NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31
A strong fishy odor enveloped everything.
But that didn’t mean it was entirely tasteless.
Ice Worm.
I initially thought the name suggested a creepy bug, but Karem, with its eel-like appearance, could faintly sense the texture and taste unique to white-fleshed fish in the white meat.
And the part with the flesh had little of that fishy smell.
The source of the stench was undoubtedly the belly fat surrounding the innards.
Then, wouldn’t it taste better if I just cut away the membranes and seasoned it with salt before grilling?
Why, then?
“No, if you put in just a little effort, it could taste great. Why on earth are we eating it like this?”
“Huh? It’s because this is the quickest way to eat.”
“….Well, even if it’s quick—”
“That’s how field rations are. Plus, there are tons of people waiting right now.”
Hmm, alright. Let that slide.
It wasn’t like we had combat rations or food trucks like in modern times. It made sense that Joric, the subjugation team leader, had given us limited time, so we had to eat quickly and return to duty.
That was, before the supply soldier said the next thing.
“Above all, with fresh monster meat, you should eat it as it is to gain strength. Taking the time to change it up here is just a luxury for us lower-ranked folks.”
“What? Are you really telling me to just eat this?”
“Well, there’s also Ice Worm jelly made from simmered broth, and you can grill it separately over the fire—what do you think?”
Karem turned his head at the soldier’s words. Grilling it whole over a separate campfire and throwing on salt felt like a luxury.
The pot filled with broth, simmered with some Ice Worm flesh and hide, was solidifying like jelly, breaking apart with every stir of the ladle, showcasing its horrifying stickiness.
“Don’t kid me!!!”
Karem’s heart screamed to tip over the grotesque pot boiling right now, but he couldn’t. Food had no sin, even if the people did.
Having procured a bulging sack of Ice Worm meat, Karem powerless passed it to Mary.
Catherine watched him with half-closed eyes, as if she expected this from the look on his face.
“So, what’s your impression?”
“…Is this what our kingdom considers average?”
“Not everything is like that, but it’s typical.”
Medieval society was fundamentally a closed one.
Cultures varied by region, city, and village.
And of course, everyone in the Europa continent knew that most food below the standard of nobility in the Kingdom of Seophone was a disaster.
Catherine smirked as if it was ridiculous.
“You’re the one whining when a kid who was starving caught and grilled mice and snakes just because there wasn’t enough meat.”
“No, but…”
“Coming from someone from Seophone but living longer in other countries, those things and you in the past are pretty much the same. The kid, you are slightly better though.”
“What….?!”
“Still, the fact that you can cook this well is quite the mutation.”
Catherine patted Karem on the back casually, but the subject of her teasing couldn’t react. I mean, how could you respond to such a blatant insult?
Wait a minute.
A shocking thought flashed in Karem’s head.
While it was for survival, I, too, was guilty of breaking the blandness of life with the raw bug and rat and snake that I grilled now and then—wasn’t I?
Having undergone this shocking self-reflection, Karem followed Catherine and Mary blankly, only regaining his senses after retracing his steps back to Catherine’s tent.
“Hey, kid. How long until the meal is ready?”
“I’ll serve it right away.”
Karem closed his eyes tight, shaking off his daze.
With the employer hungry, he couldn’t just stand around.
He tossed a few more logs into the dying charcoal stove at the tent’s center, reigniting the fire, before stretching out the freshly obtained Ice Worm meat he received from Mary.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t grill the whole chunk of meat.
But right now, he didn’t have time to do that.
Besides, the employer said they were hungry.
Karem couldn’t help but recall the horrendous taste he had just experienced.
He distinctly remembered the hidden flavor concealed beneath the intense fishy smell.
First and foremost, it had a strong savory taste, rich with fat.
At the same time, it showcased a dual texture, being chewy initially, and then softening as he bit into it.
And Karem suddenly recalled fish with a similar taste.
“Could it be, I thought it vaguely resembled eel.”
The taste was similar too. To be sure, I sliced off the end and grilled it over the stove; it was indeed reminiscent of eel.
No, the savory flavor seemed even more pronounced here.
The flavor was so distinct it could be felt even without seasoning.
Moreover, it was significantly fatty despite being plain.
Then that made the cooking method straightforward.
“Mary, could you fetch some straw?”
“Straw, you say?”
“Yeah.”
“That stuff from the subjugation team is for animal feed, so I can’t use it. I’ll have to go to the village. Contractor?”
“Yeah. Go ahead.”
With Catherine’s permission, Mary stepped out of the tent.
“Speaking of, why straw? We have plenty of firewood, right?”
“I’m going to grill the meat with a fire made from straw.”
“With straw? Interesting.”
Catherine looked perplexed. To someone as experienced as her, straw was merely animal feed or materials for construction and tools.
But in the depths of Karem’s mind, the flavors of grilled pork belly and eel over firewood and straw were vividly entrenched.
