Who Is the World’s Strongest Appraiser? ~Living in Another World With Satisfying Meals~

Let’s Enjoy A Simple Namul With Various Vegetables

“Hey, Yuuri, what’s up with you staring at all those vegetables?”

“Oh, Yakk, welcome back. Did you finish the errand?”

“Yup, all done.”

Returning to the kitchen after completing his assigned chore, Yakk, the day’s cook, saw Yuuri staring intently at the vegetables laid out by the sink. Curious, Yakk called out to him. Yuuri, noticing Yakk, greeted him with his usual gentle smile. Yakk walked over to Yuuri’s side and looked at the vegetables he had been scrutinizing.

What lay before them was a massive pile of okra and asparagus.

Why so much of these two vegetables? Yakk tilted his head in puzzlement. As a farmer’s son, he knew these were both vegetables that could be harvested in the current season. However, they weren’t yet widely available in the markets of the royal capital, Drahen. How did they end up with such a surplus?

Moreover, Yakk could tell Yuuri hadn’t bought them himself. If Yuuri, a cooking enthusiast, had purchased them, he’d already be excitedly preparing a dish. Instead, he seemed to be hesitating, unsure what to do.

“Where did these come from?”

“They were a gift.”

“A gift? From who?”

“Kurre and the others. Their mission today was in the Harvest Grove.”

“Ah, that explains it.”

Yakk nodded in understanding. The Harvest Grove was a low-difficulty dungeon near Drahen. Trainees often went there to gather medicinal herbs and foodstuffs. Recently, those who returned with large quantities of fruit had delighted Yuuri, who turned them into delicious snacks. The memory must have stuck with them because now, whenever there was a gathering mission, the group would bring back as much of the dungeon’s produce as possible.

While it was technically a side activity, no one complained since the ingredients ended up as delicious meals. Even the instructors—supposed to keep an eye on the trainees—couldn’t resist joining in. Everyone loved good food, after all.

“So, what are you going to do with all this?”

“Well, since there’s so much, I thought about making namul. Why not?”

“Namul?”

“Yeah. If the ingredients are good, a simple namul could work nicely.”

“Sounds good.”

Yakk had no objections. Yuuri was the better cook, and Yakk didn’t have any preconceived notions about what vegetables were typically used for namul. Yuuri, on the other hand, enjoyed experimenting in the kitchen, often transforming traditional recipes into something uniquely his own—but always staying within the bounds of good cooking practices.

And so, today’s menu was decided: namul made with okra, asparagus, and, of course, the ever-abundant potatoes. While the method and seasonings were mostly the same as before, Yuuri didn’t worry about such details. If it was delicious, that was all that mattered.

“Yakk, could you boil some water in the pot?”

“Got it!”

While Yakk set the water to boil, Yuuri began prepping the vegetables, starting with the most time-consuming—potatoes. With his quick hands, the peeling was done in no time. He sliced the potatoes into thin strips and tossed them into salted boiling water to cook.

As they waited, the two of them worked on the okra. Removing the caps or calyxes was the key to making the okra edible without cutting it, or so Yuuri explained. However, with the large quantity, they decided it was quicker to cut off the caps just short of the seed cavity. Taking care not to expose the inside, they carefully trimmed the okra and then rolled them on a cutting board with salt to remove the fuzz. This also pre-salted them, meaning no additional seasoning was needed when boiling—a clever time-saver.

By the time the okra was thrown into the boiling water, the potatoes were done. While Yakk drained them, Yuuri moved on to the final vegetable, asparagus. The tough ends had to be removed; otherwise, the asparagus would be unpleasantly chewy.

“Yakk, hold the base with your right hand and the middle with your left.”

“Okay.”

“Now bend the right hand like this…”

“Snap! It broke!”

“Exactly. The snapped-off part can be peeled thoroughly and cooked longer to make it edible. Set those aside for now.”

“Got it.”

Finding the snapping process fun, Yakk eagerly worked through the asparagus. Meanwhile, Yuuri noticed someone watching them intently from the floor—Rooks, the monster who usually stayed out of the kitchen during meal prep. It was as if he had sensed something was meant for him.

“Rooks, do you want the asparagus ends?”

“Kyui!”

“Here you go. They’re raw, but are they tasty?”

“Kyukyu!”