While preparing the conger eel, I also give a lesson to Munier and the other cooks since we have the chance.
I cannot always be by Belze’s side. There is a chance I might drop dead suddenly.
Therefore, I teach everything about the dishes Belze can eat to the people around her.
“The conger eel is a special fish. First, it has no scales.”
“Ah, true. But it is slimy?”
“Yes. A slimy component called mucin. This is the cause of the fishy smell, so we will scrub it well with salt and wash it off later.”
Well, let’s start with preparing it.
“Prepare a special wooden board and drive nails through it from the back.”
“N-nails?”
“Yes. We make a cutting board with the nail tips sticking out. Then, we nail the head of the conger eel here to fix the body. This is called ‘spike-pinning’.”
With the cooks repeating “spike-pinning…” behind me, I nail the head down just as I said.
The conger eel, still alive, is both slimy and thrashes around wildly.
“I see, it thrashes around so you fix it like that…”
“Yes. From here, we open it up with a knife.”
Starting from the fixed head toward the tail, I smoothly slide the knife.
I open the body from one side and remove the bone.
After that, I wash the blood well and rub it with salt to remove the slime. I also blanch it in hot water.
Thoroughly removing the odor and slime is the key.
“Pino-kun, you really know a lot about how to prepare such a strange fish.”
A strange fish, you say.
Well, it certainly is a weird fish, though.
“Didn’t you all touch this kind of fish very much? I heard you worked at famous restaurants.”
“Well, we handled more beautiful fish, or fish with better shapes…”
“You don’t touch vulgar ones like this, do you?”
Vulgar, huh? Well, if there are plenty of other choices, you wouldn’t go out of your way to touch it. It takes a lot of work, too.
The store owner at the market also complained that only his long-time regular old lady and fishermen buy them.
After preparing the conger eel and finishing it into a dish, I take it to Belze.
Belze just finished her bath.
She always takes a bath when she returns from the market. She is a clean freak.
Leaving her hair care to the maids and relaxing in a bathrobe, this is the only appearance that makes her look like a Princess.
“This is the red pasta with charcoal-grilled conger eel.”
“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”
I served it a little late to match her hair drying about halfway.
This time’s test dish is an oil-based pasta that looks glossy and has a slight reddish tint.
When I neatly twirl a bite-sized portion with a fork, Belze narrows her eyes at the scent of the steam rising right away.
“The scent is garlic, chili pepper, herbs… what is this red color?”
“Tomato.”
“I see. I could not tell. The fish is also somewhat savory; is this charcoal?”
“Yes. After steaming it plumply, I quickly seared the surface over charcoal.”
Belze carried the food to her mouth with polite manners.
Even though she kicks down doors, she is truly a young lady when it comes to things like this.
When you bite into it, it falls apart fluffily, but the powerful punch of the conger eel—strongly flavored with charcoal and rock salt—is supported from the roots by the encompassing tenderness and pleasant mouthfeel of the mellow oil pasta.
After chewing a little, she relaxes her cheeks happily.
“It is a complex flavor as always. I especially like the faint charcoal. I do not feel any fishy smell at all.”
“Thank you.”
“Did you make the chili pepper mild?”
“Yes. I heard you are not good with spicy food.”
The chili pepper has only a faint scent, while the herbs and garlic are slightly stronger.
In short, this is an aglio e olio with a tomato flavor… or more accurately, it is called aglio, olio e pomodoro, but either way, those are words from my previous life. “Red pasta” is enough in this place.
“The tomato does not stand out, either. For me, this is about my preference.”
“Well, it is just for aroma and coloring. If you use the strong flavor of the tomato too much, it will crush the umami of the seafood.”
“I see. Indeed, I can feel the deep umami of the fish. Is this a broth?”
“Yes. I lightly seared the cleaned conger eel heads and then simmered them. It is an elegant yet rich flavor.”
A golden, careful soup simmered slowly from a very low temperature using ice.
By mixing with the red of the tomato, the pasta has a vividness like the setting sun.
Though she looked slightly surprised when she heard it was head broth, Belze nodded with a “It’s delicious” and looked satisfied.
By the way, there is actually another plate.
“Belze, this is truly an experimental dish, but…”
“Yes, what is it?”
“It is kelp-cured heart sea bream. If you like, I would like you to taste it and check any parts you do not like.”
I served the plate.
It is just thinly sliced sashimi made from white fish cured in a kelp-like seaweed I found at the market… in other words, raw fish.
Belze is not good at dry, cooked fish.
Then how about raw? Salt, sake, seaweed, and dehydration—I tried various things to remove the fishy smell, and I wonder how well this experimental dish will suit her.
Belze carried a specially small-sized slice to her mouth.
“It is not bad. I am not good at raw fish, but this has the odor removed and a strong umami.”
Oh, a surprisingly high evaluation.
“However, the scent of this seaweed? It is a bit negative. I want you to expand the richness more.”
“Understood. I will try to improve it a little more.”
“Yes, I am counting on you.”
She is truly a generous Princess, considering she even goes along with such half-baked experimental dishes like this.
It was at that moment.
One of the maids came from the entranceway and bowed deeply.
“Your Highness, you have a guest.”
“Oh. Have they finally arrived?”
Could it be that friend of hers?
“Shall I show them in once you finish your meal?”
“No, right now is fine.”
“R-right now?”
“They are not the kind of person to get upset just because I am eating. Show them in immediately.”
At Belze’s words, the maid bowed deeply once again and headed toward the entranceway.
After a while, the man walking behind the maid said—
“Hey Belze, I’ve been telling you not to wear that bathrobe when you meet men! What will you do if you get attacked?!”
—Right from the reunion, in a high-pitched, piercing voice, he yelled at Belze.
Glossy golden hair and slightly pointed semi-long ears… a half-elf.
But most characteristic of all is the makeup. Black nail polish decorating her long fingers, the scent of gorgeous essential oils, and the makeup fit for a woman that further sharpens his handsome face.
“Um… are you a man?”
“Yes, I am a man.”
When I checked quietly, Belze nodded as if it were obvious.
“If you try to attack me, I will cut you down even if you are you. It has been a while, commander of the Imperial Second Knights ‘Black Snake’—Kirul Kissjail.”
“Huh? The knight commander?”
At that grand form of address, the half-elf man let out a sigh, and then with a theatrical gesture, he bowed deeply, saying, “It has been a while, Third Imperial Princess…”