. Even without that look, I had been trying to maintain a respectful distance from Yun Sudra. After all, even a blockhead like me could notice her longing gazes and how quickly she started blushing. And perhaps thanks to that, things with her hadn’t become as awkward as they were with Ai Fa and Lem Dom yet.

As I was considering that line of thought, Mikel stopped by with Myme for the first time in several days.

“Ah, welcome. It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Myme...?”

“Yes. Thank you again for everything you did.”

Though I had seen Mikel on several occasions, it had been five days or so for Myme, since back when they visited the forest’s edge.

“I’ve been practicing all this time in the house. And, well...if it’s all right, there’s something I’d like to have you taste-test...” Once again, Myme had brought a large woven basket with her.

I could feel the anticipation welling up in my chest. “I can’t wait. I’m assuming you used giba meat?”

“I did. And I tried it with lots of ingredients my dad bought as well,” Myme responded with a bright and sunny smile. She must have been awfully confident in the dish.

“All right, let’s head over to the wagon again. Ah, sorry, Toor Deen, but could I ask you to take charge of the stall for a moment?”

“Of course. But...” Toor Deen muttered, hanging her head a bit but then looking back up resolutely. And her gaze wasn’t fixed on me, but rather Myme. “Um... Could I give that dish a taste test as well? Just a single bite would be plenty...”

“Yes, of course! The more opinions I can get, the better!” Myme replied, her eyes shining.

“Got it,” I agreed, pulling out the sample plates that hadn’t seen much use lately. “We’ll prepare a plate for each of the stalls, so we don’t go against the customs of the forest’s edge. And then we’ll give it a taste test in turns.”

I started by borrowing Sheera Ruu from the giba burger stall, and we went over to the wagon together with Myme. As the young chef placed her woven basket atop the wagon, Gilulu and Jidura stared down at her as they chewed on leaves from the tree they were tied to.

“I’m still practicing, but I think it turned out at least a bit tastier than what I made when I visited the settlement at the forest’s edge. It’s not just giba meat...tau oil and mamaria vinegar are ingredients like wild totos too.”

At that, the two massive birds stared down at her.

“Ah ha ha, I wasn’t talking about you two,” Myme chuckled, smiling up at the totos as she unwrapped the cloth and removed the lid from a container. Instantly, a fragrant aroma filled the air.

“Oh yeah, that looks really tasty.”

Inside the deep clay dish lay grilled meat and vegetables covered in a reddish sauce. The vegetables included aria, nenon, and pula, while the cut of meat was likely sirloin. This would be my first time having a grilled meat dish Myme prepared, which only raised my expectations higher.

“Please, dig in.”

Sheera Ruu and I each transferred a bite’s worth of the dish to the wooden plates I brought along.

The sweet smell from the tau oil and sugar blended with the scent of the mamaria vinegar. It undoubtedly seemed tasty, but I was also getting a sense of déjà vu somehow.

Hmm... Seems like it may be similar to the dishes I make. But, well, I guess that’s natural when we’re using the same ingredients, I thought to myself as I brought the dish to my mouth, and then I was struck by an even more shocking sense of déjà vu.

Without thinking, I turned and locked eyes with Sheera Ruu. She hadn’t been able to hide her surprise either.

“Asuta, this dish...”

“Yeah, I had the same thought.”

Simultaneously, Sheera Ruu and I turned to face Myme.

“What’s the matter? Is there some sort of issue with it?” the young chef asked, her eyes opening wide in surprise.

“No, no issues. It’s just, this dish...”

“Yes?”

“This dish tastes identical to one that I make.”

At that, Myme’s eyes opened even wider. “Really? It tastes like one of your dishes?”

“Yeah. I’ve been experimenting with a dish to sell to the inns that uses mamaria vinegar, and this tastes exactly like it.”

This was the giba in tarapa-flavored sweet and sour sauce I had prepared the first day that Lem Dom visited the Fa house... If you just decreased the amount of tarapa used, then you would have something identical.

