134 - - Episode 132 Real Food

After planting, harvesting, threshing, and milling the rice in half a day, it was time to start cooking the new rice. I thought I might lose my excitement because of the short period of time, but my desire for rice was extraordinary and I was so happy that I could shed tears. I am sure I will be able to enjoy the new rice to the fullest.

"Sara, I'm going to teach you how to cook rice, come and watch."

He calls for Sarah, who has been working hard chopping onions. If Sara can learn how to cook rice, I can make it easier for her.

"First step. This is a tool called a rice container for cooking rice, and when you open the lid, there is another inner lid. This is used to measure the amount of rice and water."

The rice is scooped up in front of Sarah with the inner lid, and the rice container is filled to the top with the proper amount of rice. If the amount of rice is too large, it would be sad if I made a mistake, so this time I'm going to use two cups of rice in the inner lid.

You understand me so far, don't you?

"Yes, it's all right, Master."

Sarah nodded with a serious face. If I had studied this hard since elementary school, I could have been a very elite person. Doctors and lawyers are kind of cool, aren't they? Well, I'm a genie now, so I'm as cool as they come. It's a different genre.

"Master?"

Hmm?　Oh, uh, let's continue. After you put the rice in the rice container, the next step is to put water in. Basically, you should put in the same amount of water as the rice, but when you cook rice in a rice pot, it is easier to cook well if you put in a larger amount of water. In this case, I put two cups of rice in the inner lid, so I'll put two cups of water in the inner lid, and then I'll put in another third of the water in the inner lid.

Watch out, watch out. I was tripping in my imagination. Now it's rice.

"Okay. You put a little more water than rice."

"Yes, that way the rice is less likely to be undercooked. Next, leave the rice soaked in the water for about 30 minutes. This is another important step that helps the rice to be cooked through to the inside.

I make sure Sarah nods her head. At this rate, she will master the art of cooking rice soon. I can't wait to see what happens next. But Fuk-chan is nodding her head seriously, too, but what's the point?

"Okay, there are two more rice containers, so do the same with this one."

"Yes."

It is a simple task, so there are no mistakes, and Sarah finishes setting the rice in the two rice containers. So far, so perfect.

"Okay, the next one is in thirty minutes, so let's get back to cooking.

"Yes."

Sarah replies with a smile. She has said she wants to learn to cook, and I guess she really enjoys cooking. After I teach her some basics, maybe she can ask Mr. Toruku to give her some time to learn how to cook.

But I wonder if it would be difficult to get him to take time out since the restaurant is busy.　Oh, by the way, I gave you a recipe for fried food like pork cutlets before I came back. ...... Depending on the results, I really don't think I'll be able to find the time. I'll have to check it out when I get there.

"Yoo-tah, boo-boo."

I look back and see ahem, a chest-thumping bell, red-hot coals and firewood ....... I asked Belle to make the fire without taking into account the time it takes for the rice to absorb water. It's hard to tell him not to use the fire yet, when he smiles so much at me for having done my best.

"Oh, great! You're the best, aren't you? Thank you."

First of all, I thank him and praise him a lot. I hold him in my arms, pat his head, nuzzle his cheeks, and think about what to do. The fire is kept burning by adding more wood. As for the grill, should I cook the ingredients for fried rice first?

After showing them how to cook, I send them off to play until dinner. That's a perfect plan. I quickly cut the oak ribs with salt and pepper into thick slices and grill them in the pan Nomos made for me.

Okay, I go to call out to Belle, who is floating around, staring at the orc meat that is being cooked. I'm drooling ....... I've turned into a little girl who loves to eat. This is my fault after all.

"Oh, ...... Belle."

You didn't hear me. Isn't it a problem that the contractor's voice doesn't reach you?　Anyway, I called again, and finally, "Ugh?" I was like, "Oh, my God.

"Belle, there's still time for dinner, so go play with the others and tell them it's a new meal today."

"New. Is it good?"

