NOVEL NEXT Chapter 103.1
Orange Juice For A Refreshing Meat Stew
That day, Yuuri was alone in the kitchen. All the apprentices were out for the day. Apparently, they were being led by their trainers to practice gathering requests. Though Magg and Urgus sometimes went on non-combat-related missions together, it was rare for both Camille and Yakk to go out as a group. By the way, Camille was handling arithmetic-related tasks, as expected from the son of a merchant.
The reason they were all out was because recently the monsters near their destination had been cleared, and they planned to finish their studies while it was safe.
Thus, Yuuri was the only one in charge of lunch today. He didn’t mind at all. If someone were around, they’d cook together happily, and if alone, he’d happily cook by himself, humming a tune. Today, Yuuri, the girly boy was diligently working on house chores with joy. …At this point, his actions were perfectly motherly.
“Today’s lunch is for me, Ali-san, and… Aroru, huh?”
Ali, who was working on paperwork and staying home for the day, and Aroru, who was staying behind due to her training being unrelated to the mission, were the others. Aroru was usually a lone wolf. Although she was often with her white snake familiar, Nadja, she had numerous other companions outside the capital, all of whom were her familiars living independently. This was because… there were some with giant bodies. It was difficult for creatures like giant bears, tigers, or deer to live in a hideout. Her trained familiars never attacked humans; in fact, they sometimes helped travelers who were attacked by monsters. A skilled beastmaster had skilled familiars. …She was a frightening 10-year-old.
Despite being 10, Aroru had grown up surrounded by adults, and when she became aware of her abilities as a beastmaster, she developed a strangely mature aura. She was the type of tomboyish girl who didn’t want to show overt preferences, but Yuuri, being attentive, had easily figured it out.
With the orange juice in hand, Yuuri’s face lit up. If there was good orange juice, he could make something with it. He rummaged through the fridge and pulled out a big frog leg, which had a taste similar to chicken thigh meat. It was becoming quite familiar. It seemed that another large batch had appeared recently, which was a blessing for the common folk.
Yuuri laid the frog meat on the cutting board and pulled out an onion next. With the orange juice, meat, and onion in hand, it was clear what he intended to make. He was preparing to make a Big Frog meat stew with orange juice. What? Using orange juice? Surprisingly, it was delicious.
“The sweetness and acidity of the orange juice make the meat tender and easy to eat.”
There were only three people today, including Yuuri. With that in mind, he decided to make a dish that would please Aroru, the youngest one. He wanted to make her happy, since she rarely ever expressed any wants. He knew Ali wouldn’t mind the small effort, so he didn’t worry.
And so, the main dish for lunch was decided. Long live orange juice!
First, Yuuri started by grilling the Big Frog meat. He kept it whole, as cutting it up could cause it to shrink and become tough. Big Frog meat was similar to chicken thigh, but since it was frog meat, the skin was removed, so he heated a small amount of olive oil in the pan. Olive oil was a companion for Western-style cooking.
When grilling, he didn’t want to cook it through completely but just wanted to sear both sides. He used medium to high heat to quickly sear the meat, then flipped it over. Once both sides were browned, he took the meat out of the pan and wiped away any excess oil.
The next step was to make the sauce. First, he chopped up the onion finely. Thanks to his cooking skills at level 50, Yuuri swiftly and impressively chopped the onion. If anyone had been watching, they would have been amazed, but Yuuri had grown used to his hands moving faster than when he was back home, so he felt no special emotions about it.
After chopping the onion, he poured the orange juice into the pan, which had been wiped of excess oil. He added enough to cover about half the pan, then added the finely chopped onion. He turned on the heat and stirred occasionally to prevent it from burning, waiting for it to come to a boil. Once it started boiling, he seasoned it with powdered dashi, salt, and pepper. The goal was to highlight the flavor of the orange juice. The concept was like a tomato-based stew.