Those sensitive enough could notice the difference in aroma from grilled straw and rice straw, but Karem’s sense wasn’t that finely tuned.
But still, he was aware that it added a hearty fragrance.
“This should solve the issue with the innards emitting that fishy smell.”
“I’m back.”
“That was quick?”
“It’s not a far distance, so of course.”
Mary then entered the tent, nonchalantly carrying a large bundle of straw.
So it seemed all the ingredients were prepared… but Karem felt a twinge of disappointment.
It would be extravagant to hope for eel sauce with neither soy sauce nor gochujang in hand.
He had sugar and pepper, but there was no helping that disappointment.
With a sullen expression, Karem skewered the elongated and trimmed Ice Worm meat onto a skewer.
“Kid. Are you missing something?”
“No, I’m just disappointed over the lack of ingredients.”
“Ingredients? Has the sugar and pepper you brought run out, Mary?”
“No, it’s just… nothing.”
“Anyway, the smoke is—”
“Just grill it.”
Karem tossed the straw into the now-diminished firewood.
The dry straw ignited before even hitting the stove, emitting acrid smoke.
As Catherine lightly stirred the air with her magic, the dark smoke that threatened to spread inside the tent was drawn out through the hole in the center of the tent’s ceiling.
The white flesh of the Ice Worm began to sizzle.
As Karem quickly sprinkled salt over the skewer, it jumped and crackled in response.
“Mary.”
“What is it?”
“Please cook this without letting it touch the fire directly.”
“Hmm? Understood.”
As Mary expertly took the skewer and began grilling as requested, Karem opened the storage compartment immediately.
Salt and vinegar.
Sugar and pepper.
He poured the four essential cooking seasonings into the pan and heated them.
As the sugar melted and turned brown, he added a little water, stirring to prevent it from burning.
While completing the seasoning, he repeatedly spread it thinly over the pieces of meat as Mary grilled, while throwing straw into the stove, and the dwindling smoke rose thickly.
Mary raised an eyebrow.
Grilling sauce-coated meat in straw smoke, huh?
She was well accustomed to smoking but with straw?
Karem knew that Ice Worm had a taste similar to eel. And to her, eel was an ingredient for stew, soup, pies, and grilling.
This method of semi-smoking while exposing it to dense smoke felt very unfamiliar.
Not to mention, it wasn’t tree wood smoke, but straw smoke?
Yet, as soon as Mary caught the scent from the skewers, she clicked her tongue.
“Anyway, a rolling stone gathers no moss.”
“You acknowledge it while still grumbling.”
“Karem, just be quiet.”
*
*
*
The air inside the tent shifted.
Catherine quickly sensed the change.
As the skewered meat, illuminated by the sugar in the sauce, changed from pale to a light brown, the thick aroma intertwined with the sweet scent, stimulating her senses with its sharp and tangy vinegar and pepper notes.
“Ah, so that’s why you’re using straw that produces so much smoke.”
“If you roast directly over fire, the seasoning burns completely.”
Many cooks would say that the charred parts are the pinnacle of the meat’s umami, but it has to be just the right amount or else it’s just soot.
But mastering the fire is the foundation of cooking.
And mastering the basics is often the hardest.
Mary, already skilled in fire management, scrutinized the skewers.
“It looks like it’s almost done.”
“Yes, let’s finish it with one final brush and call it.”
No longer white, the Ice Worm meat, thanks to the sugar in the sauce, had a shiny, subtle brown coating, enveloped in a crust that had built up just shy of burning.
As Karem brought out the plate, Mary quickly set up the dining table, finishing the meal preparation in an instant.
As the slightly delayed lunchtime caught Catherine in a poker face, her anticipation began to bloom.
Mary skillfully presented the well-cooked meat from the skewer, and finally bursting with excitement, Catherine took a hearty bite.
“How does it please you?”
“Is that even a question!”
Catherine shouted cheerfully.
As soon as she took her first bite, the flavors exploded across her palate.
And the ensuing grilled aroma stimulated her nose and head.
Far from lacking, the savory aroma seeped beneath, akin to the pleasant autumn scent felt when burying oneself within piles of harvested straw.
Add in the direct heat, the sauce caramelized and caked, frying itself in its own oils while the inside remained tender like steamed.
Salty, sweet, spicy, and finishing with a tanginess.
Sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste.
A devastating flavor that stimulated all four senses centered around the olfactory.
“Cough, Mary.”
“Contractor, is there something you’re looking for?”
“A glass of wine—or rather, beer—please.”
With the sweet-salty-spicy taste ending with a tang, it was only natural to crave beer.
Standing up to fulfill Catherine’s request, Mary got ready to leave.
And Karem looked around, gauging the situation.
“Cough.”
“Karem?”
“I’d like just one glass too….”
Honestly, if you resisted here, you wouldn’t be human.
Avoiding Mary’s glaring eyes, Karem desperately made his plea.
And fortunately, the beer she procured had the refreshment they both desired.