461-Warabisabi





 When I enter the kitchen, I place the bracken basket on a stand and wash my hands in the washroom.

'How do you cook the bracken?'

 You can grill it, boil it, or fry it. I don't know what to do with them.

'I'm thinking of making tempura. Do you have anything you'd like to try making, kid?

Tempura sounds good. I'd rather just bake it in soy sauce.

Oh, you're good at that too. Well, let's do tempura and grilled soy sauce!

 Bartolo and I agreed that we were going to grill them with tempura and soy sauce.

Then we'll marinate the grill in soy sauce.

 I rinsed the bracken lightly with salt water and transferred half of it to a bowl, then poured a light soy sauce into it.

 The bracken was jumping around to see if there were any individuals still alive.

 All that's left is to marinate them for a while, and when they've absorbed the flavors, grill them in the net.

 While I was doing that, Bartolo was making the source of the tempura.

 I'm stirring the bowl with a whisk and shuffling it around.

 The pot on the magic stove was of course filled with oil and warmed up.

 With nothing in particular to do, I decided to make men-tsuyu to pass the time.

 With this, I could use it for future dishes, or eat it with tempura.

 It's easy to make, as long as you have soy sauce.

 Put soy sauce, bonito soup stock, mirin, Kagura Sake and a little sugar in a pot and let it boil for a while.

 It was easy to make, but the problem was the ingredients.

 If I hadn't gone to Kagura, I wouldn't have been able to get an abundance of soy sauce, mirin and kagura sake, and if I hadn't gone to Silford territory, I wouldn't have been able to stock up on fresh fish.

 It was as much trouble as it was fun, but I guess my efforts were paying off.

'Boy, what are you making?'

I was working on a soy sauce-based sauce that would go well with tempura.

Oh? Is there alcohol and broth in it? It's mellower and more elegant than soy sauce.

 Bartolo sniffed the sauce that was simmering and immediately guessed the ingredients.

 'Maybe this one will make it on its own without me telling you.

'Is that one ready yet?'

'Oh! We can always fry the bracken!

 I looked at the bowl Bartolo was holding and there was bracken smeared on the batter.

 All that's left to do is fry it up and make it crispy.

'But since it's a tempura day, let's get the other guys in there too.

Yes.

 I've gone to the trouble of making tempura. It would make everyone happy if we also fried other ingredients.

 Bartolo and I prep mushrooms, carrots, squash, peppers, and so on, and then quickly put them in the pot.

 The sound of oil popping echoes through the kitchen.

'Speaking of fried food, that's the sound.

Yeah, I like the sound of that.

 With the sound of popping oil as background music, Bartolo starts prepping the food and I watch it fry.

'You heard that! That sound! It's definitely fried!

'Meena, if you make that much noise, the kitchen will hear you.

 From the maids' anteroom, there was a cry of delight that was clearly Meena's, and the slightest hint of Saara's voice as she tasted it.

 It's a daily occurrence in the Slaulet family that if this sound is heard, someone will react.

 That's right, if I look at the kitchen doorway, it's as if sister Elinora, who just got out of the bath, is peeking at me.

 After frying the food one after another, she places it on a bat to drain the oil.

 Then, I arrange them beautifully on a plate.

 For now, once we've finished frying the vegetables, the next step is the real deal, the bracken.

 However, it's obvious that the vegetables will cool down if we leave them like this.

''Elinora sis, take this to the dining room and everyone eat first.

Yeah, I get it.

 There is no worse dish than tempura that has cooled down. Tempura is best eaten as soon as it's fried.

 When I asked her to do so in tacit approval of my nibbling, Sister Elinora, who was peeking at me, replied in a good mood and took my plate.

 However, such Elinora sister quickly returned to the kitchen.

''Hey! There's no bracken in there!

 Apparently, if you thought you could pick up some bracken, you've come to complain that they only have vegetables.

I'm going to fry the bracken now. See, the tempura is getting cold, so he's gone.

 I paid my hand off and sissied, and sister Elinora walked out of the kitchen with a frustrated look on her face.

''Well, we'll have a solid fry up, shall we?

Yes.

 I can't indulge in cold tempura just because I'm cooking.

 Me and Bartolo each pick a piece of tempura that we've arranged to taste.

 I put a green bell pepper in my mouth.

 The crispy batter pops in my mouth, spreading the flavor and bitterness of the peppers.

'Mmm, the batter is crispy,'

After all, the sweetness increases when you fry them in oil.

 Bartolo is right, vegetables get sweeter when cooked at high temperatures.

 That's exactly what they do with tempura.

 I drizzled the tempura powder into the oil while grabbing it and made sure it was at one hundred and eighty degrees as it floated well.

'Oops, looks like it's hot enough now.'

I'll tell you what I'm gonna do.

 Bartolo pulls the bowl over to me and I lift the bracken with the chopsticks and slurp it down into the oil.

 The sound of the oil was soothing, and the bracken turned white.

 If you put too much oil in the oil, the temperature of the oil will drop, so you add it little by little and fry it carefully.

 When the white batter turns golden brown and the bubbles become small, it means the oil has been heated.