Belle tilts her head and asks, "What's up? It is very cute, but it takes courage to say with confidence that something is delicious when you are making it yourself. It's amateur cooking, after all.

"It's my favorite dish, so you can look forward to it.

"Okay. I'm off.

After thinking for a moment, he was convinced of something and flew away with a bouncing sound. I am a little worried about how he is going to explain this to Rain and the others.

Never mind, I have more cooking to do. I'll cook some dried fish on the grill next to us. Today's dried fish to be paired with the new rice is an oily horse mackerel-like fish. This dried fish is definitely good with the new rice.

We grill a lot of oak meat on both sides and put chopped garlic in the remaining oil and put it far away from the fire. Sylphy and the other great spirits eat it too, so we have to make a lot of it.

"Master, why do you keep the garlic away from the fire after putting it in?

Sarah, who had been looking at me sideways while slicing leeks into rounds, asked me a question.

"Chopped garlic tends to burn easily," she said, "so you have to cook it slowly to transfer the garlic flavor to the oil.

Sarah nodded her head in agreement. I feel good that I've been taught well, but I'm a little concerned that she responds better to my advice than to that of the genjutsu.

"Master, it's been almost thirty minutes.

"Oh, well, let's cook some rice."

We put a pot of rice on the fire that Bell had built for us.

"Master, do I need to put this lid in?"

Sarah, looking impatient, brings the middle lid to me, and I tell her that when you cook rice in a rice pot, you don't put the middle lid in. I was also confused at first, so I was a bit nervous. I should have told her first.

I should have taught her that steam comes out of the rice container first. You'd be in a hurry too. If it's a friend, you can play a joke and not teach him anything, but if he's a kid and you're his apprentice, you have to teach him.

Surprise them a little and learn from experience!　I'm tempted to say something harsh, but I'll be sad if people don't like it, so I won't. Being disliked by the guild and being disliked by the students are two completely different things.

"Oh, Master. Steam really came out of the lid.

"Yes, be careful not to take the lid off in a hurry or you will fail. After the spills stop, take it off the heat and let it steam for 10 minutes, and it's done.

"Yes, sir."

The ten minutes of steaming time passed as we waited for the rice to cook. I opened the rice container with a sense of excitement, and behind the steam that rose from the rice, I found shiny rice ...... gurgling in my throat without realizing it.

I wet the wooden rice scoop that Dorie made for me with water and stir it gently to cut the rice. The part in contact with the rice container is browned, adding an accent to the pure white new rice. Unable to resist, I put the rice on the rice scoop into my mouth.

Ah, rice. This is rice. The rice is cooked perfectly. Not too hard, not too soft, perfect rice. ...... I give Sarah, who is watching next to me, a taste.

She was probably expecting a great deal when she saw how impressed I was with the rice, and her smile and munching on it clouded her face.

"Master. I can't taste it.

If you were used to it, you would probably feel the stickiness and sweetness, but the first time you eat it for the first time, it's like that.

"Yeah, well, it's like bread. "Well, it's like bread. I'll make sure the food is well-seasoned.

"Yes, I'm looking forward to ......."

Sarah's expression is a little clouded as she says this. I'm going to have to put a lot of effort into cooking. The future of rice is at stake. I'll be disappointed if she looks at me like I'm eating rice with no taste while I'm chewing on it with my mouth full of deliciousness.

I should finish the fried rice for now. In Japan, I used to make it with chicken soup powder, so it tasted rather good, but the question is whether I can make up for it with the potential of oak meat.

After lightly sauteing onions, add diced oak meat, chopped green onions, white rice, salt and pepper. The onions are lightly sauteed and then diced oak meat, chopped green onions, white rice, salt and pepper are thrown in.

The result is a simple fried rice that is a little chunky. I've never been able to make good fried rice. I've tried using chilled rice, washing rice, and so on, but nothing has ever worked.

The best way for me is to mix the rice with the egg first, but it's hard because I don't have the egg on hand.