The sweetness from the sugar and tau oil had been adjusted so that the sourness wouldn’t be too prominent. And the texture of the sauce clinging thickly to the meat and vegetables... It really was just like the second version of the sweet and sour sauce I made using tarapa, in my efforts to introduce the unfamiliar taste of vinegar to the people of the forest’s edge and the folks in the post town.

“Still, it seems to have a slightly different texture than your dish, Asuta...” Sheera Ruu stated, furrowing her brow and looking troubled. “The taste really is similar. If you told me you had made it, I would probably believe you. But the texture from this sauce seems different, don’t you think...?”

“Yeah. I’m guessing she must have used poitan to add thickness. Am I right, Myme?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Do you not use poitan, Asuta? I tried using gigo as well, but that added a bit too much stickiness, which is how I settled on poitan.”

“I see. As for me, I dry out boiled chatchi and use the starch you can extract from it. It behaves pretty similarly to fuwano.”

“Chatchi? You can make a powder like fuwano from chatchi? I’ve never heard of such a cooking technique before!”

Myme excitedly turned to face Mikel, but her father was just silently shaking his head. It honestly was no big surprise he wouldn’t know about that, since it was essentially the method used to make potato starch.

“I really can’t compete with you, Asuta!”

“Nah, it’s just a bit of knowledge from my home country. It’s no surprise folks living in Genos have never heard of it. Besides, I’m sure you’ve learned heaps of stuff I don’t know from Mikel,” I replied, setting down my plate and looking at Myme.

Once again, I felt a chill run down my spine. It was like my eyes had been opened. “Myme, you really are incredible. For you to be able to get this skilled at handling giba meat and mamaria vinegar after just five days... You really are my equal, if not better.”

“You’re overexaggerating. I’m still just...”

“Yeah, you’re still only ten years old, so I’m sure you’ll keep on improving by leaps and bounds. Still, I’m only just seventeen myself.” Before I got too worked up and lost my composure, I went on, “For as long as I can remember, all the way up to this year, I worked hard, studying how to cook under my old man. And I’m sure you’ll keep on learning all sorts of stuff from Mikel too. Our dishes may be real similar, but ultimately you’re not me, and Mikel isn’t my old man.”

“Right...”

“That’s what I figure will end up separating us. Our cooking techniques are a lot alike, and I’m sure we’ll end up aiming toward similar goals too, but even so, we’ll each use techniques and make dishes that the other couldn’t. That’s why I want to know what sorts of dishes you’ll create, and to show you what I make too.”

“Of course.”

“Taste isn’t a contest when it comes to cooking. There isn’t any need to determine a winner and a loser. But even if it’s not to see who’s better, I still want to compete with you, Myme,” I explained, and then scratched my head. “Ah, I think I got a little too passionate there, but that’s how I honestly feel. To sum it all up, let’s both give it our all to become full-fledged chefs.”

“Right, thank you.” Myme didn’t look bashful or doubtful at all. However, there was a bit of pride shining away in her eyes. “I can’t say that I fully understand your words just yet, but still...I want to have you eat my cooking and to try your dishes too.”

“Yup, and that’s plenty. Thanks, Myme.”

“That’s my line, Asuta,” the young chef replied with a bright smile.

◇

The sun hit its peak not long after, and with that, Sheera Ruu and I hurried on over to The Kimyuus’s Tail. The dish of the day was tino rolls, and after preparing them as per our contract, I went ahead and also made the giba in tarapa-flavored sweet and sour sauce I was experimenting with.

“Hmm, this is definitely easier to eat than the dish from before,” Milano Mas said with a serious look on his face. “Still, maybe it’s because it’s fried in oil, but this sweet and sour giba stuff has a pretty unique flavor to it. It’s a little difficult to figure out which one my customers would prefer.”

“That’s true. And it’s not good to go changing the menu around all the time, so how about starting out by offering it as a test dish and seeing how it’s received. I’ll take on the ingredient costs, of course.”

