Chapter 126

Ch 126 — Pork Miso Soup

The next day was dedicated to preparing meals to eat in the dungeon later . Even if I got the chance to cook or I was forced to cook later while we were in the dungeon I wanted to spend some time stocking up my Item Box with cooked food beforehand .

I served a simple breakfast to everyone so I'd have the rest of the day free . I chose Bloody Horn Bull steak which I quickly baked in the oven of my new stove, a meal my three contracted monsters found delicious . They didn't have a problem eating something so substantial for breakfast but for myself I just had some instant soup, bread and coffee .

Well, what will I make today? I pondered . Yesterday I cooked beef bowl and fried dishes . . . topping bowls of rice with meat and other items was really convenient, the rice underneath made everything delicious . Should I make more toppings like that? Pork fried with ginger perhaps, or something pickled in miso? Ah, speaking of which I remembered had some Orc General in miso I had prepared a while back and totally forgot about . I rummaged about in my Item Box and yup, there was a fair amount still left . The oven was still hot so I grilled it all with ginger . It was nice and easy to prepare, the sort of recipe I made a lot because it was quick and simple and went very well on top of cooked rice . How about pork chops while I was at it? The Orc General meat was really delicious after all .

Thinking of rice I realised I really wanted to eat curry again . I'm a standard-bearer for the "pork in curry" faction and I've got some Orc General meat still left but the smell, well, I like it but others such as the landlady of the "Labyrinth City Inn" might object if I filled her courtyard with the pungent smell of curry being cooked . The Orc General meat was still in my mind though, what could I cook with it . . . ah, I could make pork miso soup . It's hot and filling, a substantial meal in itself and would go down well in a dark dank dungeon . I didn't know how Fer and the others might appreciate it, maybe if I put in more Orc General meat than normal? I'd give it a try .

First of all, I went shopping at Net Super for cooking implements . I bought a half-sized stockpot like the ones I bought yesterday to make the pork miso soup in and also some big 28 cm-wide frying pans which were a lot deeper than the ones I had used until now . I bought four of them with lids to fit since the Black Magic stove had four burners . While I was at it I bought more bowls and Saran Wrap, wooden spatulas, ladles and the like before I moved on to buying ingredients . I had plenty of pork, potatoes, carrots and onions but I was missing essentials such as sesame seed oil, dashi soup stock, daikon radishes, burdock and konjac and of course miso . I also stocked up on some of the pork-fried-with-ginger sauce from a certain un-named company that I always use, and ketchup too since I was running low (again!)

I looked at the order list and hesitated, what had I forgotten? Ah, if you make grilled pork with ginger and pork miso soup, whether you ate it separately or on top of rice you needed shredded cabbage as a garnish . The cabbages in this world, well they didn't lend themselves to be eaten raw . . . I added a pack of shredded cabbage to the order at Net Super since I was more certain how it would taste . I started to think the cabbages I had just bought in this world were going to go to waste, unless maybe I could cook them? Something simple, like a casserole, Szechuan twice-cooked pork or maybe even as a hot-pot? I added some commercially available Szechaun sauce to my order from the Net Super, I'd give it a try later .

Hmm, that took quite a while . The half-size stockpot and the frying pans were a good price, I mused as I fed coins into the Net Super but really the cost of such items was trivial to me now . The order arrived and I rubbed my hands . Right then, time to cook .

First thing was to prepare the pork so I sliced the Orc General meat into thin strips about 3 cm wide then I moved on to the veggies . I peeled and scraped the potatoes and carrots before slicing and dicing them along with the daikon . The onions I cut down into rings about 5mm thick and then I shaved the burdock down and put them all into a little water before starting to heat it . The konjac jelly I similarly cut into strips and added to the water as it started to warm up .

While that was cooking I put some sesame oil in the half-size stockpot and fried the strips of Orc General's meat . When the colour of the meat changed I stirred in the vegetables and konjac and added more sesame oil then more water and soup dashi and mixed it thoroughly . I scooped off the fat as it boiled and once the vegetables softened I added the miso soup stock and let it boil some more before turning the heat off and tasting it experimentally .

Su-su-, I blew on the first spoonful, oh yeah, it's delicious .

The vegetables were cooked through and soft as they should be in a soup, not crisp as I'd want in a roast or fry . Cooking it a bit longer might have let the juices soak in a bit more, I judged critically .

This pork miso soup is quite a bit different from what I had at home when I was a youngster . Well, I used sesame seed oil because my parents used sesame seed oil but I like sesame seed oil, it smells and tastes good but the rest is quite different, like the onions . I suppose everyone has their own recipe for basic food like pork miso and I grew into using onions in my cooking and they ended up in my version of pork miso soup, in part because they add a certain sweetness to the final dish . You could use sweet potatoes instead, I suppose or taro perhaps, it will still taste all right . Pork miso soup is a dish you can change around depending on what you like and what's to hand . Perhaps it's because it's the sort of dish that you eat when it's cold and dark (like in a dungeon) and you appreciate it more then .

I left the pork miso soup to sit for about 1 hour then boiled it again and put it away hot in the Item Box . While I waited I cooked Orc General with ginger, a mix of the regular meat as well as the Orc General meat I had marinated in miso and then finished off by grilling pork chops . As I finished each batch I put it into my Item Box to reamin hot and ready to serve .

"Fuu~, should I stop now or carry on?" The idea of Szechuan twice-cooked pork was tempting me, I had the sauce so . . . I got to work slicing more Orc General into bite-sized pieces followed by chopping up some of the locally-bought cabbage . I oiled a frying pan, flash-fried the meat at maximum heat and when it started to change colour I dumped in the chopped-up cabbage and stir-fried them together . When the cabbage started to soften I added the sauce I just bought from the Net Super . A few moments more stir-frying and it was done . I served it into a dish and put it into my Item Box . Another super-simple dish done and ready to eat later .

Well, after that it was almost time for lunch . I considered the extra shredded cabbage I had left over, could I do anything with it? "Today's lunch is . . . . It's gonna be steak again . " I decided . I knew the Gluttonous Trio would quite happily eat steak morning noon and night . "I'll make it like a beef bowl though . "

Sensing I was being closely watched I looking behind me and sure enough Fer, Sui and Dora-chan were waiting, line abreast . It was like they had inbuilt clocks or something .

"I'm hungry, what's for lunch . " That was Fer, of course .

"Give me food . " demanded Dora-chan who was picking up bad habits from Fer, it seemed .

"Sui is hungry too, aruji-" Ah, darling Sui-chan is hungry? Just wait and I'll get lunch ready for you .

I cooked Wyvern steak for lunch, topping it on rice along with garlic-flavoured steak sauce, a simple and quick recipe like a beef bowl . This time I ate lunch too and I had to agree with the Gluttonous Trio it really was delicious . Then again anything with Wyvern meat was tasty, I mused, patting my full belly once the "Seconds!" had been dished out . It was maybe a bit luxurious for lunch but I was well satisfied, deciding to wait a little before doing more cooking .