When I tasted it, I found it to be a bit sticky, which is also a nostalgic Japanese taste. No, it's simple, but maybe it tastes better than what I usually make because of the good ingredients. This is not a dry dish, but you will be pleased with it.

...... How about garlic fried rice for women?　...... okay. You seemed to enjoy Toruku's garlic-filled dish.

I let Sarah, who was watching from the side, try a little bit. She took a bite and chewed on her fried rice. Unlike before, her face immediately broke into a smile.

"Master, it's so delicious!　It's totally different from before!　It's such a change."

"Ha ha, I'm glad you liked it. But white rice also tastes good with other side dishes.

I followed up with some white rice, so I guess I'm good to go. I'll leave the fried rice to Mr. Toruku. I'll put all the white rice I don't plan to eat into the fried rice and make a big batch of fried rice.

There's still time to cook some more rice for the night, and I'd like to stock up on white rice.

**

A variety of dishes are laid out on the table. Among them, white rice and fried rice shine more brightly. Maybe it's just in my eyes. Today's table is very lively with the usual members and the Great Spirits sitting there. This is also only in my eyes. Sarah and the others only feel the presence of more people.

"The rice that's laid out in front of you is the food we grew today, so please enjoy it. Let's eat."

The meal begins. Sara had told Marco and the others that the fried rice was delicious, so she was the first to start on hers. Belle and the others are also going straight for the fried rice.

The children's mouths are full of fried rice and they are smiling wonderfully. After swallowing the fried rice, they immediately put the next bowl of fried rice in their mouths, saying that it tastes good. If they are in such a good mood, it is safe to say that the rice has been accepted.

The Great Spirits had eaten rice before, but they praised this rice, which was made from an improved rice variety, as something else. Thank you, farmers, for your delicious rice.

Now that everyone likes it, I can eat rice without any worries. I look at the dried horse mackerel and white rice in front of me. Well, it's a beautiful sight. I would have liked to have miso soup with it, but there was only a little miso soup left and I didn't have the courage to serve it.

I'm sure I can get the soybeans if I ask Dolly to help me, but the miso from there is endlessly far away. I'm not sure if I can make it to miso soup with only the knowledge I've read in comic books. Maybe when the time of longing for rice is over, the time of longing for miso will start?

As soon as ...... solves something, the next one will appear. I'm getting a little tired of this never-ending battle, but we'll get to the rice first.

I unwrap the horse mackerel and throw it into my mouth. You bite into the salty, fatty horse mackerel meat and eat the white rice immediately. Hmmm, this is it! The slightly salty taste of the horse mackerel combines with the rice and makes you feel happy.

Eat dried horse mackerel, eat white rice, eat dried horse mackerel, eat white rice. Repeatedly, we soon ran out of rice. He took out a rice container from his magic bag, put hot rice in a bowl, and again put white rice in the bowl.

I looked up at him and asked, "Is it good?　Is it good?　Belle wants some too!　Belle was floating in front of me, with a "WOW" written on her face. She was interested because I was eating so enthusiastically. Now that she understands that fried rice is delicious, maybe she can step up to white rice.

"Belle, mmmm..."

Belle is spreading her tiny mouth as wide as she can. She is so cute that I want to watch her as she is, but I guess that's not allowed.

I throw a piece of white rice with horse mackerel meat on it into Belle's mouth. Belle eats the rice with a big mouthful. Belle is so happy, wagging her arms and legs. She seems to like it.

Rain and the others in line behind her are waiting with their mouths wide open, so we do the same and throw in some horse mackerel and white rice. I made Sara, Marco, and Kikka open their mouths, too, and threw horse mackerels and white rice into their mouths.

"Master, when eaten like this, the unseasoned rice tastes good too.

Sara smiles at me and gives me good feedback. The initial negative image of white rice has been completely dispelled.

From that point on, dinner was served with dried fish and white rice. The extra white rice is gone, and I'll have to cook more rice tomorrow. But everyone liked it, so I'm happy.