“Hmm...”

“And actually, I’d like to have you give this dish a try too,” I said, pointing toward a small pan atop the work station. At that, the look on Milano Mas’s face grew all the more troubled.

“You want to have me eat that one too? It’s got a real strange smell to it, so I figured you were gonna take it to The Sledgehammer.”

“Well, the plan is to have it taste tested not just there, but at The Great Southern Tree and The Westerly Wind too.”

Contained within was the giba curry I had been experimenting with.

It was still ultimately a work in progress, but it was tasting a lot closer to my ideal, so I wanted to get the opinions of folks from around the post town at this stage.

“I used a lot of herbs from Sym in this dish. Do you not like herbs, Milano Mas?”

“I can’t say I use them that often. Heck, I’ve never even tried any from Sym in the first place.”

“Well, I wanted to see if this dish would work for folks like you. So if you don’t mind, could I have you give it a try?”

“I mean, if you tell me to eat it then I will, but...”

Despite the uncertain look on his face, he had still agreed, so I placed the pan on the stove to heat it up. And in no time at all, that aroma I adored filled the kitchen.

“That’s one heck of a smell. I could see folks from Sym crying tears of joy if they sniffed it.”

If that actually happened, then all of my efforts would be worth it. Plus, as my experiments continued, the impressions I got from the women of the forest’s edge were also steadily improving. Since my initial attempt, I had started including two additional herbs. That hadn’t made for much of a change to the overall aroma, but I felt it brought the taste dramatically closer to proper curry.

The flavor had strayed a bit from what you’d expect of Japanese curry, but that got me thinking. There wasn’t anything equivalent to rice in Genos, so I had to accompany my recipe with baked poitan in place of naan instead. That being the case, why not go all-in and make it Indian-style curry?

In terms of ingredients, I added tarapa, myamuu, and ramam fruit. I used a pretty good amount of tarapa in place of tomato, and instead of garlic I had myamuu, which I only needed a pinch of. When I hit on the thought that some folks put tomato or garlic in their curry, I had decided to try them out.

Ramam was a type of fruit like an apple that Nail used to make chitt-pickles. The idea was to add a bit of mellowness to the wild flavor of the giba curry. I figured panam honey could be worth trying too, but that seemed like it would really throw off the cost-price ratio, so I shut that idea down.

At that point I did repeated trial and error with the ratio of the herbs, adjusted the amount of fuwano and milk fat used when making the roux, and so on. The taste had improved remarkably since that first day I tried making it.

“What do you think? It shouldn’t be all that spicy.” I had aimed for what I perceived to be somewhere between mild and medium spiciness.

After dipping one of the baked poitan I brought along into the freshly-heated giba curry and taking a bite, Milano Mas muttered “Hmm...” in a muffled voice. “It’s a real odd taste. Not bad, but...I just can’t seem to find the words,” he mumbled, and then he shouted toward the kitchen’s door, “Hey!”

At that, a slender girl with dark brown hair timidly peeked inside.

“Wh-What is it? Do you need something?”

“You come give this a taste too. You’re better with words than I am.”

With a shrug of her shoulders, the girl stepped in the kitchen. This was Milano Mas’s daughter, Telia Mas, and she had been manning the reception desk after cleaning the guest rooms.

Though she still hadn’t fully overcome her fear of the hunters of the forest’s edge, after several months of seeing each other face-to-face, she was now able to interact with me and the women normally. And though she was still a bit timid, that just seemed to be her nature to begin with.

“Oh, my... The smell really is overwhelming, but it’s quite tasty, isn’t it?” Telia Mas said with a faint smile. “Both the meat and the vegetables are delicious. And also...eating it is somehow making me feel hungrier.”

“Hrmm, you’re right, there. It’s like my stomach’s grumbling and demanding I hurry up and feed it.”

“That may just be the herbs from Sym at work.”

At any rate, Milano and Telia Mas didn’t seem to have outright rejected my giba curry.

