55-050 Let's make tonkatsu!

I hope I don't disappoint you. ...... Let's just go to the kitchen. I can't cook in here.

Yes!

Haruka and Aella, smiling a little, moved into the kitchen.

The rest of us are watching from the corner of the kitchen. It's too small for us to work together.

"We need oil first, so let's start with the meat.

"All right. I understand. We just need to get the fat part.

We set up a big pot and put the fat from the boar into it.

There is a lot of fat under the skin, so it piles up quickly.

Ms. Aera's skill is particularly impressive.

She neatly removes the fatty part from the meat.

"Hey, frying pork cutlets in lard seems to be really bad for you, doesn't it?

I'm under the impression that salad oil is the best way to fry things. ......

Some places use lard for frying.　It's solid at room temperature so it doesn't get sticky or something.　I don't know if it's good or bad for you.

It's full of cholesterol.

I don't know if it's good or bad for you. But I don't think it's right to just use salad oil and say, 'No cholesterol!

It's not a lie that vegetable oils have no cholesterol. It's not a lie.

When it comes to food, what is good or bad for you is ultimately a matter of quantity.

Even if something is good for you, it can be harmful if you eat a lot of it.

There are many things that are harmful if you eat a lot of them.

If all the people who started the diet were to follow it seriously, there would be a lot of health problems, wouldn't there?

Most people will probably stop before that happens, though.

"Ms. Aera, you're so used to this. --That's good enough for me.

I've processed a lot of meat. Are you going to use all of this?　That's a lot of meat.

Yes. Put it on the fire and melt it.

Okay.

Ms. Aella lifts the pot, places it on the stove, and does something with it.

Is that a ...... magic tool?

I think a wood stove is more common, but Aera-san seems to be spending a lot of money in this area.

Or is this another result of being taken in by a "self-proclaimed consultant"?

"I'm going to make a thick slice of meat next. ...... What part of the meat do you think is best?

"I'll go with the loin.

"I think I prefer the fillet.

Nao likes loin, doesn't she?

I'm not so picky, but yes.

A bite-sized filet is good, but a thick cutlet is more satisfying and feels more like a pork cutlet.

This is one of the reasons why I feel like I'm being extravagant, but I guess I'm poor.

For now, let's try making it with various parts of the body, focusing on the loin. Aera-san, can you cut the loin into pieces of roughly this size and thickness?

Yes.

When you have cut the loin into a certain number of pieces, pound it and salt it lightly.

Use the batter liquid to make it easier. Ms. Aella, do you have eggs?

Yes, we do, but ...... it's going to be expensive to serve in the restaurant.

Unlike today, when you can buy eggs at unbelievably low prices, eggs in this era are quite expensive.

Since eggs were sold at a reasonable price, poultry farming must have been going on, but at least it was not industrial cage farming.

Eggs became readily available in Japan long after the end of World War II, so it is not surprising.

Water is fine, but it would be better to use eggs. I'll leave it to you to decide what to do.

As she said this, Haruka made a liquid mixture of egg and flour.

It looks like tempura.

"Hey, Natsuki, is that what you call batter liquid?　It's different from the way I know how to make pork cutlets.

"At your place, do you use flour, egg solution and breadcrumbs?　In some places, it's flour, milk, flour, egg solution and bread crumbs.

We do the former. So you dip the meat in that and then bread it?

Yes, we do. If you use that batter liquid, it seems to be easy to make and hard to fail, right?　I don't use it, though.

From the tone of his voice, I'd say he was being subtle.

I'm not picky, so as long as it tastes good, it's fine.

"Aella, do you have any bread?　I don't mind if it's a little hard. ...... Thanks. Natsuki, shave this off.

Yes, sir.

I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with it.

"Wow. You put this in the hot oil, right?

"Yes, that's right. It's not so difficult as long as you pay attention to the temperature of the oil. ...... I'll try it.

After dropping the breadcrumbs into the oil and measuring the temperature, Haruka put the battered meat into the oil.

With a light sound, an appetizing aroma drifted into the air.

It's just the smell of oil, so it doesn't smell very good in itself, but I guess it's a kind of conditioned reflex.

I'll give you about this much. Would you like to try it?

"Yes!

Haruka gives up his place and Aella starts frying the pork cutlet.

At first, she was a little fearful, but as she fried a few pieces, her hands quickly became more confident.

The amount of pork cutlets made was enough to feed six people, so it took only about ten minutes to finish frying all of them.

That's it. All you have to do is put some sauce on it and eat it as it is, or put it between two pieces of bread. ...... It's a bit sad for a meal.

The pork cutlet looked so good that I wanted to eat it right away, but it was not nutritionally balanced.

There is a ding dong for dessert, but I would like a salad if possible.

In that case, I'll make something for you. I'll make you something, since you have fresh offal.

The moment I thought, "I want a salad," you did that?

The moment I thought "I want a salad", I thought of a salad made from offal, not that there's anything wrong with that.

"Fresh offal" is too much of a power word.

"...... fresh offal?

Yeah, it's tricky, isn't it?

Haruka looked a little taken aback by the word that sounded so dangerous.

So I added a few words of my own.

I'm sure you've heard of it.

Oh, I see. ....... Aera-san, can I watch you?　I don't know much about cooking motsu, like how to process it.

