Gyaahh! Good lord!
"Uh, well then, I’ll start on the next dish."
"Yeah!"
"Looking forward to it!"
I averted my eyes from their eager gazes and checked the ingredients that had been prepared beforehand. Good, everything’s here.
"This time, we’ll be making a dish where cooked Idika is topped with stir-fried ingredients. Head Chef, if you would?"
"Yes, ma’am."
The Head Chef responded to my call and stepped up to the cooking station.
"First, finely chop the onion and garlic, and coarsely mince the bell pepper."
Following my instructions, Head Chef completed the prep in no time.
He’s so quick, yet his work is always immaculate. Meanwhile, I—well, as long as it’s edible, right? Okay, okay, I’ll try harder.
"Next, mince some pork or chicken. Both are commonly eaten in Samonar, so we’ll use chicken thigh meat for this recipe."
Cattle are valuable as labor animals on farms here, so they’re only eaten if they can no longer work due to injury or age.
With two knives, Head Chef skillfully chopped the chicken thighs into coarse mince with a rhythmic "tat-tat-tat."
Watching this, the two onlookers marveled, "Ohhh..." Their admiration was adorable.
"Once the ingredients are ready, heat a frying pan, add oil, and sauté the garlic over low heat."
Head Chef swirled the pan to evenly coat it with oil.
Soon, the enticing aroma of fried garlic began to fill the air.
Ah~ smells so good.
"When the garlic’s aroma is noticeable, add the minced chicken and turn up the heat slightly, stirring until the surface turns white."
I debated whether to sauté the onions first, as they take longer to cook.
However, I wanted to leave a bit of crunch in the onions, and some of the fat from the minced meat helps reduce the grease.
That’s why the meat goes in first.
"Leaving a little of the fat in the pan, discard the rest. Then add the onions and bell peppers, followed by fish sauce, chili bean paste—this is a special spice blend from my home—and sugar. Stir well."
If only I had oyster sauce, it would feel more authentic.
But to make oyster sauce myself, I’d need to visit a port town to procure oysters.
That’s a future project.
"Stir-fry the mixture until the vegetables release their moisture, then add basil and adjust the flavor with pepper. For an added aroma, you can finish with a bit of sesame oil, if available."
We source sesame oil from Yahatul, but I’m not sure if it’s available here in Samonar.
"If you want more heat, you can add thinly sliced chili peppers—seeds removed. Ideally, you’d add them when infusing the oil with garlic at the beginning, but adding them later works too."
Oh, and don’t forget—never rub your eyes after handling chili peppers!
Trust me, I learned that the hard way in my previous life.
That’s an advice from me, Cristea!
"Finally, cook a sunny-side-up egg in another frying pan, if possible. Serve the stir-fried chicken over the Idika and top it with the egg. For the best taste, try to keep the yolk soft and runny so it blends with the other ingredients."
Head Chef pulled out a frying pan specifically for eggs and began frying one.
At just the right moment, he added a splash of water, covered the pan, and let it steam.
At my home, raw eggs are still uncommon, but soft-boiled eggs have become the standard among our staff.
They’ve mentioned being disappointed when eating out, as the eggs are always overcooked.
This is an issue of food safety management, though, so it’s hard to change.
If restaurants could use magic to disinfect eggs, that would help.
But explaining the concept of eliminating bacteria is a challenge.
I hope that once the knights at the Adelia Academy dining hall appreciate the charm of raw eggs, the trend will catch on.
Ah, the egg is ready!
I plated the freshly cooked Idika with the stir-fried chicken, handed the dish to Head Chef, and he gracefully placed the sunny-side-up egg on top.
"And there you have it—Gapao Rice is ready!"
"Ga... Gapao Rice?"
Yes, when it comes to jasmine rice, Gapao Rice is a favorite of mine. I love it as much as Nasi Goreng.
The ingredients are similar, but the difference lies in preparation.
A rough comparison would be: Gapao is stir-fried toppings on rice, while Nasi Goreng is stir-fried rice with toppings.
Sorry for the simplistic explanation.
Since we just made fried rice earlier, I explained that using the same ingredients for Nasi Goreng would give it a different flavor.
Afterward, I served small portions for tasting.
"Prince Kaldor and Tika-san, you two can have extra yolk portions."
Well, not just extra—I gave them most of the yolk on separate small plates.
"Huh? Isn’t this egg undercooked? Won’t it upset our stomachs?!"
Ah, the classic reaction. I suppose the sight of runny yolk might make one think that.
"Didn’t you eat that thing called an omelet for breakfast? You know, the jiggly one?"
Tika-san asked curiously.
"Yes, but it was soft yet fully cooked."
"This one seems cooked too. Besides, there’s no way Miss Cristea would serve us anything dangerous or weird, right?"
Tika-san said, confidently seeking my agreement.
"Uhh, well, yes, that’s right."
"Really?"
Prince Kaldor looked at me skeptically as I hesitated.
I mean, I’ve never intentionally made or served anything weird, but there was a time when people called me the "Repulsive food-eating Lady," so... yeah.
As I gave an awkward smile, Head Chef stepped forward decisively.
"Please rest assured. Miss Cristea is a culinary revolutionary—a veritable ambassador of gastronomy and a national treasure. Meeting her is a blessing beyond measure for you, Prince Kaldor."
Head Chef’s serious declaration stunned me. Behind him, the kitchen staff nodded in agreement.
Ahhh! Why would you say such a thing?!
Prince Kaldor and Tika-san were clearly taken aback, muttering things like, "Uh, thank you?" Prince Kaldor later confided, "They looked like fanatics..." My kitchen staff is terrifying!
What do you think about this chapter?