What would it make me feel, if this curry aroma started drifting throughout the forest’s edge or the post town around sunset? Just the thought of it somehow got me excited.

“This is still a work in progress so it’ll be some time yet till it can be sold, but if I get it to a satisfactory level, would you consider offering it at your place?”

“Hmm, how would that work out with the other dishes? Offer three of them and alternate each day?”

“No, if at all possible, I was thinking I’d like to just prepare the base for the dish so you could cook up the meat and vegetables on your own.”

I could sauté the various spices and aria in milk fat, then knead it together with water and fuwano flour. If I could take the result, dry it out, and solidify it, it should be possible to sell it as a curry base. Or at least, that was the plan.

“You may be able to make this dish tasty with kimyuus or karon meat, but I feel it’s best suited to giba meat. Or at the very least, you can make a stronger stock that way than with skinless kimyuus or karon leg meat.”

Plus, just on a personal level, I felt like pork ribs were best suited to curry. Naturally, some folks out there preferred beef or chicken, but that all just came down to personal tastes.

“Back in my home country, this dish was an absolute staple. I’m honestly sort of looking forward to seeing just how well it’ll be accepted in the post town.”

“Hmm... Well, for now, let’s just wait until you’ve perfected it.”

Feeling heartened by that not at all negative response, I went ahead and departed from The Kimyuus’s Tail.

And so, as I held the lidded pan, I walked down the street alongside Sheera Ruu. Since the pan was on the small side, it wasn’t difficult to carry like that, but I didn’t want to bump into anyone and give them a burn, so I still needed to be careful.

“So are we going to go around to the other inns now?”

“Yeah. I’m sure Nail will be happy with it, but I’m not so sure about Naudis. After all, southerners have a strong aversion to the culture of Sym. And I’m really looking forward to seeing how The Westerly Wind’s owner will react...”

“Every time I try it, I grow more and more fond of the taste. So I think even among westerners and southerners, plenty will find it tasty,” Sheera Ruu replied with a gentle smile. “I really believe this dish is characteristic of you, Asuta. I can’t even imagine someone like that Myme girl creating it.”

“Right. As long as there isn’t something similar in Sym or the castle town already, I’d be really surprised if someone else stumbled on this combination of herbs by coincidence.”

“And that girl will use knowledge and techniques you’re unaware of to make dishes that are characteristic of her, right?” She paused. “Asuta, I honestly can’t help but feel a little vexed...”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“The people of the forest’s edge don’t possess any techniques of our own for making delicious meals. Everything that we’ve learned has come from you. I’m sure Reina Ruu and I will never be able to stand side by side with you or that girl...”

As we walked along, I turned and faced Sheera Ruu. Her expression was perfectly calm, but there was a pained look in her eyes.

I shook my head and said, “That’s not true. The people of the forest’s edge have their own unique tastes and preferences too. So you can form your own knowledge and techniques by trying the dishes Myme and I make and adjusting them to be just right for you. I have my home country’s techniques that were formed over a very long period of time and Myme learned from Mikel’s experience from the castle town, but right now is the time for the people of the forest’s edge to create your own style, right?”

“The time to create our own?”

“That’s right. Don’t you think you could create your own new sort of cuisine using what you learn from me and Myme? If you pass that knowledge to your children and your children’s children and so on, you’ll create dishes that are unique to the forest’s edge along the way.”

“That’s so grandiose it’s dizzying...” Sheera Ruu replied, placing her hands over her chest and giving a deep sigh. “I definitely need to offer my gratitude to the forest that I was on duty at the stalls today. I’ll of course tell her of everything you said, but I’m certain Reina Ruu will lament the fact that she wasn’t able to be here for this...”

“You’re seriously exaggerating there... Still, it definitely makes me glad to hear it.”

I couldn’t help but feel that today was somehow special. The twenty-sixth of the black month... I decided to make a firm note of that date. When you added the fact that it was Dan Rutim’s birthday, it really felt like an occasion to celebrate.