Chapter 394

To Brother Chris’s Territory (7)
The leftover mochi that Brother Chris and Brother Gerald pounded, the part we didn’t eat during tasting, would now be turned into okaki.

We left the okaki preparation to the cooks and simply watched.

Following Floria’s instructions, the cooks cut the mochi into dice-sized cubes.

Then they used wind magic to blow out the moisture, hardening the mochi completely before deep-frying it.

A simple outdoor stove had been set up in the garden so we could eat the freshly fried okaki right away.

They sprinkled coarse salt harvested from seawater over the freshly fried pieces, and I popped one into my mouth.

Crispy and easy to eat, but it would taste better if more oil were drained.

Maybe I should try lining the plate with straw paper.

Next, the freshly fried okaki were placed on a straw-paper-lined plate for me.

The straw paper absorbed the excess oil.

Sprinkling coarse salt over them and eating them like that was definitely tastier.

We had everyone, starting with Grandmother, compare the two versions.

“Indeed, draining off the excess oil makes the okaki better.”

That was Brother Chris’s verdict after comparing them.

“Chris is right. Still, amiro turns into so many types of sweets, each with a different texture, what a curious food it is.”

“It’s kind of similar to shrimp crackers.”

That was Grandmother and Brother Gerald’s impression.

Well, if we categorize it as a fried snack, I suppose it’s similar.

We moved from the garden back into the sitting room of the mansion.

Atre and the others stayed behind, they still wanted to eat more okaki.

Once it was just the family, Brother Chris bowed his head to us.

“Grandmother, Gerald, Hardt, Floria, thank you truly. For the ideas to rebuild the mansion interior and the Sandria Ducal Territory’s finances in such a short time… I can never thank you enough.”

“Brother, I only did here what I always do in the Great Forest.”

“That’s right. And I’m happy I got to eat ohagi, mochi, and okaki.”

“Brother Chris, red bean soup with mochi in it is also delicious.”

Brother Gerald, Floria, and I each responded to his words.

“Sweet red-bean soup, hmm? Once we return to Westland, let’s make it right away.”

Floria reacted instantly to what I said.

“There are still more kinds of sweets and dishes? We’ll need to buy red bean paste in bulk from Westland.”

Brother Chris sounded joking, but the words “in bulk” caught my attention.

“Brother Chris… are you planning to sell sweets in the capital?”

“It depends on how much amiro we can secure in the territory, but it should be a good way to earn funds.”

“And what will you do about salt for the okaki?”

“We’ll sell two types. The coarse salt, it’ll be expensive, but there’ll be demand. But we’ll need cooperation from Westland and Southcourt.”

“It’s profitable. Southcourt won’t refuse.”

“I’d like to say our household can handle it too, but the boxes to package the okaki would be ours, right?”

“Hardt, it looks that way. If something similar can be found in this territory, good, but we’ll have to rely on the coming efforts of the government officials.”

“Hardt, are there still other ways to eat mochi?”

“Brother Gerald, not ones I know of.”

Because there’s no soy sauce.

“How about pizza?”

“Floria… pizza? Mochi pizza? And what about pizza sauce?”

“We’ll make the sauce with tomato. I understand. Tomorrow I’ll make it together with the cooks so we can taste it.”

I asked in confusion, and Floria answered confidently.

The next day, right after breakfast, it was time to pound mochi again.

Because Floria told the cooks they’d be using mochi for a new dish, they were eager and had prepped and steamed the grains early in the morning.

They still have breakfast prep too…

At first, the brothers would pound the mochi, and Floria and I handled flipping again.

This time, I was paired with Brother Chris.

Once the mochi was done, we let it cool a little before shaping it into pizza sheets, which meant nothing to the cooks, since pizza didn’t exist in this world. Floria was instructing them from scratch.

Floria, seriously, making mochi pizza before making a normal one?

And on top of that, she and the cooks had already prepared the tomato sauce yesterday.

The sauce was made from tomato, onions, and garlic. I tasted it, and it was pretty good.

If they add herbs, it’ll get closer to real pizza sauce, but I can leave sauce research to the cooks.