The Most aty Way to Use Fatsia Seaweed
The leaves of the plant known as Fatsia resemble, quite literally, an outstretched hand with eight fingers.
That's it. Like those leaf fans that long-nosed tengu might hold. Exactly like that. It's an alternate na for a tengu's feather fan.
The seaweed I bought that looked like kelp bore an uncanny resemblance to that Fatsia.
Considering Fatsia leaves aren't sothing you can eat, it's hard to associate them with food, but their color and texture were strikingly similar to kelp.
「... Hmm... well, it does have so umami, I guess.」
I took a lick of the surface salty from dried sea salt and could faintly taste that familiar umami flavor found in kelp, probably glutamic acid if I'm not mistaken.
Umami is a basic elent of Japanese cuisine. Maybe I could expand my culinary repertoire with this, though there were so uncertainties too.
「What does it an when they say it tastes like at once you rehydrate and grill it...? That sales pitch is more scary than enticing.」
I couldn't quite wrap my head around the concept of kelp tasting like at. Sothing like those soy steaks?
I an, what kind of components are at play to make it taste like at? Such thoughts made
worried that it wouldn't produce the type of broth I was expecting when boiled.
But since I'd gone through the trouble of buying it, I might as well give it a taste first.
「Rehydrating it and boiling it for stock won't be all that different. Let's try making both dashi and a kelp steak.」
I filled a small pot with water and threw in the Fatsia seaweed (tentative na).
I started heating it directly from the water.
This was the outdoor kitchen where I once made crab soup. Today I was alone, but I'd leisurely test out my own recipes.
Recreating the taste of ho is sothing I want to do quietly and richly by myself.
「... Remove it before boiling. Well, it's softened, but... it's not at.」
Just like extracting dashi from kelp in my past life, I took it out before it boiled.
The Fatsia seaweed had softened, but it wasn't at. Still, it had a sowhat nostalgic aroma. It had that distinctive ocean scent typical of seaweed, with an aroma hinting at possible umami.
The kelp steak didn't particularly concern . The important thing was the broth.
So, I took a sip to see how it tasted.
「Hmm, well, it's kelp... right? A bit different, maybe...? The flavor is different, but there's so umami...」
Taking a sip, I found it was a bit different from kelp but seed to possess so umami.
Still, it decidedly didn't taste like at. I doubted it would taste like steak even if concentrated.
「... I guess I'll try reducing this broth and adding so salt...」
I got a rough idea. I could make sothing nearly identical to kelp dashi... I'll take that as a fair assessnt. I had gotten myself sothing good.
As a bonus, I might as well try the kelp steak too.
I took the Fatsia seaweed out of the hot water, placed it into an oiled frying pan, and started frying it.
The pan was made from a small shield, so it had a round bottom, but it would do the job just fine.
The oil sizzled under the wet kelp.
As it gradually moved and curled, I flipped it earlier than I would for at since it was thinner. As expected, one side was already nicely browned. ... Is this really going to taste like at? Did that guy at the market give
so bogus information?
I continued cooking, half-believing the hype.
Adding more oil, I diligently flipped it over and over...
I'd held a faint hope that the scent of at might erge with more cooking, but I pulled it off the heat before it burned.
What I ended up with was a browned piece of Fatsia seaweed. Despite executing the cooking correctly, sothing felt off from the start.
「Well, anyway... I'll taste it...」
Even though I'd cooked it myself, I was reluctant... But I ate it. Chew, chew.
... Hmm...?
「Is it... at... maybe...? No, it's seaweed... right?」
Trying it did taste different from kelp, but... But...
As anticipated, it decidedly wasn't at. It tasted exactly as I had expected, without surprise.
「Wait a minute, maybe extracting the broth first was the problem. Let's try simply rehydrating it without boiling.」
By heating it to extract the broth, maybe I was losing its umami. If so, this result was inevitable.
With that hypothesis, I rehydrated another Fatsia seaweed in water, leaving it to soak without heat this ti.