 Put the remaining bracken into the batons one after another and fry the remaining bracken.

The only way to know for sure is to make sure the bracken is fried properly.

"It's a chef's duty! Right!

 Bartolo, who of course understands my intentions, says so and smiles with a snicker.

 I'm sorry to say this to my Nord dad, who is my favorite, but this is a cook's prerogative, so I can't give it up.

 Me and Bartolo pluck the freshly fried bracken and put it in our mouths.

 The crispy batter pops and the flavor of the bracken trapped inside expands.

'Delicious!'

It's good!

 Does it taste similar to shishamo smelt? Despite its small flesh, it had a strong flavor.

 I didn't dare to take the entrails off, but that gave it a nice bitter taste.

 There was no odor at all and I could eat as many as I wanted.

 I was tempted to eat the whole thing, but I was desperate to resist the urge.

 If I eat too much, everyone will hate me.

Then I'll grill the bracken I've soaked in.

Oh, I'll take care of the tempura.

 It's probably time for the bracken to get a good taste of soy sauce.

 I put the boiled down men-tsuyu into the refrigerator, and then I got a shichirin (a Japanese shichirin) to light it.

 When the net was sufficiently warm, I put the bracken on it.

 It bounces around on the net, pitter-pattering as if there were still individuals alive. But it stopped moving as soon as it was roasted by the fire with fleeting resistance.

 As the bracken caught fire, it began to smell very good.

'Ah, the smell of grilled fish and the savory smell of burning soy sauce.

I can't get enough of it.

 While chatting with Bartolo, he threw the bracken into the shichirin and roasted it one after another.

 It is good to grill the fish again in this way.

 It might be good to bring a shichirin with us next time and eat it right away after catching the fish.



 You're not going to be able to do that.



Here's some bracken tempura and soy sauce.

"Oh,

 As I delivered the main course of food to the dining room, words of admiration escaped from everyone.

 The first batch of vegetable tempura already seemed to be almost gone.

 Not much time should have passed, but the tempura is still as popular as ever.

 I don't feel like helping out with anything but the bracken, so I leave Bartolo and take a seat.

 Then, a plate is quickly presented in front of me.

'Here's some tempura for Al.

'Oh, thank you, brother Silvio. You've been protecting me.

 All kinds of tempura are served in front of me.

 Apparently, they were well protected for me.

''Excuse me. I'm not going to eat Al's portion.''

 What a somewhat exasperated look on Mother Erna's face, but I'm suspicious because 90% of the tempura on the platter is gone.

 Dad Nord is squirming in front of his favorite food.

 Maybe he wants to eat it, but he doesn't want people to think he's restless if he reaches for it right away.

'I've tasted it in the kitchen, so don't worry about it.

Yes?

 As I said that, sister Elinora and brother Silvio extended their forks.

 They extended their forks in such a way that Mother Erna and Father Nord followed suit.

''It's crispy and delicious,''

It's easy to eat.

 The bracken tempura seems to be a hit with my brother Silvio and sister Elinora.

 Elinora's sister has already tried the second one.

'Yes, it's delicious.

 Father Nord is eating some bracken, and he says in a very satisfied voice.

 It's a short statement, but I know he means it from the bottom of his heart.

 He seems to really love the bracken.

 Erna's mother, who is standing next to me, is smiling at him.

I have some salt and men-tsuyu (men-tsuyu) over here for you to try.

Mentsuyu? Isn't it soy sauce?

 When I suggest that I do so, Dad Nord nods his head.

 I've always eaten tempura on its own or with salt, so it's understandable that he doesn't understand.

 And the color is almost the same as the soy sauce.

'It's a soy sauce based sauce, but it tastes a little different.

Yeah. Well, I'll put it on then.

 Dad Nord dips a bit of bracken into the menthol, and brings it to his mouth.

'Salt is good, but this is good too! It's similar to soy sauce, but lighter and easier to eat.

 I'm so impressed with my father that Erna's mother puts some bracken on the men-tsuyu.

"Oh, it's so true. It's much more elegant than soy sauce and goes well with the bracken.

 Apparently, it was good for Mom Erna's taste buds.

 You can eat it as is or taste it with salt, but sometimes it's nice to eat it with men-tsuyu.

 After eating the tempura in the kitchen, I decide to eat the soy sauce baked dish first.

'Oh, it's good too,'

 The taste of bracken and a hint of soy sauce. It's a perfect balance.

It makes me want white rice!

 That's exactly what Sister Elinora said.

 If I had enough left over for tomorrow, I'd only need bracken baked in soy sauce, miso soup and rice for breakfast. That's enough to satisfy me.

 Meena and Saara would bring the other dishes, but everyone was enamored with the star of the show, the bracken.

'Honey, how does it taste?'

Yeah, the bracken is good this year, too.

Yeah, good.

 Mother Erna looked pleased as if it was her own affair as she looked at Dad, who was savoring it with satisfaction.

 Normally, I would get heartburned just looking at it, but this time I was relieved to see it because it was my dad's favorite fish.

 If my dad is this happy, I might go fishing again.