I'm not familiar with how to cook motsu, but I'm curious, because motsu is perceived as food, even if it means the same thing.

"Yes, that's fine. If you go hunting frequently, it's good to know how to process it. Internal organs are often avoided because they are easily damaged, but it doesn't matter if we eat them right away.

With that, Aella took out the heart, liver, kidneys, and tongue from the refrigerator.

She laid them out on the cutting board.

Clearly, it was grotesque.

You can call it tongue, but it still looks the same.

"So let's get started.

A child cutting open a heart with a smile (appearance only).

It looks pretty bad just from the word itself. I'll wait for you in the audience.

I'll wait in the audience.

Thank you for waiting.

In the end, Toya and I waited in the audience, while Natsuki and Yuki observed the cooking.

As a professional, Ms. Aera's skills were excellent, and we didn't have to wait long before we were served with vegetable soup, stir-fried motsu and grilled meat, in addition to tonkatsu.

Ooh, that looks good!　But I think I'll have the pork cutlet first!

But first of all, the pork cutlet!" Toya took the jar of sauce that Aera had offered him, poured it over the pork cutlet, and bit into it.

"Yumah!　Uah-hi-ho!

Don't talk with food in your mouth. I can understand what you're saying, but...

But I was waiting for the same thing, so I took a bite of the pork cutlet.

Hmm~!

The crunchy texture, the sweet sauce, and the juices that flowed from the meat combined to make a very tasty dish.

I guess the meat itself is delicious. At the very least, it's a cut above the ordinary pork we usually buy at home.

The only drawback is that if you use coarser breadcrumbs, the crispiness may be enhanced.

I used some leftover dry bread crumbs and grated them with a regular grater, so they were quite fine.

But even so, Haruka and Aella were eating it with their cheeks relaxed, so it must be a dish that is well suited to the palates of the people of this world.

I'm not sure what to make of it. ...... Hmmm. A little softer bread, and a little accent would be nice.

I'm sure you'll agree.

What do they put in the cutlet sandwiches they sell?

Cabbage or lettuce?　Did some of them have mustard in them?

But these will sell!　When I finish the sauce, I'll start selling it. The problem is how much to sell it for. ......

What's the cost?

Well, it depends on what part you use, but if you put in this much and use the cheapest part, you can get by with ......15 rare.

The size of the meat that Aera-san showed us was about 50 grams.

If you buy meat in this world, it is a little more expensive than in the original world.

The average price of the meat we get is about five rares a gram, but this is the price with the fat and bones attached, so if you cut out only the edible parts, the quantity will probably be much less.

The pork cutlet itself is pretty good no matter which part you choose.

That's right!　I've never eaten a pork cutlet before, but it was delicious and fell apart easily!

I've never had pork cutlet before, but it was really good.

I'm not a fan of belly meat, but everything else was good. Yuki and Haruka nodded their heads in agreement, so they must have agreed.

I would eat one once in a while. Or you could boil it, drain the fat, and fry it.

I think it's better to buy the whole animal and use the best parts for more expensive dishes. You need a lot of fat to make pork cutlets. How about you, Aella, as a professional?

"It's better if you can buy it, but it's difficult for a butcher. But it's difficult for butchers. They don't like to buy everything.

In this world, livestock farming is limited to a few areas, so butchers in this city buy what hunters and adventurers like us hunt.

Inevitably, the amount of meat they receive is not stable, and if they allow people to buy one animal, they will not have enough to sell to others.

It is only through livestock farming and distribution that we can easily 'order one more animal'.

Hmmm, we hunt a lot, so we can sell one head wholesale. ......

"Really?　We'll pay you more than the butcher!　You can even buy the organs if you bring them to us.

So, if you don't go through a butcher, you can sell the offal because it's readily available.

All of the motsu dishes that Aera-san made were delicious, and it would be a good business.

What do you think, guys?

"I don't mind.

Tohya immediately agreed, and Yuki and Natsuki nodded in agreement.

I'm fine with it, but ...... we're not going to be hunting boars all the time, are we?　What about that?

Haruka also nodded, but complained about the stable supply.

We'll have to sell them on a limited basis when they come in, or think of other ways to get them.

We don't want to be in trouble if we suddenly can't buy any more, so I think it's better to keep looking for sources, you know?　We don't want to have to suddenly lose them, so I think it's better to keep looking for sources.

The original idea was to sell them early in the morning as a publicity stunt. If we're going to shift to a more upscale style, there's certainly no need to force ourselves to sell early in the morning.

Aera-san nodded her head in agreement with our words.

That's right. I'll think about it as well. For the time being, we'd like to start a week after the source is available.

"Okay. Well, I guess we'd better get going. We've got to get ready for tomorrow.

Aella, will you be okay tomorrow?　Do you need any help?

No, I'm going to be on my own.　Besides, you've already helped me enough.

Aera-san then looked at the strangely high-level store sign and the store's menu sign.

Even though it was written in all-white chalk, the shaded pictures and typography - or is it typography?　The decorative letters are just too good.

Yuki drew it in her spare time, an unexpected skill that I didn't even know she had.

If I had colored chalk, I could have done a bit more," she said, and I couldn't believe she was slightly unhappy with the result.

We'll be back from time to time, so please feel free to ask us if you have any problems.

"Thank you very much.

We said good night to Ms. Aella, who bowed to us, and went back to the inn.