Once it absorbed the water and softened, I gave it another go sautéing it with oil.
Sizzle, pop. ... This ti, I felt like it slled better, or maybe it didn't...
「Oh, Mongrel, what's that? You're cooking?」
「Huh? Ah, it's Varga. Earlier, I found this mysterious ingredient at the market. Are you making smoked at?」
「Yeah, today I'm taking it easy.」
While I was doing the stir-fry, Varga called out in passing.
Apparently, he was preparing smoked at at the hearth over there. Whether it was for a party or personal use, it seed he was making a good quantity.
I love smoked cheese in this world.
「... Wait, what's that? Leaves?」
「It's seaweed. I don't know its na, though.」
「You're cooking an ingredient without even knowing its na?」
「I forgot to ask. I'll look into it with soone who knows soday.」
Flip ti!
... Hmm, since I didn't boil this batch, I'm not sure about the coloring; it's darker than the last, but that's in line with the heat I applied.
「Is that how you cook seaweed?」
「It's my first ti too. According to the market guy, it supposedly tastes like at.」
「That sounds amusing. Here, I'll give you a bit of smoked at. Let
try a bite.」
「Can I really take so of your smoked at? I don't know if this'll taste any good at all.」
「A Guild mber must be adventurous!」
「I'd rather be cautious... Alright, Varga, can you help slice this on the iron plate?」
「Sure thing. ... Wait, what's this? It's a buckler, isn't it?」
「Just a cooking tool with a handle attached. Pretty inventive, right?」
「It's complicated, being a fellow small shield user...」
On the concaved surface of the shield, Varga sliced up the Fatsia seaweed.
With a quick flick of the knife along the wavy leaves, he created eight pieces that sowhat resembled bacon strips.
Though they weren't actually bacon.
「Alright, I'll take one.」
「Sa here, let's give it a taste...」
Ti for the mont of truth. Chew, chew...
... Oh?
「It's not... at... but...」
「It has a kind of at-like quality... maybe...?」
After tasting it, possibly because it was cooked in oil and browned in parts, or due to the added umami, it had a texture akin to what I'd expect from bacon, almost like at.
But it wasn't at. It felt like so sort of substitute at... at-like imitation. The texture completely different, though.
Oddly, there was an elent of atiness to it. It was a strange taste.
Well, it was strange, but...
「Hmm, wouldn't you rather eat actual at?」
「You think so too, Varga? I feel the sa.」
From the perspective of soone who regularly ate at, was there even a need to go out of the way?
It seed more like a curiosity ingredient, or food for those who couldn't eat at...
「What's missing, I wonder... Ah, Mongrel, how about trying animal fat for frying next ti?」
「Wouldn't that make it practically at anyway, isn't it just cheating?」
「Let's give it a try. I've got so animal fat with .」
「I guess we can. Though I doubt it'll change the texture.」
I decided to throw a chunk of animal fat into the frying pan and reheated the remaining Fatsia pieces.
Yeah, now sizzling like this, it completely slled like at. That's because it's cooked in animal fat.
When we gave the final dish a taste... indeed, this was akin to bacon!
「This is totally cheating, Varga. Of course, it tastes like at when you use animal fat.」
「Haha, it tastes just like Mad Boar. But isn't it better this way?」
「Well, it is... Oh, how about adding the spices I bought along with it. It'll make it taste even more like at!」
「Oh! Mongrel, are you sure you're not worried about spending too much? How's your money situation?」
「I've been a bit strapped lately, yeah...」
「You can be such an idiot when shopping, you know!」
「I always make wise purchases, okay!」
Afterward, adding so of the at spices to improve the Fatsia seaweed steak's flavor, we tested other playful cooking ideas and had a lot of fun.
That's what I enjoy about creative cooking.
When it cos to cooking Fatsia seaweed deliciously, I might have surpassed expectations.
In the end, Varga and I concluded that eating his smoked at with added spice was indeed the best.
Honestly, what a silly outco.
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