SWNOVELXO Chapter 72.1
Nutritious Sticky Pasta
It was hotter than usual that day. So, Yuuri was eager to prepare something packed with nutrition that could beat the heat for lunch. The ingredients chosen were yam, okra, and mekabu. Yes, he vaguely remembered hearing somewhere that eating sticky foods during hot weather was good for you, so when he found them at the market, Yuuri didn’t hesitate to buy them.
“Ah, Urgus, it’s easier to peel the yam skin with a peeler.”
“Oh.”
“And, just in case your hands get itchy, you might want to hold the yam with a cloth.”
“Itchy?”
“I’m the type that gets a little itchy.”
“Huh.”
Following Yuuri’s advice, Urgus, who was on cooking duty that day, held the yam with a cloth and peeled the skin with the peeler. It was easier to peel the skin thinner this way compared to using a knife, which made the peeler useful for long vegetables like this. While a knife was the standard, sometimes using modern tools wasn’t a bad idea. Next to Urgus, who was peeling the yam, Yuuri was boiling the washed okra. As it boiled, the green became even more vibrant. Once the okra was beautifully cooked, Yuuri laid it out on a cutting board to cool down. He planned to chop it up later, but it was too hot to handle at the moment, so it needed to cool a bit.
In the meantime, he quickly boiled the mekabu, which he had already sliced into thin strips. The mekabu was cut to an appropriate length to make it easier to eat while still preserving the texture. As it cooked, it turned a brilliant green, truly a vibrant green. The boiled mekabu was drained and tossed into a bowl. The chopped okra would be added to this bowl later.
“…Well, I never thought I’d be using whole mekabu in its raw form.”
Yuuri muttered quietly, though it seemed Urgus didn’t hear him. He was busy peeling a large amount of yam skin. Unlike Yuuri’s simple task of tossing ingredients into boiling water, peeling took a bit more time. Back in Japan, mekabu was usually sold in convenient pre-seasoned packs at the supermarket. It was delicious on its own or mixed with natto, and when making sticky dishes like today, you could just throw it in, and it would also take care of the seasoning.
But since that wasn’t an option here, Yuuri bought fresh mekabu, boiled it, and sliced it to use. Once the okra had cooled, Yuuri began slicing it into rounds. He didn’t chop it finely; he deliberately cut it into slightly thicker rounds, thinking the texture would be more enjoyable this way. Though finely chopping it would work, too, he felt that would diminish the okra’s texture, so he preferred rounds.
“Yuuri, the yam’s peeled… What’s that?”
“Okra and mekabu. Thanks. Could you start boiling the pasta for everyone? There’s a lot of people today.”
“Uh, sure.”
Yuuri added the chopped okra to the bowl with the mekabu, then wiped down the cutting board and turned his attention to the peeled yam Urgus had prepared. Behind him, Urgus, with a slightly uncertain expression, was boiling a large pot of water. With more people than usual, even something as simple as boiling pasta was going to take time. Including the apprentices and those not on guard duty, there would be about ten people today. It seemed they all had the day off at the same time. The peeled yam was pristine and white. Although peeling sometimes leaves behind hair or roots, Urgus had washed it well to remove such remnants. Yuuri had taught him how to use the eye remover part of the peeler, and it seemed he’d put it to good use. Yuuri grabbed the yam with a cloth and started grating it on a grater propped inside a bowl.
While he was used to using a grater with a catch tray, he decided it would be faster to grate the large amount of yam directly into the bowl. As he grated the yam, creating a large batch of white tororo, Yuuri hummed to himself, excited by how delicious the sticky yam looked, knowing it would be packed with nutrients. Once he had a large amount of grated yam, Yuuri brought the bowl over to the one with the chopped okra and mekabu. He poured the tororo over the okra and mekabu, using a spatula to scrape out every last bit from the bowl. Then, he began mixing it all together thoroughly with the spatula.
“Yeah, the stickiness is amazing.”
Feeling a bit impressed, Yuuri grabbed the seasonings. He added some powdered dashi made from kelp and bonito, soy sauce, and just a dash of sake. Back in Japan, there were convenient products like white dashi and men-tsuyu, but they weren’t available here, so Yuuri had to rely on his own taste to season it. After adding the seasonings, he stirred the mixture continuously. Stirred and stirred. As he mixed, the stickiness increased, but Yuuri didn’t mind. It had to become properly sticky, or it wouldn’t be right.
In fact, the stickier, the better, he thought. Once it was well mixed, Yuuri tasted a small bite. The seasoning was on the strong side because the plan was to mix it with pasta. So, it was best if it tasted a bit too strong on its own. If anyone found it too bland, he could always make a lighter soy-based broth to pour over it.
“Urgus, want to taste it?”
“…The pasta’s done.”
“Oh, okay.”
There was a slight pause before Urgus responded, smoothly changing the topic. Yuuri didn’t notice, too focused on mixing the freshly boiled pasta. The drained pasta was moved to a large bowl, and a generous amount of olive oil was added to prevent it from sticking. Then, the two of them began plating the pasta into deep bowls for everyone. Urgus handled the pasta, and Yuuri spooned the sticky mixture on top. Finally, chopped shiso leaves, crumbled nori, and bonito flakes were sprinkled on top to complete the dish. Yuuri, oblivious to Urgus’s hesitant gaze, brought the finished bowls to the dining room, where the waiting crowd stared in surprise at the pasta in front of them. Seeing their reaction, Yuuri suddenly realized, “Uh, did I mess up?”